Quality-Centered/Team-Focused Management

Not surprisingly, non-profits experience most of the same organizational pressures to improve as do businesses:  The pressures today are clear:

• Fewer financial resources.

• Changing work force.

• Demands for more service.

• Greater openness to new ideas.

Non-profits quickly learn, too, that there is no one right way to be a successful, quality, high-performing organization.  Whatever model, method or approach is finally adopted it will inevitably come down to teamwork to get results.  Addressing internal improvement needs or accepting feedback as it regards teams, however, can be uncomfortable for leaders, and even challenging to the way they previously lead.  How do leaders then get their teams through to the other side without becoming overly vulnerable?

The nature of teamwork is that creating open and complete conversations (i.e., addressing any relevant idea or concern, even the ‘elephant in the room’ – the uncomfortable but obvious issue of concern to all) is the actionable goal in getting a group to be more effective than their individual efforts.  

Non-profit organizations tend to have more hunches than facts about their services and products, so things frequently get strained when dealing with needed change.  What’s primarily in the way?  People generally do not openly talk unless they trust others.  When people are calm, inquisitive, responsive to others, and feeling complete with their concerns, then they are ready to move from what the issue is to conversations for what’s possible.  Leaders can expect more technical conversations will truly begin in earnest when there is a shared sense and acceptance of where the team really is.