A while ago, I shared some of my friend Jody’s thoughts on volunteering from his book, How To Start A Cult. It’s a bit outside the usual charity support resource!
I often get asked for resources to help people with the running of their charity and there are lots of very practical resources around.
But if you want to truly transform how your charity operates to be more effective, more efficient and get back to focusing on what matter rather than get bogged down in admin and paperwork, you need outside-the-charity-box-thinking.
Here are 6 resources to transform how you think as a small charity:
Start With Why by Simon Sinek
Charities are CLEARLY better at understanding their purpose and telling people about it than businesses…aren’t they? Uh, no. Not always. And definitely not when it comes to recruiting volunteers or trustees. Simon gives a clear way to tell people about your purpose and meaningfully connect.
The 5 Dysfunctions Of A Team by Patrick Lencioni
Most trustee Boards I encounter have spent very little time together and have never thought about how to be a great team. Meetings can feel like decisions are never made with discussions going round and round. Patrick gives a clear thought-provoking guide to imperfect human behaviour and how to build an effective team.
How To Start A Cult by Jody Raynsford
I’m not necessarily saying you should try to build a cult (you can if you like), but Jody’s book has a message about building communities that anyone who manages or recruits volunteers can put into practice. Make people want to join you. Make them want to stay.
Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed
We know failure isn’t the end of the world, we know it helps us learn. But we don’t really spend much time with our failures, and we really don’t like to fail, and we definitely don’t think it’s necessary. Matthew posits the theory that failure is one of our greatest assets and we ignore it at our peril.
Drive by Daniel Pink
Most people believe that the best way to motivate is with rewards like money or the carrot-and-stick approach. Do we really still believe that? How does volunteering fit into that model? Daniel presents the idea, backed up by evidence, that humans have intrinsic motivations that are nothing to do with tangible rewards.
Reinventing Organisations by Frederic Laloux
The way we run our organisations and manage our people often feels bureaucratic, political, and soulless. Frederic notes that the hierarchical pyramid feels outdated, but what other structure could replace it? How about decision-making? If you’ve thought that there must be another way to do things, then this book is a very interesting read!
Have you read any of these books? What would you add?
