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Leadership
Why good projects fail when nobody knows they exist
Good work stays invisible when leaders and teams don't feel able to share it. The three barriers behind it, what invisibility costs, and how to build the habit.
Some of the best work I've seen in the social impact sector is almost invisible. Brilliant programmes, run by people who know their communities inside out, that hardly anyone outside the building has heard of.
Funders can't back what they can't see. Partners can't find you. Talented people don't apply. And when money gets tight, the organisations nobody has heard of are the easiest to cut.
This guide is for leaders of charities and social impact teams who know their work deserves to be seen, and haven't yet found a way to make that happen.
Three barriers
When I work with teams, the reasons for staying quiet usually fall into three groups.
1. Fear
"What if I say the wrong thing?" "What if people think I'm showing off?" "What if it puts the people we support at risk?"
These are reasonable worries, especially in a sector that values humility and works with people who need protecting. The answer to the last one is to tell stories carefully, with consent, and I've written about how in ethical storytelling and the Naz Rule. The answer to the others is practice.
2. Confidence
Someone I worked with put it neatly before a workshop: confidence only comes from posting, but nobody wants to post until they feel confident. It's a loop, and most teams stay stuck in it.
I recognise it. As a boy I carried a cheap plastic camera everywhere, often with no film in it. What held me back for years was not giving myself permission to believe I could be a photographer. A lot of teams don't think of themselves as storytellers, so the stories never get told.
3. Ego, in an unexpected form
Many leaders worry that being visible looks self-promoting. But staying quiet can protect your own comfort at the expense of the cause. Visibility is part of the job when the people you serve need more people to know the work exists.
I feel this one personally. Telling the story behind the Naz and Matt Foundation has meant a Guardian interview, BBC Breakfast, a Coronation Street storyline based on our story and more than 90 talks and workshops. I still feel the tension before every one.
What invisibility costs
Funding. Funders can only support what they know about.
Partnerships. Other organisations can't work with you if they've never heard of you.
People. Good staff, volunteers and trustees look for organisations whose work they can see.
Influence. It's hard to shape policy from somewhere nobody is looking.
Resilience. When budgets are cut, visible organisations have more people ready to speak up for them.
How to become visible without becoming a brand
What it takes is a habit, and a few rules that make it feel safe.
Make the mission the subject. Share the work, the people you serve (with consent) and what you're learning. You're the narrator, not the hero.
Build it before you need it. The time to grow an audience is before the funding gap, the campaign or the crisis. If you wait until you need people's attention, it's too late to earn it.
Make it a team habit. One visible leader is good. A team that each shares one thing a month is better, and it takes the pressure off the CEO.
Agree the rules. What can people share, what needs sign-off, and how do you handle hostile comments? Teams post more confidently when they know where the lines are.
Ask for: a one-page sharing guide for your team covering what to share, what needs consent or sign-off, and what to do if a post attracts abuse.
Why one session isn't enough
Teams rarely change how they work after a single training session. The moment training stops working is when someone says, "We had that four-hour session, so we're sorted now."
Habits stick when people try things on real work, then come back together to talk about what happened. That's why my workshops include a follow-up session a few weeks later, so the team has a reason to start, and a moment to share what worked.
Six questions to ask your leadership team
If a funder searched for us today, what would they find?
Who in our team shares our work publicly, and how often?
What stops everyone else?
Do we have clear rules on what can be shared, and with whose consent?
What would we do if a post attracted abuse?
What's one story from this month that more people should know?
Where to start this week
Answer the last question. Share that one story, with consent, in a few sentences and one photograph. Then ask one colleague to do the same next week.
If you'd like your whole team confident sharing the work, with clear rules on consent and safety, that's what my social impact storytelling workshops are for.
Questions people ask
Why do good charity projects fail?
Often because too few people know they exist. Funders, partners and supporters can only back work they can see.
How can charity leaders become more visible without self-promotion?
Make the work and the people you serve the subject, with consent, and treat yourself as the narrator. Share regularly, and build the habit before you need the attention.
How do we keep staff safe when they post about our work?
Agree clear rules on what can be shared and who signs it off, and have a plan for hostile comments so nobody faces them alone.
Matt Mahmood-Ogston is a London-based social impact storyteller and documentary photographer. He founded the Naz and Matt Foundation in 2014 and has led it for more than 12 years.
