by Molly Penn<\/p>\n
Is it too soon to begin thinking about the \u201cnew normal?\u201d\u00a0 Organizations that are not ready to consider how Covid-19 will change our work are risking their future health and sustainability.\u00a0 We recognize that many organizations are still reeling from the impact of the economic freeze and health crisis taking place.\u00a0 Therefore, we are grounding these recommendations in human care and empathy for now, and smart planning for what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n
The one thing you can be doing right now (and you can\u2019t do enough of it) is to show care and concern for your community and your donors.\u00a0 Who do we mean by community?<\/p>\n
Those people most deeply affected by the economic and health crisis we are fighting.\u00a0 Make sure they are connected to systems and resources to help them navigate this period and stay healthy and sane.<\/p>\n
Your staff are worried about their and their families\u2019 survival and they (we all) are dealing with pervasive grief, anxiety and financial stress.\u00a0 Acknowledge what they are feeling and understand that these emotions will affect their job focus in the short term. \u00a0Ensure that you are being as flexible as possible about FMLA and PTO policies.\u00a0 Show empathy and care for your staff and recognize extenuating circumstances while maintaining equity and fairness across your internal system.<\/p>\n
Take a few moments to call and connect with your major donors.\u00a0 This is not a solicitation call, just a check-in.\u00a0 Remember they are human beings who are also frightened and worried about money and may have friends or family affected by the virus.\u00a0 A simple call to ask how they are doing and let them know you are thinking of them is a great way to strengthen the relationship you are building with them.<\/p>\n
It is instinct, when feeling threatened, to curl up in a ball. To turn inward and drop your outward persona in favor of just surviving.\u00a0 But don\u2019t be short sighted.\u00a0 You will want your audiences there, waiting for your return, so taking some extra effort to connect with them even now, when you are not even sure what to say, is hugely important.\u00a0 Just let them know you\u2019re still there, let them in on what you\u2019re planning for when things restart, and tell lots of stories to remind them of how important you\u2019ve been to them in the past.<\/p>\n
For everyone you communicate with, it is important to maintain transparency and frequency of communication.\u00a0 Keep the channels of communication wide open \u2013 we are all in this together.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve all heard the expression this is not a sprint it\u2019s a marathon used to describe this Covid-19 pandemic. \u00a0When the health crisis ends, we will have the economic crisis to deal with next.\u00a0 We can\u2019t afford to be curled up in a ball right now.\u00a0 We have to be dealing with the hard truths and beginning to adjust.<\/p>\n
Start by sketching out scenarios to work with:<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The virus gets vanquished relatively quickly by a vaccine or effective treatment<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The virus temporarily recedes only to be followed by a resurgence in the fall as the weather cools or we begin to re-congregate too soon
\nThe time horizons for each of these scenarios look fairly different.<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Virus contained but damage is done<\/strong> \u2013 this scenario assumes the virus is contained, but there is residual economic damage done to our economy, and nonprofits are not able to recover quickly \u2013 it may take several years before restoring to previous levels of economic success.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Virus recedes then resurgences<\/strong> \u2013 this scenario reflects a delay in the economic recovery \u2013 more like 5 or 6 years before there is recovery.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Virus is contained, strong economic rebound<\/strong> \u2013 this scenario assumes we contain the virus and, as a result, the economy springs back to near former levels more quickly than anticipated.\u00a0 Within a couple of years, things are back to growth mode.<\/p>\n Use these scenarios and time horizons to think critically about where you will be and what you will have to work with.<\/p>\n Here are some prompting questions to get you thinking about your future scenarios and some recommendations to consider.<\/p>\n Consider the essence of your organization \u2013 why you exist – what makes you unique and what adds the most value to those you serve or to the world.\u00a0 If you had to distill that essence, how could you still provide that value in a much more streamlined way?<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Recommendation: Don\u2019t think in terms of lopping off programs that are less effective, but in terms of entirely recasting your work in a more distilled and direct format.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n What is most important for your organization to achieve in the next couple of years?\u00a0 How can you frame that as a goal that will motivate others to join you in achieving it?\u00a0 If you became single-purposed, what would that single purpose be and how would it represent your mission?<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Recommendation: Engage in agile, adaptive planning to determine how to reach that goal and adjust your efforts along the way based on early results.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n It is important to consider, for each of these scenarios, how many staff you will have for the next several weeks, for the next several months, for the next couple of years, and then for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Recommendation: Once you determine the number of staff, consider thinking strategically about organization redesign to be thoughtful about who to retain and how to deploy them to best execute your work.<\/em><\/p>\n What makes leaders freeze in times of crisis is that they don\u2019t know how the crisis will resolve, so they can\u2019t figure out how they should lead.\u00a0 Leadership is not a about having a predefined plan of action, but of building the behaviors and mindsets that maintain an adaptive, future forward focus.<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Recommendation:\u00a0 Assemble functional teams whose jobs are to adjust routines and adapt them to the new environment.\u00a0 \u00a0These teams should have the capacity to iterate and adjust based on early evaluation.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0Above all, when leading your organization through an economic or systemic crisis, it is extremely important to spend significant amounts of time \u201con the balcony\u201d (Heifetz) \u2013 keep your eyes on a broader view of where things are and where they are headed.\u00a0 You can\u2019t afford to get caught up in the minutiae of daily decisions or you will suffer decision fatigue.\u00a0 You are needed to make key strategic decisions along the way.\u00a0 To do this, you need to take a breath (literally \u2013 it reduces your stress level), keep your eyes on the horizon, and consider both the big picture and the implications for your team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Is it too soon to begin thinking about the \u201cnew normal?\u201d Organizations that are not ready to consider how Covid-19 will change our work are risking their future health and sustainability. We are grounding these recommendations in human care and empathy for now, and smart planning for what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":90,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,73],"tags":[86,52],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1177,"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89\/revisions\/1177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.penncreativestrategy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Crafting Your Future Scenarios<\/h2>\n
What is your core purpose?<\/h3>\n
What is your overarching goal?<\/h3>\n
How many staff will you have?<\/h3>\n
What kind of leadership will you need?<\/h3>\n