Management Weekly Tip

Welcome to the webpage for archived editions of “Monday Management Tip” also known as M2.

The Monday Management Tip is a short and simple email that is sent to WCSAP member programs and state sexual assault coalitions every Monday morning. This “tip” can be anything pertinent to nonprofit managers whether it is an idea, resource, or tool. A variety of articles will be offered, some short and quick reading while others are much longer and more comprehensive.

A new one will be posted each week.
Enjoy!

Why Team Building Doesn't Work & How You CAN Build Your Team

http://www.help4nonprofits.com/NP_PRSNL-TeamBuilding_Art.htm

How many times has the idea of a staff retreat come up for discussion in your organization, and usually it is around conflict or perceived conflict. With the goal being that if the staff just got together, away from the work environment and spent some time then everything will be okay. As you can tell from the title of this article, the author, Hildy Gottlieb, refutes this idea and states “In virtually every situation where "Team Building" is requested, the lack of a sense of team is merely a symptom of other larger issues.” Read the article to find out if team building isn’t the answer then what is.

Core Practices of Life-Affirming Leaders

http://www.berkana.org/articles/core_practices.htm

As I looked at different articles to send out this week I saw an interesting one on planning and more importantly the perils of over planning. I saw another one on non profit leadership development and what we need to provide for sustainable leadership in our work. I then I found yet another one that was a list of simple core practices by leaders who are “life-affirming”. That is the one I decided to send to you all. This is a one page list of core practices of life-affirming leaders from the Berkana Institute website. A simple one page to print out and post on your wall and integrate within your daily activities and then you will have the planning and the sustaining and many other of the needed supports that the intensity of our work requires.

The Voice of Nonprofit Talent in 200: *Improving recruitment and retention by responding tothe needs of nonprofit employees and jobseekers***

http://www.cgcareers.org/downloads/CGC_2008TalentSurveyReport.pdf

This article shares information gathered from a survey from job seekers in the candidate pool at Commongood Careers, a nonprofit search firm founded in 2005. The information assessed was gathered from a survey that was distributed to 15,000 members in their candidate pool and supplemented by information provided by authors of articles regarding nonprofit leadership trends. The result was three major themes of what employees prefer and expect from their employers: cultural connection, employment incentives (non-salary) and career development. With the baby boomers on edge of retirement this is perhaps a crucial time to begin to discuss and address talent related issues, something we have historically reluctant to do. Here is the incentive to begin.

Ready to Lead? Next Generation Leaders Speak Out

http://www.compasspoint.org/assets/521_readytolead2008.pdf
Ever wondered how your sexual assault program will attract the most qualified leaders to carry the flame when you retire? The nonprofit sector is growing and the pool of qualified leaders is being drained. This dilemma is addressed in this national study, conducted by CompassPoint, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Meyer Foundation, and Idealist.org. It is a must read for any nonprofit executive director that is interested in inspiring younger people to rise to the leadership challenge. This study offers practical tips, lovely graphs to illustrate useful national averages, and asks tough questions about the direction of nonprofit leadership. After all, the leaders are already here, we just have to know where to find them!

Ten things to do today to become a better manager

http://management.about.com/b/2008/01/14/ten-things-to-do-today-to-become-a-better-manager.htm
This article is called “Ten things to do today to become a better manager” it is written in plain up front language with additional resources attached for more information on any of the ten suggestions. The author suggests taking each item one at a time and applying it, not a bad idea but not the only way to use this information. However you use it, whether you take it seriously and set up a self directed program or if you just peruse and take as a reminder, it is good to spend a little time thinking about how we manage our organizations. Enjoy!

Study Shows Gaps in Nonprofit Management-- and Ways to Improve

http://www.snpo.org/samples/V190329.pdf
This article is based upon a survey done by the Council of Michigan Foundations in which they surveyed 518 Michigan foundations with assets over $1 million. The article draws five conclusions from this survey. One; that emotional intelligence matters, two; diversity is lacking, three; recruitment should be broadened, four; increased orientation would be helpful and five; traditional for profit business practices (such as strategic planning) are underused. Along with the identified target area they suggest recommendations to meet these gaps. A short and interesting read.

The Board Member’s First Duty: Accountability

http://www.snpo.org/samples/V180613.pdf
This is a fairly basic article and your board may be too advanced if you have been applying some of the other articles that have come out in this series but it does point out a very important role of the board and that is the board is the “locus of accountability” of any nonprofit organization. It drives this point home with a list of stakeholders and then defines the five performance responsibilities of a board. The basics, if you will. It points out that there are two aspects of organizational accountability; individual and the collective responsibilities that boards have. It reminds us that we are obligated to provide the public with information about our organization and that we have to be accessible and responsive to anyone who express interest in our organizations. It ends with the ever popular board evaluation check list.

Create a Budget that Works for You

http://www.snpo.org/samples/V150446.pdf
The coalition grant is now out and with it comes time to think about your budget. Any changes you want to make this year? Have you thought about it yet or began to plan for next year? Here is a simple but interesting article from the Society for Nonprofit Organizations on writing an organizational budget. It gives practical ideas as well as things to consider as you start this process. Enjoy!

Best Practices for Nonprofits - Human Resource Management

http://www.wcnwebsite.org/practices/resources.htm
This link provides a list of eight suggested best practices and then gives suggestions for achieving the best practice. For example one suggestion is “Supervisors understand their supervisory role and have the necessary skills to manage other employees.” The suggested way to achieve this is: “Executive Director and management staff ensure that all supervisors receive ongoing supervisory training so they have the necessary tools to mange other employees.”

Why Boards Don’t Govern

Compasspoint BoardCafe

This is an article from Board Café, a newsletter designed exclusively for nonprofit Boards. You might want to pass this info onto your board chair and encourage them to sign up for this electronic newsletter. It is a great resource that has been around for years.

This part provides insight into why our boards don’t govern. The article gives the paradox that the very reasons that make boards excellent supporters of organizations are also the reasons why they don’t govern very well. The author goes onto list some of the more common reasons and explains why the board can often step in times of crisis and govern very well but quickly retreat back into inertia when stability returns. It’s an enlightening article. Enjoy! http://www.compasspoint.org/assets/69_whyboardsdontgoverngfj200.pdf

Weekly Tip for 2007

Back to Management