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Trust
Teamwork is a critical employment skill. Yet, many workers – and entire teams – often lack the ability to work successfully in a team environment. With COVID resulting in many working from home and away from their normal team environments, teamwork skills are becoming even more difficult to master. Patrick Lencioni is famous for his work on teams, most notably his enduring book, The Five Disfunctions of a Team. Despite the provocative title, Lencioni really talks about the BEHAVIORS of high performing teams, boiling it down to Trust, Healthy Conflict, Commitment, Accountability, and Results. Trust is the fundamental behavior that must be present for a team to function well. Without…
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Integrating ESG practices into your mission
Nonprofits that are just beginning to concentrate on their environmental, social and governance impact can start small and expand from there. As you develop your own strategies, keep abreast of the latest trends and data around ESG strategies. Then ask your employees and board members what is important to them and then tailor your efforts to appeal to their interests. Like most things, the more they are involved, the more they will embrace it. Here are some practical things nonprofits of all sizes can do – from the mundane to the sublime: Set goals for reducing your organization’s environmental footprint – and then keep track of what you have done and…
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Nonprofits should care about ESG, too
This article originally appeared on my LinkedIn page here on August 2, 2021. While the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) discussions have been largely focused on corporate (i.e., for-profit) entities, it is time for our nation’s nonprofit organizations to pay attention – and I would say, embrace – the practice. What is ESG? Wikipedia defines ESG as “the three central factors in measuring the sustainability and societal impact of an investment in a company or business.”[i] CNBC has an even simpler description: “investments made with an aim to contribute to a better environment, society, or workplace.”[ii] The operating motive of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) differs markedly from for-profit corporations – achieving their…
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The COVID Effect
It is a trite understatement to proclaim that we are all experiencing frustration and fatigue from COVID-19. Yet it is true. In the early days, it seemed temporary. As days devolved into weeks and weeks into months, our response needs some adjustment. This article is an attempt to cut through some of the noise to arrive at some practical advice for organizational leaders on how to cope – personally and as a team. Restoring normalcy - and sanity I recently asked a group of nonprofit executives for their best advice on dealing with the stress, the organizational impact, and the staff relations issues resulting from the pandemic. Their responses were…
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“No One Ever Told Me”
I make a mean apple crisp. I’m locally famous for it. My daughter, the pickiest of picky eaters, would never even try it, asking for vanilla ice cream instead. Then finally, one Thanksgiving while she was home from college, she accepted her helping of apple crisp with delight. I asked what changed, and she replied with a straight face, “No one ever told me how good it was!” Oops, guess I missed that lesson in Parenting, 101. It got me thinking about the value of lived experience to expand one's perspective. I have seen many “No one ever told me” examples during my career that point to the importance of…
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Five tips for communicating in uncertain times
During times of uncertainty like the world is experiencing now, leaders are called upon to step forward with decisiveness, empathy, and transparency. It there ever was a time we are living in a VUCA world, it is now. VUCA, of course, stands for volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous and was first conceptualized by the U.S. Army War College in 1987. Leaders who consider the VUCA implications of their environments are better able to plan for success in spite of these factors. In the COVID-19/VUCA world, you must be prepared to communicate boldly and decisively to your team and your various constituencies. Your organization, your staff, and maybe even your community…
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We thrive on validation
Dictionary.com defines validate as: "to make valid; substantiate; confirm." In our various "selves" we are always seeking it. We hope people will recognize our talents and say things like: "You're such a good Mom (or Dad)." "What an incredible athlete you are!" "How did you learn to draw like that?" We REALLY, REALLY seek validation on social media. Those likes and hearts and shares all serve to validate us, don't they? It's true at work, too. Everyone wants their ideas to be recognized as brilliant, or at least as solid. But when the boss fails to appreciate workers, they become demoralized, disengaged, and sometimes even disgruntled. On more than one occasion…
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Three Commitments for 2020
Let's be honest. New Year Resolutions are overrated. First, they rarely last, and second, they usually try to fix something about the past rather than focusing on strengthening the future. Image by skeeze from Pixabay What if instead of resolving to"do better" we commit to "add value" to our careers and our organizations? Let's not call them resolutions either. Commitment is a much better description, don't you think? These three commitments are a great start for a better 2020. Commit to developing stronger relationships in 2020. Most of us really hate networking and avoid it when we can. Just admit that you hate it, but commit do it anyway -…
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Slaying Dragons
Leaders are constantly grappling with one challenge or another. Today it is a personnel issue; tomorrow a budget crisis; next week a government decision that will affect our business. Leaders must regularly and routinely slay such dragons or face the consequences. In a way, slaying dragons is invigorating. The adrenaline flows and the creativity ramps up. You become the hero of the moment. How rewarding! But. Sometimes the dragons we must slay are not dragons at all. They're mice. That's right, those tiny little creatures that live among us. Mice - not dragons - are really our largest threat over the long run. My personal experience with a mouse bears…
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The Five Attributes of High Performing Boards
Florence, ready to present at a Board Orientation session for the Kentucky School Boards Association in 2021. What are organizations looking for from their board members? Sometimes, even the CEO doesn't really know what to do with their board members once they have them. A High Impact Board knows that its job is to determine the WHY of the organization and leave the HOW to the staff. They do that by setting policy and then holding staff accountable for performance. When asked to serve on a board of directors, the first question you should ask yourself is this: What is it about the organization’s purpose that excites me? Does it appeal…