Non-profit organisations depend heavily on volunteers to achieve their purposes. Non-profit board directors therefore have a built-in recognition of the need to delegate key aspects of the organisation’s operations to individual volunteers or groups of volunteers. Role confusion? As very few non-profit entities pay their directors, most of those people think of themselves as volunteers,… Continue reading OK to delegate?
Tag: risk management
Good and Bad Delegation
Experienced non-profit directors and managers understand that the key to effective volunteer engagement is relationship management. Having best practice policies and procedures, including a volunteer policy framework and instruments of delegation, may be necessary, but these measures are not sufficient to successfully engage your volunteer ‘workforce’. Engagement or buck-passing? Old school ‘carrot and stick’ approaches… Continue reading Good and Bad Delegation
Delegation to volunteers – handle with care
Delegation ‘Power‘ The power to delegate some part of the board’s authority or functions (other than ‘the power to delegate‘*), is one of the legitimate powers enshrined in most non-profit constitutions. Not being able to delegate ‘the power to delegate’ makes sense, as ultimate responsibility must remain with the governing board. In small to medium-sized… Continue reading Delegation to volunteers – handle with care
Organisational power
The powers and duties of directors were the focus of some earlier posts, however these make quite narrow use of the concept of ‘power’ – which has many forms and applications. My previous post dealt with powers legally (and therefore legitimately) afforded non-profit boards and directors, and made reference to those powers being distinctly different… Continue reading Organisational power
NFP powers and duties – inseparable
Non-profit directors’ ‘powers and duties’ are comparable to the ‘rights and responsibilities’ we all hold as citizens. The two concepts are therefore aspects of one orientation or disposition, and just as rights should not be isolated from responsibilities, power should always be considered as only one side of the coin called ‘power and duties’ (as… Continue reading NFP powers and duties – inseparable
Problems ‘for’ and ‘of’ governance
Problem classification Every field of human endeavour has problems, and the myriad problem solving approaches that have been identified through history reflect that diversity. Even within a field, such as non-profit governance, the variety of problems that come before a board of directors can be extremely diverse. Strategic, risk, financial, structural, logistical, human, technological, safety,… Continue reading Problems ‘for’ and ‘of’ governance
Stakeholder Engagement and Empowerment Options
Policy advocacy In helping my clients to develop advocacy campaign plans and stakeholder engagement strategies, I often find the assumption we start with is that the client has ‘the message’ and everyone else with an interest is seen as ‘the audience’. Discussion inevitably ensues about the focus on ‘public interest’ versus a possible perception of… Continue reading Stakeholder Engagement and Empowerment Options
Moral Governance – Part 3
Moral (Ethical) Concepts Parts 1 and 2 of this series of posts on moral governance referred to various ethical concepts and defined certain terms with a focus on distinguishing between causes and symptoms of different degrees of moral distress. With a view to offering a more extensive list of key ethical concepts and terms used… Continue reading Moral Governance – Part 3
Moral Governance – Part 2
Moral Climate and Culture When the moral climate in an organisation is the cause of moral distress, it could seem like ‘victim blaming’ to suggest that a ‘resilience bundle’ should be provided to employees or volunteers to help them to cope. As with any risk analysis, unless you identify and address the root cause of… Continue reading Moral Governance – Part 2
Moral Governance – Part 1
Moral decision-making Governance can be recognised as a moral undertaking, especially when characterised as ‘doing the right things in the right way’. Ethical (or moral) decision-making involves use of a ‘moral compass’, guided by agreed values, to make decisions which are both legally and ethically sound. The quadrant chart below summarises the combinations facing non-profit… Continue reading Moral Governance – Part 1