Category: Leadership
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The peril of excessive meetings
7 tips to address the challenge of spending too much time in meetings.
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The power of “We Believe”
Early in my tenure as an Executive Director, when people asked me “what does the Oregon League of Conservation Voters do,” I got excited and would launch into a list…
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What’s your plan to fight authoritarianism?
I’ve struggled with how to navigate the tension between doing my day job — meeting the needs of my clients who’re fighting to make the world a better place —…
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Being willing to be uncomfortable
This is a follow-up to an article I wrote more than a decade ago entitled: “Step Out of your Comfort Zone.” I was recently talking to a board member for…
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Scary Nonprofit Quotes 2025
October 31, 2025 For the last few years (with one exception), I’ve taken time to compile some of the scariest nonprofit quotes I’ve heard in the last year and sharing…
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Wingspan lessons for nonprofit leaders
Four years ago, I wrote about Ticket to Ride, a board game I had become “addicted to” during the pandemic. My article identified lessons from playing the game that could…
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Three quadrant tools for being strategic
About a decade ago, I posted a blog that suggested how to apply a matrix approach in organizational decision-making. The blog examined a time-management technique originally generated by Stephen Covey…
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Five Lessons for Effective Staff Management
Business author Jim Collins, in his monograph Good to Great and the Social Sectors identified getting the “right people on the bus” as a core attribute of highly functioning nonprofits.…
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Short-term planning and project management 101
It’s important to be systematic and not use a haphazard approach when it comes to tracking to-dos and managing projects as a nonprofit leader.
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Staying Grounded in Dangerous Times #2
February 28, 2025 I wrote my last email less than a week into our current wannabe dictator’s Term. Now I can say: one month down, 47 to go. Sigh. Last…