Ask me I won’t say no, how could I?
(The Smiths)
I have a few questions for you – and be honest, because only you will know the responses (unless you choose to share them with me).
- Are your staff and volunteers happy? And do they really know what you expect?
- Does your board really feel engaged and like they’re driving the organisation?
- Do your staff, volunteers and board members really know what is expected of them?
- What are the strengths of your organisation? Where are you going? What might stop you?
- Do your beneficiaries really need the services you offer? Or would they prefer something different?
If you think you know the answers to all these questions – how do you know?
When did you last ASK?
I have carried out numerous organisational strength reviews on behalf of some really great organisations – and every time I find things under the surface that threaten to harm their development.
There are often building frustrations, low morale, performance concerns, unclear expectations and basically, people trying to do their best but feeling frustrated on a weekly or even daily basis. And why?
Communication, transparency and clarity.
So often I find the cause of a negative position simply to be communication breakdown. Teams see changes happening around them and feel insecure because nobody has explained why, beneficiaries aren’t engaging with services but nobody has asked them why, trustees aren’t using their skills to drive the organisation and nobody has asked them why…
Am I making my point here?
Of course, a short blog like this can only hint at the breadth of issues that can be bubbling under your surface – and I’ve seen them all – but I would like you to at least take a moment to think about the assumptions you might make and maybe consider asking the right people the right questions.
When I work with an organisation for the first time, these are some of the questions I explore as part of an organisational strength review. If you’re thinking of developing and growing, then you need to be sure that your foundations are strong first. Never assume that everything is fine – look a little deeper and ask the right questions.
With all the challenges your growing organisations face every day…
Isn’t it time you carried out an organisational strength review?
Don’t have time? I can carry out an organisational strength review on your behalf and work with you to tackle the results. I’ve done this many times before and you’ll be in a safe pair of hands. Get in touch if you think your organisation could benefit from a little help.