Greiner’s Growth Model is a framework that shows the different phases a company goes through to achieve growth. Each growth phase is made up of a period of relatively stable growth, followed by a “crisis” when major organizational change is needed if the company is to carry on growing.
Although the word “crisis” is often linked to a state of panic, it can also mean “turning point.” While companies certainly have to change at each of these points, if they properly plan ahead, there is no need for panic, and so we will call them “transitions.”
Stages
These evolutionary phases (and ensuing revolutionary phases) are:
Growth through creativity which leads to a crisis of leadership.
Growth through direction which leads to a crisis of autonomy
Growth through decentralization which leads to a crisis of control
Growth through coordination which leads to a crisis of red tape
Growth through collaboration which leads to a crisis of internal growth (also dubbed the “consultation crisis”)
Growth through alliances which leads to a crisis of identity ³
Every week I create a round-up of my favorite reads and listens over the last 7 days. Some links go directly to articles and books, others go to my post with notes.
This week was a particularly light reading week, with most of my time spent on making progress through Hood Feminism and 1491; Both which are still not finished. I usually get through books pretty fast but Kirkland Arts was bringing in a new Executive Director this week, which took up most of my available free time and energy.
Tuesday: Executive Onboarding
In anticipation of the new ED onboarding, I’ve been going through my old executive materials as well as looking up new resources for dealing with virtual onboarding. While nothing was stand out, I did like the break down into 5 categories by Nick Chambers.
What is Performative Activism? “We know performative activism occurs when those with power wish to give the appearance of supporting members of Black, Indigenous and racialized communities — but aren’t willing to transfer power and transform organizational cultures, policies, practices and behaviours.”
Why should we care about performative activisim? Aside from the fact that the nonprofit sector is rooted in White Saviorism, “Performative activism leads to new and insidious forms of oppression for Black, Indigenous and racialized people. Performative institutions distract from the real issues at stake and also create additional labour for the Black, Indigenous and racialized people who end up collaborating with them.
Despite going to relatively well resourced schools in the 1990s and early 2000s, I didn’t receive a comprehensive or accurate education in the history of the pre-Columbus Americas. I remember doing study projects on spanish conquistadors, with the focus on their ‘discoveries’ and achievements, rather than on the genocide of the existing indigenous populations. I was taught hat the Americas were for the most part uninhabited and underdeveloped by the time the Europeans landed, and that there were no major civilizations aside from the ‘barbaric’ Maya or Aztec.
1491 hammers home the astounding and offensive the gap between my childhood education and reality. Before Columbus, there may well have been more people living in the Americas than in Europe, with some estimates putting it as high as 112 million, many of them in urban complexes bigger and more sophisticated than London or Paris. These civilizations undertook major engineering and public work projects, build monuments to rival the Egyptians, and modified their landscapes to produce an abundance of food. Furthermore, the largest human dieback in history occurred when the Europeans arrived–carrying with them Smallpox, with up to 90% of the population dying from the disease.
I first read 1491 in college, but was so exhausted due to my academic load, that the impact of what I was reading was minor. Living now in the Pacific Northwest, and travelling more extensively across the western states of the US, this book has re-opened my eyes to the past brilliance and devastation of our indigenous populations.
Leaders and staff have to be able to talk to one another. Elders hold valuable earned knowledge and wisdom. They know the terrain. Younger workers have fresh minds and hearts. They see old problems with new eyes. Both are necessary for addressing our biggest problems. The key is being able to sit in space with one another without turning away, shutting down, or blowing up. That can only really happen once trust has been established. And trust is born out of truth-telling.
“Are we actually interrupting and dismantling white supremacy, or are we just giving lip service while feeding the systems of oppression that have harmed generations of people?“
By and large, the critics [of organizations & leadership] are younger, often of color, though also white allies. They are newer to the workforce and in direct service roles that power the organization’s mission. Often, they identify with the very people the organization is set up to serve. In short, they are the people closest to the work, yet they find themselves furthest from the decision-making tables that define the strategy, design the delivery model, and determine the core objectives.
Critiques include:
The organization “whitens” as you get closer to the top of the organizational chart. Rather than hire from within when coveted positions open up, the organization looks externally for talent.
Wealthy white men (some of whom might be Republicans or even Trump supporters) occupy a disproportionate share of the board seats.
Staff performance is judged and promotions based on metrics that don’t tell the whole story of their work. Relatedly, perfectionism is celebrated while progress is ignored.
Overwork is glorified.
Professionalism is code for white.
The default development strategy feels exploitative of communities of color and/or obscures the role that systemic racism plays in shaping the problems nonprofits are set up to address .
The people leading nonprofits today were molded and shaped, promoted and rewarded within a social and political context that was fixated on procuring accountability through metrics.
Address your performance metrics. The very notion of quantitative measurement as the gold standard of managing and motivating employees is rooted in capitalist industrialism, the focus of which was mass production by any means, including the exploitation of labor. If you call yourself an anti-racist organization, figure out what’s worth measuring and let the other stuff go.
Clarify decision rights. Let people know which decisions are on the table and which are not and why. A solution: let people know when and how they will be included in decisions as well as who has ultimate decision rights. Also, consider letting people know if they are being included for input gathering purposes only, and let them decide if they want to play that role.
Purity can be its own form of perfectionism. We can’t ask everyone else to see our nuances but not allow for the nuances in others. If you find yourself finding fault with every choice the leader makes, check in with yourself. Are you holding this person to an exacting standard that no one can attain? To advance in any field, one has to be able to work within imperfect systems. Give people the grace and space you would want to be imperfect.
I have embarked on building a new multi-year strategic development plan for my current organization. A part of that process was a revisit to favorite resources on communications, including the Progressives Study Guide from Sum of Us, which I strongly recommend everyone reading–not just communications people! I also picked up two books to help me expand my thinking on Fund Development and Communication Methods.
Ahead of an interview, I revisited and researched readings on ecosomatics. Strengthening appreciation and connection to the places we live and play has been at the heart of my career–Parkour being an eco-somatic practice that brings together ecological consciousness with movement education, improvisation, and play. I believe it is critical to facilitate a physical and emotional connection to our natural world in order to expand our ability to empathize and take action on the larger challenges facing us as a society today.
