Leadership is a foul-weather job

In preparing for my academic class on Nonprofit Strategy and Entrepreneurship I was delighted to rediscover some Peter Drucker adages. Drucker is a king in the nonprofit realm - he sits on a throne and says pithy things that us servants take to heart and use, hopefully wisely, to guide our work.

In his book on Managing the Nonprofit Organization he remarks that effective crisis leadership is the hallmark of a great leader. Reminds me of the description of boards as "fire fighters" - ready and trained to step in when a problem arises.


He reminds us about how to pick a leader:
1 - Identify what is the one immediate key challenge (fundraising? morale? redefining mission? technology?)
2 -Match strengths with needs
3 -Look for character or integrity next to find a stronmg leader who sets an example and is the kind of person you'd want your son or daughter to work for.

Greenlights Transition Committee is doing this selection for our new ED right now. My sense is that they have these priorities top of mind.

The article goes on to observe qualities of exceptional leaders, and to point out traps that indicate problems. Effective leaders....
** never say I - they think "we", they think"team"
** remember they are always visible and must fulfill expectations
** have the willingness, ability and self-discipline to listen.
** don't alibi themselves
** set and strive for high standards
** are performance focused
** realize how unimportant they are compared to the task.
Good reminders!

He remarks that most leaders were neither born nor made...rather they were self-made.

He points out the balance decisions inherent in being a leader:
>> Balancing the big picture and the details, the mission and the constituent
>>Balancing concentration of resources on one goal or diversification
>>Balancing being too cautious or being to rash
>>Balancing between opportunity and risk

Drucker warns against a few human foibles
** doing things for personal aggrandizement does not further the cause.
** becoming jealous
** forgetting that people don't understand unless you make an effort to explain
** being afraid of the strengths of your organization
** hogging the credit
** knocking your subordinates



And finally, he reminds us -- don't pick your sucessor alone.

So we're doing a few things right!!!

Themes and images

At Greenlights this week we've been exploring themes and images for next year's Crossroads Conference. All sorts of themes and images are being bandied about - good abstract/organizational constructs to be paired with visual imagery that makes the idea come alive in fun ways. We've talked about underwater, navigation, mountain climbing, muscle-building images. Quite fun, and it led me to think about what visual image fits my transition work these days.

There are days when I feel like an elf in Santa's workshop, pounding nails, checking lists, organizing closets, and moving things down the assembly line. There are days when I feel like a bookie in "The Sting", figuring out odds, tallying up numbers, and focusing on details. There are those long days when I feel like a contractor at the end of a home remodeling job - looking at the punch list of things to be completed, re-done, or re-thought before announcing the job is complete. The days I like the most are when I feel like a symphony conductor or a ballet master, marveling at the talent and the harmony around me.


Each day seems packed with things to do, and I haven't even begun to organize exit strategies. I have an illusion that the week between Christmas and New Year's will be my winding down time, but I am beginning to suspect that this is not realistic.

Even as the Transition Committee is working hard at identifying the next ED, they are making noises to indicate it may take longer than I would like. So I find myself working in three distinct work worlds - the everyday world of management at Greenlights, the consulting work I do for Greenlights, and preparing for my immediate post-ED work teaching at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Three different foci - three different sets of tasks, expectations, languages, and team members. Slightly dizzying, but challenging!

So what image/theme fits with these daily preoccupations about present and future endeavors?
What feels most correct today is a Bach "invention" - those musical pieces that are characterized by a variety of small themes weaving together, with new motifs coming in and out of the music at different times, and a few discordant bars to remind you that things don't always proceed merrily along.

Good image fo me - and it reminds me that when the days feel too overwhelming, I can always retreat to my piano bench and enjoy classical comfort.

It's academic

One of my next-step activities after leaving the Greenlights' ED driver's seat this spring is to teach a graduate course in nonprofit strategy and entrepreneurship at the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Volunteerism (in U Texas' LBJ School of Public Affairs). I am looking forward to this immensely. Sounds strange?

What's attractive about teaching this course is that I can put my practical experience inside an academic context. I have complained often that we on-the-job leaders work from intuition and opportunity more than from concept or theory. And I love theory and concept.

The course I will teach is a lively blend of theory and practice. It's case-based - so each week 30-35 smart, articulate grad students from all over University of Texas will debate/discuss how a specific set of facts and circumstances in a real world nonprofit dilemna should be addressed. And it's theory-friendly. That means that theories and concepts and those elegant two-by-two matrices will be found all along the way as frames for understanding, exploring, and problem-solving.

What a fine luxury - examining solutions without the pressure of needing immediate decisions or the risk that a decision can be costly in expected or unanticipated ways.

I was traveling by plane this weekend, and enjoyed the free-fall of reading a nonprofit theory book cover-to-cover in between airports. Next step - read all the case material and finalize my syllabus.

For you soap opera fans, the Transition Committee met last week to review the many applicants for the ED role, and cull a finalist list for further investigation. The Committee sounds encouraged about the good group of top candidates. So I am too!

No photo's this time - but if any readers have good photo's to add to this blog, send them on!