Take an Idealist Survey: What Makes a Great Workplace?
“The Building Movement Project and Idealist.org are conducting a survey to identify organizational practices in nonprofits that create a positive workplace, build leadership, and respect the skills and contributions of employees. We’re interested in hearing what allows you to do your best work both in your current job and for your career.”
The link at Idealist.org advises that the survey takes about 20 minutes to complete and promises that results will be widely distributed. Here’s your chance to have your voice heard.
“The Building Movement Project works to strengthen the role of US nonprofit organizations as sites of democratic practice and to advance ways nonprofits can significantly contribute to building movement for progressive social change.” Now that’s a concept!
Most of my readers are probably familiar with idealist.org, though they may not be familiar with the organization behind it: Action Without Borders, which describes its mission in these words:
“Action Without Borders connects people, organizations, and resources to help build a world where all people can live free and dignified lives.
AWB is independent of any government, political ideology, or religious creed. Our work is guided by the common desire of our members and supporters to find practical solutions to social and environmental problems, in a spirit of generosity and mutual respect.”
Do we have any reason to suppose that nonprofit work environments are more, or less, democratic than for-profit work places? In my experience, the CEO’s personality and approach is likely to reverberate throughout the organization (though other executives and supervisors may dominate within their their divisions or departments). But the organization’s mission, no matter how idealistic or progressive, may have no apparent influence on what it’s like to work there. Even when the CEO is committed (on some level) to inclusiveness and collaboration, we may not see those values evidenced in practice.
Many years ago – before I landed in Los Angeles to pursue a career in development and philanthropy – I had a supervisor whose politics was of the Jesse Jackson/Dennis Kucinich persuasion, but whose management philosophy and style was decidedly Royalist/Autocratic. At the time this was an unfathomable anomaly to me (sort of like the marriage of James Carville and Mary Matalin). Since then, not so much.
I’ll be interested in seeing the survey results.
(Photo of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent at Wikimedia Commons.)
