By Ed Mishrell
Pardon the typos. This review is under construction.
The 5 “truths”
Truth 1: Be fanatical about mission - “A fanatic belief in mission empowers leaders to inspire others, make difficult decisions and set high standards for services that deliver life-changing results.” 3
Truth 2: Fix, stabilize, or replace systems, practices, and people who are not working - “Only incremental improvement is possible until the organizational stabilizes day-to-day operations. It is difficult to grow when every day brings a new crisis and problems to solve that could be avoided.” It is difficult to grow when leaders spend most of the day solving problems. 4
Truth 3: Establish a mission-driven strategy - Leaders develop, articulate, and align the organization on a well-reasoned strategy.
Truth 4: Execution drives results - The leader and organization stay focused on what will make the biggest difference.
Truth 5: Continue to grow as a leader - Can the leader grow with the organization and its needs? Transformational leaders are able to adapt to meet changing needs.
Methodological Approach:
Mishrell utilized a mixed methods approach, assessing both qualitative and quantitative data. However, adopting a mindset that “excellence is a better teacher than mediocrity,” he studied those leaders whose organizations’ budgets grew 100% or more over a five-year period. The 5 Truths is the outcome of those interviews, as Mishrell determined what those leaders did to achieve such success and the roles they played.
Mishell is helping me re-examine my leadership frame and encouraging me to step back and ensure that I am examining each of these on a consistent basis.
Strengths:
One of the strengths (and could be a drawback for some) is that Mishrell often focuses on smaller nonprofits (budgets under $1M) and the corresponding challenges they face. His principles, however, are solid, and apply to larger organizations as well, with the exception (at times) as to the degree of board engagement and the sharper line of demarcation that generally exists in larger nonprofits between governance and operations.
A playbook, a toolbox, a benchmark: These are the metaphors that best describe The 5 Truths for me. it’s operational knowledge and more. Mishrell provides a playbook for CEOs (he uses CPOs throughout). Switching metaphors, the book itself is a toolbox for leaders new and seasoned, but especially new leaders and those who are willing to work to take their leadership to a new level. . Leaders can you the Five Tools as a benchmark by which to evaluate and assess their own leadership, particularly their TPOV (teachable point of view)
Evaluation:
Mishrell’s approach to board engagement is more hands-on with respect to strategy. He does not seem to create or clarify that line of demarcation between governance (Board Role) and operations (Staff Role). However, given the nature of his focus on smaller nonprofits (less than $2M in operational budgets at outset), this approach makes sense. cf p. 93
Data-Driven Appraoch and what it matters:
“Funders want to be able to show the resources they provide make a difference. Savvy leaders understand that making decisions based on data not only aids fund raising but also enables continuous learning about how to increase impact. Successful leaders will continue to advance and build measurement into everything the organization does.” 6
”People invest in organizations and leaders they believe will use their resources effectively. Fanatic commitment to mission tells people the leader will deploy their resources for maximum impact.” 17
Words to ponder:
On impact: “Change in transformational leadership is special, deep and broad.” James M. Burns
On excellence as a teacher: “Excellence is a better teacher than mediocrity. The lessons of the ordinary are everywhere. Truly profound and original insights are to be found only in studying the exemplary.” Warren Bennis in Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration (New York: Basic Books, 1997, p. 8).
On mission: What matters is not the leader’s charism. Whaqt matters is the leader’s mission.” Peter F. Drucker, Managing the Non-Profit Organization.
The author piqued my curiosity about the following books/resources:
Good to Great and Social Sector monograph by Jim Collins. It’s time for a re-read.
Think Big Act Small by Jason Jennings, 2012
