Charity Leaders: Why personal conduct matters

The charity sector represents public benefit. Leaders of charity offices often preside over limited resources in the context of the job required of them. They also take decisions on donor funds and their decisions can have a far-reaching impact on the people that work in charities and / or the beneficiaries.

 

Staff may be asked to sacrifice for the greater good, for beneficiaries sometimes this can be a matter of life and death or economic survival.

 

Charity leaders must be able to lead an effective team; their success depends on it.

Charity leaders must be able to lead an effective team; their success depends on it. In doing so leaders often have to take difficult decisions to bring the best out of them. The team must be able to trust and respect the leader. Leaders can train future leaders only when their followers can see them as role models and mentors.

 

In this context the personal conduct of a leader especially in the charity matters. It becomes the difference between success and failure. A leader may move mountains, people and followers will forget that – however the conduct on how those mountains were moved is what becomes the legacy of that leader.

 

It’s the personal conduct that touches people and followers and becomes part of the human memory and emotional history of the leader.

Below are some common leadership characteristics and conducts that I have experienced in the charity sector that are proven to make a difference:

 

Trust requires building

 

People and followers must be able to trust their leader. It is only through the trusting, it becomes easier for the people, followers and teams to sacrifice and backdown at their personal cost. Trust is created by being able to follow through on promises without compromise. Trust must be earned and does not automatically come with positions – The leader can build it or break it.

 

Trust must be earned and does not automatically come with positions – The leader can build it or break it.

Trust is built by being transparent in public and private communications. Consultations promote trust especially when the followers / team members know that they will be consulted – this builds trust within the team. Trust grows in humility by accepting mistakes when they are made, and all leaders make them. All this requires consistency and patience by the leader.

 

Fairness come what may

 

Leaders enjoy powers entrusted to them over those that follow them. How they use these powers for the greater good of the office they represent identifies their conduct.

 

Those leaders that don’t compromise on fairness tend to be more powerful and effective than those that compromise to benefit family, friends, or personal business interests – A leader may have favorites on a personal level – this must not skew the balance of fairness in the organisation.

Nepotism eats personal conduct like termites eating wood

Nepotism eats personal conduct like termites eating wood. One the face of it the wood has structure, the termites eat it from within. The wood sound then becomes hollow when tapped, just like the leaders that constantly compromise on principles over nepotism. When these leaders are tested, their teams abandon them over their hollow rhetoric.

 

Being fair and more importantly the perception of being fair (as important) is a crucial conduct that effective leaders often display. This requires the leader to stick to policy and process and become a role model in doing so.

 

Justice is not for the weak

 

Humans are not angels – they make mistakes or do wrong. Teams and followers are not immune from it. An effective leader when confronted with wrong, deals with it. As not dealing with it promotes it, grows it, spreads it – there is always a limit on how much dust can be swept under the carpet. Whenever (and it will) the carpet is removed, all is laid bare, and it is then reflected on the conduct of the leader.

 

Justice has its value when it can be felt and seen. This sets the standards and creates an environment where mistakes and wrongs are less made and discouraged. It becomes the moral compass for leaders and their followers / teams – with this compass they cannot go astray.

 

Being just becomes the moral compass for leaders and their followers / teams – with this compass they cannot go astray.

 

The good practice that is practiced

 

Leaders that tend to take personal conduct seriously, often lead organisations with:

  • effective HR and operational policy and processes that are followed,

  • good and consistent performance management processes,

  • effective organisational structures that achieve good quality consultation and accountability,

  • fair and effective recruitment policy and processes – the right person the right job,

  • a skillful rotating board that appoints the leader on merit and holds the leader accountable.

 

End –

 

Author: Nasir Rafiq is former Interim Finance & Corporate Services Director of Islamic Relief Worldwide (2016-2019). He has held many senior finance positions within the UK charity sector and continues to advise many charities on governance and leadership matters.

 

Nasir is the Managing Partner of Dua Governance Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors. A firm specialising in the charity sector.

 

He is a widely experienced Fellow Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) and a Charity Financial Governance Expert.

 

Email: info@duagovernance.com

Governance – When it goes pear shaped

Dominic Cummings, the former senior strategy advisor to the then newly elected Prime Minster Boris Johnson was at the heart of government when the Covid 19 crisis folded and was privy to all that went on.

After being forced to leave government, he appeared before the MPs committee on 26 May 2021 to answer questions on how government responded to the Covid19 crisis, this was a fascinating and a shocking viewing.

 

This reminded me of issues I regularly experience in charity and business organisations.

 

I have never been a fan of the politics of Dominic Cummings but his fascinating insight and views on how the government machine worked really hit a nerve. He had many golden nuggets to share for those that understand the practicality of good governance in large and complex organisations. In crisis the cracks are all laid bare. 

 

In this blog, I will share some of these golden nuggets:

 

 1. The role of corporate planning

 

Yes, its important to have crisis management plans and risk registers. These should be regularly tested. A government can have all that in place at department level, however this is still not effective unless there is a central plan that brings it all together. 

 

In my line of work, often I see a silo working culture in large organisations. In this culture, staff in each department and division become inward looking and start to tick the box for their own sakes. They do not realise that when the organisation hits a crisis, it is not the department plans that matter anymore – the plan has to make sense in the context of corporate priorities and defense, led by the central leadership.

 

In my line of work, often I see a silo working culture in large organisations.

 

Organisations that often have an effective corporate strategy and plan backed by a corporate risk register are the ones that ensure work done at individual and department level is most effective for the wider organisation, its stakeholders and its beneficiaries.

 

There is no point of having a star performing individual or department, if it does not save the overall organisation from sinking.

 

There is no point of having a star performing individual or department, if it does not save the overall organisation from sinking.

 

2. Decision making in crisis

 

Cummings in his appearance talked about finger pointing of key roles and government departments at each other. He spoke about some great work and talent at junior levels that were being ignored. All this accumulated to a culture of chaos, as the government formulated a response to the pandemic.

 

In normal times, large and complex organisations can have conflicting priorities and policies between departments and official positions. However, in a crisis these can become a hurdle and hold back when there is culture of silo working.

 

The one strong leader needs to become the pilot taking over the reins while switching off the auto pilot.

 

It is at these times; the one strong leader needs to become the pilot taking over the reins while switching off the auto pilot. Those that have the titles may no longer be suitable anymore – others may need to be upgraded to speed up the decision making. Policies that governed the organisation in normal times, may now need to be flexed, removing red tape to create breathing space. All this is needed to respond to the crisis and to save the ship.

 

 

Consultation for decision making is good but it is a means to achieve a greater good not the end goal. Consultation should be meaningful in a crisis, not just for sake of it to please individual egos.

 

The leader and the wider executive may be appointed through a robust and fair recruitment process – these are for normal times. When the crisis hits the fan, the leader is expected to rise to the challenge taking difficult decisions and making most of the tools at his / her disposal. There is no time for hiding behind or blaming others.

 

An important consideration for those that appoint leaders and CEOs is this question: “Does this leader have the ability to steer the ship in a crisis”. Such focus can have an effect of changing the selection criteria and the value of the leader to the organisation.

 

The leader must be a leader for all times, not just for the happy times.

 

3. Data does not float in air

 

Having worked on data quality audits in the NHS and local government, I recognise the mechanism by which data is generated and checked. Data is not born from thin air, it requires fit for purpose systems, people and infrastructure.

 

The use of data for normal times can be different from its use in abnormal times. To make the data available in abnormal times, it is not always easy to train people, install systems and infrastructure at short notice – these changes require time and investment.

 

In my experience, organisations that invest in their IT and data infrastructure in good times are the ones that have readily available information to take the right decisions at the right time in a crisis as well as normal times.

 

Often organisation neglect the value of investing for the bad times and end up “stop” and “searching” for solutions during a crisis – this is the worst time for investing.

 

Often organisation neglect the value of investing for the bad times and end up “stop” and “searching” for solutions during a crisis – this is the worst time for investing.

 

A good leader needs to be able to “see” to navigate through the storm, using the tools at his / her disposal. This is only possible with advance planning and investing.

 

4. Be careful on who your advisor is

 

A strong leader will attract strong advisors. The leader will respect them and will know how and when to use their advice, maxmising their value to the whole organisation. Whereas weak leaders either disrespect their advisors and their advise or are led and controlled by them.

 

When the going gets tough, these advisors are not the ones taking responsibility for the decisions their leaders take. The buck will always stop with the leader. If a leader has to rely on the advisors to look good then the foundations are on shaky grounds.

 

If a leader has to rely on the advisors to look good then the foundations are on shaky grounds.

 

Leadership is about the grand plan, vision and strategy – the role of the advisor is to fill in the gaps on how this is best achieved.

 

If the leader lacks what it takes to lead than you can’t blame the advisor when it goes all wrong and the carpet is pulled under the feet when it was most needed.

 

Many lessons are to be learnt from this controversial advisor of a controversial Prime Minister during one of the most controversial times in British history.

 

Author: Nasir Rafiq is a widely experienced Fellow Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) and a Charity Financial Governance Expert.

He is the Managing Partner of Dua Governance, a Charity Governance specialist accountancy firm.

Nasir has held many senior finance positions within the UK charity sector and continues to advise many charities on financial governance matters.

Email: info@duagovernance.com