Decisions That Impact Those Who Matter Most

One of the things I love about Ideba and our team is a unified commitment to giving back. Everyone has their own way of giving back on their own, but whenever we are together as a group, the desire to help others is unmatched.

As we plan our next quarterly business review, where we will all be together in person (for the first time in a year), we wanted to make sure that part of our time together is spent doing something for others. It surprised me that trying to find an organization that wanted the help of 11 committed individuals wasn’t an easy task. Once we had the organization lined up and details about our visit, we started planning in small groups to make sure every minute of our time was useful and beneficial to those we were helping. We then received an email from the organizer stating that we needed to cancel our plans, as there was a leadership change in the organization. That brought me great pause. How does a non-profit organization that clearly needs the help make a decision to turn away a group that is prepared to transform something for those in need? Seemed like a very a selfish choice, and I can only imagine how that makes the people who are working in the environment day in, and day out feel. I’m sure they were looking forward to the support.  

I started thinking about how leadership changes in organizations can have such an impact on those that matter most, the employees. It’s important as a leader to keep the culture at the heart of what you do, focusing on people first. People leave bad bosses. And that comes from the very top.

So, the next time you make a significant leadership change in your organization, keep your people in mind first. Let those who are doing good continue to do so, or you might end up having to hire an entirely new staff as a result. Oh, and don’t turn away free help. It’s hard to come by!

Jenna Whelan – VP, Consulting and Research Services