Any nonprofit that wasn’t feeling stretched and stressed before the recession most certainly has since the “R” word became a reality. While the outlook is still uncertain, the Joint Annual Conference of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and the Minnesota Council on Foundations will provide essential tools and knowledge to weather the storm.
Titled Transforming Our Work: From Challenging Times to Hopeful Futures, the conference will run this Thursday and Friday, Nov. 5 and 6.
One of the featured speakers will be Susan Gross, cofounder of Management Assistance Group and author of Seven Turning Points: Leading Through Pivotal Transitions in Organizational Life, published last spring by Fieldstone Alliance.
According to the book synopsis: “Gross defines turning points as critical junctures at which organizations must adjust their leadership, management, structure, governance, and operating style to fit their changed circumstances…Organizations will know they’ve reached a turning point when the structure, management approach, leadership style, and organizational culture that once worked just fine begin to sow a host of new tensions and problems…Organizations do not always evolve in an orderly fashion, graduating from one life cycle to the next. ”
Here are Gross’ seven turning points as outlined in her book. Some food for thought:
- Turning Point 1: Do we need to get organized?
- Turning Point 2: Do we need infrastructure?
- Turning Point 3: Do we need to let go?
- Turning Point 4: Do we need to focus?
- Turning Point 5: Do we need to decentralize power?
- Turning Point 6: Do we need to recapture our core?
- Turning Point 7: How do we move on?
For insight on the causes, symptoms and how to guide organizations through these turning points and achieve greater effectiveness, impact and staying power, check out Gross’ breakout session at the MCN/MCF Joint Annual Conference, Thursday, Nov. 5, 1 to 4:30 p.m. Gross is also the keynote speaker at the conference’s CEO/Trustee Dinner, Thursday at 6 p.m., when she’ll discuss “Leading in a Time of Uncertainty and Change.”
– Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate
