Case Snapshot: The Rescuer Becomes the Rescued

Today someone forwarded to me this video from Upworthy: “When Their Sad Ads Stopped Working …” The story is one of an animal shelter that re-tuned its message from that of rescue (i.e., save animals in distress) to be rescued. The brilliant Human Walking Program brought 5,000 people out of their offices at the lunch hour to walk and get to know the dogs. According to the video, the health benefit (exercise, time away from the desk) was compounded by exposure that changed people’s perceptions about shelter dogs.

And every single dog was adopted!

We are bombarded every day by well-meaning messages that convey distress and provoke fear. The distress is real, and worthy of our consideration and compassion. But these days it takes a lot to shake people out of the general sense of helplessness that we feel—or, at certain points, the sense of being overwhelmed by the sheer number of issues and causes that need our support.

So what happens? We become highly reactive. When these challenges strike closer to home, we become involved. If a friend asks for our help, we try to be generous. We continue family traditions. And otherwise, it takes a lot to tug at our heartstrings … or, more specifically, at our wallets.

That’s how the Human Walking Program worked. The benefits were real: Get out from behind the desk? Great! Get a chance to connect with an energetic animal, no strings attached? Terrific! Get some exercise in the process? What could be better?!

There was a benefit to the participant that went beyond simply feeling good about giving. There was mutuality; a sense of both give and take. This goes far beyond money, which is why I chose the word “participant.” It is about putting oneself on the line. It’s how marathons, bicycle races and walks became huge fund raising opportunities.

I am writing about this, however, because the mutuality in this story transcends even that kind of generosity of body and spirit. The two parties engaged together: the dogs gave something to the walkers, and the walkers gave something back. And, they did so on their own terms: some walkers became dog owners, and others did not.

This profound example may not apply to every nonprofit institution, but it is worthy of our consideration. Yes, sad caged animals that have been horribly abused and neglected compel our horror and empathy. But who would have thought that those poor, sad dogs could also be experienced as “exceptionally attractive”? And isn’t that a wonderful outcome?

Trading Off on Talent

One of the many topics I tend to revisit through my own work is that of tradeoffs. Creating clarity of mission and purpose is a profound experience. In theory, it is an exciting and invigorating process. But in practice, organizations’ issues seem to persist long after they achieve the clarity and even after they create a plan.

Working with wonderful institutions, I see time and again the same dilemma: what
to do with well-intentioned people who simply don’t have the skill sets, or the mind sets, that the organization needs to move forward. Time and again, I see leaders struggle with this recognition and try to avoid the implications. They use words like “eventually” (as in, “they’ll get there eventually”) and “potential” (as in, “I know that the potential is there”). I see them put hope before truth. The truth is that there is no “there.”

Consultants respect the desire to be loyal to decent people—in many cases, individuals with long employment histories and strong relationships with organization leaders. On the other hand, the job is to help leadership identify the levers likely to propel the cause forward, and/or hold it back.

So what can be done to make the tradeoffs easier, and the subsequent course of action less painful?

Be clear to be creative. Putting all of the legal implications of dismissing individuals aside (and you should certainly consult counsel if you intend to do so), here are some thoughts on how to achieve outcomes that you can live with. In a smaller organization these steps might be undertaken by the owner/president; in a larger organization the process might be distributed across a senior leadership team or, in the absence of those roles, the most trusted members of the staff.

1.     Assume nothing. Start at the ground level, and build up. Do not assume that any individual will be in the role they currently hold at the end of the process, or that the roles will actually exist, or that any particular individual will be out of the organization. You may be surprised.

2.     Be clear about what you need and expect. If this was not part of your planning process, document the skills and dispositions required for jobs (and careers)
that your organization needs. Keep in mind that these are not necessarily the jobs that your organization currently has in place. Understand also that if you don’t know what you need and expect, you will never be able to make a convincing argument for change—not even to yourself.

3.     Have job descriptions at hand. Again, if this was not part of a plan, develop good, thorough job descriptions for all the roles offers, and/or that you think your organization needs.

4.     Employ a self-assessment tool. Let your employees tell you what they believe they bring to the table: specific skills, interests, proclivities—and how they rate themselves in these areas.

5.     Compare what you believe you need against what you are told you have. Do they match up—and do you feel confident that both assessments are accurate (that is, that you have the right expectations, and that others have portrayed themselves accurately)?

6.     Evaluate. If you believe you have appropriate expectations AND that others have portrayed themselves accurately, do a gut check. Are you ready, or do you have some nagging feeling that something is off? If there is imbalance, how big are the gaps? Are they addressable, or not?

7.     Share. Bring these initial conclusions to the table and discuss them. For some people and in certain cultures this would be unthinkable; these conversations are always held behind closed doors. But this is where real creativity can happen.

Examples:

A very talented member of a team faced being let go because there was insufficient work in his particular division. Another team with adequate work was holding on to a less gifted colleague in a similar role. It took one conversation for the managers to agree that they should transfer the more promising employee and let the other go.

They focused on retaining talent, not on a particular individual.

A department head created a plan to hire two half-time people to cover different parts of program administration across her team. At the same time, she had an employee who was chomping at the bit for more challenging work. With encouragement, the department head incorporated the disparate pieces into a cohesive new cross-team role, and promoted the promising employee.

She dispensed with old, unproductive staffing practices and got a more significant contribution from a talented individual, strengthening the organization over all—and ensuring the employee’s loyalty.

A senior leadership team compared the organization’s required skill sets to the skills of its managers. Steeling themselves to be honest, they acknowledged that one of the most senior managers had long ago been surpassed by one of her direct reports. They resolved to begin the process of succession planning, with the goal of transitioning out the senior manager within the year.

They chose the future of the organization over its past.

8.     Share again. With preliminary conclusions drawn, have frank conversations with the individuals whose future you question. Show the data—how the skills and dispositions match with the needs of the organization. Provide every opportunity to succeed, but also seed the possibility that these individuals may not have a future with you. Important note: depending on the circumstances, you may need counsel to do this appropriately.

And finally, Step 9. Take action as necessary—and emerge perhaps sadder, but in a better place to nurture your organization and allow it to grow.

I haven’t been writing prolifically, and I have missed the opportunity to work on my ideas while connecting with others and adding value to their (your) life and work. Thank you for returning; I hope you will continue to do so, and that it will always be worth your while. Always feel free to let me know!