NGO Soul + Strategy

What organizational dynamics cause NGOs and funders to make overblown outcome statements?  In this interview with Julia Coffman and Tanya Beer of the Center for Evaluation Innovation, two thought leaders in the space of  evaluation and organizational learning in the philanthropic and NGO sector, we address: What stops us as nonprofits from becoming more outcome-oriented? When your NGO starts a new strategy, can the evaluation folks not just inform the eventual measurement of that strategy but also help you with synthesizing what was learned up till that point? And why can the more ‘comfortable’ notion of organizational learning – rather than evaluation – lead to reinforcement of confirmation bias? Julia and Tanya address these complex questions, that all touch upon organizational dynamics, in their thoughtful responses to my interview questions. Enjoy! Julia Coffman's bio Julia Coffman is the Founder and Director of the Center for Evaluation Innovation. Her focus is advancing evaluation and learning practice in philanthropy. For 25 years, she's worked with dozens of foundations on their approaches to evaluation. She has particular expertise in evaluating advocacy and policy efforts, emphasizing real-time learning that helps organizations to adapt their strategies and continuously improve.  Tanya Beer's bioTanya Beer is the Associate Director for the Center for Evaluation Innovation. Tanya and Julia are both high profile thought leaders in the field of philanthropy and evaluation, as well as organizational learning. Tanya was formerly at the Colorado Trust, working on research, evaluation and learning. Resources:  Website: https://www.evaluationinnovation.org/ LinkedIn profile of Julia Coffman LinkedIn profile of Tanya Beer Terrific short reading on daily organizational learning habits by Julia Coffman 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.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  

Alnoor Ebrahim, Professor @ Tufts University, USAHow can we as NGO leaders make sure that our strategy informs our measurement strategy as organizations? How can we make sure our NGOs are not just upward/funder-oriented in our measurement approach, but also focused on internal accountability and organizational learning? And what mindsets are most helpful to make measurement efforts meaningful? In this interview, we address: What stops us as nonprofits from becoming more outcome-oriented? What are some roadblocks to watch out for when NGOs aspire to become more outcome-oriented? What is the Big Idea behind Alnoor’s new book ‘Measuring Social Change: Performance and Accountability in a Complex World’  And what would Alnoor say is true that almost no NGO agrees upon? Quote: “It is not feasible nor even desirable for all NGOs to develop metrics that run the gamut from outputs to societal outcomes” (pg. 11, book Measuring Social Change by Alnoor Ebrahim) Resources: Profile: Alnoor Ebrahim is a professor at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. His work is focused on accountabilities facing non-profit organizations, public entities, and social enterprise. He currently sits on an advisory board to the Global Impact Investing Network and Acumen Fund and has previously worked with the NGO Leaders Forum. Additionally, Alnoor Ebrahim has formerly been the chair of two executive programs at Harvard University and currently co-chairs a program at the Harvard Kennedy School.   Alnoor's newest book: Measuring Social Change: Performance and Accountability in a Complex World Alnoor and I are both Ambassadors in the Leap of Reason Ambassador community, an invitation-based network of nonprofit leaders, funders, analysts and consultants who want to promote a stronger performance and outcome-orientation among nonprofits. Alnoor’s email: alnoor.ebrahim@tufts.edu 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 

Ep 004 – Ed BoswellTitle: A consultant’s observations in helping NGO leaders navigate big organizational change: Ed Boswell, Conner AdvisorySummary para: Daryl Conner and Ed Boswell of Conner Advisory have been advising private sector leaders for 30+ plus years on how to successfully lead big organizational change processes. How much of this experience translates over into the NGO sector? Ed Boswell talks with Tosca about the many lessons he learned.To what extent has Ed observed differences in how people think about and execute change management in the private versus NGO sectors?What’s distinct about strategy execution, as different from strategy installation?As a consultant, what has Ed found most rewarding in supporting his clients when they engaged in change management?And, what has he found to be most trying or challenging in doing so?Resources:Bio Ed:  Co-founder and CEO of Conner Advisory, which is focused on international aid sector organizations and was founded approximately 5 years ago.Former senior consultant to private sector companiesEd’s specializations: strategy execution and leadership developmentEd is also a strategic advisor to the NeuroLeadership InstituteHe is a retired Partner of Price Waterhouse Cooper, US practice People and ChangeEd has a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, USA. He also has a Certificate in Business Administration from the Wharton Business School at the University of PennsylvaniaConner Advisory's research: https://conneradvisory.com/insights/Ed’s book: Strategic Speed: Mobilize People, Accelerate Execution, Harvard Business Review Press, 2010. Available on Amazon at Strategic Speed: Mobilize People, Accelerate ExecutionAmy Edmondson's article on Execution as Learning: Edmondson, A. C. (2008). The competitive imperative of learning. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2008/07/the-competitive-imperative-of-learningClick 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 opportunitiesYou can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels: Twitter            LinkedIn         Facebook  

Ep 003 – Sarah Ralston Title: Whole-of-organization thinking: Reflections by Sarah Ralston, former longtime change manager in CARE2020’s processSummary para: The complex work of an NGO change manager requires that you have a ‘whole of organization’ perspective. Sarah Ralston, who until recently led many change initiatives at CARE International, reveals what she learned in this third episode in our series on Change Management.  How does Sarah see the different components of an organizational change process?·What does she do as a change manager, on a daily basis?·What has she found the most rewarding, and the most trying, about change management?What change management concepts or approaches has Sarah found to be most helpful?How has Sarah tried to intentionally learn as a change manager?Bio: Sarah Ralston has over 15 years of experience when it comes to international civil society, organizational development, strategy and change management. She worked as a Senior Manager of Global Performance and Strategy for CARE USA before joining CARE International where she has spent over 9 years of her career. As the Head of 2020 Transformational Change, she provided change management expertise to support leadership and engage staff. Ralston most recently worked as the Head of Organizational Development and Accountability at CARE International. She left CARE International in December 2019.LinkedIn profile: linkedin.com/in/sarah-miller-b5b6185 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 opportunitiesYou can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels: Twitter            LinkedIn         Facebook 

Ep 002 – Ramesh SinghTitle: What I learned from leading ActionAid’s federalization process as well as Greenpeace’s recent change trajectory – Ramesh SinghSummary para: Ramesh Singh, former CEO of ActionAid, led its process of federalization - an important change in its organizational form - over a decade ago. In addition, Ramesh as International Organization Director led Greenpeace’s process to decentralize decision making from Greenpeace International’s headquarters to its regional and national offices. During the same period, Greenpeace also aligned its organization with a strategic shift of its campaigning approach to a more ‘people-powered’ form of campaigning.How Ramesh encouraged ActionAid to learn from the past and be fit for the futureHow he promoted course corrections in organizational change processesHow to spot slow-onset crisesHow not to confuse project management (a means) with the Theory of Change (the end) behind a change processThe usefulness of scenario planning as a tool in change managementHow to be wary of ‘glorification’ of what NGOs doThe importance of analysis of difference within organizational change processes Resources:Bio: Ramesh Singh has many years of experience working with NGOs, having worked as the Chief Executive Officer of ActionAid, the Chief Operating Officer at Greenpeace, and an Independent Consultant in his later career. In his most recent years, Ramesh Singh has, among others, held the role of Senior Advisor to Oxfam Global Strategy Development in his capacity as a consultant.LinkedIn profile: linkedin.com/in/ramesh-singh-b5712123If you want to learn more: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 opportunitiesYou can find Tosca’s content by following her on her social media channels: Twitter            LinkedIn         Facebook 

Lessons from a long time change manager: Monica Maassen, Oxfam International Episode 001 – Monica Maassen Title: Oxfam’s 2020 change journey: lessons from a long-time change manager - Monica MaassenSummary para: Oxfam International and its 20+ affiliates have embarked on significant organizational change  – appropriately called ‘Oxfam2020’. Monica Maassen, Head of Oxfam Int’s change management, learning and change communications, explains her approach to how she and her team try to promote and accompany this large-scale change process, and the many lessons she has learned along the way. How does Monica see the different components of an organizational change process?What does she do, on a daily basis?What has Monica found the most rewarding, and the most trying, about change management?What change management concepts or approaches has Monica found to be most helpful?Why many people make the mistake of overfocusing on organizational structure change instead of on behaviors How has she tried to learn as a change manager?Resources:Bio: Monica Maassen is an expert in the field of change management and has worked in her current role with Oxfam International for over five years. Maassen currently acts as the Head of the organization’s Change Management, Learning and Change Communications Department, and is leading an initiative on culture change titled 'Culture: Living our Values. LinkedIn profile Monica Maassen: linkedin.com/in/monica-maassen-49a30217Book on Mindtraps by Jennifer Garvey Berger: Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps: How to Thrive in ComplexityIf you want to learn more: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  

This is short introduction of my new podcast NGO Soul + Strategy, for leaders of NGOs and other philanthropic organizations who look change right in the eye. To be launched February 2020.