Are You Willing to Look in the Mirror?
Checking in admittedly late on the Ford Foundation’s hiring of a new CEO, the always-entertaining Nonprofiteer gives it the thumbs-up because, while Luis A. Ubiñas comes not from the world of philanthropy but the private sector, that sector is consulting:
… [T]he Nonprofiteer has high hopes for any term of leadership apt to begin like a consultancy, with the [you should pardon the expression] foundational questions: What are we trying to do, and for whom? Is that the appropriate goal? What’s in the way of our achieving it?
At their/our best, management consultants are exceptionally willing to ask what might sound like stupid questions, and exceptionally unlikely to be captives of received wisdom. Meanwhile, the foundation community is exceptionally susceptible to the fear of looking foolish and to the thrall of the-way-we’ve-always-done-it.
Not having worked for foundations, I’ll leave it to others to debate whether foundations are more likely to fear change. I will say, though, that all organizations can benefit from clear-eyed looks in the mirror, which makes Ford’s hiring of Ubiñas a positive sign. | 501(c)
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POSTED IN: Foundations, Leadership
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