Obama’s status as a leader was reinforced for me during an authentic and transparent interview he did this past weekend with CBS.

In it, he said he was most frustrated by his inability “to change the atmosphere” in Washington “to reflect the decency and common sense of ordinary people” who want their leaders to solve problems.

Obama also said, “I think there’s no doubt that I underestimated the degree to which in this town politics trump problem solving.”

Why are those remarks resonating so strongly?

I’m quite sure it’s because he nailed it.

Citizens would agree that… More Posted on 07-15-12

Social Media: Changing the Game for Government

This week I heard yet another person tell me that as a government employee she was discouraged from using social media.

I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised. While working for a municipality some years ago, I brought a laptop to my office in order to expedite my work.

While granted this was before the mainstream office use of computers and the laptop did cover most of my desk surface, I wasn’t commended for my initiative.

Instead I was told that if I didn’t remove the computer, a grievance would be filed against me by the union.

Not known… More Posted on 07-09-12

Canada Day—More than a Day Off

I almost took Canada Day for granted. Like many other Canadians, I was starting to think of it simply as another day off.

That is until I received an email from my good friend Ian Hill. Although well known within the 140 plus communities across Canada where his philanthropic efforts focused on supporting local leaders to build playgrounds and skateboard parks, he was actually born in Iran and adopted as a newborn by an American couple stationed there. He was raised in Arizona and now lives in Nevada.

In the email he sent on Canada Day, Ian wrote, “In… More Posted on 07-01-12

When You Hate Your Job

I recently met a woman who is totally frustrated with her job. Forced into a situation where she has responsibilities that weren’t part of her original position description has meant she is now working at a job for which she has little interest or passion.

What surprised me the most, however, is that she actually admitted she is hoping to be fired. She wants to be fired so she’ll be offered a buyout package. Even when I suggested being fired isn’t something one necessarily wants to see on a resume, she remained adamant that it was the best option.… More Posted on 06-25-12

Endings are Just New Beginnings

I’m stuck.

Stuck between endings and beginnings. Stuck between leaving five years of the most intense and meaningful work I’ve ever done and an emerging sense of new possibilities.

But, I am struggling.

After all, how does one create a perfect ending? Is it even possible to find a way to finish up five years of all-consuming work and exit with grace?

Ultimately, it seems to be a delicate dance between needing to leave what is over, while making sure it’s importance isn’t lost. It also means finding a balance between believing that endings are just another starting… More Posted on 06-04-12

The Power of Cooperation

A number of years ago, I read a book called The World is Flat, an international bestselling book by Thomas Friedman that analyzed the impact of globalization and what it was going to mean for individuals, businesses, and countries.

Although I’m not sure I totally understood it at the time, it has become clearer that our world is one where borders and physical location are becoming less and less important.

Globalization also means that if businesses and organizations are going to remain meaningful and competitive, ongoing shifts in thinking will be essential.

By way of example, when my husband and… More Posted on 05-27-12

A Politician Who Apologizes??!?!

Like a lot of Canadians, I haven’t always paid a lot of attention to what’s happening politically – either in Niagara or Edmonton where I now live.

In large part, it has been the result of my being unable to relate to “old boy” thinking and an emphasis placed on economic metrics. Politics too often seemed removed from my grassroots focus and passion for delivering social impact in our communities. 

But, Alison Redford, the first woman to be Premier in Alberta, has definitely ramped up my interest in politics these days, as well as garnered the attention of many… More Posted on 05-21-12

The Importance of a Cocoon of Warmth

I think my husband must have wondered where I had spent my day because when I arrived home I was bubbling with energy.

It didn’t help matters that when he asked me about my day I explained that I had spent most of it in a very long meeting that involved the challenge of selecting pilot communities for an innovative initiative focused on encouraging residents to invest locally.

When my husband continued to look at me with a quizzical and somewhat skeptical look, I struggled to explain, ultimately realizing that it was the group itself that was so special.… More Posted on 05-13-12

Playing by the Old Rules Means Losing at a New Game

As I sat down to write this piece, I didn’t have a starting point. Heck, I didn’t even have a topic.

Being good at procrastinating as well as being ready to be distracted, I checked my email.

And, wouldn’t you know, I found a message from a colleague in North Carolina who had sent an intriguing news video based on an article published by the National Journal entitled “In Nothing We Trust”.

The article presented evidence demonstrating that a trust deficit is building and eating away at the social fabric of American communities. Trusted icons like Walter Cronkite no… More Posted on 05-06-12

Its Bad When Being a Walmart Greeter Looks Good

I love my life, I really do.  But last week, despite being blessed with a dear and loving family, fabulous friends, and work that truly makes me happy, I’ve joined the ranks of an estimated 77 percent of workers who, in a recent survey by careerbuilder.com, reported they are sometimes or always burned out in their jobs. In addition to the high level of employees who report being burned out, 43 percent say their stress levels have increased over the last six months.

To be fair, in my case it may not be as much about the work as it… More Posted on 04-15-12

Five Innovation Personalities - Which one are you?

I’ve never really thought of myself as being an innovator. I do know that I work hard and am quite stubborn. Okay, so make that very stubborn. I’m also self-motivated and like to share what I’ve learned so others don’t repeat my mistakes. Yet, according to a recent study by Forbes Insights entitled Nurturing Europe’s Spirit of Enterprise: How Entrepreneurial Executives Mobilize Organizations to Innovate, those characteristics also help classify me as one of five major personalities crucial to fostering a healthy atmosphere of innovation within an organization. The five personalities were determined as a result of clustering the executives… More Posted on 04-08-12

Goodness, Grace and Gratitude

He felt a little off and thought he might be coming down with a flu bug.

Sturdy and healthy in his appearance, his lifestyle choices had improved greatly since he and my mother moved into together some twelve years ago.  He came to the relationship after losing his wife to cancer.  She, after leaving an unhappy marriage of 47 years.  He managed to resist her attempts to get him to eat vegetables – except for green onions, or give up his nightly drink of scotch or occasional cigar. But ultimately what was of most importance was that Joe and my… More Posted on 04-01-12

A Child of the Community

She referred to her son as a child of the community.

Participating in one of our community building workshops, the woman was responding to our question, “Where have you experienced community and why was it important?”

She went on to explain that the chronic, life threatening illness of her young son had meant that residents of her small, rural community had stepped up, and stepped in to their lives, by providing not only emotional support but also extensive, ongoing fundraising efforts to help with expenses. She said that she and her son were often stopped in… More Posted on 03-25-12

Are We Prepared to Manage Ourselves?

The disinterested look on her face and constant yawning made it apparent she was not with us by choice.

Unlike the others in the workshop who came across as being keen to learn more about our subject of community leadership, she was definitely not an engaged participant. I later heard she had been told to attend the training.

Clearly not a good choice for either her or the organization that sent her, it reinforced for me that it’s never a good idea to send people to courses they don’t want to go to.

Until an individual sees the… More Posted on 03-18-12

A Message from the Universe??

Last week as I was carefully stopped at a yield sign waiting for traffic to clear, I was rudely and forcefully rear-ended by a driver who clearly wasn’t paying attention. Ultimately it wasn’t a big deal as I wasn’t terribly hurt and the guy who hit me totally acknowledged that it was his fault. Additionally, the car just happened to be a van rented for a work-related road trip and since we had signed up for comprehensive insurance coverage there wasn’t even a deductible to pay. I simply drove back to the dealer and got a replacement van.

The… More Posted on 03-13-12

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