By Denice Hinden, Managance Consulting & Coaching, and Mooniek Seebregts, The Center Of Innovation For Leaders

A C-IQ Case Study in Leading Change

By: Nicklas Balboa, Denice R. Hinden, PhD, Len Rothman, MBA & Richard D. Glaser, PhD

In this conversation, Denice and I discuss the purpose of a board and how leaders can build relationships with board members. We explore the importance of transparency, how to keep initiatives moving forward, and the practice of regularly providing context.

By Michelle Beauchamp, The Champ Group and Denice R. Hinden, Ph.D., Pcc, Eli-Mp, Managance Consulting & Coaching

How you can strengthen your association culture with meaningful connections and build lasting relationships.

By Michelle Beauchamp and Denice R. Hinden, Ph.D., Pcc, Eli-Mp

Transparency is an opportunity. When Maxine Thurston-Fisher was the Executive Director of Miami Bridge Emergency Shelter for Runaway and Homeless Youth, she shared the whole operating budget with the entire staff. She wanted everyone to understand what it took to run the organization and how we could contribute to reducing costs and living within our budget.

The Collaboration Norm: Since my introduction to nonprofit organizations in the 1960’s, an expectation is partnering and collaborating. The reasons always are to leverage resources, avoid duplication and be cost-effective. When my mom developed the first meals-on-wheels program for homebound seniors in Pittsburgh in the 1970’s, it was a collaborative effort between B’nai Brith Women, The Jewish Home for the Aged and Jewish Family and Children Services.

I’m starting today’s blog with “Double-Clicking” on the term “nonprofit” because I was recently reminded in a global conversation that the term is still quite confusing. The “Double-Clicking” concept – meaning to open a discussion of terms for greater understanding - is one of the invaluable tools Judith E. Glaser, introduces in her book Conversational Intelligence, How Great Leaders Build Trust and Get Extraordinary Results.

The executive director of a reputable, high performing nonprofit organization lamented that board members should be more actively involved and they needed a more effective engagement strategy. When I arrived at a 7:30 AM breakfast meeting to find a table full of eager volunteers I reached a different conclusion than the executive director.

I grew up in the generation where you did what your parents told you to do. For example, ‘Wear appropriate attire when you go to the Courthouse with your dad; wear a coat to school; hold that job for at least a year’ …and so on.

I find these days that leadership is a joyful experience, but it wasn't always that way. Take a moment right now to go back in time to situations in your leadership when you wished you responded differently. As if you were watching a movie of those times, notice what was happening, how they made you feel and how your response impacted others and yourself.

Change in the executive leadership of a nonprofit organization is inevitable. Since it will likely happen a number of times in the life of any organization, the question isn’t whether it will happen. The question is when. And, a related question is how important is it for an organization – with 5 staff or 500 staff - to be prepared for this inevitability?

In a recent conversation, a nonprofit CEO told me about a member of her senior team who has terrific potential.  “But,” she said, “this leader ‘knows everything.’  “The ideas have to be hers, and she has to be in control.  I’ve had many conversations with her about this behavior and I don’t know what to do.”

Change is!!! Sometimes it happens easily with the help of early adopters who “enjoy” trying new things and for whom risk is invigorating and non-threatening. But for many of us, change is a threat that triggers emotions and resistance.

Do any of these situations sound familiar?

YOU SENT AN EMAIL acknowledging your team’s great work and offering some ideas about how to make the report preparation process next month easier on everyone. The email triggers frustration from team members and a sense that you are displeased with their work. Hours are lost to emotional back channel conversations before you can regroup and clear the air.

At the time of writing this nugget in early 2017, the week started by celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 88th birthday – the hope of his legacy. Then there was the inauguration of a new Presidential administration, and the week ending with women and men marching and protesting across the country to preserve the Constitutional rights of all people – the hope for the future.

Like the finesse of an energizing orchestra conductor, good strategic plans are living documents that shift and change with an organization’s needs. Rather than being obsolete tomes, they are meant to be dynamic and evolving guides relevant to the organization’s future. Therefore, the commitment to using a strategic plan as an organizational guide is ultimately about leadership.

Think for a minute about a time in your life or your work when you experienced a significant change. As you uncover the memory, remember how you were feeling about the change. What worried you?  What made you feel uncertain?  What exhilarated you? What were you looking forward to as an outcome or result? 

The title of this nugget is a quote from Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner. To me, the definitions of the word “crucible” perfectly describe the opportunity leaders have when you shake things up for yourselves and your teams.

Recently I facilitated a discussion with a group I worked with for some time. The conversation was progressing productively. Then someone heard a comment that felt threatening. My further inquiry elicited even more concern. Before I knew it, I lost the trust in the conversation.