The Brilliance Trap
Here's a trap I see lots of executives falling into, and it's hurting their organization's strategy, culture, and effectiveness.
It's the perspective of valuing brilliance over getting better.
When new nonprofit CEOs and Department Heads come into their roles, there's a weird thing that happens. It's the expectation - and sometimes requirement - that the leader will bring brilliant, NEW ideas that will fundamentally shift the trajectory of the organization.
So many hiring processes favor "brilliant innovators" who seem to be full to the brim with amazing ideas.
The result:
Organizations put all their energy into launching new programs, incorporating new technology, creating new culture initiatives.
Which means they end up losing sight of the things they already do well, opportunities to improve their existing offerings for greater impact, and creating the right amount of time and space to achieve a high-quality result.
Brilliant new ideas can be exciting and impactful, but without proper strategy, budgeting, staffing, operational planning, etc., we won't fully realize them - and may actually do more harm than good.
And since a significant percentage of strategy and change initiatives fail, these "brilliant" ideas often end up being just another big disruption and item in a long laundry list of "stuff we tried that didn't work."
To avoid this trap, organizations can instead focus on getting better. That means:
thinking critically about your organization's strengths
knowing the specific role your organization plays in your community or issue area
setting realistic goals
adopting a strategy that's actionable (not just aspirational)
incentivizing your team to contribute their thoughts on improving the ways your organization thinks, plans, and works
having strong input and decision-making processes for determining what ideas to pursue.
Getting better may not seem as exciting as brilliance, but it pays bigger dividends in long-term organizational impact and effectiveness.
Are you interested in helping your organization think, plan, and work better? Schedule a call with us today to talk about practical solutions that are the right fit for your nonprofit.