Nine internal threats to any organization

Every organization faces threats to its existence and future health. While leaders are often aware of external threats, such as changes in the environment, competition, or technological advances, they often spend less time considering the internal threats within their own organization. Internal threats are often equally or more dangerous than external threats. 

Lack of clarity 
Few threats are more dangerous than a lack of organizational clarity. Diffusion of focus means that different leaders within the organization will choose their own focus leading to multiple agendas and the resulting silos. This is a severe threat because it divides the organization from within. Many well-meaning but disparate agendas cannot substitute for a clearly articulated vision, mission, common guiding principles, and clearly delineated culture. Lack of clarity creates a dangerous diffusion of energy, focus, and strategy. 

Undefined DNA
Every organization has a culture, a DNA. Unfortunately, many have multiple cultures, which means they don't have a single, unified culture. This is not only confusing to staff, but differing cultures will bring with them division and conflict within the organization. Ironically, it is something that we can control and create if we choose to. Culture does not happen by accident. It must be intentionally designed to be meaningful. And it must be emphasized and lived out daily, with leaders setting the tone and the pace. 

Overlooked behaviors
In many business and ministry settings, we overlook behaviors toxic to the organization's health. We don't want to lose the person (despite their behavior), don't want to deal with it (conflict avoidance), or just become used to destructive behaviors to others and the organization, but this corrodes trust, hurts others, and creates cynicism. When we overlook unhealthy behaviors, we allow those behaviors to sabotage the organization, and we send a message that such behaviors are OK. Overlooked behaviors undermine a healthy culture. 

Lack of a leadership bench
This one is hazardous. The test of outstanding leadership is not what happens when we are leading but when we leave because it reveals what we did or did not leave behind. The most important thing we can gift the organization is the next generation of leaders. Not only is it dangerous to ignore the development of future leaders, but it is selfish because someone will inherit what we leave behind.

Inadequate focus on actual results
All organizations are busy with a great deal of activity. The question, though, is not whether we have activity but whether we have results based on our clarity (see above). Most organizations, especially in the not-for-profit space, assume the results are good but need a realistic mechanism to ensure they are. Remember, activity does not equal results. It may just equal activity. Accountability for results must be built into the rhythm of every staff member and team.

Poor staff development
Every organization says its people are its most important asset, but many do little in coaching, mentoring, and developing their staff. To not place significant and intentional emphasis on what truly is your most important asset is to rob your staff of becoming all they could become and to shortchange your organization's impact. Organizations are only as good as the people they have, and the key to better organizations is the ongoing development of staff. When this is not a priority, it speaks poorly to the culture and the organization's future.

Lack of focus on healthy teams
Organizations are made up of groups, and those groups are either healthy teams or dysfunctional teams. Aligned, results-oriented, healthy teams working synergistically together under good leadership are the building blocks of a healthy and productive organization. There will only be health at the organizational level if there is health at the team level. 

A closed rather than an open culture

Closed cultures resist open, candid dialogue. I define robust dialogue as a culture where any issue can be put on the table, with the exception of a hidden agenda or personal attack. The best organizations are open because it is in open dialogue that better ways are found. Closed systems require people to simply accept what they are told. This is a threat to the organization and inhibits better ideas. It also creates cynicism.

Poor EQ of leader(s)

No truth is more pertinent than the fact that the EQ of a leader directly impacts the health of an organization's culture. The responsibility of leaders is to be in an EQ growth mode all the  time. The responsibility of boards is to ensure that leaders create a healthy culture because they are themselves healthy. If not, they need to mandate growth in necessary areas. Organizations rarely rise above the EQ of their leader's health.

The good news about internal threats to our success is that we can do something significant about them. We cannot control external threats, but we can contain internal threats.