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
leadership
The Four Fundamental Questions
If you want focused, effective, coordinated action from the people in your organization, then every one of them should be able to answer these four fundamental questions: *Why are we here? *What do we stand for? *Where are we going? *How are we going to get there? Why are we here? This is the mission question. But we don’t need to make people memorize the mission … [Read more...] about The Four Fundamental Questions
The 2nd Deadly Sin of Nonprofit Strategy: “Insular Mountaintop Planning”
It can be good for a strategy planning group to go to the “mountains” to get away from distractions to do work together. But, before you go, gather input regarding the organization’s future from stakeholders – and check in with them when you get back for more input before you publish the plan. I get push-back on this, because it can take some time. When a CEO asks me why … [Read more...] about The 2nd Deadly Sin of Nonprofit Strategy: “Insular Mountaintop Planning”