Defining what an organizational coach is, it is someone that aims at fostering positive, systemic, transformation within organizations. It is used to help organizations strategic objectives, enhance leadership capability and create culture change. While your main team focuses on your goals you will have an additional team member that recognizes additional seeds, someone who can mobilize the team, and someone who can bring outside perspective and insight.
What can a coach do for the social impact you are issuing?
First of all, creating a strategic plan and getting it implemented. I know we all come from a good place starting a nonprofit to help your community and to solve issues. But not everyone is actually equipped in creating a strategic plan and more often these ideas we have for the solutions don’t get implemented because you are too caught up in looking for funding, running the organization, helping others, etc. that you gets stirred away from creating and implementing a strategic plan that will essentially help smoothen your organization’s operation and help it grow.
A coach can also help your organization have better leadership and management. Board members are mostly volunteers, we answer the call for service and come from different backgrounds and have different abilities. A coach will work with the leaders to develop the current board, set clear expectations and hold board members accountable. Helping the executive director and key board members to assess the board, develop a plan to improve board performance and strength.
Lastly, a coach gives support on the most pressing leadership challenges. There are plenty of challenges you will face as a leader and you will need someone to support you so that you don’t falter in serving others. From handling overwhelm in the face of multiple priorities and challenges to building one’s power base in the community to improve the organization’s visibility and funding base a coach is someone who can offer you deeper insight and direction in handling different challenges.
Having an additional team member, an outside perspective is key in stirring your organization’s action to an enhanced social impact.