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Last call to register for all three workshops of an ONLINE 3-PART WORKSHOP SERIES called "Essential 21st Leadership Practices" kicking off on March 2nd.
In the first workshop, Asking Purposeful Questions, you'll learn:
Warning: This post may create stress for those of you who have been living in denial.
The dirty little not-so-secret haunting a lot of nonprofit organizations - including faith-based ones - these days is that, because of the economic downturn, they're quickly moving from life on the financial edge to falling over the cliff.
Have you ever been part of an organization that was on fire? If you have, then you know first-hand that a fast-growing organization hardly ever sets pie-in-the-sky goals. They’re not even thinking about the future. They don’t have time. Instead, they are working hard to respond to the demands and opportunities that are right in front of them. At some point, they’ll probably have a big meeting, call in a consultant, hire a COO, or do something in order to help them create a strategy to get them from here to there. But “there” isn’t the focus. Their attention and resources are zeroed in on right here and right now.
So how come, when organizations are sputtering and stuck, leaders tend do the opposite? What makes them think that by tossing down a gigantic challenge or casting their own gynormous vision, they will be able to motivate people into working harder or more effectively? For example:
Great blog post from Bob Sutton last week about his visit to the headquarters of the internationally respected design firm IDEO. Bob was a little startled to discover that the CEO and author of Change by Design, Tim Brown, moved out of his corner office on the management floor and put his desk where you'd usually find the receptionist. Tim was "vaguely embarrassed and frustrated" to be in that big beautiful office all by himself. His move out onto the floor has done a lot to strengthen the collaborative culture they've created at IDEO. But, more importantly, now Tim can really see and hear what's going on. People can just walk up and talk to him. He can find out what they're thinking. He learns more.
Which brings us to one of our pet peeves: Leaders who pretend to want your opinion but do whatever they want, anyway, without really listening to what you have to say.
In fact, it's hard to imagine anything more annoying.
The number one most innovative company in 2009, according to Fast Company magazine, is six-year old Facebook. They added 200 million users last year. That means they now have a total of 400 million users worldwide.
How are they doing it?
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's young CEO, says that at the heart of it all is "hacking" (which he insists isn't about breaking and entering): "It's about being unafraid to break things in order to make them better."
When was the last time you dared to break something in your organization in order to make it better?
What if you could explore new ideas, engage in conversation with colleagues from across the continent, learn from and with a couple of well-known authors/teachers, and get equipped to share what you've learned with the people in your organization --- all without leaving your office?
Now you can.
We spotted this sign in a hotel bathroom recently. Talk about working playfully. We bet it's given a chuckle to a lot of weary travelers, too.
But we think that's just all the more reason to create opportunities to play and to laugh. Who can you do that with today?
