May 2011
Wanted - Conflict Manager
by Sharon C. Gherman, Funding Exchange, Inc. President/CEO
“Wanted: CEO to lead a growing nonprofit organization. Must be a strong leader with excellent fundraising ability and communication skills. Conflict resolution skills required.”
Rarely is the message that “stress and conflict lie within” as clearly stated as it is in the job posting above, but it would be helpful if we could know the true atmosphere of a nonprofit before we commit ourselves there, wouldn’t it?!
Nonprofit leaders regularly face situations that challenge their ability to make right decisions:
- Your board president volunteers to undertake a needed construction project at organization headquarters and casually mentions that his adult son will be helping him with the project. He states that although he’ll be volunteering his time, his son will record and submit the hours he works on the project, and that the organization needs to pay him for his time. There’s a little money budgeted for the project, but nowhere near enough to include paying the son.
- Your supervisor is an excellent grantwriter, which results in numerous grant projects and significant income for the organization. She sometimes spends grant funds on things the accountant questions as allowable expenditures under the grant, and the accountant has begun contacting you when they have a question about expenditures to “explain how this is really applicable to the grant”.
- One of your department heads is often on their cell phone. Not talking on the phone, but texting – during meetings, in the halls, as they work at their desk. They continue to complete their work on time, but you are beginning to sense that you – or others -- rarely have their full attention.
How can you prepare yourself to deal effectively with conflict and ethical issues that occur within your organization? And what’s the best way to ensure that your board and staff maintain high ethical standards?
Know What you Believe
First, know what you believe. Were you able to readily determine where the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ lay in the examples above? A good leader has a well-developed sense of right and wrong, and thinks often about what they believe and why.
The ‘why’ is important in order to clearly understand your own personal boundaries and ethics. Understanding why you believe what you do makes it possible to communicate your values to the others in your organization.
Set the Example
Leaders set the ethical standard and tone for an organization. If you occasionally exaggerate in your reports to the Board, or keep information from them selectively, why would you expect your employees to be ethical and honest in their communication with you? If you know one of your Board members has pressured others to do something unethical, why would you think they will behave differently with you?
What we as leaders say is not nearly as effective as what we do. So lead by example, and use your words only to back up your actions.
Put it in Writing
If your organization doesn’t have written standards of behavior in place, it will be difficult to discipline or correct bad behavior when it occurs. At a minimum, you need a written employee handbook defining the practices and policies of your organization. Keep it updated regularly and make sure every employee and board member has an updated copy. If you don’t have a policy handbook in place, don’t re-create the wheel – there are good examples and ideas on the Internet.
Employee handbooks – no matter how extensive – won’t cover every problem. There will be times when someone’s misbehavior suddenly causes you to realize that you’re lacking the ‘teeth’ you need in to define and require good behavior. When that happens, make it a priority to update the written policies to cover that behavior, then clearly communicate the new expectations and get a copy of the updated policy to every employee and board member.
Never, Never Need Your Job
Finally, if you want to deal effectively with conflict in your organization, there’s one last requirement: Never allow yourself to “need” your job, regardless of whether or not your income is essential to the survival of your family.
Think about it – certainly you need income to live, but you do not necessarily need this position. Once you adopt the attitude that this position is essential to either your lifestyle or your ego, you render yourself ineffective to lead the organization. From the moment you decide you must not lose this position, your decisions will carry an unspoken undercurrent of “How will this decision affect me personally?” -- meaning your ability to fully protect the interests of the organization has been compromised.
Hopefully you’ll never be put in the position of making a decision that could threaten your position with the organization. But if the unthinkable happens, don’t hesitate. Come down on the side of what’s ethical and right – and let your personal fate rest elsewhere.
Your reputation is created largely by your character… and your character only develops under pressure. Any short-term discomfort you experience by making ethical decisions will not go unnoticed by other ethical people, and will ultimately result in future opportunities that affirm and reward the character you have developed.
Funding Exchange helps nonprofit organizations create a sustainable fundraising plan. Sustainable Pathways: Developing a Financially Healthy Organization is offered to nonprofit leadership teams in webinar or workshop format. Click here for more information or to register.
