Flying Whale Strategies is a laboratory studying and launching organizations that are ready to solve impossible problems. The least we can do is define the characteristics of organizations with this capacity.
Introducing:
The Flying Whale Organizational Maturity Matrix.
This is a tool that tracks progress in our laboratory. Here we are progressively moving toward becoming an organization capable of solving impossible problems.
Status Quo
Level 2
FINDING YOUR STRIDE
Level 1
GETTING BY
Level 3
HOLDING YOUR GROUND
Level 4
SETTING THE PACE
Level 5
REDEFINING THE FIELD
Flying Whales
Culture
The adopted behaviors that define the quality of an organization’s work.
Leadership
The way in which those with positional power interact with everyone else.
Programming
The product or services delivered in order to meet the organization’s mission.
Development
The activity that generates revenue.
Operations
The mechanisms that make programming possible.
LEVEL 1
Our culture is ambiguous--the loudest person sets the culture. An incoherent culture leads to low-quality work, with constant stops and starts driven by internal friction. Staff struggle with prioritization, lack of autonomy, and conversations that erode trust.
LEVEL 2
We are not sure how to build our culture beyond a set of values that we have defined, but we are making strides in prioritization and division of labor. Our culture is friendly and respectful, but not yet accelerating our growth or innovation.
LEVEL 3
Our culture is beginning to become recognizable in that we are consistently behaving in a way that makes things work. We have moved beyond simply focusing on values and teambuilding and are experimenting with norms that increase clarity, autonomy, and pursuit of mastery.
LEVEL 4
We are attractive because of the unique features of our culture. Our culture is accelerating our ability to do great work because we are not afraid to make bold rules for ourselves. We are known for emulating the kind of world we envision at the micro level.
LEVEL 5
We become our best selves as a result of being a part of this organization. We have stripped ourselves of behaviors that hinder us from being best in the world at what we do. We have adopted norms that only accelerate our growth, as unusual as they might be. Our culture is a laboratory at the micro level of the impact we want to create at the macro level.
LEVEL 1
We have one dominant leader who reinforces hierarchy. They are anxious, reactive, and unclear about priorities. The board lacks clarity and focus.
LEVEL 2
Our leader is working hard to be good, but that just means they still are drawing too much attention to themselves. The board is more or less engaged.
LEVEL 3
Our leadership is in transition from top down to more power sharing, but the transition leaves room for ambiguity.
LEVEL 4
Our leadership structure is effective and beginning to build the capacity to make something significant.
LEVEL 5
We have multiple leaders who are highly effective because they are willing to make hard decisions to support clarity. Our leadership is sought after to teach others how to replicate what they're doing.
LEVEL 1
We have developed a mission statement, but no clear path forward or clarity of impact metrics. We are well-intentioned and eager to get started.
LEVEL 2
The program model has been built based on existing models.There is little capacity for program design that uses backwards planning because the resources have been set up to meet demand. We have loosely defined impact goals which are based on outputs rather than outcomes.
LEVEL 3
We have reached proof of concept through several iterations of pilot experiments. We are learning from others in the field and achieving intended output goals. We are testing some innovative new methodologies. We have not yet considered new approaches to age-old problems.
LEVEL 4
We have built a well-regarded program model which has been the subject of site visits and presentations. We have clearly defined the unique problem we are designed to solve and understand that the solution requires a new approach. We are meeting aspirational outcome goals. We are not yet able to "sell" the model to wider adaptors.
LEVEL 5
We are special operators who have honed our ability to definitively solve a complex problem through innovative program design. The model has reached its "end game" which means it's being implemented by outside agencies.
LEVEL 1
Fundraising activity is a scramble to respond to opportunities that present themselves.
LEVEL 2
Fundraising activity is more strategic, but the quality of work suffers from the volume of activity perceived to be important.
LEVEL 3
Fundraising strategy is clear and standard operating procedures have been developed. Not yet producing consistent revenue.
LEVEL 4
Fundraising strategy is executed by seasoned professionals and producing scalable revenue.
LEVEL 5
Fundraising strategy is designed to steward a refined list of big-bet donors who are attracted to the organization.
LEVEL 1
We have rudimentary systems with no standard operating procedures. This causes inefficiencies, but we have determined operations to be less of a priority than programming or fundraising.
LEVEL 2
Standard operating procedures are becoming clearer. Systems to support standard operating systems are beginning to emerge. We see them as a necessary evil.
LEVEL 3
The complexity of our operations is both solving problems that have made work difficult, but also causing new ones.
LEVEL 4
Our operations are allowing us to scale, but there are times when we struggle with how it impacts our culture.
LEVEL 5
We have highly complex human-centered operations. We cannot tell that we are working inside a big machine.