Sunday afternoon reflection
Consider a charity and in our case a Church.
Looking at the dual aspects of leadership and
Charity responsibilities for leadership lets consider the following:
We take without any thought that leadership would
act honourably, for God, in care for the members and adherents,
without considering their own personal taste or preferences.
How would Leadership stack up against the
following based on the previous paragraph?
Hallmark 1: Clear about its purposes and direction
An effective charity is clear about its purposes,
mission and values and uses them to direct all aspects of its work.
Hallmark 2: A strong board
An effective charity is run by a clearly
identifiable board or trustee body that has the right balance of
skills and experience, acts in the best interests of the charity and
its beneficiaries, understands its responsibilities and has systems
in place to exercise them properly.
Hallmark 3: Fit for purpose
The structure, policies and procedures of an
effective charity enable it to achieve its purposes and mission and
deliver its services efficiently.
Hallmark 4: Learning and improving
An effective charity is always seeking to improve
its performance and efficiency, and to learn new and better ways of
delivering its purposes. A charity’s assessment of its performance,
and of the impact and outcomes of its work, will feed into its
planning processes and will influence its future direction.
Hallmark 5: Financially sound and prudent
An effective charity has the financial and other
resources needed to deliver its purposes and mission, and controls
and uses them so as to achieve its potential.
Hallmark 6: Accountable and transparent
An effective charity is accountable to the public
and others with an interest in the charity (stakeholders) in a way
that is transparent and understandable.