Achieving results

Nonprofits have grown in influence in recent years, but much of the leadership lies with long-term, retirement age directors. Strengthening current leaders and developing the next generation of leadership is a serious concern and has garnered national attention with groups such as the Casey Foundation.

Based on the Challenge-Centric, Performance-Driven Transformation ProgramsSM of Doug K. Smith and Charles Baum, Winter Resources created the Future Leaders Initiative (FLI) for Neighborhood Partnerships. The program focused on developing tomorrow's Community Development leaders in Oregon.

The outcome

The Future Leaders Initiative was highly successful with new leaders poised to assume guardianship of the Community Development Industry.

Along with training and peer support groups, Performance Driven Leadership Development involves:

  • Participants choose a "Performance Challenge" that puts their learning into practice.
  • The Performance Challenge directs participants to apply their efforts to specific goals, significantly strengthening their organization, industry, and themselves.
  • Participants receive one-on-one coaching around their "challenge" and skill development. Examples of Performance Challenges:

The challenge:

To improve the cash flow from our housing portfolio by 25% by fiscal year end, while continuing to provide high-quality housing at fiscally-sound properties.

The results:

  1. The cash flow at six key rental properties jumped 197%.
  2. A thorough overhaul was performed on our asset management tracking system, making it more effective.
  3. Major capital repairs were undertaken at six rental properties.

The challenge:

By FYE, have an "in-house" funding stream yield that achieves a 7% profit margin and results in a 1.5 debt coverage ratio or $22,500 positive cash flow.

The results:

  1. End of 1st Quarter:
    13% Profit Margin
  2. End of 1st Quarter:
    2.07 debt coverage ration
  3. End of 1st Quarter:
    $14,322 positive cash flow

Focus on performance

With traditional leadership training, participants come from around the country to attend seminars, hear inspirational speakers, and meet peers. They then head home to face their full in-box, phone calls and urgent deadlines. The leadership training quickly becomes a distant memory. In contrast, our model turns learning into practice immediately. Leadership development starts the moment our clients get back to the office. By focusing on performance as an outcome and supporting our clients' achievement of relevant real life results, the organization is strengthened and new leaders emerge in the process.

The key components of our leadership development model are:

  • A Performance Challenge with clear measurable results
  • Peer Support Groups
  • One-on-one coaching over the course of the program
  • Structured assignments
  • Group sessions with leadership curriculum designed to meet participants' specific needs
  • Time frame customized for the level of leadership - commonly between six to eighteen months

Return on investment

The outcomes of the Performance Challenge, as shown in the examples above, often exceed the cost of participation. Few other leadership curriculums produce the real-life personal and professional outcomes this model delivers! Contact us and learn how we develop a strong core of leaders for you today, because... results matter!

The best way to develop leaders is not to teach leadership and hope for the best,
but rather to ask people to lead the accomplishment of real performance results
with real people in their stakeholder worlds, against one of the top 2-3 performance challenges they face.

— Charles Baum and Doug K. Smith