Good Management vs. Good Leadership
In this economic climate, the old adage is even more relevant: Management is doing things right, while leadership is doing the right things.
Have you ever felt that management indicators aren’t good indicators of impact?
One Blue Avocado reader (who asked not to be identified) told us about an experience in his city:
“_______ was a ‘loosely managed’ organization working with women leaving incarceration. I think they had a real impact. But there were problems with the ED not turning in reports to funders… a funder called their board chair, and so forth. Eventually the ED was chased out and eventually the funders closed down the agency. It left a very big void in the community.
The question I wanted to ask was:
Would you rather have an organization that’s loosely managed but creating real impact in the community, or one that can check off every block on the management report but you don’t see any impact?”
This story strikes home because we all know organizations of both types: the high impact, innovative ones described as “internal disasters,” and the bureaucratic ones with stale programs but perfect management audits. From seeing both types we know that good management practices don’t necessarily lead to high impact or innovation.
I’m certainly not anti-management, but it’s important for us to recognize the limitations of focus on management.
In this economic climate, the old adage is even more relevant: Management is doing things right, while leadership is doing the right things. Right now when so many of us are struggling financially, focusing on doing the right things — prevailing rather than just surviving — could not be more important.
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About the Author
Jan is a former editor of Blue Avocado, former executive director of CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, and has sat in on dozens of budget discussions as a board member of several nonprofits. With Jeanne Bell and Steve Zimmerman, she co-authored Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability, which looks at nonprofit business models.
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