Category: Leadership
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Preparing for an Executive Director Transition
Often times Executive Director transitions are abrupt, taking place within a 1-2 month period when an E.D. moves onto another professional opportunity. Rarely, they are even more abrupt after a…
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To follow your dreams, learn to say no
Learning to say no is one of the most important skiils for any organizatonal leader or organization. Oliver Bremerton recently wrote and illustrated a compelling explanation for how this plays…
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Why you Lead Matters
I recently came across a study published in Harvard Business Review that crystallized some of my own thinking about how to motivate leadership. The article outlines the results of a…
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A riddle about 5 frogs – updated
About 15 months ago I created a blog entry: 5 frogs sitting on a log. Here’s an updated version. The riddle: Five frogs are sitting on a log. One decides…
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Guest blog: Grantwriting as a Team-building exercise
Guest blog by Sami Fournier of Element Exercise. Faced with the prospect of submitting a grant proposal, consider what a great opportunity you have before you. Beyond being a challenge…
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Learning to let things go “wrong.”
One of the trickier challenges facing a nonprofit Executive Director with supervisory responsibilities is leaning to let things go “wrong.” If you are to empower your staff to have areas…
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Have you sharpened your axe lately?
A friend was recently describing to me a challenge he faced as a new board member of a relatively healthy organization, but one that seemed to have a frenetic culture.…
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Invest in professional development
A recent Huffington Post blog article focused on the importance of the nonprofit sector investing in professional development. As a whole, the sector has a poor track record in training…
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Outcomes Schmoutcomes
I am a big believer in nonprofit organizations measuring the outcomes they achieve. It’s an essential tool for any staff/board to know they’re having the impact desired over time. And…
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“I was waiting for . . .” is not a valid excuse
Pet peeve of mine: Using “I was waiting for” as an excuse. Too often somebody who’s not meeting a deadline responds that they’re failing because: “I was waiting for John…