Nonprofits 2.0

By Curtis Ogden

The management guru Gary Hamel has written (The Future of Management) that the big challenge for modern day corporations is to reinvent management systems so that they inspire human beings to bring all of their capabilities to work every day. He makes this statement after citing the results of a survey of over 80,000 employees of large and medium-sized companies in 16 countries that show that the vast majority of workers are less than fully engaged in their work. Eighty-five percent of those surveyed are giving less of themselves than they could. We are not simply talking time here. It is not a question of whether people are logging 40, 60 or 80 hours a week. It comes down to more important questions of passion, creativity, and initiative, and whether these are present in the workplace.

The problem, says Hamel, is that leaders continue to put too much of an emphasis on obedience and diligence, which are largely relics of the industrial economy. In the fast-paced and increasingly decentralized world in which we live we are called to shift our emphasis to creating organizations that are highly adaptable and fully human. Yet in companies there is just too much management and too little freedom, too much hierarchy and too little community, too much command and too little purpose. To shift this picture, Hamel encourages leaders and managers to consider a more life giving metaphor and embrace the following:

 Relentless experimentation
 Greater diversity of data, viewpoints, and opinions
 Focus on strategic efficiency, not simply operational efficiency (not just doing things right, but doing the right things right)
 More voices in shaping policy and strategy
 Dissenting voices
 Distributed leadership
 Focus on higher purpose
 Room for the expression of personal/individual goals
 Space for the collision of new ideas
 Rewards for eccentricity

Hello, management 2.0!

So one question is how this applies to our (the nonprofit) sector. Certainly it seems that the focus on higher purpose and the expression of personal goals have had a long standing place in mission-driven organizations and initiatives. But what about the rest? To what extent do we focus on and emphasize creativity, diversity of ideas and input, dissent, and shared leadership? Do we think that these have a place in or further our work? It is hard to imagine that they do not. Back in 1924, Mary Parker Follett was writing (Creative Experience) about the importance of servant leadership, diversity, and self-organization in light of her work with community centers in Roxbury. Have we gotten away from our roots? Are we, like many companies, guilty of becoming too focused on control and organization? Have we mistaken the raft for the shore?