Beyond Control: Rethinking Change Management in Nonprofits —Scaling, Restructuring, and the Human Side of Change
A Buddhist monk, a leftist guerrilla warrior and a technology executive walk into a bar called Changes. “Ah the nature of change,” the monk says, “the world is always in flux, permanence is an illusion and attachment to permanence is the cause of suffering.” The leftist guerrilla replies, “But Mao said there must be a great leap forward.” The tech executive says, “Fast Company says change is happening faster than ever and we must always be the next big thing.” The bartender shrugs her shoulders and asks how each of them is planning to pay for their beers. “Everyone with ATM money again?” she says, “Go somewhere else to make your change.”
Sorry for the poor attempt at humor.
Can you manage change? Or are you operating with an illusion of control?
People talk about change management and say it is what they need. But can you really manage change? I believe you can be intentional about moving toward change. Yet saying you are managing change gives an illusion of control that I do not believe is real in dynamic human systems. Organizations are human systems and are describes as “intelligent, creative, adaptive, self-organizing, [and] meaning-seeking” as Meg Wheatley described. While you can force change on people, I do not believe you can force people to change.
I will explore how I do believe change works in human systems as well as two common instances of change initiatives that nonprofits often engage in – program scaling, and organizational reorganization.
A spark
There typically is a spark that initiates the change. This could come from outside the nonprofit organization – a crisis, a major shift in the market, a new mandate or regulation. Or it could come from inside the organization in the form of a vision championed by either formal leaders or through a bottom-up effort of informal leaders.
Focusing the effort
When done well, the organization will take advantage of the spark by being intentional in focusing the change effort. Is the organization ready to change and makes the best of the challenge or opportunity? How will leaders choose to invest the time, energy and resources into envisioning and implementing change? What new structures need to be created to support the desired change going forward?
Meaningful dialogue
Creating organizational change intentionally means taking time to thoughtfully design and engage in meaningful dialogue. Does the past need to be mourned before a new beginning can be imagined? Is the environment psychologically safe enough for people to share their ideas as part of the endeavor? If not, what will increase those conditions of safety?
Systems of support
Once the change is implemented –whether it is new goals and aspirations envisioned in a strategic plan or implementing a new technology system or building a new program – ensuring you have systems in place to support the new change and allow it to take hold is key. Identifying, harnessing and sharing stories of success can be a powerful way to help the change stick.
Change in action: to scale or not to scale
Among the many types of change an organization may need to confront, one common challenge is deciding whether — and how — to scale a successful program to reach more people. Nonprofit organizations are frequently under pressure to engage in is scaling up their programs. When your program is having a positive impact on the people it is designed for, why would you not want to reach more people?
Assumptions
There are some big assumptions built into this model. The first is that growth is always good. Our capitalist society glorifies growth, scalability and replicability are assumed to be a natural goal. The economy is only considered healthy when it is growing. A successful career is seen as one moving up in responsibility and scope. A website wants to grow its readership. A podcast wants more listeners. Yet should this always be the goal? Are there alternatives to growing larger in scale? What about going deeper?
Are nonprofits like machines?
The idea that you can scale and replicate a program assumes that nonprofits and their programs are like machines. It assumes that the program is essentially like a widget. You should be able to document the basic elements of a program, train new people to deliver it, create it in a new location and the logic follows that you will then get the same outcomes in the new environment.
Can you franchise a nonprofit program?
Many nonprofits follow this model -- Habitat for Humanity, the YMCA, City Year. It borrows from the for-profit sector concept of a franchise. Yet can a nonprofit really be franchised? Can you standardize the program and deliver equivalent outcomes in the new arena?
Nonprofits as Human Systems
Nonprofit programs are not machines. They are inherently human systems. They are built with people with certain skills, talents and abilities to deliver a program. Delivering that program happens in a particular social context. The original participants bring a specific set of circumstances, attitudes and abilities.
Unique performances
Each of these elements all interact to create a unique mix. They have more in common with the uniqueness of snowflakes than widgets or hamburgers. Another analogy is a theatrical play - each performance is unique even though the script and the players are the same. Similar yet unique.
Transformation
Usually, the goal of social impact program is some type of transformation. To transform people's lives in some way -- Such as building young leaders or increasing educational attainment or creating self-sufficient homeowners of low-income families. Transformation has little to do with creating new exact copies of the original (widgets, hamburger, t-shirts).
Unique context
When you consider growth and scaling, be sure to consider the human elements of the program and the particular social context you are working in. Consider the original program a model yet let go of the ideal you can just hit copy and paste when you are building a new program that involves people?
In this case, the spark may come from the outside – pressure from funders to scale – or from inside – building on the ambitions of those leading programs and the organization. Should the organization decide to scale, what supports will need to put in place for success? What are must haves for program integrity and what is flexible based on local circumstances?
Another critical decision point: reorganizations at nonprofit organizations
Just as scaling is one type of organizational change that requires careful consideration, another major change leaders must navigate is the decision to reorganize the structure of the organization itself. Is their organization is designed properly for what they are trying to do? Unfortunately, too often in nonprofits and associations, restructuring and reorganizations happen for the wrong reasons.
Reorganizing entire teams to solve one personnel problem
I have witnessed organizations that regularly restructured departments and reporting lines rather than dealing directly with problematic staff. A staff person was either ‘reorganized’ out of a job or their supervisory responsibility was taken away. Decisions about these changes were all done at the top of the organization. It appears there was little thought given to how these changes would impact the work of those involved. One day people had one boss and a set of colleagues, the next day a different boss and new colleagues.
Ripple effects
The ripple effect of these changes lingers for weeks if not months. Energy is caught up in discussing the changes. Critiquing them, trying to discern the reasons behind them. For each new staff team, individual staff member now must adjust to a new boss, a new set of colleagues. Teams will have to spend time creating new team norms – whether explicitly or implicitly. Staffers must learn the new boss’ expectations and communications style.
Murky churn
More than just a ripple it is as if the water has been churned up in a pond or a river and you cannot see in front of you. While this churn is going on, actual work of the organization slows. The necessary gets done but any team that was in high gear and really performing before the reorganization is likely disrupted. Teams are knocked back to square one and must rebuild.
Down with Silos
Another reason organizations restructure is to promote “collaboration” or to be more customer centered. “We are breaking down the silos,” says management. Break them up, the thinking goes, and then people will work across team boundaries more easily. This may work for a short while people get used to the new structure. Yet if other aspects of the organization’s culture do not support cross-team collaboration, it will not last long. Over time the boundaries around the newly formed staff groups will get reestablished and the silos will rebuild.
Cross-cutting mechanisms for collaboration
The key to promoting collaboration is not organizational structure. It does not matter whether staff is organized by functional area, or geography or customer segment. Rather what matters to building collaboration is what regular cross-cutting mechanisms exist. Are there regular cross-cutting projects, task forces, committees that bring people together? These could be ongoing or for a specific project. Regardless of the topic, they serve to bring people together in different groupings. In these, people will build relationships and share information.
Short term task forces & retreats
Creating these cross-cutting groups – especially a series of short-term projects that provide the opportunity for more people to be involved – will do much more than yet another reorganization for promoting organizational collaboration. Regular retreats can also help cultivate cross-cutting relationships.
Consider restructuring with caution. Ask why you doing this and will it achieve what you are aiming for? Consider the ripple effects.
Take imperfect action to move your nonprofit mission forward
Oftentimes, change is a matter of incremental changes rather than a large formal change initiative program. Taking imperfect action can help free the group from overwhelm or being stuck in analysis paralysis. ‘Take imperfect action’ can free the group from worrying too much about whether they are working on the “right” thing. Remember there are lots of possibilities and many of them are likely to be “right.” Our groups are made up of flawed human who cannot know what the future holds, all grand plans aside.
Celebrating small wins
In a world that only wants you to ‘play big or go home’ focusing on the small - small steps and small wins can be freeing. ‘Bird by bird’ as Annie Lamott says. Trusting that these small imperfect steps will add up to progress.
Complexity of change
Change in the nonprofit world is complex, unpredictable, and deeply human. While we may not be able to fully “manage” it, we can create the conditions for it to take root and flourish. Whether scaling a program or restructuring an organization, thoughtful intention, clarity of purpose, and a deep respect for the people involved are essential. Change doesn’t happen in a vacuum—it unfolds through relationships, dialogue, and collective action. By embracing imperfection, focusing on learning, and celebrating progress in all its forms, nonprofit leaders can navigate change not with an illusion of control, but with courage, humility, and care.