Resilient Futures: Four Keys to Effective Leadership Through Crisis
/by Mary Gray and Sonia Taddy-Sandino
As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Adapting and evolving as a leader is always important, but during times of crisis, it is often the crucial ingredient for effectively navigating change and harnessing opportunities to learn, grow, and flourish. We recently had the opportunity to develop a case study that captures the journey of Unity Care, one of the grantees of PropelNext, which is an initiative of the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation implemented by Learning for Action.
“Over the years, we've been a leading agency in addressing disparate treatment of communities of color in the system…oftentimes I get in trouble because I'm not apologetic when it comes to the racism that our communities experience.”
– André Chapman, CEO and founder of Unity Care
For nearly 30 years, Unity Care has successfully provided underserved youth and families with housing and support services in Northern California. In 2019, Unity Care seized an opportunity to participate in a new state-funded pilot program for high-needs foster youth. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned and the rapid expansion stretched the nonprofit’s capacity beyond its limit. It was a painful and publicly spotlighted turning point for Unity Care. The organization had some difficult decisions to make and, after intense work and soul searching, Unity Care doubled down on its core strengths, spinning off its community-based programs to a strategic partner, and focusing on three instead of 23 housing programs. Within a year, they went from an annual operating budget of $20 million to $5 million and a staff of 200 to 50 full-time employees.
“The Black Lives Matter movement really hit us - all of us as an organization – hard. [Yet] it gives us an opportunity to share that the organization is actually very successful in being able to care and nurture and support these youth.”
– Unity Care board member
As the organization was undergoing major internal changes, the COVID-19 pandemic and distressing police violence sent new shock waves, deeply impacting the communities Unity Care serves. André Chapman, the CEO and founder of Unity Care, recalled how, “When we started seeing the impact of COVID on our community, we sprang into action. I saw that the young adults in our housing programs did not understand, nor did they take it seriously, nor did they truly absorb the impact of this virus.” Chapman and his team took matters into their own hands and partnered with the Black Leadership Kitchen Cabinet to develop an initiative called COVID-19 BLACK, a platform for those of African ancestry to shape a narrative of their own experiences and leverage the community’s strengths to rise up against COVID-19. The Black Lives Matter movement and national reckoning with systemic racism also have fueled Unity Care’s determination to continue its laser focus on supporting youth of color in the foster care system.
As we spoke with Chapman, board members, staff, funders, and the PropelNext team, we explored what it takes for leaders to survive and even thrive in times of crisis. Four key attributes of adaptive and resilient leadership rose to the top:
1. Embrace responsibility and learn from mistakes.
“[André, the CEO and founder of Unity Care] didn’t let [ego] get in the way of having a clear-eyed assessment of the gravity of the situation, at the same time as holding on to a sense of purpose and the opportunity to add critical value to transition-age foster youths’ lives.”
– Unity Care’s PropelNext coach
As the news about the issues with the pilot program broke, Chapman and the leadership team immediately took responsibility and recognized the organization was not living up to its promises. They openly acknowledged they did not have adequate resources and capacity to meet the acute clinical needs of the group of youth involved in the new program. “We simply failed,” Chapman said. The leadership’s sense of responsibility, willingness to admit mistakes, and seek solutions ultimately generated deeper confidence in their ability to navigate and emerge from the crisis.
2. Accept support and expert guidance.
In addition to internal stakeholders, Chapman needed to respond to public perceptions and concerns from external partners and funders. He engaged in open and honest dialogue with the organization’s core funders and committed to a written improvement plan. According to board members and the leadership team, the partnership with PropelNext and the way the support was delivered was transformative because it provided very clear direction and held the organization accountable. ”No one ever felt like the people at PropelNext weren’t in the organization’s corner and doing everything they could to make the people within Unity Care successful,” one board member noted.
3. Clarify mission, purpose, and core strengths.
A third key ingredient for courageous and adaptive leadership is the ability of executives and boards to clarify an organization’s mission and to continuously strive to deepen and advance mission-critical goals. Chapman described their painful journey as “a blessing in disguise,” and a board member concurred that the experience propelled the organization “to get back to our roots.” “According to the PropelNext coach, the process “of clarifying, honing, focusing on who you're working with and why, and what you're providing them became a real touchstone, a platform for re-imagining and recreating Unity Care.”
4. Model and inspire a culture of learning.
Unity Care’s leadership team has strived to normalize the conversations about change and create an environment where everyone is inspired to learn and continuously improve. With support from PropelNext coaches, leaders at Unity Care not only sought to build staff capacity to use data to strengthen their effectiveness but, more importantly, to build a safe and brave space for honest discussion about what needs to change. “You're going to make mistakes,” a team leader said. “We want [people] to own that it's okay to make these mistakes. There would be no point in data learning if it's always perfect.” A Learning Culture Survey was used to anonymously gather perspectives from staff. According to the PropelNext coach, “Their quantitative scores were the highest I've ever seen, and we've done this Learning Culture Survey assessment with easily over 100 organizations.“ Building a learning culture is an ongoing journey but, according to one Unity Care senior leader, the process thus far has been transformative and “has really changed the dynamic.” Staff are now coming to the table with both challenges and solutions.
“Navigating a crisis shouldn't be about survival but how we come out on the other side. What's possible now that wasn't possible before and that question applies equally to when you win the lottery or when you are evicted.”
– Unity Care’s PropelNext coach
As one board member explained, this confluence of crises has “only reaffirmed that we as an organization need to be around [and] we need to take this moment and share our voice.”Unity Care’s experience not only elevates insights for other social sector organizations, but for a nation experiencing significant social and economic disruption. Perhaps now more than ever, we need strong and resilient nonprofit organizations like Unity Care who continue to play critical roles supporting local communities as they heal, recover, and thrive. For the full story of Unity Care's transformation and its team’s participation in PropelNext, check out the case study.
