By: Nick Corrigan, Senior Project Manager Sydney
Like the majority of white, British males I have an inflated sense of the importance of my position in the world. The English education system and the BBC do this to us – they remind us that our nationality and gender have been disproportionately influential for much of modern history. The contribution of women and other people from other ethnic backgrounds is often hidden, as is the considerable negative impact of the white male.
Because of this I am intrigued by the Australian “cultural cringe”, an inherent fear that what you have to offer does not match up to international standards, even when there is plenty of evidence to the contrary.
I experienced my own cultural cringe when delivering some governance workshops last week. As part of the NDS “Good Governance” regional networks, Matrix on Board are running a series of sessions for Boards and CEOs; the most recent topic was Strategic Planning.
Most Boards and Committees that oversee small and medium sized disability organisations are made up of committed and dedicated volunteers with a direct connection to the disability in question. Most members that attend our sessions are retired and have some history of direct service provision and the presentations are targeted towards this group.
Half the participants in the Western Sydney session were from one Board. This Board was unlike most of the ones we deal with and had been very successful in their goal of recruiting professionals from the private sector. I was facing a management consultant, the CEO of an engineering company, CFO of a chemical manufacturer and two other private sector senior managers.
I was suddenly nervous – what could I have to teach these guys? What were they going to think about my back-to-basics, plain English way of explaining Strategic Planning? Were they going to mock my reinterpretation of classic planning tools for the community sector? Would they dismiss my trying to balance the mission impact and the financial bottom line?
As I have to concede the truth about my position in the world and Australians have to recognise the quality of their cultural contribution, those of us that work in the non-profit sector need to acknowledge that we have a lot to teach the private sector.
Driving home after the session I listened to a podcast from The Economist [LINK] that explored ways that non-profits can be stronger, leaner and more focussed than many for-profit companies. Back home I went through the evaluation forms and saw that the professional Board members had enjoyed the session and learned new information to assist them in their role.
I recognised my cultural cringe, I had made the mistake of assuming that the non-profit world had nothing to give the commercial world. Our purpose at Matrix on Board is to inform, resource and strengthen non-profits. We also have a lot to teach people from the private sector who are involved in it, to show them our way of working and show them with pride.
