AREAS OF STRENGTHS & WEAKNESS The Salvation Army prides itself in continuously offering needs based programs or service to communities that fall below the poverty line. The Salvation Army has a wide array of strengths including: 1) Professional networking; a channel through which ideas, resources and services can be exchanged between Salvation Army and other non-profit organizations 2) Global notoriety; the Salvation Army is a world-wide organization, sustained primarily through government funds and public donations 3) Longevity; a demonstrated history of success. This history of longevity affords them a positive, solid reputation in participating communities (The Salvation Army USA, 2018). Despite the organization’s success, there are noteworthy …show more content…
external weaknesses that must be addressed. 1) Lack of representation; the Salvation Army K&WM is made up of five key programs: Emergency Assistance, Community Center, Homeless Services, Drug & Alcohol Treatment, and the Children's Shelter (The Salvation Army USA, 2018). Yet many of these services are not fully utilized by community members or need based individuals because they do not have any knowledge of them. Leaders from each of the five programs need to work together to cultivate awareness and participants for their programs. 2) Lack of visual leadership; A huge point of weakness is the Salvation Army K&WM is little access to program leaders.
Within each key program there are staff and volunteer members working to support the company’s goals. Staff and volunteers typically do not see the programs leaders, they are a ‘omnipresent’ entity. The point person of the program is not present and staff cannot contact them. This sets a ‘every man for himself’ precedence for program staff and volunteers. Even the most seasoned staff members tend to need program leaders to guide, demonstrate a strong work ethic, and empower each employee to become leaders themselves on the …show more content…
job. 3) Lack of leadership development funding; Many CFO’s and other executives believe funding leadership and professional development activities to be a waste for executives and staff alike. Executive and administrative leaders are not provided any internal leadership activities; these leaders are offered only the standard new employee training to learn the organizations framework (GKCCF, 2017). Specialized training opportunities offered to incoming staff or volunteer participants are typically offered in the ‘new hiring’ stages and become less available as new staff become seasoned employees. In order for the organization to continue to thrive, leaders in the executive and management roles must be able to exercise their leadership skills, assess which leadership styles are productive, and interact with other organizational leaders (Leskiw & Singh, 2007) (GKCCF, 2017). LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM The creation of a leadership development program is needed in order to support program directors, staff and volunteers that work in the ‘front lines’ (i.e., each of the five program directors, employee managers, and volunteer management) of the Salvation Army. These are the leaders that have first-hand interaction with the public and have experienced years of ‘on the job’ training. Throughout our course readings, it has been demonstrated that organizations offering leadership development opportunities have a stronger chance of keeping capable leaders and maintaining the organizations boundaries (e.g., each of the five programs have different directors, departments, rules and methods of leadership, a good leader can recognize the boundaries in each program without crossing them) (Day, Fleenor, Atwater, Sturm & McKee, 2014). The organization could choose to capitalize on these leaders experience and knowledge of the company by creating a new training program focused on leadership skills training. This training program could be offered annually for individuals who are interested in growing as professionals in the Salvation Army. This end of year leader development program will mimic Eileen Azzara (2016) “SMART Goal Examples for Developing Leadership Competencies” article. LEARNING OBJECTIVES In order to propel the proposed leadership development program for Salvation Army front-line leaders (i.e., each of the five program directors, employee managers, and volunteer managers) executive business leaders could allocate funds to bring in leadership experts. Experts will design, instruct and introduce needed leadership goals. Experts should also collect ‘end of program assessments’ in order to gage the program’s success. These are the learning objectives for the program: 1. Introduction to new leadership styles, principals and tools 2. Firm understanding of how to implement action learning in stressful situations 3. Ability to take accountability as a leader if employees are not successful completing their assigned task; succession planning, 4. Leadership culture and development: collaborating with other program leaders to create positive communication between leaders, generate new ideas for funding and higher volunteer rates 5. Solid understanding of the company’s policies, goals, mission statement 6. Learning and sharing techniques of how other leaders can motivate their teams to stay focused and passionate 7. Create training conferences or events for the entry level employees based on their in depth knowledge and face to face communication with new employees INTERVENTION STRATEGIES & ASSESSMENT Intervention One: In order to achieve the learning objectives listed above, there will be five leadership experts assigned to each program. Each program will hold leadership activities in one building; participants will be divided into five separate groups. For the entirety of the development series, experts will take the role as coach, and mentor participants. Selected leadership experts or ‘coaches’ will hold master’s degrees in business management, or organizational leadership. Coaches will have demonstrated success as leadership experts in business ventures and have a deep understanding of how to lead a group of professional leaders. Coaches should be willing to meet before or after each leadership session to gage how the session is going and if anything needs improvement. Leadership development will be a four day conference, with each day meeting two of the learning objectives. Listed below are session days, times, goals and techniques coaches could use. Day One: 4 hours 8:00am -12:00pm LO 1: Introduction to new leadership styles, principals and tools LO 2: Firm understanding of how to implement action learning in stressful situations Suggested techniques: For the first day coaches will focus their efforts into introducing ‘action coaching’ and motivate employees in the organization to stay focused when working on a shared project. Day Two: 4 hours 8:00am-12:00pm LO 3 Ability to take accountability as a leader if employees are not successful completing their assigned task; succession planning, LO 4 Leadership culture and development: collaborating with other program leaders to create positive communication between leaders, generate new ideas for funding and higher volunteer rates Suggested Techniques: Coaches should explain the overall goal of this weekly seminar. Coaches should be mindful that there is a limited amount of time to present and discuss all of the topics at hand. When presenting new learning styles, make sure the technique of the style is achievable and realistic given the circumstances. Exercises can be used at this point, coaches can choose to speak one-on-one with the participants or use team building exercises for discussions. Participants should be encouraged to come up with various ideas for funding opportunities, ways to inspire new volunteers or succession planning. Day Three: 4 hours 8:00am -12:00pm LO 5 Solid understanding of the company’s policies, goals, mission statement LO 6 Learning and sharing techniques of how other leaders can motivate their teams to stay focused and passionate Suggested Techniques: These learning objectives are primarily geared toward the program directors rather than staff management. The program directors are responsible for being fluent in the organizations goals, mission and keeping their management staff passionate. For this technique, program directors and staff managers should be separated into two groups to complete writing and discussion activities. Coaches should first establish the importance of these learning objectives, highlighting the high turnover rates associated with non-profit organizations. Non-profit organizations are known for heavy turnover rates for staff and management teams. Perhaps employees will be open to remaining in their position if they have a well-trained program director or administrative leader to guide them. Leskiw & Sing’s (2007) “Leadership Development and Practices” article notes that employees who believe in, respect, trust and can communicate freely with their leader have a stronger sense of loyalty to the organization itself. This encourages me to advocate for a team-centered approach for learning; each Salvation Army in Kansas and Western Missouri can implement this strategy internally. This will keep all organizational leaders, management, and staff cohesive within itself; while setting the stage for executives, administrators, managers and staff to learn from trial and errors as a unit. Day Four: 4 hours 8:00am -12:00pm LO 7 Create training conferences or events for the entry level employees based on their in depth knowledge and face to face communication with new employees Suggested Techniques: This learning objective can be reached by all team members coming together again, and brainstorming new ideas. Leaders should focus on their extensive knowledge of new hiring, communication discrepancies, and how poor training causes new hires to quit fairly quickly. This being the final day, coaches should invent a physical acitivity (for instance, building a house of cards or putting together a jigsaw puzzle) to see if any natural leaders emerge from the group.
There are opportunities for a ‘natural leader’ to emerge on a daily basis among staff and volunteer managers alike. Eagly and Joannesen-Schmidt (2001) published an article titled “The Leadership Styles of Women and Men” noting the traits of a natural leader. A natural leader is inspiring to themselves and other employees, enables professional growth, and encourages staff rather than dictate what job needs to be done. In the Salvation Army, the mission is to bring aid to those in need with a passion and empathy for others. Program leaders should be aware of their responsibility as the heart and the brain of the organization (Eagly and Jonannesen-Schmidt,
2001). ASSESSMENT Perhaps an evaluation or survey can be created to receive feedback and gage the success of team-centered learning. Surveys allow for team members to share their honest thoughts with co-workers, supervisors, and executives while remaining anonymous. Evaluations are a wonderful tool to see if the learning styles need to be altered or remain intact.
There have been countless books, lectures, and and trainings, and retreats constructed around the idea of cultivating leadership in an individual. However, cultivating individuals’ ability to follow great leadership has received far less attention. Who are these people leading if each person within an organization is being trained to be a leader? The word follower has negative connotations, evoking the images of a weak, uncreative, milquetoast personality. However, Jimmy Collins, in his book, “Creative Followership: In the Shadow of Greatness”, suggests that the ability to be led brings as much creativity, consciousness, and indeed leadership to an organization or team as the leader himself.
Chad Miller, manager of Buffalo Wild Wings in Dubuque, excellently showcases leadership characteristics each time I work with him. Throughout my one and a half years working underneath him, I have witnessed many great exchanges of leadership from Chad to customers, employees, and his other managers. He remains professional, shows his passion for the sports within the restaurant, as well as the food and atmosphere, clearly communicates effectively, and has inspired many people to move up within the company. However, another great example of leadership comes from the Director of Student Life, Diversity, and Leadership of Northeast Iowa Community College, Kara Popp. She exudes professionalism, while maintaining a light atmosphere during the time I work with her. Her communication style clearly shows her passion for the school by consistently instilling excitement and enthusiasm into her audiences. As president underneath of Kara, I have transformed into a proper leader. Although my previous leadership experience, as an 18 year old manager at a McDonald’s restaurant, showed my immaturity throughout my tenure, but beca...
Paul Schmitz was the CEO of an organization called Public Allies from 200 to 2013 wrote about his experiences in leadership in the book Everybody Leads. Within the book, Paul describes in detail Public Allies’ goals, missions and objectives, as well as provides real life examples of leadership from the organization. Like the title suggest, Paul’s own experiences in life, as well as in the organization have provided him the experience necessary to argue that everybody (yes everybody) has leadership potential in them. Paul writes that the process of finding this potential within the individual then placing individuals in community leadership positions is what Public Allies is about.
Heroes and leaders have long had a popular following in literature and in our own imaginations. From Odysseus in ancient Grecian times to May Parker in Spider-man Two, who states, “We need a hero, courageous sacrificing people, setting examples for all of us. I believe there’s a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble” (Raimi, 2004). Organizations need heroes, too. We call them organizational leaders. The study of organizational leadership, then, is really the study of what makes a person a successful hero. Or, what processes, constructs, traits, and dynamics embody the image of a successful leader.
When deciding on which non-profit organization to give resources to, a person must think of a number of questions that need to be answered in which to choose a certain one. The most pertinent of these questions is the one that asks which cause the person cares about the most. The problem, for a majority of the population, is that they just do not know what they truly care about. That is why the United Way is the best option for donations. The United way does not focus on one specific, but instead works for a variety of different causes focused on fixing some of the different problems inside of the United States. The United Way is an organization, which envisions a world where all individuals and families achieve their human potential through education, income stability and healthy lives. It plans to do this by improving lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to advance the common good. The United Way needs money and time in order to achieve some of these goals. This essay will explain why the United Way is the best organization to give ones resources to.
The Salvation Army is a non-profit organization. They receive all of their funding and help from donations and volunteers. They receive the largest contributions during the Thanksgiving and Christmas
As I have developed in my job, school, and as a person, I found that I enjoyed helping others and want to become a leader. This paper will further describe how my experiences and background have shaped the leader I am today.
Most nonprofit volunteer groups can be described as holistic and geared toward supporting those that are disadvantaged. The volunteer seeks to meet a need and/or be a role model. The desire is to give tools to an individual that can make their situation better than it was before. Many nonprofits are religious based entities ran by pastoral leaders. Other nonprofits are mainly community based operations set up to meet a physical or emotional need, provide food, offer shelter, counseling, or utility assistance
Red Cross, Josea’s feed the hungry and UNICE- what do they all have in common? They are all nonprofit organizations. Throughout the world, but especially in the United States nonprofit organizations are very important and a necessity for many cities. It has become one of the main focuses for a growing amount of majors and studies for many people. With more than 8 million employees and more than 80 million volunteers in the United States alone nonprofit are some of the most important job in recent times (Drucker). The importance of many nonprofit organizations could be the difference between many people’s lives and their deaths. The importance of nonprofit organizations is growing throughout the United States day by day. The fact that nonprofits are built solely on helping the people throughout your community and neighboring communities make nonprofits important based on that fact in itself. Nonprofit provide places to sleep when maybe a family has nowhere to go or somewhere to have a hot meal. This could be someone in your family, a close friend or even a distant neighbor but in all people are people and help is help so the reasons for nonprofit being important are ongoing.
Leaders are the individuals who help to create options and opportunities. They help in identifying the choices and solve the problems. They build commitment and coalitions. Leaders do this by inspiring others and working along with them to construct the shared vision of the possibilities and commitments of a better group, organization or community. They engage the followers in such a way that most of the followers become leaders in their own right. The variety of demands of an increasingly complex world very often require that leadership be shared by most of the members of an organization, in appropriate ways for different situations. A leader is the on...
Leaders is an effective tool for summarizing and inspiring leadership, not in that it teaches tough strategies and manipulations, but that when looking at an overview of its content, Bennis and Nanus are essentially teaching human relations and human decency. All in all, this book highlights strategies for us all to be better in our lives and our everyday interactions.
Discovering what motivates this leader to lead is the belief that this she was sent to this earth to help others become autonomous and self-reliant; to help groups overcome their fears, to prepare the way for followers to embark upon their own progressive journey to help lead teams to authentic happiness. Therefore the proposed vision for this project oriented organization will be: “to strive to lead, the best way, every day (Crawford, 2013)!” Brilliant leaders comprehend their personal and professional strengths and seek prospects where their unique profici...
Although there are many outstanding, albeit necessary qualities of a good leader, it is the leader’s beliefs in which greatness is given its first breath, fostered by action, and spread throughout the institution. A great leader believes in encouraging, not destroying; in setting the precedence instead of yielding to prominence ; in collaboration, not division; in giving, not taking; and in having high standards and volunteering to be the first of many to be held to them. A great leader does not take advantage of the people being lead, but instead, creates an advantage for the people by giving them the opportunities to lead. Only when people take ownership of an institution will passion be cultivated, action be taken, and greatness be achieved.
M.D. Arnold once said, “A good leader leads the people from above them. A great leader leads the people from within them.” Reading this quote always reminds me of my decision to go into the Human Resource Management and Development field. It reminds me of what being in a leadership role is all about and how the wrong kind of leadership influence can potentially break or corrupt an organization. Ever since I can remember, I have always been the friend who others felt comfortable enough to speak to about their issues. I have always been the student who tries to find different methods to learn. I have always been the employee who makes sure my peers feel comfortable with the work given to them. I have always been a leader.
The Charity Organization Society was based in the scientific movement of organizations. Workers believed that charity work needed more definition and organization and that charity should be focused more on individual need rather than as a whole population. Focusing on individual need was intended to improve relief operations while making resources more efficient. They also intended to eliminate public outdoor relief. With the promotion of more organization and efficiency the new Charity Organization Societies were born. Trattner states that these new requirements for organization and efficiency spread so “rapidly that within 6 years 25 cities had such organizations and by the turn of the century there were some 138 of them in existence” (Trattner, 1999).