Tip 1: STOP! (or at the very least slow down)
If you broke both your legs, the very first thing your doctor would tell you is to stay off your feet for a while. This is because your doctor understands that if you continue to try and move around on your broken parts the situation is only going to become worse.
So isn't it amazing that many nonprofits continue to try and create and execute programming no matter how broken the organization is?
A better choice is to, for at least a little while, stop the programming. Stop feeding the homeless, stop producing shows, etc.
If this is unacceptable, then slow down on the programming, i.e. do one show this year instead of three.
Then use that time, energy and money you are saving to work on fixing the problems in your organization.
Tip 2: Tell the Truth
If you do decide to slow down, you are going to need to explain to your funders, staff, etc. why you are doing it.
Don't try to spin the answer.
Tell the truth, admit the problems and more importantly, admit the cause of the problem.
If the cause is an ineffective board, say so.
If the cause is a burned out staff, say so.
Why?
Because telling the truth is the only way your organization will be taken seriously long term.
Here's the reality. If your organization needs fixing, EVERYONE ALREADY KNOWS IT! There are very few secrets in this field. Most of your major funders already know the problems AND the causes.
By admitting them, you are showing that YOU know the problems and causes, which is the first step to getting them fixed.
Tip 3: Get outside help.
Since I make my living as a consultant this tip may seem self serving but it isn't. Sometimes you just need someone from the "outside" to look into the organization and show you what needs to be fixed.
Many times that outside voice is the only way to ensure that the needed change will actually happen.
When I ran a nonprofit, I was amazed at how often the following situation happened . . . I would be insisting that the company needs to make some change and I would be ignored. Then a consultant would come in . . . SAY THE EXACT SAME THING I SAID (but maybe in a slightly different way) and then people would act on it.
Maybe it is just human nature, but it is all too easy to ignore a nonprofit's "internal" voices. Sometimes bringing in a new voice and new energy can jump start an organization.
And please note that this doesn't have to be a consultant. It can be a concerned funder, or even a someone with no interest in this particular company at all but experience with nonprofit management generally.
Tip 4: Assign Blame
I know that may seem like a typo. You may think I meant to say "Don't Assign Blame", but nope, I meant it the way I wrote it.
It's a common cliche for organization's of all types to say "We don't want to point fingers, we just want to solve the problems."
I say that sometimes the best way to solve the problem is by pointing the finger.
It doesn't have to be done in a cruel way. In fact, it SHOULDN'T be done in a cruel way. But I believe it is vital that at some point in a change process individuals who helped to create those problems are singled out and held accountable.
Let's us a typical example in nonprofit's to illustrate the point. Let's say that a company's Board of Director's is particularly dysfunctional. To fix the problem the company creates all types of new policies and procedures.
Everything works ok for a while, then six months later, the company is back to its old ways.
There could be a thousand reasons why this happens, but one of the most common ones is because no one sat down with the Board leader (whoever that may be) and said "this happened under your watch . . . it is up to you to ensure this doesn't happen again."
If taking this step hurts people's feelings . . . so be it. If people decide to leave the organization because of it, good! You probably didn't need them around anyway.
Creating massive change in any organization is not just about skill, it is about having the WILL to see it through. If you have both, then your organization can come out the process stronger then ever.
