Articles

Leadership and Management Ideas You Can Use

Posts by Gary Gold-Moritz
The High Value Board

Our sense of what it means to be a high performing nonprofit Board focus on how well the Board performs—not what it provides. But active and engaged do not always equate to being useful.

Is your Board providing as much value as it can to your organization? Let’s find out. . .

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Five Myths About Nonprofit Boards

We expect nonprofit Boards to render wise decisions, guide strategy and raise money. When they fail to so so, we assume the problem is that they need more—Members, training, engagement. The real problem is unrealistic expectations—myths­­—about what Boards should be doing. What are these myths and why are so destructive?

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Encouraging Dissent

Dissent is more than disagreement; it opposes power. Dissenters must confront fears about speaking up and accept the risks that those fears may well be realized. Managers have their own fears about dissent—having to justify themselves, feeling that their authority is being challenged. Nothing about dissent is easy. And yet dissent is an enormously powerful tool for good. Here’s how you can do more to encourage it—

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Preparing for Financial Uncertainty in 2021

Looking ahead at 2021, income uncertainty is off the charts. The pandemic, recession, stock market volatility, government shortfalls, election and evolving foundation and donor priorities are combining to create as unpredictable a funding environment as we’ve ever seen. With budget planning season fast approaching, many nonprofits have an extraordinary challenge on their hands. Here's what you can do:

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Talking Finances with Your Board

As the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly remakes our world, nonprofits are grappling with the financial turmoil. Unfortunately, many Boards of Directors are poorly positioned to collaborate with staff leadership in guiding their organizations forward. Often, the only time Boards are accustomed to focusing on the future is when they approve a budget. The rest of the year, they look backwards, receiving financial reports for past periods and comparing them to an ever more dated budget. This reinforce a deep divide between what the Board is paying attention to and what is important. Here’s how you can narrow the gap. 

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How Teleworking Can Make You a Better Manager

As a manager, your working relationship with each of your team members strengthen or weaken over time depending on your interactions with each other. Great managers are very deliberate about these interactions, appreciating that their cumulative impact can make the difference between a healthy, effective relationship and a dysfunctional one. The forced teleworking environment may be an opportunity to improve your skills in these  interactions—and to become a better manager. 

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This Isn’t Teleworking

You and your team were not sent home to telework; you were sent home to avoid spreading a virus, to take care of loved ones, to teach children and to physically distance from everyone else in your communities. As a manager, the work that your team is able to accomplish under these circumstances depends primarily on your ability to recognize these challenges and to adapt. Here's what you can do…

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