Weekly Posts and Insights
Unleashing The Leader Within: More Insights from the Institute for Organization Management
In my recent experience at the US Chamber's Institute for Organization Management, I explored the importance of trust in leadership and the concept of "Level 5 Leadership," which emphasizes humility, resolve, and crediting others. The course also covered essential skills like Fanatic Discipline, Productive Paranoia, and Empirical Creativity, highlighting the importance of creating a compelling vision for organizational success. By fostering environments where trust and motivation thrive, leaders can drive their teams toward long-term success and growth.
Managers Who Motivate: A Preview from the US Chamber's Institute for Organization Management
I am excited to share that this week, as a faculty member of the US Chamber's Institute for Organization Management, I will be teaching over 30 enthusiastic nonprofit leaders on a subject close to my heart: "Managers Who Motivate."
Grief, Loss and Leadership
Dealing with loss and grief can be tough for leaders. We are often built, designed, and hardwired to look at the optimistic horizon. Grief and loss are a suspension of that optimism. That is a hard place to be in, but worthy of exploration nonetheless.
Mastering Facilitation: Your Go-To Script
Effective listening is essential for successful facilitation. This involves techniques like paraphrasing, asking open-ended questions, and synthesizing ideas. Skilled facilitators also track opinions, engagement levels, and group feedback. Here is your go-to script to handle many items you might run into as a facilitator.
No, You're Not Supposed To Be The Most Dominate Voice In The Room: The Leader as a Facilitator
A top-level community leader excels by facilitating team interactions rather than dominating discussions. Their focus should be on managing the process and relationships within the team, allowing team members to share content and ideas. Like a conductor guiding an orchestra, a leader's role is to support collaboration, ensure balanced participation, and create an environment where everyone feels heard and valued.
The Power of Trust in Leadership
In leadership, trust is the cornerstone that transforms a crowd into a cohesive community. Trust isn't given—it's earned through consistent acts of character and competency.
Community Conflict: Regulate, Relate, and Reason
In an era of escalating conflicts, understanding how to manage disagreements is crucial for personal and community well-being. This blog post explores the essential steps of regulating emotions, relating to others, and reasoning effectively to foster safe, connected, and productive environments. Learn practical strategies to transform conflict into constructive communication and collaboration.
Creating a Clear and Compelling Vision for Change: Part 2
During the Visioning process, it’s also good to ask the following questions about the current reality as well as the desired future reality. Look for gaps in thinking and identify the action steps that will need to be taken to close the gap.
Change Champions, Bystanders and The Toxic Few
We explore the dynamics of change within communities, framing stakeholders into three distinct roles: Change Champions, the Toxic Few (Resistors), and Bystanders. We use the Change Bell Curve to emphasize the importance of focusing energy on engaging Change Champions and winning over Bystanders, while not wasting efforts on the entrenched resistance of the Toxic Few. By understanding these dynamics and leveraging effective communication strategies, communities and organizations can navigate change more successfully and foster a culture of growth and adaptation.
Dissatisfaction with Status Quo and the Case for Change: Part 1
The Change Formula, a tool introduced recently, emphasizes the necessity of Dissatisfaction (D) with the status quo for meaningful change to occur. Dissatisfaction stems from various sources within communities or organizations, such as performance gaps, external pressures, cultural misalignment, and leadership issues. Addressing dissatisfaction is crucial as it can lead to resistance, decreased morale, missed opportunities, and hindrance to organizational growth. Real-life examples illustrate the importance of recognizing dissatisfaction and driving change, whether it's transitioning to a team-based organization, expanding regionally for impact, or adapting to evolving EMS models.