As a nonprofit leader, you know your organization isn’t like a for-profit business. Unfortunately, a lot of the research and advice out there ignores this difference.
Too many people try to fit the square peg of for-profit enterprise (FPE) leadership into the round hole of nonprofit organization (NPO) leadership.
Your Leadership is Different
You likely see it every day: leadership conferences catered to leaders across industries, blog posts listing the top 10 traits business leaders need and even leadership coaching courses that treat NPO and FPE leaders the same.
Of course, some of your tactics will overlap with those FPE leaders rely on. But, many of the ways you lead your organization will be vastly different. The problems you face and the obstacles you navigate are completely different than those a for-profit business faces.
At least one leadership guru, Peter Drucker, recognizes this difference:
“The nature of the problems that a foundation tackles is exactly the opposite of business. In business, you look for easy things, very good businesses that don’t have very many problems and that almost run themselves . . . In the philanthropic world, you’re looking at the toughest problems that exist.
The reason why they’re important problems is that they’ve resisted the intellect and money being thrown at them over the years and they haven’t been solved. You have to expect a lower batting average in tackling the problems of philanthropy than in tackling the problems of business (Phipps & Burbach, 2010).”
Different Leadership, Different Tools
Too many researchers and NPO board members have assumed that leadership is leadership —that it matters not what type of organization the leader is seeking to lead.
The innately different problems and obstacles you face as a nonprofit leader require you to have a different set of tools to succeed. That’s why we created the Alignment & Risk Assessment.
The Civicus Alignment and Risk Assessment Model aggregates more than 100 elements of successful NPOs into one model. Our unique model, the Civicus Alignment and Risk Pyramid, has proven to be an invaluable tool in assisting nonprofit leaders as they seek to move their organizations to greater levels of performance.
Learn which Areas of your Organization Need Improvement
It’s hard to increase your effectiveness when you don’t know what areas of your organization need improvement
Your Alignment & Risk Assessment will analyze:
- IT systems,
- executive officers succession plans,
- team cohesiveness,
- and so much more!
Visualize your Challenges and Opportunities with Charts and Graphs
With plenty of charts and graphs, your report will make it easy to visualize data and fully understand the challenges and opportunities you are facing. With a firm understanding of these issues, you can be a better leader.
Your report will also come in an electronic format for easy sharing with your staff.
Find out if Board and Staff Members are Unified in their Understanding
An assessment will show you how board and staff members differ in their understanding of your strategic plan and program outcomes, a crucial point when it comes to leading an effective nonprofit.
This image represents the condition that many nonprofit organizations struggle to overcome.
The board of directors sees the organization’s future in one place, while the strategic plan is taking it another direction. And the organization’s mission is pointed another way. Team cohesiveness is such that it conflicts with the hoped-for outcomes; fundraising staff are not held accountable; internal communications are amuck; and the systems and infrastructure have created an unhealthy employee environment.
But these NPOs aren’t created to be so disjointed and dysfunctional. They are usually created under a hopeful and enthusiastic spirit by a handful of altruistic, committed individuals who engage in much of the charitable work themselves.
But over time—often decades or even a century or more—they morph into nonprofits that are chained down by bureaucratic burdens, cumbersome processes, or misguided missions.
This image represents a more streamlined organization. Their boards and staff leadership have been able to maintain common purpose and a shared understanding of the mission and vision.
Staff work hand in hand to achieve good outcomes; they are accountable for their actions, follow set procedures, and communicate openly. They are team players and, although they don’t always have or follow a strategic plan, they have a degree of harmony that contributes to a healthy and productive culture.
Ultimately, those nonprofit organizations whose staff, board, systems, mission, and all other functions work in harmony toward a common outcome, with shared accountability and integrated teams, are the ones that truly succeed.
Delve Deeper into Your Organization’s Level of Effectiveness
The Civicus Alignment and Risk Assessment helps nonprofit leaders align all essential functions in order to build seamless operations. It identifies areas of misalignment and prescribes steps to bring the organization into harmony.
Tools used include:
- Cross Tabulations
- Personal Interviews
- Reviews of Materials
- Analysis of Textual Responses
An Alignment & Risk Assessment is vital to your success as a nonprofit leader. It will help you see exactly where you can improve your organization, how you can better coordinate with your staff and what actions you can take to improve overall effectiveness.
Be sure to check out our Alignment Report video and this blog post for more information about what our process includes.
To request your own Alignment & Risk Assessment, contact us at 815-985-6794 or alignment@civicusconsulting.com.