Is your non-profit designed for performance?

January 17, 2014 erik organizational development

Fighting the Physics

By John Greco
Originally published on April 9, 2012
Re-posted with permission from johnponders blog
performance7 “Grab a piece of paper. Make your best paper airplane.”
And the management workshop immediately takes off!
“Okay, let ‘em fly!”
Some take flight spectacularly. Others not so much. This usually causes some guffaws, and some good natured ribbing. I generally pick one of the more “flight-challenged” ones —
“Okay, Bill, come on up to the front of the room. Here’s what I want you to do. I want you to fly your plane right down the center of the room. Aim right for Debbie, right at her! and have it land on the table right in front of her. Can you picture that? Be positive. You can do it! Okay, keep the vision of that flight in your mind, and let it fly.”
The airplane generally goes anywhere but down the center of the room. Debbie is momentarily relieved.
“Bill; let’s try again. You can do this! I believe in you. Remember the vision? Right down the center of the room, right at Debbie. But this time, let me give you a quick training lesson. Hold your airplane a third of the way from the point, between your thumb and forefinger. Flex your elbow, pull it back, envision the flight, and then advance your arm and release. Okay, try it.”
The airplane again goes anywhere but down the center of the room. Debbie starts to realize she has nothing to fear.
“Okay, Bill, let’s get serious. I’ve got twenty dollars here (as I pull a twenty out of my pocket) and it is all yours if you simply fly your plane down the center of the room, right at Debbie, and have it land right in front of her. Envision the flight, use the technique I showed you, and think of that twenty. Okay, go!”
The airplane now goes … not down the center. And not by Debbie; she’s pretty relaxed and smiling now…
“Alright Bill. (My tone has changed.) “Bill, I told you I believe in you, and still do, but this is your plane to fly. I asked you to envision your plane flying down the center, to Debbie. I trained you. I even motivated you with a twenty in cash. I’m running out of patience. I need you to fly your plane down the center of the room at Debbie. Or else. Do it.”
Nothing different; no improvement whatsoever.
“I don’t understand. I believed in you Bill. I helped you envision success. I trained you. I motivated you. And then I threatened you. And now I need to fire you…”
performance8 Often in these sessions, after one or two unsuccessful flights I see the “pilot” start adjusting the paper plane: a different fold there, a bending of the wings, sharper folds at the point… When I see this, I react —“Whoa!” What are you doing?”
“Adjusting the plane so it will fly better.”
Hmmm. Yes indeed. Adjusting the plane to fly better.
Paper planes — and organizations — fly as they are designed. Their performance is fundamentally by design.
And when we want a certain type or level of performance from a paper plane or organization that is not designed to produce that performance, we are in fact “fighting the physics.”
Fighting the physics is what we do when we expect results from a system that has not been designed to produce those results. It reflects an ignorance of cause and effect; it points fingers and places blame on the people in the system instead of the design of the system.

We fight the physics when we expect teamwork while rewarding individual achievement.
We fight the physics when we encourage innovation while emphasizing sacred cows, third rails, and CLMs (career-limiting moves).
We fight the physics when we expect speed and responsiveness in customer service while structuring multiple layers, enforcing centralized decision making and requiring formal communication channels.
We fight the physics when we expect efficiency while not investing in repeatable processes and enabling technology.

Now; there’s nothing wrong with positive thinking; research supports the benefits of a positive mental attitude. Research also supports how envisioning an outcome can help actualize the vision. No doubt that when we have a skill or knowledge gap, training makes a difference. Incentives, be they monetary or otherwise, certainly do get our attention. As do threats.
But if the ~~organization~~ plane was not designed to fly down the center of the room and land in front of Debbie, no amount of positive thinking, envisioning, training, motivation, and threats will fundamentally and substantially improve it’s performance.
Fighting the physics always results in the physics winning.
Debbie is safe.
We are not.
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Changing your agency's culture means double loop learning

January 10, 2014 erik organizational development

Management by Walking Around . . . in a Loop

By John Greco
Originally published on March 17, 2012
Re-posted with permission from johnponders blog
single loop1 A CEO who had begun to practice his own form of “management-by-walking-around” learned from his employees that the company inhibited innovation by subjecting every new idea to more than 275 separate checks and sign-offs. He promptly appointed a task force to look at this situation, and it eliminated 200 of the obstacles. The result was a higher innovation rate.
— Chris Argyris, Good Communication That Blocks Learning

Finally, a success story in one of these posts!

Not so fast.
This may sound like a success story, but, is it? It certainly is; the CEO uncovers a flawed process and, with his team, drives a dramatic improvement.
What’s not to like?
Chris Argyris would call the CEO’s work above a great example of “single-loop learning;” addressing an issue but leaving the more fundamental problem unexamined and unsolved.
A double-loop approach would have the CEO asking some tougher questions; questions about — yes, you guessed it — the company culture.
Good: “How long have you known about the 275 required sign-offs?”
Better: “What goes on in this company that prevented you from questioning these practices and getting them corrected or eliminated?”
Best: “What beliefs do my leaders hold, and what behaviors do they exhibit, that lead them to support and embed a process that requires 275 sign-offs and approvals?
single loop2 Phenomenal!: “What assumptions am I making and what biases do I hold that are manifesting themselves in the culture of this organization, leading to an approval process with 275 signoffs and associates that are reticent to challenge that process?
Double-loop learning asks questions to understand what’s underneath the visible, presenting problem. It seeks the fundamental cause and effect.
I often get accused of asking too many questions. In fact, a couple of years ago, after a quarterly meeting, I was approached by a peer and admonished: “John, you are asking too many tough questions. You are putting people on the defensive. You need to fit in more, go with the flow of the presentations.”
<sigh>
I feel compelled to help others (and myself) break out of the single loop! Interestingly, though, most managers are thrilled when they successfully walk the single loop. In fact, don’t most organizations reward managers that are effective in walking the single loop? They are always solving problems, right?
So why incessantly ask questions that seem to deny the good work that they’ve just done and that everybody else recognizes?
Besides; who has time? I mean, there’s so many other pressing problems to solve!
I keep asking because one successful double loop walk is worth many, many; yes, many single loop walks…
Management by walking around… in a double loop. Make a difference.

Does your non-profit culture contain bears?

January 3, 2014 erik organizational development

Run!

By John Greco
Originally published on April 19, 2012
Re-posted with permission from johnponders blog
Two men were walking through the woods when a large bear walked out into the clearing no more than 50 feet in front of them.
The first man dropped his backpack and dug out a pair of running shoes, then began to furiously attempt to lace them up as the bear slowly approached them.
The second man looked at the first, confused, and said, “What are you doing? Running shoes aren’t going to help, you can’t out run that bear.”
“I don’t need to. I just need to out run you.”
[Author unknown, but greatly appreciated! If you or anyone you know has a proprietary interest in this story please authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as appropriate.]

bear2 Ha!
Think of your co-workers, or your circle of friends.
Would you take off and leave them for bear food?
Would they take off and leave you for bear food?
In the organizations we work in, if we see this kind of behavior on an isolated, every now and then basis, we would likely be safe to attribute it to unbridled ambition, to competitive spirit run amuck.
But if we see this consistently, broader …
Have you ever worked in a culture where there were ever present threats, where there was a palpable feeling that to survive you needed to, well, look out for yourself at every turn? Every man for himself?
Not exactly a culture, one would think, that drives cooperation, communication, collaboration… and not exactly a culture that we would predict would produce stellar results.
bear3 But here’s something we can predict: embedded in these cultures we will find organizational policies and/or management practices that pit one associate against another … we will find policies and/or practices that recognize and reward individual achievement without also recognizing and rewarding teamwork and team results … and we will find organizational initiatives that at best only temporarily solves problems (because they only address symptoms) without real and substantial effort and action to fundamentally address the root causes of problems.
In other words, we will find the bear.
RUN!

Do the 'engagement equations' govern your non-profit?

December 27, 2013 erik Board governance, organizational development, volunteers

Doing the Math; Not Necessary!

By John Greco
Originally published on March 9, 2012
Re-posted with permission from johnponders blog
“I regard it in fact as the great advantage of the mathematical technique that it allows us to describe, by means of algebraic equations, the general character of a pattern even where we are ignorant of the numerical values which will determine its particular manifestation.”
— Friedrich August von Hayek

Say what? Algebraic equations?  Where might this be going?!?
Here goes: we can equate certain actions, or conditions, or results — without applying numerical rigor — and yet produce a meaningful, insightful, valuable answer.

I’m going to attempt to do Friedrich proud… While my finance, accounting, and engineering friends might cringe, I am going to pose a couple of equations that I think are incredibly meaningful in describing organizational life, yet they require no calculation whatsoever. I call them my “engagement equations.”
First up:  Involvement = Commitment.
The general idea here is that as we involve people in diagnosing and solving problems, their commitment to carrying out the resulting course of action grows stronger. Hence, more involvement means increased commitment.
That’s the proactive application of the equation. The reactive application might be when we see low commitment, we should suspect low involvement. And the prescriptive: if leaders want a more committed workforce, they should first seek to involve the workforce in diagnosing why there is low commitment!
Bottom line, we can equate commitment with involvement and be pretty confident it’s not a false equivalence.
I promised two, so next up:  Performance = Freedom.
This one’s about the length of the leash. It prompts us to consider that when an individual or team is performing well, we should allow them more space, more autonomy, more freedom. We might get even more performance …
And, of course, there is the flip side: when performance is slipping, more attention might be warranted. Narrow the range, focus on the action.
math2

(I feel compelled to counter a possible negative perception of this last point by noting that isn’t it a very good thing if a manager sees when an associate or team is struggling, and at the right time and in the right way enters the picture and provides just the right amount of help to get back on the right track? Less freedom is not always a bad thing!)
Shifting our attention to the other side of the equal sign, freedom — autonomy — when earned by performing, can move performance to yet another level; and when there is no freedom, it might very well be thecause of the lagging performance, and not the effect.
Before I close, I can’t help but point out a bit of irony I see when looking at these two engagement equations together… One says “come closer, get involved” whereas the other suggests “I should leave you alone; you’re good!”
And what about the synergy? Involvement equals commitment can driveperformance, and performance equals freedom can enhance commitment!
So there you go, my “engagement equations” … which, honestly, factor into a lot of my work when seeking to improve organizational effectiveness. And I thought I’d never apply that algebra class in real life…
math3

I look forward to seeing the ones that you’ve run across!
Lastly, in closing, one more — a bonus! — a pretty well known non-mathematical equation, presented in song! from none other than Sir Paul McCartney and his Beatle buddies —
And, in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make.

Is your non-profit rich beyond its wildest dreams?

December 20, 2013 erik organizational development

Cubicle Diamonds

By John Greco
Originally published on March 15, 2012
Re-posted with permission from johnponders blog
An African farmer heard tales about people who had made millions by discovering diamond mines. These tales so excited the farmer that he could hardly wait to go prospecting for diamonds himself. He sold the farm and spent the rest of his life wandering the African continent searching unsuccessfully for the gleaming gems that brought such high prices on the markets of the world. Finally, worn out and in a fit of despondency, he threw himself into a river and drowned.
Meanwhile, the man who had bought his farm happened to be crossing a small stream on the property one day, when suddenly there was a bright flash of blue and red light from the stream bottom. He bent down and picked up a stone…
It turned out to be one of the largest diamonds ever discovered.
And his creek was full of such stones, not all as large, but nonetheless valuable…  The farm the first farmer had sold, so that he might find a diamond mine, turned out to be one of the most productive diamond mines on the entire African continent.
That first farmer had owned, literally, acres of diamonds, but he didn’t look there.
— Update, from a reader: From a lecture by Russell Conwell and popularized by Earl Nightingale many years ago.  Thanks Deb!

This is a pretty well-traveled story, with a pretty straightforward lesson.
Before you look out, look in. You may already have what you need to accomplish what you want.
I’m going to “mine” this differently.
There are diamonds of a sort all around you now. Can you see them?
Look outside your office. Down the hallway. In the cafeteria. Every single meeting you go to. And all the ones you don’t.
diamonds2 Jerry, the financial analyst, can make a mean bouillabaisse. Mary, the executive admin, is a Toastmasters organizer. Julie, in inside sales, does graphic design for her church’s marketing pieces. Peggy, in tech support, is a stand up comedian. Bill, in logistics, does resumes on the side for family and friends. Susan, in customer support, is on the board of a local non-profit. Judy, a software tester, volunteers at the local hospice. Christian, a call center agent, paints. John, an industrial engineering manager, blogs. Damian, a research analyst, is an actor in a local drama troupe.
Diamonds, all.

Our people are our greatest asset.

Indeed.
Too bad their added value is off the books.
Undiscovered, in cubicles, unmined.

Scandal, crisis and abusing your non-profit brand

December 17, 2013 erik organizational development, Planning

crisis2 Sometimes I think the universe speaks to us, and lately it has been begging me to write this blog. Over the last few months, I’ve spoken with a good handful of non-profit professionals who have shared stories of scandal and crisis that would make your toes curl. These stories have ranged from incidents on the front line that made the local newspaper to outright embezzlement.
The tipping point for me was last week when I was visiting a client and prior to the start of our meeting a board volunteer brought up the name of William Aramony.
Now before I proceed let me say that a number of my United Way friends are rolling their eyes right now. I can almost hear them saying, “Come on, Erik. Give us a break. Do you have to tell that horrible story again? It is so 20th Century and stuff for the history books.”
crisis3 For the record, I agree with my United Way friends. If you don’t know about William Aramony, what you need to know for this blog post is:

He was an iconic CEO of United Way of America
He was accused of wrongdoing
It was a national news story for a long time
He ultimately resigned and served a little jail time

The details of the scandal aren’t important here. What is important is that this scandal occurred in 1990, which is more than 20 years ago. Heck, Bill Aramony died in 2011. But this story has legs as they say in the news industry.
The board volunteer who raised the specter of Bill Aramony last week did so almost as if that news story had just happened recently.
I am trying to make the following points:

People have long memories
Donors are often not very forgiving
Scandals can do long term damage to your brand

Perhaps, I am a cynic on this subject, but I believe that all non-profit organizations are likely to experience scandal at least a few times in their organization’s life span. There is bound to be an incident where accusations are made and lawsuits are filed. When you deal with employees, there is likely going to be a messy HR issue from time to time.
I think Abraham Lincoln put it best when he said:

“You can please some of the people some of the time all of the people some of the time some of the people all of the time but you can never please all of the people all of the time.”

So, what should a non-profit do to prepare itself?

You should have written policies designed to minimize your liability and exposure.
You should have plans designed to help guide your agency through crisis (e.g. crisis communications plan).
You should review yours plans and policies every year.
You should be sitting down with your top donors every year just to touch base and see what they’re thinking.

Plans & Policies
crisis1 You can probably spend the rest of your life writing policies, but let’s not get carried away. Here are a few questions I suggest you ask as you start going down this road:

Do you have a criminal background check policy when it comes to your employees, volunteers and board members?
Do you have policies pertaining to the safety and security of your clients?
Do you have policies that address the subject of injuries?
Does your organization utilize technology? If so, do you have policies addressing the use of technology?
Do you have an employee handbook or employment policies?
Do you have a written crisis management plan? If so, do you review it often with staff and clients? (e.g. fire drills, etc)
Do you have a crisis communications plan?
Do you have appropriate insurance coverage? How do you know? How often do you review it?

I suspect you have some of this in place and the rest is on a to-do-list somewhere.
This is not work for your board to tackle. It is committee work. If you don’t believe in standing committees of the board, then it is task force work.
But the bottom line is that it is WORK. Work to develop them. Work to regularly review them. Work to monitor them and assure compliance.
Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work because it only takes one good crisis or scandal to do series damage to your non-profit brand.
If you don’t believe me, go ask your local United Way executive director to tell you about William Aramony. Just be prepared to get an earful. 😉
Has your organization (or another one in your community) ever had to dig out of a big hole created by crisis or scandal? If so, how long did it take? What did you do to reset the playing field? Please share your thoughts in the comment box below.
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Does your non-profit board sometimes do the opposite of what it wants to do?

December 13, 2013 erik Board governance, organizational development

Jerry’s Trip to Abilene

By John Greco
Originally published on March 15, 2012
Re-posted with permission from johnponders blog
That July afternoon in Coleman, Texas was particularly hot — 104 degrees according to the Walgreen’s Rexall’s thermometer. In addition, the wind was blowing fine-grained Texas topsoil through the house. But the afternoon was still tolerable; even potentially enjoyable. A fan was stirring the air on the back porch; there was cold lemonade; and finally, there was entertainment. Dominoes. Perfect for the conditions. The game requires little more physical exertion than an occasional mumbled comment, “Shuffle ‘em,” and an unhurried movement of the arm to place the tiles in their appropriate positions on the table. All in all, it had the makings of an agreeable Sunday afternoon in Coleman. That is, until my father-in-law suddenly said, “Let’s get in the car and go to Abilene and have dinner at the cafeteria.”
I thought, “What, go to Abilene? Fifty-three miles? In this dust storm and heat? And in an unconditioned 1958 Buick?”
But my wife chimed in with, “Sounds like a great idea. I’d like to go. How about you Jerry?” Since my own preferences were out of step with the rest, I replied, “Sounds good to me,” and added, “I just hope your mother wants to go.”
“Of course I want to go,” said my mother-in-law. “I haven’t been to Abilene in a long time.”
So into the car and off to Abilene we went. My predictions were fulfilled. The heat was brutal. Perspiration had cemented a fine layer of dust to our skin by the time we arrived. The cafeteria’s food could serve as a first-rate prop in an antacid commercial.
Some four hours and 106 miles later, we returned to Coleman, hot and exhausted. We silently sat in front of the fan for a long time. Then, to be sociable and to break the silence, I dishonestly said, “It was a great trip, wasn’t it?”
No one spoke.
Finally, my mother-in-law said, with some irritation, “Well, to tell you the truth, I really didn’t enjoy it much and would rather have stayed here. I just went along because the three of you were so enthusiastic about going. I wouldn’t have gone if you all hadn’t pressured me into it.”
I couldn’t believe it. “What do you mean ‘you’all?” I said. Don’t put me in the ‘you’all’ group. I was delighted to be doing what we were doing. I didn’t want to go. I only went to satisfy the rest of you. You’re the culprits.”
My wife looked shocked. “Don’t call me a culprit. You and Daddy and Mama were the ones who wanted to go. I just went along to keep you happy. I would have had to be crazy to go out in heat like that.”
Her father entered the conversation with one word: “Shee-it.” He then expanded on what was already clear: “Listen, I never wanted to go to Abilene. I just thought you might be bored. You visit so seldom I just wanted to be sure you enjoyed it. I would have preferred to play another game of dominoes and eat the leftovers in the icebox.”
After the outburst of incrimination, we all sat back in silence. Here we were, four reasonably sensible people who — of our own volition — had just taken a 106-mile trip across a godforsaken desert in furnace-like heat and a dust storm to eat unpalatable food at a hole-in-the-wall cafeteria in Abilene, when none of us had really wanted to go. To be concise, we’d done just the opposite of what we wanted to do. The whole situation simply didn’t make sense.

— Jerry Harvey, The Abilene Paradox and Other Meditations on Management.

My first exposure to this story was as I was unknowingly about to experience it…
Three colleagues and I were all out-of-towners in Memphis for business. After a stressful day at work we had just had a nice dinner. While leaving the restaurant Don suggested “You guys want to continue our discussion while we drive around Memphis a bit? Jude responded with a lukewarm “okay;” I said I’m up for it, even though I was tired and wanted some down time. Then mild-mannered, soft-spoken Laura chimed in with “sounds like we might be taking a trip to Abilene …”
I didn’t get the reference.
Thankfully, Don knew exactly what she meant, and we went back to our respective hotel rooms for the evening.
The lesson never has left me.
That might be because I have since seen teams of smart and committed people going on their own trips to Abilene… and some of these teams included me. None of them, quite obviously, included Laura.
Yes; I have been in Abilene-bound meetings and I have been on Abilene-bound teams. Have you as well? Have you seen some of these trips being taken, and perhaps you might admit your participation as well? … Odd, isn’t it?
Odd, unsatisfying, and unhelpful.
There’s a powerful social dynamic at play here. I need to bone up on what exactly that is, but, for now, I just know that I do not want to take any more trips to Abilene.
I need to take a trip and find Laura… or, I need to become Laura.

Are your agency's employee performance plans full of pixie dust?

December 6, 2013 erik organizational development

Sprinkling the Pixie Dust

By John Greco
Originally published on March 25, 2012
Re-posted with permission from johnponders blog

pixie2 I was very new to the company.

I was in a meeting with the regional vice president and the regional staff. The region was underperforming. We were a few months into the new fiscal year, and we were already trending far short of our productivity target. It was time to act, to get back on track.

And then I heard the action that I immediately knew had absolutely, positively no leverage.

“We’ll just have to raise everybody’s goal then!” the RVP spouted.

Huh? I thought I had misheard. Raising a goal will help improve performance when performance is already short of the goal?

Inexplicable.

How can we make sense of this? I only have one theory —the RVP and staff must believe that his management team and perhaps his associates are not putting forth their best effort. Somehow raising the goal to increase the gap between actual and expected will kick everyone in gear, and boost performance. It would be the increased dissonance that would provoke improved productivity.

I wouldn’t bet on it, would you?

What I think was really going on (I didn’t have this insight then) is that RVP and his staff didn’t have any idea how to improve performance. They felt helpless; powerless. But they did have the power to set the bar. So they did what they could.

So, when on the national conference call he was asked about the disturbing early trend, he could confidently say: “Yes, I’m on top of that; I’ve already taken action.”

Action without any leverage. Might as well sprinkle a little pixie dust!

But, beyond the fact that there’s no way that action will prove effective, there’s another consequence, a more insidious, more harmful, consequence.

This kind of leadership produces a loss of confidence; it produces a loss of hope by employees in the ability of their leaders to make decisions and take actions that make a difference.

So, if you’re with me, what started as a leader and his staff being helpless to correct underperformance led to an action that actually produced a helplessness in his people.

Less than zero leverage. Not no effect; negative effect.

Absolutely, positively.

Pass the pixie dust please?

How is technology changing your non-profit organization?

November 29, 2013 erik organizational development, technology

The School Bus Won’t Wait

By John Greco
Originally published on May 21, 2012
Re-posted with permission from johnponders blog

David was a tenured college professor. While an expert in his field, he knew very little about computers; just enough in fact to get on a network and ask for help. Fortunately, a more experienced user came to his aid, never failing to give just the right advice.

One morning, when a vexing problem was plaguing him, his expert advisor who had been on-line with him for over an hour, said, “I’ve got to go.” David pleaded with him, “You can’t leave me, we’ve almost found the solution.”

Across the electronic world came the next sentence: “You don’t understand, my school bus won’t wait for me.”

David thought for a moment, his curiosity mounting, “How old are you?” he asked.

“I’m twelve,” was the response on his screen, “and I’ll talk to you later.”

A few short years ago, we couldn’t have even imagined such a scenario. In the past, proximity and commonality brought us together. We had family and close friends; help came from familiar places.

Today, help can come from anywhere, from anyone, at any time, on anything. Help can come from the most unlikely people. And from the most unlikely places.

A twelve year old across the globe can help a college professor.

There is great potential in the invisible network of an electronic community, no? Technology is enabling us to connect like never before, opening up possibilities like never before.

We can pretty clearly see the upside for problem solving and innovation, speed and progress, quality and quantity of work.

But just think of the possibilities for changing our attitudes; our prejudices and biases; of slowly dissolving bigotry, and discrimination; and racism, sexism, ageism …

Even the possibilities for relationships! Today, my son can play an online, real-time game with like-minded people from all across the world, and in so doing, develop a friendship with a girl a thousand miles away that has real meaning.

Gives new meaning to “the girl next door” doesn’t it? She can now be here, there, anywhere!

I can imagine a lot, but I can’t imagine what life will be like 100 years from now. You and I will never know. Even my mom’s upcoming fourth great-grandchild may not know.

I wonder who my mom’s fourth great-grandchild will have as friends and family? It certainly does suggest a different slant on “extended family” …

And I wonder who will be helping my mom’s fourth great-grandchild when she is an aging professional seeking help with the emerging technology of that time?

Technology. Adapting to change. And possibility.

As I age, and as technology advances, it is likely I will start falling behind. It is already happening. I have a cell phone that I only use to make telephone calls. :-)

And I already see that I’m not adapting fast enough to keep pace with the innovations. The technology school bus isn’t waiting for me!

But, as I age, I hope I can keep seeing the possibility. I will likely need help with this. I hope I can stay open-minded and aware enough to know that my mom’s fourth great-grandchild’s help will only be a click or two away.

Here’s hoping she can help me before she needs to leave for school!
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Non-profit executive directors are not zombies or vampires

November 26, 2013 erik organizational development

undead I know that this may sound silly, but I think it needs to be said for the record. Non-profit executive directors (e.g. CEOs) are not the undead. They do not live forever. They will leave your agency some day. And every board should be preparing for that eventuality.
Let me assure you that you are not “jinxing” yourself by being proactive.
Here are a few questions you should be able to answer well in advance of the day when you executive director submits their resignation:

Will you bravely move forward into the future with an interim executive director or will your board form a management team?
How do you intend on building a large, qualified applicant pool?
How will you screen those resumes?
How will the board determine which skill sets and competencies are necessary for the next executive director to possess in order to take the agency from Point B to C?
How will you develop interview questions based on teasing out these competencies and skill sets?
Who is responsible for recruiting the search committee? Who should be asked to sit on this committee?
Have internal candidates been getting groomed? If so, how will those candidates be treated?

Many non-profit organizations start to address some of these issues through the creation of a succession plan.
Click here for additional resources pertaining to success planning provided by the National Council of Nonprofits.
Does your non-profit operate with a succession plan? If so, what is in it? Looking at the aforementioned list of bullet points, is your agency able to answer these questions today? If not, what steps can you take to start addressing these issues in the next six months?
Please scroll down and use the comment box below to share your thoughts and experiences. We can all learn from each other.
Here’s to your health!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847