We learn to share as toddlers but as we grow older sometimes we forget that lesson. Cooks decline to pass along their “secret recipe” to those who request it. Leaders hold ideas close to their vest and refuse to vet them with their staff. Facilitators hold back their PowerPoints or only share selected materials with participants. It’s as if sharing the information will diminish its value (or the credibility of the sharer) rather than increase it.
Fortunately for nonprofit organizations, not everyone ascribes to the paucity sentiment. A group of thought leaders and practitioners has developed a robust, actionable and highly credible organizational assessment: The Performance Practice – and made it fully available without charge. The assessment may be used by organizational leaders, boards and consultants with the goal of linking mission and performance to deliver societal impact through meaningful and lasting performance results.
Performance Practice consists of seven modules that may be used in any order depending upon the needs of the organization: leadership, management, programs and strategies, financial sustainability, learning culture, internal monitoring and external evaluation. Each module provides principles, proof points (to allow for measurement and tracking), worksheets and questions to stimulate discussion. It truly is a treasure of a resource – and all for free.
If you are in any way affiliated with a nonprofit institution, I encourage you to find ways to incorporate parts of this tool in your self-assessment, organizational assessment or reflection exercises. It’s not something that you can digest all at once, but it is a gift that can best be appreciated by putting it into practice one piece at a time.
Developed by the Leap of Reason Ambassadors Community
Tip: You can download each module individually or download “Use All Modules” to download all seven sets of questions at once. See link here for where to download all proof points at once.
