Resources: MI BLOG

MI BLOG

MI BLOG, General

On the 1st July 2000, Australia introduced a Goods and Services Tax. I was a Chartered Accountant working for a small accounting practice that specialised in pharmacies, and our clients were not happy. Some products had GST added, but many medications did not. They were unhappy about another tax, new systems, training staff, complex regulations, extra paperwork and more compliance.

Peter, the partner I worked for was a very astute businessman. Where our clients saw compliance, Peter saw an opportunity and he convinced our clients to view this as an opportunity too. We aligned their compliance with improving their business management practice.  We aligned their monthly and quarterly reporting with evaluating their business performance.  We aligned their compliance obligations with improved business profitability. We delivered more value, they made more profit, and Peter made more in fees than before!

I learnt a lot from Peter, unfortunately not about making money, but about win-win opportunities. Several years later I transitioned from accounting practice to Business Manager of a charity that was struggling under the weight of compliance, with limited budget and staff. They had a church, school and childcare centre and I saw the same opportunity to align our compliance with a list of government bodies, with balancing the budget, with the staff we could afford, the volunteers we could coerce, oh, and fulfilling our charitable purpose.  These days, my role sees me off the calculator, and focusing more on fulfilling our organisation’s purpose, but alignment remains higher than ever on my list of priorities.  To see new missionaries that we are sending overseas aligned with our mission and vision. New mission partners aligned with our safeguarding policies and procedures. The list of stakeholders has grown; board, staff, church partners, beneficiaries, and the list of compliance areas has also grown.

We have continued to challenge ourselves so that whenever we are presented with a compliance activity, we have an opportunity to sharpen our alignment.  Can we align that compliance activity with improving field practices, with an opportunity to evaluate impact, creating better tools and guidance for practitioners, engaging stakeholders on issues of shared concern and clearer reporting on outcomes?  Then every time we undertake one of these compliance activities, we are sharpening our focus and furthering our purpose.

We have a range of projects that involve vulnerable children, so several years back, when we reviewed our child safeguarding policies and practices, we also considered how this enhances and aligns with God’s heart for children. We reconsidered our own motivations in our dealings with vulnerable people.  We saw an opportunity to develop web resources for engaging churches in planning ethical short-term missions trips.  We raised awareness of the potential for harm, and the alternatives when engaging with vulnerable people in overseas communities.  We also profiled with our churches our responses to vulnerable communities, to poverty, to empowerment and shared stories of positive impact and of the good news message being shared.  And, we created some new donor relationships along the way (of course not as many as I would have liked).  Yes, we improved our compliance in this area, but more importantly, we sharpened our focus and furthered our organisation’s purpose.

Now with the ACNC External Conducts Standards (ECS) in effect, we have been presented with this opportunity again.  We have reviewed our organisational practices, we have mapped alignment with our purpose and some key objectives.  We saw an opportunity with our primary stakeholder base, churches, almost all of whom were ACNC registered charities in their own rights.

So we developed tools to align awareness of good practice, remind them of biblical principles, educate them on conducting due diligence of overseas activities, encourage greater appreciation for the role of missions and development agencies, and offer engagement points with our missionaries and project partners.  My encouragement for you is not to look at compliance as a distraction. Missions Interlink members have a significant amount of experience in operating in overseas contexts, in engaging cross-culturally, in caring for the vulnerable and in long-term third party partnerships.

QUESTION: When you look at these external conduct standards for overseas activities, what opportunities

for alignment do you see for your missions organisation? 

Chad has been General Manager of ACCI Missions & Relief for almost 10 years, after having served 2 terms of field service in Vietnam in different roles. Chad is a Chartered Accountant and also a Credentialed Minister with the Australian Christian Churches movement. He fellowships along with his family at Hills Church, Ferntree Gully in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

 

 

6/10/ 2020

 

 

CRISIS TIME

Let’s face it, these are strange times. Crisis time. 

There are different kinds of crises, some more serious than others. Opioid crises. Border crises. Gut-wrenching refugee crises. Unprecedented displacements of tens of millions of people throughout the world. Political powerplays. Military manoeuvres. Wars and rumours of wars. Acts of terrorism. Inevitable stock market shocks. Appalling domestic violence. COVID-19 and lockdowns. 

Then there are the kinds that are, well, of lesser consequence. Midlife crises, bad hair days, long queues at supermarkets, toilet paper issues, concern about how many likes a social media post attracts, to name a few. 

It’s hard to go past COVID just now. Lockdowns and restrictions. We’re told that Melbourne has some of the tightest restrictions of anywhere in the world. We can leave the house for an hour a day, and only if necessary, for one of four approved reasons. One person from each family can shop once per day. Supermarkets and pharmacies are open but almost every other retailer is closed. We can’t travel more than 5km from home, apart from exceptional and approved circumstances. Another 250,000 Melbournians are out of work with the stroke of a pen. And that’s just Melbourne. Think of the rest of the country. Worse, think of the rest of the world. Especially consider places with less help, no social security, inadequate healthcare facilities, and so on. This is a health crisis. A financial crisis. An employment crisis. A global crisis. These times are being called catastrophic. Seems like the whole world is in turmoil. Victoria is in a declared State of Disaster. The police patrol streets and the military knock on doors. In Australia! They say the economic impact will make the 1990 Recession in Australia look like a picnic. 

But the greater crisis is lost peoples, unreached peoples, unengaged peoples, eternal destinies. And serious crises call for serious leadership. 

Knowing and Doing

I have learned the hard way (and continue to learn) that knowledge and action must be held in tension. Knowledge alone is not particularly helpful; it “puffs up” warns Paul (1Corinthains 8:1). So, well-meaning advisors say, “More learning will make you proud; don’t let your head get in the way of your heart; you don’t need to study because you have faith”. On the other hand, the implications of actioning something without the benefit of relevant information can be futile, even dangerous. That’s why James encourages us to put our minds into gear before putting our mouths into motion (1:19-21). It is necessary to have information in order to act appropriately. 

Quite some years ago, I decided – based on limited information – to pursue a course of action which had negative implications for other people. This was not the first time I had done this: making decisions and implementing them is an important function of leadership. I was doing my job. I was well-intentioned, faith-filled, and courageous. And in a hurry. And misinformed. And wrong. I didn’t know what I needed to know before making and following through on my decision. Thankfully, I was able to resolve my mistake, seek forgiveness and reconcile relationships. But I have regretted that mistake ever since. I learned rather painfully that it is far better to pursue outcomes based on the right information!

I am Still Learning

Since then, I have resolved to become a lifelong learner. I continue to make mistakes in my leadership role – like the famous Michelangelo said at age 87, “I am still learning”! But I make the mistake mentioned above less often. My most recent learning experience involved online university study with like-minded leaders from around the world. I found the rigour of study stretching, and the incessant pressure of deadlines helpful. It took me close to three years to complete my MAOL (Master of Arts in Organisational Leadership) while working fulltime in my leadership role at Pioneers. And I am so thankful I took the plunge. 

Interestingly, I had contemplated further study numerous times in my leadership journey but could never quite find the right space in my head or calendar for such a task. Like you, I juggle lots of responsibilities at home and at work, alone and in community, trivial and important, operational and relational. Thankfully, somewhere along the way, through the counsel of wise friends, I realised that putting off my Masters was not helping anyone – not the people who follow me, nor Pioneers, nor the nations, nor me. 

Some Things I have Learned So Far:

• There are lots of things I don’t know. And by committing to ongoing education, I am developing as a servant leader and learning how to lead in times of crisis.
• Knowing and doing are allies. The first without the latter feeds my pride; the latter on its own causes problems that will need to be fixed. Pride and problems are crises themselves.
• I am a better leader this year than I was last year.
• I have a long way to go and want to keep reading, listening, reflecting, dialoguing and sharing.

QUESTION: What is something you need to learn today to lead better tomorrow?

1/09/2020

 

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