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When the world shut down in 2020, organizations did what they had to do. Boards met virtually. Staff adapted overnight. Volunteers stepped back. Policies were temporarily adjusted. Strategic plans were put on hold. Everyone was focused on one thing: survival.  At the time, those decisions made perfect sense. The problem is that many organizations never had the opportunity to go back and rebuild what was temporarily put aside. Today, we’re seeing the consequences of that everywhere. While many people feel the pandemic is behind us, organizations are still living with its after-effects every single day. In fact, many of the governance, leadership and operational challenges we help clients solve can be traced back to decisions—or simply the lack of capacity—that emerged during those years. The pandemic didn’t necessarily create these issues. It accelerated them. Volunteer engagement has changed
Board recruitment isn’t what it used to beFinding qualified board members has become increasingly difficult. Experienced leaders are stretched thin. Many who served on boards during the pandemic experienced significant burnout and chose not to continue. Others retired earlier than expected or stepped away from leadership altogether. At the same time, newer board members often arrive with tremendous enthusiasm but limited governance experience. Without intentional orientation, mentorship and ongoing education, boards can struggle to fulfill their governance responsibilities effectively. The result isn’t a lack of good people. It’s a shortage of prepared people. Strategic planning created unintended gaps
Human resources has become far more complex The workplace has changed dramatically. Organizations are managing new employee expectations around flexibility, mental health, work-life balance, recruitment and retention. Hiring has become more competitive, onboarding is more challenging, and leadership requires a different set of skills than it did just a few years ago. Many organizations are also experiencing succession challenges as experienced employees retire or move on, leaving behind vacancies that are increasingly difficult to fill. These aren’t simply HR problems. They’re organizational capacity problems. The workplace itself has changed
Governance follow-through quietly disappearedOne of the most common issues we encounter is governance drift. During the pandemic, boards understandably focused on immediate decisions. Routine governance work often took a back seat. Board evaluations were postponed. Governance reviews were delayed. Committee structures evolved without being revisited. Orientation programs became informal. Annual governance calendars were abandoned. None of this happened because boards weren’t committed. It happened because survival required immediate attention. But several years later, many of those temporary practices have quietly become permanent. Policies and procedures were never updated Organizations adapted incredibly quickly during COVID. Unfortunately, many policies never caught up. Emergency practices became everyday practices without being formally reviewed or approved. Employee manuals still reference work environments that no longer exist. Governance policies don’t reflect virtual meetings, hybrid workplaces or evolving legal and operational realities. Policies are meant to guide consistent decision-making. When they no longer reflect reality, they create confusion instead of clarity. The knowledge gap is real Perhaps the most significant challenge we see today is the loss of organizational knowledge. Experienced staff retired. Long-serving volunteers stepped away. Board members completed their terms. Leaders moved on. Many organizations lost decades of institutional knowledge in just a few years. Unfortunately, much of that knowledge was never documented. New leaders are now doing their best to move organizations forward without fully understanding why certain decisions were made, how processes evolved or what lessons were learned over many years. That creates unnecessary risk and often results in organizations reinventing work that was solved long ago. The good news is that these problems are solvable None of these challenges appeared overnight, and they won’t disappear overnight either. They require organizations to intentionally pause, take an honest look at where they are today, and rebuild the foundations that support long-term success. That’s exactly where we come in. At LMDSolutions, we’ve noticed a clear shift in the work we’re being asked to do. Increasingly, organizations aren’t looking for someone to simply facilitate a strategic plan or deliver governance training. They’re asking for help untangling years of accumulated challenges that quietly emerged during and after the pandemic. We’re helping boards reconnect with their governance responsibilities after years of operating in crisis mode. We’re rebuilding governance systems, modernizing policies and procedures, strengthening board recruitment and orientation, and helping organizations regain clarity around roles, accountability and decision-making. We’re also helping leadership teams rebuild organizational knowledge, document critical processes before they’re lost, reconnect strategy with day-to-day operations, and create practical operational plans that turn good intentions into measurable progress. In many ways, we’ve become organizational rebuilders.  Not because organizations failed, but because they adapted under extraordinary circumstances. They made the best decisions they could with the information, resources and time they had. Now, the opportunity is different. It’s time to move beyond simply recovering and begin building organizations that are stronger, more resilient and better prepared for whatever comes next. Our role isn’t to tell organizations what they’re doing wrong. Our role is to help them identify what needs strengthening, prioritize what matters most, and put practical systems in place that will support their mission for years to come. Because strong organizations don’t happen by accident. They are built intentionally. And sometimes, after years of simply surviving, the strongest thing an organization can do is decide it’s finally time to rebuild. If this article resonated with you, chances are your organization isn’t alone. Many of the challenges we’ve discussed are explored in greater depth in our book, Wake Up Call: Stop fixing the wrong things. It offers practical insights, reflection questions and a simple framework to help boards and leadership teams identify the root causes behind the issues they’re experiencing… and start building lasting solutions. Whether you’re a board member, executive director, CEO or organizational leader, the first step toward meaningful change is understanding what’s really happening beneath the surface. Ready to start the conversation? Buy your copy of Wake Up Call on Amazon today, or contact us through www.lmdsolutions.ca and take the first step toward building a stronger, healthier organization.   Every time a great employee leaves, organizations ask the same question: “Why did they leave?” It’s a fair question. But after working with organizations for more than 25 years, I’ve come to believe there’s a better one. “What made them want to leave?” Because people rarely wake up one morning and decide to quit… It happens gradually. A little frustration here. A little disappointment there. Another meeting where nothing changes. Another project that lacks direction. Another accomplishment that goes unnoticed. Eventually, they stop believing things will improve. A story I’ll never forget  A number of years ago, I watched an organization lose someone who was, without question, one of its greatest assets. She was respected by her colleagues, admired by community partners, and genuinely cared about the organization’s mission. If there was a difficult project, she volunteered. If a problem needed solving, she stepped in. If the community needed someone to represent the organization, she was often the first choice. People trusted her. She wasn’t looking for recognition or applause. She simply wanted to do meaningful work and make a difference. But over time, something changed and her ideas stopped being heard. Her contributions became expected instead of appreciated. Leadership became inconsistent or non existent. Priorities shifted constantly and decisions lacked transparency, and roles became increasingly unclear. She continued to carry the organization forward while receiving less and less support in return. Eventually, she left and at that time, the organization lost far more than an employee. It lost:
And after she left, everyone wondered why… but the signs had been there all along. It’s just that no one had recognized them. These aren’t people problems. Organizations often assume employee turnover is an HR issue, but In reality, it’s frequently an organizational issue. People become frustrated when leadership lacks clarity, exhausted when structures don’t support the work, disengaged when priorities constantly change and lose motivation when success is never acknowledged or celebrated. When these conditions persist long enough, even the most dedicated employees begin looking elsewhere and it’s not because they stopped caring. It’s because they cared for too long without the support they needed. The patterns we see every day At LMDSolutions, we’ve worked with many organizations and the same themes continue to emerge.
By the time someone calls us, they often believe they have a staffing problem. Most of the time…They have a leadership, governance, or organizational design problem. That’s why we wrote Wake-Up Call Wake-Up Call wasn’t written to criticize organizations. It was written to help them recognize the warning signs before they lose another talented employee. Our model examines organizations through four essential lenses:
Do people understand their roles, responsibilities, and expectations?
Is everyone moving toward the same goals with a clear sense of purpose?
Do governance, leadership, systems, and processes actually support success?
Are progress, accountability, and achievements being measured and celebrated? When one of these pillars weakens, organizations begin to experience symptoms.
When several pillars weaken at the same time, those symptoms become organizational culture. How LMDSolutions can help The good news is that these problems are fixable. That’s what we do. We help organizations diagnose the real issues behind staff turnover, burnout, governance challenges, and operational confusion. Sometimes that starts with a governance assessment and sometimes it’s leadership coaching. Sometimes it’s strategic and operational planning, role clarification, board education, or organizational restructuring and sometimes it starts with a simple conversation. Our goal isn’t to patch over symptoms… our goal is to help organizations build environments where great people want to stay, contribute, and thrive. Did you know replacing exceptional employees is expensive??? It’s economically important to create organizations that values them, supports them, and gives them the structure they need to succeed is one of the best investments an organization can make. Maybe it’s time for a Wake-Up Call If you’ve recently lost talented employees or if you can sense frustration building within your organization, don’t wait until another resignation lands on your desk. Ask a different question. Not, “Why did they leave?” but rather “What are we doing, or failing to do, that makes leaving feel like the better option?” That question has the power to change an organization… and sometimes, all it takes is a Wake-Up Call. Our book, Wake Up Call, helps organizations identify what may be holding them back and develop the knowledge, direction, structure and results needed to move forward.
Par Lynne Dupuis, PDG de LMDSolutions Les vacances ont cette drôle de capacité de nous faire prendre du recul. Elles nous offrent le temps de réfléchir, de regarder le chemin parcouru et de nous demander si notre travail a réellement un impact.  Au retour des vacances, j'ai relu les deux évaluations externes réalisées dans le cadre des projets financés par le Programme d'appui à la francophonie ontarienne (PAFO). En naviguant sur les pages des rapports, une réflexion m'est revenue. Les tableaux, les statistiques et les commentaires racontaient une belle histoire, mais ils ne racontaient pas toute l'histoire. Depuis plus de vingt-cinq ans, j'ai le privilège d'accompagner des organismes, des entreprises, des conseils d'administration et des leaders francophones partout en Ontario. Avec le temps, j'en suis venue à un constat important: la vitalité d'une communauté ne dépend pas uniquement du financement qu'elle reçoit. Elle dépend surtout de la capacité de ses organisations à bien fonctionner, à collaborer, à se gouverner efficacement et à préparer l'avenir. C'est précisément cette capacité que le PAFO nous a permis de développer au cours des deux dernières années. Les résultats sont concrets. Ensemble, les deux projets ont permis de rejoindre directement près de 1 600 francophones, d'accompagner 43 organismes et entreprises, de développer huit nouveaux produits et services en français, de créer huit emplois au sein de LMDSolutions et d'établir ou de consolider dix partenariats stratégiques. Nous avons également animé des dizaines d'ateliers, de formations, de webinaires et de rencontres qui ont permis à des centaines de personnes de repartir avec des outils concrets pour améliorer leur organisation. Ces chiffres sont importants, mais ils ne représentent pas, à mes yeux, la véritable réussite de ces projets. Ce qui me marque davantage, ce sont les conversations que nous avons eues avec des directions générales qui retrouvaient enfin une vision claire, avec des conseils d'admiinistration qui comprenaient mieux leur rôle, avec des équipes qui cessaient de travailler en silos pour recommencer à travailler ensemble. Ce sont les nouveaux arrivants francophones qui découvrent qu'ils peuvent eux aussi devenir des leaders dans leur communauté, les entrepreneurs qui repartent avec un plan d'action, ou encore les organismes qui réalisent qu'ils ont maintenant les outils nécessaires pour consacrer plus d'énergie à leur mission qu'à gérer leurs défis internes. Ces changements sont difficiles à mesurer dans un rapport d'évaluation, mais ce sont eux qui transforment réellement une communauté.  L'un des aspects dont je suis particulièrement fière est le développement de ressources qui continueront d'avoir un impact bien après la fin du financement. Au cours de ces deux années, nous avons créé des outils de gouvernance, des guides pratiques, des formations, des diagnostics organisationnels et une bibliothèque grandissante de ressources en français. Nous avons aussi écrit, développé et autoédité Sonnez l'alarme – Parlons des vrais problèmes, un ouvrage qui rend le Modèle LMDSolutions accessible à des organisations qui ne travailleront peut-être jamais directement avec nous, mais qui pourront tout de même bénéficier de notre approche. Le projet nous a également permis d'être présents dans les lieux où les grandes conversations sur la francophonie prennent forme. Nous avons participé au Congrès annuel de l'Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario, aux États généraux de la francophonie et à de nombreux événements provinciaux. Ces rencontres nous ont permis non seulement de faire connaître notre travail, mais surtout d'écouter les préoccupations des organismes, de comprendre les défis émergents et de créer des collaborations qui se poursuivent encore aujourd'hui. Nous avons aussi voulu investir directement dans notre communauté. En partenariat avec la Ville du Grand Sudbury, nous avons créé le tout premier Prix civique de l'engagement francophone, maintenant présenté avec succès pour une deuxième année consécutive. Pour nous, il était important que les personnes qui bâtissent notre communauté, souvent dans l'ombre, soient reconnues publiquement. Nous avons également choisi de soutenir et de commanditer plusieurs événements francophones, parce que nous croyons que la vitalité d'une communauté passe autant par ses institutions que par les moments où elle se rassemble, célèbre et inspire.  En relisant ces deux évaluations, je réalise que le plus beau résultat n'est pas ce qui est terminé, mais ce qui continue. Les partenariats se développent. Les outils sont utilisés. Les formations sont reprises. Le livre circule. Les organismes que nous avons accompagnés poursuivent leur évolution et, de notre côté, nous continuons d'apprendre avec eux. C'est ce que j'appelle un effet multiplicateur. Chez LMDSolutions, nous avons toujours cru que le véritable changement ne se produit pas grâce à une seule grande initiative. Il se construit progressivement, une organisation à la fois, un conseil d'administration à la fois, un leader à la fois. Lorsque l'on renforce les capacités d'un organisme, on renforce aussi sa capacité à servir sa communauté. Et lorsque plusieurs organisations deviennent plus fortes, c'est toute la francophonie qui en bénéficie. Nous sommes profondément reconnaissants envers le Programme d'appui à la francophonie ontarienne (PAFO) et le gouvernement de l'Ontario d'avoir cru en cette vision. Leur appui nous a permis de faire beaucoup plus que réaliser un projet. Il nous a permis de bâtir des outils, des connaissances, des partenariats et des capacités qui continueront de servir les communautés francophones pendant de nombreuses années. Au fond, notre ambition n'a jamais été simplement de faire croître LMDSolutions. Notre ambition est de contribuer, humblement mais concrètement, à une francophonie ontarienne plus forte, plus résiliente et mieux préparée pour relever les défis de demain. Et lorsque je regarde le chemin parcouru, je me dis que nous sommes sur la bonne voie.  |
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