Seminar VII Lessons Learned: Avoiding 10 Common Mistakes ...€¦ · Advertising costs ... The...
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Jason McNeal, Ph.D. Partner April 27, 2017 Authentic Engagement: Re-Discovering Advancement Meaning and Results Question 1 Do We Have An Engagement Problem?
Transcript of Seminar VII Lessons Learned: Avoiding 10 Common Mistakes ...€¦ · Advertising costs ... The...
Jason McNeal, Ph.D. Partner
April 27, 2017
Authentic Engagement: Re-Discovering
Advancement Meaning and Results
Question 1
Do We Have An Engagement Problem?
Strategic Planning
Strengths
Opportunities
Aspirations
Results
Gift Officer Turnover
Advancement Professionals - Turnover
“revolving door” jobs
“hardest to fill and retain” (Bell
and Cornelius, 2013)
Advancement Professionals - Turnover
“the average tenure of gift officers is 18 – 24 months nationally. . .” (CASE)
“More than ½ of all CDOs were serving less than 2 years in current role” (The NonProfit Times)
Advancement Professionals - Turnover
“1/2 planned to leave within 2 years”
40% may leave the professional altogether! (Bell and Cornelius, 2013)
Advancement Professionals - Turnover
“Epidemic” (Iarrobino, 2006)
Advancement Professionals - Turnover Costs
$3.67 million per staff member who left during
a higher education campaign (Advancement Weekly)
Advancement Professionals - Turnover Costs
Advertising costs
Search costs and fees
Professional development costs
Onboarding costs
Cultural costs
Your time
Is Turnover Truly An Engagement Problem?
Reasons for Leaving
Don’t like my boss
No potential for growth
Better opportunity (more pay) (Harvard Business Review)
Reasons for Leaving Advancement
Poor leadership – unrealistic expectations
No potential for growth
Lack of support (CASE)
Unrealistic Expectations
Goals should be crafted together
Goals should be based on shared values
Performance metrics ≠ the work
“Aspirations are not a contract”
Top 5 Reasons Employees Stay
1. Pride in the organization
2. Meaningful work
3. Compatible supervisor
4. Team affiliation
5. Fair compensation
Harvard Business Review’s Answer Exchange, 2014
Why Advancement Professionals Stay
1. Importance of institution and mission
2. “. . .included as a respected participant in discussions and decision-making. . .” (Cygnus Applied Research)
Why?
How?
What?
Source: Simon Sinek
The Golden Circle
How Leaders Can Keep The Best
1. Engage Others
2. Encourage The Best In Others
3. Inspire Action
Fewer Donors Are Giving
20
SOURCE: Giving USA Foundation | GIVING USA 2016
2015 contributions: $373.25 billion by source (in billions of dollars – all figures are rounded)
Alumni Giving Participation
U.S. Giving Participation
U.S. Giving Participation
U.S. Giving Participation
U.S. Religious Membership
-6
Alumni Giving Participation
-4.3
Are Decreasing Donor Numbers Truly An
Engagement Problem?
What Advancement Says
1. Better alumni/database tracking
2. More family foundations and DAFs
3. “the turbulence of the alumni experience on campuses in the 1960s and a lessened respect for authority might have a role to play in the decreasing alumni participation rates.” (“Next Generation of Alumni Giving,” Giving USA)
What Advancement Should Do
1. Engage – students before they leave campus
2. Communicate – with alumni about your institution
3. Invest – in alumni activities (“Next Generation of Alumni Giving,” Giving USA)
Average Donor Retention
Fundraising Effectiveness Project 2015, Association of Fundraising Professionals
Why Did Donors Stop Giving
0 20 40 60 80
Inaccurate Records
Program Completed
No Longer Involved
New Leadership
Household Circumstances
Decided to Support Others
Too Frequent/Inappropriate…
% who stopped giving
Source-Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2010 Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy
What Advancement Should Do
“. . . ensure further engagement with your
organization.” (Fundraising Effectiveness Project 2015,
Association of Fundraising Professionals)
Giving Is Flat
35
SOURCE: Giving USA Foundation | GIVING USA 2016
Total giving, 19752015 (in billions of dollars)
Giving as Percent of GDP
37
SOURCE: Giving USA Foundation | GIVING USA 2016
Individual giving as a percentage of disposable personal income, 19752015 (in current dollars)
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SOURCE: Giving USA Foundation | GIVING USA 2016
Individual giving as a percentage of disposable personal income, 19752015 (in current dollars)
Giving Is Flat
“. . . stubborn 2%”
Giving Is Flat
Is 2% Giving Truly An Engagement Problem?
Alternative Explanations?
1. We have more professional development
2. We have more accountability
3. We have more 501 (c) 3 organizations
44
SOURCE: Giving USA Foundation | GIVING USA 2016
The number of 501(c)(3) organizations, 20052015
Alternative Explanations 1. We have more professional development
2. We have more accountability
3. We have more 501 (c) 3 organizations
4. We have more people asking for money
5. We have more and easier ways to ask for money
And yet 2% giving stubbornly stays
Engaging Donors
“. . .capture the philanthropic imagination of the American people.”
“. . .appeal to American’s highest values and aspirations, not their guilt.”
- Adam Meyerson, president Philanthropy Roundtable
Question 2
Can We Engage Better?
The Need for Engagement
Advancement is more than simply an “art and a science.” Great art can be created alone. The momentous “ah-ha” moment
of scientific discovery can be achieved individually.
Advancement, though, is only productive when others are embraced and engaged.
It is, by definition, a social process.
A First Step
The World We Live In
Mobile phones omnipresent
Texting/messaging = normalcy
Standing meetings are undervalued
Phone and face-to-face are “disruptive.”
No More Calls Please
Messaging Repercussions?
Mobile phones discourage human connection
Sending the “perfect” message is more important than face-to-face interaction
Device engagement discourages empathy
Alone with thoughts is diminished = lack of self-reflection (Reclaiming Conversation)
The Art of Authentic Inquiry
Authentic Inquiry is the gentle art of relationship-building by asking questions
based on your genuine interest in the other person and to which you do not
already know the answer.
3 Reasons You Should Practice Authentic Inquiry
1. You will gain information that will lead to better decisions and outcomes.
2. You will build stronger, deeper, and more trusting relationships.
3. People will think of you more positively.
What Does Authentic Inquiry Look Like?
We are fully attentive to the other person
We ask questions that are not leading, diagnostic, nor confrontational
We empathically listen
How Can We Best Practice Authentic Inquiry?
1. Become more curious of others
2. Understand it’s not about you and it’s not even about them
3. Ask for advice more (and solicit less)
Becoming Curious: The Balance Between Relationships and Tasks
Relationships Tasks
People To-Do Lists
Effectiveness
What’s It Really About?
Organization’s Needs
Donor’s Interests and
Values Gifts Relationship
Ask for Advice More, Gifts Less
“Seek first to understand, then to be understood” – Habit 5, Stephen Covey
If you want money, ask for __________;
If you want advice, ask for __________.
How To Ask for Advice 1. Advisory Councils
2. Focus Groups
3. Individual Conversations
Asking To Build Trust
People don’t give to institutions, they give through institutions
People give through institutions by giving to people they trust
The Art of Authentic Inquiry
The concept of “Story-Listening”
Donor Stories 1. Where/from whom did you learn to be generous? 2. What do you think of our organization/program? 3. What has been the source of your success? 4. Why did you first give to our organization? 5. What about giving do you enjoy the most? 6. Why do you suppose others give to us? 7. What change/outcome/impact would you like to see
result from your giving? 8. How does your giving reflect your values? 9. If you had a family or personal mission/slogan, what
would it be? 10. How do you spend your time outside of work?
Team Member Stories
1. What about your job makes you want jump out of bed? 2. What about your job makes you want to hit the snooze button? 3. What are you passionate about? 4. What’s your dream job? 5. If you changed your role completely, what would you miss the most? 6. If you won the lottery and didn’t have to work, what would you miss? 7. What did you love in your last position that you’re not doing now? 8. What makes for a great day at work? 9. If you had a magic wand, what would be the one thing you would
change about your work, your role and your responsibilities? 10. What do you think about on your way to work? 11. What’s bothering you most about your job? 12. What professional development opportunities are you most interested
in?
Listening To People
Watering Tomatoes
A Story of Listening
Question 3
Will We Engage Better?
1. We Must Begin by Understanding the
Value of our Work Differently
Benefits of Giving
“Mother Teresa effect”
- David McClelland and Carol Hirshnet
Benefits of Giving
“Helper's High”
(reduces stress, chronic pain, and even insomnia)
Benefits of Giving
-Reduction of negative emotions which damage the
body
Benefits of Giving
“One thing you get from caring is that you are not lonely. And the more connected you are to life, the healthier you are.”
Dr. James Lynch
Today, if we truly believe that giving is good for the donor. We will dismiss the notion:
That we are taking something from someone
That we are arm twisting
That we are spinning the donor
The we are hitting them up
That we are selling
That we are manipulating
What if we believe. . .
When Giving Becomes Good
2. We Must Focus on Bringing Value To Others, Not Extracting
Value From Them
Vertical Engagement
VP
DOD DOD DOD
Asst.
Horizontal Engagement
VP
Dev. Comm. Dev.
Services Alumni
Relations
Asst.
3. We Must Commit Ourselves to Enhancing a
Counter-Culture Movement
An Engagement Culture Task Accomplishment > Relationship Building Competition > Cooperation Individualism > Teamwork Knowledge > Caring Taking > Giving Problem Solving > Question Posing Teacher > Student Telling > Listening Broad > Deep Screen Time > Face Time Happiness > Meaning
Leadership Across All Levels
What engagement values will you affirm and incentivize?
1. Teamwork
2. Collaboration
3. Relationships
4. Meaning
5. Collegiality
A Cultural Challenge
A Culture of Authentic Engagement Introduces donors to students
Invites professors on donor visits
Asks donors for their feedback
Develops goals based on shared values
Asks teammates how we can be better
A Final Thought
“Everybody's on the phone; So connected and all alone;
From the pizza boy to the socialite; We all salute the satellites.”
Jimmy Buffett
“Everybody’s on the Phone”
