When to Be, or Not to Be, Flexible
To steal from the great, late Kenny Rogers, you have to know when to stand and know when to be flexible. Doesn't ring as well as the quintessential great song, The Gambler (“you have to know when to hold them, know when to fold them”), but I'm sure you get the idea.
Over the past three years, starting with the pandemic, there's been a consistent drumbeat both industry-wide and from people like myself that one of the keys to success is flexibility. The more flexible you are, both as an individual and as an organization, the more options you have to meet unknown challenges that weren't even considered or thought plausible before COVID-19. Countless “Around with Randall” podcasts, articles, industry-wide publications, and various other vehicles of communication have discussed this flexibility and how important it is to meet the challenges that our world was and is experiencing-- most of which have caused great distress in our lives.
In a January article from Nonprofit Pro, a terrific article by Sue Citro spoke to this but from the opposite perspective. What are the things that you cannot and should not be flexible about? What a great question. The answers are even better.
Citro discusses that there needs to be critical resolve when it comes to two things in our nonprofits: Mission creep and culture strength.
Because of the craziness of the world, including philanthropy, many organizations have made quick decisions about adjusting who they are to meet “that moment’s” needs. Really, while not doing it on paper, changing what their mission is by changing what they do. In some ways, the argument is made in the article that when you do that you become untrue to the public and agreed upon “mission” of the organization.
In the same vein because of the immense changes that have come from the workforce, office space/usage, emphasis on DEI, etc., an organization has to prioritize as part of its core and critical belief system what its culture is for not only the employees but for volunteers as well. Without the proper individuals contributing toward the mission, the mission's not going very far. Thus, culture is critical to engaging and attracting great leaders.
An interesting perspective in the world of flexibility. And it seems so logical but yet it's not discussed enough. Are we true to our missions? Do we do the things that are going to support them? And do we have a culture that's going to attract the right people to execute the plans that support the mission?
Two worthy aspects of consistent, non-flexible values.
