Gadd/Guillot
Serving executives and trustees in the independent sector
Serving executives and trustees in the independent sector
serving the independent sector
Here you will find articles by associates and colleagues of Gadd/Guillot, and others with an acute interest in the world of non-profit.
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STOP WORRYING ABOUT MONEY AND START ADVANCING YOUR MISSION
By Michael Guillot
You can raise the money you need during these tough times. It is going to take some realignment, some focus, and some courage. But right now your current and prospective donors want to know some important things:
Take a Step Back.
Stop dancing and get away from your work for two days. Seriously, you've got to get some perspective on this stuff and you can't do it where you are right now. Do whatever it takes but take a Thursday and Friday off, get away by yourself, unplug from email, phone (we're not kidding), and think. Just breathe, and reflect about why you chose this work, why what you do matters, and why the work you are leading is important. You have no agenda, no checklist, no plan for these two days, just some quiet, a journal, and a chance to look in the mirror. Remember, all your money worries will still be there waiting for you when you come back – except this time you're going to be ready.
Reclaim your Purpose.
Okay, you're back now. Start writing. Put in writing – this is our mission, these are our values, this is why we do what we do. You've got three essentials to know: who we are, what we do, and why. The "why" is the tricky part – because it's an external focus, not internal. Your organization's mission has nothing to do with money – it has to do with service. Think about it this way: You don't need money – the community needs you. At the end of this writing, a new case statement should emerge. Also, write down what's working in your fundraising programs right now that brings you energy. Then write down what drains your energy. Odds are, you're creating the list of programs that need your support and those that need your attention. Don't throw away this list – just know that if you don't get energy from an activity, you are unlikely to do it. And while you're at it, think about your staff and volunteers – how would they answer these same questions about energy? Connecting work to purpose is the best way to make sure you have the energy and enthusiasm you need to get it done.
Increase your Knowledge.
Stop reading fundraising technique books – start reading leadership books. Stop reading what coaches, generals, CEO's have to say about leadership – start reading Cooperrider, Greenleaf, Heifetz, Rost, Sinclair, Senge, Scharmer, Couto, and the incredible array of scholars and practitioners who know your sector and present leadership in a way that transcends the marketplace. The identity of our sector is not about how much money you raise. Fill your mind with inspiration that feeds your soul. Check out our website for these and other suggested readings.
Appreciate your Strengths.
You are generating resources now. You have created sufficient energy to bring you to this point. If you are going to build a different future for your organization, start from what is working. Analyze your current fundraising programs in a number of ways – cost/benefit, number of donors, amount of dollars, major gift activity, and impact. What we suspect you'll find is some gaps and disconnects, as well as some good news. Bring in a colleague to look over your shoulder – someone who you trust who can offer you some advice about what you're seeing. We think there are six key things every nonprofit should be doing right now to raise more money. Are you doing them? Click here to learn more about these six keys to success in tough times. These six strategies are proven winners during tough times – ways that we know will increase your fundraising results despite everything.
Gather your Friends.
Get out of your office and go talk to some people. First, a personal conversation with your top ten donors. Second, a private conversation with each of your board members, Third, a conversation with key staff and clients. Ask your top donors about their experiences with your organization – reporting, recognition, reciprocity. Ask your board members about their experiences in leadership – board meetings, strategic planning, mission. Ask your key staff and clients about results – are we making a difference. And while you're there, ask them about how and why they make philanthropic decisions in general, and your organization in particular. You will be setting the stage for their continued participation. But something else will happen while you are out there – you will raise money. In all of our experience, we have never seen this fail. The simple and direct act of identifying and visiting your top donors will generate new revenue. Guaranteed.
Forget about Done.
Almost forgot, while you're with your friends, ask them about who else cares about this work. Then go talk to them, asking them the same questions. You are building the table for the conversation about your mission and your work. This is how fundraising becomes leadership – you transform a well-managed program into a leadership conversation – and you raise more money while talking about what really matters. Don't worry about solicitation strategies and prospect analysis – get out there and start talking (and listening). You will be amazed – you'll be having fun and a deep connection with your calling – you'll forget about the money. And in the true paradox of life – because you're not worrying about it, you'll have all you will ever need.
Redo the Calendar.
If the way to stop worrying about money and start advancing your mission is to get out there and talk with people who can make a difference for your organization – then you've got to redo the calendar. Here's a way to think about it – if you are at your desk you are not working! Really, you can only get to this place if you get out there and tell your story. The calendar has to reflect this priority. Get your team used to the fact that you will not be there everyday. Find someone to run the place while you're creating this new energy. Your analysis of strengths offered you a number of insights about what fundraising programs to sustain and which programs to abandon or reshape. But in terms of dollars, no activity will ever generate more resources that personal calls on current and prospective major donors. And your calendar should reflect that reality.
Learn from the Future.
Imagine it is one year from now. You have just finished a year of leadership and fundraising and it has gone exactly the way you wanted. Exactly what you wanted. So, describe where you are? What are the results of this perfect year? What can you say about your leadership and your philanthropic activities that describe an ideal future? You got it. Write it down. Now, look at each of these ideal outcomes and figure out how to make them happen. It should be obvious that you have to do something different.
Be the Change.
People don't resist change, they resist loss. You cannot expect anyone to behave differently until you do. If you are ready to push past cynicism and negativity and create an environment that will advance your mission and generate all the resources you need – it has to start with you. Leadership, ultimately, is a personal experience. No one in your organization or in your donor base will do anything different until you do. Increase the number of personal solicitations you conduct every week. Make that your top priority. Start with one…next week. Then add to it. Make this objective your first scheduling task every week. Your will raise more money immediately.
Take Immediate Action.
It takes a second to make a decision – a lifetime to live it. Go do this right now – I mean it. Stop worrying about what you can't control and start enjoying the calling you have the courage to follow. Here's the plan in a nutshell – write the story, tell the story, live the story. And when you're done, tell us your story so we can share it and awaken others. Asking people for an investment in your future is the best thing you can do for yourself and your organization. Enjoy!
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On occasion, you may realize that your organization does not have the time, capacity or skills to accomplish specific tasks. Rather than struggling through the challenge and potentially failing to reach goals, many nonprofit organizations are reaching out to specialists for support. This is especially true when planning for searches for executive directors and other key staff. Working with a consultant to assist you in the hiring process can make your life easier by saving you time, tapping into a network you may not have access to, and using targeted experience to guide you in making the best decision for your organization. Most of all, a search consultant can manage a time-consuming process for you, so that you can focus on your work.
In deciding which consultant to hire, following a few do’s and don’ts will result in a more successful relationship. Although these tips are geared toward searches, many of them apply to hiring other types of nonprofit consultants or outsourcing any activity.
Do’s to consider:
While you may be tempted to hire someone recommended by friends, colleagues, or advisers acting in some other capacity, always remember that while they may have your best interest at heart, you are potentially closing the door on finding someone who would be the perfect fit. It’s not just a candidate’s connections, qualifications and work history that must be considered, but also the nature of the culture surrounding the opening, the type of person best suited for this environment, and what you want the person in this position to accomplish. A knowledgeable search consultant will not circumvent the search process with you, the client, to promote a particular candidate.
Keep in mind that the best results are accomplished as partners with well-defined roles. Ask questions, be clear on your expectations, and don’t settle for less than you are comfortable with or need. The more you understand about each other’s processes, work styles and goals, the more productive you will both be and the better the outcome.
Sherry Heuser is President of Capability Company, a consulting firm providing executive search services to nonprofit organizations.
For more information, visit www.CapabilityCompany.com.
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By Michael Guillot
You can raise the money you need during these tough times. It is going to take some realignment, some focus, and some courage. But right now your current and prospective donors want to know some important things:
- Are you doing everything possible to manage costs?
- Are you able to demonstrate your services are effective and making a difference about something they care about?
- Do you have a plan for the next few years that offers confidence that you are viable and a good investment?
- Are you trustworthy and forthright in your dealings with me?
Take a Step Back.
Stop dancing and get away from your work for two days. Seriously, you've got to get some perspective on this stuff and you can't do it where you are right now. Do whatever it takes but take a Thursday and Friday off, get away by yourself, unplug from email, phone (we're not kidding), and think. Just breathe, and reflect about why you chose this work, why what you do matters, and why the work you are leading is important. You have no agenda, no checklist, no plan for these two days, just some quiet, a journal, and a chance to look in the mirror. Remember, all your money worries will still be there waiting for you when you come back – except this time you're going to be ready.
Reclaim your Purpose.
Okay, you're back now. Start writing. Put in writing – this is our mission, these are our values, this is why we do what we do. You've got three essentials to know: who we are, what we do, and why. The "why" is the tricky part – because it's an external focus, not internal. Your organization's mission has nothing to do with money – it has to do with service. Think about it this way: You don't need money – the community needs you. At the end of this writing, a new case statement should emerge. Also, write down what's working in your fundraising programs right now that brings you energy. Then write down what drains your energy. Odds are, you're creating the list of programs that need your support and those that need your attention. Don't throw away this list – just know that if you don't get energy from an activity, you are unlikely to do it. And while you're at it, think about your staff and volunteers – how would they answer these same questions about energy? Connecting work to purpose is the best way to make sure you have the energy and enthusiasm you need to get it done.
Increase your Knowledge.
Stop reading fundraising technique books – start reading leadership books. Stop reading what coaches, generals, CEO's have to say about leadership – start reading Cooperrider, Greenleaf, Heifetz, Rost, Sinclair, Senge, Scharmer, Couto, and the incredible array of scholars and practitioners who know your sector and present leadership in a way that transcends the marketplace. The identity of our sector is not about how much money you raise. Fill your mind with inspiration that feeds your soul. Check out our website for these and other suggested readings.
Appreciate your Strengths.
You are generating resources now. You have created sufficient energy to bring you to this point. If you are going to build a different future for your organization, start from what is working. Analyze your current fundraising programs in a number of ways – cost/benefit, number of donors, amount of dollars, major gift activity, and impact. What we suspect you'll find is some gaps and disconnects, as well as some good news. Bring in a colleague to look over your shoulder – someone who you trust who can offer you some advice about what you're seeing. We think there are six key things every nonprofit should be doing right now to raise more money. Are you doing them? Click here to learn more about these six keys to success in tough times. These six strategies are proven winners during tough times – ways that we know will increase your fundraising results despite everything.
Gather your Friends.
Get out of your office and go talk to some people. First, a personal conversation with your top ten donors. Second, a private conversation with each of your board members, Third, a conversation with key staff and clients. Ask your top donors about their experiences with your organization – reporting, recognition, reciprocity. Ask your board members about their experiences in leadership – board meetings, strategic planning, mission. Ask your key staff and clients about results – are we making a difference. And while you're there, ask them about how and why they make philanthropic decisions in general, and your organization in particular. You will be setting the stage for their continued participation. But something else will happen while you are out there – you will raise money. In all of our experience, we have never seen this fail. The simple and direct act of identifying and visiting your top donors will generate new revenue. Guaranteed.
Forget about Done.
Almost forgot, while you're with your friends, ask them about who else cares about this work. Then go talk to them, asking them the same questions. You are building the table for the conversation about your mission and your work. This is how fundraising becomes leadership – you transform a well-managed program into a leadership conversation – and you raise more money while talking about what really matters. Don't worry about solicitation strategies and prospect analysis – get out there and start talking (and listening). You will be amazed – you'll be having fun and a deep connection with your calling – you'll forget about the money. And in the true paradox of life – because you're not worrying about it, you'll have all you will ever need.
Redo the Calendar.
If the way to stop worrying about money and start advancing your mission is to get out there and talk with people who can make a difference for your organization – then you've got to redo the calendar. Here's a way to think about it – if you are at your desk you are not working! Really, you can only get to this place if you get out there and tell your story. The calendar has to reflect this priority. Get your team used to the fact that you will not be there everyday. Find someone to run the place while you're creating this new energy. Your analysis of strengths offered you a number of insights about what fundraising programs to sustain and which programs to abandon or reshape. But in terms of dollars, no activity will ever generate more resources that personal calls on current and prospective major donors. And your calendar should reflect that reality.
Learn from the Future.
Imagine it is one year from now. You have just finished a year of leadership and fundraising and it has gone exactly the way you wanted. Exactly what you wanted. So, describe where you are? What are the results of this perfect year? What can you say about your leadership and your philanthropic activities that describe an ideal future? You got it. Write it down. Now, look at each of these ideal outcomes and figure out how to make them happen. It should be obvious that you have to do something different.
Be the Change.
People don't resist change, they resist loss. You cannot expect anyone to behave differently until you do. If you are ready to push past cynicism and negativity and create an environment that will advance your mission and generate all the resources you need – it has to start with you. Leadership, ultimately, is a personal experience. No one in your organization or in your donor base will do anything different until you do. Increase the number of personal solicitations you conduct every week. Make that your top priority. Start with one…next week. Then add to it. Make this objective your first scheduling task every week. Your will raise more money immediately.
Take Immediate Action.
It takes a second to make a decision – a lifetime to live it. Go do this right now – I mean it. Stop worrying about what you can't control and start enjoying the calling you have the courage to follow. Here's the plan in a nutshell – write the story, tell the story, live the story. And when you're done, tell us your story so we can share it and awaken others. Asking people for an investment in your future is the best thing you can do for yourself and your organization. Enjoy!
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Do’s and Don’ts in Hiring a Search Consultant
By Sherry Heuser, President, Capability CompanyOn occasion, you may realize that your organization does not have the time, capacity or skills to accomplish specific tasks. Rather than struggling through the challenge and potentially failing to reach goals, many nonprofit organizations are reaching out to specialists for support. This is especially true when planning for searches for executive directors and other key staff. Working with a consultant to assist you in the hiring process can make your life easier by saving you time, tapping into a network you may not have access to, and using targeted experience to guide you in making the best decision for your organization. Most of all, a search consultant can manage a time-consuming process for you, so that you can focus on your work.
In deciding which consultant to hire, following a few do’s and don’ts will result in a more successful relationship. Although these tips are geared toward searches, many of them apply to hiring other types of nonprofit consultants or outsourcing any activity.
Do’s to consider:
- Do ask about experience in the nonprofit sector, and with similar organizations, positions or searches. Recognize that if you haven’t hired this consultant in the past, there may not be an exact match between experience and organization. However, any consultant you consider hiring should be familiar with many of the components of your work and able to speak knowledgeably about how you will interact during the process.
- Do make sure you, not the applicants, will be the client. This attitude should be obvious in the work that is done, not just in the contract language. While it may not seem to make a difference at the beginning of a search, when negotiating with a top candidate, you want to be certain the consultant is looking out for your best interests.
- Do agree upon a fee up front and understand the cost structure. Thoroughly discuss any possibilities for variance in the price due to exceeded time estimates, cost overruns or salaries negotiated above the target.
- Do address the expected and preferred frequency and method of contact during the search, and the consultant’s availability to address questions and concerns as they arise. Be aware that fees based on an hourly-rate contract will increase as the frequency of contact increases. Clarify what is included in the price, and what may be reimbursable costs or add-ons.
- Do get to know the person who will be working with you. His or her personality should mesh with your style and corporate culture, and reflect your organization. The consultant will be acting as your representative to the community, and must conduct him- or herself in an entirely legal, ethical and professional manner. Confidentiality is paramount.
- Don’t allow the consultant to take over the search without involving you at key points along the way. This is your new employee, not theirs. While someone else may be administering the search process, you will still have an active role in providing information, contacts and input…and making the final decision.
- Don’t dismiss your consultant’s recommendations without discussion. You have hired this person to help you, based on their knowledge, skills and contacts. Receiving recommendations with which you disagree should be a trigger for a dialogue between you and your consultant. In a search, you may need to ask why the consultant is suggesting you consider or dismiss a particular applicant; what does the consultant see that you don't? Perhaps there is a disconnect between what you have stated or believe you need, and where the consultant’s experience leads them. As you move through the search, your priorities may change—communicating clearly throughout the process will reduce the chance of divisions.
- Don’t allow the consultant to bog your team down with details you have hired him or her to manage. Your contract should clearly outline responsibilities and authority, and you should discuss the nuances of these.
- Don’t accept an inflexible, standard process that does not accommodate your structure or capacity, or take advantage of opportunities that may arise. Although the consultant should have an overall plan and process to offer, each search is a bit different and should be negotiated individually; one size does not fit everyone.
- Don’t accept only one recommended candidate for your consideration. The consultant should have proven methods to reach out to a broad spectrum of potential candidates, and should provide you with options to consider and input that may guide your decision, but not make the decision for you.
While you may be tempted to hire someone recommended by friends, colleagues, or advisers acting in some other capacity, always remember that while they may have your best interest at heart, you are potentially closing the door on finding someone who would be the perfect fit. It’s not just a candidate’s connections, qualifications and work history that must be considered, but also the nature of the culture surrounding the opening, the type of person best suited for this environment, and what you want the person in this position to accomplish. A knowledgeable search consultant will not circumvent the search process with you, the client, to promote a particular candidate.
Keep in mind that the best results are accomplished as partners with well-defined roles. Ask questions, be clear on your expectations, and don’t settle for less than you are comfortable with or need. The more you understand about each other’s processes, work styles and goals, the more productive you will both be and the better the outcome.
Sherry Heuser is President of Capability Company, a consulting firm providing executive search services to nonprofit organizations.
For more information, visit www.CapabilityCompany.com.
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The Value of Crisis by Michael Guillot
It would be a shame to waste a good crisis. That is what is upon us now in the nonprofit sector, a potential disaster on a grand scale. Having direct experience with disaster on a personal level, I believe this metaphor offers some insight.
My family and I are Katrina survivors. With the month marking the fifth anniversary of the storm, I am mindful of the pain and trauma we endured during those first days following the hurricane's passing – uncertainty about our own home and business, unable to contact other family members, confusion and anxiety in every face we saw. Those first weeks placed us along with almost a million of our neighbors in short-term survival thinking. It was important and necessary that our focus stayed in that range. However, that kind of thinking is inadequate for anything past the immediate. In fact, survival thinking started to become an additional source of stress and pain.
In order to make clear and thoughtful decisions about the future, we had to put aside immediacy and lift our eyes to a longer horizon. Looking back, some important lessons about the value of a crisis to create an environment for deep change represent learning that can be of value to American civil society as it comes to grip with this current crisis and what will happen next. I offer three lessons that I hope can offer direction to lead change.
Lesson One: When the radar indicates trouble is coming, get ready for trouble.
One of the realities about hurricanes is the early warnings available to those in threatened areas receive. We knew the possibility of Hurricane Katrina striking the New Orleans area at least one week prior to the actual landfall of the storm. In addition, as a storm approaches, the warnings become clearer and more accurate.
Yet despite this, people deny the reality of impending disaster. Ignoring all relevant and important information, many New Orleanians often worried more about preparing for a party than a disaster. On the one hand, the denial of the forecast avoided change, on the other hand, the hubris of "toughing it out" guided others. Either way, staying in harm's way was deadly for many of my neighbors.
The lack of any sense of urgency failed to provide adequate motivation for people to change their behaviors. Change at the developmental level requires information and training from leaders. Such information is readily available to citizens through media and other forms of public outlets. Training is provided at every level of education, from schools, church groups, and civic organizations. Yet the citizens, lacking any sense of urgency because of a history of missed landfalls, were not motivated by information or threats.
In the days leading up to the global economic downturn, were we denying the disaster of our own excesses? Wasn't the nonprofit sector caught up in the same giddy swirls of Wall Street as we saw revenues and salaries escalate? Perhaps others wiser than me about economics can look back and see the radar alerts, but since we turned the sector over to the marketplace, weren't we denying the warnings and "staying the course" of unreal growth?
Here is the lesson for me, that by losing our identity we lost our ability to listen to the early warnings. We weren't ready for trouble because we didn't want to believe that trouble was coming. We were winning. Philanthropy was at record highs, executive compensation was skyrocketing, and the trappings of the private sector seduced many into paneled board rooms and corporate style management.
Hindsight shows the warning signs of trouble were all there. Many nonprofits invested their endowments with Madoff's scheming plan and never questioned the outrageous earnings they were receiving. That's not stewardship, that is greed. Perhaps some of those earnings may have to be returned to compensate the many other victims of this criminal. Perhaps some of the nonprofits who benefitted from this illegal activity should offer that compensation without the compulsion of a court.
The excessive compensation of United Way executives in New York and Charlotte, the obscene fraud of televangelists Swaggart and Baker, the New Jersey Symphony and Seton Hall University having to return donations from members of the mob: these are just a few of an unfortunately increasing number of scandals that should have sounded the alert on radar. Trouble was coming, and we ignored it. Shame on us.
Lesson Two: No matter what anyone says, you're on your own.
Few examples in American history are clearer in demonstrating the failure of a nation to serve its people than Hurricane Katrina. Neither the public, private, nor the nonprofit sector delivered on the promise made to the citizens of the region. In reality, we were left to fend for ourselves long before we knew it. What we thought was available, from our government, from our insurance company, from the Red Cross, was washed away with our homes. Otto Scharmer notes that "the bigger the gap between exterior systemic complexity and the interior capacity to access the deeper streams of emergence, the more likely a system will go off track and revert to a destructive space of anti-emergence." In this negative worldview, it is difficult to recognize anything new. The world is seen only from our own perspective and blindness to other views is rampant.
If the nonprofit sector is ready for change, it is unlikely to come from board members. Most board members (and executives for that matter) remain fixed in a paradigm of the past, a "stuck" way of thinking that values business acumen over wisdom, and ability to donate over ability to serve. Their commentary is sustaining the outdated mythology of what trustee service really is and how it matters. And that is why I am convinced that trustees do not represent the place where change can start. So, if we are going to lead change and take full advantage of the crisis, nonprofit executives are on their own to initiate any sustainable change. Perhaps it is by forming a sector-wide coalition of nonprofit executives and trustees that transformational change be realized. But for that to happen, a new way of thinking and imagining the sector must be available.
Whether by design or neglect, most board members come to their task well intentioned but hopelessly uninformed. With rare exception, the orientation of trustees to serve on boards is haphazard or ignored. The current model of executive-trustee relationships creates an adversarial atmosphere. As executives have become more professionalized, trustees view them as "temporary staff" who are just passing through. And executives, who distrust the viability of effectively pleasing dozens of bosses, often provide minimal information and deliver only good news as they cheerlead their way through a year or two of board meetings before moving on to the next organization.
And since we fill our boards with business leaders, executives only have to demonstrate the ability to raise money and keep the auditors happy and the board rubber stamps decisions. Trustees are not prepared to lead change in the nonprofit sector.
Nonprofit executives are in a position to lead by engaging their trustees in a new way. Shifting the mental model of their relationships into collaborative is representative of the shift that must occur in the sector, a comprehensive move away from "profit" strategies and a clear and consistent focus on mission and service. Executives also are in a position to lead this change because they are the primary and often single source for board membership recruitment and training. Few boards are capable of sustaining their own leadership without direct management from their executives. In an unusual aspect of the sector, the executive in effect gets to select and train his own supervisors. When we can shift away from that ineffective structure and create generative leadership among executives and trustees, then the chance for sustainable change is available to organizations and the sector.
The sector will not be led to a new level of service by trustees or executives alone. If this change is to take place, the leadership will come from an enlightened coalition from both groups that will be able to look beyond immediacy and learn from the future.
Lesson Three: Keep an Ax in the Attic.
My grandmother showed me the ax in her attic when I was a little boy. This was an old New Orleans custom. Keeping an ax in the attic was the safety exit from the house in the event of rising floodwaters. As televised around the world, many of those rescued from rooftops during the flood of the city had chopped their way through the roof to get out. An ax in the attic was a recognition that the worst could happen and that you should be prepared.
The worst has happened for our sector. That's the bad news. The good news, we have an ax in the attic. Change is available in the sector because the identity of the sector is aligned with the opportunities emerging from the crisis. As people "hit the reset button" on the directions of their own lives and of the organizations they join, I am convinced civil society will serve as the common ground for new leadership and new vocations.
One thing a crisis teaches you – it teaches you what really matters. Losing a home and a business is devastating, but it doesn't really matter. Creating and acquiring wealth, then losing it, doesn't really matter. People around the world are rethinking their own pursuits and dreams, they are reevaluating priorities, they are transcending loss and realizing profound and deep gains. This is the opportunity we have in American civil society. This new way of thinking can also lead away from more traditional forms of planning and leading within the sector. This places an emphasis on not only disaster planning, but also focuses attention on vision and aspiration.
Our sector can be the home for people who are transforming their lives toward meaning and purpose and the sector can be the place for serving each other through collective efforts. As we get better at reestablishing our identity, we will find many are ready to join us. They are tired of accumulation guiding work, tired of competition defining worth. They are ready to chop through the roof of misguided imagery and be rescued from misplaced guidance.
I also believe that individuals are seeking opportunities for efficacy. Knowing that our efforts are making a difference in something we care about is a powerful incentive. American civil society can be a location for leading this change in our sector and beyond. We offer to these individuals an opportunity to extend their commitment to service. This is the promise the sector can deliver for our future.
The emerging thinking about imagery from nature can be an effective source of mental models for the sector. Images that reinforce collaboration are vital. The willingness to diminish money measures and substitute images of service is critical. And the elevation of passion and commitment over business acumen can make a difference in the methods we choose to select and develop leaders.
The lessons of Katrina can offer some guidance to leading change in the nonprofit sector. What is most encouraging is the lessons seem to be doing just that – creating a level of readiness for change in this critical aspect of American society.
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Have you ever heard that change is the only constant? Change happens – with or without us! Often, our reactions to change are reflexive—we have built-in responses that ensure our survival and enable us to function. On occasion, change, such as the work of strategic planning teams, requires something more than a reflexive response. It requires the development of new responses. In the field of leadership, this development is often referred to as transformation.
James McGregor Burns (1978) has written that in order for real transformation to occur, there must be a transformation of a belief, behavior, or attitude toward the experience of change. Attitudes toward change can limit, and even sabotage, the long-term success of teams.
Attitudes are choices. Imagine the power of choosing to see each new initiative as part of the continual development of, and transformation toward, a quality way of being and doing the important work at your organization!
Tip: When tempted to have a “flavor of the month” attitude, ask yourself, “what am I willing to learn?” or “what am I willing to be wrong about?” If you view yourself as “the expert” these questions can be particularly powerful. By choosing a learning attitude, you consciously move yourself and your team to the open, and often choppy, waters of creativity where new solutions to constantly evolving challenges can emerge.
Kori Diehl, executive coach and organization development consultant, specializes in transitions and change in the workplace. She works with her clients to identify possibilities for excellence in every challenge. Her clients have included senior level executives in IT, Finance, Marketing, Operations, and Human Resources. Likening the coaching relationship to the ripple effects of a pebble thrown into a pond, Kori embodies her mission: Building leaders who build leaders! Learn more about Kori’s services at http://kdiehlandassociates.com/index.html.
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Leadership - Learning - Change
Lisa Gadd Guillot and Michael E. Guillot believe that the nonprofit sector is vitally important in our world. Our professional practice seeks collaborative efforts with leaders who share our passion for the potential of the sector. We work with nonprofit executives and board members who want to advance their missions through methods that are consistent with the realities of today's world, reflective of current and emerging best practice, and based on research that offers theoretical and pragmatic insights.
We do not believe that anyone benefits from focusing on the negative or being surprised. Our methods reflect appreciative perspectives and build on the strengths present in every leader and organization. Our work with leaders is iterative and transparent. Every party in the engagement knows exactly what is going on, why it is going on, and approves all decisions and documents before moving to the next step.
We also believe that the foundation for all leadership activities is readiness – a state of purposeful awareness and adaptive resilience. We reject the notion that these are tough times filled with insurmountable challenges. We see possibility at every turn and work hard to support leaders who share our optimism and confidence.
We provide a number of proven services that we know can help. The core of our practice is research and teaching. We are active scholars in the nonprofit sector. We present what we learn in accessible language and in a variety of formats suitable to all organizations. We create new models of understanding leadership and change. We recently developed two such approaches: The Ten Building Blocks of Leadership and The Six Q Method.
These approaches are part of every service we provide: strategic planning, board/leadership retreats, organizational assessments, leadership development. We abhor template-driven engagements and take great pride in designing our services to fit exactly what you need.
To that end, we limit the number of clients we work with at any given time. Because we are committed to research, publishing, and teaching, we restrict the nature and duration of engagements to honor that commitment and provide exemplary service. While we utilize experts from around the country in designing and fulfilling our engagements, we manage each project ourselves.
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"Close scrutiny will show that most "crisis situations" are opportunities to either
advance or stay where you are."
- Maxwell Maltz
advance or stay where you are."
- Maxwell Maltz
It would be a shame to waste a good crisis. That is what is upon us now in the nonprofit sector, a potential disaster on a grand scale. Having direct experience with disaster on a personal level, I believe this metaphor offers some insight.
My family and I are Katrina survivors. With the month marking the fifth anniversary of the storm, I am mindful of the pain and trauma we endured during those first days following the hurricane's passing – uncertainty about our own home and business, unable to contact other family members, confusion and anxiety in every face we saw. Those first weeks placed us along with almost a million of our neighbors in short-term survival thinking. It was important and necessary that our focus stayed in that range. However, that kind of thinking is inadequate for anything past the immediate. In fact, survival thinking started to become an additional source of stress and pain.
In order to make clear and thoughtful decisions about the future, we had to put aside immediacy and lift our eyes to a longer horizon. Looking back, some important lessons about the value of a crisis to create an environment for deep change represent learning that can be of value to American civil society as it comes to grip with this current crisis and what will happen next. I offer three lessons that I hope can offer direction to lead change.
Lesson One: When the radar indicates trouble is coming, get ready for trouble.
One of the realities about hurricanes is the early warnings available to those in threatened areas receive. We knew the possibility of Hurricane Katrina striking the New Orleans area at least one week prior to the actual landfall of the storm. In addition, as a storm approaches, the warnings become clearer and more accurate.
Yet despite this, people deny the reality of impending disaster. Ignoring all relevant and important information, many New Orleanians often worried more about preparing for a party than a disaster. On the one hand, the denial of the forecast avoided change, on the other hand, the hubris of "toughing it out" guided others. Either way, staying in harm's way was deadly for many of my neighbors.
The lack of any sense of urgency failed to provide adequate motivation for people to change their behaviors. Change at the developmental level requires information and training from leaders. Such information is readily available to citizens through media and other forms of public outlets. Training is provided at every level of education, from schools, church groups, and civic organizations. Yet the citizens, lacking any sense of urgency because of a history of missed landfalls, were not motivated by information or threats.
In the days leading up to the global economic downturn, were we denying the disaster of our own excesses? Wasn't the nonprofit sector caught up in the same giddy swirls of Wall Street as we saw revenues and salaries escalate? Perhaps others wiser than me about economics can look back and see the radar alerts, but since we turned the sector over to the marketplace, weren't we denying the warnings and "staying the course" of unreal growth?
Here is the lesson for me, that by losing our identity we lost our ability to listen to the early warnings. We weren't ready for trouble because we didn't want to believe that trouble was coming. We were winning. Philanthropy was at record highs, executive compensation was skyrocketing, and the trappings of the private sector seduced many into paneled board rooms and corporate style management.
Hindsight shows the warning signs of trouble were all there. Many nonprofits invested their endowments with Madoff's scheming plan and never questioned the outrageous earnings they were receiving. That's not stewardship, that is greed. Perhaps some of those earnings may have to be returned to compensate the many other victims of this criminal. Perhaps some of the nonprofits who benefitted from this illegal activity should offer that compensation without the compulsion of a court.
The excessive compensation of United Way executives in New York and Charlotte, the obscene fraud of televangelists Swaggart and Baker, the New Jersey Symphony and Seton Hall University having to return donations from members of the mob: these are just a few of an unfortunately increasing number of scandals that should have sounded the alert on radar. Trouble was coming, and we ignored it. Shame on us.
Lesson Two: No matter what anyone says, you're on your own.
Few examples in American history are clearer in demonstrating the failure of a nation to serve its people than Hurricane Katrina. Neither the public, private, nor the nonprofit sector delivered on the promise made to the citizens of the region. In reality, we were left to fend for ourselves long before we knew it. What we thought was available, from our government, from our insurance company, from the Red Cross, was washed away with our homes. Otto Scharmer notes that "the bigger the gap between exterior systemic complexity and the interior capacity to access the deeper streams of emergence, the more likely a system will go off track and revert to a destructive space of anti-emergence." In this negative worldview, it is difficult to recognize anything new. The world is seen only from our own perspective and blindness to other views is rampant.
If the nonprofit sector is ready for change, it is unlikely to come from board members. Most board members (and executives for that matter) remain fixed in a paradigm of the past, a "stuck" way of thinking that values business acumen over wisdom, and ability to donate over ability to serve. Their commentary is sustaining the outdated mythology of what trustee service really is and how it matters. And that is why I am convinced that trustees do not represent the place where change can start. So, if we are going to lead change and take full advantage of the crisis, nonprofit executives are on their own to initiate any sustainable change. Perhaps it is by forming a sector-wide coalition of nonprofit executives and trustees that transformational change be realized. But for that to happen, a new way of thinking and imagining the sector must be available.
Whether by design or neglect, most board members come to their task well intentioned but hopelessly uninformed. With rare exception, the orientation of trustees to serve on boards is haphazard or ignored. The current model of executive-trustee relationships creates an adversarial atmosphere. As executives have become more professionalized, trustees view them as "temporary staff" who are just passing through. And executives, who distrust the viability of effectively pleasing dozens of bosses, often provide minimal information and deliver only good news as they cheerlead their way through a year or two of board meetings before moving on to the next organization.
And since we fill our boards with business leaders, executives only have to demonstrate the ability to raise money and keep the auditors happy and the board rubber stamps decisions. Trustees are not prepared to lead change in the nonprofit sector.
Nonprofit executives are in a position to lead by engaging their trustees in a new way. Shifting the mental model of their relationships into collaborative is representative of the shift that must occur in the sector, a comprehensive move away from "profit" strategies and a clear and consistent focus on mission and service. Executives also are in a position to lead this change because they are the primary and often single source for board membership recruitment and training. Few boards are capable of sustaining their own leadership without direct management from their executives. In an unusual aspect of the sector, the executive in effect gets to select and train his own supervisors. When we can shift away from that ineffective structure and create generative leadership among executives and trustees, then the chance for sustainable change is available to organizations and the sector.
The sector will not be led to a new level of service by trustees or executives alone. If this change is to take place, the leadership will come from an enlightened coalition from both groups that will be able to look beyond immediacy and learn from the future.
Lesson Three: Keep an Ax in the Attic.
My grandmother showed me the ax in her attic when I was a little boy. This was an old New Orleans custom. Keeping an ax in the attic was the safety exit from the house in the event of rising floodwaters. As televised around the world, many of those rescued from rooftops during the flood of the city had chopped their way through the roof to get out. An ax in the attic was a recognition that the worst could happen and that you should be prepared.
The worst has happened for our sector. That's the bad news. The good news, we have an ax in the attic. Change is available in the sector because the identity of the sector is aligned with the opportunities emerging from the crisis. As people "hit the reset button" on the directions of their own lives and of the organizations they join, I am convinced civil society will serve as the common ground for new leadership and new vocations.
One thing a crisis teaches you – it teaches you what really matters. Losing a home and a business is devastating, but it doesn't really matter. Creating and acquiring wealth, then losing it, doesn't really matter. People around the world are rethinking their own pursuits and dreams, they are reevaluating priorities, they are transcending loss and realizing profound and deep gains. This is the opportunity we have in American civil society. This new way of thinking can also lead away from more traditional forms of planning and leading within the sector. This places an emphasis on not only disaster planning, but also focuses attention on vision and aspiration.
Our sector can be the home for people who are transforming their lives toward meaning and purpose and the sector can be the place for serving each other through collective efforts. As we get better at reestablishing our identity, we will find many are ready to join us. They are tired of accumulation guiding work, tired of competition defining worth. They are ready to chop through the roof of misguided imagery and be rescued from misplaced guidance.
I also believe that individuals are seeking opportunities for efficacy. Knowing that our efforts are making a difference in something we care about is a powerful incentive. American civil society can be a location for leading this change in our sector and beyond. We offer to these individuals an opportunity to extend their commitment to service. This is the promise the sector can deliver for our future.
The emerging thinking about imagery from nature can be an effective source of mental models for the sector. Images that reinforce collaboration are vital. The willingness to diminish money measures and substitute images of service is critical. And the elevation of passion and commitment over business acumen can make a difference in the methods we choose to select and develop leaders.
The lessons of Katrina can offer some guidance to leading change in the nonprofit sector. What is most encouraging is the lessons seem to be doing just that – creating a level of readiness for change in this critical aspect of American society.
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“Not another change project?!?!?!?” -- Beyond a “flavor of the month” attitude by Kori Diehl, Ph.D., MBA, ACC
Have you ever heard that change is the only constant? Change happens – with or without us! Often, our reactions to change are reflexive—we have built-in responses that ensure our survival and enable us to function. On occasion, change, such as the work of strategic planning teams, requires something more than a reflexive response. It requires the development of new responses. In the field of leadership, this development is often referred to as transformation.
James McGregor Burns (1978) has written that in order for real transformation to occur, there must be a transformation of a belief, behavior, or attitude toward the experience of change. Attitudes toward change can limit, and even sabotage, the long-term success of teams.
Attitudes are choices. Imagine the power of choosing to see each new initiative as part of the continual development of, and transformation toward, a quality way of being and doing the important work at your organization!
Tip: When tempted to have a “flavor of the month” attitude, ask yourself, “what am I willing to learn?” or “what am I willing to be wrong about?” If you view yourself as “the expert” these questions can be particularly powerful. By choosing a learning attitude, you consciously move yourself and your team to the open, and often choppy, waters of creativity where new solutions to constantly evolving challenges can emerge.
Kori Diehl, executive coach and organization development consultant, specializes in transitions and change in the workplace. She works with her clients to identify possibilities for excellence in every challenge. Her clients have included senior level executives in IT, Finance, Marketing, Operations, and Human Resources. Likening the coaching relationship to the ripple effects of a pebble thrown into a pond, Kori embodies her mission: Building leaders who build leaders! Learn more about Kori’s services at http://kdiehlandassociates.com/index.html.
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Leadership - Learning - Change
Lisa Gadd Guillot and Michael E. Guillot believe that the nonprofit sector is vitally important in our world. Our professional practice seeks collaborative efforts with leaders who share our passion for the potential of the sector. We work with nonprofit executives and board members who want to advance their missions through methods that are consistent with the realities of today's world, reflective of current and emerging best practice, and based on research that offers theoretical and pragmatic insights.
We do not believe that anyone benefits from focusing on the negative or being surprised. Our methods reflect appreciative perspectives and build on the strengths present in every leader and organization. Our work with leaders is iterative and transparent. Every party in the engagement knows exactly what is going on, why it is going on, and approves all decisions and documents before moving to the next step.
We also believe that the foundation for all leadership activities is readiness – a state of purposeful awareness and adaptive resilience. We reject the notion that these are tough times filled with insurmountable challenges. We see possibility at every turn and work hard to support leaders who share our optimism and confidence.
We provide a number of proven services that we know can help. The core of our practice is research and teaching. We are active scholars in the nonprofit sector. We present what we learn in accessible language and in a variety of formats suitable to all organizations. We create new models of understanding leadership and change. We recently developed two such approaches: The Ten Building Blocks of Leadership and The Six Q Method.
These approaches are part of every service we provide: strategic planning, board/leadership retreats, organizational assessments, leadership development. We abhor template-driven engagements and take great pride in designing our services to fit exactly what you need.
To that end, we limit the number of clients we work with at any given time. Because we are committed to research, publishing, and teaching, we restrict the nature and duration of engagements to honor that commitment and provide exemplary service. While we utilize experts from around the country in designing and fulfilling our engagements, we manage each project ourselves.
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An Important Distinction
Why does it seem that the majority of books available to nonprofit executives are those written by coaches, generals, or corporate tycoons? How can we address the appropriate enlistment of trustees from the private and public sectors that effectively takes full advantage of their experience and wisdom in guiding the nonprofit organization, yet at the same time orients them to their trustee role in such a way that mediates that experience with the reality of nonprofit leadership?
In his work Leadership for the Twenty-First Century, Joseph Rost differentiates management and leadership in a way that makes sense for understanding the nature of change within the independent sector. Rost defines management as “an authority relationship between at least one manager and one subordinate who coordinate their activities to produce and sell particular goods and/or services.” He goes on to define leadership as “an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real change that reflect mutual purposes.”
First, this distinction is relevant because it goes to the heart of the difference between the nonprofit enterprise and the work of the private sector. The term “nonprofit” itself establishes a fundamental difference in the purpose of the organization – and therefore a fundamental difference in the purpose of leadership and change. Nonprofit leaders are not mandated to make money for shareholders. And yet that is all that seems to matter. No ready path seems available that is free from monetary concerns yet still advances the mission of the organization. Because mission, not money, is the bottom line of civil society, the persistence of a funding model that demands profitability tears apart the fabric of the sector and marginalizes leaders and organizations that cannot deliver affluence or influence.
Second, this distinction between management and leadership matters regarding the way we choose to measure success. If mission, not money, is the bottom line for civil society, then what do we count to know if what we are doing is working? How do we report to thecommunity about the effectiveness of our work and hold leadership accountable for their work? We gravitate to money because it is easy, not because it is appropriate. By filling the boards with leaders from the business community, we gradually transform the nonprofit endeavor from a small, focused effort of a few champions to a corporate-like organizational chart run by accountants and lawyers. Management seeks efficiency and audited financial statements representing a reduction of complexity that creates an illusion of substance. Often, management seeks ever increasing fundraising goals and rewards those who meet those goals, regardless of impact on mission or service. Leadership seeks effectiveness in advancing the mission, working hard to hold onto ambiguity and embracing the complexity of serving a diverse and ever-changing community. New measures are needed to give us a true picture of what is working and why.
Why does it seem that the majority of books available to nonprofit executives are those written by coaches, generals, or corporate tycoons? How can we address the appropriate enlistment of trustees from the private and public sectors that effectively takes full advantage of their experience and wisdom in guiding the nonprofit organization, yet at the same time orients them to their trustee role in such a way that mediates that experience with the reality of nonprofit leadership?
In his work Leadership for the Twenty-First Century, Joseph Rost differentiates management and leadership in a way that makes sense for understanding the nature of change within the independent sector. Rost defines management as “an authority relationship between at least one manager and one subordinate who coordinate their activities to produce and sell particular goods and/or services.” He goes on to define leadership as “an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real change that reflect mutual purposes.”
First, this distinction is relevant because it goes to the heart of the difference between the nonprofit enterprise and the work of the private sector. The term “nonprofit” itself establishes a fundamental difference in the purpose of the organization – and therefore a fundamental difference in the purpose of leadership and change. Nonprofit leaders are not mandated to make money for shareholders. And yet that is all that seems to matter. No ready path seems available that is free from monetary concerns yet still advances the mission of the organization. Because mission, not money, is the bottom line of civil society, the persistence of a funding model that demands profitability tears apart the fabric of the sector and marginalizes leaders and organizations that cannot deliver affluence or influence.
Second, this distinction between management and leadership matters regarding the way we choose to measure success. If mission, not money, is the bottom line for civil society, then what do we count to know if what we are doing is working? How do we report to thecommunity about the effectiveness of our work and hold leadership accountable for their work? We gravitate to money because it is easy, not because it is appropriate. By filling the boards with leaders from the business community, we gradually transform the nonprofit endeavor from a small, focused effort of a few champions to a corporate-like organizational chart run by accountants and lawyers. Management seeks efficiency and audited financial statements representing a reduction of complexity that creates an illusion of substance. Often, management seeks ever increasing fundraising goals and rewards those who meet those goals, regardless of impact on mission or service. Leadership seeks effectiveness in advancing the mission, working hard to hold onto ambiguity and embracing the complexity of serving a diverse and ever-changing community. New measures are needed to give us a true picture of what is working and why.
Third, this distinction between management and leadership matters to the people who choose to lead nonprofit organizations. Unrealistic expectations plague those who want to serve their communities through professional or volunteer leadership roles within the sector. Increasing demands to generate more revenue and external pressures from new laws and regulations mean the commitment to serve through the civil society is more complex and riddled with stress at every turn. Board members are rarely well informed about their organizations or the sector, holding all the legal and fiduciary responsibilities without critical information or insight. Executives are at the mercy of their boards, encouraged to recruit “high-powered business types” for trustee positions yet unable to resist their notions of how best to run the organization. The inability to focus on service rather than production means that executives and trustees alike spend more time talking to attorneys and accountants than clients and staff members. As long as these pressures persist, the ability of leadership will be hampered.
It is time to change the “mental model” of the sector away from profit and competition imagery. The broken economic system we hang to without any sense of relief is our chance, to realize that things are indeed different, that we are not doomed to suffer the vagariesof market forces and fail to meet our hopes of service and inclusion to many American citizens. We can do much better.