Board Practices - How Does Your NFP Stack Up?

Much is being written regarding the state of NFP Board practices across the western economies. It makes for some interesting reading and provides some good comparisons and benchmarks for your own NFP board. The latest "Leading with Intent" survey from the united States, which commenced annual collection in 1994, reflects board responsibilities across 10 leading indicators. Whilst it covers the board, the chair and the CEO, it is the board evaluation which I think provides the greatest challenges if considered in the light of the substantial strategic and operational issues that Australian NFPs face over the next 10 years or so. Despite  a number of social, economic and legal differences between Australia and the United States, there remain many similarities, and so it is worthwhile considering the output in this context.

Overall US NFP boards were generally better at technical tasks, such as financial oversight and compliance but less so at adaptive work related to strategy and community outreach. This measure was undertaken against a backdrop of great similarities between the two countries, namely economic challenges, declining government funding and continued growth in service demand.

As a moving indicator that has been measured over the last 22 years, it provides a good analysis of both improvement and decline over that period, meaning trending becomes important. In the case of financial performance of medium organisations, being those with turnover greater than $1 million but less than $10 million, 53% of those surveyed improved their results, 38% remained the same whilst 9% had in fact deteriorated. Those with operating budgets greater than $10 million reflected a similar profile excepting 36% were about the same whilst 11% reflected deterioration.

In the work that I do with boards reviewing their overall governance, I use a custom designed 100-point on-line survey covering board roles, board processes, board behaviours and board membership. The most challenging aspects of performance that I have tracked since the first use of the tool in 2010 across a number of varying sized NFPs, has been strategic planning capabilities, board accountabilities, board membership issues associated with the appropriateness of relevant skills, effectiveness of relationships with the CEO and mission alignment in terms of the board decision-making processes.

The overlap between US characteristics in this sector and the Australian experience appears to be at the strategy level. In the context of the current and future challenges for Australian NFPs, this is potentially concerning as the market and funding challenges require, in many instances, a rethink of the strategic future direction of many of these organisations. So a key question therefore must be, to what extent are Australian NFP boards ready to address the strategic direction of their organisations?

OPTIMUM NFP has developed a strategic planning process and board governance review mechanism that responds to conditions that many have described as volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous and diverse. Conditions that demand your board operating at levels that inform a potentially new strategic direction.

Contact David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au or on 0411-744-911 to arrange a no-obligations meeting to discuss how OPTIMUM NFP can add value to your NFP by ensuring your Board has the skills and capabilities to adequately steer your NFP through these challenging market conditions. The experience of OPTIMUM NFP could be exactly what you need at this point in time.

Strategic Planning - How Does Research Inform Our Practice?

Strategic planning is undertaken in many different ways in the various nonprofit organisations that I have interacted with and consulted to over the years. Whilst the various approaches all focus on some level of engagement across the organisation, methods of such engagement, depth of engagement, and timing of this engagement, vary quite widely. The one thing that they have in common is the desired output - being some sort of strategy plan, the format and structure of which, also varies quite widely.

In an attempt to bring this variety into some broader context, I noted with interest, an academic article in the July 2015 British Journal of Management entitled "Off to Plan or Out to Lunch? Relationships between Design Characteristics and Outcomes of Strategy Workshops" by Healey, Hodgkinson, Whittington and Johnson (of Manchester Business School, Warwick Business School, and Lancaster University Management School). Having delivered one of my research papers, entitled "Action Learning Intervention as a Change Management Strategy in the Disability Services Sector - A Case Study" at the 2013 British Academy of Management, to which the British Journal of Management is linked, the article on strategic planning attracted my attention.

A range of very interesting findings were presented in this research, which was based on a detailed questionnaire survey that was distributed to a random sample of 8,000 members of the UK's Chartered Management Institute, from which there were 1,337 respondents, being a response rate of just under 17%. Those that had not participated in a strategic planning workshop in their current organisation were then excluded from the analysis, which left a total of 846 valid responses from which the findings of the research were drawn.

These findings may be of interest to your organisation, especially as you may be planning your next round of strategic plans and considering the vagaries of workshop alternatives to enhance the process and inform the production of your strategic plan. The findings focused on what was identified as three concepts related to outcomes of strategy workshops, identified as follows:

1. The research identified the organisational outcomes that were linked to the formal workshops. The researchers defined organisational outcomes as the impacts that the workshops would have on the organisation's strategic direction, including its vision, values, business plan and business processes. Here they suggested that the formalities of the event itself provided a rare forum for examining and changing the goals of the organisation as well as defining the communication strategies around this. They supported this by suggesting that a process of open and frank discussion concerning the long-term logic of the business, underpinned any switching of the strategic focus.
2. The research identified the interpersonal outcomes that were linked to the formal workshops. The researchers identified the team-building and organisational development impacts that such formal workshops enabled. The bringing together of individuals to collaborate on the common issues, facilitated these outcomes, reversing the sense of disengagement and the absence of shared feeling that some experience if they have not been involved in such formal workshop events leading to the development of the strategic plan.
3. Finally, the research identified what they referred to as the cognitive outcomes that were linked to the formal workshop processes. Cognitive outcomes were described  as the understanding of the organisation's strategic positioning and direction, the strategic issues that it faced and the wider business environment that informed the full range of strategic outcomes.

What practical guidance can be extracted from this type of research and what, if any, are the implications for your own organisation as you consider the workshop structure, process and aftermath, as you commence your strategic planning activities?

• I think it is reasonable to assume that your workshop design should consider the interplay of all outcomes identified by the research, namely organisational, interpersonal and cognitive;
• I believe that from a structural perspective, the outcomes of the workshop should ensure that opportunities to strengthen the internal organisational communication lines is maximised;
• The strategic inclusion of relevant personnel from across the organisation must be considered in order to maximise the sense of inclusion and to pave the way for well considered strategy content;
• Strengthening key internal relationships should also be identified as an outcome that can deliver benefits in both strategy-inputs as well as strategy-implementation; and
• The success of your strategic planning processes is potentially predicated on the adequacy and depth of your preparations.

OPTIMUM NFP has developed a strategic planning process that has responded to many of the issues identified in this research and has successfully executed the process in many nonprofit organisations. Contact David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.auor on 0411-744-911 to arrange a no-obligation meeting to discuss your organisation's strategy planning process. Make the most out of the research that, when used well, can be to your organisation's benefit.

Change Management Podcast - David Rosenbaum and the Australian Institute of Management Business School

David Rosenbaum being interviewed by Professor Elizabeth More, National Academic Director, Australian Institute of Management Business School

1st AIM Business School Podcast series

  

Change management is one of those issues that resonates with just about every organisation, irrespective of industry sector, and irrespective of the organisation's positioning. It is one of those challenges that has been in existence for decades and the extent to which organisations continue to be challenged by it, is recognition of its complexity. In truth there is no simple answer, nor is there a prescriptive approach that guides successful organisational change.

In my own PhD research into change management in the Australian nonprofit sector, I have identified a number of factors which are considered ingredients in successful change, and findings from this research has now been published internationally.

In the first of AIM Business School's podcast series, Professor Elizabeth More, National Academic Director of the Australian Institute of Management Business School interviews me to discuss this very broad topic, both in my capacity as a consultant in change, a researcher and author on change, and as National Unit Coordinator for the Australian Institute of Management MBA Program in the Unit entitled Strategic Organisational Change.

You can access this podcast by clicking on the following URL link:

https://soundcloud.com/user-797298966/david-rosenbaum-change-management

Please feel free to contact David Rosenbaum of OPTIMUM NFP on 0411-744-911 or at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au to discuss change management in your organisation or to obtain further information about the Strategic Organisational Change Unit at the Australian Institute of Management Business School.

Managing Successful Change - How recommendations from my own PhD research can best be integrated into your NFPs change program

Change management is one of those topics that has been at the forefront of organisational discussions for over 70 years, as a topic that has engaged practitioners and academics alike, all attempting to better understand it so that successful organisational change can become the norm, as distinct to the apparent high failure rates that have been evidenced over the decades. Yet throughout this period, little or no research has been undertaken in change management from a purely nonprofit perspective.

Whilst some argue that this may  not be necessary be! cause organisational characteristics are alike across the sectors, others, including myself, argue that change must be considered from those that are involved in it, rather than purely the organisational perspective. The point here of course is that personnel characteristics within the nonprofit sector are quite different, and in some respects unique, hence the need to consider change management research within this sector, being an important addition to the broader research on change.

My research was undertaken at a Sydney-based nonprofit hospital undergoing major change with regards the design and implementation of an electronic patient management system. The full details of this study have now been published in the Journal of Management and Organization and form the central paper of my soon to be completed PhD. Whilst the full paper, entitled "A Longitudinal Qualitative Case Study of Change in Nonprofits - Suggesting a New Approach to the ma! nagement of Change" can be accessed on-line through Cambridge University Press (http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2016.6) the key recommendations, as presented in the paper, which may be of interest to those within the sector were as follows:

1. There is a need to formally include reflection time and reflective practices for all change participants in the planning, execution, and concluding stages of change, understanding that those experiencing change react to a wide range of emotions leading up to the change, during the execution phase, as well as in the post-change phase, and throughout this period, need to not only absorb the practicalities of the change and what this may mean for their own positions, but to also be able to verbalise their thoughts and discuss these in an open and supportive environment with colleagues, including internal change agents and management.
2. There is a need for the organisation to openly reflect on both the success and failure of past change experiences as a fundamental component of the planning stages of change, reinforcing trust and confidence in management with regards their ability to plan for, and execute change successfully.
3. There is a need for management to maintain an adequate focus on the individuals experiencing the change rather than an organisational focus as a primary (and often sole) consideration, creating an organisation-wide view as to management's interest in the welfare of change recipients throughout the change process and reinforcing an inclusive approach to the challenge of change within the organisation.
4. Finally there is an expectation that timing considerations are appropriately identified in the change-planning process, with specific reference to communication and change-recipient engagement processes, underpin! ning a strong correlation between the level of change preparation and readiness, with actual change execution.

Change is now pervasive within the nonprofit sector, with much of it being quite transformational with regards the design and implementation of new business models that really do challenge the core of many of these organisations. They also present very real challenges for staff, who are now being expected to absorb more commercial elements in their long-standing dealings with their clients. The culture of many of these organisations is being challenged.

OPTIMUM NFP has been actively engaged in assisting organisations design and implement change strategies, using processes that add substantial value to the change outcomes.

Contact David Rosenbaum of OPTIMUM NFP at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au or 0411-744-911 for a no-obligation discussion on how these findings can be best integrated to changes planned for your own organisation.
 

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.

Research Article - Change Management in Nonprofits

Pleased to announce that key findings from my PhD research have now been published. The article entitled "A longitudinal qualitative case study of change in nonprofits: Suggesting a new approach to the management of change" is available on-line at the Journal of Management & Organisation, a Cambridge University Press publication. Contact David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au to express your interest in obtaining access.

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.