Learning to Lead for Impact
leadership insight from Tom Okarma
the latest and greatest…
What is Your Nonprofit Leadership Style?
Most of us (nonprofit leaders) have either taken courses or read a lot about the basic meat and potatoes leadership skills we need to effectively do our job. I’m talking about strategic planning and...
Guest Post: Want to build a better board? The key is expectations!
Serving on a nonprofit board presents great opportunities for meaningfully contributing to a worthy cause. But board service also involves significant responsibilities that may feel burdensome at...
How to Solve Those Tough Problems You Face
Leaders deal with problems all the time. That's why we get the big bucks, right? Every so often though, we'll face a very challenging, complicated, and maybe a "touchy" problem. You know, the ones...
Ever Been asked…Why Should I Want to Serve on Your Board?
Have you ever been asked this question? Let’s say you know someone who is highly respected, has been engaged with your mission for some time, and has shown good judgment in the past. You may even be...
How Can You Solve Problems and Avoid Ugly Confrontations?
I talk to a lot of nonprofit leaders (Executive Directors and CEO'S) and it is interesting to me that so many are experiencing a variety of problems due in large part to the same issue--avoiding a...
Presenting at CLA 2015 Outcomes Conference
Last week I led two workshops at CLA's Annual Conference in Dallas and was one of the authors signing books in the book store. It was a "kick" and I am grateful to CLA for putting on this event and...
leadership
Electrify Your Sleepy Directors
Fall is planning time for most nonprofit executive directors and board CEO'S. Two questions you may be asking yourself are: How can I get more out of our current board next year? Or, How can I re-awaken and fire up those solid directors who "checked out this past...
5 Unspoken Thoughts of Your New Board Members
With the end of the calendar/fiscal year approaching, many nonprofit boards will be undergoing important change. New directors are coming and term-expired directors will be leaving. Thank you to both groups for your service. Change is never easy but it is necessary...
Transformational Thinking on Board Recruitment
On a trip out west recently I visited a nonprofit organization that just blew me away. I have written in the past about the importance of strategic alignment and impact in the past and this organization has it all--and then some. I thought I'd share some information...
Harvesting a Team of New Key Partners
I recently met with a board president and Executive Director wanting to rebuild their board, generate new "buzz" around their brand, and increase the number of strategic partners. They had been operating "very thin", of late. The agency needs a shot in the arm with...
This Time Around, get Edgy!
With Fall just about upon us, thoughts naturally turn toward planning for 2014, year end board meetings, and next year's budget. In other words, a lot of deep thinking on some important issues. Before you default into your normal year end mindset though, why not...
Why Your NP Board Gets Nothing Done
I talk to a lot of board members and board chairs in my travels and one complaint I hear quite often, is "We just don't seem to get anything done. How can we make progress during our term in office?" I get this a lot! Sound like your board? Directors tell me they...
board development
Building Boards that Deliver Value
I've been thinking about nonprofit boards of directors lately. What does your board development committee look for in a board candidate? What is the ideal composition of a board? I mean, what skill-sets or experiences should your board members "bring to the table"?...
How’s That Board Working Out For You?
How active is your board? Do you have any directors you have to carry from time to time? What should you do about absentee directors? We have a terrific board serving our nonprofit. It is comprised of individuals who are emotionally, financially, and actively invested...
Board Effectiveness
How active is your board? Do you have any directors you have to carry from time to time? What should you do about absentee directors? We have a terrific board serving our nonprofit. It is comprised of individuals who are emotionally, financially, and actively invested...
Effective Board Meetings
How are those board meetings and board committee meetings going? Do they drag on endlessly? Are they accomplishing anything? Does everyone look forward to them? Do they give you energy or drain it from you and others? We had a problem with board and some committee...
Is your organization ready for the future or living in the past
Is your business model or organizational structure ready for tomorrow’s opportunities and challenges, or does it still reflect your “hey days” of the past? If your firm did not exist and you were to create it new today, what would it look like? It’s true, many...
360* Reviews: They can be your friend.
Have you ever considered conducting a 360* review on yourself? Do you know what they are? I was somewhat reluctant to go through one, but wow, what a useful experience! Wish I had done it earlier in my leadership career. A 360* review provides you (and you alone) with...
strategic planning
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everything…
Governance Part 2: Board Composition
What would be the ideal composition of your board? What skill sets should you have represented by board members that you can therefore leverage to your organization’s advantage? What does your board development committee look for in a board candidate? I’m currently...
Lencioni’s Four Keys To A Healthy Culture
At the Chick-fil-A Leadercast conference last week, Pat Lencioni identified 4 keys to a healthy organizational culture. Like so many other tips, they are easy to understand and accept, but they can be so hard to execute. Pat says the keys to a healthy organizational...
Tough Calls Made…Easier?
I recently attended the Chick-Fil-A Leadercast one day Conference and hear Andy Stanley speak on making choices and decision making. He set up the scenario in which an important decision must be made, one that you, the leader must make...not your team. HE gave us...
Board Presidents That Don’t Bore
Over coffee with a friend who recently retired as a nonprofit board president, I learned how she kept board meetings lively and got her directors engaged right from the opening gavel. I had not served on this board so I was interested to learn her secret. Before she...
Read It and Reap!
I recently re-tweeted an interesting short article based on management guru Peter Drucker. The more I thought about it, though, the material is worth far more than a simple re-tweet. When I led a for-profit business and came across stimulating written materials, we...
Board Meetings That Don’t Bore!
Tired of ineffective board meetings and directors that show up unprepared? Have you had it with board members that sit around at meetings like so many potted plants? Maybe you have trouble just getting enough directors to show up to have a quorum! I don't like wasting...
Form Follows Function
Working with a nonprofit recently, I asked to see a copy of its organization chart-you know, the chart depicting how things are organized. As soon as I saw it, I became leery. The chart listed the names of people, rather than the departments they lead. This is often a...
Equipping Directors-101
For new board members, lead directors, and board presidents, I recently came across an excellent book. I’d consider it a “must read” and it applies to any board: for profit, nonprofit, secular, faith-based, public, private...whatever. I remember my early days on my...
The First 100 Days
Leaders have very little time to set a new tone, to begin installing a new DNA into an organization. The popular take on this is 100 days...give or take. That’s why I really like the way Theo Epstein and his new crew of leaders have literally torn into the Cubs...