Accountability and the Not-for-Profit

How do you hold people accountable when you’re not paying them to work, when your workers are volunteers giving of their own free time and resources? Are accountability issues different for the non-profit sector who rely on volunteer workers—charities, public arts, cultural foundations, schools, civic clubs, hospitals, associations, and religious groups—or are they the same?

Studies show that people in the profit sector do show up to work for a paycheck, but they rarely fully engage their hearts and minds in that work unless there is something more than money at stake. Research also shows that people who expect a reward for outstanding work often do not perform as well as those who expect nothing for such work. In the end, self-determination and intrinsic motivation are the primary drivers in human behavior.

That’s good news for volunteer organizations, because there are things other than money that motivate people to invest themselves in the job at hand. Happily, most people want to make a contribution or make a difference in the world. In this regard, non-profits usually enjoy a moral edge, since their missions often involve serving, helping, and lifting others.

To effectively hold volunteer workers accountable in a not-for-profit environment, you must enroll them in “the cause,” just as you would in a corporate environment. People take accountability, not because you pay them to do it, but because they want to do it. Enrolling people means answering the “why” questions and addressing them in a way that speaks to your volunteer audience. There are five important “why”questions you need to address as you enroll people in your cause:

• Why is it important?
• Why me (and not someone else)?
• Why now?
• Why do it this way?
• Why would I want to do this?

After that, use the Accountability Sequence—forming, communicating, aligning, and inspecting—to establish and manage expectations. Once expectations are established, people will get on board. When they understand the “rules of engagement,” and when you create accountability for those rules, the people you want to keep will sign-up and follow through. To learn more about the Accountability Sequence and holding people accountable the positive, principled way go to www.partnersinleadership.com.