Steadfastness of Purpose

When I wrote about courage of commitment some while ago, I identified two elements of it, namely boldness in the face of opposition and perseverance in the face of exhaustion. Both of these are fundamentally moral qualities – qualities of character.

Though the concepts are closely allied, I see steadfastness of purpose somewhat differently. By this phrase I refer to the practice of staying true to and clear about one’s aim. And doing so, it seems to me, is essentially a matter of critical thinking applied regularly and consistently to operational decision-making. It is what helps us stay on course toward realizing our organization’s vision and avoid that pesky weed which is forever popping up in the nonprofit garden, mission creep.

Critical Thinking: Staying Clear about the Aim

For what is your nonprofit organization (NPO) organized? In other words, what has it been set up to do and by doing what you do, what will you accomplish? Answering these questions, of course, is the stuff of which Mission and (external) Vision Statements are made. Forming the foundation of a good strategic plan, ideally they provide overall guidance for every function of organizational life.

Still, once past their early years, many NPOs do not sustain the conversation – or even their awareness – about these defining issues. They may have prepared formal Mission and Vision Statements but they forget to refer to them in board or senior management meetings. Perhaps assuming that the questions are settled and the answers obvious, they operate without reference to these guideposts.

Without guideposts, however, losing our way is inevitable because the context in which we operate is simply too dynamic. Our organizations will either walk in circles, doing much but accomplishing little, or follow tangents, perhaps accomplishing something but not what was intended.

Word to the Steadfast #1: Keep your NPO’s defining statements in front of you (physically or mentally) whenever engaging in direction-setting conversations.

Critical Thinking: Staying True to the Aim

Following Word #1, Word #2 becomes easier: Avoid temptation to redefine after the fact.

We all know how commonplace it is for a service organization to write a grant for some project that is tangential at best to its mission or a community organization to lose touch with its community and end up serving people who may very well have needs but aren’t even in the neighborhood (metaphorically speaking).

The temptation to stray arises in multiple ways. Maybe you are the Executive Director and in your heart of hearts, your passion has moved on to something else. Or you are the Development Director and the allure of some major designated gift is just too inviting. Or you are a board member and you are searching for a vehicle for a pet project.

What can I say? Just say no! Move on or redirect the gift or find a different NPO. A mission is too sacred and potent to dilute or divert.

Steadfast Managing: Managing Programs

One might come to think that getting and staying clear on your organizational aims is only a function of narrowing and defining organizational activities but there is a freeing aspect as well. By staying clear and true to the aim, results and process are placed in their proper perspective.

Processes are important in their own right. We need to operate in ways that are ethically sound and financially and operationally efficient. Yet processes are not ends in themselves. We undertake them in order to reach some further result. I recall a wry remark made by a Treasurer some years ago. After a fundraising dinner that received high praise as an event but which landed significantly in the red, he opined: “Many more successful fundraisers and we will go broke.”

Word to the Steadfast #3: Don’t ignore process…but stay focused on results

Steadfast Managing: Designing and Evaluating Programs

This leads to the fourth and final Word to the Steadfast, #4: Design and evaluate programs with the end in mind.

Will students learn from the course and specifically what? Will the housing truly be affordable for the low income residents of the community? Is the information provided on the website actually helpful to the patient? … These are the kind of questions we must ask whenever we consider launching a new program or evaluate a current one.