Yesterday, I had a great day working with the annual learning event for Ronald McDonald House Charities, a session I've had the good fortune to speak to three or four years running. The staff and board of local Ronald McDonald Chapters from the US and Canada are here, and they are a terrific and fun group of people.
I talked a bit about being a mission-based manager in the morning and then about innovation in the afternoon, and the group was responsive and attentive, even when they were tired in the afternoon.
What intrigued me were the one on one questions during the break. Here's the breakout:
"My board president is too controlling" (3 CEOs)
"My CEO doesn't give the board enough to do." (2 Board Presidents--and no, I don't know if they were the same agencies as the CEO's above!)
"My CEO doesn't ask for enough staff input (2 younger staff)
"My 20 something staff just want to have input on everything!" (4 boomer CEOs)
This is a pretty standard breakout these days of questions from a large group. The first set-regarding board-staff balance--hasn't changed in the 30 years I've been consulting, and I suspect never really will. The second set is coming to a head as more young staff enter the workforce and demand/expect a seat at the decision table.
Today, I go talk to the board representatives. Should be interesting to see what they ask....
Showing posts with label Generation Change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Generation Change. Show all posts
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Younger Board Members
There's been a bit of an online discussion recently about why nonprofit boards don't have younger members.
Emily Hearst had an excellent post on her Board Life Matters blog, titled Why Don't More Members of GenX and GenY Join Boards? which got a great response. Then, Rosetta Thurman took her turn in her post titled Do Nonprofit Boards Really Want Younger Members? on the Chronicle of Philanthropy site. Both posts make excellent points, but I'm compelled to add my 2.0 cents here.
First, as is well known, boards, if left alone, tend to recruit themselves (i.e., people who look, act, think, live, etc. as they do). Thus, it's important for board recruitment to be a joint board-staff effort...it's the only way to break out of the homogeneity bubble.
Second, many senior staff have come to depend more and more on boards either primarily or solely for fund raising. (As an aside: This is a very, very bad thing. When boards are concerned only with development, they aren't concerned enough about planning, strategy, financial oversight, etc.) With this increased emphasis on boards as a conduit for incoming cash, staff make the assumption that the board members need to be rich--and that only older people have, or have access to, money.
Wrong--just look at the texting response to Haiti. Younger people bring huge networks of friends and associates with them. They (and their friends) are nearly bottomless resources of volunteering and donations--even if only in small amounts individually.
Lastly, boards often don't have two-three-four board slots open at once, and younger people tend to stick together. Imagine, if you were 28 and invited to join a board whose average age was 58, how you'd feel, particularly if you were the only face under 50 in the room....oh goody, I joined my parent's Rotary Club......
We DO need to age down on our boards, and we need to do it soon. Age diversity needs to have the same priority as other kinds, and it's just as difficult to achieve. But that doesn't mean we don't need to get to work and try.
Emily Hearst had an excellent post on her Board Life Matters blog, titled Why Don't More Members of GenX and GenY Join Boards? which got a great response. Then, Rosetta Thurman took her turn in her post titled Do Nonprofit Boards Really Want Younger Members? on the Chronicle of Philanthropy site. Both posts make excellent points, but I'm compelled to add my 2.0 cents here.
First, as is well known, boards, if left alone, tend to recruit themselves (i.e., people who look, act, think, live, etc. as they do). Thus, it's important for board recruitment to be a joint board-staff effort...it's the only way to break out of the homogeneity bubble.
Second, many senior staff have come to depend more and more on boards either primarily or solely for fund raising. (As an aside: This is a very, very bad thing. When boards are concerned only with development, they aren't concerned enough about planning, strategy, financial oversight, etc.) With this increased emphasis on boards as a conduit for incoming cash, staff make the assumption that the board members need to be rich--and that only older people have, or have access to, money.
Wrong--just look at the texting response to Haiti. Younger people bring huge networks of friends and associates with them. They (and their friends) are nearly bottomless resources of volunteering and donations--even if only in small amounts individually.
Lastly, boards often don't have two-three-four board slots open at once, and younger people tend to stick together. Imagine, if you were 28 and invited to join a board whose average age was 58, how you'd feel, particularly if you were the only face under 50 in the room....oh goody, I joined my parent's Rotary Club......
We DO need to age down on our boards, and we need to do it soon. Age diversity needs to have the same priority as other kinds, and it's just as difficult to achieve. But that doesn't mean we don't need to get to work and try.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The power of small donations
You may remember that in past postings, I've talked about the power of small donations, and how younger donors come with a network of friends who, if asked, can often make a $5 or $10 donation...instantly. 500 $10 donations total, of course $5,000, and may be a heck of a lot easier to get than one $5,000 gift.
A story in today's New York Times on the results of the many small fund-raising efforts for Haiti is a bit different, but related in the idea that small donations add up.
And, it's good news from the perspective of Americans' undying generosity.
A story in today's New York Times on the results of the many small fund-raising efforts for Haiti is a bit different, but related in the idea that small donations add up.
And, it's good news from the perspective of Americans' undying generosity.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Different Generational Cultures
Just a quick break in the "What To Do Now" series of posts with a headsup about the February, 2009 Mission-Based Management Newsletter". The topic this month is about Different Generational Cultures. Here's some of the Management Tip:
"If your organization is like most nonprofits, you've been working on diversity for a long time. You've tried to make sure that your staff, your board and your non-governing volunteers look like your community. For some nonprofits this has been a pretty easy accommodation to better practice, while some are still struggling. But diversity is good: It gives us a better range of perspectives, a richer set of ideas, and a closer connection to the community we are in business to serve.
So, here's the question: what about diversity by age? Fact: Most board members in the U.S., Canada and the UK are Boomers, but our generations served range from Greatest Generation to post Gen@. Are your board, your management team, your non-governing volunteers representative of your community in terms of age? If not, why not? And, to be fair, you may be asking, who cares? It's just age, not ethnicity. What's the big deal?
The big deal is this: our different generations are really different cultures, so different that we see life at its most basic levels differently, we attack problems differently, we seek solutions differently, we manage differently, we look at work and the rest of our lives differently. And, as much as those of us who are Boomers hate to admit it, every day we're a smaller and smaller percentage of the workforce as more and more younger employees come on board. If we want to lead well, we have to understand what it takes to lead younger employees. If we want to attract donations, volunteers, board member from younger generations, we have to understand what motivates them and to do that we need their perspective; we have to embrace age diversify....."
To see the entire issue, including Marketing and Tech Tips on the subject as well as recommended reading, go to www.missionbased.com/newsletters/feb09.htm.
And, if you like the newsletter, you can scroll down and see four years of past topic-specific issues and/or subscribe for free.
I'll get back to the "What to Do Now" series next posting.
"If your organization is like most nonprofits, you've been working on diversity for a long time. You've tried to make sure that your staff, your board and your non-governing volunteers look like your community. For some nonprofits this has been a pretty easy accommodation to better practice, while some are still struggling. But diversity is good: It gives us a better range of perspectives, a richer set of ideas, and a closer connection to the community we are in business to serve.
So, here's the question: what about diversity by age? Fact: Most board members in the U.S., Canada and the UK are Boomers, but our generations served range from Greatest Generation to post Gen@. Are your board, your management team, your non-governing volunteers representative of your community in terms of age? If not, why not? And, to be fair, you may be asking, who cares? It's just age, not ethnicity. What's the big deal?
The big deal is this: our different generations are really different cultures, so different that we see life at its most basic levels differently, we attack problems differently, we seek solutions differently, we manage differently, we look at work and the rest of our lives differently. And, as much as those of us who are Boomers hate to admit it, every day we're a smaller and smaller percentage of the workforce as more and more younger employees come on board. If we want to lead well, we have to understand what it takes to lead younger employees. If we want to attract donations, volunteers, board member from younger generations, we have to understand what motivates them and to do that we need their perspective; we have to embrace age diversify....."
To see the entire issue, including Marketing and Tech Tips on the subject as well as recommended reading, go to www.missionbased.com/newsletters/feb09.htm.
And, if you like the newsletter, you can scroll down and see four years of past topic-specific issues and/or subscribe for free.
I'll get back to the "What to Do Now" series next posting.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Employee Shortage?
I just read an article by an exec search firm referring to the society wide need for more nonprofit "talent". Of course there has been much said (including by yours truly) about generation change in the nonprofit sector as well as in society as a whole.
But, in general, the early prognosticators have been wrong, primarily regarding their assumptions that Boomers would retire on schedule at 60 or 62 or 65. We want to work forever...and then there's the economy.
Over the weekend, a couple of friends and I had in interesting g-chat about this. We all agreed: in terms of a need for more talent than there is a supply: That's SO 2008. This is primarily the case because of the economic meltdown. We spun the issue for a bit and came up with these conclusions:
First, most Boomers who were thinking of retiring in one, two or three years have put that on hold since their 401k's have shrunk 30-50%. The few exceptions are people who have a working spouse, a spouse with an actual pension, or are independently wealthy. Thus, many of the nonprofit management teams that were heading for the door are (to mix metaphors) hanging in for another lap or two around the racetrack.
Second: The economy is ruthless on new and recent grads. Lesson? We in the nonprofit sector may be able to get great young talent that would have gone to the for-profit world if the economy were healthy.
Third: Those of us who do have job openings (and some nonprofits do) should remember: It's an employers market--you can get better people (of all ages) for the same price. Lesson? Take your time when hiring. I talked to four HR people at medium to large nonprofits this week said they were averaging 75-100 resumes per week. Normal? 5-10 tops.
I know many readers are not in the position to hire: you're just hanging on. More about that in tomorrow's post, when I start a series of posts on Mission-Based Management in Tough Financial Times.
But, in general, the early prognosticators have been wrong, primarily regarding their assumptions that Boomers would retire on schedule at 60 or 62 or 65. We want to work forever...and then there's the economy.
Over the weekend, a couple of friends and I had in interesting g-chat about this. We all agreed: in terms of a need for more talent than there is a supply: That's SO 2008. This is primarily the case because of the economic meltdown. We spun the issue for a bit and came up with these conclusions:
First, most Boomers who were thinking of retiring in one, two or three years have put that on hold since their 401k's have shrunk 30-50%. The few exceptions are people who have a working spouse, a spouse with an actual pension, or are independently wealthy. Thus, many of the nonprofit management teams that were heading for the door are (to mix metaphors) hanging in for another lap or two around the racetrack.
Second: The economy is ruthless on new and recent grads. Lesson? We in the nonprofit sector may be able to get great young talent that would have gone to the for-profit world if the economy were healthy.
Third: Those of us who do have job openings (and some nonprofits do) should remember: It's an employers market--you can get better people (of all ages) for the same price. Lesson? Take your time when hiring. I talked to four HR people at medium to large nonprofits this week said they were averaging 75-100 resumes per week. Normal? 5-10 tops.
I know many readers are not in the position to hire: you're just hanging on. More about that in tomorrow's post, when I start a series of posts on Mission-Based Management in Tough Financial Times.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Sunday Miscellany
I've had the luxury of nearly two weeks here in late summer, which has been terrific, made all the better by visits from two of my three kids, great weather and lots of boat time.
But, I set the time aside to have consistent focused time to work on the 2008 set of nonprofits that are participating in the Generational Readiness Assessment Project funded by the Foellinger Foundation. Nine nonprofits from the Allen County, IN. area are participating and I've spent much of the last ten days mulling over their data. I'm due to get them their reports and recommendations in the next few weeks, and I'll try to post the areawide findings if it's OK with the people at Foellinger. Interesting project.
In other news, Heather Carpenter at the Nonprofit Leadership 601 blog has included me in her list of "The (50) Next Generation Nonprofit Leaders You Should Know."
Thanks, Heather---and you're right, I don't quite know if I fit in "The Next Generation" or the last one! But I appreciate the thought, and I'm certainly in good company--it's quite a list.
Most importantly, check out the new Communique from The Listening Post at Johns Hopkins.
Titled "A Nonprofit Workforce Action Agenda" it makes some great suggestions on recruiting and retaining the best young people into our sector. Thanks, Lester, for yet another great contribution.
But, I set the time aside to have consistent focused time to work on the 2008 set of nonprofits that are participating in the Generational Readiness Assessment Project funded by the Foellinger Foundation. Nine nonprofits from the Allen County, IN. area are participating and I've spent much of the last ten days mulling over their data. I'm due to get them their reports and recommendations in the next few weeks, and I'll try to post the areawide findings if it's OK with the people at Foellinger. Interesting project.
In other news, Heather Carpenter at the Nonprofit Leadership 601 blog has included me in her list of "The (50) Next Generation Nonprofit Leaders You Should Know."
Thanks, Heather---and you're right, I don't quite know if I fit in "The Next Generation" or the last one! But I appreciate the thought, and I'm certainly in good company--it's quite a list.
Most importantly, check out the new Communique from The Listening Post at Johns Hopkins.
Titled "A Nonprofit Workforce Action Agenda" it makes some great suggestions on recruiting and retaining the best young people into our sector. Thanks, Lester, for yet another great contribution.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
One more marketing trap
Longtime readers, either here, or of my books, know that I feel strongly that most nonprofits have a severe marketing disability that needs to be overcome if they are to be successful in providing the most mission to the most people. That disability is a trap, and now I've realized that there aren't just one, but two, traps to fall into.
The first trap/disability wraps around the issue of needs versus wants. People have needs. People seek wants, and nonprofits often get trapped in their perspective that everything really is about needs. The feds, states, United Ways---all of them do needs assessments. Nonprofits have professionals on staff in their area of expertise, and can diagnose needs very well. Whether you are a museum curator, a teacher, nurse, or rabbi, you can look at me (or my community) run some numbers (or tests) and tell me what I need. That skill is crucial to your organization's mission-success, but it runs smack up against good marketing which is all about wants. To find out about wants, you have to ask. If you don't ask, you can't give people the things they need in the way that they want them---and you don't do as much mission as you could.
(You can read more about my marketing thoughts at the Marketing Ideas section of my website.)
So, first trap: needs versus wants.
The second trap? This one has come to me slowly, kind of like a ship coming over a horizon....and it has to do with a more complex set of thoughts around generation change. Let me summarize.
Different generations are really different cultures (and sub-cultures, but that's not the issue today). Just as we are influenced by our ethnic background, just as we are shaped by our family, we are, in a very real sense, children of the times in which we grew up, shaped by the music, the culture, the experiences, the technology that surrounded us between the ages of 12 and 25 or 30. The more I talk to people about generation change, the more I see this clearly.
Why should this be surprising? It's true with ethnicity. All of us know that Caucasians and African-Americans "see" and "hear" things differently. My African-American friends often talk about the racial code words they hear in conversation, on television, or on radio that go right over my head as a Caucasian male. So experience and background can influence worldview, right? No news there.
I think it's the same for generations. If you know someone who is a Greatest Generation member, they usually think of money differently than those of us who are younger---why? They went through the Great Depression. That's an obvious influence, but there are hundreds more, often subtle ones that make up who we are.
Here's the trap.....being blind to generational differences in marketing: assuming that what I want from my generational perspective is the same as every other generation wants. This gets us back to one of my most quoted marketing truisms: Ask, Ask, Ask, and then Listen!
I'm still thinking this through, and it may not be as profound as it seems to me at the moment....we'll see.
What do you think?
The first trap/disability wraps around the issue of needs versus wants. People have needs. People seek wants, and nonprofits often get trapped in their perspective that everything really is about needs. The feds, states, United Ways---all of them do needs assessments. Nonprofits have professionals on staff in their area of expertise, and can diagnose needs very well. Whether you are a museum curator, a teacher, nurse, or rabbi, you can look at me (or my community) run some numbers (or tests) and tell me what I need. That skill is crucial to your organization's mission-success, but it runs smack up against good marketing which is all about wants. To find out about wants, you have to ask. If you don't ask, you can't give people the things they need in the way that they want them---and you don't do as much mission as you could.
(You can read more about my marketing thoughts at the Marketing Ideas section of my website.)
So, first trap: needs versus wants.
The second trap? This one has come to me slowly, kind of like a ship coming over a horizon....and it has to do with a more complex set of thoughts around generation change. Let me summarize.
Different generations are really different cultures (and sub-cultures, but that's not the issue today). Just as we are influenced by our ethnic background, just as we are shaped by our family, we are, in a very real sense, children of the times in which we grew up, shaped by the music, the culture, the experiences, the technology that surrounded us between the ages of 12 and 25 or 30. The more I talk to people about generation change, the more I see this clearly.
Why should this be surprising? It's true with ethnicity. All of us know that Caucasians and African-Americans "see" and "hear" things differently. My African-American friends often talk about the racial code words they hear in conversation, on television, or on radio that go right over my head as a Caucasian male. So experience and background can influence worldview, right? No news there.
I think it's the same for generations. If you know someone who is a Greatest Generation member, they usually think of money differently than those of us who are younger---why? They went through the Great Depression. That's an obvious influence, but there are hundreds more, often subtle ones that make up who we are.
Here's the trap.....being blind to generational differences in marketing: assuming that what I want from my generational perspective is the same as every other generation wants. This gets us back to one of my most quoted marketing truisms: Ask, Ask, Ask, and then Listen!
I'm still thinking this through, and it may not be as profound as it seems to me at the moment....we'll see.
What do you think?
Thursday, December 27, 2007
If a picture is worth.....
I've been telling audiences this past fall a lot about generation change and nonprofits, and about upgrading their websites to include video. Most boomers moan and don't even think about the idea, since they assume I'm talking about huge production cost. We (and by we, I mean boomers) were raised when a 5 minute video HAD to be professionally produced and cost thousands of dollars. And, we had to wear a tie....ugh. As an aside, a three-fold brochure also cost thousands to be professionally designed and printed--and we had to print 10,000 copies to make it "affordable." No wonder our marketing print material was old, out of date, and non-targeted....
But back to video. The bar on "good" video has changed, and YouTube changed it. If you haven't been there, go a take a look. Go to www.youtube.com and search for, say, Charity, or Nonprofit. You'll see stories about nonprofits, video produced by nonprofits, etc.
And what you'll see is that the quality of the video varies widely. Which means that video posted on your website does not have to be 60 Minutes quality. It has to be reasonably good, but most important, it needs to tell a human story. For people under 30 (by which I mean the donors, volunteers, staff and board you want) video is the most compelling way to catch their eye and tell that story.
A couple of places to get help. First, YouTube has a nonprofit program to get you started. Go here to check it out.
Second, the Chronicle of Philanthropy has an article on nonprofits using video in all kinds of cool ways.
Still pics are great---video is better. Costs are down, and impact is high. Hmmmm. Sounds like a formula for success to me.
But back to video. The bar on "good" video has changed, and YouTube changed it. If you haven't been there, go a take a look. Go to www.youtube.com and search for, say, Charity, or Nonprofit. You'll see stories about nonprofits, video produced by nonprofits, etc.
And what you'll see is that the quality of the video varies widely. Which means that video posted on your website does not have to be 60 Minutes quality. It has to be reasonably good, but most important, it needs to tell a human story. For people under 30 (by which I mean the donors, volunteers, staff and board you want) video is the most compelling way to catch their eye and tell that story.
A couple of places to get help. First, YouTube has a nonprofit program to get you started. Go here to check it out.
Second, the Chronicle of Philanthropy has an article on nonprofits using video in all kinds of cool ways.
Still pics are great---video is better. Costs are down, and impact is high. Hmmmm. Sounds like a formula for success to me.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Mulling about legacies
At the end of the year, a lot of us review the past 12 months (think of all those holiday newsletters you get), read lists of "ten best" this of 2008, "best of" that for the year, etc. We get ready to set our goals/resolutions for the next year.
On a more mundane level, if we're on a calendar fiscal year, we also have to deal with work plans, budgets etc for the coming year. All of us as individuals think (at least briefly) about any tax planning we need to do before the end of the year.
All of this is pretty normal, customary; the usual.
But this year, I've been thinking a LOT about an email I got from someone I recently met in Florida. He sent out the copy of an obit whose last line was:
"He leaves behind approximately 6.5 billion people worldwide."
Funny, on first look, and certainly original. But it got me thinking about legacy, what we leave behind us, about how we help those who come after us do better, live better, be better than us.
Nowhere in our society is leaving that legacy more important than in the nonprofit sector. No one has more of the job of building better, fairer, more just communities, of educating, protecting, caring, healing, enthralling more than nonprofits. Its the core of what we do. Its mission.
And while most of us are justifiably concerned with helping here and now, what really happens if we foment effective change is not just improving things now, we improve them for the 6.5 billion others---and their children, and their grandchildren. So, should I change my idea of good stewardship? Should it be not only for today, for this year, this decade, but for beyond my lifetime? I think so, and I'm still sorting that out.
What do you think?
On a more mundane level, if we're on a calendar fiscal year, we also have to deal with work plans, budgets etc for the coming year. All of us as individuals think (at least briefly) about any tax planning we need to do before the end of the year.
All of this is pretty normal, customary; the usual.
But this year, I've been thinking a LOT about an email I got from someone I recently met in Florida. He sent out the copy of an obit whose last line was:
"He leaves behind approximately 6.5 billion people worldwide."
Funny, on first look, and certainly original. But it got me thinking about legacy, what we leave behind us, about how we help those who come after us do better, live better, be better than us.
Nowhere in our society is leaving that legacy more important than in the nonprofit sector. No one has more of the job of building better, fairer, more just communities, of educating, protecting, caring, healing, enthralling more than nonprofits. Its the core of what we do. Its mission.
And while most of us are justifiably concerned with helping here and now, what really happens if we foment effective change is not just improving things now, we improve them for the 6.5 billion others---and their children, and their grandchildren. So, should I change my idea of good stewardship? Should it be not only for today, for this year, this decade, but for beyond my lifetime? I think so, and I'm still sorting that out.
What do you think?
Thursday, December 13, 2007
The Boomers ride in....
As regular readers know, part of generation change is that the Boomers are (and will continue to) come to nonprofits AFTER their first career, some as employees, some as volunteers. Business Week in the December 17 issue deals with this in a series of stories under their regular feature called "Second Careers" The two stories of the four in this issues set I liked the best were:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_51/c4063indepth653719.htm?chan=magazine+channel_in+depth+--+second+careers
about picking the right board of directors to get on, and
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_51/b4063210311897.htm?chan=magazine+channel_in+depth+--+second+careers
about ways to work for nonprofits after your first career is done.
By the way, I see tons of this kind of transition going on, and it requires patience on both sides....there is usually a bit of culture clash!
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_51/c4063indepth653719.htm?chan=magazine+channel_in+depth+--+second+careers
about picking the right board of directors to get on, and
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_51/b4063210311897.htm?chan=magazine+channel_in+depth+--+second+careers
about ways to work for nonprofits after your first career is done.
By the way, I see tons of this kind of transition going on, and it requires patience on both sides....there is usually a bit of culture clash!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Learning in Tampa
Had a great time in Tampa working with Achieve Management, The Children's Board of Hillsborough County and the Nonprofit Leadership Center of Tampa Bay. Their hard work had gathered around 150 people to discuss Generation change. Each participant got a copy of Generations, and they were a very interactive, fun group to work with. All in all a great day for me and, I hope, a useful one for them.
One interesting vignette from the day: in the early afternoon, we broke into 8-9 groups and discussed the one thing that the group was most vexed about or most critical regarding their nonprofit and generation change. After 40 minutes or so, the groups reported out. I expected at least 3 groups to talk about inter-generational conflict, a couple to talk about executive transition, perhaps 2 to report that the age of their board as their big problem.
I was so wrong. 9 groups; 9 different issues. I've been saying that generation change is a broad issue, but I keep learning how broad every time I go out and speak.
And, as always, I heard some new questions or new, critical twists on old ones. Here are a couple.
1. "You tell us to recruit younger board members in groups. But with a small board (18) and term limits there are years where only one or two slots may come open--and we have other skill set needs. What do I do?"
2. (From a GenX supervisor) "How do I get a Silent Generation staff employee who is totally tech-averse to buy into our our email-based reporting system?"
Both of these questions highlight very good hands-on applications of the generational shift. I gave both people a few suggestions, since I couldn't answer in any depth since I didn't know all the details.
The answer to the first question is, in brief, prioritization and balance. Which skills are more important to your organization-and I understand that Generational representation may not be the priority right now.
The answer to the second question (again, lacking a lot of specifics) seemed to me to be mentoring--having a younger staff peer assist the older one until she became adequately comfortable with the technology needed to do the job.
As always, when you teach, you learn. I learned a lot!
One interesting vignette from the day: in the early afternoon, we broke into 8-9 groups and discussed the one thing that the group was most vexed about or most critical regarding their nonprofit and generation change. After 40 minutes or so, the groups reported out. I expected at least 3 groups to talk about inter-generational conflict, a couple to talk about executive transition, perhaps 2 to report that the age of their board as their big problem.
I was so wrong. 9 groups; 9 different issues. I've been saying that generation change is a broad issue, but I keep learning how broad every time I go out and speak.
And, as always, I heard some new questions or new, critical twists on old ones. Here are a couple.
1. "You tell us to recruit younger board members in groups. But with a small board (18) and term limits there are years where only one or two slots may come open--and we have other skill set needs. What do I do?"
2. (From a GenX supervisor) "How do I get a Silent Generation staff employee who is totally tech-averse to buy into our our email-based reporting system?"
Both of these questions highlight very good hands-on applications of the generational shift. I gave both people a few suggestions, since I couldn't answer in any depth since I didn't know all the details.
The answer to the first question is, in brief, prioritization and balance. Which skills are more important to your organization-and I understand that Generational representation may not be the priority right now.
The answer to the second question (again, lacking a lot of specifics) seemed to me to be mentoring--having a younger staff peer assist the older one until she became adequately comfortable with the technology needed to do the job.
As always, when you teach, you learn. I learned a lot!
Monday, November 19, 2007
Long time gone (again)
About a month ago, I was a bit surprised to see that my last post had been a month prior to that...and here we are in late November already. Time flies...when you're in the air...
Looking back at earlier postings from 2006 and 2005, this break is not unusual for me in the fall, when I am on the road what seems like constantly. Since my prior post on September 15, I've been in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Seattle, Chicago, Houston, Denver, Portland OR, Rockville MD, Northern Virginia, San Francisco, Holyoke MA, Denver, Boston, Atlanta, Columbus and Fort Wayne. And, I'm probably forgetting someplace....
What did I learn? Lots. Nearly all of my lectures were on Generation Change, and the depth and breadth of the issue just keeps growing. I heard many stories about inter-generational conflict, about the difficulty of retiring, about the cost of benefits. I got great stories to share, and heard of terrific generational adaptations that some organizations are doing.
Speaking of which, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and its Building Movement Project has a new paper out on the nonprofit leadership transition entitled Next Shift: Beyond the Nonprofit Leadership Crisis. Well written, it discusses the need for an entire re-thinking of the Executive Director's role. I agree that we need to revisit this issue, and applaud the visibility this gives it.
There is no question that the issue of Generation Change is on people's minds. Not only was the BoardSource conference in San Francisco in October all about the issue, at least 6 state associations have contacted me with this as their theme for their annual conference. In fact, my "normal" break from travel in January and February is not going to happen this year. Just look at my training schedule, and you'll see the predominance of the topic.
One more thing: The current issue of the Mission-Based Management Newsletter is on Generation Change and Marketing.
Good stuff, fun stuff, important stuff.
Looking back at earlier postings from 2006 and 2005, this break is not unusual for me in the fall, when I am on the road what seems like constantly. Since my prior post on September 15, I've been in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Seattle, Chicago, Houston, Denver, Portland OR, Rockville MD, Northern Virginia, San Francisco, Holyoke MA, Denver, Boston, Atlanta, Columbus and Fort Wayne. And, I'm probably forgetting someplace....
What did I learn? Lots. Nearly all of my lectures were on Generation Change, and the depth and breadth of the issue just keeps growing. I heard many stories about inter-generational conflict, about the difficulty of retiring, about the cost of benefits. I got great stories to share, and heard of terrific generational adaptations that some organizations are doing.
Speaking of which, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and its Building Movement Project has a new paper out on the nonprofit leadership transition entitled Next Shift: Beyond the Nonprofit Leadership Crisis. Well written, it discusses the need for an entire re-thinking of the Executive Director's role. I agree that we need to revisit this issue, and applaud the visibility this gives it.
There is no question that the issue of Generation Change is on people's minds. Not only was the BoardSource conference in San Francisco in October all about the issue, at least 6 state associations have contacted me with this as their theme for their annual conference. In fact, my "normal" break from travel in January and February is not going to happen this year. Just look at my training schedule, and you'll see the predominance of the topic.
One more thing: The current issue of the Mission-Based Management Newsletter is on Generation Change and Marketing.
Good stuff, fun stuff, important stuff.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Exec Transition Resource
As everyone knows, exec transition is a big topic as boomers move out the door. Bridgestar's newest Leadership Matters article contains help on an important part of this: setting up and running an effective search committee. Many boards are totally vexed when presented with this problem, so this article is well worth the read.
In a related piece of news, I've just started a hilarious book on boomers versus Gen@ entitled "Boomsday". The first 50 pages that I got through last night were priceless, and I'll get back to you on this more soon.
In a related piece of news, I've just started a hilarious book on boomers versus Gen@ entitled "Boomsday". The first 50 pages that I got through last night were priceless, and I'll get back to you on this more soon.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Hiring, Hiring, Hiring
A lot of the news this week has been about current and looming worker shortages in industry after industry. I've seen articles stating that, for college grads, it's the best job market in 20 years. I've seen pieces about the shortage of nurses, aerospace engineers, teachers, hospitality managers, nuclear engineers, physical therapists, and on and on.
Of course, this means that we in the nonprofit sector are up against steep and deep pocketed competition for the best young people, because we have our worker shortage, too.
This was a headline that awaited me on Google News this morning(care of St. Louis Today):
"Want To Hire The Best and Brightest Members of GenY?" and it's all about making sure that for-profits emphasize their volunteer opportunities, their social good works, etc.
Hmmm. Seems to me that we can take this set of research findings, and run with them in the non-profit world as well, as we try to entice good people to make their career with us. We already have social value. We already are doing good works. But how many of our organizations encourage our employees to volunteer at OTHER nonprofits? If that's a big lure, we should look at it. Something to think about.
In other "news", I had a great week in Chicago and Fort Wayne speaking first on Wednesday at North Park University's Axelson Center for Nonprofits Annual Symposium, this year on Generation change . Thursday I was in Fort Wayne talking on Nonprofit Stewardship for the Nonprofit Resource Center. Finally, on Friday, I gave the annual Williams Lecture for the Foellinger Foundation on Generation Change. Very nice and responsive audiences in all three locations. Even got some press. Many thanks to everyone at all three organizations who did so much work to make my time in their cities so enjoyable.
And, speaking of employee recruitment needs, my wife Chris's retirement dinner was last night. 33 years in special ed in public schools draws to a close in three weeks.
First, a shout-out to her for a job very, very well done.
Second, some anecdotal data. Chris is part of over 31 teachers retiring this year from our small school district. That's an entire school's worth of experienced educators out the door.
And last year there was about the same number retiring here, and next year it's more...and this is happening in every school district (and every industry) all across the country.
All of which makes me feel we've got to get more kids volunteering and doing summer internships in our organizations in high school and college, to steer them our way early.
Of course, this means that we in the nonprofit sector are up against steep and deep pocketed competition for the best young people, because we have our worker shortage, too.
This was a headline that awaited me on Google News this morning(care of St. Louis Today):
"Want To Hire The Best and Brightest Members of GenY?" and it's all about making sure that for-profits emphasize their volunteer opportunities, their social good works, etc.
Hmmm. Seems to me that we can take this set of research findings, and run with them in the non-profit world as well, as we try to entice good people to make their career with us. We already have social value. We already are doing good works. But how many of our organizations encourage our employees to volunteer at OTHER nonprofits? If that's a big lure, we should look at it. Something to think about.
In other "news", I had a great week in Chicago and Fort Wayne speaking first on Wednesday at North Park University's Axelson Center for Nonprofits Annual Symposium, this year on Generation change . Thursday I was in Fort Wayne talking on Nonprofit Stewardship for the Nonprofit Resource Center. Finally, on Friday, I gave the annual Williams Lecture for the Foellinger Foundation on Generation Change. Very nice and responsive audiences in all three locations. Even got some press. Many thanks to everyone at all three organizations who did so much work to make my time in their cities so enjoyable.
And, speaking of employee recruitment needs, my wife Chris's retirement dinner was last night. 33 years in special ed in public schools draws to a close in three weeks.
First, a shout-out to her for a job very, very well done.
Second, some anecdotal data. Chris is part of over 31 teachers retiring this year from our small school district. That's an entire school's worth of experienced educators out the door.
And last year there was about the same number retiring here, and next year it's more...and this is happening in every school district (and every industry) all across the country.
All of which makes me feel we've got to get more kids volunteering and doing summer internships in our organizations in high school and college, to steer them our way early.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
What to do about Generation Change.....
This month's Tools You Can Use, from Fieldstone Alliance Publishing discusses the actions you can take to deal with Generation Change. It's straight from my new book, but in a nice approachable format.
Tools You Can Use is a newsletter you need to subscribe to: always full of information and ideas. And if you're in the newsletter mood, don't forget mine--the link to it is on the right and it's free.
I'm off to Ann Arbor for Adam's graduation. I'll miss AA, and all the great people there. But, Adam's going to start his graduate work in the fall at Georgia Tech, another terrific university, and I like Atlanta, too!
Tools You Can Use is a newsletter you need to subscribe to: always full of information and ideas. And if you're in the newsletter mood, don't forget mine--the link to it is on the right and it's free.
I'm off to Ann Arbor for Adam's graduation. I'll miss AA, and all the great people there. But, Adam's going to start his graduate work in the fall at Georgia Tech, another terrific university, and I like Atlanta, too!
Thursday, April 19, 2007
A room full of bright eyes...
Yesterday I was in St. Louis doing the second half of a two part gig for the Developmental Training Institute and their work for the Bank of America Neighborhood Leadership Development Program. I got the chance to talk with 78 leaders of some of the best and most innovative nonprofits in the country. What a treat.
We spent much of the afternoon in structured discussions about 5 key questions for organizations to answer as they move their mission forward, and then in the evening had two hours of wonderful and very informal time talking about issues ranging from board engagement to reductions in force to time management. Lots of fun for me and, I hope, of value to the participants. The participants gave me much optimism about our sector.
One of many topics we discussed was nonprofit leadership succession and today's news brought more concern in this area. An article showed up from onPhilantropy about the preliminary results of a study by the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network regarding the liklihood of current mid-managers seeing themselves as becoming execs, or even being in the field in 5 years. The answer to both issues? Not likely.
I'm looking forward to the release of the full study....I think.
We spent much of the afternoon in structured discussions about 5 key questions for organizations to answer as they move their mission forward, and then in the evening had two hours of wonderful and very informal time talking about issues ranging from board engagement to reductions in force to time management. Lots of fun for me and, I hope, of value to the participants. The participants gave me much optimism about our sector.
One of many topics we discussed was nonprofit leadership succession and today's news brought more concern in this area. An article showed up from onPhilantropy about the preliminary results of a study by the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network regarding the liklihood of current mid-managers seeing themselves as becoming execs, or even being in the field in 5 years. The answer to both issues? Not likely.
I'm looking forward to the release of the full study....I think.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Inquiring minds...
The Philadelphia Inquirer is on the story.
For the second time in two days, Jane M. Von Bergen has written a great piece on the issue of nonprofit management's impending boomer rush for the door.
This time the article is titled: Gun For Hire, and it's about a former turnaround specialist who has found a second career doing the same for nonprofits in crisis.
This is a great option for many nonprofits who are in serious financial jeopardy or who have had an ethical or legal crisis. A good read.
For the second time in two days, Jane M. Von Bergen has written a great piece on the issue of nonprofit management's impending boomer rush for the door.
This time the article is titled: Gun For Hire, and it's about a former turnaround specialist who has found a second career doing the same for nonprofits in crisis.
This is a great option for many nonprofits who are in serious financial jeopardy or who have had an ethical or legal crisis. A good read.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
More on boomer retirement....
A great story on boomer retirement and its effects on nonprofits from the Philadelphia Enquirer. No surprises, but an effective part of the story is on the inability of younger staff to work for nonprofits given their college debts. So sad, so true.
Speaking of sad but true, I'm in Ann Arbor for the next to last time while my son is a student here. Graduation next month!
Speaking of sad but true, I'm in Ann Arbor for the next to last time while my son is a student here. Graduation next month!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
A book in the hand....
My new book arrived from my publisher, Fieldstone Alliance, yesterday.
I rarely look at my books after they show up. People ask me what it feels like to read my own book, and I tell them..."I rarely read them in the first year or two. I might go back for a reference quote, but not often". They are astonished...and of course, what they don't realize is that by the time the book shows up, I have not only written it, but read the thing four or five times in the proofing, editing, etc stages. Frankly, I'm sick of it.
Not this book, though.
I immediately dove into it to see whether, having finished writing it 10 months ago, I still felt good about it. Why? Because the area of Generation Change is so, so dynamic and on everyone's list of big issues. I'm going to be speaking on this issue all over the place the remainder of this year, and am working with a foundation to assess generational readiness in their community. I've had inquiries from overseas, and everyone I've talked to about generation change is interested/worried/concerned/a bit freaked about the subject.
Should be fun to see what happens. If you're interested in looking at the book in more depth, there's a link on the right.
I rarely look at my books after they show up. People ask me what it feels like to read my own book, and I tell them..."I rarely read them in the first year or two. I might go back for a reference quote, but not often". They are astonished...and of course, what they don't realize is that by the time the book shows up, I have not only written it, but read the thing four or five times in the proofing, editing, etc stages. Frankly, I'm sick of it.
Not this book, though.
I immediately dove into it to see whether, having finished writing it 10 months ago, I still felt good about it. Why? Because the area of Generation Change is so, so dynamic and on everyone's list of big issues. I'm going to be speaking on this issue all over the place the remainder of this year, and am working with a foundation to assess generational readiness in their community. I've had inquiries from overseas, and everyone I've talked to about generation change is interested/worried/concerned/a bit freaked about the subject.
Should be fun to see what happens. If you're interested in looking at the book in more depth, there's a link on the right.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Generational issues in the news....
A very, very good set of stories in the current issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy about using older workers (paid workers, not volunteers) and how to adjust to them.
I've been meeting these people for years. They are boomers who are in their 50's and trying to get back to their more radical/philanthropic roots...they have tons of skills and want to help. I deal with this very issue in Generations, and it's great to see others realizing the potential these people have. The Chronicle will be running a series on this issue, called "Regeneration". I look forward to it.
Oh, and while you are at the Chronicle, check out two other disturbing updates:
First, an article on boomer volunteers not sticking with it and, second, an article on the dissatisfaction of work conditions among younger nonprofit workers.
We need to pay attention to this stuff. It's really important
I've been meeting these people for years. They are boomers who are in their 50's and trying to get back to their more radical/philanthropic roots...they have tons of skills and want to help. I deal with this very issue in Generations, and it's great to see others realizing the potential these people have. The Chronicle will be running a series on this issue, called "Regeneration". I look forward to it.
Oh, and while you are at the Chronicle, check out two other disturbing updates:
First, an article on boomer volunteers not sticking with it and, second, an article on the dissatisfaction of work conditions among younger nonprofit workers.
We need to pay attention to this stuff. It's really important
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