Some conflict is a good thing in most teams – and that’s as true for teams of volunteers as it is for paid staff.
But what happens if conflict with – or between – your organisation’s volunteers gets to a level where it’s hurting your organisation or the people involved?
Much has been said on the topic of giving feedback – it’s vital to building an effective team and boosting productivity, among other things.
But what do you do if you’ve given a team member feedback and they ignore you? Or get defensive? Or even begin to evade discussions involving feedback?
Australia’s record on women in leadership isn’t a shining one. Despite comprising around 46 percent of the Australian workforce, women make up only a quarter of key management staff.
But what about the NFP sector? Surely for organisations dedicated to a more just and equitable world, the statistics would look a lot better?
Imagine if your organisation didn’t keep track of its financial data – what its income and expenses were? How could it possibly survive?
And yet, many NFP organisations don’t track basic data about their recruitment process. And that’s almost as bad.
While hopefully the exception and not the rule, recent cases of scandals in prominent organisations have left the public asking whether getting caught was seen by some leaders as the worst crime of all.
So what are the qualities of an ethical leader – and how might someone with those qualities think and act?
Australian workplaces are facing the most significant demographic shift in modern human history. In 1990, just 15.9 percent of the Australian population was aged over 55. Today, that figure sits at one in four – which looks set to increase even further to around one in three within the next decade. But are we ready?
$50,000. That’s how much hiring a toxic worker could cost your organisation, according to a 2012 CareerBuilder survey.
While a 2015 Harvard Business School report is a little more conservative in its estimate of $12,000, the take-away is clear: toxic staff can cost your organisation dearly.
Did you know median staff turnover for NFPs in Victoria is as low as 16 percent per year? That means half of all NFPs record turnover of 15 percent or less. How does your organisation measure up?
It’s fair to say that most workers would prefer not to work such long hours. But in many NFP organisations, working 40-50 hours a week is expected for a number of roles. Have you ever considered the impact of staff working excessively long hours on your organisation itself?
On the face of it, a lack of conflict in the workplace can seem to signify a well-functioning organisation. But like the duck that looks calm from the surface yet paddles furiously under water to stay in motion, a workplace that appears outwardly peaceful could just be hiding conflict where no-one can see it – or address it.