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10 Words to Describe the Ideal Organisation

July 12th, 2011

At a recent conference, a speaker from a social welfare charity shared some research that their organisation had conducted. They had asked over 2,000 adults to choose up to 10 words that they thought best described the ideal charity working in social welfare. The top 10 words were:

1. Caring
2. = Trustworthy, Friendly and Supportive
3. Helpful
4. Professional
5. Honest
6. Approachable
7. Practical
8. Informative

A key omission that struck me was ‘Effectiveness/Impact’: is the social welfare organisation effectively addressing/solving their priority issues.

Does such analysis suggest that despite growing calls for proof of impact amongst funders, proving impact is not such an issue to the typical person in the street?

Also, what 10 words would you use to describe your organisation at the moment? Are there any words on your current list that shouldn’t be there? Are there any glaring omissions?

Trust - What does it take to develop it?

December 3rd, 2010

Trust is a simple word. It’s a state of being which is absolutely crucial to effective working: we think, feel and behave very differently in a trusted environment, relative to an untrusting one. We know it when we see it, or feel it, but what does it take to develop it?

In mch’s view, trust relies of four things:

1. Reliability
   Promising what you do and doing what you promise.

2. Openness
   Being brave enough to share who you really are, what you really feel and what is important to you.

3. Acceptance
   Making others feel that who they are is OK with you.

4. Congruence
   Practicing what you preach. Walking the walk as well as talking the talk.

Consciously focusing on these four areas can greatly accelerate the process of developing trusted relationships.

Does training preach to the converted?

September 15th, 2010

Twice over the last few months, I’ve been asked whether training ‘preaches to the converted’. The first occasion was at a management training session I delivered to Arts practitioners in Manchester. The second was after I gave a presentation on the requirements for successful professional development to a roundtable convened by charities within the music sector.

As a trainer, the definitive answer to this question is; ‘I don’t know’. This is because trainers are rarely involved in selecting the participants that attend their courses. However, more often than not, I think the likely answer is; ‘Yes’. Without meaning to pass the buck, I believe that preventing a ‘preaching to the converted’ scenario rests with the organisation(s) of the participants. This then raises the broader issue of how organisations can influence staff with the greatest development needs to attend appropriate training/learning opportunities.

In my view, the answer lies with the organisation’s culture. If all mch’s training participants came from organisations with a strong culture, where professional development was valued, then I don’t think I would be preaching to the converted. Instead, I would simply be training people who were from organisations where high levels of professionalism and quality were expected and the norm. Sadly though, my experiences in working with dozens of organisations suggest that such cultures are rare.

Given the importance of organisational culture, mch will shortly be producing a briefing paper on the topic, which will be added to mch’s resource centre. To be kept informed of this, sign up to mch’s mailing list via our website. The sign up form can be accessed via the link at the bottom of every page.

Thanks,

Mark Hughes

mch’s new website

July 1st, 2010

A lot of blood, sweat and tears have been shed developing mch’s new website. What started as a simple upgrade, has dragged me into the modern era by prompting an accompanying facebook page and blog site.

It is with a mixture of shame and pride that it has taken me until 2010 to sign up to facebook and read or write my first blog. My delayed entry into the social networking age is based on a belief that the associated technology dislikes me. It seems to sense my fear and doubt and takes great pleasure in refusing to work.

To illustrate, look no further than this blog site. My lack of nous, together with the blog site’s malevolence, means that you are currently unable to leave a comment to this blog. Even the stoic efforts of my web designer have failed to remedy the problem.

Rest assured though, the ability to comment will be available soon. In the meantime, feel free to use the ‘Ask me anything’ function to get in touch (or you could simply use email!). I’d be very grateful for any feedback on the website. Also, if you have a question you’d like featured on our website polls, specific resources you’d like to see included in the resource centre, or an issue you’d like to discuss via the blog, please get in touch.

Despite the reservations of an acute technophobe such as myself, I hope the more interactive nature of ‘modern mch’ gives more opportunity for interested parties to share their thoughts and ideas on the charitable, consultancy and training sectors.

Thanks,

Mark Hughes, Director of mch

Wise Words

May 26th, 2010

“The greatest of all things is the power to estimate things at their true worth”

La Rochefoucauld