Critical Thinking for Nonprofit Professionals
In last week’s edition of Rogue Speak, I wrote about the dangers of outdated thinking in reference to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia. In that article, I outlined what I saw as the problems with Vladimir Putin’s thought process. In my opinion, he has a lot of them.
This relates to nonprofit professionals because based on the miscalculations and misinterpreted factors affecting Putin’s decision making, what I see is a lack of critical thinking. The Invasion of Ukraine could be turned into a practice scenario for CAE Candidates:
“The Chair of your Board decides to launch a hostile takeover of a similar association. Her long-term goal is to consolidate all the associations serving your industry so that only your association exists in this space, and this is her first step. Her reason is that the other associations in your space offer too much competition and threaten the long-term success of your association. Your Chair has launched a whisper campaign within the industry undermining the targeted association. The information being spread by your Chair is misleading, completely devoid of any facts, and is bordering on slander against the other association. Despite your advice to pause and reassess the situation, your Chair continues lobbying your Board of Directors and other volunteer leaders to make this move which is based solely on her personal agenda and opinion. However, the economy and the marketplace have changed, and your Chair did not take this into consideration. This situation eventually reveals that your association has not kept up with changing times and is now seen as old-fashioned and out of step. Other associations in the industry are supporting the targeted association and are turning against your Chair. The targeted association is now bringing legal action against your Chair, your Board of Directors, and your association. The IRS has been alerted and is ready to launch an investigation. As the CSE, what would you do next?”
If your response to this scenario is “look for a new job” I don’t think anyone would blame you.
This scenario is quite dramatic but as nonprofit management professionals, we have all seen similar situations in which an elected leader makes decisions that are not based on reality (see the portion of this scenario about “hostile takeover” – since nonprofits do not have stock, this would likely not be an option. But in some people’s worldview they might think it possible).
What are the steps that a nonprofit management professional can do to practice and strengthen their critical thinking skills? Here are a few to get you started:
Practice Environmental Scanning daily. It is the only way to identify and understand trends.
Identify and remove distractions to clear assessment of the situation.
Know who is involved and what their role in the situation is or could be.
Identify who should be involved.
Do not be distracted by the subjective. (“What if . . . ?” is not the question to ask. What exists is what matters.)
A plan of action must be informed by data and not feelings.
Critical thinking is a skill that can be learned, developed, and strengthened over time. Improving your thinking will make you a stronger professional. Stronger professionals lead to a stronger profession.
Don’t miss our upcoming webinar!
The Failed CEO: Lessons from Misadventures in the C-Suite
One (1) CAE Credit – Domain 2 Executive Leadership
Thursday, April 7, 2022 at 9:30 am-10:30 am Eastern time
Registration fee: $45.00
Facilitators:
Michael Butera, Founder and CEO, Association Activision
Cecilia Sepp, CAE, Principal & Founder, Rogue Tulips Consulting & The 501c League
Two former CSEs share their experiences from the not so glamorous side of the C-Suite and the lessons learned from the failures and mistakes.
