[HN Gopher] Ask HN: Working with ineffective volunteers at non p...
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       Ask HN: Working with ineffective volunteers at non profit as a solo
       entrepreneur
        
       Throwaway account to cover my tracks a bit.  I'm a volunteer for a
       non profit that works with mental health as part of a ragtag bunch
       of men who have been affected by mental health. I'm also a solo
       entrepreneur with a very 'get shit done' mentality in my own world.
       The latter doesn't always mesh well with the former, and it's
       causing me some frustation with how long things take to get done.
       I report to a board of directors who aren't business owners, and
       they regard our organisation almost as a good cause whereas in
       reality it's a small business. There are donors (investors),
       customers (attendees) and staff (volunteers).  Without going into
       too many details, I've had to step back from some internal tasks
       since I was compensating for a director's lack of action / insight.
       I've done this for my own wellbeing, but I know ultimately
       sometimes things need to break before they come to light, and
       _then_ they can be fixed.  I have no desire to cover for the
       ineffective director, and I'd like to avoid a personality conflict
       with them. I can split the person from the tasks (or lack of action
       / insight on the tasks), so I don't see any vendetta on the
       horizon, but I'm struggling with lack of practical experience here
       since I've been solo since 2006.  How do you deal with superiors at
       your organisation that appear to be without direction, strategy,
       awareness and action?  Thank you.
        
       Author : throw-nonprof
       Score  : 9 points
       Date   : 2024-01-26 21:20 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
       | nothercastle wrote:
       | That's normal, you don't just carry on with your day do what you
       | can. Most of us work with ineffective leadership
        
       | chipuni wrote:
       | > How do you deal with superiors at your organisation that appear
       | to be without direction, strategy, awareness and action?
       | 
       | Supply direction, strategy, awareness, and action.
        
       | advisedwang wrote:
       | > they regard our organisation almost as a good cause whereas in
       | reality it's a small business
       | 
       | It's a not-for-profit centered on mental health - they probably
       | _are_ in it for the good cause. You are right that the governance
       | of a non-profit _can_ be a lot like a business, but it doesn 't
       | have to be. If you really don't like the vision the directors of
       | a non-profit have for it, you probably should either change the
       | vision (by getting involved at the board level) or stop volunteer
       | there.
        
       | quesera wrote:
       | The least effective leadership I've ever seen has been in non-
       | profits. Well, non-profits and middle management in F100
       | companies!
       | 
       | Because ineffectiveness is not disqualifying in these
       | organizations.
       | 
       | Honestly I believe this to be irreconcilable.
       | 
       | Donors are not investors. Clients are not customers. Volunteers
       | are not employees. They just aren't. Their motivations and their
       | goals are completely different.
       | 
       | I have also seen well-managed non-profits, but only those with
       | large budgets who had a fairly even employee-to-volunteer ratio,
       | and produced goods or services that could be reliably measured
       | for quality and quantity.
        
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       (page generated 2024-01-26 23:01 UTC)