· To continue to meet the needs of their customers, organizations must evolve through a particular life-cycle change.
· This change is from typically entrepreneurial, seat-of-the-pants growth to well-planned and managed development.
· However, this development cannot occur without first establishing a stable administrative infrastructure.
· Developing this infrastructure often requires a change in the nature of the founder's leadership from that of a highly reactive, individualistic style to a more proactive, consensus-oriented style.
· Many founders cannot make this transition. As a result, the organization remains managed, not in a manner that provides reliable services to customers, but according to the personality of the founder.
· Often, the organization experiences the same problems over and over again. For example, plans are not implemented. Money keeps running out. Board and staff members quickly come and go. The organization struggles from one crisis to another. No one really seems to know what's going on. People become afraid of the founder.
· Founders Syndrome is no one's fault -- no founder sets out to damage their organization. Besides, the syndrome rarely takes hold without numerous members of the Board and staff exhibiting symptoms of the syndrome.
· Eventually, stakeholders confront the founder about the organization's recurring problems (if the organization is a nonprofit, funders often will confront the chief executive or board). Often, the founder becomes increasingly anxious and defensive, and soon resorts to blaming Board members and staff (nonprofits also blame funders). Without ongoing coaching and support, it's likely that the founder will be replaced, or even worse, the organization will fold.
· There are actions that founders and Board members can take to avoid these tragic outcomes.
Start simple, but start.
Read the rest of this article about Founder's Syndrome and the Non-Profit Organizational Life Cycle
