Mar 10, 2025
Posted Under: Federal Impacts
In the vein of never missing an opportunity to make your organization stronger, these steps will put you and your team back into a space of control while thinking strategically about your next move. Even if you never have to take out these tools and use them, having done the work will place your organization on solid ground. Take the time to “go slow, to go fast.” Your mission is worth it!
- Focus on compliance! There was never a more important time than now to have your internal house in order. Check your compliance list twice when it comes to funding and personnel compliance with the law and the rules of each granting agency. Since the pandemic, we have seen a national and statewide shortage of auditors, so make extra time to bring in the professionals.
- Ask yourself (and the team) “to what end?” as you are navigating your next steps. This question should help you slow down, think strategically, and get your team on board with the right next step. Too often, when we feel in crisis, the temptation is to do something immediate, even if it does not help the bigger situation. Asking “to what end” offers the opportunity to imagine the result of your actions to ensure you are moving in the right direction for your mission.
- Write down your financial scenario plan to include your best- mid- and worst-case scenarios from thriving to shutting down with grace. Hopefully, you don’t have to ever use this document but knowing it and having it keeps you and your team calm in a storm.
- Document your staffing scenario plan – from status quo to furloughs, layoffs, and terminations with respect and lots of communication. Considering this well in advance of using it (hopefully, you never will) provides space to think about some of the hardest decisions you will make as a leader. Be sure to tie this plan to the finance plan so that you know what kind of financial landing you can offer, if needed.
- Consider your crisis communication plan Generally, the following points should be your guide in any communication plan. Don’t forget to start by defining clear and specific audiences before you determine the exact message, the exact strategies for delivery, and the right messenger(s) to carry it out.
- Facts are shocking enough – stick to them – be honest.
- Focus on the impact on the economy and people’s lives as a result of the loss of your work – not just the work itself.
- Generally, share a story with every statistic and a feeling for every fact. Help people feel the consequences of this decision.
- Place blame in the right spot if that is what you are planning to do, or don’t do it at all.
- Focus on what you are doing, not just what you are not doing – in other words, don’t accidentally undermine all your other work by focusing on the negative. Show strategic thinking and collective decision-making.
- People want to be part of a solution. Give them an action step if you can. Even if it is to make a call or send a letter.
- Stay abundant – this is all bigger than just your organization, so don’t make it just about you. Recognize others who are doing good work and the ecosystem that you operate within.
- Determine your leverage in public policy Who has the most influence on the outcome you seek? What information do you need to provide? Who is your most effective messenger? How often and in which way will you communicate?
- If your conversation is about the efficiency of funding, make sure you have “done your math” to tell policymakers about how their investment saves government money at every level.
- Don’t lose hope. You have the power to determine what happens next, given the situations in front of you. Stay in a place with your team where you are making the best decisions given the best information you have with the time that you have. Don’t forget to find some joy in the work and with each other.
- In each of these action steps, remember to communicate early and often to your internal team. No surprises should be your goal when it comes to the board and staff. Get a rhythm of communication that your team can expect and stick to it unless there is an urgent reason to shift course. This helps everyone pay more attention to what they need to know and when they need to know it.
We are in this together, so stay connected. Reach out even if you don’t know what you need or don’t have the words. We are here to help. Give us a call.
