Okay – I am kidding. But wouldn’t it be interesting to watch if you did? And instructive! The football season is upon us. After every game, coaches and players huddle around TV monitors to carefully review videos of the game. “What did we do well that we need to keep doing? What did not work as well? How can we improve for the next game?” These are important questions … [Read more...] about Videotape Your Next Board Meeting
Leadership
Your Leadership Pipeline
Next week I will be teaching a two day course on Leadership Succession for NeighborWorks America (www.nw.org) in Atlanta. A few years ago the leaders at NeighborWorks – a national network of organizations which work to provide affordable housing across the country – realized that their local organizations needed to be prepared for the inevitable retirements of Baby … [Read more...] about Your Leadership Pipeline
“We’re Lost But Making Good Time”
This is the title of Chapter One of Mario Morino’s new book, Leap of Reason. I know that most of you don’t have the time to read a blog much less a book, but I strongly recommend it. He makes a compelling case for the urgency, now, for nonprofits to change the way most operate. As he states: “Here’s the problem in a nutshell: We don’t manage to outcomes, thus greatly … [Read more...] about “We’re Lost But Making Good Time”
How Are You Listening?
Do you want to be an empowering leader and colleague? Then I suggest you monitor how you listen to others. Notice I am saying “how” you listen, not “how well.” There are two general categories of how you can listen to people. You can “listen to respond” or “listen to understand.” When you “listen to respond, ” it is like you are in a debate. You listen for the flaws in … [Read more...] about How Are You Listening?
The Power of Constructive Conflict
When I teach seminars on teamwork, I usually break people into small groups and give them a few minutes to come up with what they think are the five most important aspects of a high performing team. What would you say? Usually groups come up with lots of good ideas, but almost never do they list the importance of “constructive conflict.” Yet, the research on teamwork … [Read more...] about The Power of Constructive Conflict