Major Symptoms Of Founder's Syndrome

Once a non-profit organization gets off the ground, the root of many of its past, present, and future problems in the organization will be attributed to its Founder. For founders who want to avoid having the organizational issues that can be labeled under the umbrella term “founder’s syndrome” there are a few guidelines, which must be adhered to. In this essay, the need for proper governance and a mission focused organizations will be stressed. A detail of the major symptoms of founder’s syndrome will also examine. The work will also emphasize on key concepts of such as communication, leadership, managing oneself, and decision-making in order to create guiding principles, which non-profit organizations can use to avoid being caught in detrimental

It is most often used to describe founders or leadership who utilizes the organization to serve their ego, pocketbook, or motives. This symptom is detectable when founders or leadership place their personal agendas ahead of the mission. A recent and egregious example of grandiosity in an organization was by “Jerry Sandusky, who started the charity Second Mile in order to “protect” at-risk youth and is now serving a 30– 60-year sentence for child molestation” (Schmidt, 2013). This case is appalling and difficult as Sandusky’s acts were criminal. One key concept titled “Knowing and Managing Yourself” in Managing Human Behavior in Public and Nonprofit Organizations (Denhardt, Robert B., et al, 2016) should have been used as guiding principles for a founder to avoid engaging in such despicable acts. Part of a founder or leader knowing and managing their selves is having self-management skills. According to the text, self-management is the “ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods and regulate your own behavior, coupled with a propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence” (Denhardt, et al, 2016, p.23). Sandusky clearly lacked the ability to control or redirect very disruptive and criminal impulses and regulate his own behavior at the expense of the lives of the at-risk youth and the mission of the Second Mile charity. Founders and leaders must be able to curb impulses such as spending

Although not a Founder, Lawrence M. Small was a leader while Secretary of the Smithsonian. During his tenure Small personal life and actions had been “dogged by controversy after pictures of Small's private collection of South American masks, headdresses, and costumes appeared in the January 2000 issue of Smithsonian magazine, he was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which suspected that the pictures showed feathers from protected bird species and teeth from endangered cats” (Archaeological Institute of America, 2002). Grandiosity was clearly evident as Small utilizes the organization to serve their ego and personal agendas at the expense of the organization's mission. Clearly Small as the Secretary of the Smithsonian had motives of shining light on himself by having his private collection of South American masks, headdresses, and costumes appear in a Smithsonian magazine. But what ended up happening is that the picture showing feathers from protected bird species and teeth from endangered cats caused him to be investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for possible infractions. In order to avoid being caught in a predicament such as grandiosity leaders must constantly weigh themselves against these competencies in order to determine whether there actions follow-suite. It is also the responsibility of the Board of directors to weigh these competencies against the founder or CEO in