What sort of organisation is yours? Do you do things, or do you change things? So, what’s the difference? And why does it even matter?
Social purpose organisations are challenged to focus on generating outcomes that create impact. Outcomes and impact that is ultimately experienced and measured in the lives of people and communities and a society that is in some way better for all of us.
Lofty ideals? Yes, but isn’t that the point of serving social purpose? To work toward something that offers more by way of enhanced experiences for people, communities, and society. Serving a higher purpose that is realised by creating change for the better.
Of course, this change takes many things. Big ideas. Vision. Aspiration. Ambition. Connection. Engagement. Courage. Cohesion.
And of course there are more tangible things that are needed as well. Resources, such as people, funding, systems, brought together in cogent function. And this is supported, in full or part, by the gifts that may be given to support the big ideas and vision for a better future. Gifts of time, voice, and money – among other things that create value.
These gifts will most likely be attracted by the possibility of change. Possibility that is underpinned by an informed and achievable focus and steely determination to accomplish outcomes and impact for people, communities, and society.
When we talk of gifts of time, voice and money, a word that encompasses all of this is philanthropy; the love of people expressed through voluntary action, service and giving for the common good.
Leveraging philanthropy to facilitate social purpose takes more than just doing things. Doing things such as providing services, seeking, and managing grants, asking for money, talking about efficiency, and trying to survive.
Of course, organisations will and do receive philanthropic support as they go about their business and engage in doing things. People are good like that. They will often support good work through thick and thin, just to try and get things done.
But what if more was done? What if the focus was shifted from doing things to changing things for people? What would happen if the focus shifted to changing experience through service provision, managing a comprehensive funding mix, engaging donors on their terms, talking about effectiveness and outcomes, and thriving over time to create and sustain change?
It’s not to say that doing things is wrong. It rarely is. However, there is a risk that just doing things without looking at a bigger picture of change can create inertia, absorb resources, and clog systems.
There are many reasons – good reasons – why organisations just do things.
Scarcity of resources – time, people, money – which creates capacity and capability challenges.
A surfeit of demand that can just keep on coming and become overwhelming.
Busyness that comes in simply trying to get things done and moving from one urgent thing to another.
Short term funding cycles that create the trap of chasing money ahead of creating change.
Leadership.
Yes, that last point – leadership – is a big one. Arguably the critical factor as to whether an organisation just does things or really changes things. Ultimately, change begins with leadership.
So how might organisations change things? If only it was a simple answer. But there are some obvious steps.
A good place to start is wrapping everything around purpose. That’s your true north. All questions and, ultimately answers, stem from considering purpose. And serving purpose comes with creating change.
Understanding that purpose is most likely served by taking a long-term approach. Thinking about framing long-term planning cycles and working back to the more immediate steps that you need to take to get there.
Taking a long-term view can make things seem a long way off and open up questions of relevance. ‘Why are we worrying about the distant future when we need to respond, or even survive, right now?’
But in serving purpose, we need to look to the future to understand many of the reasons that are doing things now. To make sense of how our actions today create a different reality in the years ahead. If not, where does just doing things take you?
Creating a business model that is longitudinal. This means addressing people, funding, resourcing, systems, and measurement with a long-term lens. An eye on the future.
Obvious, but necessarily common.
And it takes visionary leadership. Leadership that is curious, informed, courageous, and aspirational about serving purpose and doing what is needed to change things.
Leadership that asks the ‘why’ of purpose and the ‘how’ and ‘what’ in effecting change, rather just than delving in to the function of doing things.
So, what does your organisations do? Do things or change things?
And if you are seeking to move from doing things to changing things, what things do you need to change to get there?
