Roses in Concrete by Andre Chapman

Author:Andre Chapman [Chapman, Andre]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Family & Relationships, Adoption & Fostering, Social Science, Human Services, Discrimination
ISBN: 9780996686938
Google: vSmDzQEACAAJ
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Diamond Kane Publishing
Published: 2020-08-04T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

Fixing The System

When I left the private sector to begin working full-time at Unity Care, my performance expectations created some friction. Admittedly, I was too demanding. I needed to learn that managing an organization that serves people is very different from managing a high-tech software sales team. Nevertheless, I knew that to be successful, Unity Care had to change its culture. When some of my staff pushed back with, “We’re non-profit. We don’t operate that way,” I reminded them that non-profit is merely a tax code, not a business model. Unity Care should operate with the same level of excellence and accountability as a for-profit company.

The type of non-urgent or non-pressing attitude I was confronting at Unity Care infects a great many non-profit and government entities, especially in the human services sector. I’ve been to hundreds of meetings of these organizations, and typically the inefficiencies stick out like sore thumbs. Even the culture of dialog in human services agencies is very different from the culture of dialog in the private sector. In human services, it tends to be more relational and congenial, while in for-profit organizations, it’s generally more transparent and courageous.

In human services, it tends to be more relational and congenial, while in for-profit organizations, it’s generally more transparent and courageous.

The managers in these government agencies are some of the industry’s best and brightest. They have valuable skills and good intentions, but they often lack the facts-focused, results-oriented attitude required for success in the business world. In private industry, most managers have a business school education or some other form of formal management training. As they move up the ladder, companies invest considerable time and money equipping them for increasingly higher levels of effective leadership.

It’s been my observation that a large percentage of managers in government, especially in state, county, and city services, never aspired to be in charge of major departments. Many were excellent individual contributors or social workers who kept getting promoted up the ranks, until one day they found themselves handling responsibilities that exceeded their leadership expertise. They were simply expected to perform well with no formal management training, except for perhaps a few one-day or one-week workshops.

The primary fault lies not with these managers, but with the system. If government and non-profit agencies followed the example of the private sector and did a better job of preparing and training talented performers for leadership responsibilities, the effectiveness of the services they provide to children and families would increase dramatically. This is an area of great need and great opportunity.

Private sector companies and non-profit organizations have many more similarities than differences. Both must produce and market services, manage people, maintain budgets, and meet a host of regularity requirements. The former seeks to satisfy customers and stockholders, with the goal of maximizing return on investment (ROI). The latter seeks to satisfy government funders, clients, donors, and communities, with the goal of maximizing their “social return on investment” (SROI). There’s no reason why non-profit organizations can’t train their

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