In the last blog, Organisational health: the unseen link, we considered how the health of an organisation and its mission impact are directly linked, suggesting that growing your organisational health deserves sufficient priority.
Keeping this in mind, a question we need to address is: ‘Who is responsible for growing a healthy organisation?’ If we agree it is the role of leaders, a follow-up question may be, ‘What is stopping them?’
Over the course of 2022 and 2023, we ran a live survey with leaders of non-profit organisations, primarily based in Africa and the Middle East. We asked them what held them back from growing the health of their organisations and gave the following options to choose from:
- Time
- Funding
- Uncertainty and lack of awareness
- Complexity
- Lack of support
As the results came in, we were continually surprised by the outcome. While we anticipated that time and funding would be the most frequently mentioned challenges for non-profit leaders, the findings were unexpected. Here are the results:
We did not expect 52% of leaders to select complexity, the next closest being ‘time’ at 25%. We set out to understand what was in the mind of leaders when they chose complexity, so that in turn we could serve them better. To gain insight, we reached out to leaders for discussions on this topic. We consistently heard that leaders found it challenging to determine which area of their organisation to prioritise and how to effectively grow it.
The more we listened, the clearer it became to us. With so many dimensions to an organisation, it’s understandable that leaders sometimes struggle to determine which one to prioritise. Given their limited time and resources, knowing where to start can be particularly challenging – let alone discerning how to grow that aspect effectively. This sense of overwhelm stalls leaders from taking action, which in turn holds them back from growing healthy organisations. We felt excited about the rich insights we had and set to work on finding a solution.
Finding clarity amidst complexity
To address the question, ‘How do we create clarity and simplicity out of complexity?’ we crafted a development methodology based on the appreciative enquiry approach and tested it with 80 organisations. The methodology followed three steps:
- Know your destination
- Know where you are
- Outline the road map to get to your goal
As we tested and refined these three steps, we found that this simple approach enabled leaders to clearly identify their next step, feel motivated to take it and then to take action. It was amazing to witness leaders move from feeling overwhelmed and confused by complexity to finding clarity and renewed energy for the path ahead.
Let’s unpack the three steps:
1. Know your destination
Setting clear goals and aligning with them is critical in taking the next step toward organisational development. I am fortunate to live near a range of mountains, and I enjoy hiking. At the start of a climb, the top of the mountain is often visible, providing a vision to inspire the steps I take. Growing an organisation is much the same. When we have a vision ahead of us, and know where we want to get to, the first step is doable…maybe even simple.
2. Know where you are
To support leaders in starting this journey, we decided an assessment would be the most effective tool. After researching existing organisational assessments and not finding one that met our specific needs, we created one ourselves. Our 9D capacity assessment enables leaders to view their organisation through the lense of nine vital health dimensions. The assessment results serve as the starting point for discussion, allowing leaders to explore their current state, celebrate what they are doing well, and clearly identify their challenges.
3. Outline the road map to get to your goal
When hiking in the mountains, I map out my route before starting my climb. It is important to know where to go so I don’t get lost on the way, and to ensure my climb is achievable. The 100 metres in front of me are usually very clear, but it gets less visible after that. When working with leaders we encourage them to map out their steps for their next 90 days, as these are easier to visualise. After that, it starts getting a bit vague. A 90-day goal cycle is very effective.
Let’s consider an example of how these three steps can work together: I worked with a non-profit organisation that was battling to increase its funding, which in turn hindered their growth. They asked me to help them formulate a funding plan. We started by running the 9D assessment, which indicated that they were indeed weak in the dimension of funding, and gave new insight into their dimensions of impact management and communication, which also needed attention.
We started the workshop by defining their goals. We then reviewed their 9D results, considering first their areas of strength and then their opportunities for growth. It soon became evident that to achieve their goals they needed to work on collecting the stories and data based on the impact they were having. After acquiring the data, they needed to enhance their storytelling and communication capabilities. Once those were in place they could start to truly engage with funders in a more impactful way. Holding new clarity on the next step shifted the entire process of goal setting from complex and burdensome, to achievable and energising.
Take your annual health check
My doctor frequently reminds me, ‘Prevention is better than cure’. I follow his advice by doing an annual medical check to keep tabs on my health. As leaders, we must consistently monitor the health of our organisation and plan its growth. The 9D capacity assessment is a great starting place, and we recommend leaders include it as an annual rhythm in growing the health of their organisation. Have a clear destination, accurately assess where you are, and map out the steps to get to your goal. Tackle that towering mountain one step at a time. The view from the top will be worth every effort of seeing it through.
Sharpen
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