September 21, 2016 Leadership, Volunteer Management

What does it mean to be a values-driven leader? The Pyjama Foundation’s founder and CEO Bronwyn Sheehan shares what she’s learned

Bronwyn Sheehan is the founder and CEO of the Pyjama Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that transforms the lives of children in foster care through education. Since the Foundation’s inception in 2004, they’ve trained 4,000 volunteers with the values-driven leadership Bronwyn has worked to embed in the organisation and its staff.

For her work, Bronwyn was awarded Qld Australian of the Year in 2009, and was a national finalist in the 2008 Telstra Business Women’s Awards. In the lead-up to her presentation at the 2016 Not-For-Profit People Conference, we spoke to Bronwyn about her journey, and how she’s managed to establish an organisation with such a committed volunteer workforce, from the ground up.

August 24, 2016 Leadership, Making Decisions, Organisational Strategy

Who holds power in your NFP? Your answer might help explain how effective and engaged your staff and volunteers are

Who holds power in your NFP organisation?

It’s difficult to talk about power. Mentioning power can conjure up memories of encounters with parents, teachers, bosses, the law, family or partners who have exercised power over over us in negative ways.

But power relationships are woven throughout our lives, and throughout our workplaces. And being clear about who holds power – particularly the power to make decisions – in your organisation, as well as ensuring that structure reflects your organisation’s shared values – will mean that staff and volunteers understand how and why power works as it does. And that can mean the difference between an empowered staff member, and a disempowered, disengaged one.

July 25, 2016 Leadership, Managing People Well

Have you heard of servant leadership? Dr Sen Sendjaya says evidence shows it’s the best leadership style for your organisation

In the lead-up to his presentation at the 2016 Not-For-Profit People Conference, Monash Business School professor and servant leadership expert Dr Sen Sendjaya shares his insights on servant leadership, including why it’s a particularly powerful approach for NFP organisations.

July 18, 2016 Change Management, Leadership

How should a leader manage change? Oxfam Australia’s CEO Dr Helen Szoke shares her insights

In the lead-up to her keynote address at the 2016 Not-For-Profit People Conference in November, we spoke to Oxfam’s Chief Executive Dr Helen Szoke about leading teams through transformative change – the highs, the lows, and what you can learn from one of Australia’s leading international aid and development NGOs to apply to your organisation’s change processes.

July 6, 2016 Leadership, Managing People Well

People want to do meaningful work: how connecting staff with clients and beneficiaries can supercharge your organisation

This is the story of how one fundraising team boosted their weekly productivity by 400 percent.

It wasn’t due to pay rises or catered lunches – or even an inspiring or well-trained manager giving staff the motivation to do their work better. So what was it?

May 23, 2016 Leadership, Managing People Well

The easiest thing you can do to be a great manager (and it doesn’t cost a cent)

If you’re a manager in an Australian NFP, it’s quite likely you haven’t received any formal leadership training. Indeed, one study found that leaders on average only received leadership training a full decade after they started managing people.

But what if there was one simple thing you could do now that would dramatically increase your success as a manager and leader?

May 18, 2016 Leadership, Managing People Well

Bored staff quit. Here’s how to detect it and what to do about it

Ongoing workplace boredom can impact your team in a way that’s comparable to chronic stress.

If not addressed, a staff member’s boredom can quickly transform into resentment. That can then lead to them ‘checking out’ – beyond being passively uninterested, the staff member becomes bitter and no longer wants to work at an organisation they don’t care about.

April 18, 2016 Change Management, Leadership, Managing People Well, Organisational Strategy

Capacity Building and Change Management: A guide for community services

Did you know that up to 70 percent of organisational change initiatives fail?

A new guide to change management can help ensure yours isn’t one of them.

April 11, 2016 Giving Feedback, Leadership, Managing People Well

What to do if your staff won’t act on feedback

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?

April 6, 2016 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Leadership

Women in leadership: how does your NFP stack up?

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?