Strategies For Cross-Departmental Change Collaboration

I'm often told by nonprofit leaders: It's hard to break down silos. But why is this? You've done everything right. You've encouraged collaboration. But each team / department / program still works relatively independently. 10 tips that actually work to break down silos. 🔹TIP 1: Use strategic planning as a starting point. Develop a highly collaborative process where many voices will be heard. 🔹TIP 2: Don't assume each department has its own goal. Instead see which goals naturally emerge in the process - they usually span multiple depts. 🔹TIP 3: Truly be open to hearing new ways of doing things. 🔹TIP 4: Identify points of confusion. Make sure everyone has clarity around how the work will be done. 🔹TIP 5: Look for integration at every step. E.g., if your org really cares about trees, don't have 1 goal for trees. Instead, support care for trees in every goal, in some small way. 🔹TIP 6: When you track progress towards each goal, develop a system for gathering metrics from different teams towards that goal. 🔹TIP 7: When assigning roles, consider assigning accountability for strategies, initiatives or actions to multiple teams. 🔹TIP 8: Many orgs do great at breaking down silos during planning but then stop during implementation. To keep momentum going, keep linking back to your shared purpose & values. 🔹TIP 9: Reward and incentivize collaboration. In performance reviews, give credit for helping teammates. In meetings, publicly congratulate collaborators - not just project leads. 🔹TIP 10: Continue to foster a culture of respect & mutual support. Perhaps this is why many fail at breaking down silos. Because if you even skip one of these steps, it's harder to fully build collaborative orgs. What about you? What have you seen work well to break down silos? ***************************************

Fundraisers vs. Program Staff: The Great Divide? It's a tale as old as nonprofits themselves. Fundraisers and program staff, separated by a chasm of misunderstanding, each thinking the other doesn't 'get it.' But what if I told you this divide isn't just unnecessary—it's actively harmful to our missions? Here's a controversial take: The most successful nonprofits don't have a divide between fundraising and programs. They have a seamless integration. Why? Because donors don't fund organizations. They fund impact. And who knows your impact better than your program staff? So, how do we bridge this gap? Here are some unconventional strategies I've seen work: 1. Flip the Script: Have program staff make donor thank you calls. It's not about asking—it's about sharing impact firsthand. 2. Fundraiser Field Trips: Get your development team out of the office and into the field regularly. Nothing beats firsthand experience. 3. Storytelling Workshops: Train program staff in the art of storytelling. They have the best stories—help them tell them effectively. 4. Shared Goals: Align bonus structures or KPIs across departments. When everyone wins together, silos break down. 5. Job Swaps: Have fundraisers and program staff shadow each other for a day. Walking in someone else's shoes builds empathy and understanding. Remember, at the end of the day, we're all working towards the same goal. By breaking down these artificial barriers, we can create a culture of philanthropy that permeates every aspect of our organizations. Now, I'm curious: Have you successfully bridged the gap between fundraising and programs? Or do you have a horror story of when the divide went wrong? Tag a colleague from another department you work well with, and share your experience in the comments. Let's learn from both the successes and the cautionary tales!

The Game Plan for Success: A Team Effort To truly hit a home run, we need collaboration between various departments. 📊 Track Language Shifts 🟩 Coaches: Listen for and record "change talk" during sessions, noting key phrases that signal a shift in mindset. 🟪 Data/Analytics Team: Set up systems to track and categorize change talk, providing tools for easier analysis. 🟧 L&D/Coach Managers: Train coaches to identify and document change talk consistently. 🟦 IT/Software Team: Customize systems to capture change talk automatically. 📊 Evaluate Program Behavioral Changes 🟩 Coaches: Track client behaviors manually like app usage, activity logs, and content completion. 🟫 Product Team: Enhance tools to track this engagement. ⬛ Client Support Team: Support client tech troubleshooting. 🟨 Operations Leaders: Work with coaches to set behavior goals and track trends in engagement. 📊 Comprehensive Progress Tracking 🟩 Coaches: Manually update client profiles, noting progress on behavioral changes and language shifts. 🟪 Data/Analytics Team: Identify trends and provide insights into which behaviors and language shifts predict success. 🟦 IT/Software Team: Develop systems to centralize client tracking in an accessible dashboard. 🟧 Operations/Coach Managers: Standardize progress tracking templates, ensuring consistency. ⚠️ Recognize that this phase may require reduced caseloads due to the manual data collection ⚠️ 📊 Redefining Success ™️ Company-wide: Shift the focus from immediate clinical outcomes to long-term behavioral changes and progress of change talk. 🟨 Leadership: Redefine success metrics, moving from clinical outcomes to broader behavioral indicators. 🟫 Product Team: Develop systems to track long-term health outcomes. 🟪 Data/Analytics Team: Provide tools to correlate behavioral changes with long-term health results. 🟧 L&D/Coach Managers: Integrate new success metrics into coach training and onboarding. 📊 Scaling Caseloads ⬛ Leadership: Understand that manual work may temporarily slow down caseload (scaling) progress but will enable automation in the long run. 🟨 Operations Leadership: Develop a systematic approach to caseload prioritization, integrating stages of change. 🟧 Coach Managers: Watch for burnout, have a pulse on your coaches 🟫 Product Team: Enhance tools to help coaches identify clients who need urgent attention and track progress in real time. 📊 Improving QA Efficiency 🟧 Coach Managers: Manually review a sample of coaching sessions to evaluate effectiveness, consistency, and areas for improvement, create standardized evaluation criteria and provide feedback. 🟨 Coach Leadership: Help streamline the QA review process, collecting feedback for continuous improvement. 🏅 The goal is to create a cohesive, scalable system that drives consistent success and growth, while also optimizing ROI.