Encouraging staff to be partners rather than helpers

Working as a volunteer has been quite illuminating to say the least. Besides learning how non-profits approach business, the other new field for me has been that of fundraising.

As part of my ‘education’ in the subject of fundraising I am subscribed to a fair number of blogs that share information and words of wisdom on this topic.  A recent article made me think about the difference between asking for help as opposed to asking to work with somebody.

The advice was that it would be better to request to work with a partner on a project rather than to go cap in hand and ask for help. This would change the dynamics of the relationship between donor and receiving organisation the article maintained.

Collaboration of course means that the donor organisation then has some say in how their money or expertise is used. Possibly non-profits are reluctant to allow this kind of ‘interference’. After all they know how things should be done. Or so they think.

It’s easy to take the money donated and spend it on whatever one thinks the highest priority might be. It’s a lot more difficult to take on a partner who wants to get involved in how those funds are spent or how the expertise is utilised.

Not only would one need to be more transparent in how the funds are used but one might also need to be open to new suggestions and advice on how to do things differently. This can be a very uncomfortable process to have to go through.

Before we all look down on non-profits as a breed on their own, let’s have a look at how often we do this in the real world of business. Do we employ staff to help us or to work with us.

How many of the team working in your office are perceived to be helpers? That is they are employed to do as they are told. Often this is where the receptionist, PA or manual labourer fits into the picture. These are the people for whom the fifty page procedure manual has been written.

Is it any different higher up the organisation? At what level does the business allow collaboration amongst all its staff?

It could be possible that the company where all participants are partners rather than helpers will do much better than those where the line is drawn between the ‘real staff’ and the helpers.  With other words management views it’s staff as partners resulting in a healthy business.

Many senior management people tend to only pay lip service to the statement that their staff are their most valuable asset. The organisation, whether for or non-profit, that partners with its staff will win whether that means a more profitable business or a more fun place for all participants to work at.

Working at my organisation, the one statement that I hear almost daily is, ‘this is not how it’s done in Vietnam’! How often do the folk in your company say ‘this is not how it’s done here’? It is a direct block to ensure no interference with the status quo and that no innovative thought is allowed.

Surely this situation would be improved if the distinction was clearly made between helper and partner. A helper bathes the baby, a partner helps with bringing up the baby. Big difference. Which one is of more benefit to the organisation? Surely that’s a no-brainer. But regrettably it’s not viewed quite so clearly by the for profit or non profit world.