Nonprofits Falling Short In Leadership Development

Most nonprofit managers would agree that developing new leaders is one of the most important ways to ensure the success of the mission. Yet, according to a recent survey, many of these same leaders admit that they are falling short when it comes to taking a systematic approach to leadership development.

The findings from a Bridgespan Group leadership development diagnostic survey of more than 225 nonprofit leaders indicated that many organizations are still lagging behind when it comes to developing new leaders. Some of the results from the study include:

• Leaders are engaged but struggle to act. Only 36 percent say leaders are held accountable for leadership development and only 38 percent engage their boards in the process.
• Future needs are not well understood. Fewer than 30 percent say they have plans to address leadership gaps and only 37 percent have successions plans.
• Development of future leaders is not being linked to organizational needs. Only 50 percent evaluate employee potential as well as performance, and fewer than 29 percent say they have development plans for individuals.
• Leadership vacancies tend to be filled by external candidates. Only 25 percent are filled by internal candidates.
• Efforts to monitor and improve are relatively weak. Fewer than 30 percent have organization-wide goals for leadership development and only 23 percent are tracking progress.

8 Leadership Dos And Don'ts

A nonprofit is unlikely to have any success without effective leadership. Everyone’s definition of a leader is different but there are some common threads, according to Emmet D. Carson, CEO and President of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

In “Nonprofit Management 101,” Carson laid out the qualities that all leaders should and should not have. The direction of your organization will ultimately determine the specific characteristics you should express, but Carson wrote that the following eight factors shouldn’t be ignored, regardless of the situation:

• DO lead consistently with passion and explicitly stated organizational values to inspire those around you.
• DO insist on a comprehensive annual evaluation.
• DO learn equally from outstanding and mediocre leaders.
• DO cultivate the art of active listening.
• DON’T ever surprise your board.
• DON’T avoid confronting the –isms of racism, sexism, and ageism in your organization.
• DON’T confuse delegating with managing.
• DON’T rely on a one-size-fits-all leadership style.

7 Tips to Confront "Poor Performers"

Nothing is certain but death and taxes.  You can add below average employees to that list.

As a nonprofit manager, you are always going to have to handle less than ideal employees.  It's simply a fact of life.  How you confront these individuals can determine how successful your organization can be.  It would seem there are only two ways to deal with these types of workers: You can avoid a potentially messy confrontation and hope they improve.  Or, you can meet with the problematic employee and tell them to shape up or ship out.  In his book How to Lead by THE BOOK, Dave Anderson (founder of The Matthew 25:35 Foundation) says there is actually a middle ground.  By combining gentleness with firmness, a strong nonprofit manager can approach these "poor performers" in a way that will get them to perform better without making a scene.  He lists 7 ways to get the most out of these confrontations:

1. Confront with class: Anderson urges respect when confronting problematic employees. Keeping that in mind, it is best to discuss problems with poor performers in private rather than bringing up the problems in front of their colleagues.  Making a mistake is embarrassing enough without it having to be revealed to everyone in the office.
2. Nix favoritism: Top performers are another constant for any nonprofit organization.  But just because this individual hits the proverbial home run 99% of the time doesn't mean you should be cutting them slack if they happen to strike out once or twice.  This will severely undermine the culture of your organization, as well as your credibility as a manager.
3. Make sure the correction fits the "crime": Poor performers should be punished appropriately for whatever mistake they made.  If it was only a small error, there is no need to institute harsh penalties for them.  Anderson lists problems that stem from poor attitude, a lack of respect for the values of the company, or an overly inflated ego as issues that must be corrected most forcibly.
4. Beware of committing a false kindness: Never try to forgo confrontational talk by just giving positive reinforcement.  You might think this will help them perform better, but according to Anderson you are actually showing a lack of caring.  He says that you should confront these problems before they get too big.  This will help to teach employees that their leader cares about how work is conducted in the organization.
5. Choose your battles wisely: A strong nonprofit leader will be able to know when a response is needed rather than a rebuke.  Anderson uses the example of a mostly reliable employee coming in late one day.  Instead of yelling at this employee, he suggests inquiring with them whether everything is all right.  Tardiness from a repeat offender, on the other hand, would warrant a much different response.
6. Follow up with follow-through: Always offer advice and encouragement after your initial confrontation with a poor performer.  Failing to do this will leave the employee with no knowledge of what they need to do to improve.  As Anderson says, it's like going to a doctor for a diagnosis and then refusing to take the prescribed medicine.
7. Don't dig up the past: As tempting as it may be, you should never bring up past mistakes to poor performers.  It does no good to live in the past.  What's important is to correct the current problem, and bringing up dirty laundry won't help that.

Interested in reading more about what Dave Anderson has to say?  Visit the website for How to Lead by THE BOOK at http://www.learntolead.com/.  And if you want even more management tips similar to these, visit The NonProfit Times.

For Nonprofit Managers, Trust is Key

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, "Our distrust is very expensive." When it comes to nonprofit managers and CEOs, this couldn't be more true. Let's face it, for a nonprofit to be successful, its employees have to trust the head of the organization. Without this, performance can suffer and, as a result, so will the organization's mission.

John Hamm (not that one, in case you are wondering), talks about how important trust is for company leaders in his new book, Unusually Excellent: The Necessary Nine Skills Required for the Practice of Great Leadership. As the title of the book implies, it gives leaders nine tips on how to get employees to trust them. Here are some of these tips that Hamm mentions in his book:

• Hamm stresses that you don't have to act like a "boy scout" to gain the trust of your employees. In fact, he writes that the best leaders are those who don't try to act like anybody other than themselves. In fact, it's very easy to see how a manager or other leader who acts too kind might seem suspicious to employees.

• Along the same lines, Hamm wrote that it's important for a leader to look for chances to show that they are human by proving that they have authentic fears, imperfections, and emotions. He gives the example of a CEO named "Carl" who grew up in humble surroundings. Carl always told stories of his hard upbringing while leading his employees, as he knew this would make them feel more comfortable around him; it made him more accessible and, in turn, more trustworthy. To me, this was the most surprising tip Hamm gave; it's something I never thought of before, as we are often taught to hide our emotions from those we work with.

• Another interesting point was Hamm's mention of the so-called "adulterer's guarantee." Essentially, this is when a leader tells an employee that they lied to someone else, but that they would never lie to you. Some think doing this would show an employee that their boss is behind them, but it really just exposes the leader as a dishonest person. If this leader would lie to someone else, why should an employee believe they are not lying to them? And is usually the case with these situations, the story of this incident will spread, hurting morale.

• Finally, Hamm wrote that a leader should never punish "good failures." These are failures that occur despite an organization doing everything right, and are usually associated with taking a calculated risk for a project. By punishing employees for these "failures," employees will be more averse to taking risks in their work. And since risk-taking is the key for any organization's success, this is most definitely a bad thing. Instead, leaders should strive to create a culture where innovation is promoted, so that all these good failures can eventually lead to something successful.

If you are interested in learning more about Unusually Excellent, visit the book's website.