This is not a usual weekly ass kicker. But it is something truly kicking my ass. An observation about the world I have the privilege to see. 

As always love to hear your experience and your take.

I’m witnessing a disturbing trend within organizations where internal strife is overwhelming the mission and the purpose of the organization. From the board to the staff, there is an increasing distraction from the purposeful work that historically galvanized everyone in that organization. A distraction caused by great tumult of dysfunction. In for-purpose/non-profit entities where a number of factors/vectors are conspiring to undermine the incredible capacity for all of the human beings to care for one another, to pursue their mission. Non-profits have always been prone to internal friction where personnel matters are part of the currency of culture in the absence of financial incentives and rewards. But today is different. It is amplified and intense.

These factors/vectors include the real issues of mental health, self-care, return to work policies, allegations of toxic work environments, and inequity. There is also the blinding fog of DEI initiatives gone awry. And almost all are going through leadership shifts at the top, forcing the organizations through a new chapter of change management.  All of this spurs a mutinous rumor mill of spurious scenarios, resignation threats and a new round of quiet quitting. Over reaction spawns over-analysis and over reaction from the top. Additional resources and talent are deployed to investigate and mediate a multi-faceted erosion of trust and divided loyalties.

Much of this is a sign of our times, a lot of it seems to be deferred maintenance and care of the team. Some is the evidence of the patriarchy and white supremacy that were left unchecked. Still other parts are fueled by the return to normal when nothing is normal.

Bad leadership is being outed. Years of neglect are revealed. Lack of transparency and bad communication are culprits to be arrested. Weak Board governance is complicit.

On the outside of the ropes the need for the services of these organizations has grown exponentially. The requirement for the orgs to adapt to the new world order to remain relevant, fundable, and sustainable is unmistakable. To align their values inside and out becomes essential.The post COVID, George Floyd, DEI, context sets a higher standard for non-profits. And attempts at addressing parts of the issues have not worked and can be argued fanned the flames of angst and dissension. And the increase in the external suffering in the world weighs heavily on the employees and leaders of these orgs. 

All of these ambiguous “case studies” to which I have anonymized, span, dozens of national, local and small orgs in every sector. Each is unique but all share this common framework of factors and turmoil.

My point here is the consequence not the cause. Perhaps the greatest victim of these scenarios is the grand and hallowed purpose and mission. Choices are being made. Both intentional and unintended. The needs of the staff have to be compared with the state of the  community. Those delivering the service must be subservient to those served. This can’t be an after thought it has to be part of the oxygen that the org breathes.

This is fundamental philosophical consequentialism where the greatest good for the greatest number of people, is the priority. Or as utilitarianism holds that the “moral worth” of actions should be judged by their consequences in terms of maximizing well-being and minimizing pain and suffering.
While moral philosophy is less present in guiding leadership principles and policies. I am flabbergasted by the absence of this approach to reconnect the team top to bottom to why they are there.

None of these internal conflicts are brief, they are long protracted processes that could involve lawyers and consultants. The burn rate of the organizations’ resources and its precious opportunity to advance its mission, endangering the reputation and the capacity of the organization.

Look orgs have to examine their messes and fix them. Most often these are not quick transactions, but they do not need to be multi-year marathons.

I’m seeing where the board of directors to the C suite to the staff, are prone to independent and clandestine initiatives devoid of adult leadership. Battle lines get drawn and there is the specter that everyone is lawyering up. Time stands still. The culture starts to fester and institutional knowledge and organizational goodwill begin to decay. Bottomline: a disproportionate amount of the attention and resources of the organization become internally focused. Output, impact, and effectiveness takes a back seat to family feuds. The service to the external world suffers. And the suffering that the org was addressing just expands.

The mission/purpose, the reason why the organization exists, is being lost. These insider skirmishes and even nuclear wars within are threatening the very existence of the organizations. Board and staff tensions become combative. They become more important than the work. Productivity is compromised. Funders are pulling back or out. Worse, the communities served are being neglected or abandoned.

The world is evolving fast and is very different than what it was several years ago. After the writing of the strategic plan, the pandemic, inflation, the hegemony of hate, the sunsetting of social benefits and the fear of a recession have all contributed to a very different environment since that dated theory of change model was adopted.

The Board is far from these realities and even the executive staff members are so overwhelmed by internal challenges they have less bandwidth to understand the external variables that are impacting success and long-term sustainability. The staff are obsessed with behavior and the words of the board and the senior executives who have bungled communication and a sense of unity. Again, nothing to justify bad behavior and toxic culture. I’m talking about the imbalance of the attention span of the organization. I’m talking about the illogical shift away from purpose and mission and the focus on the communities served.

I wish I had some simple answers to this observation. I wish I could give you a playbook.  But as I work with executives and boards and staff, I’m trying to help all of these parties reflect on the why. Why they exist, why they’re there. Why they were drawn to such an organization. With the intent of trying to create balance to right the ship if you will. To inject a consequential and utilitarian mindset of the greatest good for the greatest number. To be reminded of the suffering that exists outside of our offices we all want to reduce. Perhaps, that lofty mission, that shared sense of purpose can be a sedative and a rallying cry to bring all of us to see the great value of working together with purpose again.