Consulting
The situation facing this organization is that it has experienced a lack of leadership and a lack of strategic direction. The problem is not just with the Executive Director. The ED has avoided taking direction from the Board for around ten years, but the Board has not yet fired the ED. So this is a huge problem with leadership at all levels of the organization. Clearly, there is also no strategic direction with the organization. Its programs are deteriorating, and losing donors as well. The entire organization is in slow decline. One has to imagine this affects the morale of all involved as well. It is worth considering that this is a long-term problem, and if leadership does not change -- and after ten years why would they? -- the likelihood of meaningful change is slim to none. This report will outline some of the strategic options, but we have to be blunt -- it starts with an overhauled Board and a new Executive Director.
Four different decision-making tools will be used. The first will be a pro/con analysis that will evaluate some of the strategic options. The next will be a Pareto analysis, then the Six Thinking Hats analysis and the 5 Whys, before a conclusion is drawn.
Pro/Con
Pro & Con Argument: The organization needs a new board, a new ED, and needs to evaluate each of its programs for relevance, effectiveness and efficiency. A new strategy and vision needs to be developed from the top.
Pro
This approach solves the problems of stagnation and lack of direction (5)
The approach will revitalize the workforce and the donors (4)
This approach leverages the established brand within the community, for future good works (4)
The organization has nothing to gain from the current course of action, so while there will be some resistance that will challenge the organization to overcome.
Pareto
The key to Pareto logic is the 80/20 rule, which states that 80% of problems are caused by 20% of causes. This is not rocket science and it was already identified right off the top that the problems lie with the ED and the Board. Also, in a one-paragraph case no other possible causes of problems were presented. So we will run with replacing the leadership of the organization.
Six Thinking Hats
There are six hats, each with a different color. These hats represent a different way of thinking. The white hat represents data -- I assume the consultant will have access to the data but none was presented in the case. The red hat represents intuition or gut reaction. That's where it is a leadership problem -- when the problems are throughout the organization then leadership is where the problems lie. The black hat is the pessimistic view. In this case, the proposed plan of action is likely to run into roadblocks because it involves challenging and replacing the existing leadership structure. The consultant answers to nobody and has no formal authority -- some buy in from the Board is required if this…
