Managing a nonprofit is hard, and it is about to get harder. But rather than figuring out what’s wrong with old ways, too many nonprofit leaders and consultants who advise them instinctively look for new tools and approaches.
When times are difficult, it’s logical and natural to seek new ideas. It makes sense that staff members think they need a new approach, and, by good fortune, whenever your clients start thinking this way, some new article or book appears detailing how someone has already solved their very problem. Just think, you could be a hero (or make your client a hero) by bringing the solution to your client.
However, just as likely, your client will ask your opinion about some new approach. They will be excited about it, and so may you. After all, it provides an entirely new way to look at a persistent problem. It rests on the latest research. It has been tried at another nonprofit with spectacular results. It was even written up in The Chronicle of Philanthropy. What is the worst that could happen if you just give it a try?
A lot. And in ways that could damage both you and your client.
Leading scholars of management, such as Robert Schaffer and Chris Argyris, have tried, largely in vain, to get managers (and their consultants) to resist being drawn to every new fad like moths to a flame. Those fads can include survey tools, communication applications, revenue-generating platforms, talent-management systems, and leadership development. Take a walk through the business section of a large bookstore (or online) and you will see a steady stream of “groundbreaking” ideas. Most of those books are gone within months (or are ranked online below the one-millionth most popular book).
Being an effective adviser means being independent, objective, and rigorous in your due diligence before making recommendations. If you can’t explain the theoretical underpinnings of a new approach, give several examples of where it has worked and why, and explain in detail how it is an improvement on current methods, then you have no business proposing it to your nonprofit executive.
Every new management approach carries with it significant costs for just trying it. Leadership has to bake it into the culture. Managers need to learn how it works. Staff members need to be trained. Systems may need to be set up. New evaluation protocols need to be adopted. And contingency plans need to be put in place in case it doesn’t work.
Although consultants are traditionally a source of new ideas, your role includes making sure your clients learn how to use effectively the tools they already have before adopting new ones. It takes discipline, but resist the temptation to jump to a new approach before it’s clear an old one isn’t working.
