{"id":542,"date":"2020-06-01T20:54:42","date_gmt":"2020-06-01T20:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/divi.ameravant.com\/nonprofitkinect\/?p=542"},"modified":"2022-12-14T21:02:44","modified_gmt":"2022-12-14T21:02:44","slug":"three-steps-for-creating-your-nonprofits-new-normal-during-covids-relentless-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nonprofitkinect.org\/three-steps-for-creating-your-nonprofits-new-normal-during-covids-relentless-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Steps for Creating your Nonprofit\u2019s New Normal during COVID\u2019s Relentless Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As we see signs of our community reopening and some COVID restrictions being relaxed, our natural tendency may be to hurry back to our pre-lockdown life. Yet, this virus has changed<\/h4>\n

\"Three everything. Our organization\u2019s sustainability will depend on our ability and willingness to change our mental model. To look at our world differently. To re-evaluate every aspect of our mission, our operations, and our delivery systems. This momentous shift calls for us to intentionally create the most effective new normal for our organization.<\/h4>\n

Many\u00a0<\/span>nonprofits<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>have successfully pivoted their approach in ways they had never envisioned just a month ago. The pandemic has forced several nonprofits to explore and implement virtual options whenever possible. Sometimes the result has been excitingly successful\u2014like discovering a new land of opportunity. Other times the virtual options have just been frustrating. In either case, though, we have learned something about ourselves, our organization, and our community.<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s time to take the reins and direct our course for the future. This is a rare opportunity for renewal and transformation. You may be called to relinquish something significant and follow life\u2019s invitation towards new energy and a fresh purpose. These three steps will help your organization bring a sense of order out of the chaos and set you on a new path for success.<\/p>\n

>>Let\u2019s begin at the end.<\/h3>\n

William Bridges<\/a><\/span>, in his classic\u00a0<\/span>Transitions<\/em>, advises us to examine our ending long before we start a new beginning. Bridges elaborates, \u201cEvery transition begins with an ending. We have to let go of the old thing before we can pick up the new\u2014not just outwardly, but inwardly, where we keep our connections to the people and places that act as definitions of who we are.\u201d This is true for organizations as well as individuals.<\/p>\n

T.S. Eliot<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>echoes this idea in his poem, Little Gidding. \u00a0\u201cWhat we call the beginning is often the end and to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.\u201d<\/p>\n

A little over two months ago, our world was turned upside down. Many nonprofits already had plenty of challenges with just meeting the demands of their clients with their sparse funding. Little did we know a tsunami of change was about to crash on top of us, profoundly altering our way of life.<\/p>\n

We can begin at the end by acknowledging that things are not the way they were and they never will be again. Take some time to examine how the ending impacted your organization. What did you and your team learn from that experience? Evaluate your response to the change. Were you resilient? Did your board and staff immediately begin doing your work differently? Or were you too stunned to know where to start?<\/p>\n

Beginning at the end may require that we reinvent ourselves. Leaders, both board and staff, have been focused on figuring out new ways to keep their organizations running to provide basic services to their clients. We\u2019ve been getting used to video conferences, Zoom calls, and working from home with barking dogs and busy children. As we emerge from the initial shock of all the changes we\u2019ve experienced, we are beginning to ask, \u201cOk, how are we going to do this for months on end?\u201d<\/p>\n

>>It\u2019s time to reimagine our future.<\/h3>\n

Bridges would say we are now in the \u201cneutral zone.\u201d It\u2019s a time when the old ways are gone but the new ways have not yet emerged. Bridges explains that this phase is \u201cthe very core of the transition process. It is the time when repatterning takes place: old and maladaptive habits are replaced with new ones that are better adapted to the world in which the organization now finds itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The neutral zone can be compared to winter when roots begin to prepare themselves for spring\u2019s renewal. It is like our nighttime sleep when we disengage from yesterday\u2019s concerns and prepare for tomorrow.<\/p>\n

I have heard it called \u201cthe doldrums.\u201d When sailors are waiting for the wind to return and fill their sails, they say they are in the doldrums. When they find themselves in this situation, they get busy cleaning up the deck, organizing their tools, and getting ready for the next burst of wind. They prepare for their ensuing future rather than lament the current lack of movement.<\/p>\n

Like sailors, let\u2019s use this time to imagine possibilities. It\u2019s time to ask \u201cwhat if\u201d questions rather than to make a to-do list. You can start by meeting with staff and board members (virtually for now) to ask questions like: Who are we? What is our shared purpose? Which services are essential and which are not? Ask each person to describe your organization\u2019s culture and assess any changes needed. It\u2019s a time to challenge assumptions and find your blind spots. You can explore multiple scenarios and see where they might lead.<\/p>\n

I recently subscribed to a thought-provoking blog by the\u00a0<\/span>Eblin Group<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>where they suggest asking the following questions:<\/p>\n