Though I’m certainly no Henry David Thoreau, who urged his readers to ‘Simplify, Simplify, Simplify’ their lives over 150 years ago, leaders who cultivate healthy organizations do so by striving to create clarity or or simplify things.. We see that these are the leaders who are the most successful.
Is it just a coincidence that unhealthy organizations – those with a poor culture and minimal results – got that way because of a lack of clarity around their vision, mission, guiding principles, goals and objectives? I don’t think so.
If you’re interested in your organization’s health, here are 6 specific Points of Clarity that I think you should be talking to your staff about:
Why do we exist?
How do we behave?
What do we do?
How will we succeed?
What is most important–right now?
Who will do what?
As the leader of your nonprofit, you should ask yourself and your staff these six questions. See what kind of agreement there is on the answers and then be sure to create clarity where needed!
Why? Because that’s what a leader does!!
Are there any other questions you think should be asked?