In the mission-driven world of non-profits, our decisions are infused with purpose, values, and an abiding desire to make a difference. Yet, despite noble intentions, our actions can yield surprising — and sometimes counterproductive — outcomes. Collateral damage, side-effects, and ripple effects are just some of the names we give to unintended consequences. We all… Continue reading The Consequentiality of Unintended Consequences – Part 1
Tag: risk management
Governance ‘Freedoms’ and their constraints
“Art lives on constraint and dies of freedom”[Michelangelo] Paraphrasing Michelangelo, we might also say that the art of governance is catalysed by constraints and lacks focus or coherence when directors are free to do what they want. For those of us who think of governance as a system of controls, it may seem that the… Continue reading Governance ‘Freedoms’ and their constraints
Ethical Communications
Nonprofit organisations generally have communication and social media policies to guide their spokespeople and staff on acceptable practices. Despite this, mis-communications and other communication problems occur, especially where social media is involved. Most of the tensions within our communities are fuelled by words. Words used to label, blame, shame, or cancel people. Legitimate protests can… Continue reading Ethical Communications
Balancing ‘long’ and ‘short’ strategic perspectives
The ‘strategic horizon‘ most nonprofits use is between 3-5 years. That seems to be about as far into the future as we feel able to project – either in terms of what we might confidently predict about our operating environment, or the timespan over which we are willing to commit to achieving our goals. Such… Continue reading Balancing ‘long’ and ‘short’ strategic perspectives
Juggling Cats, Chainsaws, & Bowling Balls
Leadership roles often requires a capacity to deal with multiple challenges. Consequently, we need to be able to share our ‘attention budget’ between various roles, functions, priorities, and tasks. Leaders as Jugglers The juggling metaphor is sometimes used to suggest the dexterous handling of these multiple demands. Each metaphoric ‘ball’ is given its due, and… Continue reading Juggling Cats, Chainsaws, & Bowling Balls
Reactive, Responsive, & Proactive Leadership
A recent exploration of thinking styles (see The [mind] map is not the territory) included a reference to automatic thinking. It suggested that unconscious (usually emotional) reactions to triggering events or circumstances can benefit from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. But that was only a small part of the automatic thinking story. Reactiveness, Responsiveness, or Proactiveness Part… Continue reading Reactive, Responsive, & Proactive Leadership
Are you a ‘responsible person’?
‘In loco parentis’ In a previous life, I was a teacher. Fairly early in my career, a boy in my Year 8 class was reported to have left the room. “Sir!! Kim’s outside having a fit!” With no idea as to the severity of the seizure, I had to choose instantly between my responsibility to… Continue reading Are you a ‘responsible person’?
The Wisdom of Epimetheus: Igniting Sparks & Fighting Fires
Paradoxically, nonprofit leaders are charged with igniting sparks of creativity and innovation while at the same time being watchful for grass fires, or worse, burning platforms. ‘Stealing fire from heaven’ In Greek mythology, Prometheus was associated with innovation. His name meant ‘forethinker’, from which we can discern his role as an archetype of all futurists,… Continue reading The Wisdom of Epimetheus: Igniting Sparks & Fighting Fires
Combating Conflict: Negotiating Interests
The ‘view from the balcony’ was recently offered as a perspective that could assist with the resolution of conflicted positions during negotiations. Further reflections on this theme are offered here. Types of Conflict Illustrating the diversity of matters we may find ourselves conflicted about, the partial typology below offers just five conflict types for each… Continue reading Combating Conflict: Negotiating Interests
Elevating perspectives
The view from a high (or higher) vantage point has long been linked with strategic thinking and action. While often used in a military context, there is also a long tradition of symbolically linking elevated positions with elevated thinking about much broader concerns. A selection of symbolic references to various ‘elevated perspectives’ is offered in… Continue reading Elevating perspectives