-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Succession Planning: Something to Think About
Charity Executive: Thank you for your comment Harvey. I don’t...
Which Are You: A Doer or a Thinker?
Charity Executive: Thanks for your feedback Doug! Your raise an interesting point...
Which Are You: A Doer or a Thinker?
Doug Hester: Its funny that I see myself as a thinker, however I identity more...
Succession Planning: Something to Think About
Harvey Matchullis: Dave – so appropriate and especially in light...
-
Categories
RSS
Volunteers. Can’t live with ‘em – can’t live without ‘em.
The nature of the relationship between a non-profit organization and volunteers can, at times, be described as a love-hate relationship. A leader’s frustration with volunteers, however, can be avoided by better understanding volunteers.
In a post discovered on Mersky, Jaffe & Associates’ website, contributor Abigail Harmon, describes five different types of volunteers while offering insights as to how one can best work with each type.
1.The “Over-Committed” (AKA The Person Who Thinks They Have More Time Then They Do):
Anyone who works with volunteers on a regular basis, knows this type of volunteer well! This volunteer believes in helping and lending a hand, and does so with everyone and every organization. How do you deal with the “over-committed” volunteer?
2. The “Busy, Busy, Busy”
This volunteer does not sit still and will be the busiest person at your volunteer event! Do you have a strategy for successfully working with the excessively energetic volunteer?
3. The “Likes Name Recognition”
Simply put – this type of volunteer likes verbal and written recognition. How would you handle this attention seeking volunteer?
4. The “Organizer”
Think databases, To Do lists, schedules, checklists, job descriptions, budgets, e-mail correspondence, and timelines – all of which are tasks and items that are might as well be covered in silvery sparkles and gold stars to the type of volunteer who loves to serve as an organizer! Careful, however – this type of volunteer can easily be overworked and taken advantage of. How would you avoid this potential danger?
5. The “Creative”
Ideas. Ideas. Ideas. The creative type of volunteer will continually provide your organization with ideas. Ideas to help. Ideas to improve. Ideas to maximize impact. Ideas to make Mondays better. You have a problem? The creative volunteer will think of, well, a creative solution to that problem!
Would certainly appreciate hearing your experience in working with volunteers in your not-for-profit organization.
Link to this post!
What is the first thing you think about when you learn that someone has unexpectedly resigned from the Board of Directors?
- Disagreement?
- Lack of support for the board or the CEO?
- Division on a key issues?
- Illness?
- Family problems?
- Moral failure?
- Bankruptcy?
- Moving out of the city?
- Conflict of interest?
With no explanation offered up front, the aforementioned thoughts are to be expected in the minds of fellow board members, the CEO, employers, donors, and other stakeholders.
The sudden and unexpected resignation of a board member can be a great cause of embarrassment to your organization. Attention needs to be paid as to how one should handle the situation properly. Depending on the gravity of the event leading to the resignation itself, and the impact the resignation announcement may have on the organization as a whole, it may be necessary to get professional advice before issuing a public statement.
While indeed a resignation should be expected for most, if not all, of the circumstances listed above, one should indubitably resign should a board member no longer feel he or she can publicly support a final board decision after leaving the board table. Boards must speak with one voice, and one voice only.
Of course, knowing when to resign is only addressing the surface level of this weighty topic.
What steps should a board chair or executive director take after receiving an unexpected and abrupt resignation from a board member?
Step One: Use Transparency
Transparency is vital, particularly in the charitable sector. To be blunt, the only professional and courteous way for a board member to deal with a submitting a potentially impactful resignation is to give the board chair and the CEO advance warning of one’s intentions to resign. This assures that is no one will be put in a position of unnecessary embarrassment.
Step Two: Communicate with Stakeholders
Remember that communication – both internally and publicly – can make or break an organization. The organization needs to develop an immediate communication plan to dispel second-guessing among all stakeholders.
Step Three: Public Explanation
Be prepared to offer a public statement announcing the resignation, whether verbally or in writing. Any public explanation from the board chair, however, should be cleared with the resigning board member ahead of time. Again, this ensures any unnecessary embarrassment for both parties.
Step Four: Show Gratitude
No matter the reasons for the resignation, recall the moments in which the board member made significant contributions to the board and organization itself. Freely offer the board member genuine gratitude for his or her service to date – both publicly and personally.
Step Five: Succession Planning
Make sure you have potential new board members in the background that are ready to serve and available to step in.
Realistically, the ideal situation is to be able to avoid a “messy” resignation in the first place and experience no surprises at all around the board table. Be honest in your regular evaluations of your board members and board meetings. Consider these questions:
- Is your board doing everything it can in order to avoid detrimental conflict?
- Is the board chair regularly reviewing each member in terms of where each one’s interst is at in continuing to serve on the board?
- Is the board chair sensitive to whether seemingly contentious issues among board members are causing the possible loss of a board member?
Would be curious to hear your thoughts on this issue. What have you learned from a surprise resignation that your board or organization experienced?
Submitted By:
Larry Nelson, Senior Associate of Hutchinson Smith Inc.
Connect with Larry:
lnelson@hutchinsonsmith.ca
Vancouver: 604.282.7801
Cell: 718.385.0117
Toll Free: 1.866.499.6621
Other posts by Larry:
Tips for a Great Board Meeting: Part 1
Tips for a Great Board Meeting: Part 2
The Board’s Role in CEO Succession Planning
Link to this post!
Every not-for-profit needs to rely on volunteers at some point or another. That said, recruiting volunteers – especially good volunteers – can prove to be challenging.
If, however, you know the type of person to recruit for a volunteer position, it would certainly help minimize the “volun-tears”, yes?!
Well, you’re in luck! It just so happens that the Pepsi Refresh Project, in collaboration with GOOD, MCAD DesignWork, were able to put together one of my favourite infographics depicting “that neighbourhood hero – the volunteer – and a handful of tips on how to mobilize your own army of good.”
(I realize that the infographic is very hard to read due to the size and landscape format we had to use in order to fit this on our blog. What can I say? We weren’t built for “landscape”. Instead, just simply click on the graphic itself to view it in an interactive window.)
Link to this post!
What do you want to be when you grow up?
It’s a question that you likely started hearing as soon as you could process some form of cognitive-based response, and yet it’s one that most of you would still have a hard time mustering an answer to.
There is something to be said for the individual that knows what one wants and then strikes out to find the perfect example of one’s desired outcome. I find myself face to face with people all the time who have a desire to achieve and attain “something”, or that “next step”, or that “ideal” role in an organization. Yet it is astounding how many people just don’t know how to respond when asked the simple question, “If you were to open the newspaper tomorrow and see the perfect job for you, what would it look like?
I recently had the opportunity to discuss the desired career path of an up-and-coming professional in the development field. My questions were direct, as were his answers, and for the first time in a long time I had encountered someone who had genuinely sat down and spent time defining what they wanted to “be” when they grew up.
How did I know?
He had a plan and he had a strategy that he wanted to see implemented over the next few years, all of which would lead to the personal and professional goals that he had set.
What did that do for me as a recruiter?
It gave me a clear set of deliverables in my process of assisting him to fulfill the appropriate next steps, and it allowed me a way to clearly measure success along the way as well.
Two years after that initial conversation, I am happy to report, he is well on his way to achieving the goals that the had set before himself.
I have spent quite a bit of time consulting with individuals on the development of their resumes over the years, and the same rules apply. I ask people to understand their professional and personal goals before trying to prepare the map of how to get there. If you want to reach your goals career-wise or otherwise, you need to understand what those goals look like. It is then you can set a course for attaining them.
Here are some of the questions you should be asking yourself in order to be able to build a plan for your success.
- What do I like about my work?
- Where do I find the most challenge in my work?
- If I could change anything about my current role, what would it be?
- If I could add anything to my current role, what would It be?
- Where do I want to be this time next year?
- What one step can I take this week to help me get to my goal for next year?
- What one thing do I need to learn to help prepare me for my goal?
- If I was given my perfect job tomorrow, would I be ready to tackle it successfully?
It’s a hard set of questions to answer, but then again, if you were to ask anyone in your circle of influence who you deem to be “successful” if their journey was easy, I am certain they would all tell you it was hard, but worth the effort.
Submitted By:
Philip J.W. Smith, President and Partner of Hutchinson Smith Inc.
Connect with Philip
psmith@hutchinsonsmith.ca
Toronto: 416.312.6632
Toll Free: 1.866.499.6621
Link to this post!
You’ve hired the wrong person.
There’s no worse feeling as a recruiter or hiring manager of a not-for-profit organization than realizing that you were enticed by a personality rather than a skill set. If you somehow are able to realize this before the standard three month probationary period is over, at least you can re-enter into a candidate search with little loss to your organization. If, however, the realization that you’ve made a hiring mistake occurs after the probationary period, the expense to your organization from both an energy and resource perspective can be costly.
In an article posted to Inc. magazine’s website entitled, Top 6 Hiring Mistakes to Avoid, authors James M. Citrin and Julie Hembrock Daum offer the following considerations to ensure you make an exceptional hire the first time!
1. Charisma
Don’t be fooled or seduced by a person’s inherent charisma. Instead, consider charisma to be more of a personal trait – such as eye colour or height. While indeed a person’s charisma can certainly lend itself as valuable to a one’s professional success, by no means should it over-rule other qualifications needed to do the job right.
2. Success vs. Failure
Avoid considering one’s professional failures as a strike against a candidate. Sometimes one will learn more from a failure than successes. If anything, be wary of a candidate that has only experienced success, after all, do you want their first failure to be at your organization?
3. Friendships
Just because you went to school with someone, grew up with someone, or even worked with someone in another organization does not automatically mean that same person will work well in your new workplace.
4. Candidate Profile
Citrin and Daum explain it best, saying:
“A not-for-profit institution was six months into a search for a new executive director when the lead candidate withdrew from the process, only days before he would have received an offer. He later said that the more time he spent at the institution, the more he saw fundamental disagreement as to what the leadership team was looking for. He believed that without alignment about the direction and priorities for the institution, he would be ineffective at trying to lead the organization. Similar leadership opportunities have gone vacant for years because candidates perceived disagreement among those responsible for the hiring.”
5. Hiring Process
Sacrificing a thorough hiring process with the mindset that it will save your organization time and money will likely cost you more time and money in the end. Engage in a full hiring process, and if possible, use a recruiting firm such as Hutchinson Smith Inc. to oversee that process and reduce bias.
6. Position
If your organization needs a new Executive Director or President right now, then hire someone capable and worthy of fulfilling that role – right now. Avoid hiring a candidate for an executive support role with the intention of one day promoting that person to the top-level position. This is not good succession planning. Citrin and Daum offer the following four reasons to avoid this:
- The candidates you will attract will not be as strong as those you would attract by bringing in a CEO out of the gate.
- The skills for success are different between a No. 1 and No. 2.
- A COO or No. 2 does not have the change mandate typically granted to an outsider in the top job.
- The heir apparent is more likely to play things safe with a CEO who still calls the shots and is the primary conduit to the board, who will determine when the No. 2 is ready for the job.
Link to this post!
Next >>