012. NGO change management tips from a pro. A conversation with Barney Tallack

NGO change management is challenging - to say the least. A conversation with Barney Tallack to help you learn from a pro

Bio Barney Tallack

• Principal Consultant, Averthur Consulting
• Former Director of Strategy, Oxfam International
• Former Director for Change Management, Oxfam Int.
• Multiple other leadership roles in Oxfam (spanning a career of 25 years within that organization)
• Board member of Forest Peoples, Fairtrade Foundation and several other nonprofit boards

Quotes:

“The field of change management is huge and has no boundaries”

And on the financial implications of the pandemic for the global North-founded NGO sector: 

“Our own pre-existing conditions have exacerbated the financial implications of COVID-10 for the sector”

In this chock-full episode, we discuss:

• How to use a ‘political frame’ in change management, and harness the power of ‘positive resisters’ and informal leaders (i.e. people who have lots of power within an organization, though not posititional power)

• How the use of such a political frame is appropriate as long as we are very self-aware of how our identity as NGO staff is rather tightly wrapped up with our jobs

• What does a people-centric approach to NGO change management entail?

We also discuss Barney’s recent paper on the financial implications of the COVID-pandemic for NGOs and the suddenly even more critical need for drastic change:

• The “cognitive dissonance” of NGO staff in view of funding levels that had started to plateau and then decline well before the pandemic

• How senior NGO leaders and their boards should act now to drive big change rapidly

LinkedIn profile Barney Tallack

You can also reach Barney at: barneytallack[at]gmail.com

Read his recent paper on ‘Existential Challenges in the Funding Landscape for Northern NGOs’ here.

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