NGO Soul + Strategy

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   

SummaryTosca focuses on her new book ‘Between Power and Irrelevance: the Future of Transnational NGOs’, which she co-authored with George Mitchell and Hans Peter Schmitz. Barney Tallack, ex-Oxfam leader and independent consultant, also made important contributions towards the book. Why transnational NGOs have a hard time living up to their (bigger) promises and claims How our transnational NGO sector is still governed by a 20th-century legal architecture for charities, and how this is detrimental on many levelsIf NGOs want to transform themselves into movements, brokers and thought conveners, they’ve got to change the expectations that society puts upon them, and – equally important – change their own cultural norms and assumptionsTopics covered in the book, such as strategy; digital adaption; measurement; governance reforms; leadership (development) challenges, collaboration, and mergers and acquisitions  How the book offers value for ongoing academic discourses -- such as why NGOs are in trouble; what’s the impact when NGOs are too focused on size and growth; and the implications when NGOs are ‘too successful’Unique features and messages of the book: 1) it is written based on a deep knowledge of NGO leadership perspectives and realities; 2) the sector’s change management capacity is woefully inadequate in proportion to the amount of organizational change it has to navigate if it wants to remain relevant, effective and legitimate; 3) and the gap between the sector’s espoused set of values and principles, and its real in-use behaviors needs to be narrowed seriously if it wants to continue to be relevant – or even survive.Quote“We had to walk a delicate dance between the expectations and standards of academics and those of practitioners in writing this book. It was our strong history of mutual respect and collaboration as co-authors that made it possible”Bios of authors and further information on the bookGeorge Mitchell, Baruch College, City University of New York, USAGeorge E. Mitchell’s LinkedIn profile George’s Google Scholar page: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ognhAnMAAAAJGeorge’s Research Gate page: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/George_Mitchell10Baruch College faculty page for George:https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/mspia/faculty-and-staff/full-time-faculty/George’s Faculty bio page: https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/mspia/faculty-and-staff/full-time-faculty/georgemitchell.htmlHans Peter Schmitz, University of San Diego, USAHans Peter Schmitz’s LinkedIn profileFaculty page University of San Diego: https://www.sandiego.edu/soles/leadershResearch Gate site for Hans: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hans_Peter_SchmitzGoogle Scholar site for Hans: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HbBzLFAAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=aoMore info about book here - see temporary 30% discount coupon!

As NGO community we are staring into the unknown, and as Bob Johansen of the Institute for the Future, memorably, said recently: "The future will reward clarity, but punish uncertainty. Be wary of people who need certainty, since certainty is brittle". Yet, our brains crave certainty, so what to do? How to lead our NGOs during a global crisis like this?This was one of the central topics at the recent (June 3-5, 2020) 'Leading Together' meeting of the International Civil Society Centre, a  leading convening body for mid to large size transnational NGOs. I was happy to be of service to the Centre by offering a presentation on 'Leading during Crisis' and by assisting in the meeting's design and facilitation. We also tried something new: Tom Howie at the Centre and I recorded a joint episode to capture the meeting's main takeaways.In the episode, we hear thoughtful NGO practitioners offer their takeaways: participants Jayanta Bora, Executive Director for Global Human Resources at Plan International and Aida Rehouma, Lead Global Programming at World YWCA. And, of course, we also benefit from listening to the reflections of Wolfgang Jamann, the Centre's Director and main host of the meeting.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 

NGO change management is challenging - to say the least. A conversation with Barney Tallack to help you learn from a proBio Barney TallackPrincipal Consultant, Averthur ConsultingFormer Director of Strategy, Oxfam InternationalFormer Director for Change Management, Oxfam Int.Multiple other leadership roles in Oxfam (spanning a career of 25 years within that organization)Board member of Forest Peoples, Fairtrade Foundation and several other nonprofit boardsQuotes:“The field of change management is huge and has no boundaries”And on the financial implications of the pandemic for the global North-founded NGO sector: “Our own pre-existing conditions have exacerbated the financial implications of COVID-10 for the sector”In this chock-full episode, we discuss:How to use a ‘political frame’ in change management, and harness the power of ‘positive resisters’ and informal leaders (i.e. people who have lots of power within an organization, though not posititional power)How the use of such a political frame is appropriate as long as we are very self-aware of how our identity as NGO staff is rather tightly wrapped up with our jobs What does a people-centric approach to NGO change management entail?We also discuss Barney’s recent paper on the financial implications of the COVID-pandemic for NGOs and the suddenly even more critical need for drastic change: The “cognitive dissonance” of NGO staff in view of funding levels that had started to plateau and then decline well before the pandemic How senior NGO leaders and their boards should act now to drive big change rapidly LinkedIn profile Barney TallackYou can also reach Barney at: barneytallack[at]gmail.comRead his recent paper on ‘Existential Challenges in the Funding Landscape for Northern NGOs’ here. 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