by: Comrade Kunle Sodipo, FICSSMN, MNIMN, ANIPR
ckswritings@gmail.com
October, 2026
Every dying organization knows how to smile for the camera. The collapse never starts with a public announcement. It starts with a performance.
Crisis rarely shouts. It whispers. And if you are not discerning, you will clap for a group that is already in the mortuary, only waiting for burial date.
Here are the intelligent signs:
*1. OVER-CELEBRATION OF MEDIOCRITY*
When an organization that once executed major projects suddenly starts celebrating minor things — a small meeting, a courtesy visit, buying a plastic chair — know that the engine has knocked.
Healthy groups don’t make noise over bread and butter achievements. Only failing groups throw a party because they swept their office.
When you see them posting every small activity with loud captions and many exclamation marks, they are not celebrating progress, they are covering emptiness.
*2. LEADERSHIP SUDDENLY BECOMES DEFENSIVE AND TOUCHY*
A secure leadership welcomes questions. A leadership in crisis sees every question as an attack.
Suddenly, no one is allowed to ask questions. Every suggestion is termed “disloyalty.” The leaders begin to surround themselves with praise-singers, not thinkers. Critics are removed, not corrected.
When the leader spends more time defending himself than building the organization, that organization is already bleeding.
*3. IMAGE MANAGEMENT REPLACES REAL WORK*
This is the most dangerous sign.
Meetings about branding increase, but work on the ground stops. More money is spent on photos, matching shirts, banners and press releases than on actual projects.
They will organize a world press conference to say “all is well,” instead of doing the work that will make all well.
An organization that is truly well does not need to convince you that it is well. Its results convince you.
*4. SUDDEN SILENCE OF KEY MEMBERS*
Watch the elders. Watch the strong voices.
When people who used to speak boldly in the group suddenly go quiet, withdraw to the back, or begin to resign in batches — something is wrong.
In crisis, the wise ones leave first quietly. The foolish ones stay shouting “all is well” until the roof falls.
If three or more credible members leave within a short period and the leadership says “it doesn’t matter, we move,” that group is pretending.
*5. FINANCES BECOME A MYSTERY*
When an organization is healthy, finances are discussed openly. When it is in crisis, finances become a secret cult.
No financial report. No budget breakdown. But constant fundraising. You hear “support us, support us,” but you never hear “this is what we did with the last support.”
Where accountability dies, crisis thrives.
*6. THEY START FIGHTING THE WRONG ENEMIES*
Instead of solving internal decay, they start looking for external enemies to blame — “village people,” “detractors,” “former members.”
A group that has lost focus will always look for a scapegoat.
*FINAL THOUGHT*
A healthy organization is like a healthy body. It doesn’t need to shout that it is healthy. You will see it in its appetite, its growth, its energy.
A sick body that paints its face to look fresh is still sick. Make-up does not cure malaria.
If you are a member, don’t be deceived by public showmanship. Look deeper.
And if you are a leader, remember: Pretending that all is well does not make all well. Admitting that things are not well is the first step to making them well again.
Truth is not a betrayal. Pretence is.
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