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Summer 2000 Newsletter
Table of Contents
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Strategic
Leadership: More Than a Strategic Plan by Toni Lashbrook
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The
Cyberspace Challenge: The Future of Technology and the Management of
Volunteers by Barb Gemmell
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Legal
Help for Non-Profit Organizations
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How
Can Small Charities Attract Corporate Support?
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Strategic
Leadership: More Than a Strategic Plan
by
Toni Lashbrook
Strategic leadership is the primary role of any board of directors.
In organizations with senior administrators such as an executive
director, CEO, or general manager, this is a shared responsibility. With
or without a senior administrator, however, boards need to take
strategic leadership seriously in order to help ensure the health and
sustainability of the organizations that they govern. Too often,
strategic leadership is viewed as a once-a-year event that results in a
document called the strategic plan. Strategic plans can be useful
tools for articulating existing, emerging, and new organizational
strategies. Unfortunately, too many strategic plans become SPOTTS
(Strategic Plans on the Top Shelf), and are never implemented. To become
truly effective, boards need to embrace strategic leadership as a
fundamental role, and move it from an annual event to a year-round
process.
Strategic leadership is the ability to make wise choices in times of
emerging issues and rapid change in social, economic, political,
technological, and environmental conditions. Strategic leadership is the
ability to see the environment as a complex system of interacting
variables that must be considered when planning for the future.
In order to undertake strategic leadership, boards need to carry out
various responsibilities and tasks. To do this successfully, boards need
the support and input from stakeholders found both inside and outside of
the organization. These multiple perspectives help ensure that the
organizational strategies that are identified will make a significant
difference to the organization’s work.
The umbrella of strategic leadership includes three responsibilities
for boards:
As a catalyst for strategies, your board needs to encourage and
support future thinking throughout your organization. As an identifier
of patterns in actions, your board needs to step back in order to look
for, and to recognize, patterns in actions of both the internal and
external environment. By exploring patterns in actions that do succeed
and those that do not, your board can modify existing strategies, or
build new strategies, that can lead to future organizational success. As
an analyst of strategy, your board needs to:
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Gather the appropriate information and data
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Assess your organization’s present position
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Reflect on the information gathered
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Explore alternative strategies
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Analyze potential consequences
To carry these three major responsibilities, your board needs to keep
your organization’s strategic issues and directions under constant
observation. This means:
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Establishing systems that supply timely, relevant information to
the board
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Exploring the network of issues and the stakeholders that are
involved
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Involving the input of multiple perspectives
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Taking time to reflect on this information
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Posing the big questions that arise from this information
What are these big questions? These are the real
questions that are found within all of the gathered information. These
are the questions that, if your board could answer them, would result in
moving your organization towards its desired future. Adopting a
big-question approach requires moving from a debate, or win/lose
perspective, to a learning something new together attitude. To
address the challenges of our complex world, your board will need to ask
for and hear perspectives from many constituencies in your community.
Posing effective big questions will encourage ongoing dialogue, and will
enable your board and others in your organization to see the whole
picture in order to address complex issues, maximize opportunities, and
achieve success.
Big questions often create a sense of ambiguity, since these are the
questions for which your board and others in your organization do not
have immediate answers. To deal with the ambiguity, your board needs to
believe that it is possible to find these answers. They also need to
believe that by working together, your board, and your internal and
external stakeholders have the ability to address the questions, to
overcome any difficult challenges, and to discern where strategic
possibilities may lie.
Remember that big questions are the questions that, if your board
could answer them, would make the greatest difference in your
organization’s work. By involving multiple perspectives in a dialogue
about these questions, your board can begin to identify possible
scenarios, develop grounded visions, and explore catalytic strategies
and opportunities that are based in reality. In the book, The Dance
of Change, a big question:
Building a vision built on big questions leads to later questions
that keep your organization moving in its desired direction. Some of
these later questions could include:
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In what specific ways are our vision and the current reality
different?
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In light of the current reality, what new vision is possible,
and/or likely to happen?
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What parts, if any, of our vision need to be modified to more
accurately reflect the current reality?
In addition to asking big questions, being a strategic leader also
requires your board to also consciously address:
Competencies
As a strategic leader, your board must admit to, and work to
understand your organization’s abilities and weaknesses. Done with an
inquiring approach that seeks to understand rather than to accuse,
learning from abilities and deficiencies can become one of your
board’s biggest strengths. Questions to consider include:
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What was our biggest mistake in the last year? What was our
biggest success? What did we learn? What do we do differently
because of what we learned?
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What processes do we use to identify our abilities and our
weaknesses? How do we build on our abilities and address our
weaknesses? How well do these processes work?
Change
Strategic leadership requires that your board embrace change by using
good strategic thinking and planning, and by selecting strategies that
will make a significant difference in your community. Keep in mind that
strategies that do not make a difference may keep people busy; however,
these strategies will not inspire commitment in difficult times. Be
careful about getting better and better at work that no longer makes a
difference. Questions to consider include:
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What strategies is our organization committed to that will make a
substantial difference?
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How does our board lead and encourage new directions?
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What programs, services and/or actions have we started in the past
few years? What have we stopped doing?
Conflict
Strategic leadership means working in a positive way with conflict
and differing views, in order to arrive at decisions that are supported
by those who are affected by them. By identifying and exploring
different needs and beliefs, your board can develop a basis for
identifying common ground and for negotiating a win/win resolution of
conflicts that could threaten progress. Searching for win/win solutions
amid disagreement and differences results in much better strategic
thinking and long-term resolutions. Questions to consider include:
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How does our board encourage the expression of different opinions,
needs, and beliefs?
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How does our board explore the issues so that it can develop
win/win solutions that meet at least some of the needs of the
affected stakeholders?
Short-term and long-term perspectives
To be effective strategic leaders, boards need to carefully balance
the need to address immediate concerns with long-term perspectives.
Without this delicate balance, boards easily find themselves mired in
the issues of yesterday and today. Questions to consider include:
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What knowledge and skills is our board gaining that will give us
the ability to deal with and focus on the long term?
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In what ways has a short-term focus resulted in our organization
being trapped in the present with little, if any, view of the
future?
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What does our board do to balance both the short-term and
long-term perspectives in our work?
Relationships
Successful strategic leadership involves understanding and managing
the tangled web of relationships among your stakeholders. In order to
recognize relationship problems, your board needs to understand the
roles of different stakeholders, the rewards and/or benefits that they
seek, and what commitment they will make to your organization. Questions
to consider include:
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Who are the stakeholders who can influence the success of our
programs and services?
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Which of our stakeholders are primary, and which are secondary?
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What do we offer that pleases our primary stakeholders the most?
What is crucial to gain the support of our secondary stakeholders?
Whether this is the beginning, or the continuation, of a dialogue
about what it takes for your board to be a strategic leader, have each
board member take a few minutes at your next board meeting to
individually answer:
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What percentage of time did we spend in this meeting talking about
long-term issues and future plans?
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What percentage of time did we spend talking about plans for the
next month or the next quarter?
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What percentage of time did we spend reviewing the past?
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After sharing your answers and perhaps drawing a graph that
averages everyone’s percentages, answer the following questions:
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As strategic leaders of our organization, is this where we need to
be spending our time?
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If no, what can we do to change it so that we can focus more on
the future, and on fulfilling our strategic leadership role?
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If yes, what can we do to ensure that we continue to focus on the
future and fulfill our future strategic leadership role?
By making wise choices about where you focus your board meetings,
your board is taking positive steps to embrace strategic leadership as a
primary role.
Toni
Lashbrook is a consultant who specializes in board development, group
facilitation, strategic planning, and team building. She teaches
part-time at Grant MacEwan College and at the Banff Centre for
Management. Toni can be contacted at
tlashbro@compusmart.ab.ca.
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The
Cyberspace Challenge:
The Future of
Technology and the Management of Volunteers by
Barb Gemmell
Technology is having a major impact on
our lives, both personally and at work. The Internet is redefining how
many management functions are carried out and will continue to transform
our profession in ways we are only beginning to glimpse. The challenge
is to learn how to use the Internet effectively to augment current
management practices. Cyberspace provides the opportunity to adapt and
customize our offline processes, develop new methods of recruitment and
training, and stay current and connected.
What is your first step?
Begin by setting a strategic priority to
make technology work to assist you in achieving results. Ask yourself
how the Internet can be incorporated into each of your action plans.
Upgrade your own skills and knowledge about technology. Find a mentor.
Use the internet to learn how to use the internet--complete an on-line
course, subscribe to a newsgroup or become part of a chat line that
offers computer tips. Technology is the way of the new millennium and it
is important to ‘log on’.
The Internet connects you to current
information on non-profit news, how-to articles and new resources. One
of the biggest challenges today is to find time to read newsletters and
publications to keep current on trends. By subscribing to newsgroups you
can quickly scan the headlines and save the ‘newsbytes’ that you
want to research more thoroughly. Two excellent newsgroups are the
weekly Village Vibes which you can subscribe to through
www.charityvillage.ca and Susan Ellis’s monthly e-newsletter available
through www.energizeinc.com. There are many other topic-specific
newsgroups that will deliver information to your electronic in basket on
a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Be certain the information is useful
or you will become stressed by e-mail overload.
How is technology already being used?
A quick self-assessment will determine
how you are currently utilizing technology. Can you answer ‘yes’ to
each of the following?
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E-mail addresses and/or websites are
documented on applications and other forms where phone and fax
numbers are collected.
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The organization’s website has a
link to volunteer opportunities which are regularly updated.
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Volunteer opportunities are posted on
at least two other appropriate Internet sites.
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Position descriptions and applications
forms are online.
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Orientation and training includes
classroom, audio or videotape and online learning.
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Communication with volunteers and
staff utilizes a combination of face-to-face, phone, fax and e-mail.
The ‘just-in-time’ demands of our
information-driven society require us to ensure we have these processes
in place or we may miss out!
What are the possibilities?
One of the biggest challenges for many
Managers of Volunteers is the constant need to recruit volunteers.
Technology makes it quicker, easier and more convenient for individuals
to find and participate in volunteer opportunities of their choice.
Virtual volunteering allows for participation without leaving home or
the office, any time of the day or night. This type of involvement may
appeal to someone who otherwise would not be able to get involved
because of home obligations, a disability, remoteness or work schedules.
The 1997 National Survey on Giving and Volunteering reported that the
number one reason for not volunteering was the fact respondents did not
have the time. Virtual volunteering provides individuals with more
flexibility to build volunteering into their personal schedules thus
reducing some of the barriers of time constraints.
Designing online volunteer opportunities
is a must! Why not recruit a ‘surfer’, someone to assist with trend
watching and research online. This person can update mailing and phone
lists which is made easy on the Internet with online directory
information. Posting of new positions descriptions can be a part of this
job. By providing good background information, detailing the results you
want and agreeing on timelines, a surfer can build these tasks into
their own schedule. . . and you have more time.
Technical assistance, website development
and maintenance, database design and updates can be provided virtually
as well. Desktop publishing of newsletters, publications, handbooks and
training manuals can be completed by someone offsite. Development of
cyber brochures, design and facilitation of e-learning opportunities and
the design and result tabulation of online evaluation surveys are all
examples of positions worth considering.
New ways of delivering service can be
considered by incorporating virtual volunteering. Cyber advisors can
staff an e-mail or chat room support line. Electronic visits can be made
to clients who are homebound or hospitalized. Tutoring or mentoring
online are other great possibilities. Thinking creatively about each
function of the management process as well as working with staff and
clients will result in other online opportunities. A great website to
assist with virtual volunteering is www.serviceleader.org/vv/v. Susan
Ellis’s website, www.energizeinc.com recently released an online
virtual volunteering handbook that can be downloaded for reference.
The Internet, while not a stand-alone
tool, must be incorporated into the entire marketing strategy to ensure
results. An organization’s website is the initial location for posting
current positions, but they should also be posted on other websites. A
notation should be made on the organization’s website and on all
written materials where postings can be found. Current volunteers,
sponsors and friends of the organization may have personal or business
websites where they will add the organization’s logo and hotlink to
the volunteer opportunities page as well.
It is important when posting positions
online that there is an immediate next step once the individual
expresses interest. This could be an e-mail response link with
additional information, an online application form to complete and
forward, or a commitment to a phone conversation within a certain period
of time. Prospective volunteers will be lost if they are not able to get
connected and begin to move ahead in their involvement with an
organization within a few days. A turnaround response time of no more
than 48 hours, or two business days, is recommended.
Technology is changing the way we do
business. With computer capabilities steadily increasing, there is
tremendous potential to incorporate technology into each of the other
management processes. Many questions will arise and the answers may
result in things being done differently. There are endless
possibilities, but lack of time and resources may limit what can be
accomplished. By "logging on" and taking a "byte" at
a time, it is more manageable. Take on the cyberspace challenge—the
results will be worth it!
Barb Gemmell, Gemmell Training &
Consulting, 68 Trowbridge Bay, Winnipeg, MB R2N 2V6, phone (204)
253-6638 bgemmell@mb.sympatico.ca
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Legal
Help for Non-Profit Organizations
A program that provides pro bono legal services to community
organizations has expanded into Alberta.
Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC) now has a permanent home at the
Faculty of Law, University of Alberta. This unique program allows law
students to gain practical experience while contributing to the
communities they live in.
Eligible non-profit agencies or public interest organizations are
able to access the volunteer services of law students skilled in legal
and policy research, writing and interviewing. Projects that PBSC
volunteers can work on are usually legal in nature and must qualify as
work for the public interest. Placements generally run from
mid-September to December or mid-January to April, for approximately
three hours per week. There are no charges for services provided.
PBSC is not able to provide law students to represent individual
clients, or to give legal advice to individual clients. All work must be
carried out under the guidance of a supervising lawyer who carries
liability insurance. Supervising lawyers are usually found by the
organization through their existing links.
The program was developed in 1996 at the University of Toronto
Faculty of Law. In 1998, the program was expanded to include all Ontario
law schools. Since inception, hundreds of students have provided pro
bono services to 85 agencies in four other Ontario cities. Examples of
projects completed include preparing a student handbook on child abuse,
researching legislation protecting endangered species, and presenting an
information session on basic rights to street youth.
A generous grant from the Kahanoff Foundation allowed the program to
expand into Alberta, as well as British Columbia, Manitoba and New
Brunswick.
In Alberta, PBSC is actively seeking
organizations to assist. For more information, contact Pro Bono Students
Canada at 780-492-1194 (University of Alberta Faculty of Law).
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How
Can Small Charities Attract Corporate Support?
When asked by a small charity how to approach corporations for
support, Marnie Spears of Ketchum Canada Inc. responded as follows:
Before making an investment in corporate fundraising, ask yourself
this question: Is the internal culture of our organization ready for it?
Some organizations are not prepared or willing to deal with all that the
current corporate "strategic" philanthropy entails — for
example, is the organization’s board and administration prepared to
work at building a solid "fit" between their organization’s
objectives and the strategic imperatives of the corporation? Are they
prepared to enter into and willing to provide the recognition
appropriate to the investment in their organization, or to engage in a
relationship that will require an investment on their own part — of
time, energy, and resources? Are they prepared to engage the employees
of the corporation as volunteers/advisors/participants in reaching the
objectives of this group? In short, are they prepared to invest in
developing a relationship that will last far longer than the gift
itself?
Is this the best focus for you? Think, too, about whether this is the
best way for your organization to be raising money. Seventy-nine per
cent of total giving in Canada (1998 figures) comes from individuals,
and it is in that identified constituency that the greatest potential
for growth exists.
If the answer to the previous questions is "yes," start
with a small, three- to six-month program. The program should:
Start with research. Your best prospective donors will be
companies with linkages to your organization. As you look for
prospective donors, consider companies with links to your board and
volunteers, or those with an interest in what you do. Review your
current and previous donors for linkages to the corporate community.
Develop a convincing cultivation presentation. Prepare a package
of funding opportunities for corporate donors. Think of the programs in
your organization that will "sell to corporations," programs
that will get them excited. Also, creatively consider the sponsorship
and partnership opportunities you can offer. Are there opportunities to
market a company’s products and services? Can you engage employee
volunteers?
Meet with five corporate donations officers. Start small. Set up
cultivation visits with a handful of corporate donations officers among
your best prospective supporters. Before your meeting, conduct some
preliminary research. Read their corporate annual report, seek
information on the Internet, be informed about their corporate values,
objectives and recent community investment initiatives. Consider taking
an "expert witness" with you on the call, someone from your
organization who can speak to your needs with passion and conviction.
After your visit, review your success. What concepts had the most appeal
for the prospect? What projects did they prefer?
Develop a professional and customized solicitation strategy. When
it’s time to make the call, prepare well. Ensure that your
solicitation is well researched and well rehearsed. Consider a team
approach including your CEO, an expert witness and, if available, a
volunteer or a board member with a connection to your prospective donor.
In your meeting, communicate the unique role of your organization, your
vision and long term plans, the relationship your organization has had
with the prospect, and the need and urgency of the projects for which
you are raising funds. Speak to the prospective donor about the tangible
benefits of their support to your constituents, the community and to the
donor themselves.
Evaluate your programs. After three to six months, measure your
outcomes, both quantitative and qualitative. Assess your results to date
and the value this program is providing or will eventually provide to
your organization given more investment of time.
The best corporate solicitation programs involve research,
cultivation and strategic solicitation. With these key methodologies in
mind and a focused approach, your organization can make important new
moves into the rewarding area of corporate partnership and philanthropy.
Marnie Spears is president of Ketchum Canada Inc., a
full-service fundraising consulting firm. Excerpted with permission from Front & Centre, Canadian Centre for Philanthropy.
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