The leaders I talk with – whether they are in corporations, nonprofits, or government – tell me that most of their days are frenzied. They feel like they are in a “constant state of urgency” – going from one fire to another. This is the issue that Steven Covey was addressing in his book First Things First as he suggested that leaders need to spend less time on what is … [Read more...] about A Constant State of Urgency
communication
Execution Beats Strategy?
While I preach and preach about the importance of having an excellent, coherent strategy I cannot deny the overwhelming importance of great execution. In recent weeks I have worked with two top leaders (both women incidentally)who are fantastic at execution - which has driven this home. The importance of being able to GSD (Get Stuff Done) is always vital, as two friends of … [Read more...] about Execution Beats Strategy?
Integrating Staff & Strategy
You know you have a brilliant strategy – but it is not working. What’s up? There are a myriad of reasons why excellent strategies are not implemented effectively. Here are two basic pitfalls that you can avoid. #1. Undercommunicating the Strategy. John Kotter, in his classic book, Leading Change, says that leaders very often do not communicate their vision and … [Read more...] about Integrating Staff & Strategy
Promoting Mission & Values
We know that mission, vision, and values are core to the identity of any organization. And I often tell leaders that one of their most important responsibilities is to keep these in the forefront of their coworkers minds. But how do you do that? Recently, Dr. Alex Triantis – our Dean at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland – had our … [Read more...] about Promoting Mission & Values
The Value of Nurturing Stakeholders
You know it’s something you should spend more time on, but it gets put on the backburner. This blog is dedicated to encouraging you to take “nurturing stakeholders” from your “C” list and moving it up to your “A” list. We all know how important it is to have strong relationships with our stakeholders, whether they are donors, board members, volunteers, alumni, people … [Read more...] about The Value of Nurturing Stakeholders