Читать книгу Joan Garry's Guide to Nonprofit Leadership - Garry Joan, Joan Garry - Страница 19

Thomas arrived as the new ED of a pretty small organization — budget size a few hundred thousand. Thomas wears a cape and not just on Halloween. He arrived at his organization to fix it, to save the day. The organization had been in disarray for some time.

Thomas started weekly staff meetings and no one came. Well, some did but most didn't. They were too busy. Thomas was angry and he threatened consequences. The following week, attendance was better, still not great. Attitudes were even worse.

What was he missing?

Thomas made several incorrect assumptions:

 If you tell people what to do, they will just do it. Now that worked like a charm for me in Catholic grammar school in the 1960s, but in a nonprofit, your staff needs to feel some sense of ownership of the decisions made. This is what they deserve in lieu of that year‐end bonus that is coming like, NEVER.Your staff needs to feel some sense of ownership of the decisions made.

 He assumed they understood — in this case, he assumed they understood the value of a staff meeting. That's not how the previous leader managed (or didn't).

So here are the changes I suggested that he make:

 Have a meeting about the meeting. Send an email around; tell folks that this meeting is to talk about how a staff meeting might be valuable to the entire group and to each staffer. Let them figure out the need themselves. And yes, everyone showed up; they built a standing agenda that was more than just reporting out, and staff meetings are now weekly and well attended.

 Ask more questions. Cape‐wearers are fixers and they know the answers. Maybe they are arrogant or maybe just very self‐assured. Thomas liked to just tell staff the answers; he directed them closely because he was clear about what needed to be done. I encouraged Thomas to ask staff members what they would do. Have a conversation about strategy. Guide gently if they are off base, and more importantly, listen carefully. You know, it is possible that they are right and you are not (I know — hard to believe).

 Dip your toe into the world of the “gray.” To Black Panther, things are black‐and‐white. There are good guys and bad guys. Things need to happen a certain way. You need to try to appreciate the gray. This might mean you have to own the fact that you are not as open‐minded as you need to be. Are you a board chair ready to write off a board member who does nothing? Try having a coffee with said board member. Ask her what success looks like for her, what she needs from the chair to be successful. Don't vote her off the island too quickly. Move from black to gray.