Why It’s Important: Planning or Improv?
Should planning be more improvisation or strategy? This article argues more improv, but without a framework, the improv can’t work.
Why It’s Important: Black Women Are Coming for Equity
Legacy board members bring memories of their own experiences to the table, sometimes keeping them from realizing that times have changed. This articles illustrates the problem when it comes to equality vs equity and inclusion.
Why It’s Important: Lessons Learned as Board Chair
I'm not writing any more blog posts! At least not for a while. But that doesn’t mean you won’t hear from me. Building and nurturing relationships is at the heart of how I work with nonprofit boards and executives. A blog post cannot recreate the one-on-one...
Can board training be interesting?
What a question! The mere fact that you’re asking says that you’ve had bad experience with consultants coming in and telling everyone what they ‘should’ be doing. That is such a wrong approach, it’s no wonder board training has such a bad rap. Even the word...
Professional Development is for Staff, Not Boards.
Professional Development is for Staff, Not Boards. NOT! Imagine you have an ailment that takes you to the doctor. On the wall is her diploma from 20 years ago. “Ah!” you think. “She has a lot of experience. Hmm, I wonder if she’s kept up with the latest thinking in...
Are your collaborations spinning wheels?
Do you know why collaborations fail? There are two questions to ask to reduce risk of failure.
Throw Out Your Board Matrix
Are you using an outdated board matrix? Throw it out. What skills do you REALLY need on your board?
Dangerous Assumptions: Knowing “Where they’re coming from” isn’t enough!
You need more than empathy to make your case. Many people tell you that successful persuasion is built on understanding the other person’s values and frame of reference. What they don’t tell you is that you also have to know what they know. No Jargon We usually know...
How to keep simmering issues from derailing your team
Do simmering issues on your team prevent smooth group efforts? Maybe there’s past ‘bad blood,’ or one party imputes negative motives to the other. Perhaps a dominant personality habitually runs roughshod over the ideas of the other, or two team members have become...
Is Board Recruitment the Key to Your Vision?
credit: John Quidor In Washington Irving's story of Rip Van Winkle, old Rip goes off hunting to the mountains, encounters supernatural beings, drinks of their keg of brew, and falls asleep. Upon awakening, he returns home, only to find that 20 years have passed and...
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