The Problem With “Business Leadership” In The Nonprofit Field

I was challenged recently by reading a posting in a leadership discussion group I participate in concerning the difference between nonprofit and for-profit leadership.  I am usually not so “professional” in the content of this blog but this paradigm got me thinking about several things in this area that I wanted to put down in writing.
Here are some of my thoughts for all my nonprofit and for-profit leadership friends.  Comment and let me know what you think!
What we are learning in nonprofit leadership today is that nonprofits differ from for-profits in some core underpinnings; the main one being “the bottom line”. The bottom line for a for-profit is financial and involves making money for a limited group of people. The bottom line for a nonprofit is its mission.
A for-profit’s “mission” is to make money for its stakeholders. A nonprofits mission is to bring about change with the assistance of its stakeholders. A for-profit’s stakeholders are going to push the business to be as profitable as possible for financial gain. A nonprofit’s stakeholders are going to push the agency to be as effective as possible for social gain.
This line has been blurred significantly because of decades of focus on the “Nonprofit needs to be run like a for-profit” myopic paradigm. This has led to the death of a true mission driven agency, sacrificed to the god of the business leader fallacy. The last two decades has taught us that mission and business ethics have been significantly weakened in the rush towards “business leadership” focused on profit rather than product, customer, service, and company mission.
Here are some core issues as I see them:
Issue 1 – Mission should the primary focus of any good leader. Because the mission is the driving focus that shapes sustainability for a nonprofit, it should be the main focus of a leader, rather than the financial bottom-line. If the primary focus is sustainability (having enough money to operate a fiscally sound agency), then profit becomes the bottom line and the nonprofit just lost its focus on its mission in sacrifice of gaining more dollars. Sustainability is critically important to a nonprofits survival and growth but focusing on sustainability in deference to mission will lead to mission drift. Mission drift for a for-profit means they are losing money and getting back on track involves finding a way to collect more cash. Mission drift for a nonprofit means endangering its 501(c)* status and losing that mission focus can lead to the swift dissolution of the charter.
Issue 2 – Business risk for a nonprofit, as viewed from a for-profit perspective, equates to poor leadership and a lack of wisdom. I prefer the concept of “boldness” for decision-making by a nonprofit leader. The for-profit leader can take risks that put product and services in jeopardy and if the risk leads to failure, only products and services (and stakeholders’ wallets) are usually affected. Failed risk-taking for a nonprofit usually comes at a higher price where lives are affected and, in some sectors, people who depend on the services and products to maintain basic, life-giving assistance would have to go without. The nonprofit leader and his/her team needs to be bold and make decisions that might be edgy to grow the effectiveness of the services but “risky” is not the smartest of tactics for a nonprofit to engage in.
Issue 3 – “More business leadership is needed in nonprofits”.  This has been a major paradigm in the both fields for a while now.  It is believed that a business leader can pick up the commitment to a cause easier than a nonprofit leader can pick-up the business skills needed to effectively lead an agency.  Being trained in psychology and business at a Master’s degree level and with over 25 years of experience in leading, consulting and counseling people, I have learned that business leaders can be quite ridged in their views of the world and how it works, and to create “commitment” outside of their particular paradigm can cause significant cognitive dissidence and can be a difficult interpersonal journey indeed!
But, if you have a leader committed to a cause and they catch the true concept of the necessity of sustainability (effective business skills that keep a nonprofit operating in the black) to keep the cause going, business skills can be picked up quickly because a leader’s heart and passion (character traits that cannot be taught) is already engaged and business prowess (a skill-set that can be learned) can be taught and learned quickly and eagerly.
Issue 4 – Business risk has its rewards and that needs to be recognized more fully by small businesses and nonprofits. For nonprofits though, boldness in decision-making equates to an improvement in services and meeting the mission-centered needs more effectively. For a for-profit, risk has a financial focus primarily.
  In some current leadership circles, nonprofits and their leaders are being portrayed as fearful and weak primarily. In my experience with leaders in both areas, the nonprofit leader is far more bold, creative, trust worthy, ethical, forward thinking and innovative when compared side by side.  The nonprofit leader has to be because the resources are fewer and the opportunities greater!  I have been amazed by the way many nonprofit leaders I have worked with and for can leverage minimal resources for maximum impact!

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Leadership through listening!

What makes a good friend?  Think about that for a minute.  What qualities do you value in a friendship?  Think about the people you hold dear by having them in that mental place of honor and you give them the title of  "Good Friend".

When I think of my good friends, several key behaviors come to mind.  One of those behaviors is a good friend, in my opinion, listens to me.  And in turn, as a good friend, I listen to them!

We all have those people in our lives that don't listen to us.  Those people that seem to not hear us and give us the feeling of being talked at.  Those people who are more concerned with being heard, rather than hearing. 

By the way, we all have that as a core desire.  We all want to be heard, to be noticed, to be cared for by being heard... REALLY heard! Heard at a level that makes you feel like the other person "gets you!".  But, for some of us, that natural god-given desire to be noticed and loved gets out of whack and can overtake and get in the way of effective relationship.  So, let's make a deal, don't be too rough on those people... and let us try not to be one of those people.

But back to that good friend... that one that "gets you".  That person or persons (you might be blessed to have more than one) that makes you feel worthy because, "they really care enough to listen to me!".  That person, whether you realize it or not, is a leader in your life.

Remember, we define leadership as influence, plain and simple.  That friend that gets you, that truly listens to you... you would probably do a lot for them.  You are probably pretty loyal to them.  You would probably join up with them to help get something big done!  And the most powerful point of all this; if you listen to them and that person feels that you get them too, then they would do the same for you!

"Wow, all this can come from listening!?" You might be asking.  Well... in my experience, both personally and professionally, yes!  It is not only a good way to show respect, love and true friendship... it is also an excellent way to lead people!

Leadership through listening!  We so often think we should listen to our leaders.  Well, the flip side of that coin is that it is far easier for someone to follow when they feel listened to!  For a leader, being listened to and being heard (which are two very different things) can often be the difference between how well that leader listens to the people he/she is leading individually and collectively. 

A leader should strive to truly listen (stop looking at the clock when they are talking to you!) first... and then be heard only after the leader's constituents know she/he is truly listening to them.  When an effective leader casts a vision, lays out an effective plan, inspires followers, has to communicate tough decisions, or does many other leadership-type communications, that leader's constituents should be able to hear their voice and their ideas in one way, shape or form in that leaders communication.

My hope is that the people that I influence in my life, personally and professional, are saying, "Hmm... he heard me... he got what I was saying!"

That's leadership through listening!

Are you hearing me?  Do I get it?  Do I get you?  Leave me a comment and join in the conversation!  I DO want to hear you!  Lead me through your input.  I'm listening!

Thanks for the gift of your time in reading this and pondering these ideas.  Hopefully they have influenced you in some way!

Daryl Vanella

WHAT IS YOUR IMPACT?

OK, it has been a while, but I am finally getting around to addressing this final point of leadership happening in every day life. We considered How we lead and Who we lead, now let's consider what that leadership impact can look like on a daily, moment to moment level.

As mentioned in an earlier post, we see leadership all around us, every day. Some demonstrations can be inspiring and hopeful, some can be comical and entertaining, and others can be harmful and disheartening. But, the fact is, that if you take just a few minutes out of your day and observe the interactions around you, you see the impact of leadership all over the place, especially leadership in relationships. Remember, we are defining leadership as simply "influence". With that as our working definition, the daily impact of our leadership is critical to understand and be aware of.

What impact do you have on a daily basis with the people you lead? We all influence/lead a whole group of people everyday whether we realize it or not. In line at the grocery store, what is your impact on the people in that line? Are you polite? Are you friendly? Are you impatient? Are you quiet? Do you have 12 items in you basket and are standing in the "10 items" express line? (maybe that is why people always look so annoyed whenever I go to check out).

In your car, do you let people in line at the light? Is everyone that drives slower than you "a moron" and faster than you "a maniac"? Do you smile and wave at other drivers or do you offer them some other single fingered greeting? Do people smile at you as they observe you "dancing" in the front seat to your favorite tunes or, on the highway, do people pull into the lane farthest away from you because your continuance has "road rage" written all over it?

These are all opportunities for daily leadership. They are moment to moment opportunities to influence others that we all have and experience every day of our lives. People watch people and make judgment on what they see and experience. Let's be honest with ourselves, we do it all the time to each other! We allow others to influence our opinions and interpretations of them though our observations and their actions and interactions with us and/or within eye or ear shot of us... and these are our greatest opportunities for leadership at its most basic and most frequent level.

So, what is your impact? How have you led the people around you in the last hour? If someone were to be walking 60 seconds behind you and observing your trail of influence, what would that person find? Would they find people smiling or people frowning or people laughing or, worst of all, would they find people unchanged and totally unaware of your impact even though you just passed them and had an opportunity to impact/lead/influence them in some way?

Another thing to always be aware of when considering your impact is your environment. Walking down a busy city sidewalk is one environment where a 60 second follow up might not be so consequential (although, think of the times you have simply passed someone and formed huge opinions concerning them based on the way they are dressed, look, sound, appear, behaved, etc...) . But if someone was to follow you in your workplace, your school, your home, your church, your favorite place to hang out, etc... What would they find?

It is our challenge as leaders (which we all are whether we want to be or not) to leave a wake of inspiration and hope as we walk through our day! There are many simple ways to do this. The smile as we pass a colleague, the quick genuine comment, "Hello, good to see ya today!", the genuine head-nod acknowledgement (it's a guy thing), and one of the most powerful influencer is to actually stop, use the person's name and genuinely greet them. Leadership can be that easy and as we move through the more intimate places of our day, those small, highly powerful, influential leadership moments should be increasing. So let's make sure we are doing them especially with family, friends, and with the people in our life on a daily basis... even if they drive us crazy sometimes!

So, let's all do some self awareness exercises and become aware of that person walking 60 seconds behind us and try to figure out what they might find as they observed and talked to the people we just had an opportunity to influence. Because that 60 second follower will find out what our leadership impact is, the question is what will they find? Hope and/or inspiration? Judgment and/or disappointment? Or no impact at all?

What do you want your impact to be?

Want to read more of my blathering?

click here... or here... or here

Thanks for your time, because I know it's valuable!

Daryl Vanella

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." - Winston Churchill

A Great Leadership Development Opportunity

Flint Michigan and Genesee County have a lot going for it. You might not guess that if you believe all the negative press it has gotten over the recent years. We have returned to this area after being gone for almost 10 years and we love being back!

In my reacclimation to the area, I am running into dedicated passionate leaders that are fighting the good fight to bring development and thriving communities back to Genesee County. One of several hats that I wear

Leadership Happens 9.4.09

Two days ago we discussed the different between a thermostat-leader and a thermometer-leader. Who knew that just 48 hours later I would have such significant examples of each?

EXPERIENCING A THERMOSTAT-LEADER:
Two days ago I made an off-the-cuff call to a significant influencer in the City of Flint Michigan that I had not met, but knew about. The call was somewhat on a whim and I was just going to investigate an idea I had. It turned out that this person was busy and we made quick arrangements for me to call back in a few hours when things were not so busy. Well, as the day wore on I forgot to call back and before I knew it the work day was over.

This afternoon, as I was getting ready to run some errands, I quickly checked my email before I left the house and to my surprise, there was an email from this person. Now, mind you, I did not give him my email address and we have never met face to face that I can recall (although we are connected through Face Book and our love and support for Flint Michigan).

He had sent me an email to follow-up on whatever I was calling about. Think about that! A man I have never met, who I called briefly out of the blue in the middle of a very busy day, remembered my name, got a hold of my email address and followed-up with me unexpectedly less than 48 hours later. I did not even tell him why I was calling. I bet this guy could sell ice to Eskimos! With leadership being influence, guess how he led me this afternoon! I shot off a quick email in response, briefly describing my question for him and thanking him for the impressive follow-through.

When I returned from my errands, guess what? That's right, he had responded to my email with a commitment to give some thought to my question over the holiday weekend and we would connect on the issue on Tuesday morning. This man impressed me so, that he made my day and gave me increased hope for a dilemma I am trying to solve. His thermostat-leadership helped me to change my attitude and outlook on my day and on an issue. Now that is a great example of how to lead and influence.

EXPERIENCING A THERMOMETER-LEADER:
Remember those errands I mentioned above? Well, while running one of them, I was in the close vicinity of a mother and her approximately 3-year old daughter. They were involved in some animated negotiations over a cereal box the little girl had taken off a shelf. The mother ended the negotiations by forcibly removing the box from the daughters hand and telling her, "You cannot have it and you need to SHUT UP about it." Both mother and daughter were in a heightened emotional state, which I assume the daughter started and the mother reflected... being a good thermometer-leader.

I finished my shopping and checked out. As I exited the store, I found myself walking behind the same mother and daughter. The mother made some calm unheard comment to the daughter which apparently the daughter did not want to hear. The daughter responded in an escalated manner, "SHUT UP MOMMY!” In reactive response, the mother immediately escalated to match her daughter's manner and declared to the daughter, "YOU NEVER TELL MOMMY TO SHUT-UP!" (Have I mentioned the power of role modeling in leadership?) As I passed by, I knew this was headed in the wrong direction. As we all exited the store, I could hear the confrontation continuing as the daughter escalated and the mother followed suit, reflecting and mirroring (as a thermometer does) the emotional environment her daughter was creating. One might ponder who the true leader in this situation was.

Point being, we have opportunities to lead and influence situations every moment of every day. How did you/I do today? We were leaders today! The question is what kind and how can we be better ones in our next interaction?

How Are You Leading?

As stated earlier, leadership is influence. So, if this is true, one of the questions needing answered is… How? How are you leading or influencing others? This basically is the "glass half full / half empty" dilemma. How does your influence affect others?

You can think of yourself and your attitude as a thermometer or a thermostat. What does a thermometer do? It reflects the temperature of its environment. A thermometer-leader becomes chaotic when he/she enters a chaotic situation or becomes calm when they enter a calm situation.

What does a thermostat do? It changes the temperature of its environment. A thermometer-leader changes the environment that he or she is existing in.

Because leadership is influence, both types (a leader that reflects or becomes their environment or a leader that changes their environment) have a dramatic effect on the outcome of any situation. As a parent, if you enter into the chaos and anger of your children embattled in sibling rivalry and you mirror that chaos and anger, you not only are not having a positive effect on the situation, but you are just adding gas to the engine that will drive the situation in the wrong direction at that moment and in the future.

As a true leader who wants to see progress and wants to move things forward, one must be a thermostat-leader. The type of leader that has a positive influence on the direction of the environment they are influencing. Whether the environment is at home, work, social, or private (yes, you can be a leader of yourself, all by yourself. Actually, what you do in private says more about your leadership abilities than what you do in public).

So ask yourself, "How do I lead and influence others?" Be honest with yourself than sit down and make a list. Entitle it, "How I can be a better thermostat!" And develop yourself a behavior and attitude plan on how to “set” yourself so you influence your environment for the better.