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Leadership and vision
One of the most striking things about agencies delivering excellent services is that there are one or two key people within the organisation with a clear vision and set of values for the service, who communicate these well, and inspire and motivate those around them. All agencies, large and small, have an organisational culture which influences staff and clients – cultures with high expectations of, and belief in, service users and staff are agencies which are better able to innovate and deliver real outcomes for clients. It’s about believing in what you do, knowing where you want to go and communicating that message.
What does success look like?
Chief Executives who lead
An organisation with great vision is led by an inspiring and motivating chief executive or director who provides leadership and clearly communicates the direction of the service. It is a place where everyone believes that change is possible for homeless people, and staff feel supported and confident. Staff satisfaction is measured regularly and honestly and is high. There is an organisational attitude towards learning from what works and what doesn’t, and new ideas are welcomed and encouraged. Relationships with other agencies are actively sought and developed where these will have a positive benefit. Organisational values are clearly articulated and staff are signed up to them. Everyone in the organisation has an input into the strategic plan. Poor performance is challenged in a constructive way. All service managers can talk confidently and from a sound knowledge base about the work of the organisation overall, and staff promote the organisation because they genuinely believe in the work they do.
In developing the Creating Change strategy it became clear that there are some exceptionally inspiring chief executives in the homeless sector, in agencies both large and small. The right chief executive is the fundamental difference between agencies delivering services and agencies changing lives. The best chief executives are:
- Passionate about homelessness
- Strategic as well as having a focus on individuals
- Politically canny
- Externally well connected
- Open to new ideas
- Convincing verbal communicators
- Highly confident
- Lead by example
- Able to “manage by walking about” – being approachable to staff
Senior management team
Successful SMTs are also vital in providing leadership and vision within an organisation. They need to retain a strategic focus and work effectively with the middle management tier (in larger organisations). This group should drive the processes of the organisation and inspire and motivate service managers.
Board involvement
The leadership of an organisation needs to be supported and challenged by a strong Board, that is not over-involved in operational decision-making. The Board should be reviewed regularly through skills and strategic competency audits, and should represent the community in which it works. Good boards take a clear strategic overview, focus on core financial stability and drive the organisation. Governance reviews were not identified as an area where agencies need further development – however a number of consultees felt that poor Boards were the Achilles heel of the homelessness sector.
Organisations with values
An agency needs organisational values which are clearly articulated. Thames Reach developed this set of organisational values:
1. Homelessness
We believe that homelessness and its effects are a great injustice and that anyone can become homeless. From our experience we know that the route out of homelessness can be long and painful. We are committed to never giving up on people, no matter how complex, chaotic or challenging they may be.
2. Service users
We are passionate in our belief that people can make real and lasting changes in their lives.We have the highest aspirations and respect for our service users and will never be indifferent to their individual needs.
3. Staff
Thames Reach's staff are characterised by their compassion, integrity, professionalism and commitment.Unstinting support will be given to staff making decisions in the best interest of service users, trusting in their ability to work autonomously and providing protection from undue risk.
4. Integrity of the whole
The success of Thames Reach depends on the integrity of the whole body. We believe passionately in achieving trust and mutual respect between the different parts of the organisation to achieve this objective.
5. Partnership
We believe our aims can only be achieved by working in partnership with others: we know we do not have all the solutions. We will generously give time, resources and expertise to others if the ultimate outcome gets us closer to our goal of ending street homelessness.
6. Free from dogma
Thames Reach will be renowned for its open-mindedness, creativity, flexibility and refusal to allow a rigid approach to reduce its effectiveness or inhibit its actions.
7. Our messages
Our strength lies in knowing what is happening 'on the ground' and we will use this knowledge to make an impact at the very highest level, especially by giving our service users the chance to speak directly to those with influence and power. We will always 'tell it as it is', presenting information and offering views with integrity and honesty, even when the message may be unpopular.
These values are everywhere you look when you visit their head office, and are prominent on the vacancies page of their website. The clear communication of these values sends a message out to staff, clients and stakeholders about what the organisation stands for. The development of organisational values is most effectively done with staff. The board must also be involved and own the outcome. There is a range of techniques for achieving this.
Planning for success
A strong business plan is the basis for a sound organisation. The strategic direction of the organisation should be broken down into core outcomes to show how the main aim of the organisation is being met. These should be achieved through concrete plans for activities, which are specific, measureable, achievable, resourced and timebound. The business planning process and budgeting process should be undertaken in tandem. There are a number of books available on strong business planning techniques. Small organisations will also find the outcomes triangle helpful in focusing activity towards the strategic aim of the organisation and a great basic business planning tool.
What factors can inhibit an agency from having great leadership and vision – and translating this into great services?
- A Chief Executive or Chair who does not show strategic leadership or vision
- Under involvement of the Board in monitoring key indicators and identifying areas of risk and how to mitigate this
- Poor skills mix on the Board
- Over involvement of the Board in operational decision making
- Lack of clarity of organisational values
- Ineffective internal communication
- Poor business planning processes
- Low staff satisfaction and motivation
- Failure to invest in staff at all levels of the organisation
- High staff turnover
What an agency can do:
- Be open to challenge and change at all levels in the organisation
- Have recruitment and retention policies and procedures which invest in measuring the right criteria and competencies and give the right information to the panel deciding on a new Chief Executive
- Undertake regular skills audits of the Board, induct and offer Board members training where appropriate, at the right level
- Seek feedback on performance
- Undertake governance reviews every five years
- Develop organisational values with staff and Board
- Consider communication within the organisation – how do staff know about the vision, values and purpose of the organisation? How did they input into these?
- Strengthen strategic and business planning
- Measure staff satisfaction regularly and assess through the results how this can be improved
- Invest in staff and identify and develop potential leaders within the organisation
What Homeless Link can offer now:
- Outcomes training for staff
Potential future Homeless Link projects:
- Change intervention consultancy around best practice in service delivery
- Merger, partnership or consortia: Best Practice briefing
- Best practice in recruitment and retention of staff for homelessness agencies
- Best practice briefings on organisational values for homelessness agencies
- Best practice briefings on business planning and strategic organisational thinking
- Masterclasses for CEOs
- SMT away day facilitation
- Guidelines / support for creating vision, reviewing strategies
- Assistance with developing high performing Boards
What partner organisations offer:
OSW's (Off the Streets and into Work) capacity building function includes activities such as:
- raising the skills and knowledge levels of staff through provision of a training and development programme
- running projects to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and the building of relationships between diverse organisations
- opening up new ways of working in order to increase the progression possibilities for clients
- making expertise and research available to inform the positive development of working practices and future service delivery
SITRA offer specialist training
CIH offer specialist training
NCVO offer infrastructure support to voluntary sector organisations, training and resources for Boards, trustees, Chairs and Chief executives.
ACEVO offer a wide range of specialist services to senior staff in the voluntary sector
Broadway, supported by the London Housing Foundation, offer the ‘Beyond a Helpline’ project which provides human resources support to small homelessness organisations
Cranfield Trust can provide volunteer MBA consultants to help work on reviewing strategy or creating more visionary cultures.