How can visionary non-profits make the critical transition to stronger management?
Without sound management practices, even the most successful nonprofit will be unable to sustain, let alone increase, its impact over time. And yet, when Bridgespan consulting teams surveyed senior staff members at 30 non-profits, the respondents consistently rated their organizations much higher on leadership dimensions like developing an overall vision than on management dimensions like making trade offs and setting priorities in order to realize that vision. Many nonprofits appear to be strongly led, but under-managed.
Representatives from voluntary and non-profit organizations from across Alberta came together on October 2 in Calgary to discuss creating a provincial workforce council that would encourage and foster collaboration to address the pressing human resources issues affecting the entire sector. Read more »
HR challenges and opportunities in rural non-profits
Canada’s rural voluntary and non-profit organizations are anchors around which communities flourish. They are community partners along side the private and public sectors in building a high quality of life. I’m often asked to define ‘rural’ and I’ve come to think of rural more as a context rather than a cause. Read more »
Over the past decade or so, the notion of “authentic leadership” has captured the imagination of managers, consultants and executives. Many books and articles (like this one) have been written on the subject of authentic leadership, and training programs which claim to cultivate authentic leadership abound. There are institutes and centres completely focused on authentic leadership. So what is authentic leadership? And why is there such a buzz about it? Read more »
While still vital and integral to our work, mission and vision alone are no longer enough to keep organizations viable. Unlike other sectors of the economy that invest in physical capital (i.e. machines) to produce products, ours is all about deploying human capital to achieve results. Read more »
“They want our children!” It sounds like a cry from a horror film but this is what a South Asian professional said to me as we discussed the challenges he and others like him faced in coming to Canada.
Although I have spent twenty-five years working in the voluntary sector (Yes, paid to lead a volunteer organization!), it has usually been with an organization where the focus has been on volunteer engagement. It is only in the past few years that we?ve come to a crystal clear realization the most significant factor for volunteers to be appropriately engaged, is determined by all the paid employees working in the organization. Read more »
Last summer, I was looking for a new job that suited my background and career objectives. With my experience so far limited to work in the private sector, I was looking for a change and decided to apply for a position with a small non-profit organization. Read more »
The hardest thing I've ever done was leave the organization I founded. I started it; I grew it; and I was responsible! But somewhere deep inside, I knew it was time to leave. My baby was growing up and I was not sure that I particularly liked the adolescent years of organizational growth. Read more »
