In Todd Sukol’s recent blog, originally published in Giving Way, he maintains that as leaders, we need to help people with different tendencies, strengths and weaknesses learn to work together productively by creating environments that value diversity.
Dueling forces seem to be at work in the nonprofit and philanthropic world. Sometimes, passion reigns supreme. We give our highest praise to dreamers and free thinkers. Their creativity, conviction and courage inspire and excite us. At other times, we seem to be ruled by organizational policies and procedures. We love the passion, but we know that without systems and processes in place, even the noblest aims are scarcely more than fantasies. Structure and accountability protect us from the trap of spinning our wheels with limited impact. Indeed, these two forces -- passion on the one hand and process on the other -- frequently find themselves in conflict in even the best run organizations.
Finding balance between sound organizational procedures and creative disruption is hard. In fact, it is one of the hardest balancing acts for nonprofit professionals and lay leaders alike. When do we stay true to structure, even when there are strong impulses (and good reasons) to make exceptions in support of the greater good? And when should we be flexible, allowing a suspension of procedures in order to capitalize on extraordinary circumstances, exciting ideas or unique opportunities?
Read MoreIt turns out, there is an actual recipe for creating a leader. Start with a heavy dose of dynamic work experience, add a few dashes of mentoring, mix in a pinch of formal training and voila! You have a leader. It’s called the 70-20-10 leadership development model, and it was developed by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) decades ago.
Notice something interesting? A full 70% of this formula hinges upon the cultivation of increasingly challenging, on-the-job “work experiences.” Yet too often this key ingredient is overlooked by managers. After all, it is much easier to simply approve an employee attending a one-off, skill-building course, say, rather than meaningfully support them in leading a new program – a riskier and more time-consuming proposition.
But the latter is exactly what organizations need to do in order to successfully cultivate workplace cultures that enable individuals to develop as leaders. Unfortunately, our sector is falling short in this area.
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