Does anyone else working in the nonprofit sector find it annoying that Microsoft Word constantly corrects 501(c)3 to read 501©3?
I finally had it this morning and figured out how to prevent this on an ongoing basis. If you are similarly frustrated, visit this help page and you will be guided regarding how to make an exception in autocorrect.
By the way, I realize that some of you will find it fairly pathetic that I didn’t take action years ago, and others will find it incredibly nerdy that I felt I needed to share this with others!

In November, I’ll be teaching Advanced Board Leadership, a course designed for experienced board members to sharpen their skills. The class is a joint effort of United Way of King County, UW Nancy Bell Evans Center for Nonprofits and Philanthropy, ArtsFund and Social Venture Partners, and I co-teach with Amanda Madorno.

Topics for the two-part workshop include adaptive leadership, board/executive partnership, board culture and generative governance. Please spread the word!

Recently, Blue Avocado ran a series of articles on nonprofit strategic planning: Strategic Planning: Failures and Alternatives and ?In Defense of Strategic Planning:  A Rebuttal. The first article pointed out the ways in which strategic planning can go wrong, and the second rebutted these claims. Unfortunately, Mike Allison failed in my view to truly champion strategic planning. Can we do better in expressing the value of strategic planning and proactively making an argument for its continuing use?

To me, planning is a process where a group of people come together to set priorities and align their efforts. This confluence and reconciliation of many ideas and perspectives is the heart and soul of strategic planning. Like geese flying in formation, we are able to travel further, faster through this alignment. The outcome is not only a written plan, but a sense of unity and renewed commitment among board members, staff members and other constituents.

The planning process asks us to articulate more precisely what impact we hope to have, and debate the best means to achieve our desired end. A good planning process surfaces and tests assumptions and challenges us to articulate our theory of change, what success really looks like, and how to determine whether we have achieved it. Well-intentioned efforts that do not produce results can be discontinued, and new approaches considered. In this way we maximize community benefit.

It is true that we now operate in a very dynamic environment, and that rigid, prescriptive plans are not helpful. The modern strategic plan is flexible and adaptable, providing a strategic framework but allowing for consideration of emerging opportunities and evasive action when new challenges arise. It provides management guidance but does not foreclose leadership action. It is an affirmation of who we are and what we stand for that confirms our work and invites others to join us.

I just spent four days at the Whidbey Institute at an invitational gathering dedicated to “actively engaging people in shifting the catastrophic course humanity is currently on.” I was uncertain what to expect.  Rick Ingrassi and Peggy Taylor organized the event beautifully to allow a mix of new ideas, deep conversations, art and laughter. We enjoyed picturesque winter weather as we gathered around the heath and over delicious meals to discuss how to achieve a better future. The emphasis was on learning from and being inspired by the amazing work already going on, discernment of what is needed next, and support and community building.

I was inspired by hearing directly social innovators such as Chris Jordan (visual artist known for his “By the Numbers” series), Jason McLennan (founder the Living Building Challenge and author of Zugunruhe), Joshua Gorman (founder of Generation Waking Up).

One of the things on my mind entering the conference was this: many believe we are in a time of profound change, where our “old economy” institutions are failing us and need wholesale replacement. My hunch is that there is some truth in this, and I wonder what it means for our nonprofit organizations. Can they evolve, or will there need to be a process in which new types of organizations emerge and old ones fall away?

It was very helpful to talk with several people who are not playing by the old rulebook, and have been able to accomplish some very interesting things. I was particularly struck with Joe Brewer’s approach to “crowdfunding” his policy projects rather than relying on traditional funding channels.

I also learned about new ways of sparking and organizing collaboration from Leif Utne of ?Zanby. They facilitate online community in a way that allows for different groups to collaborate and organize without losing list privacy and brand identification, a very practical approach to overcoming several common fears around collaboration among nonprofits.

There were many good ideas to ponder. I came away with an expanded sense of possibility, and curiosity about what may be possible breaking out of traditional boxes. I also feel it is not an either/or proposition.  I agree with Heifetz, Grashow and Linsky in Leadership in a Permanent Crisis that “Executives today… must develop “next practices” while excelling at today’s best practices.”

It was a pleasure to get an inkling of what some of these “next practices” might look like at the WWG. Stay tuned!

I recently received an invitation to speak to the CityClub board about high-performing boards. I shared the following five principles that I believe are critical to create a high-performing governing team.

Five Principles of High-Performing Boards

1. Build trust
2. Create a sense of forward momentum
3. Foster resiliency
4. Provide opportunities for connection and belonging
5. Be open and curious

Build trust: Building trust is something that each individual board member needs to work on. In order to ensure that you are behaving in a trustworthy manner, be honest, accountable and dependable. Commit to things you can accomplish, and follow-through (I recognize that this can be quite challenging at times!). In addition, it is critical to show that you care-about the mission and about your fellow board members. There is a saying about kids: “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” This rule holds for adults as well. Demonstrated caring will build strong reciprocal, trusting relationships and also enhance belonging and commitment of group members.

Create a sense of forward momentum: To create excitement and a feeling of momentum, board leaders need to firmly respect decisions that have been made (at board level and at committee level) and maintain a focus on the future rather than allow rehashing of the past. Set a high expectation about follow-through by board members, tempered by sincere support and compassion. Encourage desired behaviors by calling out and celebrating accomplishments. The old saw about speech writing is “tell ‘em what you are going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you told them.” This can be adapted for board recognition: “Tell ‘em the goal and how confident you are that you will reach it, recognize progress as it is happening, celebrate it after the fact.”

Foster resiliency: Resiliency is the ability to bounce back in the face of adversity. I can’t understand why this term hasn’t had the cachet that sustainability has-to me, it’s a critical concept and especially relevant in our current operating environment. There are a number of traits associated with resiliency (at individual or organizational level): adaptability, optimism, sense of humor, self-confidence, faith (belief that things happen for a reason), good support network, openness to new challenges.

You can recruit people with these qualities and you can also work to develop them in current board members. The saying “fake it ’til you make it” applies here-research shows that people who pretend to be happy actually become happier. It is also possible to create a virtuous cycle here-resilience is attractive, and will draw people with resilient qualities to your board, reinforcing and improving your team’s resilience over time.

Provide opportunities for connection and belonging: We all want a sense of community, and we are committed to supporting the people and organizations we are closest to. To create this type of connection among board members and between board members and the organization itself, get to know each other as whole people, provide social opportunities and have fun! Encourage board members to work in small teams where their voice will be heard and their contributions will make a noticeable difference.

Be open and curious: Establish a culture where creative ideas are welcome, and support learning and experimentation. Diversity of thought must be honored in a sincere way, though this can create tension in the board room at times. Encourage asking powerful questions and provide time for deeper dialogue that includes discussion of context and trends, values and root causes (for an introduction to the concept of generative governance, check out Governance as Leadership: An Interview with Richard P. Chait).

Each one of the principles above is a rich area for board exploration. Consider following the fifth principle and encouraging deep discussion of a principle that feels most relevant at an upcoming board meeting or retreat. You can trust that your group will have excellent ideas about how live into that principle more fully, and the group discussion will promote shared ownership of strategies that are generated. Board membership requires time and sustained attention, but this investment is richly rewarded when the outcomes are relationships characterized by deep trust, greater personal resilience and lifelong learning.

In early 2011, I’ll be presenting several workshops related to board/staff relations:

Getting Along with Your Board of Directors, January 24 through Sustainable Seattle. 

Strengthening the Board/Executive Relationship, February 10 through United Way of Seattle.

I’m grateful for the various opportunities I’ve had this month to teach and present my ideas, and be in dialogue with others regarding the challenges facing our sector. 

Highlights from Friday’s Governance Conference in Tacoma:

• Linda Crompton from BoardSource spoke, painting a somewhat bleak picture of the sector citing national statistics, and indicated that we really don’t know what lies ahead.  Her recommendations for success in a challenging time:  increase meaningful networks among nonprofits, get ahead of changing demographic shifts and engage younger leaders at the board level, and generally embrace societal changes (technology, new hybrid organizational forms, etc.).  I was interested in her comments about networks, as I am very taken with the work of the Monitor Institute and June Holly  on networked organizations.  Crompton talked about getting results through the network rather than at the organization level (funders, are you willing to reward this behavior?), blurring of the sectors, and holding joint board meetings among like-minded organizations.  She talked about “leading an organization that is a piece of the whole rather than an end in itself.”
• Peter Drury tells me he’d like to get the word out about a new tool he debuted this year:  the “Beyond Cash Fundraising Management Dashboard.”  What a great way of thinking about fundraising more broadly!
• Jan Glick shared with me his perspective that the nonprofit sector is in crisis and we all refuse to really talk about it honestly.  His new book, Nonprofit Turnaround, outlines how to address the crisis at the individual organization level, and he is also out talking to funders about the importance of increased investment in capacity building.
• I presented a workshop on how to apply adaptive leadership practices in the boardroom.  Get a taste of adaptive leadership from this Ron Heifetz video.

I’m looking forward to the following workshops and classes coming up:

Through United Way of King County:

• Board Recruitment on December 9, 2010
• Strengthening the Board/Executive Partnership on February 10, 2011

Through the University of Washington Professional and Continuing Education’s Nonprofit Management Certificate:  Strategic Leadership for Nonprofit Managers, January-March 2011

Board Recruitment and Board Roles and Responsibilities at the Washington State Farmers Market Association Conference, January 29, 2011 in Leavenworth, WA

I was invited by David Harrison to speak to a crowd of Evans School students last Saturday about “the modern day practice of strategic planning.”   The invitation was a lovely:  not a how-to lecture, but a chance to speak about my philosophy and approach to planning, and how planning works or doesn’t in real life.

As a mission-driven business, I am always thinking about impact and trying to determine how to provide services to my nonprofit clients that truly “help nonprofits thrive” and achieve their missions more effectively.  This has led to some thorny conversations with myself and others about whether strategic planning really adds value.  The benefits of a well-crafted planning process include:

• Teaches a group of board and staff leaders how to think strategically together
• Helps a group with limited resources to prioritize areas of focus and abandon less fruitful investments of time and energy
• Helps to articulate the organization’s theory of change—for themselves and potential supporters
• Satisfies funder expectations, and allows the nonprofit to demonstrate that they have their act together

Conventional planning may be too rigid for the rapidly changing world we live in.  Plans made a few years ago during boom times have in some cases proven irrelevant during the current recession.  Radical adaptation has been required of all of us.  Yet, we still need a guided process for thinking together, setting our sails and tracking our progress.  For this reason, I recommend that nonprofits complete a high-level plan with a strategic framework for the coming three years, complemented by more detailed and measurable action plans for specific initiatives. 

For example, an organization might set three strategic priorities in support of their mission and vision:  expansion of their program to a new geographic area, building fundraising capacity and board recruitment and development.  In year 1, building fundraising capacity might be the “big question” facing the organization (David La Piana in his book Nonprofit Strategy Revolution suggests that nonprofits work on just one priority at a time to ensure a clear focus and mustering of all the organization’s resources).  In order to be successful in increasing fundraising capacity, the organization will need a detailed, grounded action plan laying out realistic strategies, timelines, resources needed (staffing, new database, training, etc.) and expected results.  The organization is more likely to achieve their goals if there are clear roles and milestones to monitor progress.

Where do I as a consultant fit in?   I am challenging myself to streamline the planning process so that organizations have time, energy and budget left for the action planning and implementation phase.  I hope that I will be able to assist clients more often with action planning, developing a board dashboard to monitor progress easily and aligning resources needed to execute the planning priorities.

Philanthropy Northwest recently commissioned “An Assessment of Capacity Building in Washington State.” Completed by consultants at the Giving Practice and completed in December 2009, the report presents a “nonprofit ecosystem” framework for thinking about nonprofit capacity building, outlining eight essential elements of a resilient nonprofit ecosystem. The report is well worth checking out, and presents some good information about the varying capacity building needs in different parts of Washington State.

The report got me thinking, along the following lines: the researchers conducted fifty interviews, but did not include private consultants in the pool. Why not? Don’t we have an important perspective on capacity building? Yes, we do! In fact, I have for some time felt that private consultants have some important things to say about capacity building, but are rarely asked to weigh in. Here are some of the reasons I think consultants should be included in future conversations:

• Like funders, we work with many different organizations, and can see patterns, highlight best practices and spot trends across the sector.
• Unlike funders, our clients confide in us.
• We are mission-based businesses—many of us care deeply about strengthening the social sector and have thought deeply about how to deliver capacity building in an effective manner.
• As one colleague put it, “We do the work.”

So then, after huffing about briefly, it came to me. The real question: if they asked us what we think, what would we say? This is a really interesting question, and it has taken me some time to think about it (and doubtless I will continue to reflect). I am also grateful that my professional development group was willing to engage in a conversation with me on this great question. Together, we confirmed my hunch that consultants have a valuable perspective to share. Here are a few highlights from our conversation and from my own thinking:

• We would love to engage with the question of how best to serve rural communities. The Nonprofit Ecosystem report alludes to the differing needs of rural and urban-based nonprofit organizations, but doesn’t really detail the differences. We know as consultants that our rural clients are different, and we have learned to adapt and provide culturally competent services. For example, Susan Howlett has crisscrossed the state and region, drawing crowds in rural areas because she understands the challenges rural nonprofits face. Rural areas are truly resource-poor, so development of a scarcity mentality is understandable. Coming in and telling them to just “try harder” to raise funds isn’t helpful.
• We value and appreciate cultural competency. In fact, we suggest elevating this principle as an essential element of a resilient nonprofit ecosystem. We think it is equally if not more important than technology, and should be called out.
• Not only would we appreciate being a part of the conversation, we see a great need for funders and nonprofit leaders to dialogue together. In past years, Philanthropy Northwest and Puget Sound Grantwriters Association have partnered to allow some dialogue. Recently, this partnership has languished. Gains made in the past by nonprofit folks, such as the PNGF (now Philanthropy Northwest) common grant application, have fallen by the wayside.
• We see the pain caused by inadequate investment in capacity building, professional development and infrastructure/general operations. For this reason, it is encouraging to see funders engaging in this issue and trying to educate their peers about the importance of capacity building to a healthy nonprofit sector. Another good example of an educational piece for funders along these lines is The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle. Hopefully, this trend will continue and focus on the “overhead ratio” will be reduced.

I’m excited to continue this conversation—with colleagues, clients and philanthropists. I hope the Nonprofit Ecosystem Report is just the beginning!

Laura will present two workshops for United Way of King County this fall:

Advanced Board Leadership

(co-presented with ArtsFund, Social Venture Partners and UW Nancy Bell Evans Center)

October 21 and 28, 8:30 am-12:30 pm, Cost: $125
Presented with LPC Associate Amanda Madorno

This course goes beyond the standard orientation to board roles and responsibilities. In two half-day course sessions, participants will explore a variety of leadership challenges. The sessions will cover the context of leadership; adaptive leadership; elements of effective board leadership; leading change; generative governance; effective partnerships between board members and with the organization’s CEO; and the application of concepts to participants’ specific leadership work in the community. The course is designed for experienced board members.

Board Recruitment

December 9, 2010,  8:30 am-11:30 am,  The 2100 Building, Seattle, Cost: $40

One of the most important responsibilities of nonprofit boards is board development: renewing and strengthening the board through skills development and recruitment of talented new members. In this workshop, participants will focus on the recruitment side, learning:

• The three life stages of nonprofit boards and what type of board members are needed at each stage of development
• A six step process for board recruitment
• How to identify board members with the skills and experience your organization needs

Register or learn more about either workshop through United Way of King County