My executive director read some motivational books and now wants us to have a Can-Do attitude where anything is possible. I would dearly love to say yes to everyone, but our shelter has limited space and people do get turned away. If we did not, existing clients would have an even lower quality of life here, fire safety would be compromised, and we would be working outside our mission since some people who call do not fit our defined client group. I do not want to get labeled as “negative” for being realistic. Help!

As Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” A Can-Do attitude is how almost every nonprofit in existence got started, and is responsible for most of the high quality of life available to us.

So I encourage organizations to dream big. What does our ideal world look like? What do we have to do to work toward that ideal? If we don’t do this, our efforts and resources may be used toward some kind of compromise solution that serves no one well.

That, as you quite rightly point out, is not at all the same as pretending the ideal world exists today. Indeed, in your ideal world, there would likely be no need for shelters at all.

Organizations have to be realistic about their resource levels and set reachable targets toward the ideal within time periods. And ideas worth having are not normally something one person or group can achieve alone. Eliminating the need for shelters would involve the education and justice systems, families, counseling services, cultural groups and many others. It is not a short-term project with an expectation of overnight success.

Encourage your executive director to take her thoughts to the board, and seek to develop a strategic plan for moving the organization and the community toward an ability to do more. The Can-Do attitude can help attract resources and make objectives achievable, but only within organizational priorities.

In the meantime, the ED needs to realize that every organization has to learn to say ‘No’ to doing things outside their mission. You do not specify the type of shelter you work at, but a women’s shelter cannot accept unaccompanied children running from abusive homes or men who are being abused by partners just because they too need a place. But you can improve your shelter’s ability to refer those you cannot help to a place that can take them in. Shelternet.ca was formed to help women’s shelters that are full find others nearby. Community Information Centres (211 in some communities) have a wealth of information about local services. Have staff been trained in how to make effective referrals? Otherwise, they might just brush someone off if they do not fit, and that is not good practice.

The last part of your question is disturbing. When I was an executive director, I appreciated staff who raised issues about whether or not certain changes would work, what new resources or training might be needed, what technology we might need to acquire, and other concerns to make sure my ideas were well thought out. Sometimes the ideas evolved into something better; sometimes the timeline changed; sometimes staff had a much wiser solution. No one should be criticized for being realistic, as long as they offer constructive suggestions and are willing to work toward improvement.

I hope you will do what you can, within the priorities and values any good organization should have, and always strive to make your community more able to help all those in need.

Since 1992, Jane Garthson has dedicated her consulting and training business to creating better futures for our communities and organizations through values-based leadership. She is a respected international voice on governance, strategic thinking and ethics. Jane can be reached at jane@garthsonleadership.ca.

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