Moving in the right direction always begins with a shared vision of where you want to be as an organization. Everyone on your team needs to have a part creating that vision, and everyone needs to have a personal stake in the achievement of the vision—each needs to be able to say with meaning that…
Teams Provide Connection
When I was leading a corporate HR department one of my greatest fears was that my team would disconnect. It could be due to the hard work of staying emotionally balanced while serving the needs of others, often forgetting their own. It could be due to the pressure of trying to keep up with the…
Building A Team Is As Simple As ABC
As you set out to build your dream team, keep in mind that everyone brings a little baggage to the team whether you like it or not. No one is a clean slate just waiting to be written on. Everyone comes with a myriad of things that make them who they are. Some of those…
Keep ‘Um Safe
News flash. Things can go wrong, even when you are on the right road. As a leader you must get your team headed in the the right direction and on the right road. But you also need to keep everyone safe along the way. Providing direction is one of the key duties of a leader. …
Get on the Right Road
You call it your vision, your mission, your dream. You spend hours and hours defining it, refining it, describing it, selling it. You worry about it, labor over it, stress it, stress about it. You think it is hard to know, hard to create, hard to communicate. But it really is simple. One of your…
Challenge Your Assumptions About People
First, we all have gifts. Some gifts are loud, pretty, or smart (none of those things make them better), and some gifts are quiet, humble, or simple. Whatever your gift, don’t miss it. And for everyone’s sake, don’t compare it. Also recognize that you are free to do as you will with your gift. It…
Measure the Right Things
“The performance appraisal, more than any other aspect of our people system, surreptitiously sends a number of resounding, negative messages about the nature and potential of people. …[T]hese underlying assumptions signal distrust and a belief that people need to be prodded and psyched to put forth their best efforts. The assumption that we can even…
Two Things You Cannot Manage or Measure
People don’t do what they do because you tell them to do it. They do what they do because of what happens to them when they do it. If, when they do it, reinforcements are positive, they will do it again or more often. If, when they do it, reinforcements are negative, they will do…
The Three Duties of a Leader
Most nonprofit directors and leaders understand the principle of fiduciary responsibility, the principle that they have the same obligation to care for the assets of the organization as they would their own personal assets. “The contemporary general standard is that a member of the board of a nonprofit organization is required to perform his or…
Five Steps to a Great New Year
How committed are you to your own growth as a leader? As with everything else, actions are always louder than words. So, here are some actions you can take that will help ensure your belief in personal development and leadership growth demonstrates itself in the things you do. Just take the following five steps. They…