The cover article of the new March – April edition of Harvard Business Review* is on Better Brainstorming and includes a number of interesting ideas. It’s written by Hal Gregersen, who is a faculty member at MIT and author of a forthcoming book, Questions are the Answer. Gregerson has invented a process he calls “Question Burst” which focuses the brainstorming process on … [Read more...] about Better Brainstorming
Teamwork
The Ideal Board Chair
This column is written in honor of Richard R. Gibbs, who was the first Board Chair I worked for and who passed away during this past week. Richard was an exceptional leader and was a very supportive Board Chair of a very young Executive Director who didn’t really know what he was doing. I learned a lot from Richard and am very thankful for him in many ways. Here are some … [Read more...] about The Ideal Board Chair
Your Summer Staff Retreat
Many organizations like to take a day during the summer to call a “time out” and gather the staff together for a retreat. Depending on the size of the organization, this could involve everyone or, at larger organizations, departments may end up having their own retreats. What makes for a successful retreat? Here are some tips: *It’s a Retreat. Some organizations say … [Read more...] about Your Summer Staff Retreat
Foster HQCs to Enhance Mission Impact
HQCs = High Quality Connections If you want a workplace in which: *Individuals are thriving *Teams are more effective *The overall organization performs at a higher level Then you should consider encouraging more High Quality Connections among those you work with. Ground-breaking research by University of Michigan professor Dr. Jane Dutton* and others demonstrates that … [Read more...] about Foster HQCs to Enhance Mission Impact
Producing Team Results for Mission Impact
This is the final installment of a five part series on high performance teamwork, based on the book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni. The five major dysfunctions that Lencioni has identified, which is backed up by research are: *Absence of Trust *Fear of Conflict *Lack of Commitment *Avoidance of Accountability *Inattention to Results The first … [Read more...] about Producing Team Results for Mission Impact