Welcome to the Wishnick & Associates blog! There is lots to read, based on experiences from my 16 years working with nonprofit, mission-driven organizations. I have written about strategic planning, capacity building, executive leadership transition, boards of directors, and more – lessons learned, effective principles, tips, and advice. My intended readers are nonprofit chief executives, board members, nonprofit staff (especially those aspiring to leadership roles), and anyone with an interest in myriad organizational issues. My hope is that through these blog articles, I can pass on a bit of the inspiration I get from my clients. Please let me know what you think, or if you have ideas for a future post … and do share these posts with others who may be interested. While I have moved to writing on a more occasional basis, there is a lot here to think about. Thank you for stopping by!
New Year Surprises: Are You Ready to Manage Staff Transitions?
A new year often inspires life changes, big or small. Among these are the decision to pursue a new job or career. Because employees at all levels contribute to the fulfillment of your mission, nonprofit leaders need to be tuned into staffing transitions throughout the organization. How a nonprofit executive copes with staff transitions both draws from and contributes to the organizational culture. If handled well, a staff transition can boost an organization’s well-being and capacity, but if handled poorly, morale and service continuity can suffer. (more…)
Resolve: The Will to Lead
It was not necessarily my intention to mine any further the situation put forth in my August 2016 blog post, Executive Transition: Cautionary Tale #1 – Settling for Less. I had a completely different topic in mind for the December blog post. However, it turns out that the last lines of the August post are haunting me now. (more…)
Thanksgiving Edition: Sharing the Bounty
At this time of year, I’m especially grateful to my clients, colleagues, and friends for the privilege of working and growing together. I’d like to share a few things that I’ve learned along the way – from you!
One of the great things about working with nonprofit leaders is the opportunity to learn new practices that are working for their organizations. These learnings are worth sharing with others across the nonprofit sector. Yet when nonprofit leaders gather with colleagues, it is usually with others in their field. It is not necessarily routine, for example, for a leader of a social service agency to meet with one from an arts organization. In my work with nonprofits of all kinds – arts, education, human services, community development, housing, and foundations – I often find myself as a conduit for this cross-pollination. (more…)
Capacity Building Readiness Assessments – A Meaningful Diagnostic
Recently, I attended a condominium board meeting to find out what was going on in our building. The condominium board had hired a consulting firm to assess the common areas in the building to identify ways to maximize space. One of the initial findings was that the bicycle room was not efficiently organized. With some minor changes the bikes could be stored in a smaller footprint, thus freeing up additional storage space in the room, perhaps for stroller storage. And this was only the beginning of new possibilities!
Over the years, I have conducted many assessments for nonprofit organizations. In every instance, the findings have been, in one way or another, revealing. This post discusses the value of capacity building readiness assessments.
Executive Transition: Cautionary Tale #2 – Undermining the Transition Process
Last month I shared a cautionary tale about what can go wrong when an organization compromises in their choice of a new executive director due to search fatigue or poor preparation.
This month, I present a tale about what can happen in an executive transition when there is lackof good will among the board of directors and a lapse in honoring one’s role as a trustee of an organization.
Often in the case with significant decisions, a board of directors will agree up front to emerge from its deliberations in unanimity. This desire to present a united face to staff and the public conveys a strong message and fosters further buy-in by other stakeholders. But what if someoneonly pays lip service to this and strays from the group? What if someone doesn’t put what is best for the organization first? In this scenario, an individual disrupts the organization by subverting the transition process. (more…)
Executive Transition: Cautionary Tale #1 – Settling for Less
This post is the first of two that discuss what can go wrong when hiring a nonprofit executive.This month I’ll talk about what happens when a board of directors settles for less and the downside of fatigue with the process. Next month I’ll discuss what can happen when a board member undermines the transition process.
Hiring a nonprofit executive is too important to do with anything but the utmost of care. Even with strong planning something can go wrong. That’s real life. What is truly unfortunate is when an executive transition is not successful when, with more attention to the process, it could have been.
Before I began consulting with nonprofits in 2004, I worked as an executive search consultant. Among the things I know from that experience are the importance of a detailed description of the ideal candidate for a position and the necessity for patience in the process. Organizations neglect these essentials at their peril.
In the following scenario, hiring a new executive was viewed as a chore. The hiring committee approached the search with a defeatist attitude rather than seeing it as a strategic action having long-term effect on the organization. (more…)