Delivering Impact with Limited Resources
You got the funding/grant/pitch approved! Congratulations 🥳. Now you just need to deliver the project with a team who is already at capacity!! Argh!!
If you got the budget right, perhaps you adopted the learnings from the ‘Paying What it Takes’ report by Social Ventures – well done! If your team already has the right capabilities and can pivot to a new project, that’s another win.
Most of the time, charities and projects are underfunded. Funding is inconsistent and the expectation, while slowly changing, of 'doing more with less’ is unsustainable and causing us to lose good people from the sector. It's risking closure of good organisations.
Delivering impact with limited resources is a common problem in the not-for-profit sector (or for any business that is not flush with cash). Just as common are the traps that we can fall into when faced with new opportunities. (Let's be honest BAU stressors trip us up just as often!)
A trap is a pattern of decision making or behaviour that feels reasonable in the moment but predictably leads to poorer outcomes.
I’ve fallen into the following traps myself and had to dig my way out. Working with executives and leaders across a broad range of organisations, I see many others experiencing the same thing.
Having been a CEO of a registered charity and in my earlier days building a social enterprise, I’ve delivered or overseen dozens of projects. The proposed outcomes of new projects in the for-purpose sector are so exciting and sometimes ground-breaking. The need is great; demand increasing and the passion and care drives us. So we tend to go above and beyond. While it’s rewarding to see those outcomes come to life, going above and beyond is certainly not sustainable and you risk burnout, losing staff and destabilising your organsiation.
So, what are some of the traps? And how can we avoid them?
TRAP 1: The delegation paradox.
It will be quicker if I do it myself. My team is too busy forme to load them up with more. We can’t afford to mess this up.
“What have you done this week (or today) that should have been handled by someone else?”
TRAP 2: Role Compression.
Your role starts to shrink as you take on work that should sit lower in an organisation. You are doing versus leading. When we don't "pay what it takes" (i.e., underfund overhead/admin), Role Compression is the inevitable result.
When I was 2 weeks into my role as CEO at a disability service, we were critically understaffed and I found myself, last minute, having to run the afternoon Drama session. Managers and the CEO were in a habit of stepping down to cover absences rather than the other way around. Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved it, it was the best fun, but it took me away from working on a much-needed recruitment strategy.
'What high-level strategic task did you postpone today to cover a front-line gap?'
TRAP 3: Overcomplicating.
When work gets too busy, when we are stressed, we can end up overcomplicating something that with clear thinking could be much simpler.
“Can you explain the issue or task in one sentence?”
TRAP 4: Role blurring.
Execution slows as people are hesitant to make decisions if they are unsure who has authority. Multiple people end up doing the same work, or no-one does as they assume some else is responsible.
"Has a project stalled recently because two people thought the other was 'handling it'?"
It's challenging to break those patterns and think longer term when you're in the thick of it.
So, what can you do to avoid these traps?
Recognise the traps and break the patterns.
Mindset: This is the most important step. If you believe there is a better, more efficient, and sustainable way forward, it will set you up well for everything below.
Practical tips: Conduct ‘Lesson’s Learned’, seek feedback.
2. Embed a culture of accountability.
Mindset shift: Your job is to build capability; delegation becomes an investment; you are letting go and managing risk rather than avoiding it.
Practical tips: Practice delegating tasks AND delegating growth, use tools like the delegation ladder and decision matrix.
The Delegation Ladder helps you decide how much authority to give, from 'investigate and report back' to 'full autonomy to act.
The Delegation Matrix is a tool to categorise tasks based on their impact and reversibility. High-impact, irreversible decisions stay with you; low-impact, reversible ones should be delegated immediately to build team confidence.
3. Create a shared sense of purpose and direction.
Mindset: It’s all about the WHY. Your team understanding how the work matters, where the organisation is going, and how decisions are made in service of that direction.
Practical tips: Set operational priorities. Use purpose as a decision filter.
These are just a snapshot of what has helped me over the years.
In the worst project I was ever involved in, the lack of role clarity and accountability was the undoing of the project and heavily impacted the bottom line of the organisation.
In the best, it was the shared sense of purpose and direction and accountability that meant we delivered on time and on budget. We built momentum and we were energised. People surprised themselves and each other. It changed the team dynamic for the better and left a legacy that I’m proud of.
Note: Remember that funders want you to succeed. If you put those leadership foundations in place and realise you have overcommitted, or perhaps internal or external factors have changed since you submitted the application. Talk to your funder. Can you change the timeframes, the scope?
If this has resonated I’d love to hear from you. If you’d like to explore coaching or training or chat about leadership in general, send me a message.