Developing Your Leaders and Up-Skilling Your Staff

OPTIMUM NFP announces the launch of its 3rd highly acclaimed and accredited "Action Learning Question Cross-Organisational Cohort" program commencing in early July 2016.

Nonprofit organisations juggle many competing priorities, especially in the current market, with each having an impact on their future. One of these stands out for those organisations who see themselves having a long-term vision, and that being the effort and budget needed to develop leadership and generally up-skilling their staff.

In a leading article in the January 2014 edition of McKinsey Quarterly entitled "Why leadership-development programs fail", 4 reasons as to why such programs rarely achieve what they set out to achieve were identified. These were:

1. These programs overlooked organisational context. As was highlighted in the article, "Too many training initiatives we come across rest on the assumption that one size fits all and that the same group of skills or style of leadership is appropriate regardless of strategy, organisational culture, or CEO mandate." The article went further by suggesting that "Focusing on context means equipping leaders with a small number of competencies (two or three) that will make a significant difference to performance ... We have found that when a company cuts through the noise to identify a small number of leadership capabilities essential for success in its business - such as high quality decision making or stronger coaching skills - it achieves far better outcomes."
2. These programs failed to incorporate reflection as part of the real workplace. As was highlighted in the article, "The answer sounds straight forward: tie leadership development to real on-the-job projects that have a business impact and improve learning." The article went further by suggesting that "The ability to push training participants to reflect, while also giving them real work experiences to apply new approaches and hone their skills, is a valuable combination ..." 
3. These programs underestimated the need to change existing mind-sets. The article suggested that "Becoming a more effective leader often requires changing behaviour. But although most companies recognise that this also means adjusting underlying mindsets, too often these organisations are reluctant to address the root causes of why leaders act the way they do." It further suggested that"Identifying some of the deepest, below the surface thoughts, feelings, assumptions, and beliefs is usually a precondition of behavioural change - one too often shirked in development programs."
4. These programs often failed to measure real results. The article suggested that "We frequently find that companies pay lip service to the importance of developing leadership skills but have no evidence to quantify the value of their investment." The article suggests that evaluation should be focused at both the individual level as well as at the organisational outcomes, indicating that "...monitor the business impact, especially when training is tied to breakthrough projects." 

OPTIMUM NFP and Action Learning International's Action Learning Question Program ("ALQ") has been developed to specifically address the issue of cost-effective leadership and staff development for nonprofit organisations. Context has been identified through the use of organisation specific challenges which need to be addressed and resolved during the course of the program, supported by the introduction of skill and leadership attributes necessary for such resolution. Reflection has been included as a distinct and iterative activity through both formal and informal processes, supporting skills and leadership development. Mind-Sets are challenged through the co-consulting processes of the ALQ, and Results are identified and evaluated though the final reporting processes derived from the ALQ.

OPTIMUM NFP in conjunction with Action Learning International launched the Action Learning Question program ("ALQ") in the nonprofit sector in mid 2014. The ALQ program has been running successfully in the UK for over 15 years, across nonprofit, commercial and public sector organisations. In the latter alone, over 200 participants have successfully completed the program over the last 3+ years. In Australia, the ALQ is being delivered as both an in-house program as well as a public program. The latter are known as Cross-Oragnisational Cohorts ("COCH"). The ALQ program, in both formats, responds directly to the challenges and opportunities discussed above and fully supports a more evaluative framework for assessing the effectiveness of organisational learning and development.

The first COCH completed in November 2015, whilst the second program is currently underway and is due for completion in early June 2016. The program has been recognised by the Australian Institute of Management Business School who, after rigorous review of content, structure and delivery methods, has accredited the program as 1 Unit (elective) towards its highly acclaimed 12-Unit Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree.
The feedback from the first COCH was excellent and exceeded the expectations of those that attended. The second program is heading in the same direction with participants currently very enthusiastic about the process. A third program will be launched shortly for commencement in July 2016. Places for these programs are limited to ensure the best outcome for attendees.

Whilst registration forms will be available shortly on the OPTIMUM NFP website, you can register your preliminary interest by contacting David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au or you can contact David Rosenbaum on 0411-744-911 to discuss the program in more detail to determine its applicability to you and your organisation. The flexible design and format of the program enables interstate participants to involve themselves in Sydney-based cohorts.

Visit the OPTIMUM NFP website at www.optimumnfp.com.au and click on the "ALQ Workshops" tab to read the testimonials from the first program and to obtain information as to the structure and process of the COCH generally.

Aligning Learning and Development with Organisational Strategic Priorities

Much information exists in the public domain regarding the trends in learning that are impacting organisations of all sizes and in all sectors, not to mention the challenges that these bring to tertiary institutions as well, in terms of both course design and delivery. The massive explosion in technology, both from an application as well as from an enabler perspective are impacting the ways in which people engage within learning and education and respond to the varied opportunities that have now arisen. This represents challenges for organisations not engaged in the process and for those individuals who do not wish to take responsibility for their own learning. On the other hand, it represents opportunities for those organisations seeking a better return on their training investment dollars, and those individuals who recognise the benefit of active engagement with the training and development process.

The UK's Open University's Institute of Educational Technology has identified a number of trends and opportunities in the world of learning, which when considered in the context of measuring organisational outcomes for training and development, provide some potential opportunities for work-based learning programs. Two of the key ones that organisations across all sectors can consider are:

• Focusing on 'double-loop learning' where learners focus not just on what they are learning and exploring and working out how to solve the problem at hand but also, through a reflection process, they consider how they can become more effective in the process, enabling application of the current problem solving process to future problems. This has organisational implications insofar as such a learning process can be the foundations for knowledge-sharing across the broader organisation.
• First-hand experiences can be amongst the most powerful learning experiences and can be applied to both individual learning as well as organisation-wide learning. In the case of the former, processes and procedures need to be put in place to maximise the individual impact, and the ability, time and context for reflection to underpin this value. From an organisational perspective, story-led materials that are tailored to, and form the base of, organisational learning, ensure that work-based experiences are shared across a wider platform, placing story-telling as a key organisational tool that can deliver learning that fits the requirements of the organisation by maximising engagement.

Whilst learning and development opportunities have been identified through such sources as the UK's Open University's Institute of Educational Technology, recognition of the possible gaps in organisational learning and development were discussed in a recent edition of MITSloan Management Review, where the focus of recent research in a number of commercial organisations pointed to the need to develop corporate learning and development programs that link directly to the organisation's strategic priorities. Key outcomes of that research resulted from the research question of "How can corporate learning programs more effectively develop leadership talent?" The findings pointed to 3 key issues which were:

1. there was a need to align the learning agenda with the CEO's strategic agenda
2. there was a need to create governance mechanisms that linked learning to the rest of the business, and
3. there was a need to direct capability-building efforts too those that mattered most to the organisation.

Viewed in this manner, the research pointed to the importance of focussing less on how learning is delivered and more on linking content and structure with the organisation's strategic imperatives.

One thing is clear from the above discussion. Past methods of evaluating the effectiveness of learning and development expenditure within organisations can no longer rely on an outdated performance measure of staff attendances at 'off-the-shelf' or standardised 'training packages' delivered outside the organisational context, divorced from the organisational reality. Given the way people learn and the tools that exist to support learning, mean the lack of understanding of the true organisational and individual value-add of such training, can no longer be justified, especially in the non-profit sector where financial resources remain challenged.

OPTIMUM NFP in conjunction with Action Learning International launched the Action Learning Question program ("ALQ") in the nonprofit sector in mid 2014. The ALQ program has been running successfully in the UK for over 15 years, across nonprofit, commercial and public sector organisations. In the latter alone, over 200 participants have successfully completed the program over the last 3+ years. In Australia, the ALQ is being delivered as both an in-house program as well as a public program. The latter are known as Cross-Oragnisational Cohorts ("COCH"). The ALQ program, in both formats, responds directly to the challenges and opportunities discussed above and fully supports a more evaluative framework for assessing the effectiveness of organisational learning and development.

The first COCH completed in November 2015, whilst the second program is currently underway and is due for completion in early June 2016. The program has been recognised by the Australian Institute of Management Business School who, after rigorous review of content, structure and delivery methods, has accredited the program as 1 Unit (elective) towards its highly acclaimed 12-Unit Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree.
The feedback from the first COCH was excellent and exceeded the expectations of those that attended. The second program is heading in the same direction with participants currently very enthusiastic about the process. A third program will be launched shortly for commencement in July 2016. Places for these programs are limited to ensure the best outcome for attendees.

Whilst registration forms will be available shortly on the OPTIMUM NFP website, you can register your preliminary interest by contacting David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au or you can contact David Rosenbaum on 0411-744-911 to discuss the program in more detail to determine its applicability to you and your organisation.

Visit the OPTIMUM NFP website at www.optimumnfp.com.au and click on the "ALQ Workshops" tab to read the testimonials from the first program and to obtain information as to the structure and process of the COCH generally.

What's in Store for 2016 at OPTIMUM NFP?

Welcome to 2016. Wishing all readers of The OPTIMUM Newsletter a Happy, Healthy, Safe, and Prosperous year ahead.

2015 was a very special year for OPTIMUM NFP as it saw the successful implementation of the Action Learning Question Public Program (marketed as the Cross-Organisational Cohort) following its formal launch in mid 2014. The success of that launch and that initial Program, has resulted in a second public program commencing in mid February 2016, with interest levels such that places for this second program are filling fast. My website contains feedback from the first public program (click on the Tab entitled "ALQ Workshops"). In-house Action Leaning Question Programs are also being discussed with numerous organisations, and these are expected to come to fruition during 2016.

In addition, I was offered the opportunity to join the Australian Institute of Management as a Facilitator in their fast developing Graduate School as part of their highly accredited MBA Program, where I am currently involved in the delivery of two units, namely Managing Financial Resources and Strategic Organisational Change. The former further supports my keen interest in developing financial expertise amongst non-finance professionals, whilst the latter further extends my interest in change management as a result of my current PhD research.

And finally, 2015 saw me obtain preliminary confirmation of the publication in an international peer-reviewed academic journal of one of my key papers related to my PhD research. This paper presents the actual findings of the research and is hopefully the first of a series of 4 such papers that, depending on the peer review process, could see all published during 2016. As these papers are published, I will be keen to share them with interested readers of this newsletter, as they have direct impacts on the nonprofit sector with regards the management of successful organisational change.

These achievements and activities all feed into the quality of consulting input that OPTIMUM NFP continues to provide its clients.

In 2016, OPTIMUM NFP will launch the "CEO Roundtable", designed exclusively for CEOs of nonprofit organisations. It will be a professional learning forum that supports ongoing development of CEOs through facilitated discussion and peer support. Details including registration forms will be available shortly and interested CEOs can pre-register their interest by contacting David Rosenbaum direct. The CEO Roundtable will be launched in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

During 2016, The OPTIMUM Newsletter will seek to cover many relevant topics for this sector, so keep a watchful eye out for those that may be of specific interest to you. It is currently anticipated that topics will include, but will not be limited to the following areas:

• organisational learning
• role of strategy in organisational learning
• innovation and how to find it and encourage it
• assessment tools for reviewing board performance
• culture assessments for change readiness
• mission/market tension in nonprofits

There will also be ongoing updates as to progress with the Action Learning Question Program including attendee feedback.

2016 will continue to be a year of challenge for all of us, economically, politically, and socially. I look forward to The OPTIMUM Newsletter being a source of relevant information that can assist, in a small way, your organisations, and your personal path through these challenges.

Contact David Rosenbaum on 0411 744 911 or at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au to enquire how OPTIMUM NFP could assist you and your organisation in achieving stated goals and objectives.

Developing Leadership and Measuring It: The Action Learning Question Program Could Be A Way Forward

Recognition as to the effectiveness of Action Learning as applied to the development of leadership skills, has been highlighted by two well known and internationally accredited academics and leadership practitioners, Michael Marquardt (Professor of Human Resources and International Affairs at the US based Elliott School of International Affairs and Program Director of Overseas Programs at George Washington University) and H.Skipton Leonard (Faculty member at the Carey School of Business at John Hopkins University). In a 2010 publication entitled "The Evidence for the Effectiveness of Action Learning", as published in the Action Leaning: Research and Practice Journal, they identified four reasons to support their conclusion regarding the impact of Action Learning in this field, being:

1.    Action Learning encourages people to take responsibility and action to achieve a desirable result or goal;

2.    Action Learning provides a disciplined process for reflecting and learning;

3.    Action Learning allows people to work on the specific skills necessary to get things done through people, and

4.    Action Learning provides people with the direct and indirect feedback necessary to learn complex leadership skills along the way.

Having considered the strengths associated with Action Learning as it applies to the development of leaders within organisations through either formal in-house leadership development programs or through less formal development, the question of measuring the success or otherwise of leadership development programs becomes the next issue to be addressed. In a recent edition of the MITSloan Management Review, Gandossy and Guarneri (Principal and Research Consultant respectively, from the US based Hewitt Associates, human resource consultants) reported that research from the top tier of US based companies identified the development of a range of holistic measures that addresses key organisational stakeholders namely, people managers, business leaders, HR professionals, and key organisational talent. These measures included, but were not limited to the following:

• identifying when key talents would be ready to move onto new roles within the organisation
• understanding the extent to which leaders take responsibility for their own development and that of their people
• identifying how leaders contribute to the development of talent as a corporate resource
• understanding the extent to which leaders 'walk the walk' on effective leadership behaviours
•  identifying the business trends that most influence leadership strategies within the organisation, and
• understanding the link between our leadership development programs and the internal supply of qualified candidates.

The real linkage that appears to be highlighted throughout the discussion presented by Gandossy and Guarneri relates to the extent to which an organisation can ensure that the leadership development programs are aligned to actual business needs as distinct to being abstract and somewhat detached from the organisational imperatives that need to be addressed.

The design of the Action Learning Question Program ("ALQ") addresses such needs by operating at the dual level of developing your staff but doing so in the context of resolving very real organisational challenges that, left unresolved, will hinder organisational efforts towards future and long term sustainability.

The 2015 public ALQ Program, referred to as Cross-Organisational Cohorts, (which recently concluded in November 2015) proved highly successful and delivered real solutions to the organisations that were represented, and real value to the individuals involved in the cohort.

Similar programs with bespoke ALQ Program structures are commencing in March 2016 as in-house ALQ Programs. These are developed for medium and large organisations that are, from a resource perspective, able to accommodate unique Learning Sets necessary for an effective program. Whilst structural elements are uniquely developed in these instances, both the in-house and the cross-organisational cohorts all operate under a common ALQ framework.

The support provided by the Australian Institute of Management ("AIM") has added further value to both the Cross-Organisational Cohorts, as well as the In-House Cohorts. AIM have identified the rigour and value of the Program, and have agreed to recognise completion of the Program (through undertaking a multi-tiered written assessment process) as one Credit Unit towards their highly acclaimed 8-Unit Graduate Diploma of Management and their 12-Unit MBA programs. Whilst this accreditation path is not compulsory, it provides a very sound base to support ongoing education and staff development - a very valuable process for organisations. 

OPTIMUM NFP in conjunction with Action Learning International Ltd. is currently preparing a further Cross-Organisational Cohort to commence in February 2016. Given the success of the recent Program, and the detailed expressions of interest received from five prospective cohort members to-date, it is recommended that you lodge your interest as early as possible, as these Programs are designed for a maximum number of participants of eight per Program. You can register on-line at www.optimumnfp.com.au (ALQ Workshop tab), or contact David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au or on 0411-744-911 to register or to discuss the nature of the Program and how it may benefit your organisation, as well as yourself.

As the Principal of OPTIMUM NFP and Senior Consultant and Head of Relationship Management and Program Delivery for Australia at Action Learning International Ltd., I am well placed to structure a program that responds to your organisation's requirements. With the advent of both the Cross-Organisational Cohorts as well as In-House Cohorts, all organisations, irrespective of size, can now consider the practical benefits resulting from participation in an Action Learning Question program to solve sticky organisational challenges whilst simultaneously developing the leadership skills that your organisation will need in the coming years.

Contact David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au or 0411-744-911 to discuss how an Action Learning Question program can assist your organisation achieve its objectives.

Public Action Learning Question Program - Launch of 2016 Cohort follows Successful 2015 Program

Action Learning International in conjunction with OPTIMUM NFP is pleased to announce the launch of its second public Action Learning Question Program in Sydney in February 2016. The highly successful first Program commenced in mid 2015 and feedback from participants reflected the value that they saw in the Program. 

“The ALQ has been a wonderful opportunity to holistically address an organisational issue for me. The supportive environment and being able to access the knowledge and experience of a diverse group of people has been very positive and rewarding. Both the organisation and I have benefitted from the ALQ process.”         Anna Buddo, General Manager, Hunters Hill Ryde Community Services who participated in the Program

"David and Richard facilitated an excellent program.  As a professional facilitator myself, I had high expectations and they were met on every occasion the group met.  They were empathetic and stretched each participant on the program in the right way, so we grew and worked on our 'wicked problem' at our own pace."    A Management Consultant who participated in the Program

“The ALQ program is an organisational problem solving process where contributory factors and possible solutions to a problem are defined through a questioning and reflective process with other group members. The guided group discussion offers a rich source of thoughts for consideration, sparking new ideas for dealing with organisational and personal change.  The program has influenced my thinking to undertake a deeper process of building organisational strategy that I believe will assist NADO through its transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme.”            Denise Heath, CEO, NADO Inc

“The ALQ was excellent in providing a framework to help me think through some business development challenges with my consulting business. I found the mixed cohort of commercial and not-for-profit sectors to be quite effective.  Input came from a variety of perspectives, which helped to frame some old challenges in a new way. The program was very effective at helping prompt me into new thinking.”        An HR Consultant who participated in the Program

This program embraces Professor Reg Revans’ widely accepted proposition that learning is best considered as a combination of programmed knowledge combined with insightful questions generated in groups known as action learning sets. In this manner, action learning is grounded from a proven theoretical practice, is organizational and business driven, aimed at addressing the needs of the organisation by tackling what has been termed ‘wicked’ problems, whilst being action and learning focused. 

Within this framework, the ALQ (“Action Learning Question”) program represents a process by which action learning is structured and undertaken within a defined time-­period, utilising a range of specifically created tools and resources, with the specific twin objectives of solving organisational challenges whilst developing organisational skills and expertise. This is referred to in the prevailing literature as the Return on Investment Model of action learning, and is to be applied to individual work-based challenges of the participant’s organisation. 

The program includes 6 structured sessions, of varying time periods and a mixture of face-to-face and virtual formats, conducted over a 3-month period. Ongoing contact is maintained with all participants by the program facilitators as well as amongst the participants using a Yammer communication platform. Participants are expected to apply various activities throughout the Program within their own work environments, working towards resolving the key issue that they bring to the Program. 

The program has been accredited by the Australian Institute of Management towards their Graduate Diploma in Management and their MBA programs.

The Program is scheduled to commence in mid-February 2016 and places fare limited to a maximum of 8 participants. 

For further information and to register on-line, visit www.optimumnfp.com.au and click on the 'ALQ Workshops' tab. (In-house ALQ Programs are also currently being run. Contact David Rosenbaum on 0411-744-911 to discuss the applicability of the ALQ Program to your organisation)

Build confidence in your future leaders - these are resources that must be invested in for the sake of sustainability

The 2014 Not-for-Profit Leadership Survey authored by OPTIMUM NFP and Growing People+Organisations, identified that 52% of respondent NFP CEO’s believed that whilst their management teams had strong technical capabilities, they lacked the leadership skills needed for the future.

The survey suggested that traditionally, managers were promoted or appointed into their roles for their technical or professional skills and they learnt to manage a team through trial and error. As suggested in the report, the high costs of staff turnover and the need to develop staff to achieve organisational goals meant that managers needed to have highly developed leadership skills more so than technical skills.

Emotional Intelligence, or EI as it is usually referred to, is very often seen as a necessity in leadership roles, especially when leaders are focusing on the implementation of change programs, where appropriate engagement with all staff is not only necessary, but also fundamental to the success of the change program.  EI has many facets including emotional self-awareness, emotional awareness of others, emotional self-management and control, emotional management of others, emotional reasoning, and expression.

Some authors suggest EI cannot be taught. Managers either have this skill or they don’t. Others suggest that whilst an innate leaning towards effective EI traits is prevalent amongst successful leaders, exposure to appropriate leadership and personnel development can either improve existing EI capabilities or at least expose potential leaders to a wide range of EI related attributes where in the right environment, and with the right mentoring, can over time, refine EI type skills.

In a potentially correlated issue, the Survey also found that 52% of respondents believed that their NFP’s inability to adapt to change was a risk to the sustainability of their organisation. A broader issue appeared to be the extent to which these organisations were change ready from a cultural perspective as well as from a technical preparedness level. In this regard the challenge for leaders is to understand what stage their organisation is at with regards its readiness to react to, and absorb change, identify the gaps, and then look to address them with a myriad of suitable approaches, before change is implemented. Of course when we talk organisational culture, be it for change readiness purposes or for general performance purposes, a leader’s EI becomes of paramount importance, given the role that the leader plays in both these issues.

Seeing the above issues in context, it becomes clear that leadership development training may become critical in addressing the challenging issues that face this sector into the future. Existing evidence suggests that traditional leadership development programs may have substantial shortcomings.  McKinsey and Co have identified four such shortcomings. These include:

• the fact that many of these programs overlook context by working on the invalid assumption that one size fits all;

• the fact that reflection is decoupled from real work, underpinning the absence of real-life application of acquired theoretical knowledge

• the fact that the need to change mind-sets which requires an associated change in behaviours is often overlooked, and finally

• the fact that such programs tend to overlook the Return-on-Investment aspect associated with the cost of such programs.

Alternatives do exist utilising an Action Learning framework. Action Learning as an approach for driving performance was originally proposed by Professor Reg Revans in the 1940s and over the years has led to significant international successes, especially in the NFP sector where the central focus on mission and values enables participants to develop relevant work-based solutions in their own organisations, whilst furthering their own personal and professional development. By doing so, the Action Learning process successfully addresses the shortcomings that McKinsey and Co has identified in existing leadership development programs.

OPTIMUM NFP is pleased to announce the launch of the Australian arm of UK based Action Learning international, which has successfully developed the Action Learning Question approach which is designed to aid leadership and personnel development, whilst focusing in the resolution of work-based challenges. These programs have been successfully running in the UK and Europe for the last 14 years in the commercial, public and NFP sectors, and have much to offer Australian not-for-profits.

Action Learning International is holding its public launch in Sydney on Wednesday 4^th June and limited places are still available to hear from the founders of the Action Learning Question program, Professor Richard Hale and Professor Joanna Kozubska from the UK. To register your interest in attending, please visit the OPTIMUM NFP web site and complete the online application, alternatively contact David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au to indicate your interest.