InsideGOOD

A Drop in the Bias

2012-02-02T19:38:00.003-07:00

What's a perfect survey? A Vulcan mind-meld.

Not kidding. Basically, survey perfection doesn't exist because there is no perfect way to get people's opinions about a thing in a way that perfectly compensates for their mood, their environment, their vocabulary, and all the other factors that influence survey response.

We call these variables that distort the response from the true value (what's inside their heads) Measurement Errors. Survey methodologists live life in the pursuit of reducing the risk of measurement errors as much as possible.

Although it would be pretty difficult to eradicate them all, by knowing more about what Measurement Errors could be affecting your results, you'll have a better understanding of your results in general.

So let's look at one big category of Measurement Error - Bias. There are a couple of different kinds of bias in surveys:

(1) Response Bias

This kind of bias occurs when there is a systematic distortion of response. What does this mean? That some part of the way the survey is structured (delivery, question phrasing, topic) is consistently affecting the way people are answering the questions.

A classic example is surveys on illicit substances (topic). People consistently (systematically) underreport illicit substance use. So no matter how many results you collect, because everybody underreports, your totals will be lower than the true value.

(2) Sampling Bias

This happens when members of your Sample (the folks you invited to take your survey) have a reduced chance of being able to respond.

A good example is sending surveys out over email (a popular strategy in the survey industry these days). For folks who don't really use computers much, they'll miss out on the survey. Ergo, your survey may be woefully lacking on folks who aren't computer savvy - and the particular opinions that this group may have.

(3) Nonresponse Bias

This is a close cousin of #1, but rather than Bias in the way respondents are answering your questions (systematically), this has more to do with the folks who did not respond to your survey. Nonresponse bias is the difference in opinion between the people who did respond versus those that didn't.

For example, let's say everyone who responded is very happy with their experience. And everyone who did not respond is not happy. This could have a big impact on your results - they won't correctly reflect the portion of the sample that's unhappy.

In Summary

There are entire graduate courses on these topics, so hopefully you're taking this abbreviated version lightly. However, if you keep these things in mind as you look at your survey results you can ask important questions like:

- Does everyone who responds soften their answers because they love nonprofits (Response Bias)?

- Are there people in our sample who can't access our online survey (Sampling Bias)?

- Could our respondents be more/less happy than the people who didn't respond? (Nonresponse Bias)

You probably will never have clear answers to these questions - but taking the time to consider them will help you to better understand your feedback trends.

And...we'll keep working on the mind-meld.

Live long and prosper.

Using Feedback for Praise

2011-12-13T09:33:00.002-07:00

It's really easy to "go negative" with feedback.

When I sit down with clients to review their results, very often I've seen them ignore positive comments, go straight to the criticisms and brood over what respondents didn't like. In one case, it didn't matter that their campaign score was .7 points shy of perfect; they were concerned and frustrated by the two negative comments in the mix.

For whatever reason (and the reasons could fill tomes), this is part of our nature. So I think it's something we'll continued talk about over the years with our feedback reviews - how to balance the negative with the positive.

Here's one way to keep your hand on the positive responses: Look for reasons to reward.

Rewards and praise are great, right? Everybody loves meaningful praise. But in order to make it meaningful, you need valuable examples to point to.

Feedback can offer many of those examples. So try looking at feedback as a pile of evidence of where your team is performing well.

For example, I recently reviewed volunteer feedback with a client. As we talked, it was easy to focus on their volunteer program and how they could manage their volunteers better. Yet, their respondents repeatedly mentioned the candor of the staff - their politeness, enthusiasm, consideration, etc.

Yes, there were things that the volunteer program could improve. But there were also things that staff were doing really well - amazingly well!

A valuable way of using the feedback would be to share these positive examples at the next staff meeting with a, "hey guys - our volunteers love working with you! Here's what dozens of them had to say!" As a staff person, that's some praise I'd love to hear. I'd probably even be more energized and considerate the next time I interacted with volunteers.

So if you're tending to focus on feedback criticisms, take a moment to look for who you can praise. Your team will appreciate the morale boost - and you will, too!

The Sun Always Shines in Beta

2011-12-07T13:02:00.001-07:00

In a recent coffee meeting with Scott McDaniel of Survey Gizmo, he wisely cautioned me, "Katie, the sun always shines in Beta."

He's right. To Scott's point, Beta can be a sun shining, happy, poppy-filled sort of place where it's tempting to stay a little too long to continue perfecting things.

Sure, Beta is full of the struggle of trying to nail down the application and get it launched.

But really, your Beta customers know you're in "Beta", so they don't mind the defects. Your team of hardworking contractors or part-timers aren't completely reliant on the success or failure of the biz (yet). Potentially, a start-up could remain in Beta for as long as the budget allows - continually tweaking behind the curtain of "we're not quite done yet!"

So what are good reasons to exit Beta other than budget? Money alone has typically been a lame reason to do most things in my mind. I'd rather strategize something before our bank account tells me I need to (as motivating as that often is...)

I'll give you a few of our reasons that have bumped up our timeline to launch:

(1) Defining does not = Improving

In start-up land, there's a big difference between defining your application and improving it. Defining it is on the safe side of starting up - you're not quite sure what you'll be yet. But improving is definitely on the launch side, a standard process that every company should engage in. I realized we were beginning to discuss ways to iterate the MRP. No bueno.

(2) The big question is Sales

Given that we are pretty set on our functionality for launch, the larger questions we kept coming back to were related to sales. How much? How fast? How many? These are questions that can only be answered by exiting Beta.

(3) Beta Customers are really happy.

Since we already have a set of contented customers, we're no longer exploring what it is they want out of the application, but how to deliver it better...which really gets back to #1. If we already have happy customers, it's time to get more.

Thanks, Scott.

Unknown. Us. Leap.

The SMART Model for Setting Goals

2011-01-05T21:04:00.008-07:00

Guest Blogger, Amy Maranowicz: How to set valuable goals for the New Year head

It is a new year and time to think about the goals for your organization, yourself and your team.

Myth: We think our employees are high performers and intelligent enough to identify and achieve their goals without any input from me.

Reality: Survey’s consistently tell us they want their manager to:

Assign the right work, aligned with their capabilities
Provide clarity about work and goal expectations
Set workable goals
Provide time to achieve their goals
Provide feedback/motivation on their progress

Creating SMART Goals is one way to meet both employee needs and accomplish your objectives for your non-profit.

What is a SMART Goal: Smart Goals describe what is to be accomplished - the value the effort of the goal will achieve. They are concrete statements that refer to the deliverables or outcomes as well as the timeframes to accomplish them.

Flow of Goal Formation: Goals should be cascaded down throughout the organization. Employee goals should flow into the broader goal for the department/organization. Your employee’s goals should be different from your goals.

Examples of Goal Categories:

• Efficiency

• Cost-Savings

• Value-added

• Process

• New Opportunity

• New Program

• Evaluation of Existing Programs/Practices to an Enhanced Level

Factors to Consider:

• Typically 3 – 5 goals per year

• Value the goal provides

• Level of effort required to meet the goals

• Amount of day-to-day work the employee already has

• Scope of work they are currently doing

• Potentially breaking down into sub-goals

• Goals should be equivalent across your team

Testing the Goal You Wrote: Use the SMART process to confirm that the goal you wrote for your employee fits all the criteria.

- Amy Maranowicz, Organizational Development and Training Manager

The Future of Doing More with Less

2010-12-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

Guest Blogger, Cindy Willard: A tough decision may lie ahead - to do more with less, or less with less?

For years the Nonprofit Sector has lived by the mantra – Doing More with Less. In order to achieve this, we have paid staff below-market wages for their education and experience, short-changed capacity and administration, and gone without professional development. Amazingly, organizations and programs have continued to meet community needs and attract new employees. We have become strangely efficient in delivering services and programs.

Unfortunately, we are now in the midst of the Great Recession. Businesses now must make the kinds of cuts the nonprofit sector was asked to make long ago. They are reducing corporate entertainment, cutting staff and wages and consolidating offices. For the Nonprofit Sector, there are very few cuts left to make, and the needs are growing at a newly alarming pace. The world will not return to the same state as in 2007. Many things will be different moving forward and the sector will need to adapt, not remain the same.

The old ways of doing things most probably will not work as society and the economy readjust to new realities. So how do we move forward? By letting go.

Think of it as a rock climber. For each move up the rock, one point of connection with the wall must be given up in order to advance. A hand or a foot must release and move. A choice must be made to leave the safety of a secure connection in order to gain a better hold, move upward and reach the ultimate goal. If a climber never wanted to let something go, she would never get to the top.

In order to adapt and embrace the new future, some programs, business models and even some workers, will need to change. We will need to release one foothold in order to gain a new stance.

Making tough choices has not traditionally been a “strength” for a sector based in compassion and service to others. After all, we serve customers with no obvious revenue model. However, in order to survive and eventually thrive, there may be a time for doing less with less. We cannot expect that staff can continue to take on more and more tasks each year. Or that we can continue to achieve efficiencies and reach program excellence while cheating support systems.

There are a couple of styles in decision making. I have a friend who made all his big decisions for an entire year using a Magic 8-Ball. He would ask the ball a question – such as, should I take a job in Paris? – and wait for fate to decide with responses such as “outlook good” or “ask again later.” If you’re trying to decide what to serve for lunch at your next board meeting, the Magic 8-Ball might be the right approach. However, if your organization needs to decide which programs to keep or whether to build a new facility, the Magic 8-Ball is a not a practical solution.

Another alternative is a clearly defined decision-making model to help make choices that are in the best interests of an entity and that meet the organizational and ethical considerations to move the group forward. Agreeing to leave all options on the table, no matter how unsavory, must be a starting point. There are many models out there, and each organization needs to define and incorporate its own. But delaying decisions, or deciding not to decide, will be more damaging than making a tough choice and moving forward. Even if you discover another alternative as time moves forward, you can always alter course and take what the decision provided in terms of learning.

There are people involved in all of our work and lives are at stake. That makes making solid, good, tough decisions even more imperative.

"People don’t resist change, they resist being changed." – Peter Drucker

- Cindy Willard, Private Foundation Sr. Program Officer

Blues Buster!: Pamela Hawley adds a little levity

2010-11-02T22:42:00.000-06:00

This installment is part of our weekly Blues Buster! series - funny, inspirational and real-life stories from within the nonprofit sector. You can see all of our Blues Busters! on our website.

Pamela energetically answers the phone at 8:30am on a Monday morning. As she describes her most memorable moments in nonprofit work, she shares her views on life and leadership. In a nutshell; keep it in perspective, and don’t forget to laugh.

As Pamela relates, this view was shaped in part by her Father. She vividly recalls a painful time when her Dad turned to her and asked, “Pamela, what will it matter in 10 years?”

In 10 years, she thought? In 10 years we will have forgotten most of these small challenges, in 10 years what I’m working on today may not even be an issue.

Her father wisely reminded her that the significance of a current problem can suddenly be dwarfed by taking the long view. Focusing on doing our best and loving others are the main areas he recommended she focus on. Too often these important values are forgotten in the stress of a single moment.

It was in another tense moment, that Pamela brought her team out of the trenches with this perspective.

“We were in a team meeting, talking about a big marketing issue we’d been facing for months, and the team started to get really low,” Pamela describes.

Team members were exhausted and starting to become hopeless. Pamela describes how the marketing arrangment had been plaguing them for months and – point was – there was nothing they could do. They had done all they could, and it was time to patiently wait. The talking grew more and more frustrated, more and more down.

Pamela took some time to think about this situation and the low tone. In the afternoon, she asked the team for some time. As they turned her desks towards her, she thought of her father’s wise words…and the voice of Mitza Ditz.

Who’s Mitza?

A former inspirational boss? No. A spiritual guru? No.

Mitza Ditz is one of many characters Pamela recreates on stage. That’s right, this go-get-em CEO is also a Groundlings trained improviser. This particular character is a somewhat empty-headed administrative assistant who is gunning for a CEO position.

You can imagine the momentary shock the team felt when the high-pitched, squeaky and slightly New York voice of Mitza cut into the tension, coming out of their CEO, “You know guys, what will it matter in 10 years? Cuz you know there’s only so much you can do…and then you can’t do anymore!” A few smiles and chuckles filled the room.

Mitza continued through a rip-roaring pep-talk and then started bringing in friends, too. Pamela switched to another character – a 60 year old rough and tough truck driver named Shel Morgut.

“All right team,” Pamela chortled in a rough, baritone trucker voice, “we gotta keep driving…the most important thing is that donut at the next rest stop. Keep it in perspective!” Soon enough, the team had broken through their hopelessness and was, in fact, laughing out loud.

Pamela describes her motivations in that moment, “You know a good leader is someone who can focus on the team. They have a pulse, a read on how they are feeling. It’s someone who can implement the vision while looking internally at what’s going on inside people. You need to bring levity – both inside and outside.”

Unfortunately for me, I don’t have a boss who does stand-up in the middle of team meetings. And I’m thinking you might not either. But Pamela has offered a solution.

A special delivery just for Blues Buster readers, here’s an inspirational message from Pamela…I mean Ditza…I mean Mitza. May this help you to keep it in perspective…and have a laugh.

Pamela Hawley is the founder and CEO of UniversalGiving™, a web-based marketplace that helps people give and volunteer with the top-performing, vetted organizations all over the world. You can learn more about UniversalGiving at http://www.universalgiving.org/, and more about Pamela Hawley on her blog, Living and Giving.

Have a story you’d like to share? Contact Us.

The 4-Step Performance Coaching Conversation

2010-10-28T10:07:00.000-06:00

Guest Blogger, Amy Maranowicz: How to give performance improvement coaching that works

When organizations are at their best, people clearly understand and are committed to their unique role in helping the company achieve its objectives. Understanding how their work fits with the work of others in the organization gives people a sense of connection and significance. This role clarity results from dialogue and discussion.

If you are finding an employee is not meeting your expectations you may need to provide them more clarity through a performance improvement coaching conversation. A performance improvement coaching conversation is the opportunity to make the future distinct from the past. You may be looking for a shift of thinking, behavior or result from your employee. Your opportunity and role in coaching conversations is to help the employee know your expectations.

How can you approach a coaching conversation?

Create a Positive Experience: create an environment that looks forward, strive for solutions rather than beating down the past.
Share Your Observations and Expectations: to clarify what you have observed from work output and demonstrated employee behaviors, speak to what you have observed and the specific outcomes
Strive: for two-way communication with the employee and begin talking about they can make successful changes.
Invite and Include: the employee to help you find a resolution to the problem and increase the probability that they will be invested in making the changes you are asking of them.

Example in Action:

Create a Positive Experience: "I can tell you that you are highly motivated and want to contribute your efforts towards our organization’s success."
Share Your Observations and Expectations: "I need to share with you area that I have observed that has the opportunity for better contributions. Is now a good time for me to share this with you? I have observed that the project status report you are required to complete on a weekly basis by Friday is not always completed on Fridays. It is important to get this report from you on Fridays because the program team uses this data to make decisions about volunteer coordination and timing for the following week. By receiving this report Monday or Tuesday they lose 1 – 2 days in the week by not efficiently allocating program resources resulting in overstaffing on one are of the program over another.
Strive: "I want to understand what this looks like from your perspective."
Invite: "Why do you think you are unable to complete the reports by Friday? What gets in your way? Is it a question of quantity, quality, time or resources? How can I help you?"
Include: "How do you plan to start getting these reports completed by Friday?"

- Amy Maranowicz, Organizational Development and Training Manager

Evaluation vs. Learning

2010-10-25T08:36:00.000-06:00

Guest Blogger, Cindy Willard: Challening the ways we measure program effectiveness

"Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted." - Albert Einstein

There is a lot to talk about evaluation in the nonprofit sector. If your mission is to end hunger, how do you know you are meeting that mission? Current trends in evaluation ask for logic models, theories of change and other diagrams to design how inputs (programs and services) affect outcomes (changes in clients).

I recently attended a conference where I had the privilege to hear Peter York from the TCC Group speak on evaluation. He was speaking in front of a group of foundations and the title of his session was “Grant the Money and Run.” He challenged us all to re-think traditional evaluation. Often we are asking organizations to be accountable for variables out of their immediate control. He contends that typical evaluation measures only effect, not necessarily the cause of change. Instead, what if we aimed to understand both the cause and effect; what if we focused on learning instead of just evaluation.

He defines it this way. Evaluation – Did it work? Learning – What worked? And even more specifically, What worked, For whom and Under what conditions? Overall outcome data tells just one thing typically, but drilling down into program elements and organizational processes can tell a lot more about the work.

One great example he provided was of a Meals on Wheels program. These programs provide home-delivered meals to seniors and those with disabilities in order to help them maintain independence and increase their nutrition. Well, it’s pretty hard to scientifically measure nutrition levels without being really invasive. One way the organization could talk about their nutrition was to measure the nutrition in each meal and share that data. But were the seniors actually eating the meals? When the group did a survey, they found that several of the seniors were splitting the meals they received with their pets, because of course on a limited income there wasn’t a lot extra to secure pet food. So, the group started delivering either cat or dog food to these clients along with the meals for the humans. Each client in the household got what they needed, and most likely increased their health.

As a funder, this type of learning is impressive and important. It shows me that the organization is in touch with its clients and is willing to make adjustments as needed. It also shows that now seniors are mostly likely getting more nutrition than they were before. All good things.

Peter Senge has developed work over many years to help companies and nonprofits become learning organizations. It is hard work and requires time and resources. But so does traditional evaluation. Where will your organization see a bigger return on investment?

- Cindy Willard, Private Foundation Sr. Program Officer

RFPs: Asking for what you want

2010-10-18T10:32:00.000-06:00

Guest Blogger, Caryn Capriccioso: Leaving budget out of a "Request for Proposal" diminishes value

From time to time, nonprofits rely on outside support to conduct work that they are unable to manage internally. As a consultant, I see more than my fair share of requests for proposals (RFPs) from nonprofits and have lots of ideas for how they could be improved or enhanced to help you get what it is you really want from a consultant.

One RFP item really stands out and, universally, I know that consultants are frustrated when it comes to this item, or lack thereof: The RFP Budget.

Why no budget? I’ve heard too many reasons to count, but among the top “reasons” (read: excuses), I hear: “We don’t have a budget for this project.” “We’re not sure what the market demands, so we’re going to collect RFPs and see what the range is.” Or “We’d prefer to wait and see rather than disclose what we have to spend.”

Here is what I know for sure about what will happen if you float an RFP without a budget. You WILL receive:

Wildly disparate proposals that do not allow you to compare across options. Seriously think about how much better off you’ll be trying to compare a $2,000 proposal to a $20,000 proposal.
Templated one-off proposals, i.e. not customized to you or your project.
Extreme overbids from firms with very high overhead—“We don’t know what they want, so let’s just bid high and if we get it, it will be worth it.”

After many, many years of doing this work, I also know what it is you will NOT receive in response to a budget-less RFP:

Meaningful, customized proposals from well-qualified consultants with expertise in the work you need done as well as an understanding of the issue area your nonprofit addresses. These consultants are too busy with client work and responding to fully-developed RFPs to spend their valuable time guessing about your budget and/or ability to pay.

Please, for the sake of all involved parties, share your budget. Take the responsibility for this important piece of the RFP process and your nonprofit will get what it needs/wants in return.

If you don’t know your budget, figure it out—ask other nonprofits, ask consultants, post on your local listserv, but decide. If you don’t have the money budgeted, this isn’t the right time to issue an RFP. Maybe you can find someone internally to do the work. But, be warned. They will expect to know how much they can expect to be paid and have a reasonable expectation that you have the money to pay them.

- Caryn Capriccioso, Co-Founder, InterSector Partners L3C

Caring about the "Duty of Care"

2010-09-28T09:09:00.000-06:00

Guest Blogger, Caryn Capriccioso: Do we support Board Members in their role?

I’ll fess up. While facilitating a board retreat recently, a board member asked a question, and I looked at my watch. We were running behind , and I was a bit nervous about getting through the agenda.

I should have noticed my own behavior first, but it took hearing an audible sigh from a fellow board member during the clarifying question for the reality of the situation to hit me full force. Both this sighing director and I were feeling anxious (even frustrated?) about this director’s attempt to understand the information he was expected to make decisions about.

Now, maybe the questioning director should have known the answers. Maybe the board discussed the topic in depth at a meeting this person didn’t attend. Maybe the information was in the board’s advance reading materials. It’s possible that the board answered this question 5 minutes ago when the director was playing on his iPhone.

But, what if the question just came up for this director? And, what if the board was about to vote on something that required him to fully understand the information? Or what if he did read the materials and didn’t understand them? Could it be possible that this board member was simply exercising his Duty of Care?

We spend a lot of time in and around the nonprofit sector grousing about how board members don’t understand their roles and responsibilities. We write documents to help them understand. We offer trainings on legal duties, responsibilities and specific organizational expectations. We hand new directors manuals and books and lists of resources. We tell board members over and over and over that they *must* exercise their legal duties and that includes not making decisions until they fully understand (or feel fully advised by someone who does understand) the issue at hand.

Yet, when they do ask questions, we look at our watches, sigh, roll eyes, get up to get a glass of water, cross arms and sometimes even brush off the questions. I’ve seen all of these things—and unfortunately, even worse.

My promise, as a board member and facilitator of board conversations, is to do better:

To recognize that being 5 minutes behind schedule doesn’t matter
To remember what it’s like to not know and be expected to make a decision—every single one of us has been there
To appreciate the person who is willing to ask the question that everyone else may already know the answer to (but more than likely does not!)
To respect the person enough to trust that they are operating from their very best intentions

I promise to support board members in upholding their duties, not just train them on what they are. And, I hope that you will join me by sharing this post with your fellow board members.

- Caryn Capriccioso, Co-Founder, InterSector Partners L3C

Why are there so many nonprofits?

2010-09-21T09:27:00.000-06:00

Guest Blogger, Cindy Willard: Creating new organizations when the ideal cannot be found

Why are there so many nonprofits? I think we all ask ourselves this question from time to time. Current numbers from the Colorado Nonprofit Association list the number of tax-exempt organizations in this state at just over 19,000. Now there are a lot of community needs and social issues to solve, but that sounds like a high number to me. Starting a business is hard work, so I often wonder why so many venture down the road of brand new organization instead of finding complimentary programs or organizations with which to partner.

As I ponder this, I also think about some of my friends in the dating world and have drawn some parallels. My friend Christine (not her real name) entered the world of dating again a few years ago. Like so many now, she uses online sites to introduce her to potential partners. Last time we talked, she was surprised to see so many men in their 40s who had never been married, but are now looking for relationships.

She is frustrated with these same men and their lack of flexibility on characteristics in a potential mate. They have a long list of requirements and deal-breakers. She suspects they are looking for the “perfect” woman, and we all know no perfect person exists. As those of us who have been in relationships for a long while will tell you, good relationships take communication, compromise and a healthy dose of humility. Relationships are hard work. It may just be that after so long on their own, with the ideas about what a relationship should be, that they would rather just go it alone.

Which brings me back to the huge array of nonprofit organizations. When a person develops a passion for a cause and comes up with a great idea to meet that need, they are enthusiastic and very focused. Perhaps so focused that when they go out to look for partners, they are unable to find that perfect one. Doing the hard work of true collaboration and realignment takes tenacity, the ability to keep your eye on what is best for the community (and not for your ego) and a willingness to incorporate new ideas into your program. This is hard work and not for the faint of heart.

I’m working with an organization right now where I believe we could probably string it along for a while, and although that would require some work, the right answer of a merger or strategic realignment will be much harder work and force all of us to really examine what is best for the greater good.

I’ve also talked to a person who is planning to start a new organization to promote safe sex to prevent HIV/AIDS and to help with medical expenses. He says no one else is doing this work in the right way and is steadily moving down the road toward forming his own organization. I appreciate his passion for the cause and his desire to develop more effective programs, but I see his energy as being dissipated by going it alone. If he wanted to maximize his efforts, and work harder, I believe he could do a lot of good working within existing organizations and bringing about quality change on a larger level. But that is not his ideal of the perfect organization.

So, as my yoga teacher says, the easy way is rarely the right way. So stretch yourself and think hard about working together before going it alone.

- Cindy Willard, Private Foundation Sr. Program Officer

Giving Effective Performance Feedback for a Strong Performer

2010-09-14T09:56:00.000-06:00

Guest Blogger, Amy Maranowicz: Even Positive Feedback Needs to Be Thought-through

We know how important it is to give positive feedback for work well done. I especially believe this but can tend toward over-doing delivering positive feedback. Have you ever delivered positive feedback to someone who has done an exceptional job only to have them say, I am not quite sure what you mean or I don’t like compliments?

In a meeting, years ago, with a manager and an external consultant I responded to the manager’s comment about the strength of his team by stating, “That is because you are a good manager”. And he immediately replied to me, “You know I don’t like compliments”. I thought, oops I overdid it again.

Interesting dilemma; we all know we should provide positive feedback, but how do we make it constructive, well-received and understood? How do we keep propelling that positive work forward?

Make it specific. Identify the critical strengths demonstrated that lead to results. Was it because they were applying their best efforts to complete the work? If so, what were their efforts and the results? In my case, what did saying you’re a good manager mean? Not much - my feedback would have been more effective and well-received if I provided specific information relative to why I felt he was a good manager.

Consider the Receiver. Consider who you are delivering the feedback to. Is this someone who likes to be highlighted and publicly recognized or is it someone who prefers quiet and very concrete feedback? In this case, I should have delivered this feedback with just him and me.

Keep Your Message Succinct. Have the feedback be short and sweet with the right amount of supporting context. If you say too much the individual will get lost in what you are trying to say.

Be Sincere. We can tell when someone is not being sincere. Reflect on whether or not you are being genuine. I know that I was generally excited about this manager and felt that he was a role model for our organization.

Create Insights. After sharing the feedback, allow for conversations, questions and input regarding the positive feedback. Ask them what do they think helped contribute to them being successful. This helps the recipient absorb what they did and what made it successful and how they continue doing the same exceptional work in the future.

Example in Action:
How should I have given the positive feedback to this manager?

Keep Your Message Succinct: “You are highly engaged in the growth of your team"
Consider the Receiver: “You provided a supportive environment for your team to generate ideas”
Make it specific: “As a result your team is coming up with many new ideas to create efficiencies for the organization that have reduced operating costs by 15% this year.”
Create Insights: “How do you think you allowed these efficiencies to be realized? What was your role in this?”

- Amy Maranowicz, Organizational Development and Training Manager

Just...Love It.

2010-08-25T12:17:00.001-06:00

The power of appreciation in a down economy

Donations are up, programs are succeeding, you got that grant…and you go home feeling great. Donations are down, the program is failing, you didn’t get that grant…and you go home feeling frustrated or sad.

Sound familiar?

What if I told you that you can escape the roller coaster (up when the organization is up, down when the organization is down) and without needing to reach Zen enlightenment?

Jolina Karen thinks this is possible; in fact, she’s lived it. I had the great fortune of hearing Jolina speak last week at a conference for women small business owners. Jolina has a holistic healing practice in Colorado and is the co-founder of the Quantum Loving Institute. She holds a variety of certifications in healing arts and has worked with clients around the world.

When Jolina stepped in front of the 200 savvy business women in attendance, she accurately described this attachment we all share – our emotions being ruled by the minute-to-minute success or failure of our businesses.

What then, did she say was the secret weapon to break the cycle? Love.

Before you roll your eyes at another touchy-feely-platitude (as many of us did in that room) – allow Jolina to continue.

She described love as a force, an energy (and as the daughter of a PhD in Astrophysics she did this quite intelligently). And she described how to unleash the energy onto your organization:

“Love is a grounded state of appreciation in which you see something for what it is. During our peaks and valleys we need to focus on what’s important in our life and how the business fulfills that…We need to bring our attention back to the business and understand what we are not paying attention to. Unconditional love is gratitude for what is.”

What I loved about Jolina’s description is that this wasn’t about happy talk – seeing the ‘bright side’ and willing it all to a better place. This isn’t a “put it out there and they will come”. This is about loving your organization for exactly what it is right now.

Do you love your donor database or do you constantly wish it was bigger? Do you love the administrative tasks or do you dream of the day when someone else can do it? Do feel gratitude for the mission you have the opportunity to pursue…or do you constantly think about all the aspects of the mission you are not achieving?

Check yourself. If the slow economy, the challenges we’ve all been facing and the disappointment have started to take root in your heart – rip it out. Get rid of it. Don’t wait for the day when donations are where you think they should be, where staff is at the number you want it to be, to feel grateful and happy. Wherever you are sitting reading this blog, find a centered place of appreciation and love it for what it is right now.

If you feel a change…consider bringing this into your organization as well. You might begin team meetings by asking, “What did you guys love about your work this week?” See what takes shape.

If Jolina is right, the energy love unleashes into your world will be a powerful force.

- Katie Taft, CEO of InsideGOOD

Guest Blogger, Cindy Willard: Why is doing 'good' so complicated?

2010-07-13T12:00:00.001-06:00

Examples of simple projects that are changing the face of philanthropy

It might be the heat of summer, but I’m feeling less than inspired these days. I’ve been in the world long enough now that there are times I lose faith looking at the slow pace of change and the complicated processes we have created in the third sector. Are we making things too complicated for our own good?

So I thought I’d share a couple of interesting ideas I’ve recently heard of so we can all consider some new ways of doing business that might simplify our programs and get strong results.

Here’s a simple idea – give everyone some support. I recently read an article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review on a pilot aid program, in Namibia known as Basic Income Grants (BIG). The article “Namibia Experiments with Aid for All” by Suzie Boss shares an optimistic approach to poverty alleviation in a country where the wealth distribution is the most unequal in the world. The concept is simple – every person in the pilot village, from birth to age 60, receives $13 each month. There are no strings attached. Everyone is included.

Consider the results for such a simple program; improvements since the implementation of BIG include better child nutrition, lower crime, improved health care and the villagers’ income has increased by more than the amount of the monthly stipend. New businesses have sprung up including a bakery, dressmaker and brickmaking operation. The villagers have also set up a group of advisors to offer counsel on spending the dollars as well as closing bars on distribution days.

So, no applications, no screenings, no gathering of every government document you’ve ever been issued, no justification or judgment for receiving funds. Just some positive results and easy distribution.

Here’s an example stateside included in a recent article in USA Today. From a “study to be published later this year in Reading Psychology, students in 17 high-poverty elementary schools in Florida and, for three consecutive years, gave each child 12 books, from a list the students provided, on the last day of school. In all, 852 students received books each year, paid for mostly by federal Title I money.

Three years later, researchers found that those students who received books had "significantly higher" reading scores, experienced less of a summer slide and read more on their own each summer than the 478 who didn't get books.” There was no application process to get the books, and at least at first glance, no reports or conditions at the end of the summer.

Now, the schools selected did have a higher percentage of low-income students, but once the school was selected, the students were randomly divided into two groups. Just books in kids hands. Fifty dollars in books, or thousands of dollars in remedial tutoring. You decide which is less complicated.

And funding is no less intricate. I was recently on a panel for a federal grant review. The funding opportunity announcement was 43 pages, the application could be 150 pages, and the review needed so much explanation, I had a 27 page document to help me score the applications. Holy cow! And all this for a one in 13 chance to receive roughly $100,000 for one year.

Replication of these great, simple ideas is not a given. It is tricky, but so is complexity. I’m not naïve enough to think that all problems are easily solved, but I do think we’ve gone over the edge a bit on the complexity of programs and funding. I wonder what would happen if we tried to simplify things for everyone? I’d love to learn about more simple, highly effective programs and funds that can fuel our collective good work.

- Cindy Willard, Private Foundation Sr. Program Officer

Guest Blogger, Caryn Capriccioso: Summertime and the Livin' Ain't Easy

2010-07-07T13:48:00.002-06:00

Taking time to broaden your horizons and savor summer days

What has become of those lazy summer days when work took on an easy, breezy pace and folks took time to slow down and appreciate life or plan for the future? If you’re like me, and most of the nonprofits I work with, it’s been many a summer since we’ve felt the pace let up—things just seem to keep clipping along at breakneck speed.

Even if you can’t find significant chunks of time to relax, regroup and think ahead, I know that each and every one of us can find 30 minutes to one hour during our work week to stop the day to day grind and read something new.

This coming week, see if you can’t find a shady spot outdoors, come in to the office 30 minutes late or even find a room, close the door and read while you eat your lunch (I won’t even pretend that most of you get out of the office for lunch).

I suggest starting with a wonderful report titled, Convergence: How Five Trends Will Reshape the Social Sector from LaPiana Consulting.

From there, I leave it up to you:

Google a topic you’ve wanted to learn more about and pick an article or blog post to help you get up to speed
Check out your favorite Twitter stream, click on a link and read what’s there
Get that book off your shelf that you started, but haven’t had time to finish
Ask your staff to email you them most important article they’ve read in the last year

Once you’ve made it through a week, do it again. And again. And again. Aim for 4 consecutive weeks and see if you can develop a habit of exploring a new idea or getting up to speed on best practices in your field.

The crazy pace of summer may not allow you to do anything with the new information you’ve found in your reading, but I can assure you that knowledge is now firmly planted because you were intentional about taking the time to sow the seed. When the time is right for you to implement—maybe next summer when I’m sure things will slow down!—you’ll be ready and be grateful for having taken a brief time-out.

- Caryn Capriccioso, Co-Founder, InterSector Partners L3C

Guest Post, Cindy Willard: More Words ≠ More Money

2010-06-16T08:22:00.001-06:00

Why a Shorter Application Might Get You Further

The longer I’m in the third sector, the more I continue to be impressed with and inspired by the passion people bring to their work. And 90 percent of the time, I think it’s a huge asset. The 10 percent that gets people into trouble is when they forget to translate that passion succinctly into a written grant application. As a foundation program officer, I’ve seen this go very wrong too many times. So here’s my mantra for all you executive directors, program managers and grant writers out there - More Words ≠ More Money.

As a program officer, I read a lot. And the majority of us program officers are really good at understanding and synthesizing the information we read. It’s what we get paid to do! Like you, we’re smart, dedicated people who keep up with the current issues and trends in our field. We have a frame of reference for your work, even if we don’t live it every day. We’re the other side of the coin, not a different currency. So it can be big disappointment to read a grant application that keeps saying the same thing over and over. We don’t need the same idea repeated with small word adjustments. I want to know about the great changes you’re making, not whether you use a thesaurus.

Basically, we need you to get to the point – why, who, how and most importantly, the “so what”. (At one point, the Colorado Common Grant application committee considered having the application just include the 5W and H.) Consider that the average program officer reads literally hundreds of applications and letters each cycle. The way to make your appeal stand out is not to make it longer. Impress me with your ability to communicate your fabulous work in short form. I want to understand your passion, but I want it to be like reading a great short story – you know the ones where you come away so impressed that you know so much after such a short read? I do not want it to be like reading Moby Dick and chasing the white whale for an endless number of pages.

In my experience, Foundations are as likely to award $100,000 on a three-page proposal as a ten-page one. We want to know what’s great – and we’ll get it the first time. We’re looking to support you. I know it’s tempting to think that length makes your program more important and impressive, but it can do just the opposite for the reader. If you’re trying too hard to embellish your work, it leads me to ask ‘how good is the actual program’? Think lipstick on a pig. Have confidence that the organization’s results, your work, and yes, your passion, can be communicated briefly and thoroughly. I want to understand why you go to work each day, but I need to be able to do so in a reasonable amount of time, so I can then move your proposal forward – in a brief, but still passion-filled way.

- Cindy Willard, Private Foundation Sr. Program Officer

Cindy Willard, Corporate and Private Foundation Program Officer

2010-06-16T08:10:00.001-06:00

We welcome Cindy Willard to the insideGOOD blogging team!

Cindy Willard has worked in corporate and private foundation philanthropy for more than 15 years. Currently, she is Senior Program Officer for a family foundation in Colorado. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas (go Jayhawks!) and is a 2005 graduate of the Master of Nonprofit Management program at Regis University, where she is now Affiliate Faculty in the MNM program.

She is currently the board chair for a community-based nonprofit organization and has served on other boards and community advisory panels over the years.

When not at work, Cindy spends as much time with her husband and dog as possible and loves international travel, hiking, yoga, gardening and reading.

Guest Blogger, Amy Maranowicz: Turning Strategic Goals into Actionable Work

2010-06-09T10:59:00.002-06:00

Imagine the scene at your organization: you have just finished your strategic goals; excitement and enthusiasm are permeating the air! But then you start to wonder…how do I take this grand vision, channel the enthusiasm, and turn it all into something we can do?

Communicating the strategic goals and your vision to your team is critical. Equally critical is translating the strategic goals into actionable work with appropriate time frames and owners.

Here are four simple steps to turn your strategic goal momentum into action. By following the guidelines below, you will be able to communicate to employees what the goals mean to them and what everyone will be doing to get them accomplished!

Step 1: Decide What (in Whitespace)
Tell your team, “we’re going to the whitespace!” This means taking the time to get out of your day-to-day routines (individually or as a group) to talk about all the new work that needs to be done to accomplish the strategic goals. List the work on a chart or a whiteboard. The exercise of putting it on the “whitespace” will formally separate and identify the new work from work that is already happening. More importantly, if there are other individuals working with you, great conversations occur when everyone asks clarifying questions and confirms that this is the right work to do. By doing this exercise, you are making the future distinct from the past.

Step 2: Decide When
Decide when this work needs to be completed by: in 3 months, this year or 2 years from now? Examine upcoming events, changes, and financial plans for your organization. When creating timelines remember to add in contingency (the ‘oops! We didn’t plan on that!’ buffer) and milestones to revisit and re-evaluate set dates.

Step 3: Decide Who
Decide who should do the work. Examine employee interests, career goals or work that staff members are already doing to determine if there is any overlap that will make owner assignments better.

Step 4: Decide How
Decide how the work will get done. Take the new work identified and break it into manageable chunks then allow owners to create timelines and milestones for delivery of their projects.

Step 5: Stay Focused and Continually Revisit
Finally, continually communicate your vision and align your team with this new work. Regularly revisit the progress of the work with your team to make sure they (and you) can accomplish the strategic goals.

Example of the Guidelines in Action
You have a strategic goal to increase long lasting donor relations with corporations.

Step 1: Whitespace the plan to increase long lasting donor relations with corporations.
Step 2: Estimate a timeline goal of completing the plan by the end of December 2010.
Step 3: Based on the high-level activities and communications needed, the ED will be the owner of the plan.
Step 4: The ED schedules tasks by week through 2010…
Step 5: … with bi-weekly team meetings to update everyone on the progress of this particular project and to brainstorm further ideas.

By following these steps with your strategic goals, you will turn your vision into an actionable reality. Good luck!

- Amy Maranowicz, Organizational Development & Training Manager

Amy Maranowicz, Organizational Development & Training Manager

2010-06-09T10:54:00.000-06:00

We welcome Amy Maranowicz to the InsideGOOD blogging team!

For over 10 years, Amy has been consulting and advising managers on Human Resource, Learning and Development and Organizational Development matters in the renewable energy, healthcare, financial services, and non-profit industries. She is passionate about organizations realizing their best by tapping into their best – their human capital.

Amy helps leaders define their optimal organizational structure, building and developing teams, as well as leadership development. She consults and advises managers on talent acquisition, learning and development and retention strategies. Amy has a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Management from the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business and a Master’s of Science Degree in Organizational Leadership from Regis University.

Guest Blogger, Caryn Capriccioso: Ashoka's CYC to Change Your Nonprofit?

2010-06-01T07:56:00.003-06:00

Applying the CYC Principles for Impact at Your Organization

Ashoka’s Change Your City Denver (and on Twitter) ) is rolling into my own backyard and it got me thinking...what if nonprofits applied the CYC principles to move the needle on a specific challenge or opportunity within their own organization?

More specifically, what if you spearheaded a concerted effort at your nonprofit that focused on one issue for a set period of time? Could you make a difference—an impact—if you said, “This is what we’re all going to focus on from now through July, folks. We’ll keep doing our work, we’ll serve our clients, but in any spare moment I expect us all to focus on solving ‘X.’ And, we’re going to address ‘X’—efficiency or implementing promising practices or building the board or cleaning up the joint—using the Change Your City principles.”

Inspire. CYC Denver is using a media campaign to inspire entrepreneurs and changemakers to engage with social innovation.

Your nonprofit may create an internal campaign complete with posters, regularly scheduled emails or even a mascot to help share what it is you’re trying to address. Say your challenge is to get more qualified board members. You might post pictures around the office of your best board members over the last 10 years. What about giving each staff and board member a notepad with a heading that reads: “Did you meet someone today who might make a good board member?”? The idea here is to use a full-on campaign to get people’s attention and inspire them to participate.

Catalzye. CYC Denver wants innovators to develop ideas together and its approach is to use a contest.

Again, sticking with the “get more qualified board members” challenge, imagine what might happen if you form teams to come up with excellent (and available!) candidates for the board? A prize at the end could help get the juices flowing.

Connect. CYC Denver plans to “map the space of social innovation in the area” by widely sharing events, Meetups, best and promising practices and stories.

The sharing of ideas can really make a difference in keeping people interested in a concerted effort over time. Perhaps a monthly debrief could give people a chance to share what’s working and what’s not and to learn from each other. This could also be a great time to bring in someone from the outside to share what worked at their nonprofit…sometimes all it takes is an outside voice to inspire us all over again.

I’d love to know if you give the Change Your City approach a try and how it works out in your nonprofit. Maybe you can inspire others to catalyze and connect on their own opportunities, too!

- Caryn Capriccioso, Co-Founder, InterSector Partners L3C

Executive Directors: Their Most Important Role

2010-05-25T09:51:00.003-06:00

Management Before Passion

An age ago, when we were collecting market research for the InsideGOOD surveys, we began the interviews with a single question: “Why did you decide to work for a nonprofit?” The most common answer by far? “Passion”

And I’m not over-generalizing that – literally, the exact word “passion” came up so many times, that I almost started doodling in the answer before the interview had begun. Not pay, not experience, not location, not ‘I always wanted to’ – just passion. Pure, simple and powerful.

Perhaps it’s not surprising then that many of our passionate nonprofit employees grow into passionate executive directors, or go on to found organizations themselves. Driven, committed men and women who go above and beyond the call of duty every day in pursuit of a mission they care so deeply about. You know them – hard-working, self-sacrificing, late-night-email-sending passionate leaders!!

Have you ever worked for a really passionate manager or executive director? I have.

It was quite possibly the most stressful and exhausting thing I ever did.

Why? Because I’m passionate, too darn it. And when you stay til 9pm, I’ll stay that late, too! And when you don’t take lunches, I won’t take one either! And when you say ‘goodness look at the time!’, I’ll say, ‘I didn’t make any plans for Friday night either!’

And before I know it…I’m burnt-out and exhausted and wondering why I don’t get that sense of fulfillment like I used to. And, hold the phone, when did I start dreading Mondays?

Admit it. You know the drill. Many of we ‘industry veterans’ know that boundaries are essential to survival here. And a leader without boundaries is likely setting that standard in her organization, conducting employees to exhaustion and ruin.

Which is why I propose that the absolute best possible executive director isn’t the charismatic leader we often think about at these organizations; it is a manager. She doesn’t lead passionate employees off a career cliff; she protects us from our own propensity for self-sacrifice. She’s graduated from passionate co-worker and understands that her first order of business isn’t driving us or the mission (or herself); it’s quite simply helping us maintain a healthy work-life balance, thereby strengthening the sustainability of the organization.

In the end, I wouldn’t mind working for someone who actually cares a little less than I do.

Why? Because when she leaves at 5pm (gasp, 5pm!) to get home for dinner, I will, too! When she talks about her hobbies outside of work, I’ll want one, too! When she says, “take care of yourself! Get out of here,” I’ll hum ‘Hail To The Chief’ all the way home.

- Katie Taft is the CEO of InsideGOOD and will be taking her passion home with her at 5pm today.

Ask Jim: Am I an underpaid female employee?

2010-05-20T13:09:00.011-06:00

Dear Jim -
I recently attended the YNPN National Conference where I learned that income disparity between men and women persists - women are still typically earning less than their male counterparts. I'd like to find out if I'm in the same boat, but don't exactly know how to ask others in my office what they're making! How would you recommend I find out if I'm on the low-end of the salary totem pole for my job?

Thank you,
Lady of Low-Pay(?)
- - - - - - - - - - - - -

My Lady of Low-Pay,

First, a little background. My mother raised five children, worked professionally on radio (before and during the early days of TV), worked in a drug store, helped build an elementary school, was a citywide top real estate saleswoman (brought home a trophy with a male figurine on top holding a briefcase) and became a broker/owner of her own real estate office with salespeople working for her – me included for a while. My mother-in-law raised three children, helped her husband run his commercial fishing business, owned a beauty salon, held a real estate license in New York and California, a broker’s license in New York, and built four houses and a small apartment building in California.

I think I have a very personal idea of what women are capable of in the toughest of employment/entrepreneurial situations. I have managed women, been managed by women, coached women managers both while they were employed and while they searched for employment. Now I realize all you asked was “how do I find out if I’m underpaid,” but there’s more to it than that.

If you’re asking the question, there’s every likelihood that you are not being paid what others are being paid. The very fact that you don’t know what others are making probably means that you haven’t been negotiating for the salary you want and possibly deserve.

In the real world there is little common sense in “expecting” to be paid what others are being paid. Your non-profit should be paying you based on your abilities compared to others in similar organizations and with similar responsibilities. However, they should also be trying to get the best talent they can find for the most reasonable price (they should also be paying more to keep their best talent).

Step one: find out if there is a job description and salary range for your position. If your organization is well run, this should be available in your Human Resources handbook – or policies and procedures manual.

Step two: Go online and start searching for “salary surveys.” Although not the most accurate sometimes, the results shown in these surveys will begin to put you in the ballpark for understanding your worth. Make contacts with people in other non-profits so that you can ask someone there how much someone in a similar position to yours earns. Your YNPN contacts should help tremendously.

Step three: Ask your boss or HR manager where you are in your salary range (assuming your position has a salary range) compared to others who have similar responsibilities. If you feel you’re too low for the work you do, ask why – and be prepared for the answer. If the answer is that you are not performing as well as you should and that’s why you are low in your salary range, “buck up” and plan to improve your performance. Or, start looking elsewhere for employment. Or, settle back and adjust to it.

Although I don’t recommend it, some employees simply settle for what they’re paid in exchange for the work they are willing to do. However, this may not last forever especially if the employer finds someone who wants your job and is willing to do more or do it better. This is as it should be or non-profits won’t be able to improve their services.

Step four: And this is why I provided the introduction about the women in my life, learn to negotiate! Never get stuck on EXPECTING to be compensated fairly – treated fairly – loved or respected. What’s fair to you may not seem fair to your boss. Waiting to be recognized and handsomely rewarded is a fool’s errand. Know what you’re worth, and be prepared to justify your worth to the organization. That means having the facts, figures and the attitude to convince the powers-that-be that you are worth what you’re asking for.

What kind of attitude I hear you asking? Simply “firm and fair” based on knowing what you’re worth. Remember, you are not necessarily “asking” for a raise, you are making your case for what you are worth to any organization needing someone with your skills and experience.

Employment is a contract between adults – whether non-profit or for-profit. You offer your services at a price and they offer a payment for those services. Somewhere in there you’ll meet. If they can’t afford you, then you should be looking for an organization that can – and let another lady less qualified take your current position so she can move up.

All the best,

Your Knight of Worth

Jim Taft
Founder and CEO, Executive Roundtables

Guest Post, Caryn Capriccioso: Highlights from the Social Enterprise World Forum

2010-05-11T12:44:00.002-06:00

Note: The following post was originally published on the InterSector L3C blog

Reignited by Social Enterprise!

What a time we had in San Francisco for the 2010 Social Enterprise Alliance/World Forum. Three days with 700 other people who I didn’t have to explain myself to. They spoke, I got it. I spoke, they got it. Rinse, repeat. I was among my peeps.

There’s so much to be said for setting aside time to spend with your peers. Yes, some of what I heard (and much of what I shared in our session) could be considered preaching to the choir, but if the choir is a bunch of kick over the silos, change the world, find a way to fund it, future-focused, innovative, creative folks, then I’m happy to sing right along.

The few months leading up to #socent10 found me occasionally angry, sometimes weary and often frustrated with the stale approaches and attitudes I witness on a daily basis. More than the frustration with old school thinking was wonderment at the lack of desire of some folks to even consider alternatives or new ideas. Enter:

Betsy Densmore (my new hero) and Josh Drake from Academies for Social Entrepreneurship talking about social venture funds; creative financing options for social enterprise
A panel of state and local government folks highlighting efforts to support social enterprise and innovation; including Colorado’s own Denver Office of Strategic Partnerships
Social Enterprise Award winners: Sunny Bhattacharjee (India) and Jodi Rosenbaum with the nonprofit More Than Words
Keynote presenters Chip Heath (Author: Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard) and Dan Pallotta (Author: Uncharitable) – bear with me as I talk “bright spots” and “TBU,” and repeat “I’m overhead” for the foreseeable future
My partner and insanely innovative thinker, Rick Zwetsch, who tracks down the most interesting people for us to meet/partner with
And many, many other amazing, impressive, positive people whose paths I crossed or tweets I followed or stories I heard from others

It didn’t take long—a day and a half of “official” conference time, really, and my faith in social enterprise, in people and even in the future is renewed. Thanks to everyone who reminded me that sometimes the best antidote is to get out of the day-to-day, refocus and recommit to yourself and your work. I am incredibly grateful. (Just don’t tell me “no” for a while—I’m in a “yes, we can” place and would like keep shaping the path for a while longer…)

- Caryn Capriccioso, Co-Founder, InterSector Partners L3C

Ask Jim: When a Co-Worker Lacks Phone Etiquette

2010-04-26T15:55:00.007-06:00

Executive coach and founder of Executive Roundtables, Jim Taft, answers readers' questions on management, business and personnel challenges. Do you have a question you'd like to send to Jim? Contact us.
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Dear Jim,

There's a young woman on our team who regularly cuts people off on our conference calls. She doesn't know it, but when some of us are together in a room while she is on the phone, people grimace when she interrupts, even shake fists at the polycom. Some people have resorted to blurting 'hang on!' or 'I'm not finished!', but it doesn't seem to be getting through long-term. How can I suggest to her that she might want to talk less, listen more?

Sincerely,
Frustrated on the Phone
------------------------------

Dear Frustrated,
Conference call conversations comprised of team members together in a conference room and one or two team members on the phone (“polycom”) can present interesting communication issues.

If your communication set up does not include cameras so the speakers can see each other, there are few cues to let people on the phone know when it’s appropriate to jump into the conversation. When someone is speaking in the room and pauses to take a breath or think, the people in the room can see that s/he is intending to continue speaking – and so they don’t say anything. However, people on the phone can’t see the expression on the speaker’s face and interpret the silence as an opportunity to jump into the conversation.

What to do? Select a strong facilitator. The moderator/facilitator must assume the responsibility of saying, “Hold on a minute…” when the person on the phone is interjecting at the wrong time. And, the facilitator must remember to return to the person on the phone to invite them into the conversation at the right time. A strong facilitator, like a good traffic cop, will build trust in the participants allowing them to relax knowing that their time to speak will come.

In addition, the team should hold a short conversation to set up a few rules regarding how to manage a good conversation using conference call technology. In this conversation the difficulty of phone-participants knowing what’s going on in the conference room should be discussed so that everyone understands that inappropriate interjections are sometimes unavoidable.

After stepping through all this, if the phone participant still continues to force themselves into the conversation at inappropriate times, a conversation between the employee and their boss is in order. It’s possible that the employee has a tendency to interrupt in other situations and could really use some coaching. It’s also possible that s/he is completely unaware of how rude s/he is being on the calls and could greatly benefit from the tip!

Be aware that in our modern age, people will encounter these kinds of “technical etiquette” challenges at different times. Conference call behavior that is an ‘old hat’ to you may still be new to others. Continually educating on ground rules and good technical manners will help everyone in the workplace move forward.

Sincerely,
Jim Taft
Founder and CEO, Executive Roundtables

Guest Post, Caryn Capriccioso: Get Your Organization Reinvigorated!

2010-04-21T11:04:00.011-06:00

Bouncing Back After a Rough First Quarter

In many ways, nonprofits have been flying by the seat of their pants for the last 18+ months. The economy crashed, demand increased and overall funding tumbled. This has been a new world for everyone—even those who did not lose funding and, in some cases, managed to come out better than expected.

In our practice last year, we heard from an astounding number of nonprofits that funding was actually up. They made the case of basic services, and foundations, individuals and businesses responded. It was a rally of sorts—if the market couldn’t rally, then maybe people could put their effort and their dollars behind social programs.

This year, however, seems to be a different story. We are regularly hearing concerning statements like:

Last year was fine, but this quarter we are at 50% of our revenue projections
If it weren’t for a large gift late last year, we’d be in real trouble
Demand keeps going up, but it seems like people are tired of hearing that and supporting us
We thought the economy would turn by now; we’re not sure how much longer we can make it

This first quarter has been a bit unexpected; many thought we’d be “through this by now.” While we slog through the rest of the economic downturn, you can still take proactive steps to make sure you are capitalizing on available funding while also strengthening your base of support. A few ideas:

Create or update a fund development plan: Concrete goals for each type of fundraising, as well as a clear articulation of who does what, when and how will help you to evaluate your efforts and see where to put additional effort moving forward. If you have a plan, chances are the approaches aren’t working right now. Adapt and adjust.
Involve new people in your strategy and fund development activities: This may be the time to invest in outside consulting to infuse energy, generate creative ideas and look at your organization in new ways. Experienced, competent outsiders acting as partners in your success can bring a broader perspective and help you see where you already shine.
Pick up the phone: Call donors, funders and other supporters to check in, thank them, ask for their advice or share a success. You may have noticed that the phone doesn’t get used much these days. A call from you will stand out and also give you a chance to be reminded of the amazing people who support your work.
Read, interact and engage: The world is changing so quickly. Social entrepreneurs are working nonstop to come up with new ideas and solutions to problems faced by your organization. Find out what they are up to. See what these new ideas mean for you. Donors like to know that you’re thinking creatively and have a larger world view.

Let me know if you try these ideas and how they work out. As I mentioned above, this is a new world for all of us and by sharing what works, we can figure out where to focus our time and our energy.

- Caryn Capriccioso, Co-Founder, InterSector Partners L3C

February 2010 Newsletter: Crunching Numbers

2010-02-23T10:03:00.002-07:00

A look at iG ratings, numbers and trends to date

February was a busy month! More users above the age of 38, more ratings for small organizations, and two new states received ratings for the first time - read on for all of the data details!

Rating Locations: Top ratings locations for this past month included Tennessee and Colorado – with Missouri, Illinois and Indiana also in the running. We’d also like to welcome Maryland and Ohio who received ratings for the very first time! In Maryland, a rating was submitted for Adventures for the Cure, and Ohio received a rating for Hannah’s Socks. Congratulations!

Site Demographics: User demographics this month saw a slight rise in older users. The percentage of users in the 38-45 year old and 62-69 year old age ranges both went up. About a third of our users are under the age of 30, with the largest single age range being 22-29 year olds at 26% of users. With regard to experience, nearly half of our users have 15 or more years of work experience. However, nearly half of our users only have 0-5 years of nonprofit experience.

Income Ranges: We continue to see a trend in the very smallest and very largest organizations being rated on insideGOOD. This past month, the percentage of organizations in the smallest income range rose, taking top spot with more than a third of rated organizations on the site.

Less than $500K Annual Income: 35%
$500K-$1.5M Annual Income: 21%
$1.5M-$5M Annual Income: 15%
$5M or greater Annual Income: 29%

Score Trends: It may be a drab winter, but overall scores have a steadily sunny disposition! While we saw a smidgeon of an increase in very low ratings (0-1.9 out of 6), the overall percentage breakdown of scores held constant. The majority of ratings – 68% of scores – are 4.0 or greater (on a 6.0 scale). Among rating categories, Recognition and My Development have always been low-rated categories, but the disparity between them and the other categories grew this month, clearly establishing them at the bottom of the scale.

February's Rating Trend: It’s back! The common complaint of not having enough training jumped again this month. So, for February’s trend, we wanted to focus less on how frustrated raters are by the lack of training and instead talking about Training on a Budget!

February 2010 Rating Trend - Training On A Budget

2010-02-23T09:59:00.001-07:00

Ratings indicate the need for training, even if it's brief

We’ve seen it before and we’re seeing it again; low scores that indicate insufficient job or skills training. For organizations experiencing budget cuts (and nearly all of us are), training may be slipping lower than many other organization priorities. Unfortunately, we are seeing the results in ratings; volunteers, interns and employees who are frustrated by their inability to learn or to perform well because of a lack of training.

Rather than run-through the frustrated comments, we thought we’d share some tips for how to develop training on a budget (with limited money and time available). It is possible to develop training quickly and easily! Even simple training programs can have a big impact.

1. Structure “Tribal Knowledge”

You don’t always need to invest extra budget into developing a training curriculum. You have all of the knowledge you need, contained with-in your staff. By breaking apart the training topics, and handing each staff member a smaller piece to develop, you can more rapidly structure and document the knowledge of your organization into a useful training. Bring the team together for a 1-hour meeting, throw training categories up onto a board and assign them out.

2. Find a Volunteer to Develop Training Curriculum

If you find you are too short on time to even ask your staff to do the above, consider making it a priority to bring in a volunteer to undertake the program. Due to the recession, a supply of skilled professionals is available for pro-bono work, looking for projects that will keep their resumes fresh. Curriculum development for your organization may be a terrific project for a willing volunteer. Additionally, who better to understand what new comers need to know, than a new comer?

3. Take a Training Minute

If you find that you are unable to have staff develop training, or bring on a volunteer, then your next best option would be to schedule time with staff to go over their training needs and create a plan to meet those needs. Encourage them to take ownership of their development, suggest resources where they can find answers to their questions, or discuss their challenges in the meeting and find a resolution together. Even a 15-minute meeting to go over their development can make a big difference in the eyes of the employee, intern or volunteer.

Whatever you do, doing nothing cannot be an option! Untrained staff can slow progress, diminish the quality of results, cause re-work, instigate frustration and damage organization morale. Just a small effort can make a big difference. Make training a priority, set a small, achievable goal, and begin today!

Ask Jim: Do I Stay or Do I Go?

2010-02-11T17:15:00.004-07:00

Executive coach and founder of Executive Roundtables, Jim Taft, answers readers' questions on management, business and personnel challenges. Do you have a question you'd like to send to Jim? Contact us.
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Dear Jim - I'm a senior manager at a fairly large (approx. 100 employees) nonprofit. I've been here 9 years and, due to recent changes in personnel at the Director level, the organization has started to take a different direction. I'm still welcomed, I'm still valued...but part of me is wondering what other opportunities might be out there. If I stayed and stuck out the changes, I could become a Director or VP. If I left, I could skip the tumult and perhaps discover something new. Any tips for what to look at when deciding whether to stay or go?

Signed,
Time to Leave
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Dear Time to Leave,

First, be clear about what is motivating you. Is it the desire to get away from where you are or the desire to move toward a better opportunity? You can answer “both,” but if you reflect deeply, it’s usually a little more one than the other.

Moving to a new place of employment doesn’t necessarily guarantee getting away from organizational change or a heavy workload imposed by upper management. When you’ve worked at one place for a long period of time, you may have the tendency to assume that things must be better elsewhere. It’s my opinion that this perspective arises as the result of your intimate knowledge of the problems in your current position versus the lack of knowledge about the problems at any new organization. Change occurs everywhere and it most often comes without warning. Expect it where you are now or at the organization you move to.

If you are trying to get away from your current workload, and this is enough to cause you to seek other employment, make sure you understand the true challenges and issues that will face you in your new position. Ask probing questions. Know what you’re getting into. Starting over with a new organization may be more taxing on you then dealing with the situation you’re already familiar with.

Now let’s look at it from the other perspective. Moving toward a new position may give you the opportunity to freshen your outlook on your career (re-invigorate you) and allow you to make the jump to Director. You indicated that you might be able to become a Director in your current organization. Therefore, you may be qualified to be a Director at similar organization. Making a career move like this from your current position will require tact, diplomacy and some stealth to investigate this move without revealing your plan to your current employer. After all, you may find that you are in the best place after all. So, be careful not to indicate to your current employer that you’re ready to leave.

Looking for that next position is good for you and the economy. Knowing what opportunities are out there (or not out there) can spur you on to better things or give you a sense of satisfaction, knowing you are in the best position. Knowledgeable employees keep employers on their toes and make the economy as a whole stronger and more competitive. Keep in mind, this search will become something akin to a part time job, but if you want to make a solid career move, it is necessary.

Having said all that, I know job candidates who have been offered a desirable opportunity simply by saying, “You know, I think I’m looking for a new challenge” to the right person at the right time.

Your question about whether it’s time to leave stems from your perspective about your current situation. Take time to really understand the source of your discontent. Write down your ideal working situation. How does it match where you are now? Make a list of what you like and dislike about your current position. Sometimes you may find that you’re able to be happier where you are with a few minor changes in your responsibilities, compensation or status. Otherwise it can become clear that only a change to another organization will satisfy you. Either way, your mood will improve when you begin to take action on your plan.

Sincerely,
Jim Taft
Founder and CEO, Executive Roundtables

Guest Post, Caryn Capriccioso: Why Your Facilitator Makes You Break Into Small Groups

2010-02-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

Hint: It’s not only to give us a break!

When we first begin talking with nonprofit clients about how they want their planning retreats to look and feel, we often hear some version of the following from group process skeptics:

“Don’t make us break into groups; we hated when our other consultant had us do that!”
“We want to stay together as one so everyone can hear each other’s perspectives.”
“Why do facilitators always ‘make’ us split up? It takes longer to do the same work.”

Believe it or not, there is a rhyme and reason to breakout groups and it is not because all facilitators are sadists (some maybe, but not all!). Small groups serve a number of very important purposes when it comes to achieving positive results from a retreat process. Just a few of the reasons we “make” you split up include:

Changing up the dynamic: A full day of full-group discussion drains energy and stifles creativity. By hour two, everyone in the room has fallen into a predictable pattern of questions, discussion, agreement, rinse & repeat. It’s fine for a while, but eventually that dynamic just gets boring! Creative thinking is not an option when people are bored or are sick of hearing so-and-so prattle on endlessly.

Creating space for a variety of voices: Not everyone will speak up in a large group setting (and it’s not because they have nothing to say)! Just as adults learn in a variety of ways, they also communicate in a variety of ways. Small groups allow for a shifting dynamic, open the door for your typically quiet folks to share more and create opportunity to strategically assign leadership roles. (Insider secret: if your facilitator assigns your team members to specific groups or designates who will be recording/reporting out, it’s not a random act—guaranteed.)

Allowing for three or four or six times the work to get done at the same time: Multiple groups mean multiple conversations can occur at the same time. Often people say “Ugh, reporting out takes so much time,” but the truth is that in a large group, only one idea can be considered at a time. Breakout groups allow for several ideas to emerge (if warranted), while also creating some healthy competition between groups to actually come up with good ideas. The good ideas can then be compared against one another to come to a full group decision.

Giving your facilitator a breather: Newsflash! Facilitators are people, too. Until you’ve stood in front of a room of 30 people for eight hours, you may just not understand. But, here’s a glimpse into the madness going on inside your facilitator’s head while she’s standing at the flip chart, marker poised. She is:

Recording major points being conveyed by participants
Quickly synthesizing what is being said into key themes; reflecting back as needed
Asking clarifying questions for her (and participants’) benefit
Paying attention to whether there is agreement or general disinterest creating the appearance of agreement
Listening to be sure all voices are heard; seeking openings to invite participation, if not
Monitoring energy levels in the room (break time, anyone?)
Watching the clock, the agenda and keeping an eye on the planning committee’s desired outcomes for the day (a.k.a. constantly trying to stay on track)
Being mindful that sometimes the best laid plans and desired outcomes cannot hold a candle to addressing the elephant in the room; knowing when to course-correct for important issues
Hoping no one notices her stomach growling due to lunch hour spent rearranging afternoon agenda rather than eating
Trying like hell to spell everything correctly (Repeat after me: spelling doesn’t count on flip charts!), remember everyone’s names, roles, industry jargon, acronyms and generally keep a smile on her face through it all.

I can hear some of you saying, “But I don’t care if you’re tired or think small groups are more efficient. We paid you to facilitate our process and we want to stay together in one group.” To that, I respond. Yes, you did pay me. You selected me because of my knowledge and experience with designing and facilitating group process that will help you achieve your desired outcomes. It is in your best interest to take full advantage of the expertise you paid for. Now, using numbers 1 to 4, let’s count off around the room...

- Caryn Capriccioso, Co-Founder, InterSector Partners L3C

Ask Jim: The Boss That Takes All the Credit

2010-01-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

Executive coach and founder of Executive Roundtables, Jim Taft, answers readers' questions on management, business and personnel challenges. Do you have a question you'd like to send to Jim? Contact us.
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Dear Jim -
I work in a medium-sized nonprofit and over the past several months, my manager has repeatedly taken credit for my work. In meetings, in conversations I overhear...she rarely even mentions that I contributed (even when I did the whole thing). I'm pretty introverted...and I'm usually so shocked that I don't know what to say in the moment. Lately, I've stopped caring about the quality of my work because I know that no one will know I worked on it anyway. Should I just start looking for another position?

Sincerely,
Timid Tammy
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Dear Timid Tammy,

Look for another position? Not yet. We need to determine who may or may not be the source of the problem. If your timidity is getting in the way of your success, you’ll find yourself running into the same problem at the next place of employment. If you learn how to work with your boss you may build strengths that will benefit you for years to come.

Take a moment to consider what else may be happening here.

Is it simply that your boss is…the boss? When an employee says an idea, it’s just an idea. When the boss says it, the idea turns into a plan of action. You may remember a UPS ad where a boss asks a group of employees how the company can save money. One quiet employee mutters something about saving X% on their shipping with UPS. The room goes quiet. Then the boss says almost exactly the same thing but louder and with lots of gestures. Everyone cheers. Bottom line? Even though you have a good idea, it may lack weight if not delivered by someone with status.

Are these ideas others are having as well? Be absolutely sure that your idea is your own. Even if you think you know exactly what ideas you gave to your boss, there may be more going on. Your manager may be coaching you to a solution that is coming to fruition. This is often easier than telling an employee what will happen outright. I have seen a number of employees get angry about ideas they thought they came up with on their own, only to be shown how the components of their idea were floating around for some time.

In any of the above cases, or in the case of a true ‘idea stealer’, what should you do?

Attempting to claim credit is generally a fruitless effort that is not worth fighting for (unless this relates to patented or copyrighted material, in which case you should definitely speak up). For every-day ideas, in order to claim credit you would need documentation and you would need to use it to confront your boss. It’s unlikely that either will help that much.

If you do confront your boss and manage to convince her that the idea was yours, you will have placed stress on your relationship and perhaps made her question using your ideas in the future, afraid you may ‘attack’ her again. Additionally, fighting for the “rights” to your ideas may make you look petty and small to others at the organization – not a team player.

The better angle is to keep doing such a good job that your work attracts attention. Believe it or not, you will be singled out for the good work you do. The people in your organization aren’t stupid. More often than not, they see where ideas are being generated.

Sharing always pays off more than “claiming credit”. Although it seems contrary to your everyday life experience, in most cases your reputation and career are enhanced by how much information you share not how much you “claim.” Sharing ideas comes from strength. When you freely share your ideas you give the impression that there’s plenty more where that came from. By accomplishing amazing things – even if they are for your boss – you will have more to brag about on your resume as well.

Keep performing well – until you’re indispensible – until you’ve enhanced your resume to the point that you have something to sell to someone else at a higher price or at least at a higher level of responsibility. Be strong and confident enough to give…and you’ll receive the rewards you’re looking for.

Sincerely,
Jim Taft Founder and CEO, Executive Roundtables

Guest Post, Caryn Capriccioso: Where's Your Strategy?

2010-01-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

Breaking down the big questions before developing strategy

As strategic planning consultants, we’re often asked how to build in more strategy to a planning process. We all call it strategic planning, so why, then, do so many “strategic” plans wind up being merely a collection of whatever ideas your board can come up with during a 5-6 hour retreat every three years?

Strategy lies in the approaches you take to bridge the divide between where you are today and where you want to go. It’s first about knowing where you are, then understanding the world around you and strategically developing a path that capitalizes on the organization’s strengths while taking into account (and, where possible, taking advantage of) the external environment. As always, the question is: “but how?”

We recently worked with a client during a pre-planning process for an upcoming strategic plan. The board and staff spent a day together identifying all of the issues, opportunities and unknowns that might influence their strategic planning process six months down the road.

For instance, the group discussed a complex federal-level reform of their entire area of work. They brought everyone up to speed on the uncertainties of some of their funding. The staff shared information with the board about a tenuous lease situation and together everyone talked through a variety of issues that could influence their decision to stay or relocate. Once eight key strategic planning issue areas were defined, the team honed in, asking questions developed by interSector Partners, L3C to further examine each issue.

Define the issue area. What does this really mean?
What possible scenarios can be defined for this issue area?
What questions do you have about this issue area?
What information or resources do you need to better understand the issue area and to make decisions about it?
How will you get from here to there? How will you fully explore this issue area to be able to make strategic decisions about it in six months?

Whew! A lot of good thinking right? Well, this was just the first step. From here, our client assigned teams to tackle each issue area. They are now hard at work answering all of the questions above and many more that have come up along the way. Their plan will be informed by research and deep understanding of their key issues. Armed with this information, they will engage in planning that is actually strategic.

I share this approach not because it’s the right one for everyone, but to say that you’ll need to try something different in order to be truly strategic in your future planning. Think about what might work best for your board and staff. Find something that will capitalize on people’s talents and interests and that will provide you with the in-depth information you need to get at the strategy behind your plan.

- Caryn Capriccioso, Co-Founder, InterSector Partners L3C

Guest Post, Caryn Capriccioso: Conversant's Project Evaluation Method

2009-12-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

Predict future behavior by understanding past actions

In the midst of the holiday hoop-lah, many nonprofits are also planning for the future. Program plans, operational plan updates, budgeting, strategy for 2010—‘tis the season!

You’ve seen me tout future planning in this space, yet it may be just as important to review the past for lessons-learned. What can you learn from how you, your team and your organization handled things in 2009? Have you set aside time to take a look?

A simple and extremely effective approach for looking at the past and “accelerating the growth of competence and satisfaction in your work” comes to us from Conversant Solutions, LLC. Conversant has kindly granted permission to share their model—versions of which I’ve been using for years—in hopes that it will also be valuable to you.

To get started, pick a project, a plan, an event, a program. Get a team together. Walk through the following discussion points and questions.

1. State the original purpose and/or goals

2. State the actual outcome to date.
Separate what actually happened from comments, interpretations, etc., regarding what actually happened.

3. What worked well re: the original purpose and/or goals?
Acknowledge goals met or exceeded, successful methods.

4. What did not work well?
Acknowledge goals unmet, disappointments, mistakes of commission and omission.

5. Who is there to appreciate?
What specifically did they provide? How and when will you recognize them?

6. What was learned that will benefit you now and in the future?
Share what was learned with those who would benefit.
Define how what you learned will change how you act.

7. What area of competence is weak or missing that would make a high-leverage contribution to your work?
Come up with a single, actionable focus.

That’s it! Simple as pie. You can run through this process with a team in no more than 30 minutes.

If you can’t get your team together this holiday season, ask each of your staff members to debrief one major project in their areas of responsibility and share it with you in a year-end meeting. What you learn will make a difference in how you look at 2010 and beyond. Happy planning!

- Caryn Capriccioso, Co-Founder, InterSector Partners L3C

Ask Jim: Managing the Competing Manager

2009-12-01T07:58:00.000-07:00

Executive coach and founder of Executive Roundtables, Jim Taft, answers readers' questions on management, business and personnel challenges. Do you have a question you'd like to send to Jim? Contact us.
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Dear Jim - I'm a recently hired manager at a fairly sizeable organization. I have about 10 years of experience in this area, so I'm feeling pretty confident, but there's one person in my department who isn't so thrilled about my arrival and is making life challenging. Apparently, he wanted to be promoted to the position I now have, but was turned down. He reports to me now, and is openly disrespectful of me - one-on-one and also in meetings. Nothing blatant, but the tension is obvious. Any suggestions for how to work with him until the bitterness passes?

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Dear Reader - This situation is more common than you think. It’s apparent that when someone is passed over for a promotion (disappointing enough) and then has to work for the new manager who got the position they wanted (adding insult to injury) that defensiveness on the part of the passed over candidate (POC) is to be expected.

Knowing that the job search competition is over is no solace to the POC. Having to work for the new hire (you), he feels compelled to prove that he is still the better candidate and that the company made the wrong decision. Therefore, he will find every fault possible in the experience or character or style of the new manager. This is so, because if he allows the new manager to look good, he thinks he is proving that the company’s decision ABOUT HIM was correct – he wasn’t the right man for the job.

Now we all know that by behaving badly with the new manager, the POC is actually proving that the company’s decision was right. After all, would the company want a childish, recalcitrant, defensive person managing their department? No. Therefore, whenever upper management hears another tale (and they will hear them) about how the POC carried on in another meeting making it tough for the new guy they just hired, they all give each other knowing glances and silently confirm to each other that they made the right hiring decision. Upper management WANTS their new hire to succeed. So now, not only is the POC passed over, he is “on the bubble,” as they say, in jeopardy of being fired for insubordination and failure to be a team player, etc.

Suggestions:

Have a quiet heart to heart with your POC. Kindly indicate that you’ve observed his defensiveness, resistance to cooperate, and sullen attitude. Ask him to tell you what’s going on and offer assistance.
Indicate to the POC how you value his experience and look forward to working together to make the department even better. Ask him what ideas he has for improving things. If you find that he has an idea of value, let him run with it. Reassure the POC that you are glad he’s on board and that you look forward to working together. In short you are appealing to his strengths and eliciting him to help you. Since he feels he could have run the department, look for opportunities to let him lead projects or endeavors. In doing this, you are testing whether he can become one of your team players – a supporter.
3. If after reaching out and extending opportunities to the POC he continues his campaign of passive aggressiveness, you will need to have a more stern and direct conversation wherein you tell him that you have observed his demeanor (be prepared with chapter and verse – documented in a file of course) and he either has to improve or he will need to find a place to work where he is more comfortable (this may be outside your organization).

Remember, it is your responsibility to gather a well running, cohesive team. If Mr. POC is going to continue to undermine your efforts, he may have to leave. Your first responsibility is to create the team on behalf of the organization, not pander to someone who is too unprofessional to handle the ups and downs of life in the work world.

Sincerely,
Jim Taft Founder and CEO, Executive Roundtables

November 2009 Newsletter: Crunching Numbers

2009-11-23T20:53:00.000-07:00

A look at iG ratings, numbers and trends to date

November was an active month with many repeat ratings and an increase in 30-something users. From Illinois to Washington, check out what’s new in this month’s data summary.

Rating Locations: Our top rating locations shifted again this month. California had been running strong, but in November, Colorado, Illinois and Washington received the greatest number of ratings. Organizations with the greatest number of November ratings included: The Denver Center for Crime Victims (Denver, CO), Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (Chicago, IL) and Project Pave (Denver, CO). Congratulations!

Site Demographics: User demographics held steady this month, with a slight increase in the number of 30-37 year olds using the site. A full 26% of raters are between the ages of 22-29, the largest individual age range. However, roughly half of site users continue to be 38 years of age or older. Forty-five percent of raters have 15 or more years of general work experience; however about the same percentage of users (46%) have 5 or fewer years of nonprofit work experience.

Income Ranges: With multiple repeat ratings this month, ratings for new organizations didn’t sway the income ranges noticeably. InsideGOOD continues to have participation from a variety of organization sizes, most particularly from small organizations (less than $500K annual income).

Less than $500K Annual Income: 34%
$500K-$1.5M Annual Income: 21%
$1.5M-$5M Annual Income: 15%
$5M or greater Annual Income: 30%

Score Trends: Surprisingly this month, despite the number of new ratings coming through, score trends remained on par with October. Thirty-two percent of ratings are 3.9 or less; 68% of ratings are 4.0 or greater. The lowest scoring categories continue to be My Development and Recognition.

November’s Rating Trend: Wondering how to improve your holiday fundraising and get donors coming back? Why not hear tips directly from donors themselves through insideGOOD ratings! Check out this month’s rating trend – Donors Speak Up; Donor ratings offer guidance for holiday solicitations.

November's Rating Trend - Donors Speak Up

2009-11-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

Donor ratings offer guidance for holiday solicitations
Holiday giving campaigns and fundraising events are key to the annual budgets of thousands of organizations. So, to help you this season, we thought we’d take a poll of donor ratings over the year to see why donors are giving and what gets them giving again.

Below are our top 3 tips for soliciting donors, based on the very comments submitted by donors through ratings on insideGOOD:

1. Connect them to what you do, it’s why they giveMany donors proclaimed the accomplishments and victories of the organization as well as any organization’s annual report. Informed donors seem more connected and more loyal to organizations than those who are not.

Universities might take a tip from this donor to the University of Notre Dame Du Lac (Notre Dame, IN): “By donating to ND, I can help people from low-income and middle-income families to be able to afford to attend the greatest university in the world. The education and experiences received from this school are unmatched by any other. I will continue to donate for many years to come.”

Similarly, this long-time donor of Variety Children’s Charity of Northern California (San Francisco, CA) describes his/her experience with the outcome of the organization’s work: “I have been a donor and member since 2003. Variety Children’s Charity of Northern California is one of the most dynamic group of people I have seen. To actually attend a service event and watch the children directly benefit from their work is amazing! I recommend that you call the executive director and get involved!”

2. Ask Nicely (& Maybe Not So Often)

It may sound obvious, but donors are turned on – or off – not only by how the ask is made, but by the frequency as well. This disgruntled donor for National Public Radio (Washington, DC) remarks: “There is a difference between a gentle reminder and being a total annoyance that the NPR folks have not learned - at least in my case. I will never contribute again.” Is there a way your solicitations could be less frequent yet more impactful?

3. Financial Transparency Matters
While the heated debate about how to measure financial accountability continues, efforts in this area do not go unnoticed by donors. As this donor from Openworld Learning (Denver, CO) describes, she or he believes in the mission but is deterred by the organization’s financial management:

“Well intentioned mission, poorly managed financials. Would benefit by being accountable with funds. As a donor, third party watchdog groups are especially important to me, and I usually consider them in making my decisions. Though my experiences will lead me not to give again to this agency, I would encourage them to actively seek evaluation from third-party authorities and take their recommedations to heart.”

As your organizations jumps into this fundraising season, keep these notes in mind and you will find holiday donors returning even after the New Year begins!

Ask Jim: A Bullying Boss or Miscommunication?

2009-11-09T20:36:00.000-07:00

Executive coach and founder of Executive Roundtables, Jim Taft, answers readers' questions on management, business and personnel challenges. Do you have a question you'd like to send to Jim? Contact us.
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Dear Jim - We've been drowning in work lately, so a lot of processes that need attention in our department have been neglected. Recently a young and energetic member of our team started to propose some ideas and to work on ways to improve things. Her manager - my peer - responded by reprimanding the girl in front of another co-worker very harshly, then sent an email to the entire team calling a meeting to address the issue (that the girl had been trying to improve!) I was shocked by his reaction. Was he threatened by her? I am afraid he is crushing the brightest members of our department under his heel and we'll lose them. Is there anything I can do?

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Dear Reader -

If you’re drowning in work you, your team and your peers are probably under quite a bit of stress. Good ideas expressed in tense situations can sound like criticisms. So if the employee in question said, “WE REALLY NEED TO GET A NEW PRINTER!!” it may cause her boss to take this as a criticism of his management in not solving this problem earlier. This doesn’t excuse his willingness to criticize his employee in public (never good form), but it may explain it.

Possible Steps:

1. Organizations work best when peers are comfortable enough with each other to “coach” each other. So, you might tactfully say to Mr. Peer, “You know, I think Ms. Employee was really upset by the way you criticized her in public the other day. I think she had a good idea and she was just trying to pass it on to you.” Now a good manager will feel somewhat badly about brow-beating an employee and set about to make amends, which may include giving her kudos for the idea. Sometimes all we need is a well meant “heads up” about our behavior to begin to correct it.

2. As a peer, it is within your rights and responsibility to talk to your common boss or talk to your boss so your boss can talk to his boss (are you following the org chart lines here?). If done with a constructive attitude, his boss might make an opportunity to talk to Mr. Peer about the situation and might even reach out to Ms. Employee to see how she’s really feeling and to give her assurance that someone cares.

3. Oftentimes in organizations employees ask senior managers to mentor or coach them. A mentor may be your boss, but just as often they aren’t – which may be the better alternative to allow for the free flow of conversation and advice. You may offer to mentor Ms. Employee yourself. You might advise her to ask her boss if there is a better way for her to express herself so that her ideas come across the right way. She might tell him that she would like to know how she’s perceived when she speaks so she can improve in the future. By asking for a means of working with her boss, her boss may lighten up on her and give her more respect and support.

Remember, the meaning of communication is the response it gets. It matters little what your intent was if what you got back was anger and rejection. Be prepared to change your methods and style to create better work relations and clearer communication.

Sincerely,
Jim Taft Founder and CEO, Executive Roundtables

Guest Post, Caryn Capriccioso: The Nonprofit Sector is Ready for Innovation

2009-11-04T16:28:00.000-07:00

Revelations from a recent Ignite-style presentation

At last week’s Colorado Nonprofit Association Fall Conference, a small team of us hosted a session that was a bit different from the norm. We shared a story of a nonprofit executive director who was overwhelmed by all of the incoming new technologies, ideas and innovations. We talked about five concepts that nonprofits are hearing a lot about and are trying to figure out how to integrate into their organizations: the L3C, insideGOOD, Twitter, Small and Mighty Boards and Ignite.

The presenting team shared the concepts in the Ignite-style (a rapidly-catching format you may really want to consider for your next presentation). It was fast, it was funny, it was far from the perfectly prepared and polished session we are all used to delivering (or trying to deliver!). The session challenged the participants to think in new ways and it stretched the presenting team’s comfort zones, too.

Our session provided more than just laughs, however. The point of this approach was to: affirm that the incoming is hard to sort through, provide ideas for nonprofit leaders to use to test their gut reactions to the incoming first and then, once deciding to move forward, share a tool to help make informed decisions about whether the new idea is the right fit for their nonprofit.

What did we learn from this session? Our big take-aways came from the presenting team’s observations and feedback from the 50+ folks who joined us in a standing room only space:

• Nonprofit folks are ready to look at the new ideas and opportunities available to them; they may have been laser focused on making it through the last year, but they are once again ready to innovate and want to know what’s out there to help them do so

• At the same time, the sector’s leadership wants to move slowly and thoughtfully; they seek tools to help them make good decisions and carefully consider the appropriateness of various new media, business and board structures

• People are beyond ready to laugh and have fun and be silly—at least in the context of learning and thinking strategically about their next move. They are okay with outside the box presentations and approaches, in fact, they actively seek them

• Criteria and assessment tools remain hugely important. While we’re all required to process and decide more quickly than ever before, having trusted approaches for backing up our decision-making remains key

For the many, many nonprofits out there trying to weed through the new concepts and ideas coming their way, we invite you to explore the tool we shared at our Colorado Nonprofit Association session. This questionnaire has the interSector Partners, L3C stamp on it, but includes input from our co-presenters, Martha Vail of Martha Vail Consulting and Katie Taft, CEO of insideGOOD. This session truly was a team effort.

Remember – trust your gut, use the tools available to you and find a way to have fun with it along the way!

- Caryn Capriccioso, Co-Founder, InterSector Partners L3C

October 2009 Newsletter: Crunching Numbers

2009-10-25T18:52:00.000-06:00

A look at iG ratings, numbers and trends to date

A greater number of organizations with multiple ratings, an increase in younger site users, and a surprising rating category that continually scores high; read about all of this and more in October’s number crunching review.

Rating Locations: This month, California and Alabama received the greatest number of ratings. Congratulations! We’d also like to send out a thumbs-up to First Light Inc and Working Wardrobes for a New Start; both of which received the greatest number of ratings this month!

Site Demographics: Just last month we discussed iG’s age trends, in particular, having attracted users with a median age of 40 (similar to the median age for users on LinkedIn). This month however, the data shifted slightly younger, producing an increase in the number of users between the ages of 22-29 and 30-37. Similarly, the percentage of users with 5-10 years of work experience also grew. Still, 50% of iG users continue to be 38 years of age or older, with 45% of users having 15 or more years of work experience.

Income Ranges: Not much change across the variation of income sizes for rated organizations on the site. The spread continues to maintain an important level of diversity.

Less than $500K Annual Income: 34% (0% since September)
$500K-$1.5M Annual Income: 21% (0% since September)
$1.5M-$5M Annual Income: 15% (0% since September)
$5M or greater Annual Income: 30% (+1% since September)

Score Trends: After having held steady for a couple of months, we saw a slight rise in the number of positive ratings during September. Sixty-eight percent of scores were 4.0 and higher (out of 6.0), up 1% from last month, while scores of 3.9 and less dropped down to 32%. Our typical trend of seeing high high-scores and low low-scores also shifted this month, with a rising number of scores across the middle range; scores between 3.0-4.9 grew by 2%.

October’s Rating Trend: For October’s Rating Trend, we wanted to better understand what organizations everywhere are doing right – and how that could potentially be applied elsewhere. Which rating category consistently scores high, even when the rest of the overall score is low? Find out in this month’s rating trend: Roles to Remember.

October's Rating Trend - Roles to Remember

2009-10-25T18:44:00.000-06:00

Month to Month, Raters are happy with their role

Identifying what you do right as an organization is often as important as identifying what might be…er, less than right. Why? Because if you can apply characteristics of what works well to areas that need help, you’ll be crafting solutions that are more impactful and that remain true to your organization’s unique culture.

Which is why this month, we wanted to identify the rating category that consistently receives high scores across all organizations; a category that also receives high ratings even when other areas are rated poorly. What are we all doing right? And how can we apply that to other areas of our organizations?

Can you guess which category received consistently high scores? You may be surprised to hear that it was “My Role”. Across all rater types (and My Role survey questions) – Employees, Interns, Volunteers and Donors are consistently pleased with what they are doing at the organization.

We thought that negative scores might be coming from poor experiences with individual responsibilities but, in fact, people are generally happy with what they are doing personally, and less satisfied with surrounding factors about how the organization is managed.

This is made clear in a comment from a Volunteer at International Language Programs (Provo, UT), “I absolutely loved my experience with ILP. However, That was almost entirely because of the Ukrainian children and people, not because of the program itself. They were very unorganized, treated me very impersonally and did not deliver what I thought I had signed up for…”

Likewise, this Volunteer from Divan Cultural Center (Cary, NC) primarily praised his/her role and includes it as a reason why s/he recommends working at this organization to others, “I feel like doing very beneficial things to community when I was working as a volunteer in that Cultural Center activities. I like it so much, and recommend everybody to involve as a volunteer in all activities.”

Raters also often mention how changes in leadership, or ineffective leadership, detracts from what they do, like this Employee for Special Olympics Washington (Seattle, WA), “The organization at one time was a great place to work, a cohesive group, working hard to meet the needs of our clientele. Unfortunately, top management left and was replaced with unqualified or just not willing to work. Too top heavy, lots of meetings, no results….”

This Volunteer from Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley (New Kensington, PA) similarly remarks that, “The volunteers are there for the animals but don't seem to get much cooperation or information from the board members. Hopefully with the recent changes to the board much of this will improve.”

Assuming that your staff and volunteers are also happy with what they do, is your organization doing what it can to support them in these roles? Are they given support, tools, and direction? Does leadership communicate well with supporters and understand their needs?

By creating an organization-wide goal to focus assistance and processes around the individual roles of your supporters, you can help them to more effectively do their jobs. And who knows, maybe the positive scores that raters continually give to their roles will spread to other areas as well.

Guest Post, Caryn Capriccioso: Serial Social Innovators?

2009-10-06T14:02:00.000-06:00

Is "Founder's Syndrome" a case of the Serial Social Entrepreneur in the wrong role?

In the business world, serial entrepreneurs are accepted as commonplace. They are found here, there and everywhere; conceiving of or recognizing great ideas, building companies to support the ideas and staying until a sustainable model is established, then moving on to the next great thing. Rather than sales or IT or finance, entrepreneurship is their profession—no one expects them to stay forever.

Why doesn’t the nonprofit sector embrace this same approach for its visionary leaders? Perhaps it’s because most nonprofit founders are personally, passionately tied to their cause. Suicide prevention programs are often founded by those who have lost a loved one to suicide. Cancer support organizations are created by survivors or family members of those with cancer.

But, this is not always the case. Consider the nonprofits that were founded simply because a problem needed to be solved. Nowhere for kids to go after school? A youth center. Frustration with the current criminal justice system? Restorative justice programming. Low-income community that can’t afford to weatherize homes? Free energy audits.

Just who are these visionary founders that see a need and meet it? And, what if they functioned like serial entrepreneurs—founding and building an organization to respond to a community need, then transitioning the organization and moving on to tackle the next big idea?

We all know nonprofit founders who have overstayed their welcome. We use words like “founder’s syndrome” to describe the leader who needs to move on, but can’t let go. Often staff and volunteers think the founder is in over his or her head, doesn’t understand the needs of the organization as it transitions to its next life stage, or simply seems burned out by the day-to-day grind of things. It’s like a big secret where everyone, except the founder, knows it’s time to move on.

But, they do know. I’ve talked with founders who fear they are no longer relevant. They aren’t inspired. The work they are doing is not why they founded the organization – they wanted to solve a problem, not manage staff and a board and finances and fundraising. They lie awake at night worried that they will be “found out” – that each day they are learning as fast as they can and hoping they don’t make any major mistakes.

The fact is that some people are cut out for the founding and building part of an organization or company and some are skilled at ongoing management and long-term sustainability. It’s time founders—and their boards—quit expecting visionary leaders to be able to do it all and look early on to developing succession plans for the organization’s second stage.

If we begin to support and honor nonprofit founders in the same way we do serial entrepreneurs, nonprofits will benefit, the sector will be strengthened and executive directors will not feel compelled to stay beyond their interest or skill-set. Instead they will be free to step back, scan the landscape and see where their creative, visionary skills are most needed next by the community.

- Caryn Capriccioso, Co-Founder, InterSector Partners L3C

Ask Jim: Ways to Reward Employees (On a Budget!)

2009-10-01T10:26:00.000-06:00

Executive coach and founder of Executive Roundtables, Jim Taft, answers readers' questions on management, business and personnel challenges. Do you have a question you'd like to send to Jim? Contact us.

Dear Jim - I've got a team that needs some rewarding! However (as I'm sure you've heard before!) we're on a budget. Based on all of the clients you worked with, any good, bargain-priced team building/celebration options come to mind? Thanks!

- - - -

First, know that you are far ahead of the game by merely thinking about rewarding your team – so many organizations fail to do this, or do this enough. This is critical, especially where volunteers are concerned.

One of the first things you can do to create a reward /recognition that touches your people is to ask them. You can say, “You guys have been working really hard and we’d like to do something to show you how much we appreciate you. We have a small budget to have fun with, what would you like to do?”

Another method is bring a small group of your employees together – the ones that bring cakes for everyone’s birthday or the ones who seem always ready to celebrate – to brainstorm ideas and bring them to you for your approval.

The next thing that comes to mind is the book 1,001 Ways to Reward Your Employees by Bob Nelson. Packed in this little book are a host of reward ideas and most of them are very low cost. Plus Mr. Nelson provides the philosophy and techniques for rewarding people correctly.

But you asked for low priced rewards so here’s a few that I’ve seen work:

Buy little popcorn boxes/bags and fill with movie gift certificates. Pack with ribbons/tissue to make it look festive. Sneak into the office before anyone else, and place on everyone’s desk.
Take the team to a baseball or football game.
Buy ice cream and toppings and in the middle of the work day, burst into the department ringing a bell. Tell your people they’ve been working hard and need an ice cream break – tell them their efforts are appreciated.
Send a note of appreciation on organization stationery to the employee’s/volunteer’s home. This is very effective because it gives the employee an opportunity to share their praise with family or significant others – thus doubling the positive impact.

Keep in mind that, as Bob Nelson puts it, “Some of the most effective forms of recognition cost nothing at all. A sincere word of thanks from the right person at the right time can mean more to an employee than a raise, a formal award or a whole wall of certificates or plaques. Part of the power of such rewards come from the knowledge that someone took the time to notice the achievement, seek out the employee responsible and personally deliver praise in a timely manner.”

Survey’s have indicated that 60%+ of employees ranked a “pat on the back” as a meaningful incentive. Other studies have shown that the person who has the largest influence on an employee’s job satisfaction is the immediate supervisor. So, supervisors often have everything they need to reward their employees for a job well done by simply, sincerely and regularly recognizing the good efforts of the people they manage. Never forget the power of a nicely written note of appreciation.

Go Forth And Recognize!!

Sincerely,
Jim Taft Founder and CEO, Executive Roundtables

September's Rating Trend: Mission on the Mind

2009-09-23T21:58:00.000-06:00

Raters show a strong connection to the organization’s purpose

This month, we looked across all ratings for buzz words: terms or phrases that consistently popped up on positive or negative scores. While there were quite a few – ‘dedicated’, ‘passion’, ‘professional’ - one of the more noticeable (and our selection for this month’s trend) was ‘mission’.

Based on what we saw, your ability to connect others to your mission may be more important to attracting and retaining supporters than you might realize. Similar to last month’s trend on the importance of demonstrating impact, raters regularly mention the organization’s ability to stick to, pursue and achieve the mission as integral to their score.

A Volunteer at Inner City Health Center (Denver, CO) notes: “I have never had a more pleasurable volunteering relationship than working with the people at Inner City Health Center. They represented the organization with extreme professionalism, and always held to their mission.”

A Donor for Camp Patriot (Libby, MT) says of their mission: “The mission and goals of this organization are honorable and so key to the giving back to those who given.”

A Donor for Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center (Boston, MA) remarks, “I think the mission of this organization is very important. Getting the kids outdoors and providing hands-on activities is key helping kids learn.”

Perhaps even more interesting is the way in which many raters choose to describe that mission. Rather than relating “this is what I did and this was my experience”, we were surprised to see several instances of the rater describing the organization’s purpose first and then relating their own experience. This may indicate an important facet of the Organization-Supporter connection; a personal identification with, or attachment to, what the organization is trying to achieve.

For example, a Volunteer for Canine Partners of the Rockies (Denver, CO) first described what the organization does: “CaPR trains service dogs for mobility challenged people who reside in Colorado”; then remarks on his or her experience: “It is a pure joy to see how the dogs change the lives of their partners.”

An Employee for Home of Guiding Hands (El Cajon, CA) describes the organization’s mission: “Established over 40 years ago to help people with developmental disabilities live independant, active, productive and enjoyable lives”; again, followed by his or her experience: “It was truly a blessing to work there. They are really ethical and fair. Employees are treated with respect and dignity.”

Raters also tend to note when they support the mission of an organization even if they do not give high scores to their experience working there.

For example, this Employee for Phoenix Houses of California (New York, NY) comments that, “Although I appreciate and fully support the mission of Phoenix Houses of California, I found the working environment to be less than stimulating.”

How are you creating ways to connect your supporters to your organization’s mission? Continuously invigorating their sense of passion for your goals may be an important part of retaining volunteers, staff and donors. Connect their work to the bigger picture or describe how their donor dollars accomplished that objective. If your mission is at the heart of your work, it is likely that it’s at the heart of those who support you as well.

How do you keep supporters connected to your organization’s mission?

September 2009 Newsletter: Crunching Numbers

2009-09-23T21:50:00.000-06:00

A look at iG ratings, numbers and trends to date

Organizations with a variety of annual incomes, ratings from coast to coast, and a median user age that aligns with…LinkedIn? Read this month’s numbers summary for all the exciting data details.

33 States & Growing: insideGOOD just might be in your home state! With 65% of U.S. states having received a nonprofit rating, chances are you’ll find organizations close to you. Congrats to Colorado and Michigan who tied this month for receiving the greatest number of ratings. We are also cheering on North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania who are closing in on ratings leaders California and Colorado.

Site Demographics: There was little change in the breakdown of user ages this month, although we did find a comparison to other ‘social’ sites rather interesting. On insideGOOD, 50% of our users are 38 years of age or older, and the median age is approximately 40. According to Pew, the median age of a Twitter user is 31, a MySpace user 27, a Facebook user 26, and a LinkedIn user is 40. For the time being, this aligns us most closely with LinkedIn. At the same time, the largest single age range on insideGOOD is 22-29 years of age, with 25% of site users falling into that age group.

Income Ranges: The income of rated organizations on insideGOOD continues to have a fairly even spread.

Less than $500K Annual Income: 34% (-1% since August)
$500K-$1.5M Annual Income: 21% (+1% since August)
$1.5M-$5M Annual Income: 15% (-1% since August)
$5M or greater Annual Income: 29% (0% since August)

Score Trends: Scores also held steady this month with 67% of scores rated a 4.0 or greater, and 33% a 3.9 or less (out of 6.0). True to trend over the months, the end-ranges of scores received the greatest number of ratings. Of low scores, 87% are 2.9 or lower. Of high scores, 83% were a 5.0 or higher.

September’s Rating Trend: This month we examined buzz words across all ratings to try and pinpoint hot items for insideGOOD users. What we found was a surprising tie between supporters and the ‘mission’ of an organization – an integral part of their motivations for support, of their experience and potentially, their identification with the organization. Check out September’s Rating Trend – Mission on the Mind – to learn more about the importance of mission to the rater experience.

Ask Jim: The Talkative Boss

2009-09-10T13:52:00.000-06:00

Dear Jim - In meetings with our manager, he has a tendency to ask if anyone has concerns...then interrupts or even talks over people when they do raise concerns! It's getting to the point where no one speaks up, even when they have issues they'd like to raise. What can we do to change meetings from a one-man show to an actual dialogue?

-- - -

Quite some time ago, I read an article about the characteristics of a leader. One of the several listed was loquaciousness. I had to look it up – “the quality of being wordy and talkative.” For many managers, talking a lot and talking over their subordinates comes naturally. Not only that, many managers feel they need to have all the answers so any concern you express is often just an opportunity for your boss to fix it – or fix you.

The boss’ job is to get the team moving forward. They see their job requiring them to “make things happen,” to “get things done,” and “too much talking wastes time.” So how do you get your concerns expressed?

1. Match the manager’s speaking pace when you talk. If he/she speaks quickly and their sentences are always cut-to-the-chase, do similarly without being obvious about it. You’re not mimicking, you’re pacing. To hold their attention, match their pace.

2. During the meeting if you have more to say, it is reasonable to politely say, “John, there’s something else I’d like to add…” I’ve rarely seen a manager cut off a polite request to add something to the conversation. Generally this is because the manager may not realize he’s talking over everyone. He might actually be relieved that someone else has something to add.

3. “The hand slightly raised with elbow still on the table index finger pointing slightly to the ceiling” signal often works. This is the classroom “raise your hand to ask a question” but with a more professional air about it. This gentle signal will often require the boss to turn to you and ask, “What is it?” That’s your opening to make your point.

4. Drop by the boss’s office after the meeting or send an email. Say (or type), “you know, John, I had a thought about our discussion today, do you think we could (fill in your point here)?” This is always a good solution whether your boss doesn’t allow people to speak or if the meeting never got around to your topic.

The worst thing to do is to do nothing. Doing nothing builds resentment in you and may cause you to “blow” inappropriately over something inconsequential at a later time.

The more a manager learns that his/her people have good ideas and concerns the more they will slow down to hear them. The first challenge is to get your ideas and concerns expressed. If you can’t get them in during the meeting, express them outside the meeting. That may train your boss that you have ideas worth listening to.

Sincerely,

Jim Taft Founder and CEO, Executive Roundtables

Guest Post, Caryn Capriccioso: Creating an Effective Strategic Plan

2009-09-08T07:11:00.000-06:00

5 Ways to Plan for a Successful Future

“The trouble with many plans is that they are based on the way things are now. To be successful, your...plan must focus on what you want, not what you have.” Nido Qubein

Last time I wrote about simple ways to position your organization in a good light as the economy begins to rebound—i.e. to begin to shift the focus from where things are today toward where we want them to be. Once you’ve had a chance to work through the list of registrations, filings and outreach to tell your story, it’s time to tackle the most proactive piece of any nonprofit’s work – the strategic plan.

Typically the last few months of the year are a hot time for strategic planning. If you’re thinking about a strategic planning retreat this fall, now’s the time to get started. Strategic planning is much more than a retreat day where your board and staff brainstorm new ideas. Strategic planning is a process that’s made easier by considering the following steps:

1. Convene a planning team. At a minimum, the executive director, board chair and one or two other key stakeholders should lead the process from start to finish. The planning team will determine the outcomes and expectations for the process and impress upon the rest of your team the importance of the strategic plan.

2. Decide whether outside help is required. Professional strategic planning facilitators can support your process by shouldering much of the up-front burden. They will work with your planning team to design a process and retreat day to achieve your desired outcomes and accommodate any group dynamics that could impact your process.

3. Set a retreat date. You may have noticed that people are especially busy these days. It is imperative that as many of your board members be present for strategic planning as possible—we recommend 100% participation. Set a date early and impress upon everyone that they are expected to prepare for, attend and actively participate.

4. Work backward to create a schedule that culminates in the retreat date. Items to consider:

Developing a scope of work, interviewing and hiring a facilitator
Designing, conducting and analyzing stakeholder surveys and interviews
Conducting an environmental and/or market scan and SWOT analysis
Reviewing, selecting and distributing advance reading articles
Developing current reality presentations (budget, programs, staffing, etc.)
Designing and distributing the agendaDeveloping appropriate activities to guide the group process
Securing space, food and other necessary materials/supplies

5. Plan now for successful implementation. No one wants “a plan on a shelf,” and it’s never too early to think about keeping on track to implement your plan. If you hire an outside consultant, talk with them about ongoing support and guidance during the first year of your plan’s implementation—you may get a pricing break if you build it into the contract from the start.

At interSector Partners, L3C, inquiries are flying in about fall 2009 strategic planning processes. As the seasons change and the year comes to a close, it’s human nature to begin to think ahead toward the future and want to create a vision and a plan for what comes next.

This year, in particular, strategic planning takes on a new level of importance—it’s time to gather together, reconnect and refocus, create a vision, and develop a plan to carry you through any remaining tough times and on to achieving the best possible future for your organization and those you serve. Get going now and you’ll be well-prepared to tackle whatever is to come.

- Caryn Capriccioso, Co-Founder, InterSector Partners L3C

How to Nail a Job Interview

2009-09-03T22:16:00.000-06:00

Or how not to...

As a follow-up to a recent post on how to interview undergraduate intern candidates, Jim Taft shares How to Nail an Interview (20 Tips) from the Steinar Skipsness blog.

After secretly filming 28 interviews, Steinar came back with some incredible finds. Everything from commonsense practices that weren't being followed, to the interview faux-pas that may make your mouth drop.

Job seekers: Take a hard look at how you may be coming across in interviews! Have you set your Facebook page to private? Are you bad-mouthing former bosses? Sharing too many personal details?

These videos may make you cringe...or they might just help you nail that next interview.

An Example:

Karen Bantuveris, Guest Post: 5 Best Practices for Welcoming New Volunteers

2009-08-31T10:03:00.001-06:00

How to make a first impression that keeps volunteers coming back

Karen Bantuveris is the founder and CEO of VolunteerSpot, a free and easy online volunteer scheduling and signup tool that improves the volunteer experience. In this guest post, Karen shares best practices for welcoming new volunteers to your organization.

- - - - - - - -

Back-to-school marks a new season of volunteering. Parents jump into service in the classroom or for Scouts and sports leagues. Service-learning activities are launched, community action teams prepare for hurricane and flu season and nonprofits of all types ramp-up their fundraising and activities.

This year, the need for volunteers is greater than ever, and fortunately, more people are expected to lend a hand. However, the Corporation for National and Community Service reported that a third of all volunteers don’t return to service — mainly due to poor coordination.

As a volunteer leader, you are an ambassador for your organization and often the first point of contact for your group. Paid volunteer leaders typically get training and support in engaging volunteers. But informal leaders – volunteer board members, PTA committee chairs and room parents, corporate captains and coaches – are often left to figure things out for themselves.

Here are some helpful, straightforward tips on how you can create a positive initial experience for new volunteersthat will encourage them to return and set the stage for them to become leaders themselves, not to mention loyal donors.

Five Best Practices for Welcoming New Volunteers

1. Set Up to Succeed: Thinking ahead, what information and materials will your volunteers need to succeed? Create a welcome package or Website page for volunteers and include helpful details such as:

Map and directions to the service location
Where to park and which entrance to use
Who will greet them
What to wear and bring (water, a snack, work gloves, etc.)
Safety concerns and physical requirements
Confidentially requirements and sensitivity issues

Plan for the number of expected volunteers in terms of space, materials and supplies. Nothing is worse than having a volunteer give up their valuable time only to be left standing around because there aren’t enough paintbrushes or it’s too crowded around the race water table.

2. Onboard Quickly: A frequent complaint is that volunteers applied to help but no one called them back! At the same time, busy informal volunteer leaders often express frustration with having to spend so much time calling people, juggling spreadsheets and sending e-mails to fill their schedule of needs.

To avoid these frustrations, it is important to set clear expectations on voicemail and e-mail responder messages, as well as on the organization Website, for how and when volunteers will be contacted.

Additionally, by using online scheduling and sign-up tools like VolunteerSpot or Serve.Gov, organizers can skip this hurdle altogether and bring on volunteers immediately with a simple few clicks. Signing up online lets a volunteer know immediately when they are slotted for action and buys the committee chairman or corporate captain a little time to reach out to the volunteer with important information about the organization and engagement.

3. Seize the Moment: As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Here are a few things to keep in mind when welcoming volunteers for the first time:

A genuine smile and eye-contact build positive rapport.
Introduce yourself and wear a name tag.
Remember, volunteering is a gift of time – thank volunteers for choosing to share it.
Summarize why it matters that they are serving today in one or two sentences.
Is a site tour appropriate?
Have nametags available (pre-printed if possible).
Review safety procedures, comfort stations (food, restrooms, etc.), and key work processes.
Ask what questions people have.

4. Share Your Big Picture and Impact: To help volunteers understand why their valuable time is needed, prepare your volunteer leaders to share big-picture information about your organization, such as your mission and community impact. Get creative by sharing videos, photos, stories and testimonials from people your group has helped. If there are online communities and measurement tools for your cause and volunteers, help volunteers get plugged in.

5. Solicit Feedback: Be sure to ASK your volunteers how the engagement is working for them and what would improve their experience. You’ll be surprised by what you learn. Sometimes simple changes can make all the difference – e.g., providing chairs so volunteers can sit during part of their shift. InsideGOOD is a tremendous online resource that helps capture feedback, collect stories, target improvements and promote your good work.

Adopting or improving upon these five best practices can go a long way toward helping volunteers feel welcome – a positive first step toward helping them cultivate a longer-term commitment to your organization.

Even if you have personally mastered some or all of these tips, ask yourself if other paid and informal volunteer leaders in your organization have done the same? Remember, your informal volunteer organizers are often the primary contact with your group’s volunteers. Please use this post to start a dialogue about how to best welcome and nurture new volunteers.

What best practices do you follow in your organization for welcoming new volunteers? Please share them in the comments section below.

- Karen Bantuveris, Founder and CEO, VolunteerSpot
"DOING GOOD just got easier!"

Karen Bantuveris created VolunteerSpot after she found that traditional volunteer coordination methods available to small nonprofits and informal volunteer leaders could be time consuming, frustrating, and caused good people to drop out or simply not bother. VolunteerSpot’s easy-to-use volunteer scheduling and signup tool saves time, streamlines communication and makes it simple for more people to get involved. Take a live or video tour of VolunteerSpot today. For more tips, stories and ideas about volunteering, please visit the VolunteerGuru Blog.

How to Build Authentic Relationships

2009-08-26T22:28:00.000-06:00

The two-way street of Web 2.0.

Many organizations are on the social media wave. They’re tweeting, they’re updating their Wall, they’re posting blog content frequently; they’ve got Web 2.0 dialed. Right?

Surprisingly, many organizations make the mistake of turning Web 2.0 into an extension of their traditional outbound communication. Annual reports, solicitations, newsletters; all of these go out and typically only donations come back in.

Surprisingly few people know that the ‘2’ in web 2.0 stands for the two-way conversation that is made possible by these tools. Lacking an understanding of this valuable component, many nonprofits slip unconsciously into using social media in the same way they use traditional outbound communications – send, send, send.

What information is coming in to your organization? Is the level of outgoing communications as healthy as the incoming?

Increasingly savvy audience members look for more than updates or notifications, they want to know the organization behind the materials and communications. They want to know the people behind the computer. They want authenticity and authentic connections come from a conversation that they can participate in, not just listen to.

We interviewed Linda Skrocki of Sun Microsystems, who has been working with open platforms at Sun for more than 10 years. Linda described the importance of authenticity to users on Sun forums: “You can’t build tools or platforms and expect it to build community. It’s contrived…[users] can smell in-authentic [content]. Once you build the platform, you need to nurture and maintain it. You have to sit in the audience and engage in the conversation. By staying transparent, you’re staying authentic.”

Similarly, Laura Kindregan in her iG blog post “From P to R” reminds readers that the ‘R’ in PR stands for relationship. She recalls how the success of a promotional campaign for the Denver Children’s Home on Oprah’s Big Give relied heavily on the relationships she had cultivated. Even an email blast with Oprah’s name on it wouldn’t have cut it; phone calls to friends, colleagues and supporters resulted in the biggest accomplishments.

Ratings on insideGOOD are an important opportunity for in-bound communication. By encouraging your supporters to rate their experience, to share what they loved or what they want to see improved, you deepen your connection with them.

When supporters feel heard, they feel engaged. Take a step further to let supporters know you are listening by responding to ratings on the site. In your response, you might include:

A Thank You: Thank the rater for taking the time to share their thoughts.
Attention to Points Made: Remark on the observations the rater made; what you appreciated or what resonated with things your organization is already working on.
A Description of Actions: Indicate what you will do with the feedback, how you will bring it up with the team, where you might provide updates on progress so that they can stay involved.
An Invitation to Speak Further: Extend the conversation by offering to chat further – perhaps a cup of coffee? You can learn more about their experience and how to turn that feedback into information the organization can use.

Strive to use the ‘2’ in Web 2.0. to cultivate your in-bound communications. By creating lasting and dedicated connections to your supporters, the communication may be reciprocated in amazing and equally dedicated ways.

Augusts' Rating Trend - Impressed by Impact

2009-08-26T22:20:00.000-06:00

Raters Rave When They See the Difference They Make

This month, we’d like to talk about high scores. And not just the best, but the best of the best. The cream of the crop, the outrageously positive! As we looked at the ratings data from the past several months, we wanted to know, what causes a rater to cross the line from simply praising an organization to evangelizing it!?

The secret ingredient we found is, quite simply, impact. Among the most positive ratings we’ve received a common thread was apparent: when a rater witnesses, or is part of, the difference an organization makes in someone’s life, ratings go from cheerily warm to fiery hot!

A volunteer enthusiastically describes her experience with the clients at Girls Incorporated of Metro Denver (Denver, CO): “…Their mission is to inspire girls to be strong, smart, and bold…The girls I tutored made me feel so loved that 1 week!...This also has to be one of the most fun places I like to be because during free time I play with the girls and it makes me feel I will never be too old for those games because I have so much fun.”

In a very high rating for Qoheleth Ministries (Costa Mesa, CA), a Volunteer emphasizes the impact s/he felt the organization had on clients: “I chose to volunteer with Qoheleth Ministries because of the way their organization makes their "clients" feel. I have never seen an organization so lovingly provide food and assistance to people in need.”

American Indian Health and Family Services of Southeastern MI (Detroit, MI) received an outstanding rating from a Volunteer who praises all of the activities and care the organization caringly provides: “I felt this organization has the [community’s] best interest in mind with all they do. The people here truly care about the community… in the way they help clients, in the doctors offices, traditional medicines, mental health center, the wonderful cooking classes, the sweat lodges on weekends, and all the wonderful activities for the youth.”

A Project Pave Inc (Denver, CO) volunteer glows in his/her praise of the impact the organization has on youth: “I really love and admire this organization because I have seen before hand how it changes many lifes. I wish there were more organizations set like this because they really do empower youth to end the cycle of relationship violence.”

St Joseph the Worker (Phoenix, AZ) impressed one of its volunteers by connecting them to the clients they serve: “The best part about volunteering at St. Joseph the Worker is the tangible connection between your effort and its outcomes. SJTW is not the smallest non-profit, but it is small enough that you can develop strong relationships with the staff and clients.”

A Volunteer at Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission (Seattle, WA) summarizes the effect of impact on his/her experience quite perfectly: “I Loved working with the kids at the Mission. I don't know who got more out of it, me or the kids? It is a wonderful place. It is like one big family.”

How have you experienced the impact of nonprofits you’ve worked with? As a nonprofit leader or manager, how do you ensure that your staff and volunteers connect to the difference you make?

August 2009 Newsletter: Crunching Numbers

2009-08-26T22:02:00.000-06:00

A look at iG ratings, numbers and trends to date

August was hot! New states received ratings, user demographics spread across more age groups and scores continued to reveal important trends. Check out the August data details below to get a snap-shot of activity on iG.

A Southern Welcome: We continue to receive ratings for organizations from new corners of the U.S.! This month, Alabama and South Carolina received nonprofits ratings for the first time, pushing the number of states with ratings to 33! While California and Colorado still have the greatest number of organizations rated, a growing spread of ratings is developing across far-flung states such as Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Oregon and Washington.

Site Demographics: After last month’s positive response, we are continuing to share information on our rater demographics. What are the age ranges of our site users? The youngest age group (15-21 years) grew by a slight 1% this month to 5% of total site users. The breakdown of the other age groups held steady; 51% of users on insideGOOD continue to be 38 years of age or older. Yet the largest percentage for a single age group falls to the 22-29 year old crowd, with 25% of site users. We are excited by this age diversity – a healthy range of experience and perspectives!

Income Ranges: The number of rated organizations with mid-range annual income grew again this month: organizations with $1.5-5M income make up 16% of rated organizations, while the $5M+ category dropped to 29% of rated organizations.

Less than $500K Annual Income: 35% (No change)
$500K-$1.5M Annual Income: 20% (+1% since July)
$1.5M-$5M Annual Income: 16% (+2% since July)
$5M or greater Annual Income: 29% (-3% since June)

Score Trends: There was a slight drop again in the number of positive scores: 67% of ratings are 4.0 or higher (out of 6.0), compared to 69% last month. As usual, the mid-range (3.0-4.9) of scores received the fewest ratings as scores continue to trend either very high or very low. Of low scores, 85% are 2.9 or lower. Of high scores, 82% were a 5.0 or higher.

Augusts’ Rating Trend: This month we decided to look at the best of the best and the highest of the highest. The organizations about which raters didn’t just praise, they raved! What characteristic was most common among these scores? High pay, importance, prestige? Nope. Raters tells us that what mattered most to them was experiencing the difference the organization made in the lives of the people it served. Check out the August rating trend – Impressed by Impact: Raters Rave When They See the Difference They Make.

Ask Jim: Interviewing Interns

2009-08-24T10:06:00.001-06:00

Executive coach and founder of Executive Roundtables, Jim Taft, answers readers' questions on management, business and personnel challenges. Do you have a question you'd like to send to Jim? Contact us.

Dear Jim,
I'm about to start interviewing undergraduate students for a fall internship position. I've never interviewed candidates this young before - or with so little experience. What would you suggest are the top 3 interview questions I should ask to get a feel for whether or not these students will be good additions to the team?

-----

Interns by virtue of their youth will most likely know little about your organization or how an organization operates. However, you still need to know what they know because they may surprise you. Therefore, any interview should consist of many more than three questions.

The best interview questions are questions that cause the intern to reveal their behavior in given situations. The situations I’m talking about are the typical situations that the intern is likely to confront in your organization. This may require a little preparation.

These questions are often started with words like “Tell me about a time when…,” “Tell me how you…,” “If X happened, how would you handle that situation…” Questions like this require a more open-ended/narrative answer which forces the intern to talk about himself/herself. Examples:

“Tell me about a time when you had to deal with customers or clients?”
“Tell me about a time when you had to deal with an angry customer or client.”
“Tell me how you would handle a conflict with a fellow staff member here?”
“If a fire broke out in the examining room, how would you handle it and what would you do first?”

Because interns often lack experience, you are questioning them about their “thinking.” How would they go about dealing with various situations they’ll be facing. Of course you will be training them thoroughly (right?) but knowing what their baseline approach to things is will help you make a decision about who to put on your team.

Sincerely, Jim Taft Founder and CEO, Executive Roundtables

Do you have some great intern interview questions? We'd love to hear them!

Guest Blog, Caryn Capriccioso: Treading water or riding the tide?

2009-08-11T18:02:00.000-06:00

Is your organization laying the foundation for smooth sailing ahead?

We feel the tide turning in our consulting practice. Many of the nonprofits we talk with are shifting from a heads-down, protective mode. They are beginning to peek out on the horizon and starting to test the waters on new programs, new partnerships and make sure their ducks are in a row.

No, the recession isn’t over yet. Have you thought about what you will be doing when it is?

Now is a great time to join those who are cautiously looking to the future and get your organization ready to take full advantage of the opportunities that will arise when the tide is fully turned.

How, you may ask, can you possibly think about the future when you’re mired in fundraising, staffing cuts and increased demand on your programs? Here are a few simple ideas for positioning your nonprofit while continuing to tread these challenging waters:

Make sure you’re up-to-date on all of your required filings and registrations. Savvy donors are checking to make sure you’ve registered with the Secretary of State (if required) and have filed your 990s. They care about compliance and you should, too!
Send younger professional team members to free or low-cost nonprofit trainings. Their annual raise may be on hold, but you can continue to help them develop professionally and build the skills you need to support your work down the road.
Think proactively about positioning by finding inexpensive ways to toot your own horn:
>Find a board member, staffer or volunteer to set up a Twitter handle for you and to periodically tweet good news about what you’re up too
>Tell your board, staff and volunteers about insideGOOD and ask them to share their positive experiences with your nonprofit
>Call your local reporters and let them know you’re available to serve as a resource or expert in your area of work. When they are next writing an article focused on your line of service, they will think of you to provide “feet on the street” information about how a particular issue impacts your community
Talk to other organizations doing similar work in your community. Generate ideas for partnering and collaborating. Begin those conversations now. Potential partners may not have the resources to join you today—heck, you may not have the resources right now!—but you’ll be building the relationships and laying the groundwork to collaborate when the time is right.
Conduct a quick client satisfaction survey. “How are we doing?” may be the one and only question you need to ask. Use the data to make simple and inexpensive adjustments to service delivery and avoid potential risk to your reputation because you’ve been treading as fast as you can!

These simple ideas may not keep you from feeling like you’re drowning today, but should make it easier to surf your way to a well-positioned organization when the time is right.

Caryn Capriccioso, Principal Partner, InterSector Partners L3C

Guest Post, Laura Kindregan: Creativity & Innovation

2009-08-04T12:36:00.001-06:00

How one awards meeting reinvigorates this guest blogger's sense of purpose

Just two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Wichita Kansas to represent Adam’s Camp as the recipient of the “Heartspring Award” for creativity and innovation in special education. To be honest prior to leaving, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect and the idea of spending five days in Kansas in the middle of July, wasn’t so appealing.

What awaited me was truly a remarkable group of people, an incredible organization serving children with special needs and nine other award winners who astonished me. Needless to say, it was a week that will forever shape how I view my work and why I continue to help those making a difference.

For two days, I listened to others share their hearts, their interests, why they started their organization and how innovation and creativity played a part.

Serwah Quaynor flew all the way from Ghana, Africa and has spent the last ten years developing what she now calls AACT (Autism, Awareness, Care and Training Center). Her son was born with autism and to have a child in Africa with special needs means you have done something wrong in your past life and the children are seen as a burden on society. She has battled the government, friends, family and even herself to understand her own child and to help others in her situation. AACT continues to serve children with autism and break down the barriers in Ghana.

Laura Kindregan (bottom-left) and the recipients of the Heartspring Award

Then there was Janet and Tom Verner who started Magicians Without Borders. They spend six months of the year performing magic shows for children in refugee camps, orphanages and hospitals around the world – often in war torn places where love, laughter and magic are desperately needed. They have performed to over 300,000 people since their humble beginning in 2001. They are truly imaginative and bringing smiles to forgotten people all around the world… very humbling.

From there, we traveled all the way to India with Indrani Basu. She made her first trip to America for this award. We learned about Calcutta and her organization working with children with autism. Children come to her school each day to learn for only $1.25/day. They are the only school for autistic children and have worked tirelessly to earn the respect and awareness they deserve. Indrani said she still works to explain autism and find new creative ways to raise awareness.

After that, Harold House from Indiana shared about his heart and interest in incarcerated youth and the program he created to bring hope into their lives and give them something to strive for in the future.

From Africa, to India, to DC with Geoff Mitchell who started Space Camp for Little People to Nepal with Virtue’s Children Nepal all the way to Colorado, AMAZING, right?!!

I was in awe of every person, project, heart and mind in the room. And this is just a glimpse into all that was shared!! I left feeling humbled, energized and ready to continue in my own pursuit of innovation and creativity. As nonprofits making a difference, look to these organizations and individuals for inspiration, creativity and a renewed sense of purpose, reaffirming your mission to make a difference.

Do you know what was most inspiring, Heartspring, a nonprofit just like the rest, giving back to other nonprofits and individuals striving for change and a better world. How cool!

- Laura Kindregan, Co-Founder, Amali PR

July's Rating Trend - Seize That Goal!

2009-07-22T08:15:00.000-06:00

Raters Demonstrate the Importance of Being a 'Go-Getter'

In recent months, we’ve spoken a lot about rating trends pertaining to the importance of management at a nonprofit. Whether it is leading by example, remembering the importance of specific recognition, or offering training and development to staff, leadership molds the organization and the experience of those who work there.

This month, however, raters reminded us that individuals play just as big a part in determining the direction of their own careers, especially within an organization. Initiative is one of the most critical tools in the career toolbox. By engaging in their own role development - seizing opportunities or carving out tasks that highlight their skills – staff members are much more likely to land the kinds of activities that align with their goals and interests.

Initiative becomes especially important in organizations where there is an expectation that staff will be go-getters, defining their own projects and responsibilities. For staff members who enjoy this kind of freedom, this can be a positive experience.

In a very high rating for the Committee for Justice Foundation, an Employee notes that it was “very interesting work for law students…” and that “…the director expects you to be able to train yourself and do excellent daily research, but is very supportive.” By understanding this expectation, the employee was able drive his or her own progress at the organization and to have a positive experience.

Yet, if the expectation has not been set, it can cause frustration and disappointment. Staff members who do not realize that they need to speak up for opportunities may end up stuck in a rut. Especially in cases when roles are not completely clear, it becomes even more important for staff members to assert what it is that interests them or that they would like to do.

An Intern from the Denver Center for Crime Victims laments “I regret doing my internship at this particular agency. I learned a lot but it was due to me [pursuing] the experiences I wanted.” Yet even this Intern notes that once s/he pursued the experiences, they were able to come away with increased knowledge.

By continually speaking up, staff members dramatically increase their chances of being assigned responsibilities that they enjoy. Although not always an easy path, it is worth the time invested to stick through the uncertainty and continually seek out these kinds of opportunities.

A Volunteer from the House Rabbit Society describes exactly this process:

“My initial volunteer hours here were a little rocky, but I persevered and am glad that I did. For the first two or three months I was frustrated by the lack of training I received, and by the lack of communication between staff and volunteers. For better or for worse, I was allowed to choose my own hours and activities- with little communication or direction regarding expectations or duties. I had to advocate for myself and assert my needs -a lot! but eventually I was able to match my own goals and needs as a volunteer with the goals and needs of HRS- and I am very glad that I stuck it through.”

How To Get There

If you find yourself in the midst of a summer internship feeling somewhat lackluster on the job, or if you’re an employee craving a slight shift in your day-to-day activities, start by dreaming up something you’d like to pursue and take the first steps to do it. You may be surprised how receptive others are to your initiative.

If you feel like you need approval for what you have in mind, make it easy on management to say ‘yes!’ Be sure to clearly describe the task, how it aligns with your goals, how it helps the organization and how you can do it (without infringing on your other responsibilities). If you present all of this – “you mean you’d be happy, and we’d gain (fill in the blank)?!” – chances are you will rapidly be on your way to doing something you truly enjoy.

July Newsletter: Crunching Numbers

2009-07-22T08:07:00.000-06:00

A look at iG ratings, numbers and trends to date

July brought more ratings, more users and lots more information. To help spread the data wealth, in addition to our usual sum-up, we've added a section on user demographics. Wondering if our Raters are those savvy, young gen-Xers you’d expect to find surfing the net? You may be surprised! Read on to find out more.

Welcome, Arizona: During July, we added a newcomer to the list of states with nonprofit ratings: Arizona! Ratings have now been received from 31 states! Colorado and California continue to lead the pack in terms of number of ratings, while North Carolina, Missouri and Indiana are closing the gap in second.

Income Ranges: The income span among rated organizations held steady, with the smallest and largest organizations receiving more ratings than ‘mid-sized’ orgs.

Less than $500K Annual Income: 35% (+5% since June)
$500K-$1.5M Annual Income: 19% (No change)
$1.5M-$5M Annual Income: 14% (+3% since June)
$5M or greater Annual Income: 32% (-2% since June)

(New!) Meet our Raters: This month we became more curious about who is rating their nonprofit experiences and thought we’d share the findings. We hypothesized that raters would typically be in their 20s (the ‘internet’ generation) with 5 or so years of experience. To our surprise, more than half - 51% - of our raters are over the age of 38. Just 29% of iG raters are 29 years of age or younger. Moreover, our users are very experienced. According to their self-selected options during registration, 46% of users have 15 or more years of total Work Experience. However, the majority of raters – 46% - have only 0-5 years of Nonprofit Work Experience. This seems to indicate a cross-over of older raters from the for-profit sector to the non-profit sector.

Higher Highs: The breakdown of positive vs. negative scores is holding steady with last month, with 31% of raters giving their experience a 3.9 or less, and 69% of raters rating a 4.0 or higher. Once again, the mid-range (3.0-4.9 scores) of ratings is getting little attention as scores typically trend either very high or very low. Of low scores, 86% were 2.9 or lower. Of high scores, 83% were a 5.0 or higher.

July’s Rating Trend: While recently we’ve seen a lot of trends pertaining to the impact of leadership at an organization – whether it be leadership methods of recognition, leading by example, or staff development – yet this month we noted several ratings that spoke to the importance of an individual’s impact on their own career. Especially at organizations where roles are not clearly defined, initiative and assertiveness become critical. Hear more from our raters in this month’s rating trend – Seize That Goal! Raters Demonstrate the Importance of Being a 'Go-Getter'.

Ask Jim: How do I know if employee deadlines are reasonable?

2009-07-16T08:27:00.000-06:00

Executive coach and founder of Executive Roundtables, Jim Taft, answers readers' questions on management, business and personnel challenges. Do you have a question you'd like to send to Jim? Contact us.

Dear Jim -
I'm managing an employee (who is himself a manager) who I think is really reluctant to set reasonable deadlines. I ask if a deliverable can be completed by a certain date - and every time he adds 2-3 weeks. Worse, sometimes I pass his computer and notice him surfing the net. I feel like he sets deadlines to give him lots of free time/no pressure. I haven't said anything yet because - since I'm not totally familiar with what he's working on - I'm not sure if he really DOES need that extra time. How do I get an accurate picture of what's really going on...or encourage him to be more ambitious?

Thank you,
Discouraged in Denver

---
Discouraged in Denver -

As the saying goes, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”* First, get to know your manager better. This important step can save you from making many mistaken assumptions.

Start by gathering information. Review the manager’s job description, personnel file (not the confidential portions) and his previous performance reviews. Talk to his previous boss(es) and ask questions so that you can clearly understand what the manager is required to do and to find out how the manger has handled his duties in the past. You may even tactfully speak with his peers and direct reports asking open ended questions about how they think things are going in your manager’s department.

Hold a frank, not accusatory, discussion with the manager. It is perfectly within reason to ask the manager in-depth questions about his duties and pressures so you can understand him and his operation better; a list of the projects he’s working on, his perspective on his responsibilities, etc. With each of you holding a copy of his job description, ask him to rate himself on how well he is doing in each area. If you have treated your employee in a respectful, non-threatening way, he will likely tell you exactly how he is doing. This review gives you both a clearer understanding of what is expected of him and his comfort level.

If he is overburdened, the problem is one of helping him handle his workload – perhaps bringing in more resources on a temporary or full-time basis. Keep in mind that an employee that was motivated and suddenly isn’t, may be suffering from a health or personal crisis. This could include simple “burn out.” Lastly, see if your manger is upset because he thought he should have been promoted to the position you now hold.

If you find that his job description is reasonable, that there is no personal crisis and that there is no reason why he shouldn’t be able to complete his work in a timely fashion, you have a personnel management challenge to deal with.

The poorer the manager performs the closer you need to be - to him and to his activities.

Consider starting a weekly one-to-one meeting with the manager to review his work. Focus on:
(a) What has he accomplished since your last meeting
(b) What is he working on for the next week and
(c) How can you help him accomplish what is coming up.
The weight of the discussion should be mostly on item (b) – the future. In this discussion also review priorities to make sure the manager is focusing on the most important work first.

If you are convinced that the manager has more capacity than he admits, set completion dates closer to your expectations, not his. If you set earlier deadlines and he continues to miss them, the work may be doable, just not by him. This may mean developing a Performance Improvement Plan, making it clear to the manager that the person who holds his position must be able to meet faster performance standards.

Continue or increase the frequency of your one-to-one meetings as needed until he either begins to improve his performance or you reach a decision point about whether or not he’s in the right position.

Keep in mind that all employees should be treated as adults who have agreed to fulfill a job description in exchange for certain remuneration. It is the boss’ responsibility to be sure that the company (be it for-profit or non-profit) is living up to its obligations in this relationship and that the employee is living up to theirs.

Although I believe ambition is internally driven by each individual, the boss can create an atmosphere where good policies, respect, rewards and clear direction will allow employees to motivate themselves and thrive.

Sincerely,
Jim Taft
Founder and CEO, Executive Roundtables

Jim Taft, Executive Roundtables

2009-07-16T08:18:00.000-06:00

Jim is the owner of Executive Roundtables - a peer-support-group service for company owners and senior executives. The company provides Executive Coaching (a one-to-one development service for owners, senior managers and middle managers), as well as facilitation services for business planning and training.

He is also a career consultant with Drake Beam Morin (DBM) a leading global outplacement, coaching, and career management firm with offices in 85 countries.

Prior to forming Executive Roundtables, Jim held a variety of management positions: Executive Director of the San Diego World Affairs Council, an educational non-profit specializing in international relations; Regional Sales Manager for National Home Loan Mortgage Corporation; Director of Business Operations for America’s Cup ’92; and during 14 years with HomeFed Bank in San Diego he held the responsibilities of Managing Director of a real estate brokerage franchise subsidiary, senior officer in the secondary market division, senior officer under contract to the FSLIC managing a savings and loan located in Miami, Florida, Merger Coordinator, loan marketing manager, head of affirmative lending, and Loan Officer.

Jim lives in San Diego, California and can be reached at jim@executiveroundtables.com

Jim Taft
Founder & CEO, Executive Roundtables
http://www.executiveroundtables.com/

Guest Post, Caryn Capriccioso: Who’s learning what?

2009-07-13T16:22:00.000-06:00

Educating the Nonprofit and For-profit Sectors about each other

With a trend toward increased development of socially responsible businesses, it’s no wonder that more and more business schools are adding classes or areas of study focused on this topic.

Master of Business Administration programs now include everything from an MBA in Organizational and Environmental Sustainability (Antioch University, New England) to one emphasizing sustainable business (City University of Seattle) to a curriculum focused on social responsibility at the University of Colorado LEEDS School of Business. According to The Aspen Institute’s Beyond Grey Pinstripes 2007-2008 (http://www.beyondgreypinstripes.org/rankings/bgp_2007_2008.pdf), a full 67% of schools surveyed “require students to take a course dedicated to business and society issues,” up from 34% in 2001.

Business students are, in effect, learning more about the nonprofit sector–or at least more about the social constructs and ideals nonprofits seek to uphold. My concern lies with whether nonprofit management students and professionals have the same level of exposure to business principles and metrics.

While I am thrilled at the trend toward more socially aware, sustainability-focused MBAs (heck, interSector Partners, L3C is built on the very premise of bringing the best of the sectors together!), I have an uneasy feeling that nonprofit folks are going to be driven out of their careers by a new generation of graduates who fundamentally “get” both sides of the equation – they want to make a difference and they know how to work the systems (accounting, legal, finance, HR, etc.) to do it efficiently and effectively.

This is not another attempt to say that nonprofits need to be more business-like. My intention is to highlight the fact that if nonprofits can’t function in both sectors, there are others who can and will.

Instead of attending yet another fundraising seminar, an academy focused on leading a nonprofit or nonprofit “business”, or a training like “marketing for nonprofits,” what if social sector professionals asked for more? What if they called their state associations, talked with community foundations and local universities or sat down with area consultants and said:

“We need to get up to speed on how to run this business that is our nonprofit.”
“The walls are closing in on us, everyone is claiming social purpose and we’re concerned we’ll get squeezed out if we don’t step up our game!”
“Help us succeed. We’ll pay the same $79 to learn about management principles and practices as we’ll pay to learn how to reenergize our board!”
“Show us how to scale our programs, how to replicate, how to turn our products and services into money-makers in support of our mission.”
“There’s real opportunity to make significant social change if we’re all functioning at the same level; help us get there!”

In short, what if nonprofit leaders demanded the level of understanding about the business sector that business students are gaining about the social sector? Demand for services breeds services. My guess is that all social sector leaders really need to do is demonstrate that the demand exists.

~ Caryn Capriccioso, Co-Founder, InterSector Partners L3C

The Online Scheduling Tool your Volunteers Want You to Use

2009-07-09T13:19:00.000-06:00

VolunteerSpot meets volunteer coordinator needs in an online tool…for free.

Isn’t it great when you come across an organization that takes an idea and delivers it in a slam dunk?

Introducing VolunteerSpot – an online tool for volunteer scheduling, sign-ups and reminders.

Launched just a few months ago, it has already helped coordinate the hours of more than 40,000 volunteers.

Perhaps more surprising – and refreshing? – is that VolunteerSpot is a for-profit company. According to founder Karen Bantuveris, VolunteerSpot wants to be a sustainable entity that doesn’t compete against other nonprofits for funding, but is a successful enterprise in its own right.

The team at iG could not be more thrilled to find a fellow for-profit that has seized upon a niche nonprofit need and is delivering on it so well. Perhaps more importantly, we hope that the organizational enhancements that VolunteerSpot offers to Volunteer Coordinators will improve volunteer management and retention for nonprofits everywhere.

Did we mention you can use VolunteerSpot for free?

Don’t wait another minute – check out a great way to bring your Volunteer program to a whole new level of sophistication and efficiency!

Guest Post, Laura Kindregan: From 'P' to 'R'

2009-07-07T15:54:00.000-06:00

Laura shares her insights on taking your PR from Publicity to Relationship

I decided after years of being in the public relations industry to refresh my memory and look up the definition of what it truly means to be in public relations. According to the ever faithful Wikipedia, public relations “is the practice of managing the flow of information between an organization and its publics.”

I actually like this definition. It’s a combination of managing information and organizing it in a way the public will grasp. My job is to literally take information provided and turn it into something that is worth telling and ultimately will take hold in our minds.

We all want to share a story we feel will help define how we, and those around us, view the world. Most would agree with me when I say that I like to see the news stories that make me feel good. The stories that leave a scar usually keep me from engaging. The reality is, even the best of nonprofits have stories that make us feel uncomfortable, yet leave a mark on our hearts and need to be told. It is those stories and people that make up my job as a PR specialist.

I look for the creative, touching stories that I believe will raise the eyebrows of reporters looking for the next best thing to put their name on, while encouraging donations and engagement in the organization.

In Colorado, we have over 20,000 nonprofits (and growing) vying for media attention. Does that make my job harder? Yes to some degree, yet more enticing because I have the chance to be picky about the stories I tell and excited when someone picks it up.

Most people would say PR is all about relationships. And I would agree. Developing meaningful relationships in the media, the community and with donors for your organization is critical to securing any type of exposure or community support.

To give you an example, two years ago a good friend of mine was a contestant on Oprah’s reality show called The Big Give. Using Oprah’s name, the idea was to go from city to city and pick various non profits or individuals with a story and help them raise money and bring exposure to their cause.

To make a long story short, the show came to Denver and Steve, my friend, called me to help. They had chosen a charity called the Denver Children’s Home and our challenge was to raise as much money in 48 hours as possible. When Steve called me to step in, the first thing that popped in my head was what relationships in the public do I have that will help. Just as the definition implies…

After two days of phone calls, making contacts, calling the media, and asking friends to donate, we raised over $100,000 through cash and in-kind donations. The amazing two days left me feeling good about our work and the exposure we had brought to DCH. Today, because of the show, Steve and the other contestants are still involved and assisting with a capital campaign.

So, be creative, reach out and build relationships. It will take you far. Public relations is fun and it’s a chance to share stories that would otherwise go unseen or unread. Each organization has a unique story to tell, I encourage you to step out and tell your story. If you feel like you need someone with outside eyes and a new slant, please, let me know, I would be happy to help.

Laura Kindregan
Co-Founder, Amali PR

June - Crunching Numbers

2009-06-17T00:01:00.001-06:00

A look at iG ratings, numbers and trends to date

It’s not just summer that’s heating up! June brought a lot of activity and changes to iG; new states, new orgs, and new spreads in the scores. Read on for all of the data details.

They Come In 3’s: June saw three new states added to the iG list of ratings: Georgia, Kentucky and Maine (Welcome!). iG has now received ratings from 30 states! Another interesting thing happened this month: in terms of the number of ratings, the usual nonprofit ‘hubs’ of New York and D.C. were surpassed by North Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania.

Big & Small: The income span among rated organizations grew larger in June as well. Very large and very small organizations continued to gather more ratings than their ‘mid-sized’ counterparts.

Less than $500K Annual Income: 30% (+2% since May)
$500K-$1.5M Annual Income: 19% (+1% since May)
$1.5M-$5M Annual Income: 12% (-3% since May)
$5M or greater Annual Income: 34% (+2% since May)

A Little Less Praise: And the scores? We saw a slight up-tick in the number of negative ratings from April to May, and the same is true this month. Thirty percent of raters gave organizations a 3.9 or lower (on a 6.0 scale) – an increase of about 4% from last month (after a 2% increase from April to May). Of positive ratings of 4.0 or higher, 65% of raters gave organizations a score between 5.1 and 5.9. Among low ratings, raters gave a more even spread with nearly 40% giving a 1.0 and 40% giving a 2.0. What does the concentration of high ratings, but the even spread of low ratings, indicate to you?

June’s Rating Trend: We noticed again the emphasis on recognition in ratings but with an important addition – the impact of leadership. Leadership – both good and bad – has been frequently mentioned as a major factor at play in staff, volunteer and donor experiences. Therefore, for this month’s Trend Article – Leading by Example - we’ve decided to focus on the leadership role and explore the ways in which leaders can impede or propel their organization’s progress.

June's Rating Trend - Leading By Example

2009-06-16T23:54:00.001-06:00

The impact of leadership on organization character

Earlier this month, guest blogger Laura Kindregan proposed a direct relationship between the quality of an organization's leadership and its success. After analyzing user ratings this month, we couldn't help but notice a similar sentiment among our raters.

A notable number of ratings repeatedly described great and poor experiences as related to leadership and how it drove the organization’s atmosphere and treatment of employees and clients. Leaders are often described in conjunction with the organization's expectations or characteristics of care, work ethic, attitude, behavior and more.

A Volunteer for American Indian Health and Family Services of Southeastern MI (Detroit, MI) references the director when describing the genuine care that the organization shows to staff and clients: “Everyone here is caring, loving, and sincere in their work and mission. I have to say this is the first non-profit that I have ever been to that everyone here including the wonderful director…takes a personal interest in everyone’s success…the way they care for everyone is so refreshing…”

Similarly, a Donor for the Homeless Children’s Education Fund (Pittsburgh, PA) remarks on the uniqueness of the appreciation s/he feels at the organization, and immediately references the top-quality leadership: “Unlike other organizations that I have been involved with (as a volunteer & donor) I feel that my efforts and dollars…are appreciated even though I am not a high net-worth, A-list society person. Our family has been very impressed with the leadership & the direction that this organization has taken since we've been involved with (approximately 5 years.)…”

Although individuals below the leadership level can have a positive effect on the ways the organization recognizes and treats staff and clients, their effect is often less impactful than a leader’s or may even be hindered by the poor actions of leadership.

At the Hyde School (Bath, Maine), an Employee describes the lack of leadership skills that are impeding the forward progress of the organization: “Hyde has a strong mission but being a family business tends to interfere with the ability for the mission to be effectively and efficiently carried out. There are many great things about the organization but the nepotism and the lack of business savvy might not allow the organization to realize its potential...”

A low Intern rating for the Legal Information Network for Cancer (Richmond, VA) hits the point directly: “Disorganization & poor communication common. Leadership lacking. Interns/employees not valued.”

Leadership is a critical factor in an organization, but excellence in leadership is hardly a feat easily achieved. Perhaps as a start, leaders should try to be earnestly aware of the ways in which their attitude, personality and actions effect the organization. Leaders may need to ask themselves the hard questions: “Am I a fit for this role?” “Am I helping or hindering this organization by continuing to lead it?”

Though not always an easy path, becoming a quality leader is absolutely possible and, when put in place at a nonprofit, can help the entire organization to thrive.

What experiences have you had with leadership at nonprofits? Do these ratings resonate with you?

Guest Post: There Is No "They" Here

2009-06-15T09:44:00.000-06:00

The subtle effect of language on organizational culture

As a consultant to nonprofits, I spend a fair amount of time interviewing nonprofit stakeholders. Much like insideGOOD, I work to gauge people’s opinions and learn how people connect to and feel about their nonprofit. Over the last few months, I’ve noticed an alarming trend. At interSector Partners, L3C, we call it the “they/them” phenomenon.

Is it fear? Feeling disconnected? Dealing with personal fall-out from the economic downturn? We’re not sure, but more and more often board members, volunteers and, yes, even staff, are responding to questions about their nonprofit with some version of the following:

"They do a pretty good job with the after-school program."
"Last time I checked, their campaign seemed to be going well."
"If only they would figure out what to do with Amanda, everything would be better over there."

We are stunned by this lack of ownership, by this distancing of oneself. Board members saying “they” when referring to the organization for which they are legally responsible! Staff talking in terms of “theirs” and “mine” so regularly it’s starting to sound normal to us. Volunteers so disconnected that nearly every interaction they have with a nonprofit is with “them.”

A lifetime ago when I was in college, a sociology professor talked of a study* wherein a research firm called university dorms the day after a big game with one simple question: “Who won?” On the day after a win, the response was typically, “We won.” On the day after a loss, the vast majority of people said, “They lost.” People associated with the winners and disassociated from the losers.

Imagine how that concept translates to your nonprofit. When your staff or board members speak about your organization as some group separate from themselves, they are in effect saying “they lost.” Language is an extremely powerful force that can bring people together or separate them, connect them or leave them feeling disengaged.

At interSector Partners, L3C, we’re addressing the “they/them” phenomenon head on. We’re challenging our clients to remember there is no “they” here. We’re asking folks to not be fair weather fans, but to build ownership and respect for their nonprofit by recognizing and honoring their position by speaking positively, consistently—and often!—about the organization in inclusive, warm terms.

I encourage you to do the same. Work with your staff or board to embrace a “we win” focus. Share this blog post. Discuss it as a group. Make the fundamental shift from “them” to “us” from “they” to “we” – it will make a difference as together you move down the field toward achieving your mission. You’re all on the same team, after all.

*I’ve yet to track down this study to cite it in our work. If you can find it, I’ll buy coffee and we’ll brainstorm your latest NPO idea!

- Caryn Capriccioso, MNM
interSector Partners, L3C

Caryn Capriccioso, interSector Partners, L3C

2009-06-15T09:32:00.000-06:00

Caryn’s 20 years of nonprofit and government experience has focused on strategic and business planning, board governance, organizational development, fundraising, social enterprise/earned income strategies and building cross-sector partnerships. Caryn’s approach focuses on meeting organizations where they are and honoring their past while simultaneously challenging them toward strategic and sustainable futures. Her career includes positions as an executive director, development director and program staff as well as over 10 years of consulting with nonprofits and municipal government agencies.

Caryn holds her master of nonprofit management from Regis University. She is certified in the Skilled Facilitator and Technology of Participation facilitation methods. Caryn currently serves on the board of Social Venture Partners Boulder County.

Caryn Capriccioso, MNM
Principal Partner, interSector Partners, L3C
http://www.intersectorL3C.com/

interSector Partners, L3C

interSector Partners, L3C may be a new business, but its principal partners have provided consulting services to Colorado nonprofits and companies for several decades. Caryn Capriccioso and Rick Zwetsch have nearly 50 years of combined experience working with nonprofits, for profits and municipal governments. interSector Partners, L3C was born out of our belief that these sectors can learn a lot from one another and that true opportunity for building a better world lies in a combined social, environmental and economic bottom line. Services of this social-purpose business include:

Strategic & business planning
Organizational development
Board development
Marketing and communications
Earned income strategy
Fundraising consultation
Social responsibility consulting
Cross-sector partnerships
Facilitation and training

Social Media Marketing - End of Month 1

2009-06-12T13:38:00.000-06:00

Tracking results for our social media marketing over the month of May/June

We extended our update to span 1-month at a time – we figured it would be easier to see the trends over a longer period with more data.

First, what we did…

Facebook
For shame, we were fairly terrible at remembering to update our Facebook page. Over the past 4 weeks, we made 7 updates.

Blog
The blog was much easier – and fun – to update. We still appreciate it as an opportunity to raise important issues and discussions as well. This month we posted 9 blog entries. We definitely decreased the time required to write blogs as well (recently slammed 2 out in 30 minutes). This month, we have started to add Guest Blogsand are curious to see if it drives an increase in traffic.

Twitter
We have become even bigger fans of Twitter! We submitted 18 tweets, met some great organizations and have increased our followers from about 21 to 61 in just 4 weeks.

The Totals
The results for the past month are as follows:

Social Media	Submissions	% Week 1 Traffic	% of Monthly Traffic
Facebook	7 Entries	0%	0.1%
Blog	9 Entries	1.0%	4%
Twitter	18 Tweets	2.1%	3.3%

There has been a definite increase in the percent of traffic week-to-week. It will be interesting to see if these avenues become more significant contributors as their momentum grows.

Are you guys having similar experiences?

Guest Post: The Heart of an Executive Director

2009-06-08T20:27:00.000-06:00

Is passion enough to successfully lead a nonprofit?

For the last three years I have experienced the nonprofit industry from a variety of angles… I have helped start them, fix them, promote them and work for them. In all that, the common denominator for every organization has been the Executive Director (ED).

I continue to ask myself, what is the role of an ED and who should that person be – I mean what qualifications make someone perfect for the role?

I have found an ED is usually the person who either founded or help find the organization, has a lot of experience in the nonprofit industry or someone whose qualifications in business have, for one reason or another, directed them to nonprofits.

To backup, I started amali, a communications firm primarily to help nonprofits. Why did I start amali? Well, it’s a long story, one in which involves musicians, film and the nonprofits that have arose as a result of the passion in the industries. I found a disconnect among organizations who understand how to relate to businesses, their donors, volunteers, their staff and most importantly the culture around them. At the head of all of that, is the ED. Their leadership often defines the successes or failures of an organization over time.

My husband is a professional mountain bike racer who has a heart for the nonprofit world in an industry otherwise fairly bleak. We constantly ask ourselves what does that look like for us? Should we start our own nonprofit so we can give back in a way that is legit? Or do we continue to “give back” and support those around us doing it right? We evaluate whether an organization is “doing it right” by the leadership – ie. the ED and staff of the organization and the overall perception in the community. All of these questions lead me to our conversation about ED’s and what a great nonprofit needs to be successful.

One thing I know for sure is the passion for an organization does not necessarily equate to one’s ability to run a nonprofit. It’s like the book the Emyth. For those who are not familiar with it, it is a fascinating book about entrepreneurs and their ability to run a business solely based upon their passion or interest for a business. For instance, if I like to bake cookies, it doesn’t necessarily mean I should open a bakery. Although the model isn’t always true, I do believe there is truth in the fact that nonprofits need someone who both understands business and has a passion for the cause – it’s a fine balance.

For the last six months I have been working with Adam’s Camp as their Assistant Director. They were established over 23 years ago, created to serve kids with special needs and their families through intensive therapy and recreational camps in Colorado - an amazing organization that has truly given families hope and tools to move forward. Why have they been successful? Well, in my short time with them, without a doubt I can say, Karel Horney, the ED is doing everything right. She understands her Board of Directors, has amazing relationships, knows how to fundraise, is open to creative ideas and evolves with culture and most of all has a passion for the organization (Adam is her son). She is an ED who started Adam’s Camp, who knows and understands the balance between incorporating business into her heart for the cause.

Many organizations, like businesses, fail because they don’t understand the relationship between business and passion and are only skilled at one area or the other. Your heart for the cause has to be the center of why you are there, but in order to be successful, you have to fuel your passion by understanding what it takes to make the organization run.

I challenge you, as nonprofit industry leaders to set yourselves apart by being an organization who understands the balance between your heart for the cause and running the organization.

- iG Guest Blogger: Laura Kindregan, Amali

Laura Kindregan, Amali PR

2009-06-08T20:11:00.000-06:00

I am a Colorado native and went to college in the Midwest - Miami of Ohio. After school, I moved back to Denver and pursued politics for two years – land-use lobbying; advising political campaigns; and all around community relations.

I then became a publicist and manager for musician Braddigan and helped organize the final concert for a band named Dispatch. It attracted 110,000 fans from 22 countries around the world… the largest independent music event in history.

While in the music industry I became involved with various non-profit organizations around the world. amali came as the result of a trip to Nicaragua and the children that grabbed hold of my heart. I came home and knew I wanted to start a public relations firm with a twist… one that helped people who are making a difference tell their story.

Three years have passed and amali has evolved into managing athletes, promoting films, and assisting corporations PR and their connection to the community. Nonprofits continue to be a primary focus.

I have found over the years, we, meaning people, have a desire for those around us to know who we are, what we’re about, who we care about and we want to share it with the world, but need a little help in doing so. That’s what’s we are about at amali.

I look forward to getting to know you and helping you in anyway I can.

Laura Kindregan

Founder, Amali

http://www.amalipr.com/

Social Media Marketing - GiveForward Case Study

2009-06-01T08:20:00.000-06:00

Learn from GiveForward's experiences and make your marketing count

I recently had the pleasure of sharing marketing strategies with Ethan Austin, Co-Founder and “Second Banana” at GiveForward, a website where Fundraisers can set-up pages to raise funds for the causes they care about and Donors can contribute money online as well as receive exciting project updates.

Whereas iG has focused on very particular social media marketing channels (an update to come shortly), GiveForward has reached out into many more avenues. We wanted to share Ethan’s broader experience because we believe it may help many of you in your marketing efforts!

Check out Ethan’s experiences below – and don’t forget to visit GiveForward!
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TWITTER: In terms of generating new user accounts on our site, we've found that we've had a really high conversion rate from Twitter. We're big fans. (To follow - @ethanaustin or @GiveForward)

FACEBOOK: We’re still not really sure how to best utilize Facebook. We get a ton of clicks from Facebook (it's our largest single referring website) but the conversion rate is terrible. We do get a lot of donations coming from people on Facebook, but not a lot of new users.

OUR BLOG: We usually post about one blog entry per week. We usually do a fundraising tip of the week and occasionally we'll write about GiveForward news. ..One major benefit we have derived from the blog is that we add tags to blog posts so that GiveForward appears higher on natural Google search results. We get a decent amount of new user accounts from people searching for terms like "online fundraising" and "how to create a personal fundraising page". These users generally find us from Google. Also, these people typically stay on the site much longer than the average person.

WORD OF MOUTH: Since we have no money to advertise, most of our new users come from recommendations and word of mouth. Once we have new users on the site, we shower them with attention and build strong relationships with our users. It's something we take pride in. In turn, they end up telling others about GiveForward. It's been by far the most successful form of marketing for us.

PRESS: We've had some really nice articles in the press about our site. Press always helps but of course, the impact is fleeting.

DIRECT: Once in a blue moon, we'll email people directly telling them about our site. I went on Craigslist yesterday and emailed a few people. The conversion rates are usually really high. Of course, the downside is it's time consuming and you can't reach 1000s of people...

FACEBOOK ADS: Failed miserably

PRINTED AD: In a runner's magazine -- failed

GOOGLE ADWORDS: Haven't tried yet
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If you have had similar experiences to those above, or have ideas for Ethan and GiveForward, drop us a comment below - we'd love to hear from you.

To Get Money, First 'Think' Money

2009-05-28T21:05:00.000-06:00

Monetizing the value-added services your nonprofit provides

I was recently speaking with Matt Buchanan of Tuggl who told me about an experience he had in a discussion group on revenue streams for nonprofits. One woman, particularly distressed, shared how her nonprofit was drawing dangerously close to running out of funds. They had tried grants, scholarships, private donations, but it wasn’t enough.

She went on to describe her organization’s function: to provide auto repair job-training for ex-offenders. The group, seeing a readily available commercial service, proposed that she offer discount auto-repair, bringing in revenue and giving students valuable practice. Better yet, why not contract out to local auto repair shops in the area that support the cause, providing shop owners with discount labor while giving the students critical employment connections?

The look on the woman’s face said it all. She had never thought of it.

What gems do you have amidst the activities your nonprofit provides? Are you losing funds where you could be making them?

Especially amidst the increasingly tense debate on applying business models to non-profits, I think many in the nonprofit sector have developed an aversion to monetizing services. Of the nonprofits you know or have worked at, what time was spent pursuing grants and donations vs. developing monetization strategies? Was any time spent on monetization at all?

This is about more than making money – it’s about increasing diversification of the organization’s portfolio of funds, creating a more stable fiscal environment. Additionally, like the case above, monetization can integrate nonprofits deeper into the community, extending partnerships outside of the social sector. These companies wouldn't just be supporting nonprofits, they would be investing in business relationships (in which both organizations can learn and grow).

With a steady business income, an organization can make more realistic projections, comfortably nudge salaries higher, and even become more adept at applying other models to benefit the mission.

Give it a try. Unabashedly, unashamedly, imagine how your nonprofit could sell its services to make money. Ask others for their ideas. Even if you think there aren’t any opportunities, by opening up to the possibility of monetization you may just find a golden goose right under your nose.

- Katie Taft, CEO, insideGOOD

May's Rating Trend - The Meaningful 'Thank You'

2009-05-18T19:45:00.001-06:00

iG Raters repeatedly give Recognition low scores - why?

This month’s trend focuses on the Recognition rating category. Across high and low organization scores, the ratings in this category are consistently the lowest. So what’s going on?
As ratings show us, recognition is not always about thank you notes or appreciation lunches. According to our raters, it is more about being valued for the work they do and the contributions they make. The iG Recognition category includes questions on activities like performance reviews and merit-based promotion for just this reason. Our research shows that ‘thank you’s for simply making a contribution have less of an impact than recognizing the type and quality of an individual’s work and effort.
For many organizations, this is surprising. Does this mean that we should recognize when one volunteer does a better job than another? The answer is, yes! By rewarding the quality of contributions, an organization’s performance level is raised, and staff (both paid and unpaid) are encouraged to provide quality work, knowing that they will be recognized for having done so.

Perhaps not surprisingly, very few raters even mention being ‘thanked’ in their scores. The majority of Rater comments about recognition refer to having their quality of work identified and/or the organization communicating the connection between the rater’s contributions and the overall success of the organization – making the rater feel valued.

This volunteer at Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania was one of the few raters to actually mention being thanked, but s/he does so in the context of understanding the role and how it contributed to the organization’s success: “The volunteer coordinator at that time was very nice and helpful, always thanked me for my work, and explained my tasks well so that I understood what was expected and how it fit into the organization's current work.”

An employee at Good Shepherd Human Society in Arkansas praises the organization for putting her in a position that allowed her to make the best use of her skills, and for recognizing her contributions: “…Everyone allows me to do what I can do and everyone appreciates what I do."
For many raters, part of recognition is an understanding of the sacrifices of personal time they make in order to contribute to the organization. We found this rater’s comment from Equine-Assisted Therapy in Missouri very interesting: “They understand when breaks are needed and welcome you back without making you feel guilty for leaving in the first place.”
If you are looking to improve a recognition program, try factoring in efforts to recognize quality of performance and types of contributions made. In terms of organizational culture, recognizing what was done may have a far greater impact than simply expressing gratitude that something was done.

Crunching Numbers - May 2009

2009-05-18T19:32:00.000-06:00

A look at iG Ratings, Numbers and Trends

May was an exciting month at iG. We received compelling and insightful ratings, many from new locations, and spotted some interesting trends as well. Read on for all the details.

Welcome, Tennessee!: iG added a new state to the roster of ratings this month: Tennessee. This brings the total number of states on iG with nonprofit ratings to 27! In terms of the number of ratings received, top of the list continues to be Colorado and California. Oregon, New York and D.C. are inching up in second, followed by Washington, North Carolina and Indiana.

Big & Small: Both large and small organizations continue to be rated on iG. While the distribution is fairly even, a slightly greater number of organizations have incomes at the smallest and largest ends of the scale:

Less than $500K Annual Income: 29% (-3% from April)
$500K-$1.5M Annual Income: 18% (+2% from April)
$1.5M-$5M Annual Income: 15% (+1% from April)
$5M or greater Annual Income: 32% (-2% from April)

Staying High: How are scores looking this month? Similar to April, the majority of ratings are positive. Twenty-six percent of raters gave organizations a 3.9 or lower (on a 6.0 scale), while 74% rated their experience a 4.0 or higher. Among raters giving low scores – 3.9 or lower – more than 80% of them were very low (2.9 or lower). Among high scores, the vast majority were in the 5.0 range. Could this mean that low scoring raters are very unhappy, while high scoring raters are very happy? Or are raters simply adjusting scores to stand out? Something to consider…

Trend O’The Month: As usual, this was a tough choice since we see so many repeating topics across ratings. However, for this month’s trend, we turned to our database to offer more insight - looking at trends across rating categories. These numbers demonstrated that out of the seven rating categories, two in particular consistently scored poorly for raters, whether the overall organization rating was low or high. The two categories were: My Development and Recognition.

The issue of poor Development relates back to last month’s noticeable trend on the importance of training. So, for this month, we thought we’d focus on the trends we’re seeing in the area of Recognition. For more detailed information, check out May’s Rating Trend – The Meaningful ‘Thank You’.

Key Ingredient for Change - A Tribe

2009-05-11T20:17:00.000-06:00

Seth Godin's approach to starting and spreading a movement

We see very few pragmatic approaches to 'spreading a movement' - yet Seth Godin delivers it handily in 17 minutes with an effective dose of inspiration as well.

As Seth summarizes:
1. Who exactly are you upseting? Because if you're not upseting anyone, you're not changing the status quo.
2. Who are you connecting? Because for a lot of people, that's what they're in it for.
3. Who are you leading? Because focusing on that part of it...is where change comes.

If you have 17 minutes, it will be well spent.

Managing Director of Garage Technology Ventures shares approach to milestones

2009-05-07T17:15:00.000-06:00

Related to our last post on tracking milestones, we thought we'd share Guy Kawasaki's take on how to outline priorities.

We often view nonprofits as entrepreneurial in nature, seeing lots of overlap between challenges for "start-ups" and for "nonprofits". Therefore, Guy's approach to milestones, assumptions and tasks could be especially useful in a nonprofit setting.

Managers: In a down economy, milestones have a buoyant effect

2009-05-05T20:20:00.000-06:00

Passionate employees are sustained by impact.

Some leaders may have noticed that the downward trend in their balance sheet has been accompanied by another troubling downward shift – that of employee morale.

The struggling economy is felt at all levels of an organization and may affect day-to-day work. As management studies have shown, when staff members are fearful or under intense stress it can result in increased sick days, decreased productivity, and the snuffing-out of innovation.

Nonprofit personnel may feel these challenges most acutely. In a sector where the majority of staff (paid and unpaid) are driven by their passion for the cause, shrinking staff levels and extra work, combined with decreasing ability to deliver to clients in need, become quite the double-whammy to organizational confidence.

YOU CAN SEE THE SOLUTION
What can already overburdened leaders do to improve the situation? Quite simply: track, identify and celebrate the accomplishments of the organization.

For nonprofit employees, there is perhaps no greater motivator than knowing that their contributions continue to make a difference in the community and/or the lives of others.

A critical part of the leadership role, particularly in mission-driven settings, is maintaining and conveying the vision of the organization, and the achievement of that vision.

VISION MILESTONES
The best way to instill this sense of achievement is to create milestones - goals at each phase of the organization's work - which clearly demonstrate forward momentum.

Milestones assist leaders in showing that the organization is focused, progressing and inclusive. Leaders can use milestones to convey important messages, such as:

“We still know where we’re going”: Use milestones to outline path markers on the road to near and long-term vision achievement.

“We’re still on the path”: Assess changes caused by financial impact and find ways in which these set-backs can be leveraged into the accomplishment of milestones.

“We’re still accomplishing our goals”: When a milestone is reached, highlight it to the entire organizatrion. Even if it was delayed or reduced in scope, the work matters.

“You are still an important part of these achievements”: Identify how everyone contributes to these milestones and recognize it – through a thank you email, at a staff meeting, or in a handshake.

When the external impact of an organization is felt internally by staff members, the resulting confidence, commitment and enthusiasm can have constructive effects on the success of the organization and the communities which it serves.

Quick and Easy Way to Monitor What People are Saying about You Online

2009-05-01T19:44:00.000-06:00

Search your organization's name on 20 different search engines, automatically

All we need to say is “Dominoes” and you’ll get the point of this post. The fiasco was a good reminder that we all need to be more aware of our public reputation in the Web world...but for each of us the question now becomes, “how can I monitor the internet to know when people are talking about me/my organization?”

There are actually many ways to do this – some free, some not. Since lots of people have been talking about Carie Lewis’ comment on monitoring via RSS feeds in a recent Chronicle of Philanthropy article , we thought we’d start there.

HOW THIS WORKS

Carie mentioned monitoring what people say about the Humane Society of the United States through her RSS feed on her iGoogle page. For you RSS newbies out there, this is what happens.

An RSS newsfeed ‘reader’ is an online page that basically compiles all of the RSS Feeds (a.k.a. blogs, newsfeeds, etc) to which you subscribe.

For example, if you have subscribed to 5 blogs, when you go to your ‘reader’ page, there will be a list of the 5 blogs down the side (or someplace on the page) with summaries of all of their recent posts.

Just like telling your ‘reader’ – “hey, tell me when one of these blogs has a new post” – you can tell your 'reader' – “hey, tell me when these search engines find a match for this [search term]”. The 'reader' says ‘sure’ (or ‘heck ya!’ if you envision your reader as being more enthusiastic) – and rather than pulling new posts, it pulls search results for that term – articles, blog postings, advertisements, etc. Your search term might be your organization’s name, your name, or other keywords.

Now, imagine if you could tell your 'reader', “Hey – if any of these 20 search engines have any matches for [search term], let me know.” That’s a pretty powerful way to continually cruise the net for chatter that might pertain to you/your organization and to automate it.

Make sense? Now here’s how to do it in 3 easy steps.

TURN YOUR iGOOGLE PAGE INTO A COMMAND CENTER

Step 1: Get a Google account/iGoogle page
For our purposes, we’re going to track things on our iGoogle page. An iGoogle page is like a central desktop on the web, powered by google. If you don’t already have a google account, you should consider getting one. Google has a lot of functionality available – for free – which can be useful individually or to your organization.

Step 2: Set-up a Search Term Feed.
Skip the singular google or yahoo alerts and use a program which sends the search results from multiple search engines to your RSS reader.

Where can you get a reader? There are many options out there. For simplicity's sake, we’ll use Google Reader.

The search feed tool we’ll use is MonitorThis which allows you to subscribe to twenty search term feeds at the same time. All you need to do is upload the code into your reader. Here’s how (it’s simple, we promise!)

1. Go to the MonitorThis site.
2. Scroll down until you see the “Enter Search Term” box and enter the term you’d like to search by – your name, organization name, etc.
3. Copy the code in the “your monitor.opml” box.
4. Open up your Notepad (for PCs Click Start> All Programs> Accessories> Notepad).
5. Paste the html into the notepad.
6. Save the file as “monitor.opml” (notice you will need to change the extension – it is .opml, not .txt).

Now you’ve got the code. See how easy that was? To upload it to your reader:
7. Log in to your Google reader.
8. Click on the Settings tab.
9. Click Import/Export.
10. Browse, select the file, and click Upload.

Ta da! All of the new searches will now show up in your subscription list. To group them, create a folder and place each search subscription into that folder.

Step 3: Add the RSS gadget to your iGoogle page
Now you can add a summary box of your RSS Feed to your iGoogle page. From your iGoogle page:
1. Click “Add Stuff” in the upper right-hand corner
2. In the Search for Gadgets box, type “RSS” and click Search.
3. Select a reader gadget that works for you – we simply chose Google Reader
4. Click “Add it now”

You’re done! Now your search will show up in your reader, as well as on your iGoogle page (along with updates to any other RSS feeds you’ve subscribed to). If you want to do this for multiple search terms, simple repeat the process above. You will now get RSS updates whenever there is a match for your term (or terms) on any of the 20 included search engines.

Happy monitoring!

How Many Nonprofits is Enough?

2009-04-29T22:08:00.000-06:00

I recently read a Chronicle of Philanthropy article – "Company’s Nonprofit Academy Helps Prepare Leaders "– in which the President of the American Express Foundation, Timothy McClimon, discusses the need for new nonprofit leadership models in order to fill the growing gap in senior positions and to improve retention.

At one point he touches on turnover and the creation of new orgs:
“’In nonprofits, the model has been ‘Create your own nonprofit. Create another organization if you don’t like what’s happening within your own organization...But we can’t continue to do that. We can’t continue to create hundreds of thousands of organizations. We have to focus on the ones that exist.’”

Very often (and gleefully) we like to look up the data behind statements like Mr. McClimon’s - and his statement left us wondering, just how many organizations are we creating and how rapidly?

Here’s a quick sample.

In our recent database update, we added over 50,000 new 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations. And by ‘new’, I mean having received a Ruling Letter and been established as a nonprofit since our last database update…about 6-7 months ago. You read that correctly. That would be 50,000 new organizations over the course of approximately 6 months.

Let’s take a step further and look at a single state: Colorado. Our database currently holds 21,203 501(c)3 organizations for the state of Colorado. This number does not include 501(c)9s (Veterans service orgs – like AmVets), or any of the other 501(c) classifications.

As of July 2008, there were 4.9 million residents of the state of Colorado. This means that, in Colorado, there is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization for every 232 people.

Hm.

Now back to Mr. McClimon – “Create another organization if you don’t like what’s happening within your own organization”…

When I meet with nonprofit leaders, volunteers or staff, and they find out what I do, they often share with me their frustrations, concerns or disappointments with their current or former nonprofits.

One of my initial questions is almost always, “did you tell anyone at the organization how you felt/feel?” Nine times out of ten, the answer is ‘no’ – yet perhaps more dismaying is their reason for remaining silent – almost always they tell me that speaking up ‘wouldn’t have made a difference anyway.’

Do these staff members eventually leave to begin new organizations, as Mr. McClimon suggests? If so, what are these 50,000 new organizations trying to do so differently? Could some of these 50,000 nonprofit founders be trying to change the same things?

I’m not enough of a mathematician to know at what point our industry would hit a critical mass, but I do know that if the creation of these new organizations is not market-driven, but frustration-driven, we could be creating a surplus of organizations which, without sufficient funds for support, would continue to rise and fall, rise and fall – draining donor dollars from other organizations as they do so.

Mr. McClimon says that we need to ‘focus on the [organizations] that exist.’ In a similar way, my suggestion would be to investigate and address the underlying causes of the departures in the first place. To create environments where staff and volunteers feel comfortable speaking up and where leadership listens – resulting in real change, improvement and retention.

If Mr. McClimon’s correlation is correct, and fewer organizations being created would mean better management of organizations that exist…then it would probably be the first time in my life that a shrinking database would truly make me happy.
- Katie Taft, iG, CEO

April's Rating Trend - Training Matters

2009-04-23T18:00:00.000-06:00

iG raters place notable emphasis on training (um, but not the kind with weights)
While lots of trends are popping up, for April's topic, our team chose to focus on the repeated mention of training in rater comments. From the highest scores, to the lowest, the presence or lack of training seemed to be a weighing factor on the rater’s experience.
Among high scores, training was often mentioned as an asset of the organization or a reason why a rater viewed their experience so positively.
A volunteer from the Oregon Zoo praised the thorough training volunteers were provided: “All volunteers were given three days of training (eight hours each day), providing ongoing support, feedback, and help when needed.”
A volunteer for Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver seemed to enjoy the combination of work and education: “they were all fantastic about making the work fun, explaining and demonstrating how to perform different tasks.”
Training also seemed to affect the rater sense of accomplishment and ability. It was clear that where training was absent, there was a sense of frustration for failed tasks.
An employee for Phoenix Houses of California laments: “I found it emotionally draining because of the nearly non-existent training I received in what my supervisor expected of me. The majority of my contact with my supervisor was correcting errors made on my part which resulted from the lack of training.”
Comparably, a volunteer for Friends of Trees in Portland, Oregon mentions that training added to his/her feelings of success and achievement: “It is a good balance of support and training and independent work so I felt that I really was utilizing my strengths and contributing”
What does training look like at the organizations you've worked with? In your experience, where have you seen training programs struggle or excel?

Crunching Numbers - April

2009-04-22T19:04:00.000-06:00

Now up for 6 months, who's getting rated on iG, and what are the trends?

April 1st was the official 6-month mark for insideGOOD and already those of us at iG who are data geeks (ok, we all are) are excited over the burgeoning trends. We thought you might enjoy a snapshot of what we're seeing. You may even have a few "really?" kind of moments (we sure did).

Location, Location: Ratings have been submitted for organizations in 26 states - that’s more than half the nation! Who has been receiving the most action? Top of the list in terms of number of ratings are California and Colorado, followed by D.C., Oregon, New York, Washington and Wisconsin. Are there rated organizations near you?

Big & Small: We are often asked if large or small organizations get more ratings on our site. Interestingly, the answer is: both! Of rated organizations on iG to date, the income breakout looks something like this:

Less than $500K Annual Income: 32%
$500K-$1.5M Annual Income: 20%
$1.5M-$5M Annual Income: 14%
$5M or greater Annual Income: 34%

That’s pretty positive: So what are raters saying? (Now we’re getting to the good stuff) Overall, the majority of ratings so far are positive. Since launch, 25% of ratings have been 3 or lower (out of 6.0), while 75% have been 4 or higher. This aligns with research we’ve found which actually indicates that people are more likely to take the time to rate a positive experience than a negative one. Is this an accurate reflection of industry sentiments towards workplace or donation experiences? Tough to say, especially at this early stage. But we’re excited to continue to find out.

Trends in the Ratings: While we're already seeing quite a few trends, this month our team couldn’t help but notice the recurring mention by raters – both giving high scores and low scores – of training. Many times a lack of training was mentioned as part of the frustration with an experience, while the presence of training was often included in rater descriptions of what helped them feel more successful and satisfied.

Has the lack of training hampered your abilities on the job? Are you preparing your staff for success? For more detailed rater examples, and to provide your own thoughts, check out our article on April’s Rating Trend – Training Matters.