Honoring Passion and Process Alike

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Honoring Passion and Process Alike

Dueling forces seem to be at work in the nonprofit and philanthropic world. Sometimes, passion reigns supreme. We give our highest praise to dreamers and free thinkers. Their creativity, conviction and courage inspire and excite us. At other times, we seem to be ruled by organizational policies and procedures. We love the passion, but we know that without systems and processes in place, even the noblest aims are scarcely more than fantasies. Structure and accountability protect us from the trap of spinning our wheels with limited impact. Indeed, these two forces  -- passion on the one hand and process on the other -- frequently find themselves in conflict in even the best run organizations.

Finding balance between sound organizational procedures and creative disruption is hard. In fact, it is one of the hardest balancing acts for nonprofit professionals and lay leaders alike. When do we stay true to structure, even when there are strong impulses (and good reasons) to make exceptions in support of the greater good? And when should we be flexible, allowing a suspension of procedures in order to capitalize on extraordinary circumstances, exciting ideas or unique opportunities? 

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Embracing Complementary Opposites: Learning When to Loosen and When to Tighten

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Embracing Complementary Opposites: Learning When to Loosen and When to Tighten

Recently I was working with colleagues at the Mayberg Foundation, preparing a presentation about our approach to entrepreneurial philanthropy. As we spun out some of the core operating principles we wanted to highlight, two of them struck me at first to be at odds with each other. The first had to do with the ills of over-bureaucratization. The Mayberg Foundation invests in passionate, driven, committed people. We have seen so many times that visionaries often become stifled while working in rigid organizational environments. This destroys their creativity and motivation. In order to innovate, experiment, learn and iterate, social entrepreneurs require nimble, adaptable environments. On the other hand, we are also staunch believers in the importance of proper organizational infrastructure. Those who work closely with me have heard me say time and again that all exciting ventures require three not-so-exciting counterparts in order to amount to anything real: structure, support and accountability. Process counts. As one of our trustees recently put it, “instinct only takes you so far.”

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