Strategies for Managers Working within Founder's Syndrome Organizations (Emerging Topics Paper Series #7)

This paper analyzes causes and effects of founder's syndrome in social purpose organizations. It outlines scenarios for organizational stakeholders to make a "diagnosis." and provides middle managers with simple, effective tools to remove organizational blockages to a long-term mission and sustainability. The paper lists four major founder's syndrome trends:

• Lack of strategy;
• Lack of open dialogue;
• Under-management/micro-management;
• Loss of staff motivation.

The paper finds some ways to address founder's syndrome.

• Managers and staff considering taking action should start with a few simple resources and efforts:
  • Capture knowledge: record everything;
  • Create a micro-culture;
  • Build an informal advisory team;
  • Empathize with the founder;
  • Leverage successes.
• Funders:
  • Should seek out signs of founder's syndrome, and can add real value by encouraging change in these organizations through a venture philanthropy-style approach.
  • Can require middle-management input on major initiatives or projects, earmark funding for staff-wide leadership training and communication workshops, and highlight the contributions of staff and volunteers through their own press efforts.
  • Can intervene with the founder and/or board to suggest improvements to organizational culture and structure.

The paper concludes with the following:

• Middle managers need to find ways to stay motivated, and to feel they can have a real and lasting impact on the long-term strength of the organization;
• Middle managers need to use constructive methods for building organizational culture that is robust to the departure of the founder;
• Inspite of board and founder participation in the change process, managers can still have lasting positive effects on the organization.