By Mike Sorth, Vice President of Business Capacity Services
You’re in your weekly staff meeting. As usual, a few team members arrive with detailed lists of their ongoing projects, while most jot down a handful of updates in the last hour before the meeting.
Your teammates begin logging into the online meeting or drifting into the conference room just a minute or two before start time. A few punctual attendees chat about weekend plans or touch base on an ongoing issue. Five minutes past the scheduled start, the leader suggests waiting a bit longer since not everyone has arrived—and Bob is supposed to be joining. At seven minutes past, someone asks, “Can someone text him?” Finally, the meeting begins.
The leader shares a mix of updates: a maintenance issue, some good news about a grant, disappointing news about a board member stepping down, and a reminder about insurance renewals. Then the first staff report begins — covering the need for towels at a program site and a challenging client who disrupted services. Right then, Bob logs in. The leader pauses and rehashes the past fifteen minutes to bring him up to speed.
Sound familiar? How many times have you sat through this exact scenario? Is this really the default team communication method for nonprofits? Is this how to operate for excellence and impact?
The new college football season provides us with great examples of team communication and planning. The offense gathers in their huddle. They are together for 25 seconds. Communication is brisk, direct, and follows a set protocol. They pick their next play, communicate a few adjustments, and go to work. We can achieve that same kind of efficiency with our teams, but just like a football team, we must first build a playbook and practice relentlessly.
Building an operational playbook starts with an honest assessment of our current business systems. Nonprofits with operations ready to serve their missions should have robust processes and norms to help them work together efficiently. They have documented Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to guide them when there is a question as to how to handle a routine or rare issue. They also have frequent short standing meetings to connect the team.
Don’t be discouraged if your organization is behind in this area. With honest insight into your operations, you can begin to set meaningful goals for building capacity. You may not have created the organization, but you can be the one to lead its improvement.
Your operational playbook should include meeting norms to ensure that your team can collaborate seamlessly. Outline a team meeting culture that promotes accountability, communication, efficiency, and results. When do we meet, what is the structure, and how do we communicate? Establish a meeting rhythm and regular process. Set the expectation of punctuality to respect the time of each colleague.
Building an operational playbook takes time and getting it right will require practice. However, you’ll notice the difference right away. Your team will begin moving in the same direction, objectives will be achieved more rapidly, and communication will be clear and brief. Team meetings will be more like the football huddle, maximizing impact and making the most out of every hour. You can do it. It’s hard, but we’re trying to change the world. We can do hard things.
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