5340- U5 D1 Strengths-Based Leadership Strategies

Please see attached.

5340- U5 D1

Strengths-Based Leadership Strategies

In most organizations and programs today, leaders are acutely aware of the
limitations that political, bureaucratic, organizational, and training challenges
place on effective service delivery and effective interagency collaboration.

Based on the reading about a strengths-based focus for leadership and
supervision, in your initial post, examine how you would leverage strengths
in building a coalition to pursue important community objectives. Describe
how you have used a strengths-based approach or have observed the use of
a strengths-based approach in a project within your organization or
community.

NOTE: Minimum of 350 words and 1 scholarly journal

4Leadership

INTRODUCTION

Being a leader in a nonprofit organization is challenging. You must acquire a host of skills
and use them well to be successful. There are few “right” answers, and conditions change
constantly, bringing new opportunities and issues each day (Hopkins & Hyde, 2002). Part of
the genius of successful nonprofit leaders lays in knowing which skills are called for in which
situations. Rewards most often come from doing your best to fulfill your organization’s mis-
sion, not from the pay and benefits, which are often considerably less than comparable work
in the for-profit world. This chapter provides guidance for nonprofit leaders to be more suc-
cessful in their jobs by discussing what leadership is, what it is used for in a nonprofit setting,
what skills nonprofit leaders should possess, and other topics.

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?

The term leadership is bandied about so frequently that it is easy to think that strong agree-
ment exists in what it means. Shelves at libraries are filled with books on the subject, some
written by business leaders, some by officers in the military, and others by elected officials.
Leadership is usually seen as a generic skill—that is, leadership is leadership, whether in the
commercial sector, military, or government arenas. Most of this material is not academically
rigorous—in fact, it is little more than entertaining storytelling, with a few kernels of wisdom
amidst the large amount of chaff that readers have to sift through. Still, leadership is
important, and learning more about it is good for organizations and society. Poertner (2006)
shows that client outcomes vary in connection with the leadership ability of agency manag-
ers. Warren Bennis (2009), a respected business leadership guru, indicates that leaders shape
the effectiveness of organizations, provide inspiration and restore hope, and are able to
recognize problems, yet rise above the current context of society (and their organizations) to
see a better tomorrow.

A classic definition of leadership was given by renowned organizational theorist Richard
Cyert (1990): “Leadership is the ability to get participants in an organization to focus their
attention on the problems that the leader considers significant” (p. 29). In a similar vein,
Shenkman (2007) argues, “The leader’s real work is to create followers” (p. 13).

In nonprofits, however, the aim of leadership is not merely to create followers, but rather
to create followers to accomplish something useful, such as quality services for clients. The
centrality of values in the nonprofit sector is widely recognized and supported (Rothschild &
Milofsky, 2006). Thus, being a leader in the nonprofit sector requires a personal commitment
to the core values inherent in the nonprofit sector and the particular nonprofit organization
in which you work.

Watson, Larry D. (Dan), and Richard A. Hoefer. Developing Nonprofit and Human Service Leaders : Essential Knowledge and Skills, SAGE Publications, Incorporated, 2013. ProQuest
Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/capella/detail.action?docID=1921122.
Created from capella on 2023-02-08 17:43:10.

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38 LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATIONS

Leadership in a nonprofit often requires working closely with staff members, funders, and
other stakeholders. A successful executive values their input for the additional insights they
have and the opportunities they offer to come to better decisions. In addition, people who are
involved in workplace discussions are more likely to go along with the final decision, even if
it wasn’t their preferred option. While made in a different context, President Dwight D.
Eisenhower’s observation is apt: “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do some-
thing you want done because he wants to do it” (quoted in Hughes, Ginnet, & Curphy, 2006,
p. 405). Leadership in nonprofits is not about commanding but rather influencing others.

In this book, we do not make clear distinctions between the terms leaders, administrators,
and managers, although there are differences in meanings described in the literature.
Foremost among the differences discussed is the sense that leaders chart the overall direc-
tion of organizations, administrators lay out the plans for moving forward, and managers
get the front-line workers to implement the plans. Naturally, there is less difference in
practice as a person who is a manager at one level may be seen as a leader at a different
level. We believe that the roles are interdependent and often interchangeable, depending
on the exact situation. We also believe that putting too much emphasis on “leadership”
compared to “administration” or “management” discourages people from taking on appro-
priate activities that may be outside of their job description.

ARE THERE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LEADERS,
ADMINISTRATORS, AND MANAGERS?

WHAT ARE NONPROFIT LEADERSHIP SKILLS TO BE USED FOR?

A question that is often overlooked in thinking about leadership in nonprofit organizations
is exactly what leaders should be trying to accomplish. While this may seem to be an easy
question to answer, and hardly worth considering, the issues are not as simple as they may
first appear.

The common-sense view of nonprofit organizations is that they can best be understood as
single goal-maximizing organizations. In the case of human service organizations, their goal
would be to eliminate the problems of their clients. For sports nonprofits, the goal would be
to maximize the number of youth playing the sport. For arts organizations, the goal might be
to expose as many people as possible to theater/opera/music productions or the visual arts. A
major problem with this approach is that organizations, as organizations, cannot have
goals—only people can have goals (Mohr, 1982). Treating the organization as a person in this
way leads to a failure to understand the nuances of what a leader must do to get individuals
to align their goals with the organization’s mission. Other problems with this organizational
goal perspective are that goals often are not very specific, and that unofficial or unstated goals
are often as important to the nonprofit’s staff as are the professed goals of the organization
(Herman & Renz, 1997). For example, an agency leader may try to achieve certain outcomes
in an organization, not for the good of the agency, but because it will put him in a good posi-
tion to get a better job in another organization.

A second theoretical approach to understanding what skills a nonprofit leader is using is
the system resources approach, which posits that the key metric for understanding organiza-
tional success is the level of resources extracted from the environment to support the organi-
zation. In other words, the larger the budget (or the larger the percentage increase in the
budget), the more successful the organization (and thus its leader) is said to be (Herman &
Renz, 2004). This approach to what nonprofit leaders are trying to achieve would have to be

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Leadership 39

an implicit, rather than an explicit, goal of the leader. Other things, such as the articulated
mission, or achieving client outcomes, are what provide a nonprofit with its legitimacy and,
thus, its ability to obtain resources from the environment. Donors or other stakeholders would
not look kindly on a nonprofit leader espousing the goal of accumulating lots of cash reserves,
and funding would probably decrease if this were the leader’s announced goal.

A third view of what leaders in the nonprofit sector are working for, the multiple constit-
uency view, says that the different stakeholders of a nonprofit (leader, staff, clients/patrons,
funders, general public, and so on) may all have different ideas about what the organization
is established for and how it should act. Because each group is important in the nonprofit’s
work, each of these stakeholders’ views about what the organization is for is correct, even if
the views are contradictory to another stakeholder’s view (Herman & Renz, 2004). The task
for the organization’s leader is to balance the demands on the agency to accomplish these
different goals.

Funders may value organizational effectiveness in solving client problems, clients may
want to know that their assigned staff member cares about them as individuals, staff members
may want a secure job, and the general public may want to have the agency be free from
scandal. The nonprofit leader is thus required to pay attention to different stakeholders
sequentially, attending first to one aspect of the organization, then another. This requires a
tremendous repertoire of skills and a highly developed dose of political savvy. It also requires
understanding theories about leadership.

LEADERSHIP THEORIES

Perhaps the oldest theory of leadership, sometimes known as the great man or trait theory, is
that there are “born leaders” who have the traits that are needed to be effective (Carlyle,
1841). Some of the traits associated with successful leaders are drive, leadership motivation,
honesty, integrity, self-confidence, cognitive ability, and knowledge (Kirkpatrick & Locke,
1991), although many additional traits could be added to the list. If you believe in this theory
of leadership, and you wanted to develop leaders, you would first identify the traits of lead-
ership you desire, screen the population for people who have these traits, and then provide
training and opportunities for these traits to be used. This theory has practically no research
support, but does make for powerful storytelling.

Leadership research gives us many more options for understanding the role of leaders and
how they can be developed. Lewin, Lippitt, and White (1939/1970) proposed three styles of
leadership: authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire. (Some authors refer to these styles of
leadership as directive, participative, and delegative.) Authoritarian leaders tell others what to
do without consulting with them much. Democratic leaders solicit others’ opinions and seek
to influence their ideas so that a general consensus emerges. Laissez-faire leaders do not put
much effort into being leaders and allow others to do as they wish. The subjects in Lewin et
al.’s studies generally preferred the democratic leaders, followed by laissez-faire leaders, with
lowest levels of approval given to authoritarian leaders.

Despite the popularity of the democratic (or participative) style of leadership, later research
indicates that each style of leadership can be effective, given the right circumstances. For
example, when time is limited and the leader has all the facts needed to make a decision, the
authoritarian approach can (and perhaps should) be used. In other circumstances, such as
when staff members have some or all of the information needed to reach a decision, and the
leader does not have all the information necessary, a democratic leadership style brings about
better results.

The key realization from this research is that there is not just one correct model of leader-
ship; rather, the leadership style must match the situation. This basic idea, as described in
Chapter 3, is known as Contingency Theory, of which several different versions have emerged.
Perhaps the most influential was developed by Fielder (1967).

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40 LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATIONS

Fielder (1967) argued that leadership could be understood as behavior to accomplish tasks.
Two approaches (which exist on a continuum) for how to get tasks taken care of exist. On
the one hand, a leader can get tasks accomplished by developing positive relationships with
people so they will work because they like or trust the leader. This style is called relationship
oriented. The other end of the spectrum involves focusing on getting things done rather than
worrying about relationships. This style is called task focused. Neither of these styles works
all the time. Fielder’s critical insight was to try to determine when an effective leader uses one
style and when the other.

According to Fielder (1967), when relations are good between leader and followers, the
task is well structured, and the leader has high position power, then task orientation is
effective. When the opposite is true (that is, relations are not very good, the task is poorly
structured, and the leader does not have very high power from her position), task orienta-
tion can also be effective. For situations that are intermediate in relationship, structure, or
position power, then relationship-oriented leadership is more effective. A recent restatement
of contingency leadership declares that the best outcomes occur when the fit between leader
and circumstances is “aligned” (Dym & Hutson, 2005).

Two additional recent leadership approaches include transformational leadership (Burns,
1978) and servant leadership (Greenleaf, 1991). Transformational leadership offers followers
a chance to accomplish great things by making large changes in their organization and them-
selves. Transformational leaders create a vision, sell that vision to followers, and then move
forward to enacting the vision, along with their followers, always leading the charge.
Transformational leaders are usually charismatic, inspirational, intellectually stimulating, and
people oriented, providing individualized attention to others. Servant leadership is described
by Greenleaf (1991) as a feeling and a choice that the leader makes to lead, but to lead in a
way that is in service to others. The goal for the servant-leader is to serve first and to acquire
power or influence later, but only to continue to serve others better.

People employing different theories and styles use different sets of skills. An authoritarian
leader requires far fewer “people skills” than does a leader following a servant-leader model.
Leaders who want to be successful over the long term must be flexible in how they approach
their job based on the needs of the organization. As Rothschild and Milofsky (2006) remind
us, the needs of the organization (which can vary according to where it is in its life cycle, the
state of its distinctive technologies, and what the demands of its external constituencies are)
determine how the leader must act to be effective, and the personal desires of the leader are
secondary. For example, a person not normally seen as charismatic may need to use such
abilities to develop a following for a large-scale and difficult project. At other times, a vision-
ary leader may need to focus on detailed “running of the ship” to achieve the vision that has
come together. (Of course, another option for when a leader’s skills do not match the organi-
zation’s situation is to find a different leader.)

PUTTING TOGETHER THE PIECES:
UNDERSTANDING NONPROFIT LEADERSHIP

Contingency theory argues that different leadership styles are more or less effective depending
on the situation facing an organization. Schmid (2006) has assembled an excellent empirically
based approach to linking organizational situation to leadership duties required.

According to Schmid (2006), leaders can locate themselves and their organization’s needs
on a two-axis plane (see Figure 4.1). One axis is labeled people-oriented vs. task-oriented,
while the other axis is labeled internal orientation vs. external orientation. This creates four
quadrants that we will examine, each in turn.

Quadrant I represents “task-oriented with an internal focus.” The leader with such an
approach will be focused on achieving organizational goals using standard work processes.

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Leadership 41

Centralization will be used most often, with few opportunities for others to be involved in the
decision-making process. The leader will keep subordinates on a short leash, with strict atten-
tion to meeting organizational goals and objectives. The leader will demand that staff members
strictly follow organizational rules and processes. This type of leader is likely to use Theory X
(McGregor, 1957), which was discussed in Chapter 3.

While this type of leader does not sound very much in tune with nonprofit values of
democracy and openness, Schmid (2006) argues that such a set of behaviors in a leader has
its place. Residential boarding institutions, for example, require strict following of rules to
protect residents’ rights, maintain legitimacy, and assure an adequate flow of resources into
the organization. Reports of abuses by staff of dependent clients (such as in prisons, state
schools, or nursing homes) are far too common and reflect a breakdown in the control of
the organization, leading to lawsuits, governmental inquiries, and possible elimination of the
organization.

Quadrant II also has an internal orientation, but the leader in this case is people oriented,
not task oriented. Leadership behaviors in this quadrant are designed to motivate, involve,
and empower staff to do the work of the organization. The leader acts as coach and mentor,
seeking to develop staff members to achieve more and to be committed to improving them-
selves as they accomplish the goals of the organization. This type of leader seems closely
aligned with the Human Relations model of leadership, or Theory Y (McGregor, 1957), both
discussed in the previous chapter.

Schmid (2006) argues that the most appropriate time for Quadrant II leadership is during
the early years of a nonprofit organization’s existence. This is when rules are not yet written,

Figure 4.1 A 4-Quadrant View of Leadership, Needed Skills, and Linked Theory

Quadrant I Quadrant III

Theory X Institutional
Perspective

Quadrant II Quadrant IV

Theory Y Resource
Dependence

Task Orientation

Internal
Orientation

External
Orientation

Ethics underlies
all Quadrants

People Orientation

Example Skills:
Financial

management
Information
technology

Example Skills:
Board relations

Human resources
management
Supervision

Example Skills:
Financial

Development
Marketing

Example Skills:
Advocacy

Persuasion

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42 LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATIONS

patterns are not yet fully established, and the founders of the organization have the most
direct influence on the organization and its members/clients/staff. An internal focus for lead-
ership is necessary to stabilize the organization and to create routine job processes and pro-
cedures that can lead to routines being established at the organization.

Quadrant III sets aside the internal focus of Quadrants I and II to look outside of the
organization, while remaining task oriented as in Quadrant I. Quadrant III can be seen as the
leader “conquering” the world outside of the organization—the push is to acquire legitimacy
and resources from external sources so as to institutionalize the nonprofit. Leaders in this
situation tend to be very directive and authoritative, and rely on their formal authority much
more than their ability to influence indirectly or through the use of inducements. Because the
task of organizational institutionalization is seen as so important, staff members and volun-
teers are frequently narrowly seen as resources to be used to achieve the goal, rather than as
important actors in the process. This is squarely in line with the Institutional Perspective
(Scott, 1995) mentioned in Chapter 3.

Quadrant IV represents the convergence of an external orientation with a people focus.
Leaders in this area of the model seek to control the future of their organization by reducing
its dependence on others for resources even while making other organizations more depen-
dent on them. Considerable attention is paid to developing staff members to improve their
ability to handle the external environment’s constraints. Because the leader is using so much
time and energy to build coalitions and alliances outside of the organization, lower-level staff
members must be trained to handle as many issues themselves as possible. Resource depen-
dency theory (Pfeffer & Salancik, 1978) fits well in this quadrant.

It is important to remember that none of the quadrants is “better” than another. But work-
ing in each quadrant presents a different set of challenges and requires a different set of skills
to be successful. None of the sets of skills described is inferior to another. Just as a carpenter
uses many different tools, depending on the job to be done, nonprofit managers must have a
basic set of skills at their disposal to be able to employ the ones that fit the situation best.

WHAT ARE THE BASIC SKILLS OF NONPROFIT LEADERSHIP?

Nonprofit organizations come in a variety of sizes, fields, and purposes. Obviously, some are
small local organizations, aiming to affect one neighborhood or community by providing
services to a marginalized group. Contrast this with international organizations whose pur-
pose is worldwide in scope, such as trying to reverse the process of global climate change.
While the exact skills of being a leader may be somewhat different in different types of non-
profits, the literature has some clear guidelines regarding what skills are necessary. Chief
among these are being able to work with a board of directors (Herman & Heimovics, 2005).
This topic is so important for nonprofit administrators that it has an entire chapter devoted
to it (Chapter 10).

Besides being adept with board relations, Herman and Heimovics (2005) make additional
suggestions for successful leadership at the executive director level in the nonprofit world:

• Spend time on external relations.
• Develop an informal information network, particularly regarding future events.
• Know your agenda.
• Improvise and accept multiple, partial solutions.
• Use a political framework to understand issues.

In summary, Herman and Heimovics (2005) declare that “board-centered, external and
political skills are what distinguish particularly effective nonprofit chief executives” (p. 169).
However, lest one believes that nonprofits should operate under a “great leader” model,
where all the responsibility for success or failure rests on the shoulders of one person, Grant

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Leadership 43

and Crutchfield (2008) describe the importance of leadership being shared. These authors
studied 12 nonprofit organizations extensively for a number of years, developing lessons
about what made these organizations so high-impact. One of the most important of these
lessons is “leaders of these organizations are able to share power and inspire others to lead.
Leadership doesn’t stop at the top; rather, it extends throughout the organization and a larger
network or movement” (p. 46). The analogy used by Grant and Crutchfield is important:
They describe the nonprofit director not as the person on top of the hierarchy, but rather the
person at the hub of many people, all working to accomplish the mission of the organization.

Figure 4.2 The Nonprofit Leader as Hub

Clinical
Services

Support
Services

Human
Resources

Chief
Executive

Physical
Plant

STUDIES OF WHICH SKILLS NONPROFIT MANAGERS SHOULD HAVE

The mid-1990s saw considerable research to answer basic questions in the field of nonprofit
administration. Hoefer (1993, with a follow-up article in 2003) addresses the question of
what should be taught to prepare students to be effective nonprofit leaders. His results show
that 37 skills, attitudes, and knowledge areas found in the literature could be rated individu-
ally in terms of importance. They could also be condensed into four categories (people skills,
attitudes and experiences, substantive knowledge, and management skills) to determine what
human services administrators should know how to do. Hoefer (2003) develops three pri-
mary conclusions based on the ratings of the skills:

• “Strong agreement exists regarding which skills are most important at the three differ-
ent levels of administration across disciplines and types of administrators.” (p. 41)

• The desired knowledge, skill sets, and attitudes of human service administrators do not
change very much as they move from lower levels of administration to higher levels. But
it is important to become more accomplished in each of the areas as one reaches a
higher level of administration.

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44 LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATIONS

• “For all respondents, at all levels, ‘people skills’ are the most important, and ‘manage-
ment’ skills are the least important.” (p. 38)

Another conceptualization of what social work managers should know was developed by
the National Network for Social Work Managers (NNSWM, 2004) and discussed in
Wimpfheimer (2004). Developed through a lengthy process of consultations with practitioners
and academics, 14 competency areas are considered vital for social work managers. To receive
the “Certified Social Work Manager” credential from the NNSWM, applicants must demon-
strate their abilities in these areas. The standards of the NNSWM are not minimum standards
but are the competencies that are for experienced and academically trained managers. These
standards have solid face validity given the process used to develop and refine the list.

LEADERSHIP SKILLS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF AN ORGANIZATION

Most people do not move directly from graduating from college or graduate school to becom-
ing the executive director of a nonprofit organization. They move up the ranks, just as in the
corporate and government worlds. Still, leadership skills are necessary at all levels of nonprof-
its. Thus, it is vital to remember that your leadership skills should be improved throughout
your career at whatever organization you are currently working in and throughout your life.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Leadership is a fascinating topic for those in the nonprofit field. Given the difficult-to-define
nature of nonprofits, and the multiplicity of theories about how to be a good leader, contin-
ued research is imperative. Besides better defining which skills might be most important in
what type of situations, other areas for research are needed. One of the important topics is
assessment of the way students and current leaders can learn new skills and improve current
basic levels of leadership skills. One area of needed research is perhaps the most difficult of
all: How does improved leadership link to improved outcomes for clients, students, or the
public at large? Because nonprofits are legally chartered to enhance the public good, we must
always keep sight of the connection between what leaders do and how the public benefits
from those actions.

SUMMARY

In the end, we must echo Tschirhart’s (1996) words as she ends her book on leadership in non-
profit arts organizations: “There are no simple formulas to adopt” (p. 84). Despite this warning,
we have identified what leadership is and what it can be used for, and described a four-quadrant
system (and associated leadership theories) to show how different skills can be categorized and
used in nonprofit leadership. We have also identified basic leadership skills that are needed
across the spectrum of nonprofit organizations (particularly human service agencies) and the
situations in which they are most useful. With this as a guide, organization leaders may find it
easier to have a positive impact, despite daunting challenges in their everyday work.

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Shenkman, M. (2007, March–April). Defining your leader brand. Nonprofit World, 13–14.
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Administration in Social Work, 28(1), 45–56.

HELPFUL TERMS

Authoritative leadership style—a leadership style marked by telling people what to do with-
out providing many opportunities for feedback and suggestions by those being affected.

Contingency leadership theory—a theory regarding leadership that says that the effective-
ness or appropriateness of a leader’s behaviors is determined to some degree by the leader’s
environment.

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46 LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATIONS

Democratic leadership style—a style of leadership where the leader seeks out others’ opin-
ions and attempts to influence others so that a general consensus around a decision emerges.

Directive leadership style—see “authoritative leadership style.”

“Great man” leadership theory—a theory regarding leadership that posits that “leaders are
born, not made.” In other words, people have the innate ability to be a “great leader” or not.

Laissez-faire leadership style—a style of leadership where the leader puts little effort into
being the leader or affecting decisions, allowing others to do as they wish.

Multiple constituency theory—a theory of leadership that indicates that leaders must attend
to the needs and desires of a number of stakeholders (constituencies) rather than having only
one constituency to satisfy.

Organizational effectiveness—a concept that is usually linked to the ability of an organiza-
tion to accomplish its stated goals. Sometimes the concept is operationalized differently,
however, such as “an effective organization is one that has survived” or “an effective orga-
nization is one that is growing.”

Participative leadership style—see “democratic leadership style.”

Servant leadership style—an approach to leadership where the leader chooses to lead in a
way that is in service to others. The goal for the servant leader is to serve first and to acquire
power or influence later, but only to continue to serve others better.

Single goal-maximizing organization theory—the idea that an organization can be thought
of as a unitary entity pursuing one goal to the utmost. Other theories dispute this.

Stakeholder—any individual or outside organization with a vested interest in what occurs
within an organization. Typical stakeholders in a nonprofit include service recipients,
funders, employees, board members, and the public at large.

System resources theory—a theory of organizations that indicates that the key measure of
organizational success is the amount of resources extracted from the environment, with a
larger budget indicating a more successful organization.

Trait leadership theory—a theory of leadership characterized by lists of individual traits that
are said to be associated with being a good leader.

Transformational leadership style—a style of leadership where the leader creates a vision,
sells that vision to followers, and then moves forward to enact the vision with the followers.

EXERCISES

1. In-Basket Exercise

Directions

Read the following memo from a consultant you have hired to help you get your bearings
straight in your new position as CEO of Bound for Success, Inc. (BfS), a youth-serving
agency specializing in assisting teen foster children successfully transition to independent
adulthood by the time they are 22 years of age. As you will read, your agency faces many
challenges, and it is up to you to provide guidance to the consultant so he can provide
information on possible paths for agency sustainability. You will, of course, need to work

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Leadership 47

closely with the board of directors of BfS, but you would like to have some concrete ideas
to start the conversation with them.

Your assignment is to write a memo to your consultant that indicates your top three pri-
orities (in rank order) and the specific actions you believe should be taken to implement these
priorities. Provide clear rationales for your decisions so that the consultant can be most help-
ful to you in his next report. As you write your memo to the consultant, be clear in your mind
which stakeholder group(s) you have in mind as your primary reference point. Are you look-
ing more to satisfy the board of directors of BfS, donors and other funders (current and
potential), clients, staff members, or some combination of these? You will find that knowing
who you are trying to satisfy most will have a large impact on the clarity of your thinking.

Memo

Date: September 21, 20XX

To: Rebecca Mayes, CEO, Bound for Success, Inc.

From: Jim Kreslin, Consultant

Subject: Strategic Planning Ideas

As requested, I have completed a preliminary analysis of BfS’s current situation. Before mov-
ing forward, I need direction from you regarding your priorities and the options you feel are
most in line with your desired strategy.

The external environment has several important trends impacting BfS. The first is the
anticipated decrease in opportunities for federal and state grants. As you know, government
sources of funding are becoming fewer and fewer as elected officials promise to reduce
taxes, “get back to basics,” and let private donors and foundations take more of the funding
role for social services. At the same time, many foundations are still unable to provide as
much funding as they have in the past due to difficult times in the stock market, where
much of their assets are invested. Private donors are also barely keeping their levels of
funding even as the economic situation is unsettled for so many. Even BfS’s own board’s
giving has dwindled.

To address these factors, BfS could choose from among the following options:

• Increase its spending on marketing to the general public so that our name recognition
and good work is more widely known

• Hire an external grantwriter (at a significant fee) to supplement current fundraising
efforts

• Improve and expand current communication channels with important stakeholders and
potential donors (we have not used social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter
to any extent, and our web page has not been updated for six months)

• Join coalitions of human service agencies to advocate for more funding for human ser-
vices in general and agencies serving our client population in particular

• Engage the BfS board more actively to donate at previous or even expanded levels
• Recruit more donors by training board members to fundraise amongst their peers more

effectively

At the same time that BfS must understand and deal with these external issues, a number
of other issues are important within the organization. As you are aware, no raises have been
given to staff for the past three years. Not only has this impacted morale among the agency’s
workers, but it is also leading to higher levels of staff turnover and increased costs in recruit-
ing new staff members. The high quality applicants we would like to hire are not attracted by
our starting salaries, yet the persons willing to work for what we currently offer do not have

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48 LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATIONS

the skills we need. If we were somehow able to increase our starting salaries for the type of
employee we have had, their salaries would be higher than those of loyal workers who have
been on the job many years. I am afraid this would lead to a loss of our more senior workers.
Another aspect of the job that is important is that proper building maintenance has been
deferred for several years. The building’s age shows, and both residents and staff see this
general deterioration as a negative.

Additionally, it has been at least six years since BfS took a serious look at its program-
ming. A great deal of research has been conducted in this time, and our programs are no
longer using the evidence-based information that made them so attractive to funders only a
few years ago. The programs we use are not necessarily culturally relevant to the many youth
of color we serve, and funding for training to improve staff members’ ability to be culturally
competent has not kept up with the needs we face, particularly with the high turnover noted
earlier.

We should be implementing what are seen to be the most effective services available at
the current time, but we have no one assigned the task to stay abreast of the research litera-
ture on this topic. Regaining the reputation for being at the forefront of effective service
delivery is an important task.

Some steps that BfS could take to handle these (mainly internal) issues include the following:

• Work with a salary and benefits consultant to come into line with local averages for
employee compensation

• Hire a researcher from Southeastern University’s School of Social Work (or other uni-
versity) to determine what are currently the most effective, evidence-based services for
our clients

• Revamp our service delivery system to be more efficient and to require fewer front-line
employees. Savings from having fewer staff could be used to fill a rainy day fund or
increase salaries for current and future employees

• Restructure our entire agency to reduce the need for (relatively) expensive administra-
tive positions such as separate directors of “Clinical Services” and “External Relations
and Development”

• Engage trainers to assist staff with issues of cultural and racial diversity

Also at your request, I interviewed representatives of some of the important stakeholder
groups at BfS. Board members are most concerned with financial stability and organizational
sustainability. Staff members would like to see a stronger focus on pay and working condi-
tions, and on being able to assist clients more effectively. Current donors express no negative
feelings, but many of them have been surprised at a lack of outreach to them, whether to
communicate future plans or even to give thanks for past contributions. Current clients are
so focused on their problems that they have few opinions regarding the direction of the
agency, as long as their existing needs are met.

I would appreciate it if you would provide guidance as to which issues are your most
important priorities and which options I should explore further to address those priorities. If
you would also explain the reasons for your decisions, that will greatly benefit me as I work
to provide you and the board with a viable plan for agency sustainability.

2. Follow the Leader

Purpose: to experience the difficulty of directing other people to perform specific tasks.
One aspect of leadership is being able to communicate clearly and directly. This exercise

shows how challenging a task this can be!

Preparation: You will need an open area (as in the middle of a room) to conduct this exercise.
Have participants get in pairs standing together to one side of the open area. One person from

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Leadership 49

each pair should be blindfolded or must promise to keep his or her eyes closed during the
exercise. The other person is the “leader.” On the floor in the open area, scatter a number of
sheets of paper.

Task: The leader in each pair must direct the follower to walk across the open space without
the follower touching any of the scattered sheets of paper. The follower must not be able to
see the paper. The leader may not use any guidance techniques except for telling the follower
what to do. No touching or guiding with props is allowed. Of course, the leader may not
touch the sheets of paper either!

Variations:

A. The task can be made more or less challenging depending on the number of sheets of
paper used. Having to navigate a few sheets of paper can be thought of as the “front-
line supervisor level,” a moderate number can be the “department or program leader
level,” while a large number would be the “CEO level” of leadership. This exercise
works best if both members of the pair take turns being leader and follower, and if
everyone experiences at least two levels of leadership to show how the process gets
more complicated with increasing responsibility.

B. The leader may be allowed to be beside the follower, or may be forced to stay 5–10
feet away from the follower.

C. Add a time dimension by allowing only a certain amount of time for the task to be
completed.

D. The leader may become responsible for more than one follower simultaneously. If any
of the followers touch the paper on the floor, all are out.

E. Add a competitive element by timing each pair. The pair that completes the task most
quickly without touching the paper wins a small prize.

F. The leader may choose a leadership or management theory to implement during this
process. Thinking about the ways different theories would try to elicit particular
follower behaviors can bring home differences in how management and leadership
theories are “in real life.” The instructor can start with discussing the differences
between how an authoritarian leader and a laissez-faire leader would approach
leading a follower from one side of the room to the other, and allow students to try
out these approaches or use other leadership theories and perspectives in their
efforts.

3. Discuss Your Passion for Nonprofit Leadership

Purpose: to facilitate students’ thinking about and ability to express why they would like to
be a nonprofit leader.

Understanding your own motivation and passion to be a nonprofit leader can be challeng-
ing. Discussing such topics in front of a group can be embarrassing. To succeed in a nonprofit
leadership position (or to be hired in the first place), it is important to be able to speak fluidly
and with ease about these topics. With practice, discussing these topics becomes easier.

Preparation: Students form into pairs. One is the interviewer, and one the interviewee. (Note:
A person can practice answering questions on his or her own, if desired or needed.) Develop
a set of two or three questions as a class or small group. The following are some suggested
questions:

• What makes you excited to be a nonprofit leader?
• What motivates you to work in a nonprofit rather than a for-profit organization?

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50 LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATIONS

• If you were interviewing for a leadership position in a nonprofit agency, what would
you say makes you a good fit for such a job?

• Fill in the blanks: “My preferred style of leadership is ________________ because
_____________________________.”

Task: The two students in each pair practice asking and answering the chosen questions.
When they are comfortable with their ability to answer the questions, have the students do
this in front of the class (or have only volunteers do this).

Variations:

A. Have students make videos of themselves answering the questions in class (using their
cell phones if available). Have them critique their own performance with their partner.
Have students discuss what they would do to improve their performance.

B. Students can be assigned to make a video outside of class of themselves answering the
questions. This would then be posted to a class wiki or other area to be viewed by the
instructor and/or other students. This variation works well for online courses.

4. Being the “Dancing Guy”

Purpose: One definition of being a leader is having one or more followers. Leadership occurs
at all levels of organizations, not just at the top of the organizational chart. Leadership skills
need to be developed throughout your career, as many of them are similar in nature no mat-
ter where in an organization your current position is. This exercise shows the way leadership
can emerge anywhere and at any time.

Preparation: Go to YouTube and search for the term “Leadership Lessons from the
Dancing Guy.” Select any one of the versions of the video available. (They are all copies of
the original one by Derek Sivers at http://youtube/fW8amMCVAJQ.) Cue up the video for
your class or group. Announce that you are going to demonstrate that anyone can be a
leader.

Task: First, watch the video without sound. Lead a discussion with students about what they
saw. Then discuss the sorts of things that they can do in the spirit of being the “dancing guy”
at their job or in their volunteer time. Discuss the differences between formal leadership
positions and informal leadership. Then show the video again, with sound, to listen to the
commentary by Derek Sivers.

Variations:

A. Have students try being “the dancing guy” in some part of their lives (for extra
credit), perhaps starting a dancing mob or by engaging in some other non-dangerous
behavior, even just looking up at the top of a building. Have them debrief for the class
what occurred and how it felt.

B. Have students take the exercise one step further by pre-organizing the “spontaneous”
first and second followers to join in. What other ways can they think of to improve
their perceived leadership abilities by using theory and knowledge in their work?

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Leadership 51

ASSIGNMENTS

1. A huge number of sources exist regarding leadership, and more become available
constantly. This assignment asks you to “curate” information for yourself and others
in your class or group. Be willing to post the results of these assignments to a class or
group wiki or other method of dissemination.

A. Find two to three books on leadership or by leaders you’d be willing to read. What
makes them attractive to you? What can they tell you about how to be a better
leader?

B. Find four to five videos on leadership in nonprofits, searching in YouTube, Vimeo,
or other free sources. Write a synopsis of what each video is about. Rate each video
from 1 (not good at all) to 5 (excellent source of information) and explain your
rating.

C. Search for a nonprofit leadership training or seminar you could attend, live or
virtually. Try to find participant reviews of it. Describe the training and reviews for
others in your class or group.

2. Think about leaders you are aware of, whether you have known them or only read or
seen information about them. These people may be as varied as a Scout leader, an
historical leader such as Jane Addams or Abraham Lincoln, an instructor or teacher,
or a boss in one of your jobs. Make a list of the qualities that you see that are good
leadership traits, skills, or behaviors. Have at least 15 different entries. Look over this
list and group the individual items into a smaller number of overarching behaviors or
skills. Label these groups. Write or find a definition that matches your idea of what
YOU mean by that term. Be prepared to discuss your list and definitions in class or
other group setting.

3. Select a person who is in a leadership position in the nonprofit world. (This position
may be paid or volunteer.) Arrange to interview him or her. Find out about that per-
son’s journey to the current leadership position. What led to starting in this position?
What training does your interviewee have (formal or informal)? Does this person
follow any “theories” of leadership, such as being directive, participative, or delega-
tive? Did the person you talked with have a mentor? (Note: This assignment works
best if several or all students or group members ask similar questions so that, after
sharing what was discussed in the interview, generalizations can be made about the
processes of becoming a leader in the nonprofit world.)

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