Tag Archives: Nonprofits

July 2, 2013 · 3:43 pm

Improving Board Performance Through New Board Member Orientation

imagesWhen I first became an Executive Director, for the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy there was no formal process for orienting new members who had been elected to the Board of Directors.  That was in 1993.  Last year, in a presentation on financial orientation for new Board members sponsored by ASAE, it was stated that only 41% of associations conduct Board orientations.  In the long period between 1993 and 2012, there have been financial and other “scandals” involving prominent nonprofits, significant changes in law that impacts non-profits, and a sea change in technology that has created more demand for transparency in organizational governance.  Aside from the legal and fiduciary exposure, social media use by organizations brings governance into much clearer focus for members, stakeholders, and the public.  More than ever, Board members need to begin their terms of service with knowledge of the strategic vision and direction of the organization, as well as more knowledge of how the parts fit together.

Call it overkill, or caution, or simply the inherent interest of systems-oriented therapists in processes, but at AAMFT we created an orientation for all newly elected Board members that, in reality, begins at the nomination phase.   After individuals are elected, there is a mandatory one and a half-two day orientation period that is hosted in the Association’s headquarters.  The orientation is hosted by the President, President-Elect, and Executive Director of the Association. Of particular focus during that time:

  1. Having newly elected Board members speak to their personal aspirations for Board service, and how they would define success.  Common questions: “If you are successful in your Board service, what will the Association look like at the end of your term? What issues will have been addressed that you see as important in the next three years? What would you like to make sure is maintained, and what would you like to see changed, improved, or eliminated?
    Even though individuals address this in platform statements, etc., their views evolve and become more relevant to them after election.  This information also gives the leadership significant clues about how Board culture might evolve, and how Board dialogue might be carried forward.
  2. Reviewing the principles outlined in the American Bar Association’s book, Guidebook for Directors of Nonprofit Corporations.
  3. Reviewing the specific policies of the Association that are based on the Guidebook.  (AAMFT has a Governance Manual that includes, among other things, the Strategic Plan, the Board Calendar, the Code of Conduct, Conflict of Interest Policies, Board Member Role and Responsibility, Relationship with Staff, and more.)
  4. Reviewing the Finances and Corporate Structure.  There is a presentation (mentioned above) that offers great information on financial orientation on ASAE’s website if you are a member.
  5. Discussion of current landscape of the association.  This changes annually, but allows for some in-depth exploration (circling back to the beginning) about issues the Board is currently deliberating, the political climate internally and externally, etc.  It is in this section that there is discussion of the key questions outlined in the book, The Will to Govern Well.  These questions look at what is known about the current needs, wants, and preferences of members and stakeholders, the organization’s strategic capacity and position, the external trends that will impact the organization and the ethical implications of some of the issues before the organization.

Of all the tools, programs, training, etc., that can be provided to organizational leaders, this program of orientation has been vital in building collaboration, knowledge-based decision making by the Board, and better communications with members and the public about the governance and operations of the organization.   If your organization is one of the 59 percent that is not doing an orientation for incoming Board members, what are you waiting for?  Being a Board member is one thing.  Being a Good Board member is more challenging than ever, and even the most committed, well-meaning individuals who serve can use orientation, training, and “on-boarding” processes to help them toward success and meaningful contribution.

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May 22, 2013 · 4:10 pm

Resources: You May Have More Than You Think!

thThe story is told of a sign in a Pentagon procurement office that said, “Better, Faster, Cheaper:  Pick Any Two.”  While humorous in a way, we recognize some (painful) truth in the statement.

In a parallel way, leaders in nonprofit organizations also have three types of resources (and therefore choices) at their disposal.  To maximize the impact of an organization’s programming and vision, we need to build a strategy using all three.

The three types of resources every organization has are Time, Money, and People.  Typically we think first (and sometimes only) of money as the basic resource to drive an organization’s progress. You read often that fund development is the chief priority for an organization—and that would be true for any organization these days, really. The type of algorithm in the Pentagon sign exists, no doubt.  If you have less money, you may have to find ways to maximize your “people” resource.  If you don’t have a lot of either, then time may become a resource—it may take longer to achieve your objective, but there are ways to use time to build your programming as well.

We all know about financial budgeting and management, but I’ve also seen organizations create very successful advocacy campaigns using people power.  Organizations can succeed primarily using the intellectual capital and of their volunteers or their profession.  However, I’ve seen many fewer organizations that actually consider creating a human capital budget, or that even know how many hours or to what end they have volunteers contributing over any given cycle.

Have you done a “human capital” (people) assessment of your organization?  Do you know how you are spending volunteers’ energy and commitment, and how that relates to your strategic priorities?  Do you have a human capital development plan that will help build the strategic capacity of your organization?  This resource can be as vital, and sometimes more vital, than having funds to spend on certain initiatives.

Time is also an asset.  Occasionally, we don’t have much of it, or we use it to create and drive an agenda.  The National Breast Cancer Coalition, for example, has identified the year 2020 as the deadline to end breast cancer.  It is using time as an asset, to create urgency for people and funding.

Some things are calendar driven, and must be considered in light of deadlines.  Then again, there is a saying that “Time cures.”  Do you ask, when considering an issue, whether it requires money, people, or time?  Time can be used another way: in sequencing well.  For some issues, if you do the right things first (using time correctly) you may not have to do several other things—they may take care of themselves.

Take the opportunity to do a global assessment of your organization’s strategic capacity in these three areas.  How does your organization consider, count, and use its’ people, its’ time, and then, its’ money.  By being conscious in this assessment, you may well find resources you didn’t know you had, or be able to capitalize and deploy the resources you have in a more effective way.

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May 13, 2013 · 5:56 pm

Assessing Personnel “Problems:” Three Questions to Ask

imagesNothing drains more energy or time from an association/nonprofit executive than when there are indications of a problem with staff.  It may be phone calls about poor customer service from members or leaders, missed deadlines or failure to respond appropriately, or any other number of signs that something is amiss.

Many times I hear execs say that they waited too long to intervene.  Other times I hear from staff that there is a sudden confrontation with no ability to explore the problem in a collaborative manner.   How can executives proceed in a fashion that will address the problem directly yet leave the most opportunity and ground for growth and ultimate success in dealing with a problematic staff issue?

I’ve found a three step process allows for an exploration, understanding, and creating a sound strategy for moving forward in these circumstances.   At times, there may not be a personnel issue at all.  Here are the questions to ask—and the order in which to move through the assessment:

Is there a systemic/process breakdown that is creating or exacerbating the problem?

There are times when what appears to be a problematic staff performance issue isn’t that at all.  There is, rather a systemic problem that is leading to breakdowns in staff capability to perform.  If the systemic problems are addressed, the performance problem may disappear.  Systemic problems may be problems of coordination/communication between people, processes, or departments, hardware or software malfunction, or any other number of structure/process/program issues.  If someone hasn’t been responsive, it is not productive to confront them only to discover that because of some communication breakdown they never received instructions, directions, etc.  Unfortunately, in human designed systems, whether management systems or computer, etc., there are sometimes built in glitches that create problems.  Before presuming you have a staff performance issue, make sure that there are not impediments that have been “cooked in” to the system.  That’s your first job as a manager in assessing performance and creating a context for excellence.

Is there a resource problem that is preventing the performance that is expected?

If you are sure that the management and communications systems are working properly and are coordinated well, the next level of question is whether or not there is a resource issue that is keeping the staff person from performing appropriately.  Do they have the equipment they need to perform well?  Do they have the training to function with excellence?  Do they have the information/direction needed to complete the task in line with expectations?  Do they have the time to do the work?  Is there so much work assigned that it is unreasonable to expect a well trained, appropriately oriented and equipped staff person to perform the work well.  Until these two basic questions can be answered in the affirmative, there is no way to tell whether you have a true staff performance problem, or a system/resource problem.

After answering the first two questions, then there is the third: Is this problem chronic or random?

Humans are human.  Even superstars make mistakes, and sometimes they make fairly big ones.  But these mistakes are outliers, and not the norm for a good staffer who is trained, equipped, and placed in a working system.

On the other hand, there are people who are either not suited for certain work, not compatible with an organizational culture, or not interested in performing to the standards of the organization (although I believe this is rare if the first two conditions are addressed appropriately).  In such instances, after having completed the assessments in the questions above, it is time for legitimate intervention.

The Bottom Line

Most people want to do well in their work.  For associations and nonprofits, it is much better to tap into that desire to do well, and to ensure that staff are embedded in a functional management system, with appropriate resources, direction, etc., and a clear sense of expectation.  You’ll save yourself a lot of grief, grow your staff toward excellence, and potentially even avoid employment related litigation (a large and growing concern in our sector) if you can demonstrate that you’ve done everything you need to do in terms of providing systems, training, and opportunity for staff to succeed.

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April 18, 2013 · 4:30 pm

The Life Cycle of the Executive Director

map and compass

“Somebody once told me that it’s time to leave when you’ve gotten enough, when  you’ve given enough, and when you’ve had enough.”   So said Edward Bernstein, President of the Industrial Research Institute, on ASAE’s Collaborate Network, quoted in the March, 2013 issue of Associations Now.

How different that is from the advice I got from my mentors when I became an Executive Director in 1993!  At that time, many execs spent a career at one association, so my mentors coached me on how to grow in my job and keep it over a longer period of time—which I did.  I remained as the Executive Director of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) for 20 Years, and I could have remained longer had I chosen to do so.  Many of  my peers, especially in the mental health field, also are having or have had long tenures, from 39, to 25, to 20 years, etc.

Now we hear from executive recruiters that the average tenure is significantly shorter in associations—somewhere on the average of 7 years.  Granted, the cycle of change is much more dynamic, and the demands and skills needed for one association may shift much more dramatically in 7 years now than they did in the past.  It is also true that as the field of association management has matured, there is more “churn” in jobs as for many execs, the only way to grow dramatically in a career is to move from one association to another.

It would be helpful to have a career map—and a compass—in order to navigate a career as an association executive, both for those who are currently executive directors and those who aspire to be.  This is especially true for those who have hit a period of uncertainty about their current context or their future.  Executive recruiter Paul Belford, in a soon to be published book, The Association CEO Handbook, refers to this period as the “zone of great complexity” and defines it as “that special corner in association Hades where the CEO’s performance in a position is affected adversely by his/her inability (or refusal) to maintain the balance of professional fulfillment and Board enfranchisement.”

The question, of course, is what to do when one hits that period?  Renew, or resign?  And how important is the notion of “professional fulfillment” or “personal fulfillment” in building what one will look back on and say, “that was a career I can be proud of?”  This notion—how to do a better job, and build a better person for the job, is something we will be exploring more.  Sometimes it may be a 5 point list of ideas.  At other times, it will be more narrative and thought provoking.  Careers (and life) can’t be condensed into a short blog post—and certainly not a twitter post.  It’s a long plot play, with nodal points of transition throughout.  We intend to draw a map, and give the tools to use your own compass.  But remember—the map is not the territory, and there will always be surprises…

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April 12, 2013 · 4:07 pm

The Path Ahead? Executive Directors in a Maze

maze (2)

The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), in a booklet written to explain careers in association management, refers to a maze.  In my experience, that is certainly true.  Growing up, through college and into graduate school, I never heard anyone say that their career aspiration was to be an association executive.  In many ways, it is an accidental career.  Yet, it is a noble one, and can be incredibly meaningful for those who find their way to it.

The same is basically true for other nonprofit organizations, although cause based organizations do have a somewhat different pull and career path.  However, the challenges faced once one arrives in nonprofit world are at least parallel, and in many cases overlap with those of leaders in associations.

What is needed to navigate this maze?  A map and a compass would be helpful, along with the necessary supplies (or means to acquire them) that will allow someone to make the journey successfully.  But here is the secret for any association/nonprofit executive director: there is no final destination.  And in this environment, even to stay stable, one must continually be learning, adding tools and resources, and checking the map and the compass.  The terrain and climate is changing rapidly.

This blog has one mission: to provide executive directors (and others who aspire to be) a resource and home for finding, sharing, building the tools necessary to continue through the maze successfully.  We will want to build a community here and in related media, that can scrape through the clutter and noise and deal with the direct issues executive directors face.  We will focus on the whole person—from the professional aspects, to the personal issues about what it all means, and how to continue to find meaning and fulfillment in a career as an executive director.  Perhaps just as important, what does one do when the fulfillment and meaning is lacking.  Our goal will be to find resource for replenishment as well.

Join us!  It will be a worthwhile journey.

PS:  You can find us on twitter at @exdirtoolkit.

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