Mission-Based Management

Mission-Based Management • Leading Your Not-for-Profit in the 21st Century • Peter Brinckerhoff • 26 February, 2014

Your Presenter • Peter Brinckerhoff • Corporate Alternatives, inc. • +1-217-341-3836 • peter@missionbased.com • www.missionbased.com

Three Core Philosophies… • Your organisation is a mission-based business. • No one gives your organisation a dime! • Nonprofit does not mean no profit!

What Works? Nonprofits that succeed… • A viable mission statement • Ethical, accountable and transparent • A businesslike board • Strong, well-educated staff • Embrace technology for mission. • Social Entrepreneurs • A bias for marketing • Financially empowered • A vision for where you are going. • Tight controls • All of these characteristics work together.

What is a Mission-Based Manager? • Someone who balances mission needs with available resources. • Someone who innovates, and takes risk on behalf of the people the organisation serves. • Someone who leads by example, motivating their staff, board, and community. • Someone who can communicate effectively.

Now, two starting questions..... • For each question, you have one minute to write down your answer. Then your table will discuss for 10 minutes. Make sure each person gets to contribute. At the end of that time, we’ll talk about what you’ve learned, or what was the most prevalent answer, or the most unexpected. • Make sure you have at least five people at your table. • Ready?

Question #1: Moving toward a competitive model, what is your organisation’s biggest barrier to success? • Write for one, talk for 10, and I’ll call on each table for common issues.

Question #2: What can you personally do as a leader to help overcome your barriers? Be specific! • Again, write for one, talk for 10.

Mission Statements • Key Philosophy: • Your mission statement is your most valuable resource. It’s also one that can be better used, if you are willing to put in the time and leadership to do so.

Getting more from your mission statement. • First, is the mission statement the one you want to follow? • Does it describe who you are, what you do, who and where you serve? • Does it use appropriate language? • Does it motivate you? • Does it fit on the front of a T-shirt? • Second, file any changes with the government.

Using the mission statement…. • It’s a Management tool • Board and staff meetings • Johnnie/Jennie stories • Beat the “click”! • It’s a Staff Motivator • It’s a Volunteer recruiter • It’s a Fund Raiser

Tea Time! • Please be back in 15 minutes!

Ethics, Accountability and Transparency • The mission is the why of your nonprofit. • Ethics, Accountability and Transparency are how. • All of these must start inside the organisation. It’s not just for outsiders • All of these require personal leadership. • All of these are risky-you can easily fall off the pedestal.

Start with Values • State your case in your values. • Think these through collaboratively, and don’t just put obvious things in. • Have values that require discussion to implement. • Be analog not digital. • Google’s key value? • Don’t have values you can’t live with. • Share and amend as needed.

More on values • Use your values in your employee and volunteer recruitment. • Use your values as a management and decision-making tool. • Enforce values in your behavior management. • Be public-hold yourself accountable!

Have some values…. • Respect: We will treat others as we would like to be treated. We do not tolerate abusive or disrespectful treatment. • Integrity: We work with customers and prospects openly and sincerely. When we say we will do something we will do it. When we say we cannot or will not do something then we won’t do it. • Communication: We have an obligation to communicate. Here, we talk the time to talk to each other….and to listen. We believe that information is meant to move and that information moves people. • Excellence: We are satisfied with nothing less than the very best in everything we do. We will continue to raise the bar for everyone. The great fun here will be for all of us to discover just how good we can really be.

Ethics in your nonprofit • Two old (and still correct) credos: • Treat others the way you want to be treated. • The right thing to do is the smart thing to do—and the smart thing to do is the right thing to do. • Sounds trite—but really profound. • How do people want to be treated? • How is right also smart? • Hold people (and yourself) accountable but allow for mistakes. • If you don’t like the ethics of the people around you and you’re the leader—look to yourself first.—John Maxwell

Accountability • Take responsibility for your own actions—and fess up when you mess up. • Everyone knows that everyone makes mistakes. What people want to see is how you lead through your errors. • Then start with internal accountability by being public with expectations to both staff and board. • Budget, work plans, strategic plans and ethics. • Finally, let your community know what your plans are and ask them to help you by holding you accountable.

What do we measure? • Measure outcomes, not activity. • Measure against mission. • Measure methods against values. • Go very public.

Transparency • Share your information inside the organisation. • Share your information outside the organisation. • Use tech to the max to do this.

Leading Your People • Key philosophy: • Your organisation needs good staff a lot more than your good staff need your organisation!

Leadership in Nonprofits • You have to lead from the front—be visible and accessible. • “People don’t care how much you know until you know that you care.” ---John Maxwell. • Be a mission cheerleader. • Trust that you don’t know everything...even the youngest, newest, least educated employee may be able to solve a problem better than you.

Bottom-up management • Treats management as a support function, not a restrictive one. • Values direct service staff above all. • Pushes decisions as close to the line of service as possible. • Flips the organisation chart upside down. • Works in competitive environments and with younger workers.

The traditional model… • This traditional organisational chart was developed for large organisations in non-competitive environments. • It worked-under those conditions.

The improved model… • By valuing the people who deliver service, training them, and empowering them, the organisation is more responsive, flexible, provides higher quality service and is more competitive. • And staff stay longer.

Components of bottom-up management. • You are an enabler, not a restrictor. • Treat others the way you would like to be treated. • Be a leader, but be willing to follow. • When you are praised, pass it on; when criticized, take the fall. • They are not your staff. You are their supervisor. • Thus the supervisor’s job is to get the tools and training in the hands of those closer to the line of service, to encourage, coach, mentor them, and to let them do their jobs.

This also requires: • Good delegation • Delegating both the work and the authority. • Holding people accountable for outcomes not process. • Good evaluation • Constant, supportive and firm. • And, when someone other than you has a great idea....follow it.....

Holding on to your core values • Not all changes are for you. • Review new opportunities in light of your mission and values. • Try to pick those opportunities that make you more mission-capable.

Questions? • Questions on anything we’ve covered?

More reading for you… • Mission-Based Management, 3rd Edition, by Peter Brinckerhoff • The Three Signs of A Miserable Job, by Pat Lencioni • Developing the Leader Within You, or Developing the Leaders Around You, both by John Maxwell • Begging for Change, by Robert Eggar

Thanks for having me! • Remember to e-mail with any questions!

Mission-Based Management