Great change needs good leadership
Posted on 12 Dec 2024
Change is an inevitable part of running a good not-for-profit. In fact, some leaders suggest that…
Posted on 12 Dec 2024
By Matthew Schulz, journalist, Institute of Community Directors Australia
Change is an inevitable part of running a good not-for-profit. In fact, some leaders suggest that all not-for-profit management is essentially change management.
It’s easy to find examples of both excellent and execrable change management in the not-for-profit sector. Too often, not-for-profits and charities find themselves in the news because they’ve lost the support of stakeholders or members, broken the law or bungled the communication in making an important change.
Institute of Community Directors Australia executive director Adele Stowe-Lindner said good change management required great communication and empathy.
“Clear communication is not just a courtesy, it’s a leadership obligation. We’ve seen campaigns like the Voice referendum and climate-related behavioural change struggle partly because their messaging assumed too much and clarified too little,” Stowe-Lindner said.
She stressed that communication must be paired with empathy. “Together they address people’s practical need for clarity and the emotional challenges that arise when people feel they are losing something important.”
Institute of Community Directors Australia training lead Nina Laitala agreed that good communication was an obligation for leaders, and she emphasised the value of being attuned to different perspectives.
“Understanding how different stakeholders might see themselves or their position in regard to the change and what their reactions might be can help leaders to better engage individuals in the change process and help buy-in,” Laitala said.
“The role of leadership is to create a working environment that embraces changes as an opportunity rather than sees it as a threat. Understanding your people is fundamental to making this happen.”
Laitala also said NFPs needed to be more attuned than for-profits to organisational culture.
“Cultivating a culture that is adaptable to change is important, and that change should clearly align with the organisation's purpose”.
Having dealt with diverse NFP leaders, she said it was clear to all that “change is inevitable”, and in her experience, failure of change management could often be traced to the board – or other leaders – failing to have a clear plan, or failing to communicate change in a clear and timely fashion.
The role of leadership is to create a working environment that embraces changes as an opportunity rather than sees it as a threat."
Our newest help sheet, Ten questions every board director should ask about change management, emphasises the importance of understanding people and notes that “effective change management engages people, helping them to come along on the journey”.
The guide encourages leaders to ask these questions and more:
A merger is one of the most profound changes an organisation can undergo, and in the past two years a number of organisations have demonstrated that mergers can be carried out with care and grace. They include:
Save the Children’s Paul Ronalds, who presided over STC’s merger with ChildWise in 2017 to improve help for vulnerable children, argued in a 2021 keynote talk for ICDA that more organisations should consider mergers if they will help their mission.
Our Community managing director Denis Moriarty has said mergers and collaborations will become more common in the sector amid tight funding and rising demand for services.
“Those able to continue operating independently – and avoid merger temptations – will still need to collaborate effectively with their sector counterparts to best achieve their missions,” he said.
Many organisations seeking renewal are doing so by restructuring the legal form of their organisations, often shifting from an incorporated association structure to that of a company limited by guarantee (CLG).
Despite additional costs and rules, the move can suit organisations seeking to unlock funding opportunities and expand to a national footprint.
Those that have made the jump recently include:
Not all transitions are smooth. For example:
ICDA trainer Jon Staley explains the essentials of change management in less than three minutes.
Organisations must know their ground, which is why ICDA provides news and resources to help organisations understand their operating environment. These include:
Organisations planning major changes have plenty of proven frameworks to choose from. They include:
Laitala said the change management process each organisation might use will depend on the kind of change it plans, the organisation and its leadership.
ICDA trainer Jon Staley said he has found the Lippitt-Knoster model especially useful for NFPs, with its elements of vision, skills, incentives, resources and an action plan for change.
“Change is best managed via maintaining a clear focus on core purpose, having a strategic vision that can articulate the desired future and cultivating a healthy, values-driven culture that can tolerate the pressure of change,” he said.
Comment: Two words that make everyone shiver: change management
Ten questions every board director should ask about change management
Ten tips for leading cultural change in an organisation
How not-for-profits can face the future
Inspiration: Sometimes the solutions are closer than we think (Andrew Wear)