NGO Soul + Strategy

Summary What is wrong with the current approach to organizational ethics and integrity in NGOs?Why is using a lens of power analysis so helpful to bring INGO governance into focus?Only by looking at the very core of how organizations work,  we can begin to achieve the deep and effective change needed across the sector. In this episode, we discuss organizational ethics and integrity concerns in INGOs with Alex Cole-Hamilton, independent consultant.Alex’s BioIndependent consultant, advising boards and executives on ethics and integrity risks and related decision-making frameworksFormer head of Ethics and Compliance, Oxfam Great Britain (GB)Former head of Corporate Responsibility, Oxfam GBFormer Ethical Trade project manager, The Body Shop Quotes“At that time, it felt colonial to work in the NGO sector, so I went to work in the private sector instead”“The field of ethics and integrity is quite young in INGOs”“This approach feels big upfront, but will actually make this work more manageable in the medium term”  We discussed: Concrete examples of issues that are relevant for INGO’s ethics and integrity: environmental footprint; pay equity; anti-modern slavery practices; decolonizing aid; safeguarding, etc.The benefits of categorizing our work on organizational ethics and integrity into three categories: 1) organizational behavior; 2) individual behavior; 3) risk and assurance It is useful to distinguish between the issues relevant to integrity and ethics, and how they need to be operationalized in individual behavior, culture, leadership, the NGO’s supply chains, etc.How the steer needs to come from donors as well as those who govern the INGO to redirect some money from direct programming to organizational ethics and integrity practices – especially given the strengths of the ‘overhead myth’ How abuse of power is at the root of many violations of integrity, and how a power analysis therefore can be usefully applied by boards. Resources:Website: alexcolehamilton.com Alex’s LinkedIn profileRecent blog posts:https://www.alexcolehamilton.com/power-analysis-and-governance/https://www.alexcolehamilton.com/the-power-behind-organisational-integrity/ Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces.Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels: Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Youtube 

Summary What is social power? And how does this concept relate to Feminist Leadership? And how does it show up in organizational dynamics within civil society organizations (CSOs)?Are there any cross-cultural aspects to Feminist Leadership?I discussed these topics during an interview with Srilatha Batliwala, senior advisor at CREA and Gender at Work, a well-known social movement 'pracademic' and activist, and author of peer-reviewed articles about INGOs.Srilatha Batliwala's bioSenior advisor, Knowledge Building and Feminist Leadership, CREA (a feminist human rights organization founded in India) & Gender at WorkFormer co-chair, Board, Just AssociatesFormer co-chair, Board, Gender at WorkMember, International. Advisory Board for the Institute for Human Rights and BusinessCivil Society Research Fellow, Hauser Center, Harvard Quotes“If I say another world is possible, I have to make it true within my organization as well”“We have to go for power structures that disrupt”“Besides focusing on visible forms of power and decision making, as seen in public institutions, we have to also focus on the power within the self, how we think about self and what we can see as being possible, as being within our agency”“In order to maneuver around deep power structures within organizations, we first have to bring them to the surface”We discussed: How we should analyze power and how it works in society and in organizationsThe limitations of feminist leadership across a range of organizationsWhat are the political strategies and tactics that a feminist leader can use to analyze the presence of ‘deep structures’ in an organizationWhat can a feminist leader practically do to change these power structures? Srilatha is the author of 'Engaging with Empowerment’ which is available at several online booksellers, including this one. Resources:Website: creaworld.org, researchgate.net, academia.eduSrilatha’s LinkedIn profileSrilatha’s Wikipedia linkSrilatha’s Twitter handle   Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces.Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels: Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Youtube   

Summary Dorothy Nyambi took on the top leadership role in MEDA two years ago as the only person of color in the senior leadership team. She since then has led change with that awareness in mind:What do we mean by culture change, and how to see and operationalize it?Politics and power within an organization, from a change leader’s perspective.How to lead and manage organizational change? What frameworks, resources, or tools are most valuable? Inclusion and diversity -- or lack of diversity -- in leadership. Dorothy’s Bio Dorothy is President and Chief Executive of MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates), a Canadian headquartered international economic development organization that creates business solutions to povertyFormer Executive Vice President of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences Former Regional Director of the NGO Right to PlayDorothy was trained as a medical doctor, then moved upstream from being a technical person into organizational management and leadership Quotes“I will be bringing myself into it as a black woman driving to bring change to a white organization in a sector where white saviorism and specifically white male dominance is predominant. That will be the lens that will drive my change journey, but a journey that I am proud of and which has lots of lessons for me”“As a former medical professional, I feel like I am in the upstream medical sector in international development”  We discussed: The role shift that MEDA is going through, from direct implementation to that of  convener, and what the implications are of that The “divided loyalties’ of staff in international development - and the power and accolades that come with that, as well as a fear for a loss of identity  How institutional donor practices reinforce white saviorism How one can assess the appetite for change as an incoming CEO in an organization new to you How diverse organizations need to honor the lived experience of staff ResourcesWebsite: https://www.meda.org/ Dorothy’s LinkedIn profileDorothy’s Twitter handle Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces.Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels: Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Youtube 

SummaryHow does Feminist Leadership  ‘perform’ when a leader has to make hard choices?How well has feminist leadership served organizations during the past year of the pandemic-related crisis, or other periods of crisis?What kind of worthy values and interests might ‘compete’ with those called for by feminist leadership, and how should leaders resolve this?I discussed these topics during an interview with Joanne Sandler, senior associate at Gender at Work, and former leader at UN Women. Joanne's BioSenior associate at Gender at Work, a consulting and training agency which works with organizations that wish to contribute to gender equality and to advance feminist leadership.Independent consultantCo-producer of podcast Two Old Bitches which captures the experiences of women over 50 who reinvent, reimagine, and rebel. Former Deputy Executive Director at UN Women/UNIFEMSpecial advisor to assistant secretary-General of UN Women Quotes“Sometimes you have to be willing to play the positional power game." We discussed: The differences between ‘power over’ -  the traditional view on leadership --, ‘power with’ and ‘power to’: different ways of understanding power The life of ‘femocrats’ - feminist bureaucrats in large multilateral organizations like the UN, World Bank, and WTO Why hierarchical power intrinsically emphasizes inequality within organizations, and how to minimize this How to use your privilege for the good of the broader organization and mission What happens when the expectations about how leaders should behave, which come from national cultures, bump into expectations coming from feminist leadership models. And how an understanding of intersectionality and leading with purpose can help resolve this.  ResourcesJoanne has co-authored a book named 'Gender at Work: Theory and Practice for 21st Century Organizations' which is available at several online booksellers, including this one.Website: www.genderatwork.org Joanne’s LinkedIn profileGender at Work Podcast Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces.Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels: Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Youtube 

What are the political or other strategies and tactics that a feminist leader can use to analyze the presence of ‘deep structures’ of power within organizations?What can a feminist leader practically do to change these power structures?And in what scenarios does Feminist Leadership shine in particular ways?I discussed these topics during an interview with Aruna Rao, Co-founder and chair of the board at Gender at WorkAruna's BioCo-founder,  former chair of the board at Gender at Work and its former Executive Director. Gender at Work offers thought leadership, training, and consulting services to organizations that wish to create cultures of equality and inclusionCo-host of the podcast Gender at WorkFormer board member, ActionAid InternationalFormer leader on gender issues at BRACPh.D. in Educational Administration and Organizational Behavior from Columbia University, USAQuotes“Organizations are broken because people are broken” “ Organizations tend to default to patriarchal and hierarchical forms unless that is interrupted through intentional leadership practices" “What does care mean in an organizational context?"We discussed:Gender and power dynamics in organizationsWho gets access to resources and to information, how priorities are set etc. are all part of these power dynamicsThe nature of organizational culture as it relates to genderHow to practice self-reflectiveness about deep-seated norms in organizationsAruna has co-authored a book named 'Gender at Work: Theory and Practice for 21st Century Organizations' which is available at several online booksellers, including this one.Website: www.genderatwork.org Aruna’s LinkedIn profileMedium: https://medium.com/@arunarao_79321Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces.Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels: Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Youtube

Organizational leaders have to balance competing values. What kind of worthy values and interests might ‘compete’ with those called for by Feminist Leadership (FL) and how should leaders resolve those? What to do when we need to hold individual staff or teams to account for underperformance, given FL’s emphasis on being developmental, its focus on staff care, etc.? When do leaders decide that they cannot consult everybody but need to make certain decisions within a small circle? Is this in conflict with the feminist leadership principles?I discussed these topics during an interview with Lisa Veneklaassen, Founder & Advisor, Just Associates (JASS)Lisa's BioOver 30 years of experience as Educator, Strategist, and organization-builder with a variety of social justice and women’s rights efforts worldwide. Assistant Director of the Global Women in Politics program of the Asia Foundation.Lisa's work on integrating power and political analysis into development influenced and is used by many international organizations including Plan International, Oxfam International, and Action Aid International.Founder and now advisor of Just Associates, a global women-led human rights network of activists, popular educators, and scholars in 31 countries.In 2017 Lisa was named one of 200 Women Who Will Change the Way You See the World.Quotes"Feminist leadership poses that we come to work as whole persons, as political beings, shaped by race, gender, sexuality, ability and class""Feminist leadership is ideally suited for crisis situations such as currently with the pandemic given its focus on communications, transparency, the sharing of anxieties instead of 'let's all be soldiers'"We discussed:To what extent is there a tension between the felt need by some social sector organizations to move to leaner and more agile organizations and the practices of feminist leadership?How feminist leaders use a lens in understanding internal organizational politicsHow well has FL served organization during the past year of the pandemic related crisis, or during other periods of crisis?Lisa’s book 'A New Weave of Power, People and Politics' is available at several online booksellers, including this one.Contact Lisa at lvk@justassociates.org Twitter: @LisaVeneKlasenLisa’s LinkedIn profileClick here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces.Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels: Twitter LinkedIn Facebook 

What's a global North-founded influencing NGO to do to stay relevant, credible, and effective?  And should influencing NGOs see power as an infinite resource -- that can be grown and shared and in principle is unlimited in nature -- or as a limited asset that needs to be fought for?  Finally, how does a seasoned advocacy NGO leader look upon the current moment as a combination of crisis and opportunity? I discussed these topics during a wide-ranging interview with Paul O'Brien, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at Oxfam America. Paul's bio ·       Vice president for policy and advocacy, Oxfam America ·       Director of Aid Effectiveness, Oxfam America·       Long term work in Afghanistan ·       Also worked as Policy Advisor in Care International ·       Graduated from Harvard Law School   Quotes“We want to be relevant to next-generation influencers, such as distributed, organic, indigenous, networked and virtual activists”“After COVID, governments will review which CSOs fomented change and will go after them”We discussed:·      Is power conceptually something that should be seen as an asset that can be grown and in principle is unlimited?·      Or is it time for influencing NGOs to rediscover that power is a finite or zero-sum kind of thing?·      Under what conditions can global North founded influencing NGOs maintain their relevance, effectiveness, and legitimacy?·      And what’s the main argument which Paul lays out in his new book ‘Power Switch?Paul’s new book ‘Power Switch’ is available at several online booksellers, including this one.Contact Paul at: paul.obrien@oxfam.org (till March 2021, after which he will pursue new endeavors). Twitter: @paulobrienPaul’s LinkedIn profileClick here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces.Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels: Twitter LinkedIn Facebook   

What’s all this talk about feminist leadership? An interview with Abby Maxman, Oxfam America’s CEO Feminist leadership seems to be in ascendance in the INGO sector. Now, our sector is a bit prone to fads and fashions --  so should we take this seriously? Is this leadership model here to stay? And what are its potential, its power as well as its limitations? This is what I  explore in a short series of episodes about feminist leadership, which is starting with this interview with Abby Maxman, CEO of Oxfam America.Later in the series, I will interview Aruna Rao, Lisa Veneklaassen, and Joanne Sandler, while plans to interview Srilatha Batliwala are in the works. Quotes “Servant leadership does not always necessarily mean you to lead from behind (although this is often what’s needed); it can sometimes also mean leading from the front” “Feminist leadership needs to be situational and adaptive to be helpful” “You need to be kind of heart but also tough of mind, at the same time” Feminist leadership obviously has the aspiration to contribute towards a gender-just society, both internally inside the organization, and externally. In this podcast series, I focus on how feminist leadership plays out as an organizational leadership model.  According to Abby, feminist leadership among others is about being developmental towards other employees, bringing out the best in others.  And it is about nurturing and seeking out the voices of all staff.Here is LinkedIn 's profile of Abby Maxman Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces. Or email Tosca attosca@5oaksconsulting.orgif you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities. You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels:  Twitter  LinkedIn Facebook  

In this interview with Tessie San Martin and Constantin Abarbieritei, CEO and Chief Operating Officer, respectively, at Plan USA, we discuss what lessons they learned in leading two acquisitions and one divestiture.Quotes:“If you want to do M&A, you’d better also know how to do divestiture”“The lack of financial motives, metrics as well as incentive structures, as compared to the private sector, is a real problem in making M&A happen in the NGO sector”In this stimulating discussion, Tessie and Constantin share their observations:The impact of the fact that no money changes hands in the case of M&A among NGOs How and at what stage to involve your major funders What happens when organizations wait too long to consider an M&A, and the less than ideal pressure that ‘distress sales’ put upon a merger How the lack of specialized M&A expertise as well as (donor) funding for the costs of considering and managing a Merger or Acquistion act as important barriers The ‘dance’ with the two boards and senior leadership teams that are involved How COVID has positioned M&A as a tool for Northern-founded INGOs to reinvent themselvesAnd how this does not preclude NGOs from also divesting power to the local level (#shiftthepower)Tessie’s profile:LinkedIn profile TessiePlan USA websiteHumentum blog post by Tessie and Constantin about their lessons learnedConstantine’s profile:Constantine’s LinkedIn profileEmail: constantin.abarbieritei@planusa.orgleClick here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces.Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities.You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels: Twitter            LinkedIn         Facebook 

Interview with Muthoni Muriu and Doris Basler of Oxfam about their ambitious, innovative, bottom-up Oxfam strategy process, which was approved at the onset of the global pandemicBiosMuthoni Muriu: Former Global Strategy Lead, Oxfam America & Oxfam International (please note that Muthoni left Oxfam as of June 30, 2020, after the strategy had been approved by Oxfam International's Board)Former Senior Director, Global Programs Mgt team, Oxfam America Former Regional Program Director, W-Africa, Oxfam AmericaEducated at the University of London - London School of Economics and Politics and School for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)  Alum of the Transnational NGO Leadership Institute at Syracuse Univerity, which Tosca once used to lead Doris Basler: Director for Governance and Strategy, Oxfam International Former Dir of Organizational Development as well as former Director of Capacity Building, Transparency International Former roles at Amnesty International and the International Committee of the Red Cross Educated at the School for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of LondonQuotes “During our strategy process, our Affiliate boards were encouraged to trust the 10.000 (staff), so that the strategy could be built bottom-up”  “Through this bottom-up process, staff came up with about 250 ‘big, hairy and audacious’ scenarios!” In this episode, you will learn how Oxfam went about its new strategy formation, what it learned along the way, and to what extent it held up : How this Oxfam global strategy process was different from past ones at Oxfam, and why The principles on which it was designed, and how these, and the characteristics of the process resulted in greater staff buy-in, more outside-in perspectives, more thinking from-the-future- back and less space for politicking The various parts of the strategy process, what was innovative, what worked and what less so What’s the difference between a strategy framework, strategy horizon plans, strategy operationalization, and strategy visualization How this strategy framework and the resulting scenarios proved to be prescient of the pandemic’s impacts and of the need for Oxfam to move into digital rightsMore information about Muthoni and Doris Muthoni Muriu LinkedIn profile  Muthoni’s Twitter handle  Doris Basler’s LinkedIn profile Doris’ email address: Doris.Basler@oxfam.org Click here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces. Or email Tosca at tosca@5oaksconsulting.org if you want to talk about your social sector organization’s needs, challenges, and opportunities. You can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels:  Twitter LinkedIn Facebook