For years, nonprofit Executive Directors have chased a myth: the rockstar employee.

You know the profile. It’s the mythical Senior Accountant or Finance Director who lives on coffee, works 60 hours a week, and single-handedly carries the entire weight of your organization's compliance on their back. They are the first to arrive, the last to leave, and they possess an almost supernatural tolerance for messy data, convoluted federal grant tracking, and ever-shifting board requirements.

It feels like a classic binary choice. But after watching a lot of nonprofits navigate this transition, I’ve noticed that rushing to either extreme tends to create the exact problems organizations are trying to avoid.

If you’re trying to decide which route to take, here what I’ve seen actually happens behind the scenes with both models, the middle ground a lot of folks overlook, and how to protect your organization no matter which path you choose.

Mission creep can sneak up on you. Little by little, activities get added to your nonprofit that aren’t core to the mission but that do wear you down little by little. It can also show up in unexpected ways: like personnel.

VIDEO: A good intern can take your back office from survive to thrive. Check out this quick video for more!

Most introverts and numbers people feel stress from interruptions and surprises. The more that happens in your nonprofit, the more it could impact their productivity, morale, and ability to collaborate with coworkers.

Want to ensure you can attract and retain top accounting talent? Check out these tips.

The rock band Van Halen, and their creative use of brown M&Ms, can teach nonprofits a time-saving lesson.

Southwest Airline’s holiday fiasco represents a learning opportunity for nonprofits. Act now, while the memory remains fresh, to ensure your organization doesn’t make the same costly and embarrassing mistakes.

PODCAST: How can a strong back office make your nonprofit stronger? How can modest investments generate large efficiencies? How can technology become your friend? Listen for my answers to these questions and more during my appearance on the Successful Nonprofits Podcast!