Month: November 2010

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Changing Seasons, Slowing Down

Tree With Maple Leaves reflecting changing seasons
Fall Colors

This is my favorite time of year. The trees look spectacular here in the Appalachian Mountains and everything is ablaze with color. Fall always gets me thinking about what needs changing, what needs to be dropped, and what needs to go dormant for a while.

It’s a good time to take an inventory of your busy schedule and see what needs to be changed, dropped, or let lie for a while.

  • Are there tasks you’ve taken on that you really need to let go of?
  • What commitments do you need to finish so you can rest more during the darker winter months?
  • What about your office- is it cluttered with stacks of papers that need to be filed or sorted?
  • Are you squirreling away things that you don’t need to save?
  • How can you make a change with your desk or office so that you make some more space in your life?

The squirrels are busy collecting their nuts and people are busy preparing for holiday feasts. Same activity, different species.

Being a mammal you are more connected to the sun and seasons than you may realize. Your body may need more sleep or you may need more stillness through the winter hibernating months. This is a great time for you to figure out how busy you want to be as the holidays loom on the horizon. If you find this a stressful and hectic time, be intentional to do things differently, slow your pace and welcome the hibernation.

  • Choose one thing you want to do differently this fall to prepare for winter.
  • Choose one thing you want to drop to simplify your holidays.
  • Choose one thing you want to go dormant for a few months.

The Celtic tradition of Samhain marks the cross-quarter holiday between the Fall Equinox and the Winter Soltice, often celebrated with bonfires to light the dark sky. Believed to be a time when the veil between the living and the dead was thinnest, people wore costumes to commemorate the dead along with the dying of the trees, and to honor their ancestors and celebrate the end of the fall harvest. The tradition has been carried into America as All-Saints Day on Nov. 1st and Halloween (all hallow’s eve) on Oct. 31st.

As you look towards the winter holiday season, the darkness calls forward your inner light to glow brighter. What warmth can you bring to your co-workers? What will help you remember your inner light in the midst of the busy-ness of your squirrel activities?

Here are a few quick suggestions as you prepare for winter:

1. Take time to walk and enjoy the fall colors

2. Light a candle each night and reflect on who helped you get through your day- thank the electrician who wired your office, the grocery store clerk who stacked your food, the truck driver who brought the gas to your local station

3. Cook a simple meal of locally grown vegetables or make a soup of the fall vegetables to celebrate the end of the fall harvest

4. Check on someone you haven’t talked to in a while to see how they are doing.

In this life we cannot always do great things, but we can do all things with great love.

Mother Teresa

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Linda is an author, speaker, coach, and consultant. Go to her website www.lindajferguson.com to read more about her work, view video clips of her talks, and find out more about her book “Path for Greatness: Spirituality at Work” available on Amazon.

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Qantas Neglects Twitter in Crisis

Twitter signage

Airline ignores opportunity to communicate and connect via social media

You don’t have to look hard to see the prominent role Twitter is playing in major crises. When engine problems forced a Qantas Airbus A380 to make an emergency landing in Singapore last week, passengers were tweeting pictures of the damage as their plane sat on the tarmac.

In the hours after, Qantas was in a scramble, trying to combat inaccurate media reports on several fronts, including several that claimed the plane had actually crashed, and being made to look somewhat foolish as they denied any wreckage being found on a nearby island while a photo from that very island showing locals holding a large piece of debris circulated around Twitter with the hashtag #QF32.

With the story already on its way to exploding on Twitter, one would think Qantas would go to where its stakeholders were discussing things, but instead its main account, @QantasUSA, remained strangely silent on the issue, and visitors seeking information saw only earlier messages, including one that became somewhat inappropriate given the situation. Image from Tnooz.com:

Finally, late on September 4th, the airline managed to get a link to its initial statement posted on the Twitter feed. The following day, though, Qantas suffered yet another engine scare, this time with a Boeing 747, and for three days now the page has stood without a posting as the rest of Twitter is abuzz with rumor and assumption about the two incidents.

While Qantas did an excellent job ensuring the safety of its customers, its communication was sub-par at best. With such a large company, especially as a member of an industry known to hold inherent dangers, there is no excuse to not have at least one person assigned to handle Twitter postings and replies around the clock.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

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Passionate Communication – the Key to Effective Presenting and Training

A-presenter-with-his-audience-looking-at-the-board

As a way of introducing myself to the Training and Development world, I’ve included the bio below. While a variety of skill sets take us in many directions, my strength has been as a passionate communicator. I apply my social psychology background and my verbal skills to my “day” job, focusing on crisis management and customer service. I will be retiring from that position and devoting my time to running my company, Acting Smarts, as well as writing, acting, speaking, coaching and related activities. Meanwhile, I am open to financial opportunities now that will allow me to depart from my current position when feasible, and grant me the means to apply my skills and talent in a broader sense. In general, effective communication is important, not only in achieving our interpersonal goals, but in influencing the world around us. Skillful and charismatic communication is critical in leading any business or organization, and essential to trainers, training developers, professional development staff, and managers. So, here’s my story:

Jack Shaw is a professional theatrical and film actor, voice-over artist, on-camera actor, performing in commercials, public service announcements, audio books, and training films. In addition to being the Training and Development Blog Host for the Free Management Library, he is the Performing Arts blogger for the Wilmington Examiner, as well as a reviewer for Stage Magazine. He shares his thoughts on theater and other communication topics at www.actingsmarts.wordpress.com.

Through his company, Acting Smarts, he focuses his efforts on practical approaches to acting and communicating. Although he coaches actors for commercials, narration and theatre environments, the bulk of his business is derived from other practical applications of the art–in coaching executives in charismatic public speaking and presenting. With graduate degrees in Performance Criticism and Social Psychology, combined with his years of acting and directing, he has a unique communication insight and a dynamic presentation style. He’s directed such plays as Harvey, Lovers and Other Strangers, Romantic Comedy, Blithe Spirit, and Creation of the World and Other Business; and acted in Regional theaters throughout the country. His professional theater experience includes roles as “Nathan” in Guys and Dolls, “Perchik” in Fiddler on the Roof, “Mordred” in Camelot, and “Ice” in West Side Story. He’s also appeared in numerous non-musical theatre productions.

He has been an on-air personality, commercial announcer, a news director and talk show host in radio as well as a public affairs producer, audio chief, and a staff announcer in television. As an Air Force public affairs officer, he was a public speaker and spokesperson for national and local media, taught English and speech at the USAF Academy, ran the tour program inside Cheyenne Mountain, and was Space Division’s community spokesperson for Los Angeles and Orange counties. While stationed in Panama, he trained other public affairs officers how to handle national and international media. As part of the Administration’s National Training Center, he trained State and Federal staff, developed and presented courses in leadership, management development, train-the-trainer, and customer service. From his diverse experience he sees communication as vital in establishing and maintaining credibility, whether it is as an actor, business executive, or other professional.

Jack received Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Psychology and English, and dual Master’s degrees (Speech/Dramatic Art and English) focusing on performance criticism from the University of Missouri in Columbia. He has yet another Master’s degree in Social Psychology. The Passionate Communicator offers coaching, consulting, training in public speaking, executive presenting, and acting. He applies acting coaching techniques to help professionals build exceptional oral communication and networking skills, and helps serious actors act. Contact Jack at (856) 979-2890.

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For more resources about training, see the Training library.

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13 Tips to sleep more and raise productivity

A-man-sleeping-in-his-office

In our 24/7 world, time spent sleeping is in decline so it’s little wonder that some of us find it hard to wake up in the morning. It’s reported that we sleep at least one hour less each night than we did a half century ago.

You cant beat a good nights sleep!
You can’t beat a good nights sleep!

A recent American study found that during a two-week period, 40% of workers reported fatigue. Of those, 65% reported health-related lost productive time. According to the researchers, workers with fatigue cost US employers $136.4 billion annually in health-related lost productive time.

Two-thirds of adults report frequent sleep problems, however only one in eight says those problems have been diagnosed. The ‘sleep deprived’ are also more likely to suffer from obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular, psychiatric and gastrointestinal disease, and impaired immunity. So it’s not just the quantity of our sleep that matters but also the quality; snoring loudly, daytime dozing, trouble falling asleep or waking unrefreshed are just a few of the signs that a person could be ‘sleep deprived.’

“Sleep is sort of like food,” says Robert Stickgold, a cognitive neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School. He adds, there’s one important difference: “You can be quite starved and still alive. But many of us live on the edge of sleep starvation and just accept it.” Continue reading “13 Tips to sleep more and raise productivity”

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Three Things You Should Know About Communicating Credibility

An-employer-taking-notes-while-communicating-with-this-employees

As leaders of an organization, as trainers and managers, or anyone single employee in our organization, it is essential we are able to communicate our credibility and by doing so reflect positively on the credibility of our organization.

We all want to communicate well. It is the key to our success. If we do it well.

Like a tree falling in the woods a thousand miles away that no one hears, if your audience numbering one or a thousand doesn’t “hear” your message the result is the same. Nothing happens. You’re credible in your mind only.

“If I follow the script,” you think, “everything should fall in place.” But it doesn’t. “Why? How can I fix it?” You say it is an established program proven to work. You say all the right things. It should work.

Ever say something you regretted because you didn’t consider your audience? Everyone has had those embarrassing moments. The difference between us and the animals is our big brains and our mouths (often big) that can form words and sentences to communicate ideas—not just immediate needs or express emotions, and yet sometimes we speak on automatic to get the job done. So, we are “embarrassed” by not seeing the “who” we are talking to until it is too late.

We have made a habit of going about our business and forget the basics of communication. In any organization we make a plan. We probably make a “big picture” communication plan so we know how we will get the word out, but what about our messengers? The messengers need to plan how to communicate that plan, or any plan, or any instruction, or any sales pitch, in the same way. Look at the factors involved. What is my purpose, who am I talking to, how do I say what I need to say?

There are three things you should know to effectively communicate your credibility:

  1. Know your audience,
  2. Know your subject, and
  3. Know your self.

Understanding what I want to say seems easy at first, but that may depend on the “who.” Of course, you have to know what you want in the communication. And if we don’t know “why,” then we shouldn’t have the job we do.

It may sound little like Abbott and Costello’s famous bit about “Who’s on first, but this is all about communication or miscommunication. If the classic situation didn’t ring true to us in some way, it wouldn’t be funny. After all, miscommunication and misunderstanding are at the heart of comedy. However, it is credibility we are after.

We have to know about our audience to know how to present our subject to that audience in a way that has the desired result. And since we are doing the communicating, shouldn’t we consider ourselves part of the equation? We are the catalyst. We make the message memorable by adding the spice of our education, our expertise or our experience, and the bottom line: our credibility.

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For more resources about training, see the Training library.

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Myths about Background Screening

HR-in-an-organization-doing-a-screening-program.

In the newest edition of the EmployeeScreenIQ Verifier, Kevin Bachman discusses a few background screening “urban legends.

  • ” Below is a list what is discussed: “I hear everyone uses credit reports to make hiring decisions. I should too.”
  • “These new database products I hear about are great!”
  • “My applicant’s data is secure. Right?”
  • “I don’t bother with employment verifications. Everyone says companies don’t provide anything!”
  • “I called his references. He sounds great!”

These myths are assumptions made many in HR departments. I have previously written about some of the things that I wish I knew about background screening prior to being employed by a leader in the industry. With background screening being such a vital part of employment screening, it is important that HR Pros and Recruiters understand the truth around them. Check out both my previous post and the Bachman’s legends to see how much you know. If you need more information visit www.employeescreen.com.

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz.

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Making the transition from manager to director

Thinking like a director

Directorship is very different to management. Directors act differently and have different liabilities and duties. They need to think differently.

Good managers are often invited onto boards. They need to make a critical shift in their thinking if they are to be successful in their new environment.

The biggest shift is the move from personal to group accountability and authority. Whilst many managers in modern corporations have experience as team members and are accustomed to being personally rewarded for team achievements many are not comfortable with an environment where they bring no personal power into the boardroom.

Board Leadership

As a leader (and directors are leaders) you are never powerless; you may, in some circumstances, lack authority. This is especially true in circumstances where an individual director wishes to influence the course of events. He or she has no authority over the board but, working through the proper processes and providing insightful contributions to the board debate, is able to make an impact. Some managers find this confronting and dislike the sensation of needing to bring the group to consensus before a decision is made and the board authorises a course of action. These are often the naturally authoritarians but can also be people who, as managers, were very democratic. The difference is that even a democratic manager has the final say on issues that are decided whilst in the board there is never any guarantee that your most persuasive arguments will convince the board to follow your chosen course of action.

The role of the Chairman

Sometimes an experienced chairman can assist a director in making the transition to ‘board thinking’. This is usually best accomplished by a private discussion after a board meeting in which the director has failed to achieve an outcome. These conversations are difficult as the director concerned will feel threatened by the failure. It is important that the conversation be supportive and, where possible, that the chairman highlight issues raised by the director which, whilst not having the outcome that the director desired, have been picked up by management and will be used to enlighten risk management as the company progresses with implementation.

These conversations are only possible in a board with strong collegiality and mutual respect between board members. They will never work if the board is divided or simply failing to work as a team. Boards with shareholder representatives or other nominee directors will find these conversations more difficult than those where the members have selected each other.

When to intervene

Specific indications that a board member is ready and able to be coached in accepting the group decision (and their inability to override this) are hard to define; they may include approaches to other board members whom the director feels are more sympathetic to their point of view, statements to the group in general about concerns or risks raised by the decision, and/or deferential and submissive behaviours that are just slightly out of character (caused by the director attempting to reintegrate with the group after the potentially divisive decision). Responding positively to these indicators will assist the director in coming to terms with their board role.

Behaviours that indicate a board member is not likely to be receptive to coaching are more overt. They include refusal to stop arguing their case, lobbying outside the board meeting for the decision to be overturned, undermining the decision, upsetting the chain of command by direct communication with staff involved in implementing the decision and/or lobbying stakeholders or regulators o encourage them to step in an overturn the decision.

These behaviours do not, however, indicate that a chairman should back off and allow the director to continue. Rather than coaching, in this instance, the chairman must make a firm statement regarding behaviours that will not be tolerated on his or her board. It is helpful to have a written charter to which the director has already subscribed to back up this statement. If a board lacks a charter and finds itself in this position it can rely on external codes of accepted practice but should note that these are less powerful than a specific charter written by the board to describe how it will regulate its own conduct. Directors who place a high value on authority will often be comforted by a display of authority from the board chair. When things are proceeding well again the chairman can attempt to have a coaching conversation to ensure that the director is aware of the issue and also of the board’s intent to support him or her as they deal with it.

Setting standards

Resolute adherence to good practice coupled with an understanding that the change from management to directorship is difficult and can be traumatic are required to assist novice board members, especially those who have been good managers in the past, to become excellent directors in the future.

What do you think?

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Julie Garland-McLellan has been internationally acclaimed as a leading expert on board governance. See her website and LinkedIn profiles, and get her book Dilemmas, Dilemmas: Practical Case Studies for Company Directors.

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Capital Campaigns #5: Choosing Your Campaign Objectives

Choosing-Your-Campaign-Objectives.

A basic concept of capital campaigns is that you shouldn’t need to go beyond the smallest number of major donors necessary to reach your goal.

Referencing Tuesday’s posting, however, the decision you must make is what you want to accomplish with your campaign.

If you want to keep it simple, and all you want/need is to raise a specific dollar amount, that’s at one end of the scale — nice, short, simple and really, really, inexpensive.*

At the other end of the scale is the involvement of “the whole community/constituency.” That’s where you create an elaborate campaign leadership structure, run your campaign over 6 or 12 or 24 months, involve as many volunteers as can be put to work productively, and get as many people as possible to become donors … at a significantly greater expense than the bare bones scenario.**

Depending on the organization and its community/constituency, there may be many good reasons for involving a greater number of people than needed to reach your campaign goal.

In any community/constituency there are likely to be more important/influential/wealthy people than can be appropriately fitted into the basic campaign leadership structure, but they are people you might want to have involved … just to get/keep them involved with the organization.

But, any time you recruit leaders to be part of a campaign, you must have a legitimate, productive, worthwhile activity for them to lead – an activity that will add significant dollars to the amount raised. And, those leaders must get appropriate recognition for their leadership and accomplishments.

To legitimately expand your leadership cadre, you must expand the numbers of potential campaign donors to be solicited. You might also want to expand your campaign donor base to get as many members of your community/constituency involved in the process/project. Community buy-in, a feeling of ownership in the organization and the project, engenders greater long-term community/constituent support.

And, any time you get people to give to a campaign, no matter the amount given, they must feel that their contribution is helping the campaign reach its goal … and helping the community being served by the nonprofit.

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*The vast majority of campaigns come in at a cost of under ten-cents-on-the-dollar-raised; most campaigns come in at under a nickel.

**When you calculate return on investment for any but the most basic campaign, dollars-raised is only one factor. There’s no real way to calculate how what was spent on staff, publicity, mailings and events will result in more/greater contributions in the future – but, without doubt, there will be a return on that investment.

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Watch for Part #6 of Capital Campaigns, next Thursday, November 12th.
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Have a comment or a question about starting or expanding your basic fundraising program, your major gifts fundraising program or a capital campaign? Email me at AskHank@Major-Capital-Giving.com. With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, we’ll likely be able to answer your questions.

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5 Strategies to Create Active Members on Your NGO Board

board members in a meeting

Probably one of the most frustrating things for an Executive Director is when their board members do not actively participate in events and fundraising. The problem is that without proper Board Training, many board members will never realize that it is a part of their role and responsibility as a board member to assist staff with types of actions.

But there are some strategies that can be used to successfully involve board members in these activities. They are:

  • Board training and orientation – Ensure that your board, both returning and new board members participate in board training and orientation. This is an opportunity for them to be reminded that assisting with fundraising and events is a part of their job descriptions.
  • Put it on the board meeting agenda – If the Executive Director and the Board Chairperson inform the board when events are coming up and ask who will be able to attend and help out. Make certain you remind them that if they can’t participate in this event, they will be expected to participate in the next event.
  • Invite board members to sit on planning committees – When you invite board members to help to plan events, it gives them a sense of ownership over what is happening and encourages them to get involved and stay involved.
  • Send out invitations to the event – Make sure your board members all receive an invitation. Include an RSVP request and a polite note informing them if they have not attended previous events, that you would appreciate their participation.
  • Give a presentation – Ask members of your board to give a presentation about something exciting that is happening in your organization, or ask them to make a speech. It’s hard to say “no” if you are expected to speak at the event.

Question of the Day: What other strategies have you used to encourage your board members to attend your NGO’s events and fundraisers?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Nonprofit Capacity Building.

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By Ingrid Zacharias, Managing Director, Envisioning the Future International, http://envisioningthefutureintl.ca/

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Job Satisfaction: Is it Time to Stay or Leave?

Young-business-woman-checking-satisfaction-checklist-box

Have you lost that “loving” feeling?

You’ve survived the layoffs, cut wages, reorganizations and other company changes. You‘re stressed out, fed up and ready to bolt.

On the other hand, the economy is going nowhere, the analysts aren’t sure if we’re in recovery, recession or something in-between and you’re being told “you have a job, be happy.”

So, should you stay or leave? Before you make that critical career decision, take a deep breath, assess your situation and do a cost benefit analysis.

First, consider the reasons to stay. For example:

1. Relationships matter more than money.
You may think you can find a job that will pay you more, but you will be leaving behind a wealth of relationships. When weighing your options, don’t forget the value of the network, the friends and professional colleagues you have now.

2. You are doing well compared to your peers.
Research shows that many people under estimate their skills and their prospects and over estimate others. Take the time to do a realistic assessment of what you have to offer and its value in today’s marketplace.

3. The grass is not always greener.
People, who are desperate to get out of a job, tend to see potential opportunities only outside their company. They enthusiastically take a new job and then realize they’ve gone from the preverbal frying pan into the fire.

Now, consider the reasons to leave. For example:

1. Your relationship with your boss is damaged beyond repair.
You have tried to mend it but you’re getting stonewalled. Yes, she may be a jerk but she is the boss and in a power struggle, you will probably lose.

2. Your values are at odds with the culture.
For example, your company is hierarchical and you want more influence over your job. It’s very hard for one person to change a culture unless he’s the CEO or has been brought in to change things.

3. Your stress level is way off the charts.
It’s affecting your physical or mental health and your relationships with family and friends. You’re burnt out, burnt up and dread going to work.

So what will it be – stay or leave?

In looking at the reasons to stay and the reasons to leave, which will have the best impact on your personal and career satisfaction? What will provide you with the most benefit today? What about tomorrow?

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?