“…and it really feels like it’s not enough to batten down the hatches and sit tight at the moment, there is no temporary stop-gap, we need to sort of fundamentally change the way that we’re making decisions, and I think charting that course is one of the big challenges people are facing at the moment… so for anyone leading an organisation it is finding that balance between having real clarity on the direction you’re going, knowing where you want to go, not drifting with the tides but also not blindly following a path as the world changes around you…” – Sally Bagwell
In this episode we speak with Sally Bagwell, Associate Director at NPC. We speak about the challenges leaders face when governing in a crisis, and what tools and tactics they can employ to overcome them.
1. Looking to the evidence base
Sally talked about the need for charities to understand the insights and evidence that can help their leaders to make wise decisions.
Charity leaders need to lead on identifying trends among their peers, as well as data from their own operations, including qualitative feedback and quantitative markers. By building in collaboration and co-design with stakeholders, organisations may stand a better chance of adapting when their environment is influx as well as ensuring their charity is delivering efficiently against their organisational objectives.
2. Risk management rather than risk minimisation
One of the challenges that charity leaders and their boards of trustees face is risk and how to deal with it. Sally cautioned that focusing on avoiding risk might end up being the avoidance of opportunities to do things differently.
We have talked before on the podcast about the code of governance for charities and the need for diligent risk registers and mitigation of risk. This needs to be balanced with the risk of not acting, or over hesitance of seeking out new opportunities for the organisation, including partnerships and funding opportunities.
3. Systems change approach
Charities that seek out and are open to identifying opportunities to be more than the sum of their parts, to collaborate with other organisations and adapt to meet gaps in service delivery will stand a better chance of getting to the other side of crisis points.
4. Useful links
This episode of Charity Chat has been brought to you by our platinum sponsor Work for Good.
Work for Good is a fundraising platform helping businesses raise funds for charities through their sales. The platform makes the legal agreement needed for businesses to fundraise from sales quick and simple. Saving charities time and resource, and enabling them to raise more unrestricted income.
Pop to www.workforgood.co.uk to learn more and book a free demo.
We hope you enjoy this week’s episode.
Related episodes that you may be interested in:
E249 - Going from good to great with Alex Blake -
E234 - The Cost of Giving report with Shaf Mansour -
E189 - Theory of Change with James Noble -
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