A strong leadership culture is the foundation of any organization. Is yours crumbling?

Cause Organizations and the Leadership Culture Problem

Cause Organizations, in my experience, have a unique Achilles Heel when it comes to their leadership culture. That is: they don’t think they need one.

You’re in leadership for a non-profit, political organization, or other cause-driven platform. Your mission is important, your cause is just, and, from the numbers, people (and dollars) should be flocking in. Instead, attendance is down, volunteers are lackluster or downright passive, and, worst of all, you’re not making the money you need to get your message out.

I’ve had the opportunity to lead programs, organizations, and campaigns of all sorts over the past 25 years. The ones that succeed all have one thing in common: a strong leadership culture at all layers of the organization. And the ones that fail - well - don’t.

Establishing and maintaining a strong leadership culture is pretty much the same, whether you’re running a military unit, a Fortune 100 company, or a non-profit. But Cause Organizations, in my experience, have a unique Achilles Heel when it comes to their leadership culture. That is: they don’t think they need one.

When you’re advocating for an issue or cause, it’s easy to get mixed up between support for the general values reflected by your mission and the culture you need to run an effective organization. Leaders take it for granted that every one of their supporters is in it for the same reason, and they let that assumption carry the load of doing the hard work of establishing a leadership culture.

The result of not nurturing your leadership culture: you’ve got about two years’ worth of life in your organization, at most.

Six Signs your organization doesn’t have a strong leadership culture

For this article, we will assume that you have an elected board of leaders working as an Executive Committee, and rely heavily on volunteers and donors to reach your goals. You may be lucky enough to have an Executive Director on salary, but possibly not.

How many of these signs have you seen in your organization?

1. Heavy mid-term turnover on the board. If you’re seeing a steady stream of your leaders heading for the exits (anything over 20% in a year), those people are sending you a message. “It’s not worth it to keep doing this.”
2. Inability to move past an issue. If your team discusses and “decides” an issue, but it keeps coming back up, month after month, you have a leadership culture issue. People haven’t bought in to the vision or decision-making process enough to table issues that just don’t have enough support to pass a vote. Their personal agenda matters more than the organization.
3. Nobody ever argues. If you’re pushing an issue and an organization forward, there absolutely should be lots to argue about. If everybody “agrees” without even debating, you have a leadership culture issue. People either don’t feel safe bringing their voices to the table, or, worse, don’t see the point. (Of course, if you, dear reader, are the person always getting your way, you might think this is a great problem to have. Trust me, it’s not, as you’ll see across the rest of this list.)
4. Gossip. I don’t mean the harmless water cooler kind of gossip. I mean the cancerous kind, where private conversations become public and debates you thought were ended rear their ugly head (with attribution) outside the Executive Committee. If your leadership team members are airing dirty laundry, you have a leadership culture problem. And it’s just as likely to be a “you” problem as it is a “them” problem.
5. Lack of accountability for goals and results. A team, by definition, is working together to achieve outcomes that get you closer to your ultimate goal and deliver on the mission. There are a lot of danger signs that point to a lack of accountability. Missing targets, people not stepping up to take on challenges, people not joining together to overcome obstacles, an absence of innovation or risk-taking, an inability to “surge” at a key point, all point to a team where each member does not feel accountable for results. That is 100% a leadership culture problem.
6. Lack of competition for (and interest in) leadership positions. A leadership role in a cause-driven organization is solid gold for a resume or just for self-esteem. If board election season finds you with just one (or zero) nominee for key leadership roles, you definitely have a leadership culture issue. People are lizard-brain-motivated by three things: a sense of control, a sense of social status, and the desire to feel like a good and moral person. If your board positions aren’t attracting talent, then it’s because people don’t see any value in it for them.

How many symptoms do you recognize? This isn’t a scientifically crafted diagnostic quiz. But in my experience, if you have more than two, you’re in deep, deep trouble, and the two-year self-destruct clock is already in progress. If you have four or more, your organization is on the brink of collapse, whether you realize it or not.

The bottom line is this: every organization needs its leaders to pay attention to and diligently nurture a leadership culture. Period. This is completely separate and independent from your mission and values as shared through your cause. And, odds are pretty good, you’re not doing it.

I hope you found this article helpful. In my next installment, I’ll start to outline some practices you can put in place right away. Hang in there. Your work is important, and we want you, not just to succeed, but to flourish in it.