Dive into the complete episode list for NGO Soul + Strategy. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.
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07 Feb 2022
033. Chasing funding - will it ever end? A back-and-forth with Chris of MZN
00:38:41
Tosca is in conversation with Christian Meyer zu Natrup, Managing Director of MzN International, in the second episode of our 3 part, joint podcast series. The other 2 episodes cover ‘Chasing Innovation’ (episode #032) and ‘Chasing impact’ (episode #34, expected to be aired around Feb 23).
Summary
Good projects/programs need good funding. But why do some organizations continue to grow and some stagnate?
And is growth even a good or necessary thing in this era of a renewed look at the appropriate role of global North-founded INGOs, when global-South civil society is asking to #shiftthepower?
Isn’t the business model of nonprofits, taking tax money from the global north for projects in the global south, inherently inefficient and even perpetuating colonialism?
In the second episode, I discuss with Chris the disconnect between the funding we need to solve a problem and the funding we can get.
Christian’s Bio
Managing Director of MzN International
Disaster relief and assessment coordinator at European Union (2006 – 2013)
Senior Executive at Ernst and Young Consultants
We discussed:
There's a disconnect between the funding NGOs need to solve a problem and the funding they can get. It's more effective to ask what funding people need to solve a problem, then build an organization to get that funding. If grants form part of the mix, great. If not, look for alternatives.
What are the trade-offs between a strategy of seeking diversification of revenues versus focusing on one source which the organization has shown success in obtaining
Digitally-enabled fundraising strategies, and the blind spots of 'brick and mortar' NGOs
Necessary components of a business plan, such as:
* How to generate revenue * For what impact * Intersection of revenue and impact * Intersection of revenue and costs of delivery (which many NGOs don’t really track), compared to the impact generated * How to interact with the market/ecosystem of other nonprofits * People side: skills staffing and governance.
034. How to generate greater innovation capability in your nonprofit: observations of an innovation coach
00:51:20
Summary
NGOs are sometimes labeled fairly critically as 'dinosaurs' or 'legacy organizations'. How can they create a more innovation-ready or innovation-friendly culture?
What can NGOs learn from other types of organizations when it comes to generating more innovation, either in the broader civil society sector or outside of it?
What stands in the way, in terms of organizational structures, processes, or ways of working when NGOs struggle? Leadership mindsets?
In this podcast episode, I interview Shervin Fekri at Board of Innovation. Board of Innovation (BoI) is a strategy and business design firm that coaches private and public sector organizations -- including INGOs and donor agencies -- on how to generate a healthy innovation pipeline.
Shervin’s Bio
Global Social Innovation Lead at Board of Innovation
Co-founder of Board of Innovation, Netherlands
Founder at Ministry for Change
Innovation Strategy Consultant at UNHCR (via Board of Innovation)
We discuss:
Some NGOs have sought help with innovation and design thinking-related coaching and have introduced innovation labs, teams, and sprints, but the mindset that needs to accompany design thinking can prove to be challenging
Organizational cultures that are quite hierarchical and not amenable to flat, lean, and agile decision making are problematic, as are leaders who do not feel they can trust their innovation teams to do their work in an uninterrupted manner until it is time to make a pitch
Leaders who get engaged in micromanaging instead of setting strategic criteria for what innovations should respond to while otherwise getting out of the way are also problematic.
Some NGOs in the development sector have evolved into hybrids of nonprofit/for-profit forms, by integrating social enterprises or impact investing units into their organization or by setting them up 'adjacent' to their organization.
Organizations can show different archetypes: some seek innovation (incl innovation support) outside of their organization. Some prefer to experiment within. How they go about it can affect their innovation-capability.
Common challenges in social sector organizations who are wanting to become more innovation-friendly:
o The big social sector organizations tend to be complex in organization structure (sometimes too much so) with distributed country offices/affiliates. There is also variation in the extent to which decision making is centralized or decentralized
o National cultures vary a lot, and NGOs sometimes have somewhat less of a ‘corporate’ culture
o NGO cultures tend to be very process-oriented; they are not very user-focused, fairly siloed and have a hard time simplifying what the user needs/wants
o Marketing/fundraising/comms people typically are more user-focused.
Quotes
“Some NGOs are good in starting innovation projects but bad in killing bad projects”
“It is best to use an innovation portfolio approach, where the organization and decision-makers have visibility into how many innovation projects they have going on at any one time, how long they have been going on, which ones are lagging and which ones have to be stopped. That oversight is sometimes missing”
035. Chasing impact - ever more elusive? One more exchange with Chris of MZN
00:43:32
Tosca is in conversation with Christian Meyer zu Natrup, Managing Director of MzN International, a boutique consulting firm that focuses both on nonprofits in international development, and on businesses that wish to do good, in this final episode of our 3 part joint podcast series. The other 2 episodes cover ‘Chasing innovation’ (episode #33) and ‘Chasing funding’' (episode #34).
Summary
Nonprofits are here to solve complex problems. But can they?
Where is the impact?
And why do some organizations spend so much time and money to achieve what some might typify as relatively little?
And are we as NGOs actually interested in measuring and knowing our impact? And how do we build data-informed cultures?
In the final episode, I discuss with Chris of MZN NGO impact and what are some NGOs' mental models around impact.
Christian’s Bio
Managing Director of MzN International
Disaster relief and assessment coordinator at European Union (2006 – 2013)
Senior Executive at Ernst and Young Management Consultants
We discussed:
The dangerous seduction of being embedded in a charity architecture (see Tosca's co-authored book)
Cost-effectiveness of program interventions: why do NGOs not seem more interested in this? Is it difficult/impossible/too expensive to measure?
How to create learning and evidence-driven cultures
036. Why the NGO Halo Effect is problematic: a conversation with Isabel De Bruin Cardoso
00:43:12
Summary
What is the 'halo effect' when it comes to NGOs, and why does it matter?
Here's a rough definition of ‘the halo effectj. The term comes out of the psychological academic literature: if the first impression of a person or an entity is positive for a person, this tends to stick with people. This tends to be the case for NGOs: NGOs are assumed to be ‘good’; thus they are glorified.
And why can this be problematic? Because when NGOs are assumed to be 'good' (i.e. morally, ethically good), they don't see their own 'shadow'. Moreover, that may make them justify questionable means for an end. They may also feel morally superior -- which has all kinds of potentially unhealthy consequences, some of which I observe regularly as well. And it can lead to moral naivete.
How can NGOs as a sector, individual organizations and as staff/leadership best keep alert to the dangerous downsides of this halo effect?
In this podcast episode, I discuss with Isabel De Bruin Cardoso, development practitioner, consultant, and PhD researcher, why and how NGOs as supposedly morally good organizations can behave badly - and why the two may be connected.
Isabel’s Bio:
Ph.D. candidate researching unethical behavior of NGOs, Erasmus University of Rotterdam, the Netherlands
A practitioner and consultant with 15 years of experience in international safeguarding and child protection across UN agencies and NGOs
Advisory board member of the Society of Jesus
We discussed:
When NGOs expect safeguarding policies to go beyond staff to boards, ex-staff and volunteers, the policy becomes more meaningful
Safeguarding is not just about minimizing its incidence, but also about enforcement of consequences when incidences happen
Manifestation of the halo effect:
NGO missions may be assumed to be better than they actually are
The idea that NGOs know best what is good for the public is a dangerous one
People who work in the NGO sector are assumed to be morally superior
It is problematic when NGOs do not feel the need to be monitored or held to account due to the assumption that they are morally good
How the halo effect may impact on the problem of 'white saviorism'?
How can NGOs as a sector best address this halo effect? A self-assessment tool (which Isabel is developing) could be one mechanism
Quotes
“In the field of safeguarding, it can be difficult to operationalize worthy concepts such as 'respect': what does this actually look like, behaviorally?”
“Normalizing having conversations about safeguarding is a significant form of role modeling”
Resources:
Visualization of Isabel's main arguments about the Halo Effect
037. We need to rethink the 'virtue narrative' surrounding NGOs: Aseem Prakash
00:36:41
Summary
Why might the assumptions we frequently make about the ‘virtue narrative’ that surrounds NGOs be problematic? Aren't they meant to create social good in the world?
In this podcast episode, I discuss this with Aseem Prakash, a well-known academic who focuses on nonprofits as well as on environmental activism, particularly focused on climate change. Aseem wrote an article, problematizing exactly this ‘virtue narrative’ surrounding NGOs.
Aseem’s Bio:
Professor at the University of Washington in Seattle (USA)
Founder of the University of Washington's Center for Environmental Politics
Contributor to many well-known publications, such as Forbes.com, The Conversation, Huffington Post, The Hill, and the Washington Post
Ph.D. at the Dept of Political Science and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, USA
MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, India
We discuss:
Academics in the past have created typologies of types of NGO failures:
Agency failure: when NGOs have problems with what academics call ‘principal-agent’ issues, i.e. when the 'agent' - in this case the NGO -- is too subordinate to the 'principal' - in this case the contracting agency, donor or another provider of funds to NGOs
'NGOization' failure: when managerialism and professionalism transform NGOs from citizen-agent and community-focused actors to contractors
Representation failure: when the assumption that NGO activities reflect the needs of the communities they serve turns out to be not entirely to be true
Cooperation failure: when the assumption that NGOs work cooperatively with each other to solve 'wicked' social, political, and economic problems turns out to be incorrect (due to competition for scarce funding resources).
Given these failures, it is not healthy to assume that NGOs always do good. In other words, when NGOs are assumed to be ‘virtuous’ and this virtue narrative is held too tightly, it can create conditions for lapses in how NGOs' actual performance is monitored (or regulated)
In addition, self-regulation by NGOs has been helpful, but probably not sufficient to weed out 'bad apples', or more important simply underperforming actors.
Quotes
“Do ‘global charity chains’ function like a supply chain for multinational corporations?”
“When NGO agendas or advocacy stances do not represent the preferences of the underprivileged – who are already neglected by the state and markets --, NGOs may actually reproduce inequality”
038. Exploring Possible Futures for Conservation NGOs: Anca Damerell @ Luc Hoffman Institute
00:52:25
Summary
What is the future for conservation NGOs?
Is there a future?
If so, what kinds of roles, mandates, organizational culture, and capabilities do conservation NGOs of the future need to embrace?
That was the question that a small team of consultants, including yours truly, tried to address by providing 15 - sometimes bold -- propositions for changes in roles and mandates.
In this episode, I interview Anca Damerell, Head of Programme at the Luc Hoffmann Institute, and in turn, she interviews me right back :). Listen to our dialogue!
Anca’s Bio:
Head of Programme at Luc Hoffmann Institute
Research and Innovation Programme Officer at United Nations Environmental Program
Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Cambridge
We discussed:
Many NGOs are somewhat anxiously asking themselves what their relevance, legitimacy, and effectiveness are in the future. NGOs in the conservation sector are no exception to this.
The Luc Hoffmann Institute, a leading organization in innovation and transformative change for biodiversity protection, is specialized in turning complex challenges, like this one, into opportunities for change by bringing together diverse views and facilitating the co-creation of innovative solutions.
Some of the 15 – sometimes provocative– shifts in roles and mandates for conservation NGOs.
Moving towards the envisioned future: The urgent need for a mindset shift and transformative change
Conservation NGOs need to develop a greater capability to work across sectors, recognizing the cross-sectoral interdependence of conservation with adjacent areas
Our need to decolonize narratives, and have space for diverse plural narratives
Quotes
“Are NGOs motivated by mission or by self-survival?”
“This is not about replacing conservation NGOs but about envisaging a much more 'niche- specific 'role, and possibly a smaller presence”
“We don’t have to give in to self-flagellation, but we do have to be willing to shift roles towards much more specific niches, playing primarily facilitative roles vis-a-vis much bigger actors (multinationals, China, security forces etc.)”
039. How NGO CEOs are thinking about operating model changes, right now: Christine Sow of Humentum
00:53:01
Summary
Christine Sow is the CEO of Humentum, a global support organization for NGOs who wish to enhance their operational performance. Humentum helps NGOs translate their aspirations into operating models that give them the ability to deliver on those aspirations.
In that capacity, and given that Humentum among others facilitates peer sharing among CEOs on lessons learned in improving operating models, she has the perfect perch to give us a sense of what types of change CEOs currently are considering.
So what are some of Christine's overriding impressions from recent discussions in Humentum's 'CEO track'?
Where do CEOs lean in on the need for change? And where do they - as yet -- hold back?
Where does Christine see the biggest disconnects between what NGO members say they are about, and what their real in-use and practiced behaviors are?
In this episode, Christine and I discuss the outcomes of CEO discussions in 2021 and the first half of 2022, and her predictions on what may be future directions for changes in NGO operating models in the years to come.
Christine’s Bio:
President and CEO, Humentum
Senior Director, Country Programs (Health), Palladium
Chief Operating Officer, Population Services International (July 2017 – Dec 2017)
Executive Director, Global Health Council (Nov 2013 – July 2016)
We discuss:
How Humentum offers support in the areas of operational excellence capacity building to national and international NGOs alike
The pandemic has been hard on CEOs; there has been no playbook to rely on, and it has been very hard to connect with NGOs’ constituents directly – including staff
We as a sector cannot go back, and we need to watch out for any tendency to ‘snap back’; neither operationally, nor ethically, nor in terms of strategy;
INGO pay scale systems are one of the elements that need to change, to get to greater equity, and NGOs also need to recruit from global pools, instead of pools that are limited to their country of founding
They also need to learn how to better onboard staff, managers and leaders virtually
In the context of decolonizing aid, the time for top-down, centralized decision making, including finances and in terms of budget controls, is over
Quotes
“ We cannot go back now, and we need to watch out for any tendency to ‘snap back’”
“I see CEOs shrink back from bigger change when it comes to seeking a better balance between showing commitment to their individual donors and supporting local organizations”
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Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.
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13 Jun 2022
040. Can NGOs Stay Human-Centered while Embracing Smart Tech? Beth Kanter and Allison Fine
00:45:39
Summary
The new generation of 'smart technology' - chatbots, AI, machine learning, natural language processing, robots etc. can bring major benefits to nonprofits - if they can discern what they need to do to remain human-centered in their choice of technology. And if they remain aware of the potential for bias in AI-generated data, given its profound potential negative impact?
What can nonprofits – who are frequently not digital natives, let alone coders themselves – do to protect themselves against these?
In this episode, we discuss the timely new book by Beth Kanter and Allison Fine: 'The Smart Nonprofit: Staying Human-Centered in an Automated World'.
Beth’s Bio:
Nonprofit and foundation-focused trainer and independent consultant
Virtual facilitator
A nonprofit innovator in digital transformation and workplace well being
Author
Adjunct Professor at the Monterrey Institute of International Studies
Allison’s Bio:
Principal consultant at Allison Fine Consulting
Founder/CEO of Network of Elected Women
Senior fellow at Demos, at the Wagner School at New York University
Founder and Executive Director at Innovation Network
Author of multiple books on (digital) networking, social media and the nonprofit sector
We discuss:
Tech is more available and more cheaply available than ever; that actually increases its dangers
Smart tech can eliminate ‘grunt work’ done by many nonprofit frontlines, operations, and fundraising staff, and create a ‘dividend’ of time, which can be more strategically spent on frontline interaction with clients, evaluation and learning, horizon scanning etc.
Smart tech can reduce the need for ‘astroturf campaigning’, in which nonprofits transactionally engage with their ‘members’ on a superficial basis; instead, it allows them to engage more deeply in getting to know new donors
Smart tech is used in the form of bots, for instance, to engage with people in the public who need services– but we have to do so very carefully
How leaders need to be ‘digitally literate’ and not leave these decisions with regard to adoption of new 'smart technologies' up to the Chief Technology Officer
How nonprofits need to remain overall reflective in adopting smart tech
Quotes
“This book is not technical to me”
“Leading through resistance in organizations is among others about doing away with outmoded ideas that only people can do nonprofit tasks”
041. Rest, reset, resilience: how my mind journeyed when I took a sabbatical - Chris Proulx @ Humentum
00:36:32
Summary
What happens when NGO leaders take a 4 months sabbatical?
What happens to the mind -- what journey does it go on during a 4 month's rest from work?
What happens, especially when we are talking about a leader who was already quite steeped in mindfulness and meditation before he started his sabbatical?
In this podcast episode, I discuss with Chris Proulx, Global Director at Humentum the topic of rest, reset, reflection, and personal resilience when leaders take an extensive break from work.
Chris’s Bio:
Global Director at Humentum, the global network of NGOs that strengthens operational excellence through community building, training, consulting services, and policy-influencing work
Former President and CEO at LINGOs
Former CEO of e-Cornell - Cornell University's e-learning platform
We discuss:
Resilience is not helped when we do not dare to rely on the help of others, even in the presence of a great team
What is the art of ‘doing nothing’? At first, anxiety about the empty space.
To what extent is the notion of time an illusion?
How leaders spend their attention is precious. Most of us spend it quite poorly.
How organizations can create more opportunities for sabbaticals, as part of a benefits package, even when you are not huge.
Quotes
“My mind was not ready to rest in the first few weeks after starting my sabbatical; I was not yet able to pull back the mind”
“I at first still kept scheduling, trying to stay in control mode, I was still crossing things off my to-do list”
“It took a while to really be able to listen to what bubbled up in the mind”
042. Feminist leadership: organizational practices to make it real -- Kirthi Jayakumar & Leila Billing
00:39:58
Summary
Today, I am interviewing Kirthi Jayakumar of World Pulse and founder of the Gender Security Project, and Leila Billing, senior advisor on youth, gender, and social movement building on Feminist Leadership. Leila, along with Natalie Brook, runs an open enrollment Feminist Leadership training program (We are Feminist Leaders), and Kirthi is one of its alumni.
As some NGOs and development organizations have embraced, how much of its subversive elements get diluted and cooptated; and how should we think about this? Is there still good being achieved, or is there a real danger here?
Kirthi’s Bio:
Founder of the Gender Security Project
Head of Training at World Pulse
Digital Engagement Manager at Every Woman Treaty
Advisor at Women7
Editor at Cactus Communications
Leila’s Bio:
Senior advisor on gender, youth, and movement building
Co-founder of We Are Feminist Leaders training program
Trustee at Gender and Development Network
Head of Partnership to End Child Marriage
We discuss:
We start from the premise of Srilatha Batliwala's beautiful phrase: "the self as a site of change". Self-reflection and self-awareness have to be at the start. But that is not enough.
We also have to put in place concrete organizational practices that embody feminist leadership, such as:
Normalization of a focus on staff/volunteer well-being and care – instead of on productivity and numbers
Organizations with zero deadlines and where people co-own the mission
Organizations where everybody has the same base salary, and people receive extra pay based on their caregiving responsibilities
Organizations where performance appraisal processes focus more on collaboration skills and attitude/aptitude and on sharing power rather than productivity against set targets
Cultures where it is OK/encouraged to bring your full self to work, and where emotions do not need to be checked at the door
Organizations where joy and dreaming are part of the parlance of the organization
Organizations comfortable with the messiness of emotions; as well as with the political dimensions of Feminist Leadership
043. How I practice virtual leadership in a complex membership organization - Lysa John @ CIVICUS
00:48:09
Summary
What works in establishing personal relationships and developing trust and bonding in the virtual space, when we as leaders have never met our colleagues face to face?
Some NGO leaders and managers started their jobs at the beginning of the pandemic and led entirely virtually for a long stretch - onboarding, developing personal relationships, bonding, trust development - the whole deal. Lysa John, Secretary General at CIVICUS knows a thing or two about this. So I was really curious how this experience impacted her leadership experience and approaches.
In this NGO Soul + Strategy podcast episode, I interview Lysa about how she practices virtual leadership -- and in a complex membership organization. nonetheless.
CIVICUS, for those who might not know, is one of the preeminent global alliances of civil society organizations and activists dedicated to strengthening civic action and civil society throughout the world.
How to establish personal relationships and bonding and develop a sense of trust in the absence of ever seeing each other face to face? What are the preferred leadership style and behaviors in a virtual setting? And what are the rewarding elements in leading a complex membership organization such as CIVICUS?
Lysa’s Bio:
Secretary General of CIVICUS, World Alliance for Citizen Participation
Global Campaigns Director, Save the Children International
Head of Outreach, UN High-Level Panel on the post-2015 agenda
International Campaign Director, Global Call to Action Against Poverty
And if you too want to excel in virtual and hybrid leadership: Five Oaks Consulting School's online course on Virtual Team Leadership skillsmay be just right for you!
Upcoming course dates: September 24 - November 5, 2022
044. Disability rights: how NGOs go about actually claiming them - Susan Sygall @ Mobility International USA
00:43:55
Summary
Why has it taken so long to mainstream disabled people's concerns, when 15% of the global population has some form of disability?
Has it been helpful to see disability integrated into Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) approaches -- or have there been some downsides to this approach?
Are there disadvantages to being perceived as a single-issue organization (i.e. disabled people’s organizations)?
Today, I am interviewing Susan Sygall of Mobility International USA (MIUSA) about how NGOs go about claiming rights for people with physical, mental and cognitive disabilities.
Susan’s Bio:
Co-founder of the Disabled Women's Coalition at the University of California, Berkeley
Co-founder of the non-profit organization Mobility International USA (MIUSA)
Mobility Int. USA (MIUSA) works on disability rights. It does programming with men and women, though its leadership development program WILD (Women’s Institute on Leadership and Disability) has a special emphasis on women with a disability and their leadership, given these women's ‘double disadvantage’.
Organizations like MIUSA and others are sometimes indicated as DPOs – Disabled People’s Organizations -- , or OPDs – Organizations for People with Disabilities
MIUSA’s business model is built, among others, on a consulting offering: MIUSA advises ‘mainstream’ NGOs as well as other international development actors on how to integrate disabled people's approaches into their work
One of the focal points of MIUSA’s advisory work with non-disability-focused development actors is to make sure that these organizations do not just have policies on paper, but have integrated disability concerns into actual budgets, by adding 2-3% to the budget to allow for disability accommodations and 5-7% for integrating disabled people into program evaluations
Susan senses that disabled people’s rights finally are getting more fully taken on board; the focus on DEI seems to have helped with this coming to fruition
If funders request as a standard measure that grant applications indicate how disabled people will be incorporated into the programming, this supports mainstreaming in significant ways
One of the aspects common to disabled leaders is that in their biographical background, there often were one or more family members who believed in the capacities of the person and supported them wholeheartedly.
045. What we as NGO leaders need to do to spur innovation: Dermot O'Gorman @ WWF Australia
00:45:30
Summary
What can we learn from civil society leaders who wish to spur the adoption and implementation of innovations?
How do humans – within organizations, and particularly in NGOs – react to change?
What is the best advice when leading NGOs through innovation, from a senior team leader’s perspective?
Today, I am interviewing Dermot O'Gorman of WWF Australia on the do's can don'ts of NGO leadership when it comes to promoting innovation.
Dermot’s Bio:
Global Leader in Innovation for Sustainable Development
CEO at WWF Australia
Visiting Scholar, Stanford University Digital Civil Society Lab
Board of directors, ACFID, Australian Council for International Development
We discuss:
How can AI help us with our nonprofit core purpose: e.g. in the field of conservation, the monitoring of fish caught/harvested, from the source to the plate of the consumer – to find out whether it was poached or legitimately harvested
High-risk, long-term capital in philanthropy is not sufficiently available, but NGOs also do not ask enough for it. We don’t have the right organizational risk profile in place, but also do not have the organizational systems to execute
One of the most important things leaders can do to spur innovation is to invest in it
CEOs cannot afford to delegate the creation of an innovation-friendly organizational climate to others: they have to be Chief innovators
CEOs have to be able to say transparently: I do not know if this will succeed, we will test and validate, iterate, and work with decision stage gates till we figure it out
Don’t fall victim to ‘shiny’ innovations and their halo effect, or to supersmart single ‘heroes’ that purport to introduce and manage innovation on their own
CEOs among others have to give senior staff protection so that they can focus on 4-6 weeks sprints, and they have to signal to the org that they will manage the risks that come with innovation
The board’s risk appetite matters a great deal as well
Why the removal of old org processes is hard: you need something in place till the new process is in place; and if old processes are linked to values/ideas that staff have an attachment to, this is particularly hard
Quotes:
“We fundamentally underestimate both the upsides and the downsides of innovation”
“As CEO, you cannot delegate innovation to an innovation chief; you need to be around to take away obstacles, indicate the strategic boundaries within which innovations have to fit, etc."
“Don’t let the perception on brand risk – often in the head of one Communications staff member -- be an overblown obstacle”
046. Signaling your financial trustworthiness lowers your NGOs impact by half: George Mitchell and Thad Calabrese
00:45:52
Summary
Did you know....
When nonprofits signal they are financially trustworthy, they actually give up to half of their potential impact.
Why is this "financial trustworthiness signaling behavior” so pervasive, when it has this high a cost?
In this podcast episode, I interview George Mitchell, Professor of Nonprofit Management at Baruch College, City University of New York – and a long-time collaborator, including on our book (Between Power and Irrelevance: the Future of Transnational NGOs’ (Oxford University Press, 2020) -- and Thad Calabrese, Professor of Public and Nonprofit Management at New York University about their provocative new findings.
George’s Bio:
Professor of Nonprofit Management at Baruch College, City University of New York
Director at Center for Nonprofit Strategy and Management
Moynihan Research Fellow at Syracuse University
Independent consultant at InterAction
Ph.D. from Syracuse University
Co-author of our joint book ‘Between Power and Irrelevance: the Future of Transnational NGOs’, together with Hans Peter Schmitz, University of San Diego (Oxford Uni Press, 2020)
Thad’s Bio:
Professor of Public and Nonprofit Financial Management
Assistant professor at Baruch College, earlier on
Ph.D. from New York University
We discuss:
Nonprofits frequently adhere to four financial ‘orthodoxies’ or norms:
Though shall keep your overhead costs minimal
Though shall be financially lean, i.e. not look too profitable, not sit on a large financial or capital reserve
Though shall diversify one’s revenues as much as possible
Though shall avoid taking out debt (in the form of loans, bonds, bank notes) etc to acquire capital for investment
What if these practices, these financial norms, actually reduce your impact as a nonprofit by as much as 50% (in terms of your overall spending levels)?
George and Hans did a large-scale, quantitative study on US-based international and domestic nonprofits that indicated exactly this. Their research findings were picked up by several national US media, given their provocative nature.
Quotes:
“Norm-adhering nonprofits sacrifice about half of their mission impact over a 10-year period compared with norm-busting nonprofits.”
“Forgone mission impact is the hidden cost of trustworthiness”
047. Crisis leadership skills during war: Pact's Alyona Gerasimova in Ukraine
00:47:51
Summary
Leadership in crisis contexts.
Many NGOs regularly work in contexts of crisis, or war. The war in Ukraine was one of those contexts, and it led quite a few NGOs to reallocate programming resources toward the Ukrainian population.
PACT is a US-founded NGO which has worked in Ukraine for many years. In this podcast episode, I took the opportunity to ask Alyona Gerasimova, its Country Director, a number of things related to leadership skills, behaviors and actions in crisis.
What leadership aspects are most important in such circumstances?
How do you maintain your own individual sanity, while trying to keep your team motivated as well as safe?
Does your leadership style vary, depending on what lens you use towards the crisis? There is some research that indicates whether a crisis is expected versus a surprise, or whether there is some time to respond, or not, impacts how leaders respond, who they consult to get to good decision-making, etc.
You are in for a remarkable conversation.
Alyona’s Bio:
Country Director of Pact Ukraine
Independent consultant for Organisation Development/ Organisational Change
Country Director of Holt International Children’s Service
We discuss:
How work can be a coping mechanism when everything else in the context is out of control – but you have to watch out for its downsides
The power of gratitude for the little things when in crisis
The need to switch between short-term, medium-term, and long-term time horizons and perspectives and planning, all the time
In volatile contexts, you need to frequently change your decision-making. This does not necessarily reflect bad decision-making, but just the need to be agile
Personality type-wise, some thrive in crisis; some can switch from a planful to an adaptive style, and some have difficulty functioning or making decisions in crisis
Some opportunities for change, learning and innovation, which organizations learned during crisis are things they may want to hold on to after the crisis is over
Quotes:
“This is more than a crisis, this is a war. War consists of multiple crises”
“Interestingly enough, the humanitarian sector was slow to respond in Ukraine, while the development sector was more agile in switching to humanitarian work”
048. How to kindle innovation in large development agencies: Soren Vester Haldrup @ UNDP
00:47:17
Summary
Do you work in a large NGO or UN agency, and wonder how the heck you are supposed to stimulate innovations in such a sizable, potentially quite bureaucratic organization?
Do you assume that organization size and structure matter when it comes to creating a good climate for innovation?
And is lack of innovation funds as big an issue as we make it out to be?
In this podcast episode, I interview Soren Vester Haldrup, Innovation Fund Manager at UNDP, on how to kindle innovation in large development agencies. Many people associate 'innovative culture' with small start ups, but there is not necessarily a link between the two.
Soren’s Bio:
Innovation Specialist and Fund Manager, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Board Member, Global Integrity
Senior Consultant, Oxford Policy Management
Policy Analyst, UNDP
We discuss:
How and why UNDP's approach to innovation transitioned from a focus on going after small, project-size innovations to a portfolio approach of larger-scale innovations that aim to address system-level challenges and multi-faceted ‘wicked issues’ that only groups of actors can address
Too many innovations are solutions looking for a problem; stay focused on the problem longer!
Perhaps counter-intuitively (at least for me), not all solutions need to be pursued, as scale is not always good for wicked issues. Rather, UNDP uses an innovation funnel model, in which many innovations are expected to fail fast. But getting to that one solution that can be scaled is not always the solution
You need buy-in from leadership at the right time and interest, engagement and encouragement from the grassroots
UNDP uses 'deep demonstrations', instead of scaling. It also aims to create demand for innovations on the side of peers, primary constituents, and funders
A leadership mindset of humility and comfort with uncertainty is not always present across cultures
Human inertia may be present more strongly in large organizations because they’ve been around for a long time. And the number of approvals needed in such organizations is typically significant. On the other hand, in small organizations, groupthink can be more prevalent
Availability of money is an issue, but the flexibility of money is a bigger issue
Innovation is both about small tweaks to existing solutions as well as big breakthroughs to overcome system-wide issues
049. Women and positional power in faith based NGOs: Martha Holley Newsome @ Medical Teams Int.
01:32:42
Summary
What are the strengths of faith-based organizations that secular NGOs may have reason to covet?
On the other hand, what weaknesses or potential blind spots may faith-based organizations face?
And is there anything specific, or ‘typical’ about being a woman top leader in a faith-based NGO?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Martha Holley Newsome, President & CEO of Medical Teams International, and we talk among others about women and positional power in faith-based NGOs, and why, based on anecdotal data, they seem to be underrepresented as compared to secular organizations.
Martha’s Bio:
President and CEO, Medical Teams International
19 years at World Vision International (Vice President, Sr. Director and head of the Africa Region’s HIV/AIDs division, National Director, and more)
Degree in Public Health from John Hopkins University
We discuss:
Medical Teams International is a small to mid-size Christian health and humanitarian aid NGOs, working in the US as well as in 7 countries. In the US, it offers a large dental aid program as well as wrap-around medical and social service care programs for underserved populations such as the elderly, houseless people, and veterans. Outside the US, Medical Teams focuses on long-term refugee and displaced people’s medical care needs, primary care improvements, and health sector reforms
Medical Teams aims to be a "big tent" for its staff and volunteers (as well as the target populations it serves) – and not to be exclusionary based on people's faith traditions
Martha’s own professional journey which ended in senior leadership at World Vision and top leadership at Medical Teams International was heavily influenced by her father’s medical career and his tragic loss of life when Martha was 12 years old
What Martha learned about change management when she was unprepared to lead a large change process at World Vision: the costs of not focusing on building a strong, broad-based change coalition and on the creation of a strong, widely shared sense of urgency for change. As a result, the intended change process petered out
Faith-based NGOs tend to be somewhat behind when it comes to the full inclusion of women in top leadership. Possibly, this is due to unconscious bias, linked to how the religious institutions that these NGOs originate in preach about the role of women during their religious gatherings and services.
Quotes
“Faith-based NGOs can suffer from isolation when they think their vision suffices. This can come with naivete, and insufficient appreciation for professional standards that sector organizations need to uphold”
“Faith-based NGOs come with tremendous assets, through the motivation instilled in staff and volunteers – our vision is our calling”
“Younger and smaller faith-based organizations can have a tendency to come barreling into a country setting...instead of being part of a coordinated approach, with other NGOs”
Medical Teams' Storytelling guide background is HERE (created by a
13 Jan 2023
050. Innovation in social change organizations: shepherds or adopters? Emma Proud
00:38:10
Summary
Welcome to our 50th podcast episode!
In this episode, we continue to zero in on what it takes to adopt and shepherd innovation through social change organizations. I interview Emma Proud, head of Learning and Adapting at Brink, an agency that coaches and consults on behavioral innovation approaches.
Emma’s Bio:
Head of Learning and Adapting at Brink
Former Director of Organizational Agility at MercyCorps
Director for Center for Adaptive Management at MercyCorps
Emma played other roles at MercyCorps, as well as at Save the Children and in private-sector consulting as well
We discuss:
Leadership mindsets Emma observes in social change organizations that act as an obstacle when it comes to creating innovation-friendly climates:
overconfidence
low-risk appetite
getting distracted by the 'halo effect' of the new or the 'shiny'
difficulty in killing your 'darling innovation projects' ( sunk costs phenomena also plays a role in this); in other words, difficulty with stopping
when considering the risks attached to innovation, not thinking through the risk of doing nothing as well
It is helpful to move clients to an innovation portfolio approach (groups of innovation), accompanied by the development of criteria before you intervene in innovations;
The importance of aligning innovations with the organization's strategic priorities
Innovation 'shepherds' are different from those that need to be concerned with the adoption of innovation – the former are more organizational change managers
Quotes
“Innovation is about better, not necessarily about new” (Ann Mei Chang, author of Lean Impact)”
051. Charity Navigator's changing expectations and its impacts on US nonprofit behaviors: Michael Thatcher, Charity Navigator's CEO
00:50:56
Charity Navigator is a free online resource for US-based donors, an intermediary rating agency with 11 million unique users per year. It currently rates just about 200.000 US-registered nonprofits, both domestic and internationally operating ones, and is quite influential in driving the behavior of donors and, indirectly, of nonprofits that are rated on the platform.
Charity Navigator has changed the indicators with which it rates nonprofits in significant ways in the past 10 years - and more is to come. High time to have a talk with Michael Thatcher, CEO of Charity Navigator, about what they are up to!
Summary
Who pays for generating the data that nonprofits need, and who should pay?
What about the idea that some or all nonprofit outcomes are fundamentally immeasurable or have unmeasurable components?
How could the US government IRS 990 forms that nonprofits have to submit to the US Treasury Service be improved to provide better data on activities and actual results?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Michael Thatcher, President & CEO at Charity Navigator, on his organization’s changing expectations of nonprofits, and how this impacts US nonprofit behaviors.
Michael’s Bio:
President & CEO of Charity Navigator
Board member of Giving Gap and Keystone Accountability
Chief of Technology for Asia, Middle East, and Africa at Microsoft
We discuss:
Charity Navigator purposively does not charge donors or nonprofits to use its platform.
Charity Navigator’s methodology has changed substantively since its inception – and in ways that at least partially respond to the widespread criticism that had been lobbed at the agency by nonprofit leaders, analysts, and funders. One of many criticisms had been that CN reinforced the 'overhead myth' and thereby indirectly harmed the nonprofit sector.
There is an interesting tension that CN has to hold between being largely publically funded (through average donations of $45 per person, annually) and offering just enough – but not too much – information to the average user of Charity Navigator's platform
Which non-US countries are considering starting an intermediary rating agency similar to CN, and how are they going about it?
052. Influence and power in complex NGOs: leadership insights from John Samuel @ Oxfam
00:46:39
Summary
What is most difficult or challenging about operating as a leader in a place like Oxfam?
What does it take to lead from a political frame in NGOs?
Rational persuasion: is it overrated?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview John Samuel, Oxfam Asia Regional Director on influence and power in complex NGOs. John is an expert on Organizational Development. He is also the founder of Bodhigram, an Indian grassroots social movement,
John’s Bio:
Regional Director of Oxfam Asia
Former President of the Institute for Sustainable Development and Governance
President & CEO of Trancivic International
President of the National Centre for Advocacy Studies
CEO of FORUM-Asia, the Asia Forum for Human Rights and Development
International advisor at UNDP
We discuss:
What John is most excited about in Oxfam at this moment, as well as what can be challenging as a leader in Oxfam
Oxfam is a complex organization, combining multiple DNAs of the respective affiliates, their histories, organizational systems and national cultures - how to navigate this most effectively
What it takes to develop relationships of trust in an organization like Oxfam: negotiation across differences, people, power, and national cultures. Also understanding where people are coming from, rather than using the same measuring scale on all
How integrity, truthfulness, conviction, and principles can bypass or negate internal organizational political dynamics
John's experience is that some people are mission-focused; some are career-driven; and some task-driven; knowing how to recognize these different drivers is helpful.
Quotes:
“Organizations are about people, systems, and power”
“An organization is a living system, it’s organic; an institution, on the other hand, is about systems”
“Humans are fundamentally relational, so you lead through people and relationships”
“Leadership is about communication acts, through language”
“Power is not what you have but what you are perceived to have” (Saul Lewinsky)
053. Change is not a project: Hazem Fahmy on CARE Egypt’s Country Office transition towards full membership
00:51:27
Summary
A number of NGOs have aimed to strengthen their global legitimacy by adding more global South members/affiliates. Is this truly a valuable strategy? Does it help with legitimacy to be more 'globally balanced'? What are the hard lessons learned about how to manage this process? And how do local civil society as well as government respond?
Hazem Fahmy, the CEO of the CARE Egypt Foundation and former Country Director of CARE USA-line managed Egypt Country Office, is an excellent source of wisdom on all of this. He, together with his senior leadership and with other 'change champions' in his broader team and in CARE globally, shepherded CARE Egypt's transition into full membership.
What does Hazem consider the most interesting or rewarding about the ‘art and science’ of change leadership?
Equally, what is the most difficult or frustrating about this experience with change management and leadership?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Hazem Fahmy, CEO of CARE Egypt Foundation, on CARE Egypt’s Country Office transition towards full membership.
Hazem’s Bio:
CEO of the CARE Egypt Foundation
Country Director for CARE Egypt Country Office
Worked at CARE Egypt for 19 years
PhD from New Mexico University in Water Resources
We discuss:
CARE USA had overseen the CARE Egypt Country Office for almost 60 years before it transitioned to full CARE membership (with a voice in global governance)
These kinds of transformations should not be seen as a project but as a change journey
The addition of global South members to CARE’s confederation means that new topics have been introduced within CARE: it has changed the organization’s discourse on what matters
How the new global South members demanded that global North members too should live up to the same standards that are expected of them
Organizational change processes like this always take longer than expected, but that is acceptable– it's about living up to the intention of change, not about project deadlines
Hazem finds it rewarding to hear people who used to be doubtful about this strategic direction now applaud what has been achieved
One cannot be overfocused on keeping staff comfortable by saying that most things will not change
Egyptian civil society largely accepts the CARE Egypt Foundation as part of its own, while Government has started to involve it more in consultative roundtables - so the transition to full membership has helped with local credibility.
Quotes:
“Change management means navigating a lot of ambiguity, it is a discovery process; change is not a project”
“Don’t leave influential people behind”
“I am not denying there is a privilege in being tied to the CARE mothership”
INGOs have been rocked by scandals and allegations of abuse of power, discrimination etc. in the last 5-10 years.
What kind of different types of scandals can we distinguish in our sector?
Which factors that affect nonprofit scandals remain understudied?
What's the distinction between integrity violations and competency violations? And should we be getting more concerned as a sector about the latter
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Cassandra Chapman, Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Queensland, Australia, on causes, consequences, and prevention and recovery strategies for NGO scandals.
Cassandra’s Bio:
Associate Professor in Marketing at the Business School of the University of Queensland
Associate Editor at Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly
Former practitioner - Supporter Development Manager as well as Fundraising & Communications Manager at ChildFund, New Zealand
We discuss:
If the consequences of transgressions by nonprofits are directly relevant to the mission of nonprofits, then they are being punished harsher by the public and the media
Scandal consequences go up, if the nonprofit is perceived to be inactive afterward, or tries to cover it up
‘Expectancy violations’ happen when nonprofits engage in ethical transgressions because nonprofits are perceived to be/are expected to be ‘good’
Researchers should examine more on whether sector-level actions by nonprofit apex or peak bodies engage in apology, acknowledgment, and reparative actions
Persons who feel morally credentialled by working in nonprofits are actually more likely to transgress
Quotes:
“My mission as an academic is to create usable know-how for practitioners”
“People assume that there is a crisis in trust in charities; instead, actually, trust in charities has continued a little bit in charities over time”
055. Digital advocacy NGOs: a necessary, complementary force: Nina Hall
00:49:11
Summary
What are the characteristics of 'digitally native' campaigning organizations?
How do digital NGO campaigning organizations compare and contrast with traditional, 'brick and mortar' NGOs?
Do digitally native civil society organizations and traditional NGOs sufficiently seek to complement each other, in order to maximize impact? I don't think they do.
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Nina Hall, Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Johns Hopkins University, on my episode 'Digital advocacy NGOs: a necessary, complementary force'.
Nina’s Bio:
Associate Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies, Europe
Nina's research explores the role of transnational advocacy and international organizations in international relations
Published research on advocacy organizations and multilateral institutions
Author of the recent book Transnational Advocacy in the Digital Era, Think Global, Act Local (Oxford University Press, 2022)
DPhil (Ph.D.) in International Relations from the University of Oxford
We discuss:
Nina studies progressive national digital advocacy and other digital campaigning organizations
Digital advocacy organizations use digital campaigning tactics such as online petitioning, combined with offline tactics such as street mobilization, offline meetings with campaign targets, etc.
Digital advocacy organizations are less likely to work on issues that are less broadly popular, such as minority rights issues
Nina pushes back on the use of the word ‘platform’ for digital advocacy organizations since the actors she studies have actual HQs, paid staff, etc.
The kind of digital advocacy organizations that Nina studies have most potential to be effective in more or less democratic societies, where they are in a position to pressure elected or appointed decision-makers
The profile of most ‘members’ (i.e. supporters) of digital advocacy organizations is that of middle-class, educated, urban citizens with adequate internet access
What are the strengths and weaknesses of this type of digital advocacy organization, as compared to those of traditional NGOs?
What's the difference between staff-stewarding campaigning approaches versus member-driven approaches?
056. Philanthropy that’s less colonial in mindset and practices: John Hecklinger @ Global Fund for Children
00:50:27
Summary
What’s problematic about philanthropy in the ways the sector has practiced it for many decades?
Are there limits to trust-based philanthropy?
How do boards of grant-making philanthropies such as the Global Fund for Children have to change their composition, mindset, and oversight practices to lessen a compliance and upward accountability lens and to make themselves more responsive to actual needs?
Co-Chair, Alliance for International Youth Development
Chief Program Officer, Global Giving
Business development director, Global Giving
Director of Data Acquisition in the private sector
Peacecorp volunteer (US volunteering program)
We discuss:
Global Fund for Children acts as an intermediary in on-granting philanthropic resources from family and corporate foundations to child and youth-focused, local civil society organizations. It also facilitates peer cohort capacity strengthening among grantee partners
What John learned from working at Global Giving in terms of its innovative role in introducing crowdfunding to the nonprofit and citizen-giving sector
The risks when well-intentioned philanthropic organizations reinforce a mindset of compliance and upward accountability
GFC stimulates homegrown philanthropy because communities have assets that can be leveraged
How GFC’s board had to evolve in composition, mindset and practices composition to be liberated from simply approving ‘pre-baked’ dockets of prepared projects and to move to an approach that allowed GFC to become more flexible and responsive to needs
What does the future of philanthropy look like, beyond grantmaking, when on-granting organizations such as GFC have taken themselves out of the picture?
Quotes:
“Everyone was getting smarter together once the board composition became more representative of the grantee partners it worked with”
057. From transnational advocacy networks to transscalar activism: Beth Bloodgood & Chris Pallas
00:44:16
Summary
What is ‘transscalar activism’ in a nutshell? And how is it different from what academics call the 'Boomerang' model of international advocacy NGO networks?
When did international NGO advocacy begin attracting the attention of academics, and why? What had shifted at that point, what had changed?
What was the dominant narrative in academia for a long time? And what was wrong with that?
Associate Professor at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Lecturer in non-state actors at the University of Pennsylvania, USA
Assistant Professor at Dartmouth College, USA
Christopher’s Bio:
Professor of Conflict Management at the Department of Political Science and International Affairs at Kennesaw University in Georgia, USA
His research focuses on nongovernmental organizations and their role in international policymaking and development
We discuss:
Chris and Beth argue that how we think about advocacy strategies in relation to the roles and practices of global North and global south founded NGOs is well overdue for an update
The argument they make in their 2022 book ‘Beyond the Boomerang: From Transnational Advocacy Networks to Transscalar Advoacy’ is linked to hot topics of today, such as decolonizing aid, and a shift in power and agency between global South-founded and global North-founded NGOs – a shift that Beth and Chris argue has already been well on its way for 10+ year.
The era of the so-called ‘boomerang effect’ model in global advocacy -- in which national-level global South-founded NGOs would link up to global North-founded NGOs on advocacy causes when they did not find their government to be responsive -- that era is over
Their argument as expressed in the book implies changes in what are legitimate, needed roles for global North-founded NGOs into the future.
National NGOs in the global South now choose at what scale to operate (thus the term ‘transscalar activism’) – whether local, national, regional or global -- and these days ally with Southern CSOs as much as with global North-founded NGOs
This also means that we should expect to see that global South-founded NGOs will feel less obliged to engage in marketing and reframing of their local causes in order to get international partners or global-North based media on their side.
058. Can civil society get better at anticipating futures? Heather Hutchings, Danny Vannucchi and the International CS Centre
00:46:32
Summary
What is the difference between forecasting and foresight, as a skill and an area of work?
What are the pitfalls when international civil society organizations (ICSOs) apply crisis frameworks to trends that are actually longer-term, intersecting, and systemic?
Decolonization and diversity: how are these big current discussions and areas for taking action intersecting with what sometimes is called 'anticipatory capacity': the capacity to anticipate futures and know how to act in order to try to influence them?
ICSC's mission is to strengthen the impact and resilience of international civil society organizations to support people to change their world for the better. The Centre does this by convening civil society actors, offering training, research and other activities.
The Centre is planning further work on civil society's anticipatory capacity and is keen to get in touch with potential partners. Email Miriam Niehaus at ICSC: mniehaus@icscentre.org
Former senior Advisor, Conflict and Organizational Development at Amnesty International
Danny’s Bio:
Senior Strategy & Human Rights Consultant
Senior Strategic Facilitator at GRID Impact
Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles
Former director of Global Strategy & Impact at Amnesty International
We discuss:
Foresight and forecasting are two different concepts, yet they easily get misunderstood in civil society (CS): forecasting is about the mitigation of risk and is a more pragmatic concern. Foresight is about imagining different futures, shaping visions of the future, and forging strategies to shape the future that emerges. To be ahead of trends, in other words.
Crises can keep civil society in a ‘defensive crouch’, in a reactive mode. Crisis management mode is a well-honed capacity in civil society, but we do not focus enough on the trends underlying those crises.
Due to a lack of anticipatory capacity within civil society, we miss opportunities to make use of or shape longer-term trends
CS has sufficient awareness of macro trends, but we fail to make this knowledge actionable; what are the reasons do decision-makers not act on the data on trends that is offered to them?
Future scanning is actually often primarily about good strategy
Civil society collectively can improve its anticipatory capacity by pooling resources
Quotes:
“How to not sit at the table laid out by others, but rather, invite others to sit at your own table – that is the challenge”
“Crisis response is an important part of NGOS’ public relations
24 Jun 2023
059. Potential and peril when NGOs aspire to use a network structure: Doris Bäsler, formerly @ Oxfam
00:48:23
Summary
What are the strengths of a confederated nonprofit organizational structure and what are its inherent weaknesses and limitations?
What is a ‘diversified network’ type of organizational structure?
To what extent does having a confederated organizational structure, as well as the aspiration to be a diversified network, Impact the nature, legitimacy, adaptability, and quality of decision-making?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Doris Bäsler, formerly Oxfam, on the potential and peril when NGOs aspire to use a network structure
Doris’ Bio:
Right now, Doris is resting, learning, and volunteering in Berlin, Germany
Former Director for Strategy & Feminist Futures and Strategy & Confederation Development at Oxfam International
Former Director for Organisational Development services at Transparency International, as well as head of capacity services
Worked at Mines Advisory Group (MAG)
Former Head of office as well as other roles at the country level for the International Committee for the Red Cross
We discuss:
The path by which Oxfam chose a confederated organizational structure
The differences between federated, confederated and corporate unitary structures, and the strengths as well as challenges of confederated structures – and how it is all about places on a spectrum
How Oxfam got stuck for a while in discussing the choice of a federated versus confederated model – and how the aspiration of a ‘diversified network’ came up
A diversified network implies that there is diversification of voice: not just global South members, but also non-Christian affiliates, greater recognition of the primacy of Africa within Oxfam, diversification of affiliate business models, etc
How Oxfam tried to prevent the creation of a lot of “mini me’s”
The implications for internal systems of decision making, valuing of different forms of knowledge, assets etc
Quality Decision making can be challenging in a diversified network like Oxfam, but if the values and the ‘why’ and purpose are clear, this helps
Quotes:
“Complexity of organizational structure is not inherently negative, if you understand it”
“Being a diversified network is an imperative, not a nice to have in a world within which power is clearly shifting”
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21 Jul 2023
060. Should climate activists pivot their campaigning strategies from agitation to broadening public support? Aseem Prakash
00:42:40
Summary
Environmental activism, environmental justice and equity concerns: what, if anything, is challenging about holding all of these three concerns at the same time?
Can a better integration or balance be achieved between these 3 concerns?
To what extent is radical activism cyclical in nature because it is hard to keep activists motivated for peak public mobilization moments?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Aseem Prakash, Professor of Political Science and Founding Director at the Center on Environmental Politics at the University of Washington, Seattle (USA) on climate change activism by nonprofits and social movements. Aseem does much of his research together with Nives Dolsak, also a Professor at the University of Washington.
Aseem’s Bio:
Professor of Political Science; Walker Family Professor; Director, Center for Environmental Politics at the University of Washington, Seattle
Former Assistant Professor in Strategic Management and Public Policy at the George Washington University in Washington DC
Obtained his Ph.D. at the Dept of Political Science and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University
MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, India
Nives’ Bio:
Nives Dolsak is Professor in Sustainability Science and Director of the School of Marine & Environmental Affairs at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA
Visiting professor at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
We discuss:
Is environmental activism still guilty of white elitism? To what extent is a concern for environmental degradation, including climate change, still primarily a concern for citizens only once their material needs are met? Is the focus on environmental justice making a difference in this regard?
There are few climate deniers anymore – even in the US: it is more a conflict over what instruments or ways of fighting climate change to use, not a conflict anymore over the goals themselves. Who carries most of the burden of energy policy implications coming out of climate change mitigation needs? Who loses and who wins across rural/urban areas, class, and race? Who pays for the costs of mitigation, and who gets the benefits? These are equity concerns
Climate change contention and the surge of populism across the world are closely linked since class and location or place (rural vs. urban concerns) are intertwined
What are the merits of outsider strategies – a la Extinction Rebellion and Sunrise Movement vis-a-vis insider strategies (Environmental Defense Fund, Greenpeace (partially) etc.?
‘Radical’, disruptive activism can have several benefits while it can also antagonize or turn away broader publics (see the radical flank argument)
Museum vandalism to draw attention to the climate crisis is primarily a European tactic and surged in 2022; it seems to have died down so far in 2023.
Academic article on climate change activism motivated museum vandalism (open access!): https://www.nature.com/articles/s44168-023-00054-5
Example of a article by Aseem and Nivek for broader audiences: HERE
Their article on South Africa and coal:
21 Jul 2023
061. Between high profile civic disobedience and building broad public support: A youth activist
00:36:53
Summary
How does a climate change activist movement such as Extinction Rebellion (XR) chose among strategies and tactics on the spectrum between more 'radical' actions such as civic agitation, (nonviolent) disobedience, high-profile stunts that may lead to arrests and more 'mainstream' actions that may (or may not?) help them build a more broad public base?
How does Extinction Rebellion (XR) see the distinction between insider and outsider strategies in climate change activism?
Is it necessarily the case that 'radical 'activism by nature is cyclical, i.e. that it cannot be maintained on a long-term basis because of the intensity of this activism model?
And how does Extinction Rebellion deal with internal as well as external equity dimensions of the fact that low-income people and/or those who face discrimination tend to get hit harder by the impacts of climate change?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview a youth activist in the Netherlands (my original home country), on how she sees Extinction Rebellion tackle all these choices and trade-offs.
Bio of the youth activist X:
Student at Erasmus University College, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Involved for the last year, 4-5 hours/week
We discuss:
How climate change fights and climate justice issues need to be interlinked to both benefit from sustained civic action
The nature of the three global XR demands: 1/ Tell the Truth; /2. Act Now; 3/ Decide together
How environmental activism in the global south has a history of white elite-level advantage, how it rightfully has been critiqued for suffering from white elitism and how it is now trying to overcome this by focusing on embracing everybody’s contribution and being expressly inclusive
Climate change requires both civil disobedience and broad public support. Collaboration between social movements such as Extinction Rebellion (XR) and formally registered NGOs is therefore important
Groups like Greenpeace are better than XR at drawing in the media, examples such as the Netherlands NGO Milieu Defensie (Environmental Defense) are good in online petitioning, while movements like XR are good in mass mobilization. They need to complement each other
The sustainability of engagement in XR-type activism, with its typical peak-type activities, fairly time-intensive forms of self-organization and democratic decision making styles may be challenged; XR expressly tries to compensate for this through encouraging collective self-care
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062. Nonprofit operations CAN be a driver of transformation: Kim Kucinskas @ Humentum
00:50:56
Summary
How should we think about the ‘collective journey to equitable development’ of Northern-founded NGOs, national NGOs and their funders?
What obstacles stand in the way of continuing on that journey?
Why does Humentum argue that NGO operating models need to enable ERA (Equitable, Resilient, and Accountable) development, and how does that need to come about?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Kim Kucinskas, Director for Community Strategy at Humentum, on nonprofit operations as a driver of transformation.
Kim’s Bio:
Director, Community Strategy, Humentum
Director, Member Engagement and Services, Huentum
Several other roles in Humentum since 2012
Worked in Namibia on issues related to local epidemics
Fundraising role at the International Institute for Cooperation and Development
We discuss:
The pressure is building for significant change in the northern INGO sector; it’s coming from all frontiers
There is actual strategic power in the operations model; if we change it in a significant way, big change happens in the power distribution between northern INGOs, funders, and national NGOs
Humentum argues this in their new 3-part series of reports on ERA: how to move to an Equitable (E), Resilient (R) and Accountable (A) development sector
But this will only happen if northern INGOs, funders, and national NGOs make significant changes in their institutional architecture, people and culture, funding, and risk frameworks
Institutional Architecture is one of Humentum's main building blocks towards ERA: within this, organizations have to have sufficient autonomy for the sector to be able to be equitable, resilient, and accountable
People and Culture: who is recruited, and works where; a shift in the ‘headquarters’ concept from one that is location-based to role-based; where staff receive fair and equitable compensation, etc.
Funding: the islands of innovation that are happening in various places need to become ‘mainland’
Accountability, with a focus on risk management: within this, a shift from risk transfer to risk sharing is required
Be mindful: the way in which the process of #shiftthepower is happening is actually reflective of the very ways in which power is still being held right now.
Quotes:
“There is strategic value and potential in operations; not as “back-office functions” but as drivers of transformation”
“We are at a tipping point in terms of significant NGO sector change”
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06 Oct 2023
063. Decolonizing think tanks, policy research organizations and consulting agencies: Ajoy Datta
00:58:31
Summary
How can the feelings of people who work in organizations both facilitate and suppress change?
What makes people attach reputation and credibility to another person? And how does this relate to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and these may work out in practice?
What's the problem with think tanks from the perspective of a decolonization goal, and what has been the problem historically?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Ajoy Datta, consultant, policy researcher, and coach, on decolonizing think tanks, policy research organizations, and consulting agencies.
Ajoy’s Bio:
Independent consultant
Over 20 years of experience in the global development and humanitarian sector
Supports leaders, teams, organizations, and networks to collaborate, perform better, learn, innovate, and change
Performs designing, monitoring, and evaluating work to engage with and influence policy and practice as well as strengthen decision-making systems
Worked 12 years at the Overseas Development Institute (DI)'s research and policy unit
Worked 3 years at the On Think Tanks (OTT) consulting group
Started at VSO, the British volunteer agency, in Zambia
We discuss:
The useful role of psychodynamics in organizational development: what goes on in our minds, consciously and unconsciously, while working in organizations. Some of these feelings are suppressed and below the surface
Decolonizing organizations means that we aim to do away with hundreds of years of Western, global North power, such as philosophical underpinnings, concepts, frameworks, assumptions, knowledge systems, and leadership profiles.
When organizations recruit people who are dissimilar in demographic or experiential profile from those that were thus far considered the 'norm', the 'default' -- if their organizational culture, expectations towards staff, and org systems don’t adapt to these new profiles, tension will be the result. These people will be at higher risk of either leaving or being ‘spit out’
The phenomenon of the glass cliff: when people with demographic profiles different from what was the norm thus far are recruited to high-risk leadership positions, and then fail.
What to do about all of this? 1/ Name and acknowledge what is happening. If we fear talking about it, it will never be addressed; 2/ “decriminalize bias"; 3/ create a safe container for discussion; 4/ communicate externally but also internally
Currently the Senior Adviser for Equalities and Inclusion at Oxfam
Brings HR, culture, and EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusion) experience, with practical experience in understanding power in relation to EDI and organizational ways of working
Led on HR issues in Oxfam, and has been a Talent Advisor at UNICEF
MSC in applied positive coaching psychology
Alex’s Bio:
Independent consultant, advising boards and executives on ethics and integrity risks and related decision-making frameworks
Former head of Ethics and Compliance, Oxfam Great Britain
Former head of Corporate Responsibility, Oxfam
Former ethical trade project manager, The Body Shop
We discuss:
The Power & Integrity Initiative is focused on UK-specific agencies; it aims to complement, but not overlap, with other ongoing activities, such as the RINGO project, Pledge4Change, #ShiftThePower etc.
Concrete examples of measures and policy areas related to organizational integrity: safeguarding, anti-racism, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), environmental sustainability practices, anti-corruption
How is power perceived in general? And in our sector?
How can integrity be understood more holistically, going beyond the classical interpretation of ethics, to look at people's behavior and organizational behavior in relationship to each other?
The initiative just went through several Labs to pilot getting to a shared understanding of what power is (not easy!); their write-up on what was learned will be published in late 2023
Positive power as a concept comes out of the thinking on transformative power, led by Srilatha Batliwala and others at CREA. It also builds on notions of power with, power within, power for and not just power over (hierarchical or positional or coercive power)
Even if power is used with good intention by (in)formal leaders in our sector, whether we like it or not, the impact of white-normed organizational systems and processes is not neutral
065. How you should transition into a new role as a leader: Adama Coulibaly @ Oxfam
00:52:31
Summary
What are the vital steps a senior leader have to take as they step into a new leadership role? What to do and what to expect when you are transitioning into that new role?
And, separately, to what extent are African leadership models and frameworks different from global North ones? Most importantly, what could global North imprinted leadership models learn from African ones?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Adama Coulibaly, Global Programs Director at Oxfam, on both these topics. He is a very experienced NGO leader, a coach, and an eloquent thinker and author on all things leadership. And he just transitioned into his new role at Oxfam, so he is here to speak from experience!
Adama’s Bio:
A seasoned leader with nearly 30 years of experience in international development and humanitarian aid
Global Programs Director, Oxfam International; earlier in his career he was also a Regional Director at Oxfam
Leadership positions as Country Director at the International Rescue Committee, Regional Director at Plan International, and Principal Adviser at UNICEF
Certified Transformational coach, and somebody who labels himself a 'positive thinker'
We discuss:
His advice to leaders who are transitioning into an organization, based on his own experience
What differentiates African takes on leadership models and frameworks, as distinct from global North imprinted models?
Adama Coulibaly (nickname ‘Coul’) considers himself a born positive thinker; he learned this behavior in his youth while facing very difficult circumstances in his home country Mali
As an adult, he learned about the field of positive thinking; and that positive thinking is good for your physical and mental health
Coul’s advice, in a nut shell, on how to transition into a new senior leadership position:
Give yourself at least 2, if not 4 weeks between two jobs
Use your break time to learn as much about your new organization as you can
Communicate healthy boundaries immediately, otherwise, you will pay a stiff price
Build on what works; don’t feel the need to change everything or most things
Prioritize external engagement, insist on it, and commit to external engagements so that your calendar time for this is protected
On African models of leadership: they tend to focus on the collective nature of people: the person in the context of their community (see for instance the Ubuntu model)
Quotes:
“Positive thinking is not about utopia: I call myself a realistic positive thinker. There are a lot of negative things in the world. It is about how we balance negative and positive things”
“If you have a weak transitioning period, you set yourself up for failure”
“As soon as you enter the door, you have to problem solve, there is no honeymoon for senior leaders”
066. How to navigate the big scaling quandary: Amy Ragsdale @ Spring Impact
00:47:30
Summary
What is scaling? And how is it different from growing?
What’s the role of partner strategies or multiplier strategies in scaling?
What are the implications of scaling in an era of decolonizing aid, localizing development, and shifting roles of nonprofits and NGOs, shifting power, authority and decision rights?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Amy Ragsdale, Director at Spring Impact, a consulting, coaching and training agency specializing in scaling strategiesfor mission-focused organizations, on how to navigate the big scaling quandary.
Amy’s Bio:
Director at Spring Impact
Senior Consultant at Capgemini Consulting
Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
We discuss:
Spring Impact offers coaching, consulting services, and training for mission-focused organizations keen to scale their impact
Growing the size of an organization or solution means increasing its revenue and/or impact at the same rate as adding resources to an organization. Scaling means you are impacting a societal problem at a larger scale, by increasing impact exponentially, while adding resources incrementally
Central questions to ask: 1/ What are we scaling?; 2/ Where are we scaling?; 3/ Who will do the scaling? Who are the ‘doers’? Who are the ‘payers’?
The following attributes of the organizational culture of social mission organizations act as enablers for scaling success: 1/openness to failure; 2/ an ability to hold our hypothesis on what works lightly; 3/ a realization that invention is not the same as innovation!
The following leadership mindsets are enablers as well: 1/ clarity whether your org is pursuing growth or impact; 2/ staying committed to the problem (NOT the solution); 3/ being collaborative by default
Financial sustainability models underpinning scaling strategies: examples can be government funding; earned income revenue; fee for service; advertising - and more
Quotes:
“Scaling is not the same as growing. The two are often confused. ”
“Invention is not the same as innovation! (the latter involves testing and learning)”
067. Life after leadership: Sam Worthington, former President and CEO @ InterAction
00:49:52
Summary
What is life after leadership like?
What happens to you as a person when you leave a high-powered, highly visible role in civil society?
What happens with your sense of identity? Does this also perhaps touch on ego as well?
What offers new meaning and purpose, when we live our life-after-leadership?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Sam Worthington, former President and CEO at InterAction, who stepped down from a position with much positional as well as symbolic power just about a year ago.
Sam’s Bio:
Executive coach, board member and advocate
Former President and CEO of InterAction – 16 years
Former President and CEO of Plan International USA
Executive Director at Delphi International
We discuss:
In the months before you leave your leadership job, expect that the extent to which your colleagues still want you to make decisions on important things will rapidly decline
In Sam’s case, the sense of loss that was involved was not about loss of power (since he’d experienced positional power for a few decades), but was about loss of the comradery that former colleagues and peers used to provide
You can partially fill this void by offering (informal) coaching to new incoming CEOs for instance.
Life after leadership does mean you can move more from doing to being; you can be more present now
Sometimes leaders, once they retire, still are called to speak in global gatherings based on their reputation, their personal brand
Our knowledge which we can still contribute now is the synthesized wisdom of decades of experience
Sam is writing a book to look back on everything he learned, his views on the sector, and what gives him hope -- follow him on LinkedIn to stay tuned!
Quotes:
“The transition is about having been the village chief before; now, I am no longer in the village”
067. DEI trends in US development agencies, by the numbers – Shiro Gnanaselvam @ Social Impact
01:02:09
Summary
What is the state of DEI in US-founded international development organisations (both for-profit and nonprofit), and how has this state changed since 2021?
What has been the action, as compared to the professed intentions for action?
CEO of Social Impact, a US-based mid-size consulting company that offers MEL (Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning) services to the international development sector
Former EVP and COO of Social Impact
COO of AfriCare, largest and oldest African-American founded international NGO focused exclusively on the continent of Africa.
Senior Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Millenium Challenge Corporation
We discuss:
Racial and ethnic minorities remain under-represented in positions of power
The global development sector remains predominantly white and female, including at the top
Disability reporting shows signs of greater awareness
Organizations have invested in establishing governance structures for DEI: policies, strategies and staff with dedicated responsibilities as well as collective staff bodies (DEI councils etc.)There are modest improvements in how diversity data are captured
Commitment to DEI remains, but competing priorities and resource limitations are a severe impediment to progress
There are tensions between global DEO, localization and domestic DEI that need to be resolved – but also many points of similarity
069. Navigating Organizational Politics: A Team Coach’s Guide - with Alexander Caillet @ Corentus
00:55:54
Summary
What should I imagine, practically, when a team coach starts to support my team?
What does a well-known team coach find the most rewarding about working with nonprofit teams?
Can a team coach detect any differences in team behaviors or tendencies between their for-profit and nonprofit clients?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Alexander Caillet, CEO and co-founder of Corentus, Inc., on all of the above questions, including how to navigate team behaviors when it comes to organizational politics as well as decision-making.
His answers may surprise you!
Alexander’s Bio:
· CEO and co-founder of Corentus, Inc.
· Adjunct professor at Georgetown University, in its Leadership Coaching Certificate Program
· Alexander also worked at other coaching and consulting companies
· His education is in Organizational Psychology
We discuss:
Corentus’ vision: thriving, high-performing teams that result in a sustainable and harmonious future
What differentiates Corentus’ approach to team coaching from other approaches is its blending of team coaching with team facilitation, training, and consulting
Alexander is one of the pioneers in the relatively new field of team coaching
The various stages of a team coaching engagement
Corentus has worked with a range of nonprofits: Save the Children, Oxfam, Technoserve, Syngenta Foundation, AIPP, and others.
Alexander observes interesting differences in what pre-occupies teams in the for-profit and nonprofit space, respectively. They relate to themes such as productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness of processes, as well as decisiveness
He also observes differences in terms of a greater focus on achieving consensus or even unanimity in the nonprofit sphere, rather than using decision-making methods such as voting, delegation, and authority with consultation.
Quotes:
“I was surprised to encounter issues of hierarchy, power, DEI, and dysfunction in the nonprofit sector, I had not expected these as much in this sector”
070. Mastering a graceful AND effective leadership exodus: Ignacio Saiz
00:46:24
Summary
Leadership transitions are tricky -- and potentially risky -- moments in a nonprofit's life. What are the most common pitfalls or aspects that get overlooked when nonprofits -- and outgoing leaders themselves -- tackle such leadership transitions?
What key strategies and tactics are essential to ensure a smooth leadership transition and maintain organizational stability?
What are the habits, practices, and behaviors that are most aligned with a successful exit of an Executive Director?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Ignacio Saiz, who transitioned out of the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) some 2 years ago, on the right way to do this.
Ignacio’s Bio:
Senior Advisor on Human Rights, Economic Justice, and Strategic Leadership
Former Executive Director at the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR)
Ignacio also held various managerial and leadership roles at Amnesty International, including Director of Policy Programs, Deputy Director for the Americas, and other roles
We discuss:
How planned transitions should be seen as an opportunity
Written transition plans help in avoiding miscommunication, and in allocating clear roles and responsibilities for how to deal with the transition, while clarifying the timeline as well
A comprehensive communication strategy is vital: outwards (towards donors/funders, peers/partners), as well as inwards (towards staff, board, advisory councils, volunteers etc.)
Participation of staff is vital. One mechanism can be representation of 1-2 staff in the Board recruitment committee, as long as the organization is very clear though about staff's decision rights vis-a-vis the selection of the successor
Outgoing leaders often underestimate the anxiety that may occur among staff and some board members -- especially if their tenure has been long
Whether the outgoing leader plays any role in the organization beyond their tenure is a very tricky and highly contextualized decision, and needs to be carefully negotiated between the outgoing and incoming leaders. Most importantly, this must be completely steered by the needs and preferences of the incoming leader.
Quotes:
“Boards need to realize top leadership transition involves more than a recruitment”
“Planned leadership transitions should be seen as a shared opportunity, not a cause for concern”
“Transition takes at least two years, and has to include the transition-in period when the incoming leader needs active support”
071. Onward With Reimagining INGO Models: Charles Kojo Vandyck @ RINGO/WACSI
00:54:15
Summary
What are some structural things that are wrong in development aid and in civil society?
Which mindsets most need to be decolonized when it comes to the relationship between global South civil society organizations (CSOs) and INGOs?
Global North-founded INGOs need to be reimagined. How, in turn, do global South-founded NGOs have to change to take over many roles that INGOs currently still fulfill? And how do they need to recalibrate their power relationships with INGOs?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Charles Kojo Vandyck, a development practitioner based in Ghana, a leader at the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), and a thinker on alternatives to development and alternatives to INGO models.
Charles’ Bio:
Development practitioner, based in Ghana, who is on a mission to drive transformative change within civil society
Head of the Capacity Development Unit at the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI)
Core team member, RINGO project – Reimagining International NGOs
Founding Member of the International Consortium on Closing Civic Space (iCon)
Trustee of INTRAC and an Advisory Board Member of Disrupt Development
Host of the podcast Alternative Convos, which focuses on social cohesion as well as social change in Africa. You can find Alternative Convos on Spotify
We discuss:
The West African Civil Society Institute (WACSI), based in Accra/Ghana, is a regional organization focused on civil society support and institutional strengthening
RINGO project: the Reimaging the INGO project is a collaborative global project among civil society leaders to prototype new models of INGOs that shift power to the global South and equalize relationships between global South and global North NGOs as well as funders
According to Charles, here are some of the problems with current models of development and aid architecture: a projectized approach to development; local expertise of people is insufficiently recognized in project design; the ad-hoc and short-term nature of money flows; the presence of dependency cultures; lack of asset-based models to development (instead of deficit-based ones)
The policies and ways of working of INGOs have to be part of what needs to shift
The RINGO project helps to identify areas of stuckness and develop prototypes for alternatives
The hardest nuts to crack within the RINGO project are related to structural racism
Global South NGOs also need to change their models: they need to invest more in talent development and succession planning, to help generational shift from founders to successors; develop their skills in intersectoral as well as intersectional approaches to development; and invest in technology skills.
You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her socia
15 Mar 2024
072. When Nonprofits Deal With Internal Strife: Conflict Mediation to the Rescue With Daniel Genberg
00:47:53
Summary
Conflict within our organizations: we often don't really want to face them, but they are very much there. The result? Plenty of passive aggression to go around.
What are the implications of such forms of conflict avoidance?
In other NGOs on the other hand -- especially in the last few years it seems -- internal strife has come out into the open - sometimes spilling into the media in an unwanted fashion.
On another note: is interest-based problem-solving still a helpful approach to conflict management skill building, or not?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Daniel Genberg, one of the foremost consultants on NGO governance matters, on how conflict mediation can come to the rescue when nonprofits deal with internal strife.
Daniel's Bio:
Independent advisor on governance issues; Daniel is one of the premier INGO governance advisers in fact
Special Advisor for Not-For-Profit Organisations at Morrow Sodali (formerly Nestor Advisors), a consulting company on governance and sustainability
Director of Governance, Amnesty International
Head of Governance Development, ActionAid International
Head of Governance and Accreditation at the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)
Anthropologist by training
We discuss:
Even though Daniel is called in to consult on governance issues -- both their structural and process dimensions --, behind these governance issues one often finds people, relationship, and power issues that truly drive the difficulties
Thus, conflict mediation skills need to be part of the toolbox of a governance adviser
Conflicts tend to revolve around 1/ resource distributions and who holds the (financial) resources; 2/ differences in view about strategic directions; and 3/ divergent understandings of the roles and authority of management vs. boards
In resource-scarce environments, conflicts tend to abound
Important steps in mediation: 1/ abandon a win-loss attitude; 2/ it’s not always about compromise (i.e. mini-win, mini-loss); 3/ how can we grow the pie for everybody?; 4/ the importance of feelings; 5/ the need to be able to try out ideas without committing to them as yet; 6/ it is not the role of the mediator to create solutions; 7/ confidentiality; 8/ the use of a structured process with an outcome that prevents loss of face
Do we see a rise in recent years of intra-organizational strife in civil society? Yes, there are more areas of tension, due to the gloomy financial prospects of many organizations, and power and authority structures that have been in place for decades.
Quotes
"Conflict mediation is not so much about getting out of conflict but about restoring relationships, listening skills, and learning and understanding how a situation looks like from the other side"
073. From a Hub and Spoke to a Horizontal Network Model: Anu Kumar @ Ipas
00:55:37
Summary
What are the main benefits of a network structure, where power, authority, and leadership are dispersed and shared across regions, from an effectiveness perspective?
What are the most important enabling habits, practices and behaviors that go with that, as a change leader?
And what are the most valuable network-related frameworks, concepts, resources, and tools at work in moving towards this structure?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Anu Kumar, President and CEO at Ipas, on the why, the what, and the how of changing an organization from a hub and spoke to a horizontal NGO model.
Anu's Bio:
President and CEO at Ipas
Former Chief Strategy and Development Officer as well as Executive Vice President at Ipas
Senior Program Officer, Program on Global Security and Sustainability, Population and Reproductive Rights, MacArthur Foundation
Program Officer, MacArthur Foundation
Social Scientist in Human Reproduction, WHO
We discuss:
Ipas is the leading technical org that advocates for access to contraception and abortion services, globally
Traditionally, Ipas has had a hub-and-spoke organizational model, like many traditional NGOs
A strategy change – for Ipas to contribute to a sustainable global contraception and abortion access ecosystem – demanded that countries would take over much of the lead in Ipas. So form followed function
Ipas started its change towards a network model by defining what decentralization meant for itself
It then defined shared leadership as its management model, and articulated change behaviors, practices, and management set-up as required next steps
Subsequently, it changed its structure to that of a network in which the US no longer was the primary member, and a Network Leadership Group, a Staff Community Council, and a NetCare group were formed -- the latter nurtures the network
Ipas explicitly chose not to become a (con)federated organization and to remain a corporate hierarchical structure
As a next step, it adopted horizontal decision-making for some of its decision-making on budget aspects and recruitment
Adopting a horizontal management approach does *not* mean there is no hierarchy anymore: the CEO, CFO, and a few other executive leaders still have some positional power, but their realm of decision-making is now reduced
Decentralized decision-making means faster decision-making; more cross-country collaboration is also happening that's not involving the US.
Role clarity is still an issue to be improved upon. On the other hand, global coherence was facilitated through a codified collaboration agreement
Ipas' board, still based in the US, retains fiduciary responsibilities, so compliance continues to be important
LinkedIn article on Ipas change approach by Anu Kumar
Bridgespan consulting group article on Re-imagining Multi-Country NGO Operating Models
Samantha Slade’s book was informative for Ipas's change journey: Going Horizontal
YouTube
19 Apr 2024
074. Can Nonprofit Program Evaluation Truly Be Made Easy? Chari Smith
00:53:08
Summary
Quite a few smaller size social sector organizations assume that program evaluation is too complex or demanding an undertaking for them. Is that the case, though?
If we want to introduce program evaluation to staff, leadership, and boards who have not yet been inducted into the importance of program evaluation: what are the most effective questions to generate genuine interest in and motivation to engage in such program evaluation?
How can we build a more evaluation-friendly culture all around?
Chari Smith, President and Founder of the consulting company Evaluation into Actionhas written a book that gives clear answers to these questions: Nonprofit Program Evaluation Made Simple (2021). She explains her core argument in this podcast episode.
Chari's Bio:
Program Evaluation enthusiast: Author, Speaker, Consultant, and Trainer
President/Founder of Evaluation into Action, a consulting company
Program Evaluation Associate at Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
We discuss:
Chari’s book is meant for small to midsize nonprofits who have not yet taken up program evaluation, to make it achievable to them. The book is also meant for entry-stage evaluators
Chari values Beth Kanter's and Aliza Sherman’s definition of organizational culture – “Organizational culture is a complex tapestry made up of attitudes, values, behaviors, and artifacts of the people who work for your nonprofit.”
If you apply a collaborative, inclusive, participatory, and non-siloed approach to introducing program evaluation, your chances of increasing buy-in grow considerably
Only collect data that you will actually analyze and synthesize into actionable data and that is likely to influence decision-making
A program evaluation-friendly culture cannot be ‘mandated’, on the one hand
On the other hand, the role of culture ambassadors – people who already are in favor of program evaluation – is important in instilling an evaluation-friendly culture
What's also important is the role of organizational ‘heroes’, and the use of stories, images, and narratives, while organizational artifacts (tangible objects that can be seen around the organization) can be used to signal a desired culture.
Quote:
“By gathering data, nonprofits can pivot from a reactive stance to a proactive one, by acting on the data gathered”
075. What Happens When a Start-Up Nurtures an Evidence-Based Culture: The Taimaka Project
01:09:01
Summary
What does the name Taimaka mean?
To what extent are there challenges, as an organization, when you aim for evidence-based decision-making?
What kind of culture is needed to truly live the aspiration of being evidence-based?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Dr. Umar Abubakar and Justin Graham, co-founders and co-directors of The Taimaka Project -- an NGO working in Gombe state, Nigeria, on what happens when a start-up nonprofit wants to nurture an evidence-based culture.
UmarAbubakar's Bio:
Co-founder and director, Taimaka Project, an NGO working on child malnutrition in Gombe state, Nigeria
Medical doctor, Ministry of Health, Nigeria
Umar has degrees in clinical medicine as well as public health
He runs the medical side of Taimaka’s malnutrition program
Umar manages Taimaka’s team of nutrition care specialists, oversees hospital partners, and ensures that patients receive the best possible standard of care
Justin's Bio:
Co-founder and director, Taimaka Project
Worked in the past for the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction
Former intern at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Justin oversees technology, finance, and innovation at Taimaka
He handles Taimaka’s tech portfolio and manages in-house digital case management database
We discuss:
Taimaka Project is a start-up NGO working on child malnutrition in Gombe state in N-W Nigeria.
Taimaka Project stands out in how much attention it gives to rigorous evaluation of its program treatment methods (in this case with regard to child malnutrition related interventions).
Using this approach entails the following question: what is the most amount of impact we can ‘produce’ or contribute to, per dollar spent?
This can come across as utilitarian to some, and a vigorous discussion about the ethical trade-offs of such an approach is always a good thing
If you want to promote an evidence-based culture, what does this entail? One facet: when you are told you are wrong, whether you are a leader or staff, you should take this personally.
Taimaka regularly collaborates with academics on rigorous program evaluation. What are the ins and outs of working with academics, as a practitioner organization?
Taimaka is also shifting from a start-up into a ramp-up phase and is currently experiencing fast growth. What does this imply for policies, systems, and processes that now need to be built or adapted, and how do we preserve what is precious about the org's culture?
Quotes:
· “We go a layer deeper in our measurement and evaluation”
076. Trends in Direct Fundraising: Keeping It Real With Erica Waasdorp
00:57:20
Summary
What constitutes a culture of philanthropy within nonprofits and NGOs? It's a term easily bandied around, but how do I see when it's in place?
How has the field of direct giving by small donors, and monthly giving as one donor practice in particular changed in the last 10-20 years?
Are there hurdles to be overcome in persuading donors to adopt monthly giving?
Finally, there is a lot of discussion about the need for a shift towards ethical storytelling, with local program participants in the driver's seat, and while focusing on the local person's agency. The raison d'etre for this is clear; however, is this aligned with what motivates donors (at least in traditional fundraising 'markets') to give?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Erica Waasdorp, President of A Direct Solution, a consulting agency with expertise in direct giving and monthly giving, on trends in direct fundraising.
Erica's Bio:
Author and Speaker, and a Master Trainer affiliated with the Association for Fundraising Professionals
Expertise in Direct Marketing, Monthly Giving, International Fundraising
US Ambassador for the International Fundraising Congress (IFC)
Before launching A Direct Solution, she held several consulting, coaching and direct marketing roles in various consulting agencies, nonprofits, and in the publishing industry.
We discuss - particularly with regard to the US donor arena:
Online donations have blossomed since 2011, to the point where people now have access to many online payment platforms, donation-by-text, etc.
Religious people are more generous than non-religious people; and so are low to mid-income people (in relative terms, as a proportion of their income), as compared to wealthy people
Monthly giving is an important strategy to underpin financial sustainability since it guarantees nonprofits potentially significant levels of dependable unrestricted revenue; this in turn allows the agency to do long-term planning.
In the short term, when setting up monthly giving as one avenue, it is more capacity and resource-intensive for an agency
Monthly giving as one donation strategy has been around for decades, but many nonprofits have only started focusing on it in a serious way in the last 10 or so years
There is some tension between the NGO sector’s aspired direction of ethical, authentic storytelling – what Erica calls ‘the complete story’ --, that starts from a program participant’s strengths and assets and the opportunities they have rather than from a deficit perspective, and the need of donors to feel that they contribute to a clear need. This tension is not yet fully acknowledged.
Intermediary nonprofit ranking and rating sites (e.g. Guidestar, Charity Navigator, Give Well, etc in a US context) fulfill a donor’s felt need for transparency and the ability to trust an agency, but such data is unlikely to shape donation behavior of new donors in a major way.
Child sponsorships are likely to continue as a vehicle for fundraising, but at a lower level than before. Many nonprofits’ donor pools are aging (a lot), and this will remain the case till current day Millenials and subsequent generations age themselves.
077. Let’s Work Through This: Conflict Mediation in Social Sector Organizations With Nathalie Thompson
00:42:38
Summary
Conflict management and mediation are skills that come up frequently as a weak area in many of our social sector organizations.
And these days, more than ever conflict is on the rise within our organizations.
So how can we work through our conflicts more skillfully and effectively?
Nathalie has answers for us. She's a trainer conflict mediator (as well as a Corentus, Inc. team coach) who helps teams and organizations develop better conflict management capabilities.
And she's a valued colleague in a broader team I am a part of. Which means I get to learn from her!
Owner of ‘5 Fold Consulting’, a consulting and coaching firm focused on conflict management skill building and mediation
Core Practitioner and Faculty at the Corentus team coaching company
In short: mediator, facilitator, and coach
We discuss:
It is often useful to work on task-related conflicts as a precursor to working on relationship-based conflicts.
There are cross-national cultural differences in how humans deal with conflict. As a mediator, it is important to first build relationship, to inquire what makes for a good conversation for the person, and how to structure the conflict mediation process
There are also gendered dimensions to conflict expression and management. Society tends to ascribe the term ‘aggressive’ to women (negative framing), for instance, when they engage in conflict, while men tend to be labeled as ‘assertive’ in the same context (positive or neutral framing)
One way of minimizing interpersonal conflicts within organizations is to clarify expectations, styles, and preferences. Similarly, to clarify goals and parameters, and how to do the work.
Also, to agree to tackle breakdowns in relationships by agreeing upfront how difficulties will be raised, and to work through the Corentus ‘6 question framework’ for dealing with breakdowns.
Nathalie is among others an ombuds. This is an originally Swedish term that literally means: ‘representative of the people’, and is an independent, neutral person to whom staff in an organization can go for confidential advice, feedback on policy, procedure, or when they seek accommodation. Ombuds are independent from HR and can offer mediation, and raise sensitive issues such as harassment and performance issues with those in authority.
The apparent rise in intra-organizational strife in civil society organisations is an extension of the external polarization in society: a tendency to think in terms of ‘one true way’ instead of accepting there are many different ways
Quotes:
“In the nonprofit sphere, people tend to be expected to be ‘so nice’; this makes it harder to exert accountability, and to say what needs to be said”
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10 Sep 2024
078. Which INGO Roles Are Still Legitimate, Relevant, and Needed (and Which No Longer): Dylan Mathews @ Peace Direct
00:49:46
Summary
How should INGOs discern what roles are still relevant, legitimate, and needed, at this moment in civil society history?
And which roles they therefore should *stop* playing?
Is there more here, over and beyond stopping service delivery? (Which on its own is quite the shift)
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Dylan Mathews, Chief Executive Officer at Peace Direct. Peace Direct has been quite vocal, and has acted as a thought leader on this role question -- which I consider fundamental, and which I don't see INGOs facing head-on sufficiently yet.
Dylan's Bio:
Chief Executive Officer of Peace Direct
Director of International Programs at Y Care International
Program Manager at CARE
Worked on conflict countries and issues with Landmine Action, Oxford Research Group, and the British Red Cross
We discuss:
While the sector is changing, once again, on several fronts (in terms of programming approaches, shifting authority/decision rights to the place of program impact representation, biz models, operating models etc.), what seems to get less attention is whether the organization should go through a fundamental role shift
Common sense would say role and function, as well as strategy, should come before the other types of changes mentioned above
One organization that is advocating that NGOs need to tackle the fundamental question of role shift is PeaceDirect, with Dylan Mathews as its leader.
So what roles are still appropriate, especially for global North-founded INGOs?
Dylan explains the nine roles that Peace Direct thinks are still appropriate for INGOs
What are, importantly, the implications of a change in role and function for, for instance, board competencies and mindsets, organizational size, staff competency profiles, and culture?
Dylan shares what gives him hope as INGOs traverse this journey, but also what makes him skeptical that the role shifts Peace Direct points to will actually take hold among INGOs,
079. Leadership in Africa Redefined With Taaka Awori of Busara Africa
00:42:27
Summary
What does it Busara's tagline mean: 'transformational leadership, from the inside out'?
To what extent are there truly different global south-normed leadership models?
Does personality still play an important role as well, in addition to national or regional cultural differences in leadership approaches?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Taaka Awori, Founder & CEO of Busara Africa, a leadership development services company, on redefining leadership in Africa.
Taaka's Bio:
Founder and CEO of Busara Africa, a pan-African leadership development firm based in Accra, Ghana
Author of the book Leadership Redefined: Untold Stories
Associate Certified Coach with International Coaching Federation (ICF)
Podcast host of Leadership Redefined: Untold Stories
Member of the editorial board of Coaching Perspectives
Chair of the board of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF)
Former Country Director of AAI
Assistant Social Development Adviser, DFID (now called FCDO)
Degrees from Harvard and Columbia Universities
We discuss:
Taaka started specializing in leadership development and organizational development, after discovering as a Country Director at ActionAid that what was most needed from her was good leadership – not any technical specialization
Busara’s tagline is - transformational leadership from the inside out – signals that leadership starts with self-awareness and self-regulation
Equally, good leadership is a combination of not just intellect or analytical capabilities, but also innate and learned wisdom, and the heart
Other premises of Busara: let’s build on the examples of excellent leadership in Africa (not the negative examples); and feminist leadership
70% of Busara’s clients are NGOs; the rest are private sector and government agencies
How are African leadership models distinct, if in any way, from global North-formed models?
Another distinct element is the explicit inclusion of politization and thus the need for leaders to be aware of this, and to navigate it in a mission focused manner
Busara is also interested to learn more about what’s to be learned from leaders of informal, non-registered organizations: informal worker associations, social movements and networks
Interesting sub-continental dimensions of leadership within the African continent
Owner of Randel Consulting Associates, a boutique consulting firm that supports change processes across sectors
Former Change Consultant in the World Bank's Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness department
Worked for a Danish development agency in South-East Asia
Started as an Organizational Development practitioner in South Africa, at the YMCA during the anti-apartheid struggle.
We discuss
Michael worked as a young professional in the South African YMCA youth organization during South Africa’s apartheid struggles, which was a formative experience for him. It launched his career in change management
He consults on change management across the private, public, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors. His clients all have in common: a social purpose.
Early in his career, he discovered that we overestimate rationality in change management; instead, emotion is a significant factor. We also are simply unable to foresee all factors that will be at play in our change-planning efforts
Michael uses a Gestalt approach in his work: in this approach, the forces that energize change are faced with forces that resist change – and Lewin’s forcefield analysis tends to apply. Put simply: people tolerate the current state of affairs till it is no longer tolerable.
The Gestalt approach stipulates that we may need to intervene at the individual, team, unit organization, or sector level (or a combination)
Michael appreciates Rick Maurer’s framework on resisting change, which emphasizes 3 factors, embodied in ‘I don’t get it’; ‘I don’t like it’; and ‘I don’t like you’. Each requires its response – and the three should not be confused.
Quotes:
Eisenhower’s quote (paraphrased here) is relevant in change management: “Plans are useless, but the process of planning is useful”
081. Leadership Lessons From African Cultures, With Albert Momo
00:54:23
Summary
What are the key principles of African leadership that nonprofit leaders globally could benefit from adopting?
How does the African concept of Ubuntu translate into practical leadership strategies for nonprofit organizations?
How does African leadership balance individual and collective success, and how might nonprofit teams benefit from seeking the same balance?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Albert Anoubon Momo, axecutive, author, and board member, about leadership lessons we can all learn from African cultures.
Albert's Bio:
Co-founder of a brand new company offering geospatial consulting services to emerging economies
Former Vice President and Executive Director, Emerging Markets and Funded Projects at the Trimble company
Former Director of Institutional Business Development at Trimble
Management and Program Analyst at USAID
Albert played multiple other roles as senior geo-scientist and GIS and software engineer, including at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) inside the US Government.
We discuss:
Albert has been a student of leadership from early adult life onwards, and he runs a large Facebook group on leadership. His experience has been primarily in the private sector , though he also plays governance roles in the nonprofit sphere, such as his role Board Chair of Cadasta (where Tosca is also on the board)
Albert urges listeners to focus on what the African continent can bring to the rest of the world, and not to assume Africa just consumes from the rest of the world (especially when it comes to West-influenced leadership models)
Subregions within the huge continent of Africa have had different influences on leadership approaches and practices: in Northern Africa and the Sahel, Islamic influences have prevailed while French colonizers brought more hierarchically oriented thinking to leadership; in coastal Africa, colonizers introduced Christianity which persists till today; and in Southern and Eastern Africa, Zulu-inspired Ubuntu philosophy has dominated
Ubuntu as the most well known African philosophy emphasizes interdependence, solidarity, shared community, and communalism (also within organizational leadership and management) – different from the individualism more prevalent in Western societies
What Western leadership practices can learn from African leadership approaches regarding employee engagement, shared value, shared futures, solidarity, and humanism
In African cultures, traditionally councils of elders have played an important conflict resolution role; it is beneficial for global North/Western nonprofits to take account of these Councils' approach to seeking win-win resolutions rather than zero-sum litigation, their focus on the common good, common ground and shared goals.
Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces.
Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportun
22 Nov 2024
082: Human Emotions in a Poly-Crisis: How To Get To More Effective NGO Campaigning with Diya Deb @ MindWorks
00:59:13
Summary
How can nonprofit organizations leverage human emotions to enhance the impact of their campaigns?
What can NGOs learn from cognitive science to create more effective, empathetic communication strategies during a time of poly-crisis?
How can organizations shift from traditional advocacy approaches to more agile, psychology-driven methods for mobilizing communities?
In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Diya Deb, Executive Director at MindWorks Lab, about harnessing the power of cognitive science to transform nonprofit campaigning in today's challenging landscape.
Diya's Bio:
Executive Director of MindWorks Lab, a global cognitive science innovation lab incubated at Greenpeace
Nearly two decades of experience in grassroots and international nonprofit leadership
Former Campaign Director at Greenpeace India and Amnesty International India
Led global youth mobilization efforts alongside Indian Nobel Peace Laureate, Kailash Satyarthi
Co-founder of PowerSouth, an initiative focused on amplifying women's leadership in grassroots movements
Advisor to multiple nonprofits on strategy, advocacy, and decolonizing research practices
We Discuss:
Diya reflects on how MindWorks has grown since its early days within Greenpeace, evolving from theoretical frameworks to hands-on applications in the field.
Diya highlights the urgency of adapting campaigning strategies to the current era of poly-crises, where overlapping global challenges are exhausting communities and donors alike.
MindWorks has pivoted to focus on the role of emotions like anger and powerlessness in shaping people's responses to crises, drawing on new case studies from India and Indonesia.
She explains how MindWorks seeks to decolonize research practices, shifting away from Global North-centric methodologies by grounding their work in diverse cultural contexts, especially in East Asia.
The conversation explores MindWorks’ unique approach to agile campaigning, emphasizing rapid experimentation and applying cognitive science insights to their internal operations.
Diya shares her thoughts on the implications of this research for philanthropy, urging funders to shift towards more adaptive, emotionally resonant approaches to support nonprofit campaigns.
Quotes
“Doomsday communications have clearly proven not to work”
“We focus on social empathy as an enabler for activism”
083: African Solutions for African Problems: Consulting Strategies with Faye Ekong @ RavelWorks
00:54:37
Summary
How does an African management consulting company that expressly sets itself up to offer African solutions to African problems communicate its identity?
What are some key differences in organizational development needs and cultural norms between development agencies in the Global South and Global North?
How can concepts like Ubuntu and Ujama inform leadership models in ways that resonate across African contexts?
In this NGO Soul + Strategy podcast episode, I interview Faye Ekong, Managing Director and co-founder of RavelWorks Africa, about designing management consulting solutions rooted in African paradigms and practices.
Held multiple leadership roles at the NGO Action Against Hunger
Former trainer and consultant at MDF Management Consulting
We Discuss:
Faye shares how RavelWorks was founded to counter the prevalence of Western management solutions in African contexts, focusing instead on locally-developed approaches.
While RavelWorks initially aimed to serve primarily African organizations, their clients now span Europe, the US, and other regions.
Core clients include humanitarian donor agencies, NGOs, private sector companies, and some government agencies.
Services offered by RavelWorks include HR, organizational design, system and process improvements, and learning and development, with a future-of-work lens.
The African paradigm of communalism, exemplified by concepts like Ubuntu (“I am because you are”), prioritizes relationships and the well-being of staff and stakeholders. This contrasts with the Anglo-Saxon focus on task and goal orientation.
The management and leadership literature has expanded beyond the US and Europe to include countries like India and Japan but still largely overlooks Africa’s unique contributions.
There has been a significant uptick in the use of niche consulting firms like RavelWorks in the Global North, but European NGOs still tend to exhibit a control-oriented approach compared to their US counterparts.
Faye emphasizes that Global North consultants can still play a meaningful role if they adopt humility, curiosity, and a willingness to understand African ways of working.
Quotes: “If you lead an organization, choose courage over comfort” (Brenee Brown)
084: Towards Ubuntu 2.0? A Wide-Ranging Leadership Conversation with Martin Kalungu-Banda
00:50:01
Summary
What does the concept of Ubuntu teach us about leadership, community, and the well-being of people in organizations?
How can African leadership models inform and enhance global approaches to management and organizational development?
How do we navigate the challenges of avoiding romanticizing Ubuntu while honoring its depth and practical value?
In this NGO Soul + Strategy podcast episode, Martin Kalugu-Banda, a thought leader on organizational development and leadership coach (among many other things!), about redefining leadership through African paradigms and systems thinking.
Martin's Bio
Martin Kalungu-Banda is an expert in Leadership and Organizational Development, with senior-level experience in business, government, and civil society.
He is co-faculty of the Leadership Academy at the Presencing Institute and the MIT Global Alliance for Banking on Values.
Martin served as Special Consultant to the President of Zambia (2005-2008), helping to re-establish the position of Chief of Staff.
As an adviser to the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, he has supported leaders across Africa, including governance reforms in Rwanda, healthcare transformation in Namibia, and Tanzania’s National Skills Development Strategy.
He has co-designed and facilitated flagship leadership programs for Rand Merchant Bank and HSBC, as well as teaching at Cambridge, Oxford, and London Business School.
Martin is the author of Leading Like Madiba: Leadership Lessons from Nelson Mandela and other influential books on leadership and transformation.
We Discuss
Martin shares how leadership as it is taught at the Presencing Institute involves “presencing”—combining being present in the moment with sensing future opportunities and needs.
Ubuntu, often defined as “I am because you are,” needs to expanded as a concept to include interdependence across generations, global connections, and non-human beings like animals and nature.
How Ubuntu aligns with systems thinking by emphasizing the interconnectedness of individuals, communities, and the environment.
The challenges of avoiding romanticizing Ubuntu while appreciating its practical applications in leadership and organizational well-being.
Coaching leaders to embrace open-mindedness, emotional intelligence, and an openness of heart and will in decision-making.
How African leadership models provide valuable insights into collective well-being and interconnectedness that global North frameworks often overlook.
Martin’s reflections on the limits of knowledge as we age and the importance of humility in leadership.
085: The Modern Development Leader, How to Manage Change and All That: Torrey and Tosca in Conversation Part 1
00:31:19
Summary:
This is part one of a two-part conversation between two podcast hosts: Torrey Peace and myself. Torrey’s podcast is The Modern Humanitarian and Development Leader.
Torrey and I tackle two broad topics: in this first part of our conversation, Torrey interviews me:
How do people in development agencies experience organizational change? What is the psychology of organizational change that a development leader needs to be aware of? How can experiencing organizational change affect staff motivation? How, as leaders, do we tackle any reactance as well as resistance to change?
Torrey’s Bio:
As a certified coach with twelve years’ experience in international development Torrey Peace facilitates rising and established leaders in the humanitarian and development world to become the leaders they admire, or “people centered leaders.” She has taught and coached over 400 supervisors globally from the UN, INGO and civil society to become more inclusive and caring leaders that make a greater impact while also stepping out of overwork and overwhelm. Her mission is to provide leaders the skills they need to be part of the change we want to see in the humanitarian and development world while also maintaining their wellbeing. For more information about Torrey’s work and podcast, please visit www.aidforaidworkers.com.
We Discuss:
What defines the modern humanitarian and development leader?
Why self-awareness and intentional leadership are crucial in humanitarian work.
The importance of recognizing and overcoming traditional ways of leading that hinder progress.
Leadership coaching as a style, including the shift from managerial to coaching approaches.
Reverse mentoring: how younger team members can teach older colleagues.
Empowering teams by building trust and facilitating self-learning.
086: The Modern Development Leader, How to Manage Change and All That: Torrey and Tosca in Conversation Part 2
00:30:17
Summary:
What are the attributes of the modern humanitarian and development leader? Why modern? In what ways? How does one become one?
Torrey’s Bio:
As a certified coach with twelve years’ experience in international development Torrey Peace facilitates rising and established leaders in the humanitarian and development world to become the leaders they admire, or “people centered leaders.” She has taught and coached over 400 supervisors globally from the UN, INGO and civil society to become more inclusive and caring leaders that make a greater impact while also stepping out of overwork and overwhelm. Her mission is to provide leaders the skills they need to be part of the change we want to see in the humanitarian and development world while also maintaining their wellbeing. For more information about Torrey’s work and podcast, please visit www.aidforaidworkers.com.
We Discuss:
What defines the modern humanitarian and development leader?
Why self-awareness and intentional leadership are crucial in humanitarian work
The importance of recognizing and overcoming traditional ways of leading that hinder progress.
Leadership coaching as a style, including the shift from managerial to coaching approaches.
Reverse mentoring: how younger team members can teach older colleagues.
087. Coaching Leaders Through An African Lens: Nankhonde Kasonde-Van Den Broek
00:52:09
Western coaching models weren’t built for African leaders.
So Nankhonde Kasonde, a Zambian international development as well as a leadership development specialist and certified coach, created something that was.
Nankhonde's Bio:
Nankhonde Kasonde is a Zambian international development specialist, certified leadership coach, and the founder of Zanga, an African leadership assessment and HR analytics company.
As a leadership coach, Nankhonde recognized that African leaders need a coaching framework rooted in African national, regional, and continental values—rather than Western models that do not align with the cultural realities of high-context societies like Zambia.
In high-context cultures, such as those in parts of Africa, China, and Japan, communication is often layered and indirect, relying on shared understanding, relationships, and cultural norms. This contrasts with low-context cultures, where communication tends to be more explicit and direct, as seen in Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States (for example). Recognizing this fundamental difference, Nankhonde developed a coaching framework tailored to African leadership, built on five key cultural dimensions: belief, pride, community, loyalty, and respect.
Through Zanga, she provides African-grounded leadership coaching, self- and 360-degree assessments, and HR analytics that support talent management and organizational development. Her work aims to reshape leadership development in Africa by integrating culturally relevant coaching methodologies that truly resonate with African leaders.
We Discuss:
How did Nankhonde come to conclude that the Western approaches to coaching were not sufficiently helpful for African clients or tailored to their needs?
In what ways were these coaching approaches not culturally appropriate?
How did Nankhonde set out to develop your new coaching framework?
What are the components of Nankhonde’s coaching framework for African clients and how it is different from Western or North-founded frameworks?
Where does this coaching model diverge from Western ones?
088. When You Have to Wind Down Your Nonprofit: How to do It Well, with Amy Miller-Taylor
00:46:43
Summary
What does it take to lead an organization through a responsible and strategic closure? In this episode, I speak with Amy Miller-Taylor, former Executive Director of Global Integrity, about her experience navigating the complex decision to wind down an organization while ensuring its legacy, people, and resources were safeguarded. We explore the financial and strategic challenges that led to this decision, the leadership lessons Amy learned, and how organizations can approach closure as an intentional and thoughtful process rather than a last resort.
Amy's Bio
Former Executive Director of Global Integrity, an organization focused on open governance and anti-corruption.
Deputy Chief of Party, Powered by the People, PartnersGlobal
Advocate for responsible leadership transitions and sustainable organizational change.
Experienced in global development, governance, and nonprofit management.
We Discuss:
Facing financial realities early on: How Amy quickly recognized the urgent need for a new business model upon stepping into leadership.
The role of transparency in leadership: Why erring on the side of over-communication helped maintain trust and morale among staff.
Navigating financial and grant structures: The complexities of nonprofit funding and how the fine print of grants can influence an organization’s survival.
Seeking external counsel: How a small group of peer advisors helped Amy evaluate alternative business models and ensure the decision to close was strategic, not reactive.
Ensuring an ethical and responsible wind-down: The steps Global Integrity took to transition programs, preserve resources, and document key learnings for the sector.
Supporting staff during closure: The importance of providing job placement support and ensuring employees had access to career transition resources.
The administrative side of closure: Legal, financial, and operational considerations when dissolving a nonprofit.
Shifting power in practice: How Global Integrity’s approach of handing over program leadership to local partners in prior years eased the transition.
The emotional weight of closing an organization: Amy’s reflections on the psychological toll and how she found meaning in the process.
Why ending well allows for new beginnings: The importance of reframing closure as part of an organization’s legacy rather than a failure.
Quotes:
“Closing well was more important than a last-ditch effort to make it work.”
“Our efforts toward a responsible wind-down, shifting power, and advancing Global Integrity’s mission could have been more impactful if we had embraced the idea of a strategic ending earlier.”
089: "I AM A CHANGE MAN”: How Arnold Dix Applied An Iconoclastic Leadership Approach at the International Tunnelling Association
00:56:30
Summary
The International Tunnelling Association (ITA) plays a critical role in global infrastructure, ensuring clean water, sewage systems, and transport for millions while contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But behind the technical achievements lies a deeper challenge—modernizing an industry traditionally dominated by European, American, and Australian professionals.
In this episode of NGO Soul + Strategy, I sit down with Arnold Dix, President of ITA, to discuss his iconoclastic leadership approach in making tunneling a more diverse and inclusive profession. Arnold has actively pushed for greater representation of women, people of color, and young engineers, challenging traditional power structures and advocating for regional voices.
As a leader in a global membership-based professional association, Arnold cannot mandate change—he must influence, persuade, and lead by example. What does it take to challenge entrenched norms, navigate resistance, and truly drive transformation? Listen in to find out.
Arnold's Bio
President of the International Tunnelling Association (ITA), leading efforts to modernize and diversify the profession
Lawyer, engineer, and scientist, bringing a multidisciplinary perspective to underground infrastructure development
Champion for diversity in engineering, working to increase representation of women, young engineers, and professionals from non-Western regions
Global infrastructure expert, contributing to sustainable underground solutions worldwide
We Discuss
Reforming a global professional association: How Arnold has worked to decentralize power and amplify regional voices
Breaking industry norms: Making tunneling less exclusive and more diverse, bringing in women, younger professionals, and engineers of color
Leading without authority: The challenge of influencing rather than mandating change in a global membership-based association
Managing resistance: How traditional power centers within the industry have responded to his leadership and reforms
Lessons in delegation: What Arnold would do differently if he could start again
The bigger picture: How underground infrastructure development supports global dignity and the UN SDGs
090. Technology, Land Rights, and Leadership: A Conversation with Amy Coughenour Betancourt, CEO of Cadasta
01:02:44
Show Notes
Summary
Land rights are at the heart of building a sustainable and equitable future. Yet securing these rights—especially for marginalized communities—remains a profound global challenge.
In this episode of NGO Soul + Strategy, I sit down with Amy Coughenour Betancourt, President and CEO of Cadasta, a global social innovation organization dedicated to advancing affordable, accessible land rights documentation.
Drawing on her leadership at the intersection of technology, social innovation, and global nonprofit management, Amy and I explore the unique opportunities and challenges Cadasta faces as a technology-forward organization working closely with Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and governments.
We also address a timely leadership question: how nonprofits can respond to increasingly challenging funding landscapes while staying aligned with mission and values.
Guest's Bio
President and CEO of Cadasta, a leading social innovation organization
Global Advisor, How Women Lead
Advisory Board Member, Geospatial World
Board Member, InterAction
Former COO, National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA CLUSA), International
Former Deputy Executive Director, Pan American Development Foundation
We Discuss
What the integration of technology unlocks for advancing land rights—and the risks and limitations it brings
How Cadasta approaches its role as an ally-organization to Indigenous Peoples and locally-led land tenure groups
The leadership challenge of navigating downward trends in nonprofit funding across Europe and the US
How leaders can respond strategically to funding shifts while identifying new opportunities for mission-driven impact
What it means to balance innovation with the grounded realities of community-driven change
Lessons from Cadasta's hybrid model as both a technology provider and a global NGO
Quotes
“We need to be technology-forward but always community-centered.”
"Responding to a changing funding landscape requires not just resilience—but also creativity and adaptability.”
001. Lessons from a long time change manager: Monica Maassen, Oxfam International
00:42:37
Lessons from a long time change manager: Monica Maassen, Oxfam International
Episode 001 – Monica Maassen
Title: Oxfam’s 2020 change journey: lessons from a long-time change manager - Monica Maassen
Summary para: Oxfam International and its 20+ affiliates have embarked on significant organizational change – appropriately called ‘Oxfam2020’. Monica Maassen, Head of Oxfam Int’s change management, learning and change communications, explains her approach to how she and her team try to promote and accompany this large-scale change process, and the many lessons she has learned along the way.
How does Monica see the different components of an organizational change process?
What does she do, on a daily basis?
What has Monica found the most rewarding, and the most trying, about change management?
What change management concepts or approaches has Monica found to be most helpful?
Why many people make the mistake of overfocusing on organizational structure change instead of on behaviors
How has she tried to learn as a change manager?
Resources:
Bio: Monica Maassen is an expert in the field of change management and has worked in her current role with Oxfam International for over five years. Maassen currently acts as the Head of the organization’s Change Management, Learning and Change Communications Department, and is leading an initiative on culture change titled 'Culture: Living our Values.
002. Interview with Ramesh Singh regarding his change leadership at ActionAid and Greenpeace
00:36:14
Ep 002 – Ramesh Singh
Title: What I learned from leading ActionAid’s federalization process as well as Greenpeace’s recent change trajectory – Ramesh Singh
Summary para:
Ramesh Singh, former CEO of ActionAid, led its process of federalization - an important change in its organizational form - over a decade ago. In addition, Ramesh as International Organization Director led Greenpeace’s process to decentralize decision making from Greenpeace International’s headquarters to its regional and national offices. During the same period, Greenpeace also aligned its organization with a strategic shift of its campaigning approach to a more ‘people-powered’ form of campaigning.
How Ramesh encouraged ActionAid to learn from the past and be fit for the future
How he promoted course corrections in organizational change processes
How to spot slow-onset crises
How not to confuse project management (a means) with the Theory of Change (the end) behind a change process
The usefulness of scenario planning as a tool in change management
How to be wary of ‘glorification’ of what NGOs do
The importance of analysis of difference within organizational change processes
Resources:
Bio: Ramesh Singh has many years of experience working with NGOs, having worked as the Chief Executive Officer of ActionAid, the Chief Operating Officer at Greenpeace, and an Independent Consultant in his later career. In his most recent years, Ramesh Singh has, among others, held the role of Senior Advisor to Oxfam Global Strategy Development in his capacity as a consultant.
003. Reflections by Sarah Ralston, long time change manager in CARE's 2020 change process
00:31:51
Ep 003 – Sarah Ralston
Title: Whole-of-organization thinking: Reflections by Sarah Ralston, former longtime change manager in CARE2020’s process
Summary para:
The complex work of an NGO change manager requires that you have a ‘whole of organization’ perspective. Sarah Ralston, who until recently led many change initiatives at CARE International, reveals what she learned in this third episode in our series on Change Management.
How does Sarah see the different components of an organizational change process?
·What does she do as a change manager, on a daily basis?
·What has she found the most rewarding, and the most trying, about change management?
What change management concepts or approaches has Sarah found to be most helpful?
How has Sarah tried to intentionally learn as a change manager?
Bio:
Sarah Ralston has over 15 years of experience when it comes to international civil society, organizational development, strategy and change management. She worked as a Senior Manager of Global Performance and Strategy for CARE USA before joining CARE International where she has spent over 9 years of her career. As the Head of 2020 Transformational Change, she provided change management expertise to support leadership and engage staff. Ralston most recently worked as the Head of Organizational Development and Accountability at CARE International. She left CARE International in December 2019.
004. A consultant’s observations in helping leaders navigate big organizational change – interview with Ed Boswell of Conner Advisory
00:31:03
Ep 004 – Ed Boswell
Title: A consultant’s observations in helping NGO leaders navigate big organizational change: Ed Boswell, Conner Advisory
Summary para:
Daryl Conner and Ed Boswell of Conner Advisory have been advising private sector leaders for 30+ plus years on how to successfully lead big organizational change processes. How much of this experience translates over into the NGO sector? Ed Boswell talks with Tosca about the many lessons he learned.
To what extent has Ed observed differences in how people think about and execute change management in the private versus NGO sectors?
What’s distinct about strategy execution, as different from strategy installation?
As a consultant, what has Ed found most rewarding in supporting his clients when they engaged in change management?
And, what has he found to be most trying or challenging in doing so?
Resources:
Bio Ed:
Co-founder and CEO of Conner Advisory, which is focused on international aid sector organizations and was founded approximately 5 years ago.
Former senior consultant to private sector companies
Ed’s specializations: strategy execution and leadership development
Ed is also a strategic advisor to the NeuroLeadership Institute
He is a retired Partner of Price Waterhouse Cooper, US practice People and Change
Ed has a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, USA. He also has a Certificate in Business Administration from the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania
This is short introduction of my new podcast NGO Soul + Strategy, for leaders of NGOs and other philanthropic organizations who look change right in the eye. To be launched February 2020.
14 Mar 2020
005. Measuring social change: advice by Alnoor Ebrahim, nonprofit accountability expert
00:33:42
Alnoor Ebrahim, Professor @ Tufts University, USA
How can we as NGO leaders make sure that our strategy informs our measurement strategy as organizations? How can we make sure our NGOs are not just upward/funder-oriented in our measurement approach, but also focused on internal accountability and organizational learning? And what mindsets are most helpful to make measurement efforts meaningful?
In this interview, we address:
What stops us as nonprofits from becoming more outcome-oriented?
What are some roadblocks to watch out for when NGOs aspire to become more outcome-oriented?
What is the Big Idea behind Alnoor’s new book ‘Measuring Social Change: Performance and Accountability in a Complex World’
And what would Alnoor say is true that almost no NGO agrees upon?
Quote: “It is not feasible nor even desirable for all NGOs to develop metrics that run the gamut from outputs to societal outcomes” (pg. 11, book Measuring Social Change by Alnoor Ebrahim)
Resources:
Profile: Alnoor Ebrahim is a professor at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. His work is focused on accountabilities facing non-profit organizations, public entities, and social enterprise. He currently sits on an advisory board to the Global Impact Investing Network and Acumen Fund and has previously worked with the NGO Leaders Forum. Additionally, Alnoor Ebrahim has formerly been the chair of two executive programs at Harvard University and currently co-chairs a program at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Alnoor and I are both Ambassadors in the Leap of Reason Ambassador community, an invitation-based network of nonprofit leaders, funders, analysts and consultants who want to promote a stronger performance and outcome-orientation among nonprofits.
006. Organizational learning as one way to get to a stronger outcome-orientation: interview with two powerhouses
00:46:16
What organizational dynamics cause NGOs and funders to make overblown outcome statements?
In this interview with Julia Coffman and Tanya Beer of the Center for Evaluation Innovation, two thought leaders in the space of evaluation and organizational learning in the philanthropic and NGO sector, we address:
What stops us as nonprofits from becoming more outcome-oriented?
When your NGO starts a new strategy, can the evaluation folks not just inform the eventual measurement of that strategy but also help you with synthesizing what was learned up till that point?
And why can the more ‘comfortable’ notion of organizational learning – rather than evaluation – lead to reinforcement of confirmation bias?
Julia and Tanya address these complex questions, that all touch upon organizational dynamics, in their thoughtful responses to my interview questions. Enjoy!
Julia Coffman's bio
Julia Coffman is the Founder and Director of the Center for Evaluation Innovation. Her focus is advancing evaluation and learning practice in philanthropy. For 25 years, she's worked with dozens of foundations on their approaches to evaluation. She has particular expertise in evaluating advocacy and policy efforts, emphasizing real-time learning that helps organizations to adapt their strategies and continuously improve.
Tanya Beer's bio
Tanya Beer is the Associate Director for the Center for Evaluation Innovation. Tanya and Julia are both high profile thought leaders in the field of philanthropy and evaluation, as well as organizational learning. Tanya was formerly at the Colorado Trust, working on research, evaluation and learning.
007. Are NGOs subject to the dynamic of ‘successful failure’? A conversation with George Mitchell of Baruch College, City University of New York
00:41:19
George Mitchell, professor at Baruch College at the City University of New York, USA, is one of my long time collaborators, a dear friend and one of those wonderful academics with a healthy respect for NGO practitioners. He and I, and Hans Peter Schmitz have co-authored an upcoming book on transnational NGOs, which will come out in June 2020.
In this interview, George addresses the following questions and topics:
What stops NGOs/nonprofits from becoming more outcome-oriented?
How is it possible that NGOs can survive indefinitely without showing outcomes? Does the provocative concept of ‘successful failure’ explain this phenomenon?
What are the specific roadblocks to watch out for when NGOs do aspire to become more outcome-oriented?
Some common myths when it comes to measurement and evaluation
The importance for NGOs of joining transparency platforms
Tricky aspects of integrating cost-effectiveness into evaluation approaches
Bio
George Mitchell is Associate prof at Baruch college, where he taches as well as writes for academic and practitioner audiences in the areas of nonprofit management, transnational NGOs and evaluation and learning.
George pursued his PhD work in Political Science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, USA, where his collaboration with me as podcast host started. We go back 16 years!
George and I are co-author (together with Hans Peter Schmitz of the University of San Diego, USA) of a book : Between Power and Irrelevance: the future of transnational NGOs, which is expected to be published by Oxford University Press in June 2020. This book is partially dedicated to the question to what extent NGOs are truly outcome-oriented, and what factors and incentive systems historically have influenced the actions and behaviors of NGOs when it comes to being outcome-oriented.
008. Continuous improvement together: the case for Constituent Voice - a conversation with David Bonbright of Keystone Accountability
00:40:36
David Bonbright, co-founder and Chief Executive of Keystone Accountability, an international charity dedicated to bringing constituent feedback to social change practice.
In this interview, David addresses the following questions and topics:
What is Constituent Voice? And why is it so important if an NGO wants to be more outcome-focused?
How is it different, and more than ‘downward accountability’?
Easier said than done: NGO leaders need to balance many competing values and priorities. How should they balance the voice of their primary constituents/clients/stakeholders/customers with those of other stakeholders, like boards, donors, staff members, and peer organizations?
And why is it that many NGO people rhetorically embrace the concept of Constituent Voice but quite lag behind in practice?
Bio:
Keystone seeks to maximize the social impacts of organizations -- nonprofit, business and governmental -- through the Constituent Voice™ methodology of planning, doing, measuring and communicating that fosters learning and responsiveness among all constituents. Keystone supports NGOs when they listen and respond to those meant to benefit from their activities.
David also worked with Aga Khan Foundation, Ashoka -- the entity that supported social entrepreneurs well before it became fashionable -- and with the Oak and Ford Foundations
009. How nonprofits can be more performance-focused, and why diversity, equity and inclusion is part and parcel of such a business plan: an interview with Tammy Dowley-Blackman
00:38:08
Tammy Dowley-Blackman is a seasoned and dynamite consultant in the domestic US nonprofit management and effectiveness space, who I look up to. In this interview, Tammy shares:
How her observations as a nonprofit leader, and the insufficient emphasis she observed nonprofits put on performance issues, drove her to set up her consulting firm
The fallacy that ensuring diversity and inclusion strategies is not part and parcel of nonprofit business management
How cultural competencies and attention to diversity, equity and inclusion strategies in nonprofits are intimately related
How nonprofits who do not manage to transition from start-up, founder-focused mode to an emphasis on appropriate systems building are likely to falter
Quote: “Less is more -- when it comes to investment in leaders -- is not a good motto if nonprofits want to attract strong Generation Y and Z staff”
Bio:
Tammy is the owner of the TDB consulting firm, which supports nonprofits in the areas of Communications and Development (Fundraising); Leadership Development; Project Design and Management; Research and Evaluation; and Talent Management. Tammy’s firm’s work is primarily US-domestic
Tammy’s consulting work grew out of what she saw in practice, during her tenure as an Executive Director for two nationally-affiliated nonprofits
She also offers expertise on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which all started with Tammy’s experience as a Diversity Officer at the Proteus Fund
Tammy has taught at Boston University, Cambridge College and Lesley University
010. NGO Mergers + Acquisitions: an interview with Rick Santos, a CEO who lived to tell the story
00:41:10
Are more Mergers and Acquisitions in NGOs’ futures? And is that a good thing? An interview with Rick Santos, a CEO who lived to tell the story
Bio Rick Santos
Rick was the CEO of IMA World Health between 2009 and 2018, after having worked in the international health and development sector for over two decades
IMA World Health is a faith-based nonprofit organization that provides health care services and supplies to vulnerable and marginalized people. We should note that in the developing world, an estimated 30 to 60 percent of health care is provided by faith-based organizations (FBOs). At the end of 2018, IMA World Health merged with Lutheran World Relief
Rick is currently Principal at NXPivot, which helps civil society organizations pivot in environments of lots of external change
Rick is a nonprofit professional with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a focus in strategy and management from Johns Hopkins University
In this episode, we discuss:
How did Rick as CEO go about pursuing a merger for IMA World Health, and what did he learn in the process?
Will the current pandemic likely lead to more explorations of Mergers and Acquisitions?
What hamstrings global North-founded NGOs in pursuing M&As?
Is it the pre-, during, or after phase that is most tricky/challenging to navigate during an M&A process?
Does a slowly rising trend in Mergers and Acquisitions inevitably lead to a further crowding out of Southern civil society?
011.NGO campaigns miss how humans process difficult emotions. Listen to Stefan Flothmann of Greenpeace to learn how to fix this
00:43:00
In this episode, I discuss with Stefan Flothmann, who heads Greenpeace's MindWorks Cognitive Science Lab, how campaign designs miss how humans process difficult and negative emotions, and how this diminishes campaigns' effectiveness.
Quotes:
“Greenpeace staff were working on the assumption we were working towards a state of paradise, but they are struggling instead with the state of loss we have to deal with”
“Our assumption used to be: we are humans, so we understand how other humans work. Common sense approaches to our campaigning suffice. We were wrong”
Stefan's bio:
· Global Director at Mindworks Cognitive Science Lab, Greenpeace (GP) East Asia
· Former Program Director, Greenpeace E-Asia
· Former Dir Climate and Energy, Greenpeace
· Former Dir of Int Ocean Governance, Pew Charitable Trust
We discuss:
Why Greenpeace as one of the largest brand names in environmental activism felt the need to change its assumptions behind its campaigning approaches
The relevance of behavioral psychology, social psychology and neuroscience for campaigning organizations
How to better take account of difficult, and negative human feelings in advocacy?
How to go from broadcasting and audience-centric to audience-empathetic approaches
Organizational resilience within NGOs during this period of a pandemic; how should leaders respond?
Read more here about MindWorks's advice on how to campaign during the Covid pandemic. And here is MindWork's website about campaigning for mindset change
You can reach Stefan at sflothma@greenpeace.org
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Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.
You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels:
012. NGO change management tips from a pro. A conversation with Barney Tallack
00:45:02
NGO change management is challenging - to say the least. A conversation with Barney Tallack to help you learn from a pro
Bio Barney Tallack
Principal Consultant, Averthur Consulting
Former Director of Strategy, Oxfam International
Former Director for Change Management, Oxfam Int.
Multiple other leadership roles in Oxfam (spanning a career of 25 years within that organization)
Board member of Forest Peoples, Fairtrade Foundation and several other nonprofit boards
Quotes:
“The field of change management is huge and has no boundaries”
And on the financial implications of the pandemic for the global North-founded NGO sector:
“Our own pre-existing conditions have exacerbated the financial implications of COVID-10 for the sector”
In this chock-full episode, we discuss:
How to use a ‘political frame’ in change management, and harness the power of ‘positive resisters’ and informal leaders (i.e. people who have lots of power within an organization, though not posititional power)
How the use of such a political frame is appropriate as long as we are very self-aware of how our identity as NGO staff is rather tightly wrapped up with our jobs
What does a people-centric approach to NGO change management entail?
We also discuss Barney’s recent paper on the financial implications of the COVID-pandemic for NGOs and the suddenly even more critical need for drastic change:
The “cognitive dissonance” of NGO staff in view of funding levels that had started to plateau and then decline well before the pandemic
How senior NGO leaders and their boards should act now to drive big change rapidly
LinkedIn profile Barney Tallack
You can also reach Barney at: barneytallack[at]gmail.com
Read his recent paper on ‘Existential Challenges in the Funding Landscape for Northern NGOs’ here.
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Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.
You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels:
013. INGO leadership responses during hard times: a joint podcast episode with the International Civil Society Center
00:58:32
As NGO community we are staring into the unknown, and as Bob Johansen of the Institute for the Future, memorably, said recently: "The future will reward clarity, but punish uncertainty. Be wary of people who need certainty, since certainty is brittle". Yet, our brains crave certainty, so what to do? How to lead our NGOs during a global crisis like this?
This was one of the central topics at the recent (June 3-5, 2020) 'Leading Together' meeting of the International Civil Society Centre, a leading convening body for mid to large size transnational NGOs. I was happy to be of service to the Centre by offering a presentation on 'Leading during Crisis' and by assisting in the meeting's design and facilitation. We also tried something new: Tom Howie at the Centre and I recorded a joint episode to capture the meeting's main takeaways.
In the episode, we hear thoughtful NGO practitioners offer their takeaways: participants Jayanta Bora, Executive Director for Global Human Resources at Plan International and Aida Rehouma, Lead Global Programming at World YWCA. And, of course, we also benefit from listening to the reflections of Wolfgang Jamann, the Centre's Director and main host of the meeting.
Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces.
Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.
You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels:
014. Between Power and Irrelevance: what *is* the future of transnational NGOs? An conversation with my two 'co-conspirators' on the book
00:43:11
Summary
Tosca focuses on her new book ‘Between Power and Irrelevance: the Future of Transnational NGOs’, which she co-authored with George Mitchell and Hans Peter Schmitz. Barney Tallack, ex-Oxfam leader and independent consultant, also made important contributions towards the book.
Why transnational NGOs have a hard time living up to their (bigger) promises and claims
How our transnational NGO sector is still governed by a 20th-century legal architecture for charities, and how this is detrimental on many levels
If NGOs want to transform themselves into movements, brokers and thought conveners, they’ve got to change the expectations that society puts upon them, and – equally important – change their own cultural norms and assumptions
Topics covered in the book, such as strategy; digital adaption; measurement; governance reforms; leadership (development) challenges, collaboration, and mergers and acquisitions
How the book offers value for ongoing academic discourses -- such as why NGOs are in trouble; what’s the impact when NGOs are too focused on size and growth; and the implications when NGOs are ‘too successful’
Unique features and messages of the book: 1) it is written based on a deep knowledge of NGO leadership perspectives and realities; 2) the sector’s change management capacity is woefully inadequate in proportion to the amount of organizational change it has to navigate if it wants to remain relevant, effective and legitimate; 3) and the gap between the sector’s espoused set of values and principles, and its real in-use behaviors needs to be narrowed seriously if it wants to continue to be relevant – or even survive.
Quote
“We had to walk a delicate dance between the expectations and standards of academics and those of practitioners in writing this book. It was our strong history of mutual respect and collaboration as co-authors that made it possible”
Bios of authors and further information on the book
George Mitchell, Baruch College, City University of New York, USA
More info about book here - see temporary 30% discount coupon!
02 Aug 2020
015. Not your usual NGO strategy process: Oxfam's recent experience with strategy formation and whether it is holding up during this massive disruption
00:58:50
Interview with Muthoni Muriu and Doris Basler of Oxfam about their ambitious, innovative, bottom-up Oxfam strategy process, which was approved at the onset of the global pandemic
Bios
Muthoni Muriu:
Former Global Strategy Lead, Oxfam America & Oxfam International (please note that Muthoni left Oxfam as of June 30, 2020, after the strategy had been approved by Oxfam International's Board)
Former Senior Director, Global Programs Mgt team, Oxfam America
Former Regional Program Director, W-Africa, Oxfam America
Educated at the University of London - London School of Economics and Politics and School for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)
Alum of the Transnational NGO Leadership Institute at Syracuse Univerity, which Tosca once used to lead
Doris Basler:
Director for Governance and Strategy, Oxfam International
Former Dir of Organizational Development as well as former Director of Capacity Building, Transparency International
Former roles at Amnesty International and the International Committee of the Red Cross
Educated at the School for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London
Quotes
“During our strategy process, our Affiliate boards were encouraged to trust the 10.000 (staff), so that the strategy could be built bottom-up”
“Through this bottom-up process, staff came up with about 250 ‘big, hairy and audacious’ scenarios!”
In this episode, you will learn how Oxfam went about its new strategy formation, what it learned along the way, and to what extent it held up :
How this Oxfam global strategy process was different from past ones at Oxfam, and why
The principles on which it was designed, and how these, and the characteristics of the process resulted in greater staff buy-in, more outside-in perspectives, more thinking from-the-future- back and less space for politicking
The various parts of the strategy process, what was innovative, what worked and what less so
What’s the difference between a strategy framework, strategy horizon plans, strategy operationalization, and strategy visualization
How this strategy framework and the resulting scenarios proved to be prescient of the pandemic’s impacts and of the need for Oxfam to move into digital rights
016. ‘Mergers and Acquisitions are in the air’: a discussion with two Plan USA NGO leaders who lived to tell the tale
00:49:18
In this interview with Tessie San Martin and Constantin Abarbieritei, CEO and Chief Operating Officer, respectively, at Plan USA, we discuss what lessons they learned in leading two acquisitions and one divestiture.
Quotes:
“If you want to do M&A, you’d better also know how to do divestiture”
“The lack of financial motives, metrics as well as incentive structures, as compared to the private sector, is a real problem in making M&A happen in the NGO sector”
In this stimulating discussion, Tessie and Constantin share their observations:
The impact of the fact that no money changes hands in the case of M&A among NGOs
How and at what stage to involve your major funders
What happens when organizations wait too long to consider an M&A, and the less than ideal pressure that ‘distress sales’ put upon a merger
How the lack of specialized M&A expertise as well as (donor) funding for the costs of considering and managing a Merger or Acquistion act as important barriers
The ‘dance’ with the two boards and senior leadership teams that are involved
How COVID has positioned M&A as a tool for Northern-founded INGOs to reinvent themselves
And how this does not preclude NGOs from also divesting power to the local level (#shiftthepower)
017. What's all this talk about feminist leadership? An interview with Abby Maxman, CEO, Oxfam America
00:34:32
What’s all this talk about feminist leadership? An interview with Abby Maxman, Oxfam America’s CEO
Feminist leadership seems to be in ascendance in the INGO sector. Now, our sector is a bit prone to fads and fashions -- so should we take this seriously? Is this leadership model here to stay? And what are its potential, its power as well as its limitations? This is what I explore in a short series of episodes about feminist leadership, which is starting with this interview with Abby Maxman, CEO of Oxfam America.
Later in the series, I will interview Aruna Rao, Lisa Veneklaassen, and Joanne Sandler, while plans to interview Srilatha Batliwala are in the works.
Quotes
“Servant leadership does not always necessarily mean you to lead from behind (although this is often what’s needed); it can sometimes also mean leading from the front”
“Feminist leadership needs to be situational and adaptive to be helpful”
“You need to be kind of heart but also tough of mind, at the same time”
Feminist leadership obviously has the aspiration to contribute towards a gender-just society, both internally inside the organization, and externally. In this podcast series, I focus on how feminist leadership plays out as an organizational leadership model. According to Abby, feminist leadership among others is about being developmental towards other employees, bringing out the best in others. And it is about nurturing and seeking out the voices of all staff.
018. Power as finite resource or as unlimited good: Paul O’Brien at Oxfam America on influencing NGOs
00:31:36
What's a global North-founded influencing NGO to do to stay relevant, credible, and effective?
And should influencing NGOs see power as an infinite resource -- that can be grown and shared and in principle is unlimited in nature -- or as a limited asset that needs to be fought for?
Finally, how does a seasoned advocacy NGO leader look upon the current moment as a combination of crisis and opportunity?
I discussed these topics during a wide-ranging interview with Paul O'Brien, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at Oxfam America.
Paul's bio
· Vice president for policy and advocacy, Oxfam America
· Director of Aid Effectiveness, Oxfam America
· Long term work in Afghanistan
· Also worked as Policy Advisor in Care International
· Graduated from Harvard Law School
Quotes
“We want to be relevant to next-generation influencers, such as distributed, organic, indigenous, networked and virtual activists”
“After COVID, governments will review which CSOs fomented change and will go after them”
We discussed:
· Is power conceptually something that should be seen as an asset that can be grown and in principle is unlimited?
· Or is it time for influencing NGOs to rediscover that power is a finite or zero-sum kind of thing?
· Under what conditions can global North founded influencing NGOs maintain their relevance, effectiveness, and legitimacy?
· And what’s the main argument which Paul lays out in his new book ‘Power Switch?
Paul’s new book ‘Power Switch’ is available at several online booksellers, including this one.
Contact Paul at: paul.obrien@oxfam.org (till March 2021, after which he will pursue new endeavors).
019. Politics, power and feminist leadership within NGOs - Lisa Veneklasen's take on things
00:46:19
Organizational leaders have to balance competing values. What kind of worthy values and interests might ‘compete’ with those called for by Feminist Leadership (FL) and how should leaders resolve those?
What to do when we need to hold individual staff or teams to account for underperformance, given FL’s emphasis on being developmental, its focus on staff care, etc.?
When do leaders decide that they cannot consult everybody but need to make certain decisions within a small circle? Is this in conflict with the feminist leadership principles?
I discussed these topics during an interview with Lisa Veneklaassen, Founder & Advisor, Just Associates (JASS)
Lisa's Bio
Over 30 years of experience as Educator, Strategist, and organization-builder with a variety of social justice and women’s rights efforts worldwide.
Assistant Director of the Global Women in Politics program of the Asia Foundation.
Lisa's work on integrating power and political analysis into development influenced and is used by many international organizations including Plan International, Oxfam International, and Action Aid International.
Founder and now advisor of Just Associates, a global women-led human rights network of activists, popular educators, and scholars in 31 countries.
"Feminist leadership poses that we come to work as whole persons, as political beings, shaped by race, gender, sexuality, ability and class"
"Feminist leadership is ideally suited for crisis situations such as currently with the pandemic given its focus on communications, transparency, the sharing of anxieties instead of 'let's all be soldiers'"
We discussed:
To what extent is there a tension between the felt need by some social sector organizations to move to leaner and more agile organizations and the practices of feminist leadership?
How feminist leaders use a lens in understanding internal organizational politics
How well has FL served organization during the past year of the pandemic related crisis, or during other periods of crisis?
Lisa’s book 'A New Weave of Power, People and Politics' is available at several online booksellers, including this one.
020. Feminist leadership and 'deep power structures’ within organizations: Aruna Rao, co-founder of Gender at Work
00:40:36
What are the political or other strategies and tactics that a feminist leader can use to analyze the presence of ‘deep structures’ of power within organizations?
What can a feminist leader practically do to change these power structures?
And in what scenarios does Feminist Leadership shine in particular ways?
I discussed these topics during an interview with Aruna Rao, Co-founder and chair of the board at Gender at Work
Aruna's Bio
Co-founder, former chair of the board at Gender at Work and its former Executive Director. Gender at Work offers thought leadership, training, and consulting services to organizations that wish to create cultures of equality and inclusion
Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Organizational Behavior from Columbia University, USA
Quotes
“Organizations are broken because people are broken”
“ Organizations tend to default to patriarchal and hierarchical forms unless that is interrupted through intentional leadership practices"
“What does care mean in an organizational context?"
We discussed:
Gender and power dynamics in organizations
Who gets access to resources and to information, how priorities are set etc. are all part of these power dynamics
The nature of organizational culture as it relates to gender
How to practice self-reflectiveness about deep-seated norms in organizations
Aruna has co-authored a book named 'Gender at Work: Theory and Practice for 21st Century Organizations' which is available at several online booksellers, including this one.
021. Positional power games and ‘feminist bureaucrats’ in multilateral organizations: Joanne Sandler's observations
00:40:23
Summary
How does Feminist Leadership ‘perform’ when a leader has to make hard choices?
How well has feminist leadership served organizations during the past year of the pandemic-related crisis, or other periods of crisis?
What kind of worthy values and interests might ‘compete’ with those called for by feminist leadership, and how should leaders resolve this?
I discussed these topics during an interview with Joanne Sandler, senior associate at Gender at Work, and former leader at UN Women.
Joanne's Bio
Senior associate at Gender at Work, a consulting and training agency which works with organizations that wish to contribute to gender equality and to advance feminist leadership.
Independent consultant
Co-producer of podcast Two Old Bitches which captures the experiences of women over 50 who reinvent, reimagine, and rebel.
Former Deputy Executive Director at UN Women/UNIFEM
Special advisor to assistant secretary-General of UN Women
Quotes
“Sometimes you have to be willing to play the positional power game."
We discussed:
The differences between ‘power over’ - the traditional view on leadership --, ‘power with’ and ‘power to’: different ways of understanding power
The life of ‘femocrats’ - feminist bureaucrats in large multilateral organizations like the UN, World Bank, and WTO
Why hierarchical power intrinsically emphasizes inequality within organizations, and how to minimize this
How to use your privilege for the good of the broader organization and mission
What happens when the expectations about how leaders should behave, which come from national cultures, bump into expectations coming from feminist leadership models. And how an understanding of intersectionality and leading with purpose can help resolve this.
Resources
Joanne has co-authored a book named 'Gender at Work: Theory and Practice for 21st Century Organizations' which is available at several online booksellers, including this one.
022. How to lead organizational change when you are the first person of color in top leadership: Dorothy Nyambi, CEO of MEDA
00:46:19
Summary Dorothy Nyambi took on the top leadership role in MEDA two years ago as the only person of color in the senior leadership team. She since then has led change with that awareness in mind:
What do we mean by culture change, and how to see and operationalize it?
Politics and power within an organization, from a change leader’s perspective.
How to lead and manage organizational change? What frameworks, resources, or tools are most valuable?
Inclusion and diversity -- or lack of diversity -- in leadership.
Dorothy’s Bio
Dorothy is President and Chief Executive of MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates), a Canadian headquartered international economic development organization that creates business solutions to poverty
Former Executive Vice President of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences
Former Regional Director of the NGO Right to Play
Dorothy was trained as a medical doctor, then moved upstream from being a technical person into organizational management and leadership
Quotes
“I will be bringing myself into it as a black woman driving to bring change to a white organization in a sector where white saviorism and specifically white male dominance is predominant. That will be the lens that will drive my change journey, but a journey that I am proud of and which has lots of lessons for me”
“As a former medical professional, I feel like I am in the upstream medical sector in international development”
We discussed:
The role shift that MEDA is going through, from direct implementation to that of convener, and what the implications are of that
The “divided loyalties’ of staff in international development - and the power and accolades that come with that, as well as a fear for a loss of identity
How institutional donor practices reinforce white saviorism
How one can assess the appetite for change as an incoming CEO in an organization new to you
How diverse organizations need to honor the lived experience of staff
023. What's a feminist leader to do about social power in organizations: Srilatha Batliwala
00:46:52
Summary What is social power? And how does this concept relate to Feminist Leadership? And how does it show up in organizational dynamics within civil society organizations (CSOs)?
Are there any cross-cultural aspects to Feminist Leadership?
I discussed these topics during an interview with Srilatha Batliwala, senior advisor at CREA and Gender at Work, a well-known social movement 'pracademic' and activist, and author of peer-reviewed articles about INGOs.
Srilatha Batliwala's bio
Senior advisor, Knowledge Building and Feminist Leadership, CREA (a feminist human rights organization founded in India) & Gender at Work
Former co-chair, Board, Just Associates
Former co-chair, Board, Gender at Work
Member, International. Advisory Board for the Institute for Human Rights and Business
Civil Society Research Fellow, Hauser Center, Harvard
Quotes
“If I say another world is possible, I have to make it true within my organization as well”
“We have to go for power structures that disrupt”
“Besides focusing on visible forms of power and decision making, as seen in public institutions, we have to also focus on the power within the self, how we think about self and what we can see as being possible, as being within our agency”
“In order to maneuver around deep power structures within organizations, we first have to bring them to the surface”
We discussed:
How we should analyze power and how it works in society and in organizations
The limitations of feminist leadership across a range of organizations
What are the political strategies and tactics that a feminist leader can use to analyze the presence of ‘deep structures’ in an organization
What can a feminist leader practically do to change these power structures?
Srilatha is the author of 'Engaging with Empowerment’ which is available at several online booksellers, including this one.
024. Organizational ethics, integrity, power and governance: Alex Cole-Hamilton
00:41:00
Summary What is wrong with the current approach to organizational ethics and integrity in NGOs?
Why is using a lens of power analysis so helpful to bring INGO governance into focus?
Only by looking at the very core of how organizations work, we can begin to achieve the deep and effective change needed across the sector.
In this episode, we discuss organizational ethics and integrity concerns in INGOs with Alex Cole-Hamilton, independent consultant.
Alex’s Bio
Independent consultant, advising boards and executives on ethics and integrity risks and related decision-making frameworks
Former head of Ethics and Compliance, Oxfam Great Britain (GB)
Former head of Corporate Responsibility, Oxfam GB
Former Ethical Trade project manager, The Body Shop
Quotes
“At that time, it felt colonial to work in the NGO sector, so I went to work in the private sector instead”
“The field of ethics and integrity is quite young in INGOs”
“This approach feels big upfront, but will actually make this work more manageable in the medium term”
We discussed:
Concrete examples of issues that are relevant for INGO’s ethics and integrity: environmental footprint; pay equity; anti-modern slavery practices; decolonizing aid; safeguarding, etc.
The benefits of categorizing our work on organizational ethics and integrity into three categories: 1) organizational behavior; 2) individual behavior; 3) risk and assurance
It is useful to distinguish between the issues relevant to integrity and ethics, and how they need to be operationalized in individual behavior, culture, leadership, the NGO’s supply chains, etc.
How the steer needs to come from donors as well as those who govern the INGO to redirect some money from direct programming to organizational ethics and integrity practices – especially given the strengths of the ‘overhead myth’
How abuse of power is at the root of many violations of integrity, and how a power analysis therefore can be usefully applied by boards.
025. Gabriela (Oxfam), Julia (ActionAid), and Sofia (CARE): a celebration of Latina women's leadership
00:45:18
Summary
How often does it happen that three of the biggest INGOs are all headed by three Latina women. Not often -- and definitely a reason to celebrate.
Sofia, Julia and Gabriela discuss their perspectives on leadership When it comes to crafting the new employee experience after COVID, what changes in that experience stand out?
To what extent the interviewees experience that women leader still cannot bring their whole person to leadership, and need to adjust to male expectations of leadership?
How have the NGOs fared in the past year and a half of COVID?
In this episode, we discuss women and leadership, and also their visions on leadership in general.
Gabriela Bucher’s Bio:
Executive Director of Oxfam International
Chief Operating Officer, Plan International (3 years)
Executive President Plan Foundation, Columbia (10+ years)
Julia Sanchez’s Bio:
Secretary General, ActionAid
Ex Senior Researcher, Canadian Union of Public Employees
Federal NDP Ex-Candidate for by-election in Outremont
President-CEO of the Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCCI) – (7 years)
Sofia Sprechmann’s Bio:
Secretary General, CARE International
Program Director, CARE International (8 years)
Deputy Regional Director, Latin America & Caribbean (8 years)
Board Trustee, International Budget Partnership
Quotes “The pandemic has speeded up our delegation of authority to the country level, thereby allowing more space for decolonization to happen”
“The pandemic has been like an X-ray: it has provided us visibility into what is wrong with the system in a way that has been evident to each family”
“We have had to learn how to balance the global and the local in new ways now”
”How do we own our leadership behaviors, without worrying about how they may differ from ‘what is expected’”
We discussed:
What motivates them: to permit themselves to lead in their way, and be vocal about others being able to do the same
Without wanting to essentializing women as leaders, and while recognizing the non-binary aspects of gender: preference to focus first on listening, learning, building bridges towards consensus
The choice to own one’s leadership behaviors and style
Change management and crisis leadership lessons from the past year and half of pandemic
How the pandemic enabled new opportunities (the upside of pandemic): for example, for global teams that had been hybrid before to now truly ‘gel’, as well as equalizing those teams
How the employee experience will be different after the pandemic: localization and shifts of authority/delegation, democratization
026. Right Work and Right Team: how the Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (BRAC) is aspiring to become a truly diverse, global entity - Rasha Natour
00:45:57
Summary
What are the advantages and disadvantages (if any) when an organization is in a position to start almost as if with a new slate after a large core grant infusion, and thus can propel an ambitious DEI agenda?
And how do local authorities and national governments in global South countries respond to a localization push by an initiative like the Ultra Poor Graduation Initiative, part of the large Bangladesh-founded NGO BRAC?
In this episode, we talk with Rasha Natour, Senior Advocacy Manager at UPGI, about the Initiative's two strands of DEI-related work: ‘Right Work’ and ‘Right Team’, and the different roles these two approaches play in UPGI becoming a truly global entity.
Rasha Natour’s Bio:
Sr. Advocacy Manager, Ultra Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI), at the Bangladesh Rural & Advancement Committee (BRAC)
Formerly senior Strategic Direction manager at CARE International
Former Knowledge Management & Global Advocacy, CARE International
Former researcher on civil society at the London School of Economics (LSE)
Quotes
“We cannot divide external change from the internal change. If we really want to see something happening externally, we need to ensure that we build internally to enable that.”
“The way to have more local sustainability is by starting from the very beginning and not just as a consultative process.”
We discussed:
When a nonprofit received a large core grant (such as the TED Audacious grant in the case of the Ultra Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI)), it not only obviously allows the organization to expand its programming but also offers that organization security as well as flexibility and agility
When it comes to UPGI’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging work (DEI+B), UPGI operates two workstreams: ‘Right Team’ and ‘Right Work’. Under Right Team, the focus is on how to change the recruitment strategy, how to emphasize DEI+B values in recruitment steps, and how to change UPGI's performance management system
‘Right Work’ relates to how to further shift the locus of decision making and authority to people most close to the impact; and how to work with local civil society in a way that recognizes its autonomy and identity and in a way that supports it in flexible manners
The focus throughout UPGI’s work is to center the voices of those closest to the level of impact
Note:
Since this episode was recorded, BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI) has begun a transition to move its administrative home from BRAC USA to BRAC International. As BRAC seeks to expand uptake of the Graduation approach worldwide through advocacy and technical advisory services, BRAC UPGI is increasingly hiring more staff in the regions where they work. As the main entity housing BRAC's programs outside of Bangladesh, BRAC International is well-positioned to oversee BRAC UPGI's expansion as a global program.
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11 Sep 2021
027. People, resistance to new ideas and the power of removing friction: interview with Loran Nordgren
00:41:27
Summary
Why do people resist new ideas, including inside organizations, and including with regard to organizational change initiatives? And what can we as change managers/leaders do about this?
What's more important: making your new idea more 'shiny', more attractive, or removing obstacles that stand in the way of people accepting new ideas?
Would resistance to new ideas play out differently in the nonprofit sector as compared to others?
What does ‘neophobia’ mean, and does it apply as much to the (international) nonprofit sectors as to the private sector and government sector?
In this podcast episode which is of prime relevance to change managers and leadres, I interview Loran Nordgren of Northwestern University, USA, whose research together with David Schonthal, also at Northwestern, on why people resist new ideas, and the importance of removing friction.
Loran focuses on individual-level psychology, more than on organizational or industrial labor relations fields of work. His research is cross-sectoral: he looks at change processes and the adoption of new ideas in the private sector, government sector, and nonprofits.
Loran Nordgren’s Bio:
Professor of Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management at NorthWestern University in Chicago, USA
Co-author of the book ‘The Human Element: Overcoming the Resistance that Awaits New Ideas’, to be published on October 5th, 2021, together with David Schonthal
Co-founder of Creative Candor LLC
Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology at University of Amsterdam
We discussed:
Forces that propel a new idea forward: this is fuel
When you want to change people’s mind, or bring them to your side, including in organizational change processes, you need to not just focus on making the new idea more attractive, and increasing the incentives to adopt this new idea (the ‘fuel’ or ‘ammunition’) . You need to also take away the sources of 'friction', the aspects that may make it difficult for people to adopt or accept your new idea or initiative
Friction becomes a drag on innovation
Strategies for taking away friction: consider how the new idea stacks up in terms of:
Effort: Does this idea represent a big or small change? If big, expect more resistance
Does this change happen quickly, or gradually? The bigger and faster the change, the greater the inertia
Does it take a lot of effort to implement the idea? Can you reduce the level of effort needed, as change manager?
Does the idea create ambiguity among audience: if people don’t know how to implement, and it requires discovery, it is harder to embrace
Emotion: Does the idea represent a threat? (and neuroscience indicates humans experience change as ‘pain’, as threat)
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25 Sep 2021
028. Strategic planning when your CSO faces fundamental uncertainties: Dave Algoso, facilitator & consultant
00:41:18
Summary
How has strategic planning changed during the pandemic?
What are general blind spots when it comes to strategic planning in our social sector?
What are jazzy new approaches to strategic planning that civil society organizations should consider?
And what are the warning signs, as a strategy consultant, that tell you you should not get involved?
In this podcast episode, I discuss with Dave Algoso, strategy facilitator and consultant 'par excellence', how civil society organizations (CSOs) have changed how they go about strategic planning in this very uncertain world.
Dave Algoso’s Bio
Independent consultant at Open CoLab, Dave's consulting company
In-house Organizer at Civic Hall, NYC (2017)
Managing Director at Reboot (2013 - 2015)
Program Manager at MercyCorps (2010 - 2013)
Senior Analyst at Advisory Board Company (2005 - 2007)
We discuss:
What makes strategic planning in the social sector different from the private sector (where much of the publications on strategic planning originates)?
How has strategic planning changed for nonprofits and social enterprises in the pandemic, and what kind of blind spots does Dave see?
How can facilitators of strategic planning processes work around any attempts by participants to primarily protect self-interest or turf, that may muddy a good process?
How can we avoid a strategic plan merely ending up on a shelf, collecting dust, never to be used again?
Why do some nonprofits show little discipline in making sure a newly formed strategy is ‘cascading’ down in the organization and translated into real direction setting and consequences for everybody - and what can be done about this?
What's the latest and greatest in strategic planning? And what are ‘classics’ that still merit using?
Quotes
“I am skeptical about using private sector strategic planning tools in the social sector”
“A strategy should not fall prey to irrelevance by being just a shiny PDF”
“In terms of strategy tools, I am still a stickler for the good old 2 X 2 matrix”
029. Potential and peril when NGOs collaborate with social movements: May Miller-Dawkins
00:41:31
Summary
What are the biggest limitations social movements encounter, time and again?
What are the good examples of positive collaboration between INGOs and social movements?
And what characteristics, what attributes made that collaboration positive?
In this podcast episode, I discussed with May Miller-Dawkins about the potential and peril when NGOs collaborate with social movements.
May’s Bio:
Researcher, advocate and facilitator, working with social movements, NGOs, foundations, universities and community groups on social change processes
Used to be based in New South Wales, Australia, now in New Zealand
Works with social movements and social sector organizations as well as universities to strengthen their advocacy, deepen their coalitions and sharpen their analysis
Former director, Governance and Transparency, The B Team, which seeks to redefine the culture of accountability in business by creating and encouraging the diffusion of new norms for business in society
Head of Research at CoreLab, focused on research aimed at influencing policy and practice
Former head of research at Oxfam Australia
We discussed:
When NGOs collaborate with social movements in a respectful manner that recognizes movements’ autonomy and the need for its members to maintain safety, it can increase the credibility of their work
InnovationNetwork has developed a very helpful framework with four dimensions for evaluatingsocial movements:
Institutional power
People power
Influencer power
Narrative power
Social movements tend to be more effective in raising broad public consciousness, while NGOs can be effective in agenda setting with elites and institutions
NGOs are more at risk of reinforcing their power structures, or get coopted or become victim to ‘insider incrementalism’. On the other hand, they can set agendas in ways that are considered more ‘palatable by the mainstream opinion or elites.
Quotes
“It can be hard for NGOs to step back sufficiently to make sure they are complimentary and respectful of the power and agency of social movements”
“NGOs have to be careful in how they exercise their gatekeeping capabilities”
"Long-term, flexible funding is one of the most important ways in which social movements can be supported”
Understanding Activism (2017) with Rhize and The Atlantic Council – Link
The State of the Growing Movement Fighting Inequality (2019) – Fight Inequality Alliance, Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity and Rhize – Link
030. Reinventing social change by overcoming self-limiting belief systems: Nell Edgington
00:38:48
Summary
Nell Edgington, a well known American consultant who serves US domestic nonprofits is of the opinion that nonprofit leaders maintain too many self-limiting beliefs and mindsets.
In her new book 'Reinventing social change: Embracing abundance to create a healthier and more equitable world' she explains how these self-limiting beliefs have seeped into the collective mindset and DNA of the nonprofit sector. In the book, Nell strongly advocates for abundance thinking -- instead of scarcity thinking, one of those dominant self-limiting beliefs.
In this podcast episode, I discuss with Nell the central arguments of her book.
Nell’s Bio
President of consulting practice Social Velocity: Social Velocity helps nonprofit and philanthropic leaders create more effective social change.
Fellow Leap of Reason Ambassador -- an invitation-based network of nonprofit leaders, funders, government regulators and consultants and academics who all are motivated to make the nonprofit sector more performance-focused
Former senior-level leader at a US public broadcasting TV station (Austin, Texas)
We discuss:
Scarcity mindset: the mindset that nonprofits never are enough nor have enough: not enough money, not enough good board members, etc. – in other words, the ethos of 'never enough'. She observes such a scarcity mindset in individual leaders, boards and funders, but also at the sector level
Why Nell agrees with Dan Palotta’s well known, though contentious TED talk that the market should decide what salary to pay nonprofit CEOs, or how much money to invest in fundraising, or how big of a financial reserve to build; and that nonprofits should not accept self-imposed restrictions
The problem with the 'helper syndrome': if we 'over-give', we deplete ourselves -- something quite distinct from giving generously
Why historically, charities (perpetually in need of money) have been run by women while men have worked in the private sector where money was made. This created a very gendered makeup of the sector
Why nonprofits can reframe their relationship to funders and maintain more agency that way: funders have money they want to invest in social change, while nonprofits have solutions to offer -- and thus they can be seen as equal partners
Why if you ask each board member individually what unique assets they can give this will drive more board engagement and greater efficacy
Quotes
“Let’s pull back the curtain on how the sector is broken”
“We need to fix and heal ourselves first before we can work on social change externally”
031. What you can do to excel in virtual team leadership: Monica Maassen @ Oxfam
00:45:35
Summary
Monica is a change management specialist par excellence. She is also thoughtful about all things management and leadership. How does she see the linkages between change management and virtual/hybrid team leadership - something we all got thrown into big time in the last 2 years (if we did not already practice it before)?
What is the biggest thing(s) we may be missing about not working in a co-located team, and what is it that we may not miss that much?
What are the biggest differences between leading a virtual or hybrid team, and leading a co-located team? And what are the distinct advantages and disadvantages of either situation?
In this podcast episode, I interview Monica Maassen, Head of Change Management and Learning in the context of our new online course ‘Post-Pandemic Virtual Team Leadership Essentials’. A small team of talented freelance contributors and I at Five Oaks Consulting have recently launched this course! And Monica was part of our first cohort. In this interview, I explore some of Monica's reflections and lessons learned after having taken the course.
Monica’s Bio
Head of Oxfam International’s Change Management and Learning team
Head of Oxfam International’s Organizational Effectiveness unit
Deputy Director, Change Management, Oxfam Int
Head of Change Management, Oxfam NOVIB ( Netherlands' affiliate of Oxfam)
We discuss:
What are some of the common fallacies when team leaders shift to leading virtual/hybrid teams? For instance, task orientation versus human connection
The implications of the fact that spontaneous interactions/conversations are more difficult to have
How we miss body language signals, cannot read the room as well - and what are the consequences of that
The skills needed for interpersonal conflict resolution in the virtual space
What are the implications of collaborating virtually for how power is (re)distributed
A specific challenge: inter-team virtual collaboration – and what to do about it
The risk of a sense of disconnect
Quotes
“What you don’t see in virtual collaboration, you won’t ask about as a manager”
"Conversely: what you give attention, as a managr, will grow”
“In INGOs, we tend to like to debate, but we avoid conflict”
032. Chasing Innovation: can we do better as NGOs? In discussion with Chris Meyer of MzN International
00:39:06
Tosca is in conversation with Christian Meyer zu Natrup, Managing Director of MzN International, in the first episode of of a three-part podcast series. The other two episodes which will air in February 2022 will cover ‘Chasing Funding’ and ‘Chasing Impact’
Summary
Are INGOs inherently inefficient, slow and lack innovation to the point that they will go, or ought to go, extinct?
And if not, what should leaders do to transform their organisations into solution providers at a time when the world faces unprecedented upheaval, a climate crisis, pandemics and a myriad of other challenges?
In the very first episode, I discuss with Chris whether non-profits at risk of being incapable of solving problems and therefore at risk of becoming obsolete. How can our organizations get better at innovating?
Christian’s Bio
Managing Director of MzN International
Disaster relief and assessment coordinator at European Union (2006 – 2013)
Senior Executive at Ernst and Young Consulting company
We discussed:
NGO, like all bureaucracies, can be shaped - and intentionally so.
Unfortunately, some NGOs start out with good intentions but end up being shaped by the rules and confinement of government grant guidelines, rendering them inflexible while chasing compliance legislation
They get used to a comfortable existence with moderate impacts, rather than solving a problem. This is acceptable if their aim is a continuous existence in a relatively stable environment. It is less helpful if they want to solve problems in a fluid context. For that, they need to be agile.
We discuss, among others:
Trade-offs between being a large organization with an ability to offer scale and work across many sites, i.e. multi-sectorally, vs. offering sharply delineated competencies
Leadership mindsets that get in the way of spurring innovation
The problem with a compliance mindset, or 'falling in love with the solution too early, not with the problem' (Ann Mei Chang)
Is a lack of innovation funds part of the problem?
The balance needed between unleashing creativity and maintaining a certain level of discipline within an innovation policy
Overreliance on in-house production of solutions vs. buying 'off the shelf'
Insufficiently flat organizations
Innovations not aligned with strategy or strategic priorities
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