Simple little things.
If some of the best things in life are free, one of best things for a non-profit leadership team is simplicity. Find out how this skill — yes, it's a skill! — drives impact for your organization.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about chaos — the arch-nemesis of any non-profit leadership team hoping to create meaningful change in the world.
If your team is afflicted by a debilitating case of chaos you’ll know it because a) the one hour staff meeting took almost two hours, b) there was a lot of talking but not much got solved, c) you went back to your desk and fought the impulse to either cry or punch the wall.
When I think about how chaos expresses itself in an organization, I know from my own experience that one of the most immediate and challenging symptoms I see is complexity.
Complexity is not your friend.
A team stuck in complexity quickly discovers just how frustrating and difficult it is to manage their organization. It’s hard to run programs, it’s hard to raise money, it’s hard to grow, it’s hard to get along, and it’s really, really, really, really hard to change.
In an environment riddled with complexity, what usually happens? Allow me to illustrate with an example.
An example.
“Our organization wants to grow. But we’re feeling stuck. Everybody is already over worked. We need to raise more money. The board’s not aligned.”
“I know, let’s do a strategic plan.”
Yes, friends, if you’ve spent any time on a non-profit leadership team, you’ve likely been through at least one iteration of the organizational rite of passage commonly known as “the strategic planning process.”
You know, the one where you hand a consultant a boat-load of money, carve out huge swaths of your staff and board time in multiple sessions over multiple months — usually at some conference facility that you pay for — endure endless rounds of feedback from well-meaning volunteers, and pore over a battalion of survey results. And yes, there have been over-sized post-it notes and probably some colored stickers. And markers. Lots of markers.
And danish.
Once everyone has been driven into submission by the parade, our esteemed consultant delivers a shiny three ring binder containing 17 top insights, 125 key strategies, 1,442 tactical directives (with contingencies listed in Appendix K.1), and a simple, 14-page fold-out timeline. Then two things happen.
First, the binder goes on the shelf.
Second, it’s never mentioned again.
And I have just one question.
Why, why why?
Why does it have to be this way?
It’s not because the consultants aren’t smart. It’s not because your volunteers don’t care. It’s not because you didn’t need the money for something else. And it’s not because you didn’t do the work.
It’s because it’s too damned complicated.
There. I said it.
It’s complicated, sprawling and completely disconnected from the regular flow of the team. And each person who reads it — if they read it at all — is going to come away with a different point of view. And I’m pretty sure it’s going to go nowhere.
What’s behind this strange love affair with complexity?
May I be direct?
I’m probably going to hurt some feelings here but for the sake of your mission, I hope you’ll continue. Here are some of the reasons why I think non-profit leadership teams habitually invest in complexity.
Because we fear that in simplifying, we will not adequately describe ourselves. From our insider’s perch, we think our organizations are special and special is complicated.
Because complexity itself is complicated. It takes energy, creativity and discipline to simplify. We just don’t have time.
Because it’s easy to hide in the dustcloud of chaos, some members of the team have learned to appreciate complexity. Fearing the searing spotlight of clarity, they may even work, unconsciously of course, to preserve the status-quo and undermine efforts to simplify.
Because complexity says “yes” to everything and saying yes is easy. Simplifying requires decision-making. Saying no is hard. We hate saying no.
Because when all is said and done, we actually don’t know what else to do.
And that last one is the kicker. The bad news. But…
It doesn’t have to be that way.
When I first started working with the tools in the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), they seemed just too simple to be effective. I was guilty of thinking that my work was too special and yes, too complicated.
But as it turns out, I was wrong. They really are simple, which is actually what makes them brilliant. By way of a quick flyover, here are just a few examples of how the EOS Toolkit helps non-profit leadership teams conquer complexity and drive impact for their organizations.
The Accountability Chart tool helps articulate the functions and roles within the organization. Because the entire group builds it together it’s quickly adopted and because everyone understands, it is referenced regularly as the organization grows. This is usually the first tool that’s taught as part of a team’s EOS Journey. It’s simple and powerful.
The People Analyzer tool provides a simple way to determine if you have the right people in the right seats. It takes the angst out of people decisions and clears the way for powerful growth. Again, it takes something that’s often fraught and makes it simple.
The Vision/Traction Organizer tool is a simple, practical, and entirely effective approach strategic planning. No binder. No danish. Just eight simple questions that point the way to more impact.
Over time, I’ve come to see that every one of the tools in the EOS Toolkit teaches us how to simplify.
Introduce your team to simplicity
If any of this sounds interesting to you and you’d like to build your ability to simplify here are some places to begin your journey.
Read the book Traction by Gino Wickham — the link I’ve provided goes to More Than Words, one of my favorite non-profit bookstores here in Boston. I love them.
Check out the full suite of EOS Tools on the EOS Worldwide site. Keep in mind, it’s written mainly for for-profit companies so don’t let the tone throw you — it works great for non-profits, too.
If you’re involved with a non-profit and you want to talk through some of this stuff directly with me, I’m happy to schedule a quick call to discuss.
So that’s simplicity for you. Now I’m going to keep it simple and stop typing. Have a great day!