Snow Test, Part Two

The snow and ice of February has faded into a distant memory—at least in Raleigh (sorry friends further north). In North Carolina we are bracing for our next ground covering—pollen! Even so, I want to follow up on the original Snow Test blog.

First, let me say thank you for the overwhelming response! I don’t know if you all just had cabin fever, but it was great to hear from so many of you on this topic.

Through your responses, I learned that those of us who serve the non-profit sector as staff members and volunteers have some things in common when it comes to the snow test. As a reminder, the categories I described were:

* The content

* The antsy

* The curious

* The overachiever

* The kid at heart

* The nurturer

* The industrialist

* The stir crazy

Here are my observations:

1. First of all, most of us cannot choose a single category. We are either indecisive or overly inclusive, but the majority saw ourselves as a blend of two or three categories.

2. Kid at heart was the top of many lists! I think that says that our sector is fun or maybe we don’t have enough fun in our regular days. I am not sure which.

3. Nurturer also was a list topper. No surprise there—isn’t that why we are attracted to non-profit work to begin with. We want to make our communities better places.

4. Ironically, content and industrialist were a tie. I think that speaks to the constant multi-tasking in our lives. Some of us relished a break and were content to slow down for a day or two, while others saw the gift of time as a chance to get things done.

5. Many of you took the question, “What category best describes your approach to a snow day,” to your staff meetings or used it as a team building exercise. It was fun to hear how you incorporated it into your own activities.

As winter has turned to spring and summer is just around the corner, don’t forget the snow test question when you are interviewing your next candidate or planning your next icebreaker. I still believe that it tells you a lot about a person—actually I believe it even more strongly after some of your responses!

Happy spring!

‍