Aug
4
Discussions about Organizational Structures
Filed Under NP2020 Updates, Working with Emerging Leaders
A popular topic of discussion currently in the nonprofit sector is the organizational structure preferences of individuals entering the sector. This has been the topic of recent discussions among NP2020 participants.
The discussion began with a poll regarding the preferred organizational structures of emerging leaders. The results were:
- 64% of participants prefer a shared leadership structure (staff or large group make decisions, while the executive director controls the system)
- 28% preferred a hierarchical structure
- 8% preferred an other/unspecified structure
As part of the Next Generation Leadership Series the Johnson Center also had a forum discussion to discuss our poll results and talk about more structural needs. Here are a few highlights:
“when thinking about the bottom line I am sure all organizations will have trouble changing organizational structures, especially considering it may take more time than what many organizational leaders see as efficient” - Noting the barriers of budget and time constraints, some participants felt there might be a need to highlight examples of successful transitions. It was stated that most organizations working in alternative organizational structures are more likely to be newer organizations, because it is easier to start with shared leadership than to change after 10 or more years of work.
“I can see ROWE working in a business environment. Not sure that it would work in a Human Service oriented environment.” - There was extensive discussion about alternatives to hierarchical structures, along with which structures would fit best with different types of nonprofits. One structure discussed was ROWE, an alternative to hierarchical structure that allows for more flexibility among workers and promotes shared leadership at all levels. Shared leadership was discussed as an alternative in which an organization may have a leadership team, instead of one executive director. Second tiered leadership was also discussed as an alternative that provides individuals who may not be at a senior management level a chance to lead in some way. There is currently a discussion about second tiered leadership at the NP2020 Forums.
“[Flexibility] is definitely a paradigm shift for the organization and it seems like the older leaders who, at least generationally, define contribution to the organization as seat-time, would have a harder time accepting it and thus have less interest in adopting the practice.” - A lot of discussion in the Leadership Series forum was about the need for flexibility, and how to make flexibility fair through out the organization. One conclusion drawn was that flexibility is not for everyone or every service. In other words, it just depends. Each organization has to assess their particular situation. Participants emphasized that communication is the key to providing employees with flexibility. Communication includes regular staff meetings along with a way of tracking performance. Technology was considered an important factor in whether an organization is able to provide more flexibility and out of office work time to employees.
“Is it the burden of fundraising that people don’t want to deal with in the future?” - The last focus of the forum was the reasons individuals don’t want to be executive directors, and the ways in which shared leadership can provide opportunities for individuals to feature their skills without being burnt out by other tasks. Fundraising was considered a large barrier to individuals wanting to become executive directors in the future. Many participants suggested having a leadership team, where each member leads different parts of the organization, and share roles to avoid burn out.
To view the full conversation and participate in other forums please visit the NP2020 Forum.
Considering the conversations in the forum and your own needs, do you have suggestions for other pieces of organizational structures that need to be changed? Do you think nonprofit organizations need to change their organizational structures? What do you think would be the most effective organizational structure for your organization?
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