In my last post, I argued that for continuous quality improvement work in nonprofits to be meaningful and make significant impacts on an organization, it must be:
- Intrinsically motivated
- Guided by our own definitions of quality
- Directed toward goals and driven to change
- Integrated, not siloed
- Applied and iterated
In this post, I want to share some real-world examples of the impact such work can have on organizations, gleaned from my interviews earlier this year with seven quality improvement professionals working in nonprofits here in St. Louis. Each of these individuals took their work beyond compliance, going above and beyond what their organizations asked for or even envisioned. As a result, they were able to make invaluable contributions to their organizations.
What Success Looks Like
Creating Cultures of Learning & Improvement
The individuals tasked with this work were intrinsically motivated by visions of more effective, efficient, and strategic organizations. To fulfill that vision, it wasn’t enough to implement tools and processes. They had to seed and nurture culture change by modeling and encouraging curiosity, honest reflection, and an appreciation for opportunities for improvement.
As a result of these efforts, one professional described how his colleagues grew to value reflective practice and excellence, to ask for professional development, and to depoliticize their management of people and processes to focus on learning instead.
Connecting the Dots
Oftentimes, individuals tasked with Quality Improvement work are situated in the middle of their organizations – both horizontally and vertically. They intersect with every department in some way, so they are better able than anyone to see the overlaps and disconnects. Many of the folks I interviewed felt their greatest contribution was connecting the dots between departments and programs, helping them understand and speak each other’s languages, and increasing cohesion and teamwork across the organization. One colleague described this as creating and strengthening the “connective tissue” within the organization. Another colleague said, emphatically, “The only way we’re going to get better is by working together,” and she dedicated time and energy to learning the organization in ways no one else did or could.
Trading Individual Heroics for Sustainable Processes
Too often, nonprofits rely on what I call the “individual heroics” of a few highly dedicated, high performing staff to keep the organization moving forward. Also, many nonprofits, especially those led by founders, are personality driven. The strategy, the culture, and the general “way we do things” are driven by the personality and preferences of one or a few key leaders.
The challenge with this way of working is that it leads to burnout among the high performers, and it results in a lot of instability when key people leave or retire.
One colleague described the increased sense of ownership, investment, and teamwork he saw in his organization when they shifted their focus from individual efforts to organizational systems.
When organizations shift from being personality-driven to being process-driven, they create stability, sustainability, and a culture of cooperation and shared responsibility that makes success systematic. For more on this, check out this post.
Turning on the Lights
Though it sometimes made them unpopular, the CQI professionals I spoke with noted that they were often the ones to “turn on the lights” for the first time. Using their curiosity, observations, and data, they were able to say, often for the first time with any certainty, what was going on in their organizations. They could identify what was and was not working. As frightening as this might be, it ultimately empowered organizational leaders to make informed decisions based on reality rather than intuition or assumptions.
Keeping Success Front and Center
Another valuable contribution these professionals made was keeping a vision of success front and center, top of mind for all staff. After clearly defining quality and its indicators, and using data to measure, monitor, and provide feedback, these folks could keep conversations in meetings, performance reviews, and agency communications focused clearly and primarily on success. Rather than describing rules, activities, efforts, and hopes – they could describe results and keep everyone’s eyes on the prize.
Increasing Impact
And the greatest contribution CQI work can make to an organization, often the culmination of those described above, is an increased impact on those the organization serves. Each CQI professional I spoke with described the ways in which their CQI work enabled and empowered them to be more focused, effective, and impactful in their organization’s programming. By defining and monitoring success, creating a reflective culture focused on improvement, increasing cooperation and communication among departments, they were able to turn down the noise, focus on success, and deliver more of what matters to the community.
Conclusion
These are only a few examples of the ways organizations have been transformed by meaningful CQI work. If you’re going to dedicate the time, staff, and energy to CQI practices – why not go beyond compliance and create some lasting impact on your organization and those you serve?
Coming Up
On May 17th, 2018, I’ll be teaching a professional development workshop at UMSL on Quality Improvement for nonprofits. If you’re interested, click here.