Is your organizational health up to snuff?

In today’s Lunchtime Links, find out which queries you should pose to employees to spark a change in work ethic and strive for success.

Keep an edge on the competition: It might sound too philosophical and oh so clichéd, but pondering your existence can actually be critical to your nonprofit’s future. Think about it: Why have you committed yourself to this position? What does your organization truly stand for? Does your staff’s behavior reflect the organization’s mission? Is success within your team’s grasp? Inc.com contributor Kristine Kern, principal consultant with the Table Group, refers to Patrick Lencioni’s concept of organizational health, or “a virtually untapped competitive advantage,” as key to unlocking an organization’s potential. “The premise behind organizational health is this: While all of your competitors are obsessing over the smart stuff (metrics, functional areas, and more metrics), you can win by focusing on the healthy stuff (getting the most out of your team, reducing politics and confusion, and boosting productivity and morale),” she writes. “Your organization’s health can act as a multiplier of its smarts.”

Back on your feet: Take control of overwhelming piles of work on a snowballing project by turning that mountain into a molehill. Delcor suggests on its blog focusing on the most crucial task and working your way down the slippery slope of problem-solving, step by step. After identifying the issues at hand, assessing the damage, and categorizing each issue based on severity, commit to implementing a fix. “Do not take on any new development until the system is stable,” Delcor advises. “This is the most important step of all! No need to add to your workload and complicate matters further.”

The only constant is change: Although many millennials express their embarrassment and dismay when their parents display less-than-savvy social media skills, it’s even more humiliating for organizations to look out of step. Rather than relying on a self-focused social networking approach, freshen up on Facebook, read up on Reddit, tap into Twitter, and get into Google+ simultaneously. Know Your Own Bone writer Colleen Dilenschneider advises nonprofits to adapt to their audiences’ social media preferences by creating a more detailed strategy. “If your organization is paralyzed by the concept of shifting demographics and the evolving uses of specific social media networks,” she writes, “then it may indicate that your organization’s social media strategy is too focused on tactics and not sufficiently thoughtful of overarching marketing goals and strategies.”

How does your organization best serve members’ social media preferences? Share in the comments below.

(iStock/Thinkstock)