Cogito, ergo sum
One of the positive things about writing a blog is that it gives the author time to stop what she is doing, sit back and, OMG, think and reflect. For those who read blogs and respond, (and the response is the critical part here), the same thing is true: you sit back, contemplate an issue, form a response, and share it with the world. Giving oneself permission to stop work (that is, doing your share to deliver on the mission of the organization) to cogitate is something too. Too many people in the nonprofit sector see as a luxury when, in reality, it is truly a necessity.
As a college professor, I have always harangued (at least I’m sure that is how the students hear it) my students to think. I have promised them from the first day of class of every semester that I am not going to teach them what to think but how to think. And while there are plenty of professors around who see it as their jobs to teach students what to think, the majority seem believe that their real job is to equip students with the tools for being independent thinkers. But, increasingly, I find myself asking why? If upon graduation and joining the workforce people start to see pondering and musing as something that impedes their ability to get their jobs done, then why bother?
I was recently reminded of the Myth of Sisyphus, and Sisyphus’ task of rolling the boulder up the hill each day, only to have it roll down the hill each night. Although Jackson Browne’s song The Pretender is about so much more than the Myth of Sisyphus, I have always associated the line, “Get up and do it again, Amen” with Sisyphus. But never with the nonprofit sector. Those of us working in that sector are not supposed to feel drudgery in going into work, but rather joy. But I’m hearing the drudgery creep in to more and more people’s voices. And I think I know why.
Yes, it has to do with the fact that nonprofit employees are, by and large, overworked and underpaid. But that has always been the case. So, what is new now? My answer? We have sent the message, mostly obliquely, that thinking on the job about the job is not allowed; only doing the job is. We have robbed employees of the time to deliberate, ruminate, meditate, etc., on the key questions of their work: how could it be done better? Should we be doing it this way? Or at all? And the list goes on. Organizations have relegated strategic thinking to a periodic possibility, something that comes out only in the course of doing strategic planning. The reality is that strategic thinking by staff (and board) needs to be a pervasive, constant and cherished component of every nonprofit.
Thank you for this post.
I am a student in Nonprofit Leadership & Management here at Arizona State University. If I can give you – and your readers – any hope, it is this: My colleagues and I are dreaming, hoping, and thinking without drudgery. I am sure the same is true of your students.
We have an amazing opportunity to learn the sector at the same time it is evolving. This is very much a “living science.” While I see the same thing you do in many employees of the sector, I would like to think that those of us entering the breech (once more!) armed with a sector-specific education are better prepared to make time to “deliberate, ruminate, meditate, etc., on the key questions of [our] work.” We have tackled potential organizational roadblocks conceptually, and theorized Civil Society and Social Capital until the ideas became our own. Theory is not the only tool necessary for success, but I believe it will better equip us as we transition into offices, after-school programs, and shelters throughout the country.
I am not saying, though, that those already in the field without a related degree are incapable of experiencing joy, or embracing meaningful dialog. On the contrary. I believe that the ground that is being broken today is only making possible the work of tomorrow. So kudos to you, the overworked and underpaid… We’ll see you soon, and we’ll have lots of questions!
Cheers,
Sam
What this article is really talking about is Strategic Alignment which results from two things: 1) Open planning where all the stakeholders at every echelon in an organization participate to some extent with the development of organizational strategies. And 2) An understanding of a common Strategic Planning and Execution framework by all those who must execute the strategy. Absent those two things: for the average employee, executing strategy is not their day job!. The result is generally a lot of hard working people, exceling tactically at what they do, but many times doing so in directions contrary to the organization’s strategy.
Strategic Thinking by John A. Warden III http://venturist.com/wordpress provides some excellent insights into strategic planning and execution methodologies that ensure Strategic Alignment.
And I liked, will be looking at your site.