Month: May 2012

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Is Your Food Good, Yes?

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I was asked once to review some automated programming services a state was offering. Funny thing, there was a statement that said, “If someone is available to answer your call, they will–if not call call later.” Good customer service? Someone thought so. I was appalled.

This has to do with both customer service and training.

Some days are meant for pet peeves and I think you may agree with mine when you’ve read this. Tell me you hate it when someone presumes you agree with them when it comes to the quality of their own customer service. Besides the little tidbit above, where the server asks you the pad question while your mouth is full and it’s just easier to shake your head in the affirmative than deal with uneaten food. Besides the server is already gone after giving the company the answer they want to hear, seemingly never to be heard from since.

One day, maybe I’ll pretend to eat and not have a full mouth when the server comes by and let he or she have it, providing it’s warranted, of course.

No offense intended to my friends down under, but I recall many years ago when I visited Sydney, I bought a soda in a subway kiosk and received the price and thanks all in one breath. After that the transaction was over. By the way the kiosk wasn’t busy so I think this manner was simply a business or cultural practice. Again, no offense intended, many people (many Americans included) do not do well on the one-to-one or face-to-face sale.

This is only one example relating to customer service and training. The point I am trying to make is not to tout your excellent customer service when it is not and don’t have customers agree to fill out a document asking the questions only you want to have answered.

How many times have you encountered online, the customers service automated system that gives you a multitude of choices, buttons to push and other numbers to call or websites to locate and “good” customer service starts over. Really, now? Is good customer service defined by eventually getting you to a person who can help; more often it has nothing really to do with the customer but the company that wants to economize time and people who work for them. Its system–all the while they are bragging what a good job they are doing in customer service. They are getting your buy-in. I’ve always thought customer service was holding on to customers, not getting their buy-in.

I may be getting old but I still want to dial one number, talk to a person and be forwarded to someone who can help if this person cannot. If I have to continue to surf the web, write phone numbers down and otherwise continue my research, I have not received good customer service and am ticked that I have to listen to someone tell me what great customer service they have every time I have push another button.

For those training customer service, we have to ask ourselves what is good customer service. I know some companies that say getting the customer the answer they want if we can help with a minimum of personal contact is the essence. But then there is the going over-the-top customer service that makes people come back to your company that is a joy to work with. Good customer service should make it easy for the customer and not “a problem” for the organization. Of course, the only way you know if you’ve done well is to ask us? Is it? Of course not. If business is up and many more people than a stated statistic about surveys will be more willingly take it.

For my money customer service is about people not how fast you resolve their problems on your terms. Talk to me. Tell me you are working on it. Assure me you’ll fix the problem, but don’t give me another phone number to call. Call me back personally; that will really impress me. Corporations should know better, but then if they all seem to gang up and say “automated is the way to go” we’ve lost.

What has this to do with training? Well, it appears that training could have a hand in training what good customer service is or should be. You know, the world class stuff. That would mean telling a client a product or plan is not good customer service when it is not. That client may come back and say to you, if they come back at all, that you steered them wrong. Then again, maybe it is management’s fault all along in proposing the cheaper side of customer service–a win-lose–that I hate to talk about.

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For more resources about training, see the Training library.

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Trust Requires Emotional Safety

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Trust is built over time through caring, reliability, and genuine support. It’s torn down far quicker than it is built. Teams don’t succeed and organizational change efforts won’t succeed without trust. Yet how intentional are teams and most work environments in building trust?

Lencioni’s popular book, Five Dysfunctions of a Team, has the foundation block as Trust, yet his ideas for building it seem shallow and insufficient. He makes the assumption that people feel emotionally safe with one another at work. I think that assumption needs further scrutiny.

Trust requires emotional safety

With the economic downturn, layoffs and budget cuts seem par for the course, only engendering more fear not more security. Even in the best of times, emotional safety and emotional well-being seem far off the radar of teams and companies. Leaving toxic work environments aside, and unfortunately there are too many of them, typical work environments tolerate fear, manipulation, or power plays to get things done.

Emotional violence happens every time someone condemns, scapegoats, or plays the blame and shame game. It’s rampant in our society from our political fights and radio talk shows, to PR spins and white-washing. People don’t accept responsibility for their actions, or refuse to apologize for fear of appearing vulnerable. We are blind to the emotional scars being inflicted every day. And we are blind to how we inflict them on ourselves and others.

Emotional safety is built through intentional acts of kindness, caring, compassion, and mutual respect. Trust builds from there with integrity and honesty- acts done regardless of the short term cost. Conscientious actions, dependability, and support that is offered with no hidden agendas and non- judgment builds trust.

Intentionally Build Emotional Safety

Start building emotional safety within yourself by being gentle with yourself, being honest with yourself, allow yourself to be vulnerable without beating yourself up. Then do that with your colleagues and team members. Support them in taking responsibility and accept that they aren’t perfect and neither are you. Correct errors in ways that show mutual respect and care.

Emotional safety is everyone’s job just as physical safety is. I’d like to see more work places encourage and empahsize the emotional safety of staff as much as they do their physical safety.

Trust is a long term process demonstrated over hundreds of daily actions and words. I believe we need to start speaking of Sacred Trust, lest it be easily undermined by the expedient route.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Linda J. Ferguson, Ph.D. is an author, speaker, coach, and consultant. Her first book, Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service, explains more of her ideas on Sacred Trust. To purchase her book, click here.

For more information on her work visit her web site – www.lindajferguson.com

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10 Things To Do To Have Engaged, Energized Employees

female-accountant-calculating-tax-bills-while-working-finances-office.

Do you manage by walking around? What do you see? People excited about their job or people just going through the motions?

Here are 10 ways, that do not cost much if anything, to turn “it’s just a job” employees into engaged, energized employees.

1. Spend time out in the field. Ask your employees how you can help make their jobs easier. Work alongside them and even let them teach you what they do. Southwest Airlines has a mandate that every manager must spend 1/3 of his or her time in direct contact with employees and customers to create a stronger feeling of teamwork.

2. Hold a voluntary good news hour. Set aside time once a week so that .everyone can share good things that have happened in their lives and work during the last week

3. Celebrate everything you can. For example, meeting of short term goals, the end of the budget process, winning grants or new customers, extraordinary work, safety successes.

4. Surprise with spontaneous treats. Rent an ice cream cart or a popcorn machine. Take coffee and donuts to each person’s work station. How about a package of Lifesavers™ during a stressful time?

5. Praise frequently. A pat on the back, a short note of thanks, or a voice mail message from a manager can refill employees’ emotional bank accounts for weeks!

6. Hold informal “grapevine sessions” to control the flow of the rumor mill. Managers must be prepared to listen and to be completely truthful and open. Even when they can’t share specific information, they can honestly explain why and when it will be available.

7. Let people know what they do is important. Help your workers focus not on only a job description but also on how they fit into the big picture. That new sense of purpose will boost their self-esteem and motivation.

8. Don’t let respect slip under the radar screen. If you treat your employees with respect you will earn their respect. For example, if you pay attention to and take care of your front-line people, they will in turn pay attention to and take care of the customer. Start with daily greetings. Remember their birthdays or other important dates. Take an interest in their interests. Say thank you for a job well done.

9. Take them serious. There’s incredible brainpower all around you, so why not put it to work? You hired your employees because you thought they could make a valuable contribution. Ask for their suggestions to problems. Include them in decisions that affect their work. Give them enough authority that goes with their responsibility.

10. Work for your people. Listen and act quickly on their questions. Clear the way so they can do their jobs well. Once people see their leader as acting for them, or on their behalf, they develop a personal loyalty that energizes their performance.

Supervision Success Tip:

If someone asked your staff or frontline workers a few general questions about the company or your department, would they describe it in terms like ‘they’ and ‘them,’ or in terms like ‘we’ or ‘us’? What can you do, in your position, to move your people to feel engaged and part of your team? Also see Motivate Your Best People and The Enthusiastic Employee.

Do you want to develop your Management Smarts?

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Write a Great Federal Grant Executive Summary!

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Why are Executive Summaries so Important?

Some federal grant guidelines require an Executive Summary or Project Summary. Some Project Summaries have page limitations and strict rules about their content.

However, if the Executive Summary is open-ended you have an opportunity to introduce your narrative and provide a roadmap for reviewers. If your Executive Summary is not compelling and persuasive, reviewers may not pay much attention to the rest of your proposal.

A great Executive Summary should:
• Connect your project to the federal agency’s mission or goals.
• Identify the federal agency’s need.
• Connect your project directly to the federal agency’s need.
• Explain why you are superbly qualified to carry out your proposed project.
• Preview how your proposal narrative is organized.

Despite the importance of the Executive or Project Summary, they often are weak introductions to the proposal narrative.

Avoid these four common mistakes to produce a great Executive Summary.

Mistake #1: Not paying enough attention to your Executive Summary
Too many Executive Summaries invariably begin with the sentence “We are pleased to submit this proposal to xxx and look forward to your review.” They often are very general and they focus on your organization, not the federal agency. These kinds of Executive Summaries are guaranteed to put reviewers to sleep and convince them that they should not read your proposal carefully.

Pay careful attention to your Executive Summary because reviewers will pay careful attention to it too.

Mistake #2: Doing your Executive Summary at the last minute
If you write your Executive Summary at the last minute, you will not have enough time to create a good one. I do not recommend that you do your Executive Summary at the beginning of the proposal cycle, but you need time to think, polish, and refine. This cannot be done at 2 A.M. the morning the proposal is due.

Begin working on your Executive Summary once you have an almost complete first draft of the proposal narrative.

Mistake #3: Not addressing your federal agency’s needs
Too many Executive Summaries focus on your organization to the exclusion of almost everything else.

Answer two important questions in your Executive Summary: Why am I applying? What am I offering the federal agency?

Mistake #4: Not being focused and structured.
Bad Executive Summaries are not only dry and boring, but often they are unfocused and unstructured. Unfortunately, this may be a prelude to the rest of the narrative.

Your Executive Summary is a short sales pitch. Your challenge is to demonstrate in just a page or two that you have something special to offer a government agency.

Structure your Executive Summary by following the order of the evaluation criteria in the grant guidelines and be very clear and straightforward. This is a good place for bulleted and numbered lists, call-out boxes, and great visuals. Tell the reviewers what your organization has to offer and explain why you have the best solution to the need that has been identified in the grant guidelines.

The Executive Summary is too important a part of your proposal narrative to treat lightly. Use it to hook your readers and engage them in the rest of your grant proposal with a compelling story.

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Dr. Jayme Sokolow, founder and president of The Development Source, Inc.,
helps nonprofit organizations develop successful proposals to government agencies. Contact Jayme Sokolow.

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If you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting.

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Bird Flu Breakout

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Just because a crisis isn’t in the news, doesn’t mean it’s gone for good

Don’t shelve that bird flu crisis plan just yet. In case anyone had assumed this threat was completely gone simply because it vanished from mainstream media coverage,the disease has actually killed two people this year in China, and another large outbreak was just discovered.

Here’s the report, direct from disaster and emergency monitoring group RSOE EDIS:

Agricultural authorities in northwest China have culled about 95,000 chickens after an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus, state press reported on Wednesday. The outbreak in Touying township of the Ningxia region was discovered on Friday last week after over 23,000 chickens began showing symptoms, reported the Ministry of Agriculture. The ministry said the “epidemic is now under control”, the report said, while work teams have been sent to the area to step up prevention measures. China is considered one of the nations most at risk of bird flu epidemics because it has the world’s biggest poultry population and many chickens in rural areas are kept close to humans. In January, a man in southwest China’s Guizhou province died after contracting the bird flu virus, the second such fatality reported in China this year, health authorities said.

What’s the lesson here? Threats do not simply “go away” unless you find and fix the underlying cause. In the case of H1N1, organizations have no power to eliminate it. When that’s the hand you’re dealt, you’ve simply got to keep your ears open using services like RSOE EDIS, and remain prepared for action. You do have a plan for responding to an actual or threatened epidemic, right?

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

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How to Evaluate on a Budget: DIY or Outsource?

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This question has nagged me for a while. It emerged to the forefront as I recently considered the most efficient way to carry out my responsibilities, spurred on by the 20-80 rule: 80% of our outcomes come from 20% of our efforts. So how do you evaluate on a budget? Should you do-it-yourself (DIY) or outsource? We’ll begin by considering some of the advantages of either option.

Advantages of the Do-It-Yourself Approach

Firsthand Knowledge of Issues

We are sometimes our own worst critics. But we may have more to offer than we’d imagine. Recently I had the privilege of working with stakeholders who have personally experienced the challenges their program addresses. I emerged from that meeting with a deep appreciation for the collective wisdom of program participants and those who work closest with the people who receive a non-profit’s services. It is also vital to fully coordinate evaluation efforts with existing program operations, especially to plan program evaluation during program planning stages.

Save Money

It goes without saying that you can streamline evaluation-related costs and increase efficiency by using in-house staff who are most familiar with the way a program operates.

Save Time

In-house staff already have relationships with program participants and thus need not go out of their way to build trust. Building trust takes time! Good evaluations are founded on relationships of trust with program participants. If they do not like or trust the person who is administering the evaluation, can we truly expect genuine and forthcoming answers? Also, staff can gather data (via surveys, interviews, etc) in the course of carrying out their responsibilities. Since they know the ins and outs of a program, program staff’s expertise is vital to the success of any program evaluation.

While in-house staff bring indispensable strengths to an evaluation, please also consider the advantages of using an external evaluator.

Advantages of Using an External Evaluator

Expertise

We’ve all probably had these thoughts at some point or the other:

“Evaluation is not rocket science, anyone can do it!”

“What is so hard about designing a survey, distributing it and analyzing the data? Even a high-school student can do it.”

This topic was recently broached within an online American Evaluation Association Thought Leader Discussion Group. The danger is that evaluation can seem a lot easier than it actually is. But if you look at Program Evaluator Job Announcements, you’ll notice specific qualifications. The following is a sample of what you may see for a junior level position:

  • at least a Masters in Social Sciences or Public Health, Ph.D. preferred
  • at least 1-2 years of experience conducting program evaluations
  • strong communication and interpersonal skills
  • experience with quantitative data analysis and with data analysis software, such as SPSS

The general consensus seems to include the above qualifications as well as engagement in professional continuing education in the field of program evaluation. (Before you stop reading this post and throw up your hands in despair because you do not have the budget to hire another person, please keep reading. we’ll get to possible solutions to this dilemma soon!)

There have been reams of papers and chapters written on program evaluation, specific models, quantitative and qualitative methods and survey design. Enough to make even the most experienced evaluator feel that there is always so much more to learn! Other evaluation colleagues often call attention to mistakes that well-intentioned novices have made, for example, in sharing evaluation results and data.

Sure, it is important to maintain a level of healthy skepticism: of course, any evaluator will want to make a case for why you should hire a professional to do the job right. But I’d encourage you to also consider how much risk you are willing to take if an evaluation is not done properly. What do you stand to lose? Think about all the ways that misrepresented data could hurt your program. Think about all the opportunities to grow and improve your program that may be lost through a botched evaluation.

Objectivity

Again from first hand experience, I’ve heard stakeholders closest to the program express appreciation for the objectivity and fresh perspective that an external evaluator (also known as an independent evaluator) brings to the table. Program participants may feel awkward being forthcoming with those actually delivering the services. Due to their existing relationships with program staff, participants may feel subconsciously pressured to give answers that they think staff want to hear.

Ability to Coordinate

Having a skilled evaluator coordinate an evaluation effort will spare you headaches and worry. This may be a better option over merely dividing up responsibilities among maxed-out staff or having to worry about coordinating an extra project on your own.

Possible Solutions

Alright, now we come to the simple solutions. Coordination implies that you do not have to hire the evaluator to do everything! This translates into cost savings. Carter McNamara, Ph.D. astutely applied the 20-80 rule to program evaluation in his article Basic Guide to Program Evaluation. Since 20% of the effort can produce 80% of the outcomes, a good option may be to contract with an external evaluator just for the 20% of effort that produces the 80% of outcomes. I agree with Dr. McNamara that the best responsibilities to outsource would be the design of the evaluation and surveys. I’d also add data analysis and reporting.

Data collection can be most time-consuming and expensive. Using program staff for these functions may be a good compromise, as long as measures are taken to encourage objectivity, for example, a volunteer placing surveys in sealed envelopes.

If you still find the notion of contracting with an independent evaluator daunting, consider the following solutions that I have observed other non-profits use. Once you have clearly defined the scope of a very feasible evaluation project, carefully recruit and choose a well-qualified:

  • graduate student whose rates and schedule may be more flexible
  • pro bono evaluator who may be trying to gain expertise in a new area or may just be interested in giving back
  • a stay-at-home parent who may be willing to trade their program evaluation expertise for more flexible terms.

You may considering beginning your recruiting efforts at the American Evaluation’s Association’s Career Center or on AEA’s LinkedIn Group. Here is some further reading on using an external evaluator from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Evaluating on a budget doesn’t have to be an unattainable dream and neither does it have to be a do-it-yourself disaster. With creative and strategic solutions and careful planning, it can be a practical reality.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

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Priya Small has extensive experience in collaborative evaluation planning, instrument design, data collection, grant writing and facilitation. Contact her at priyasusansmall@gmail.com. Visit her website at http://www.priyasmall.wordpress.com. See her profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/priyasmall/

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Smart Hiring: Are You Doing It Right?

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Does your hiring process consist of proven practices or just a hodgepodge of activities that get into gear when someone says, “I need more people” or “Sally has left and we need someone to take her place NOW?”

Smart hiring is more than posting requisitions, screening, interviewing and checking references. It is a series of specific procedures that can bring in top candidates or create poor hires. Here are six ways to enhance the entire recruitment process.

1. Select the right sourcing method.
While the typical sourcing channels include in-house recruiters, employee referral programs, executive search firms, advertising, temporary staffing agencies, campus recruiting and, of course, the internet, not all will be appropriate for filling every position. Are you trying to hire dozens of hourly wage jobs or a senior executive? Each will require different hiring methods. One size does not fit all.

2. Map, flow-chart or diagram what you do.
First uncover delays and glitches that waste time, interfere with getting the job done right the first time and drive good job seekers away. Then identify areas that can be improved by eliminating, simplifying or combining tasks or that can be streamlined electronically for efficiency.

3. Develop realistic job profiles.
Studies have shown that 25 percent of companies don’t take the crucial step of defining what they’re looking for before they begin the hiring process. If competencies (skills, motivations, and behaviors) are not first identified, you will waste precious interview time asking the wrong questions. Because jobs change over time, review the profiles periodically to verify they are still valid.

4. Create partnerships between human resources and hiring managers.
Remember that both are on the same team. Both are trying to attract and select the best people. Truly understanding the job to be filled requires good communication and cooperation. Jointly develop the job requirements, decide on the screening factors, plan the interviews, assign follow-up responsibilities, and establish selection criteria to make quality decisions.

5. Develop good metrics to make better use of your resources.
Are you getting the right people from your sourcing methods? Are you spending your recruitment budget wisely? To find out you need to evaluate the different sources based on the suitability of the candidates each source provides. Suitability can be measured by the percent of total applicants found to be qualified, the number of qualified applicants relative to the number of available positions, or the turnover rate of new hires overall.

6. Find out what’s working and what’s not.
Use ‘mystery candidates’ to experience your entire recruitment process and provide feedback. Do a survey of all new hires during orientation and ask them for their moments of impression. Then, reinforce the positive factors and eliminate the negative ones. Finally, use your exit interviews to identify additional improvement areas.

Management Success Tip:

The effectiveness of the recruitment process impacts the effectiveness of the organization. A new hire that does not fit the position will be difficult to develop, will perform poorly and more likely leave resulting in need to repeat the process. Only when recruitment is approached as a specific process with definable steps and measurable results can it be managed to ensure the hiring of quality people. Also see The Top 5 Hiring Mistakes and Smart Hiring: Selecting Top Talent.

Do you want to develop your Management Smarts?

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Career Success Part 3: Make The Right Things Happen!

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People react very differently to the waves of change that suddenly flood the work and marketplace.

Some, who feel confused or unsettled struggle to keep their heads above water gasping for air. By contrasts, others, who may not even like or agree with the changes, nevertheless accept them, get on with their lives and swim forcefully to their new destination. The following three tactics will help you mobilize your resources to take charge of your career.

1. Fuel the Fire In Your Heart.
Live your life and career with intention. The key to sustained peak performance is discovering who you are, what you want in life, and then confidently pursue it. Remember, if you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know that you’ve arrived?

Start by develop a career line that shows your career highs and lows from your first job to the present. What kinds of activities were you involved in during your highs – during your lows? Continue this getting to know yourself process by locating your inner energy source. What really gets the juices flowing for you? Is it challenge? Helping other? Being creative? Having authority? Making an impact? Whatever motivates you, write it on a card and look at it every morning.

2. Forget Being the Lone Ranger
Are you familiar with the saying: “It’s not what you know, .but who you know.” Well in today’s changing work world, the new saying is: “It’s not only what you know, it’s not only who you know, but, as important, it’s who knows you and your work.”

First thing to do is to inventory your network. List all the key people in your career world. Are your contacts mostly within your area? r are there linkages into different departments, divisions, subsidiaries? What about outside your company? What kinds of relationships do you have? Hi and good by? Or Hi! What have you been doing? Develop relationships with a whole array of people. It’s your ticket to career advancement and success.

3. Don’t Just Stand There, Do Something.
Recognize a successful career in not a spectator sport. Opportunities do not just get placed on your desk. Organizations will no longer provide you with clearly defined career paths. Don’t be an absentee landlord and neglect your personal career management. Take charge of your career…., if you don’t … no one else will.

Focus on career contingency planning. Do you have a Plan A, a Plan B, and even a Plan C? What conditions could possibly change in your job; your company; or your industry? Do you have a clear idea where you could jump if unexpected roadblocks arise? Where else can you apply your skills and showcase your talents? A successful career is not fixed in stone, but is fluid and subject to change.

Career Success Tip:

Remember, the name of the game is action. Make sure your career goals are not stranded on a island called: “Someday I’ll………..” If you want something, don’t just think or talk about it. Figure out a way to make it happen. Set specific goals. Develop action plans. Have realistic timetables. Find the resources you need. See Career Success Part 1: Don’t let You Guard Down and Part 2: Get Ahead of the Crowd.

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?

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Executive Director, Deputy Director & Founders – Part Two

Executive Director, Deputy Director & Founders

This posting is a continuation of the email exchange begun last Tuesday.

“I am happy to step down and then go through the hiring process, I just don’t understand how it works. When, specifically, do I step down from the board? Is it when we have enough money to pay staff or as soon as we start providing services? We plan to put money into programs first, staff salaries second as we have the means to do so. So, there is a good chance we will already be entrenched in service provision before we even have the money to pay anyone.”

The best advice I can give is that you should do what you’re doing. Continue the birthing process and help the baby learn to walk. Don’t worry about formalities yet. You’ll have your initial board … a board that’s doing all the work … and you won’t need staff ’til there’s more than a couple of board members can do themselves.

When the time comes, and there is sufficient income for staff salaries, then you can (in this order) assume the E.D. mantle and resign from the board. (I know that contradicts what I said earlier, but at that stage in the life of an NPO, it doesn’t make a lot of difference.) Don’t worry about a hiring process.

Once you’re the E.D., you can hire the D.D., assuming the board has authorized a budget that includes staff salaries. Do that before resigning from the board !!

As a former D.O.D., I’m sure you know that you can’t budget an expense line until you know where the money is coming from.

“You mention we should recruit board members “later.” When is later?”

“Later” is when you have something of substance to show prospective board members, when you have something that they’d want to be part of. Recruiting board members must address their needs as well as the needs of the NPO.

“What I’m looking for is a timeline of steps: when we should add more board members above and beyond the three founders, when we should create true staff/board designations and when my role should change.”

There is no textbook timeline. Birthing and growth of each NPO is different. You must use your judgment in deciding when “it’s time.” You could also engage a consultant in organizational development to provide periodic observation/counsel.

“I would like to be the Executive Director.”

If that’s what you want, and you have the vision, there’s no reason not to go for it.

“That is my intention. Knowing I have that goal in mind, do you have any thoughts as to how I can ensure that I am keeping the best interests of the organization front and center and not letting my own interests and desires get in the way? Should I NOT look to become ED and just remain on the board (with a term limit)? Provided I do pursue that goal, and I do become staff, I don’t expect to receive any special treatment just because I founded the organization, and I understand the dangers of that situation.”

If you keep in mind and give priority to the needs of the people the NPO was created to serve, it shouldn’t be hard keeping the needs of the NPO in mind. There should not be a conflict.

In any case, since it was your vision, and the E.D. is the board’s major resource, you can keep the board focused on why they and the NPO exists.

As above (and in my “Mature Organization” piece), from birth up to puberty what is important is whether it’s a well adjusted child doing what it should. If it gets to that point without formal staff, fine. It’ll be up to you (and the other existing board members) when it’s time to “hire” staff and formalize the structure.

Until then, just do good stuff.

“So, do we just write the hiring procedures for ED into our bylaws, and then let the board handle it? Can you point me in the right direction in terms of places to look for guidance in writing up those procedures? Are there are reading materials or articles you can direct me to so I can learn more about this process? I am having trouble finding information about this specific issue in the creation of a new NPO.”

I suggest you take a look at “Starting Organizations.”

There’s a lot of stuff that will probably be of help.

“I ask all of these questions because we are going to be able to start providing services fairly quickly, so while it may be irrelevant now, it will be relevant soon and I’d rather be prepared than wait until the last minute to make decisions regarding how we will handle the process.”

You already have a pretty good idea of what’s required and what to avoid, so don’t be too concerned about a specific timeline.

Enjoy the satisfaction with the creative process and with providing service to people who need it.

BTW, Carter McNamara, the owner of the Free Management Library website, that host this blog, is a management consultant … and you couldn’t do better if you need counsel.

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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program? With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, I’ll be pleased to answer your questions. Contact me at AskHank@Major-Capital-Giving.com

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If you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting.