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You Deserve a Break Today

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In a recent op-ed in The New York Times, David Leonhardt writes about the importance of allowing yourself time for detaching from regular daily activities and simply...thinking. He calls it a "Schultz Hour," after former Secretary of State George Schultz, who was a proponent of carving out an hour each week to think about the strategic elements of his job, without distraction.

It seems like this detachment is even more important today, considering our 24/7/365 lifestyles and connections to technology. Our brains are able to benefit from activities that are directly connected to accomplishments and productivity, and those that are more like daydreaming. But they can't do both at the same time, so it's important to give each type of activity some time.  Turning off our phones and computers for an hour, taking a walk in the park, or just sitting and looking out the window the next time we're on the train can give our brains the space to think more creatively and enable us to appreciate the world around us a little more. 

It might just be that by giving ourselves a Schultz Hour, we will become better able to focus on our personal relationships as well as finding solutions to problems we are trying to solve.

Let's try it! Email me and let me know if you do.

What Do Great Board Members Bring to the Table?

How do you know when you have the right board members sitting at the table? Hopefully, you have members who already have these qualities. If not, you can use this as part of your cultivation and development process.

Enthusiasm: They demonstrate a passion for the cause, a willingness to act as an ambassador for their organization, and an ability to inspire excitement in others.

Education or Experience: They possess knowledge and skills that can help your organization succeed.

Expectations: They present with the attitude that their skills and abilities will be respected and utilized appropriately, that they will be encouraged in their efforts to contribute to the growth and advancement of the organization, and that they will behave ethically and professionally.

Energy: They show the stamina to fulfill their obligations and responsibilities and can energize others.

Good luck! I can help you create a board that works for you. Please be in touch with me, ewoolfe@intuitionconsult.com.

Getting Emotional

This week, take a look at this Harvard Business Review video on emotional intelligence. It's pretty special. I think you'll enjoy it.

For more on emotional intelligence and how it can help you personally and professionally, please be in touch with me at ewoolfe@intuitionconsult.com.

 

 

It's Time for Your Yearly Physical

It's Spring! And it's time for your checkup. Your organizational checkup. Time for a peek under the hood to assess how healthy it is. Here we go...

First, do you have a good CEO/Board Chair relationship? Joan Garry believes that this is the single most important sign of organizational health. Do you both understand your roles? Are you partners in your strategic analysis of the organization?

Does your organization have a strong strategic plan? It doesn't have to be a written plan. It doesn't have to be "fancy." But strategy does need to be a vital part of what the Board develops and oversees.

Is there a culture of philanthropy? Does everyone in the organization- Board, staff, volunteers, stakeholders- participate in supporting the organization through fundraising and telling the story of your organization's impact?

Speaking of storytelling, does everyone in the organization know how to articulate the mission, vision and values? By doing this, they can communicate your  organization's impact in transformative ways.

Is your staff motivated and engaged? Are they working well as a team and as individuals? Are they happy?

Finally, do you have sustainability and succession plans in place? Creating a sustainable future involves setting both short and long-term goals and diversification of resources. It also includes leadership cultivation, which is why a succession plan is essential.

Asking yourself these questions, and being honest about where you might need some improvement, is the key to your organizational health. Start now!

Please be in touch with me at ewoolfe@intuitionconsult.com for help with making your organization the healthiest it can be!

How to Create Leaders

"When we tell people to do their jobs, we get workers. When we trust people to get the job done, we get leaders."  Simon Sinek OK, so you're The Leader now. You started at the bottom of the ladder, and you've worked hard enough to advance.

But what have you learned about being a leader? Are you still thinking like a manager? Are you still tied to doing the job instead of managing those who are responsible now for doing the job?

Learning to let go of doing the job is a key part of becoming a leader. It's not easy, but it's necessary. Use your experience to train and coach others to do the job. Believe in their ability and trust that they will follow your example. And soon, they will become leaders too.

If you would like to learn more, please be in touch with me at ewoolfe@intuitionconsult.com. Together we can make a better leader!

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

This post comes to you via Michael Rabin, a life coach I follow on Facebook. I've been thinking a lot about the "shoulds" (and "shouldn'ts") that I hear from myself and others. Thanks, Michael, for helping us make sense of this through your insightful writing.

"German psychoanalyst Karen Horney had a phrase for this: “the tyranny of the should.” She viewed shoulds as dividing our personalities into two selves: an ideal self and a real self. When we don’t live up to the ideal self, we are split and our inner critic comes out.

We put ourselves down when we fail to live up to our shoulds, and we get angry with others when they don’t live up to our shoulds. When we place unfulfilled shoulds on our job and workplace, we end up unhappy at work as well.

A should represents a sort of bargain with ourselves and with the world. If I behave in a certain way then things will work out well. And if you (the workplace) do what you should do, then life will go more smoothly. Until, of course, it doesn’t. Because the bargain isn’t necessarily based on reality or the truth, certainly not your personal truth. The bargain is likely based on something someone told you or a form of magical thinking you created to feel better in a situation.

Shoulds are not always a bad thing, particularly when they compel us to behave in a kinder manner. Fulfilling a should through volunteering or donating to a cause, can help us feel good about ourselves. But when your shoulds are the source of unhappiness, guilt, frustration, etc., it’s time to examine them and create a new way of life."

To Do or To Be? That is the Question

This is an important post, and it's not written by me. It's one from Vu Le of Nonprofit with Balls, and it's a MUST READ.  It's about the culture we have developed that's based on the "what do you do?" question and why we need to shift into a "who are you?" culture in order to fully embrace the diversity and skills that people possess. I can't really say more, except that you need to read this blog right now.

http://nonprofitwithballs.com/2017/03/why-we-need-to-stop-asking-what-do-you-do/

Enjoy!

What Do Great Leaders Need?

No one is born knowing everything there is to know about leadership. Much of what makes a great leader has to be learned. There's a difference between leadership skills (what you know) and leadership attributes (who you are). A great leader needs both. Let's focus on leadership attributes - those qualities that seem to be inborn in many great leaders:

  • Passionate: about mission, about strategic decisions, about life
  • Authentic: building trust; being honest, genuine and forthcoming
  • Curious: engaging people by asking questions and listening to the answers
  • Humorous: laughter at self and situations
  • Fearless: trying new solutions and thinking creatively about things
  • Joyous: expressing happiness

 

There are most certainly more of these attributes. If you have an attribute to contribute to this discussion, please reach out to me at ewoolfe@intuitionconsult.com

 

How To Hire a Great Consultant

Need help growing your organization? Want your board or staff to function more effectively? Thinking of hiring a consultant? Do you know how to find the right person for your team? A great consultant:

  • Has self-confidence: they should approach their work with a high degree of certainty about the direction that work should take
  • Has a good understanding of the business: they have a grounding in both practical and theoretical knowledge
  • Has skills that are adaptable: they can apply their skills across many different situations and can deliver innovative ideas and strategies
  • Has the ability to explain and simplify: they can make complex problems and issues understandable, without jargon
  • Can think on their feet: they can come up with more than one solution to a problem, and can improvise when challenged
  • Has good listening skills: they ask questions and listen carefully to the responses, in order to fully understand their client's needs
  • Gains the client's trust: they work at developing a real relationship with the client and the organization
  • Remembers who comes first: THE CLIENT ALWAYS COMES FIRST!

 

If you are thinking of engaging a consultant to help you and your organization find the best path, please be in touch with me at ewoolfe@intuitionconsult.com

Aspiration as Intention

"Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead."    ~ Louisa May Alcott Welcome to the unveiling of my 2017 intention! I know you have all been waiting patiently while I figured out what it would be. I was waiting patiently too, for the inspiration. Last night I came across this quote, and it just clicked.

So this year's intention is : ASPIRE. I hope to be able to:

Acknowledge my aspirations

Share my aspirations with others

Pursue a purposeful path in following my aspirations

Inspire others to aspire

Respect others' aspirations

Eliminate ego from my aspirations

I will be sharing my aspirations in future posts and writing about how this intention is being fulfilled as we travel through the year.  Here we go....

Difficult Times, Difficult Conversations

The world seems like a strange place to many of us right now. There's so much uncertainty, anger, sadness and anxiety. It's impossible for these emotions not to affect us as we go through our day and communicate with others. People are wrapped up in events outside of their direct control, and many times we're not paying enough attention to what's in front of us. We are not listening enough to each other! I believe that the work I and many of my colleagues and friends are doing is helping to protect and repair the world. And I believe if we are to accomplish this in these troubled times, we are going to have to work together more and listen to each other better.

While I was thinking this, I happened upon a recent blog by Joan Garry, one of my favorite nonprofit professionals. In  a podcast she did with Parisa Parsa, they discuss what's happening now in our country, and how we can communicate more effectively to make our work together easier and more meaningful. It's a great conversation, and so important for us to hear right now.

Take a listen here. Enjoy!

 

 

Be Present

"The most important person is the one you are with in this moment."               ~Leo Tolstoy How many times have you been sitting at the table or desk, trying to have a conversation about something, only to have the other person scrolling through their phone and not paying close (or any) attention to what you're saying? Or - even worse - how many times have you been the one not listening?

It's not just the pull of the smartphone that distracts us. There are too many opportunities for our focus to be drawn away from our colleagues and companions. I know I'm not alone in feeling disappointed and sometimes really irritated when it happens to me, and I regret the times I've made others feel that way with my behavior.

So this week, the post is about BEING PRESENT: giving others your undivided attention, listening, looking them in the eye and responding, and communicating directly with them.

A couple of suggestions on how to accomplish this:

  • At work, encourage a "no devices" policy at meetings, except if needed for a presentation or note-taking.
  • At home, reserve meals for conversation, without technology.
  • When out with friends, try playing the game where the first person to reach for their phone during the meal pays for everyone.
  • If you're the one trying to get someone's full attention, ask for it in an assertive way: "I have something I want to talk with you about. Can you put your phone away for a few minutes while we have this conversation?"

 

Now put down your phone and talk to someone! Good luck with being present!

 

Self Improvement

"There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving - your own self."        ~Aldous Huxley What does "self improvement" mean to you? What are you thinking about doing in 2017 to improve yourself?

For me, I will be spending a (scheduled in advance, ideally) percentage of my time reading, participating in webinars, watching TED Talks and other videos, and connecting with my colleagues to widen my world.

I'll be learning new things from my clients, who always manage to teach me how to be a better person through my work.

I hope to travel to new places to expand my view of the world, meeting new people along the way.

And I'm looking forward to applying all that I see, do and learn to making my personal and professional life richer and more meaningful.

How about you?

Let me know what your plan is, at ewoolfe@intuitionconsult.com. I'd love to join you!

How to Approach the New Year in 5 Easy Steps

Welcome to 2017! I hope you enjoyed the holidaze and are preparing to face what the new year has to offer. While it is certainly tempting to close the book on 2016, you may still be  struggling to figure out what you'd like 2017 to be like. It's typical at this time of year to ask yourself questions: What is my purpose? What do I need to change? How can I let go of bad habits? Why aren't I happier/richer/more successful/whatever?

Instead of assaulting yourself with questions, here are some strategies for developing your ability to self-assess and start to create positive change:

  • Process the past year: many of us would like to forget 2016 even happened, but reflecting on everything that happened in your life can put things in perspective. There were almost certainly some positives, and even the negatives can motivate you to do things differently in the coming year.
  • Create time for yourself: a monthly or quarterly "retreat" can be really helpful in balancing all the things you're juggling. Get out of your regular routine and location- a change of scenery often stimulates introspection, and being out in nature can also be therapeutic.
  • Spend time with people who are good for you: surround yourself with people who elevate and energize you, not those who suck the life from you. Figure out how to include these important people in your life, professionally and socially. Life is too short to spend it with people who bring you down.
  • Express your gratitude: make sure to tell yourself every day what you are grateful for in your life- people, work, your health, things that bring you joy. Make a point of communicating to those people how much you appreciate them (they are probably the people you've chosen to spend more time with!).
  • Be easy on yourself: instead of pushing to change yourself, try to practice self-acceptance. What are you proud of yourself for? What do others admire in you? How have you already succeeded? Accept where you are right now, and encourage the idea that you are already enough.

 

Let's all try to move into 2017 with a renewed purpose and hope for the best!

So Long, 2016

Be not the slave of your past-- plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep, and swim far, so you shall come back with new self-respect, with new power, and with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Whether you had a good 2016 or not, whether you've been naughty or nice, whether you celebrate the holidays or not- here's hoping that we all have a peaceful and healthy end of the year and a very Happy New Year!

See you all in 2017. New website and changes to come!

'Tis the Season for Board Giving

The title of this post is not entirely correct: it is ALWAYS the season for board giving! However, since many organizations are running their year-end campaigns, board giving is often included at this time. Board chairs and leaders have been known to complain that they can't get their boards to give. It's considered integral to the "culture of philanthropy" to have board members contribute to the support of their organizations. If they don't do it, how can we expect others to do it? The board should set an example for staff, volunteers, and other stakeholders.

How can 100% board giving be accomplished?

What seems to work best is for there to be a clearly articulated policy for board giving that is encouraged and enforced throughout the year. Yes, there can be a "give-get" policy or a sliding scale contribution, but it's most important for whatever policy there is to be documented and monitored regularly, and for all incoming board members to be aware of the policy, ideally as part of their job description. It is the board chair's responsibility to communicate with each board member about their responsibility, and to offer opportunities for training that support their efforts.

For more information on how to work with boards in creating a culture of philanthropy, please be in touch with me at ewoolfe@intuitionconsult.com.

Good luck!

 

 

 

The Happy Healthy Nonprofit, Part Two

Last year, I wrote about a presentation at the Alliance for Nonprofit Management conference by Beth Kanter, where she talked about a book she was working on with Aliza Sherman, another nonprofit guru. That book, The Happy Healthy Nonprofit: Strategies for Impact Without Burnout, is now out and highly recommended. The premise of the book is that while nonprofits are mission-driven, they will only be at their most productive if their employees are happy and healthy. So often, self-care is the first thing to be crossed off the list when there are deadlines, details, and stress to deal with. On both an individual and an organizational level, many nonprofits have a long way to go in creating nurturing environments for themselves.

Sometimes, this "overdrive ethic" is valued and rewarded. Who stayed all night to finish the grant application? Who worked all weekend? Who hasn't seen the inside of a gym all year (or ever)? In addition, many nonprofit employees are doing emotionally draining work and need to nourish themselves even more, but don't allow themselves the time because their organizational culture does not allow for it. As one of the employees interviewed for the book said, "We are going to kill ourselves trying to change the world."

There are success stories in the book that help create a road map for other groups looking to do better.  The authors outline a few steps that every organization can follow to improve their culture and support their employees in a healthier lifestyle, beginning with raising awareness of the issue and educating employees about self-care. From that point, everyone can develop their own personalized self-care plan that can have measurable and trackable results, and share some of their activities with the group, fostering positive relationships within the organization that can help transform the culture.

I encourage you to read the book and let me know your thoughts at ewoolfe@intuitionconsult.com. Happy and healthy reading!