Nonprofit Managers: Get Better Results With This Simple Management Practice
In all my years of nonprofit leadership and management, I have searched for simple tools that get solid results. I am busy, so I want simplicity, not complexity.
When you find a management tool or practice that works consistently and is easy to employ, it becomes a power go-to practice. Nonprofit leaders are hired to get results.
They need to “Get Sh*t Done” (GSD). If you have an employee, vendor, volunteer, or board member who isn’t getting stuff done, then I highly recommend this one practice to get more results faster.
Here is the tip that I share with all of the nonprofit leaders that I coach:
You must say to the person who isn’t performing, “I was expecting you to do X, but you have brought me Y instead. Please explain this gap.”
I call this mini-script “Explain the Gap.” This powerfully simple tool does multiple things at once. Let’s explore further.
Stronger Nonprofit Management Using “Explain the Gap”
Be inquisitive instead of accusatory
One of the most delicate things in nonprofit management is trying to correct or improve poor or misaligned performance. You don’t want to come across as a jerk or too pushy or like a micromanager. And you certainly need to earn and keep your workers’ respect.
By asking instead of accusing, you are inviting an employee, board member, volunteer, or vendor to explain why the assignment or delegated task wasn’t up to par. This avoids the discomfort or aggressiveness of immediately criticizing, which could be embarrassing if your observation turns out to be incorrect.
What if your employee misunderstood the assignment? What if your employee is neurodivergent and just doesn’t digest information and work in the same way you do, but otherwise is high-performing?
What if there is a personal situation at home that could throw any employee off their game, but they just haven’t shared it? What if language or terminology and context led the employee down a road that, in hindsight, completely explains why they understood the assignment differently?
Asking why and listening to the answer can make you a better manager and delegator if you are open to it.
“Asking why and listening to the answer can make you a better manager and delegator if you are open to it. ”
If you begin by accusing an employee of failing at a task or being critical, you risk not solving the underlying problem. But if you say to the person, “Please explain why what you did doesn’t match what I was hoping for,” you may get very valuable information about the assignment and even how you may need to shift your management style.
Be clear in your expectations as a manager
One of the downfalls of leaders (and many others) is not being crystal clear about expectations. This is why legal contracts, scopes of work, promissory notes, memos of understanding, and “terms and conditions” exist.
The more specific and clear you are with people the more likely you are to be understood.
“The more specific and clear you are with people the more likely you are to be understood. ”
For the employee, this reduces confusion or having to re-do work. For the nonprofit manager, it saves time, money, and frustration.
The “Explain the Gap” tool allows the supervisor to explain specifically once again what behavior or work product is expected. It also offers the other person an opportunity to clarify, repeat back what they think they heard, and then try again. If someone is committed to excellence, they will realize they let their supervisor down and try to rectify it.
Here are examples of where to use this tool:
Nonprofit Management Situation #1
A board chair didn’t get the updates she wanted at the board meeting from the executive director. The chair says to the executive director, “I asked you to present specific updates on the budget, program performance, and fundraising. But what I heard at the board meeting tonight was more broad platitudes about our mission. Can you explain why we didn’t hear what I hoped to hear?”
Nonprofit Management Situation #2
An executive director asks the development director, “I asked you to send 35 grant requests out the door by November 1, but it looks like we only sent 20. Can you explain why we aren’t hitting the goals we set?”
Nonprofit Management Situation #3
A program manager says to a volunteer, “I needed you here by 9 a.m. today to set up the booth for the festival, but you came at 11 a.m. and didn’t let me know you’d be late. What happened? Was there a misunderstanding in the request?”
Essentially you are factfinding and letting the other person know exactly what is expected of them, without being a jerk.
High standards are key to high performance
In addition to being clear and inquisitive, you also want to communicate the high standards you have for the delegated or expected behavior or deliverable. You don’t want to settle for mediocre work.
To get sh*t done and get the results that your organization expects from you, you must set high standards. “Explain the Gap” allows you to paint a picture not just of what you want but of what excellence looks like.
Many employees will also need to know the “why” of a delegated task in order to perform up to par. If employees (and others) don’t know why they are doing a specific thing or why it matters, they may cut corners or worse in pursuit of completing the task.
Try to add the “why” when you are delegating. For example: “I was expecting 35 grants to go out the door this year because the board fundamentally sees grant applications as a past shortcoming so we collectively put this in the strategic plan.” This helps focus the understanding of the person to whom you have delegated.
You Can Start Using This Nonprofit Management Practice Today
The fundamental challenge of leaders and managers is how to get workers aligned, motivated, and performing well. By using management tools to guide and delegate effectively, nonprofit leaders can reduce re-work and confusion and increase excellent work that meets or beats deadlines.
The “Explain the Gap” device and script is a universal and critically powerful tool to improve alignment and performance and get great results from your team, vendors, board members, volunteers, and others you count on.
