Even though I didn’t really want to go, I attended a full day session this week simply because I trusted and liked the woman who invited me as well as the facilitator who would be designing the process. The intent of the session was to bring together a number of organizations and individuals who were knowledgeable about board governance and have them help design a series of modules that would be made available for self-directed learning for board members of service and utility boards and community non-profit organizations.

While board governance is important, and I’ve been lucky to have… More Posted on 09-06-10

Recreation Vexations

It really hit me this week as I worked on yet another proposal. I am just so tired of having to explain and justify the field in which I’ve spent most of my career - recreation and parks. 

Yes, it is a field and a profession. To prove it, I have a degree in recreation and leisure studies from Brock University, and a resume that includes recreation jobs at a Boys and Girls Club, the city of Niagara Falls, a provincial non-profit association, self-employed consulting work, and teaching the subject at Niagara College.

Most of us in the… More Posted on 08-29-10

Kid Wrangling Involves Planning for Play

Our typically quiet household was turned somewhat upside down this week as the result of a visit from my sister, her husband, and my eleven and nine year old nephews. This was compounded by three days of additional visits from their eight and twelve year old cousins and friends of ours who visited with their eleven year old. All in all it made for a noisy, joyful, busy, and sometimes chaotic environment.

Undaunted, we put our collective kid-wrangling experience to work and managed to keep everyone busy with activities that included visits to a museum, wave pool, concert, and the… More Posted on 08-22-10

We are enough…just the way we are

My father recently found and gave me a photo I had thought long lost. As per our high school practice at the time, a professional portrait was taken when an athlete or team won a provincial championship. The photo was then framed and hung on the school wall of recognition. Since my gold medal was the result of being a 400 metre runner, the photographer had posed the 17 year old me in my track uniform - very brief shorts and a tank top -  crouching in a starting block. 

While one would think the photo would have surfaced… More Posted on 08-16-10

Simplifying Learning and Growth

Debra is part of a conference planning committee but is concerned because there doesn’t seem to be any way to prioritize the many potential sessions that have been submitted for consideration.
 
Susan is keen to continue her self-directed learning and growth but isn’t sure where she should be directing her efforts.

Tom’s organization has been contracted to develop training materials for a specific list of topics but he doesn’t have a clue as to where he should begin.

Sound familiar? My guess is the above scenarios might be fairly common given that every one of… More Posted on 08-02-10

Preparing for Tomorrow

It would be so nice not to have to work in July and August.

Unfortunately for many of us it is unavoidable if we want to collect a paycheque. Regardless, there is something to be said about the generally more civilized summer pace. Typically it seems there are fewer meetings, a more manageable level of emails and, most importantly, time to think and reflect.

Our team did just that this past week, spending two days focused on our annual strategic planning session. Wanting to ensure a relaxed environment most of the meeting time was spent at my house… More Posted on 07-26-10

Recreation Matters

This week I talked to yet another young person who is totally convinced that making money is the route to happiness. Despite working and doing a great job this summer as a special event organizer for a non-profit recreation organization, he is also certain his path includes a university degree in business. In the ensuing conversation we talked about values, learning about what is important to one’s self, and how money doesn’t necessarily equate to happiness. 

I also ended up sharing with him the reasons behind my choosing to work in the field of recreation and parks. Mostly I… More Posted on 07-18-10

Knowing Your Community

I talked to a friend last week who is seriously considering a move west in her search for new opportunities for both herself and her family. While I was genuine in my support and encouragement, I thought afterward how responsible I would feel if they did actually pack up and move. While a move from Welland to Edmonton has worked out well for us, it is definitely a challenge getting to know a new community before and after a relocation.

In our case I was fortunate to have worked in Edmonton on a consulting basis so before we moved I… More Posted on 07-12-10

New Times May Require Rethinking our Infrastructure

Systemic change is hard work. And, it doesn’t happen without courageous leadership. 

Last week I was in London, Ontario exchanging learnings regarding the how to’s of community building. The two days involved working with a stellar municipal team who’ve done a remarkable job of getting some 125 children, youth and family-serving organizations to commit to applying an integrated service delivery model.

While integrated, system-thinking services would seem like a no-brainer given that people don’t come in segregated departments, too often we’ve built systems to serve them as if they do.  Worse yet, these segregated systems become entrenched, bigger,… More Posted on 07-04-10

Leading Locally

Carrie’s decision to run for local election was prompted by frustration with a northern Town Council that too often overlooked social issues and quality of life in favour of economic development. As a young woman in her 20’s she also felt it was important to broaden the diversity in her community.

Upon retiring as a high school teacher, Bill made the decision to throw his hat in the ring in order to pursue a lifelong interest in politics. On the other hand, Tracey, an avid volunteer, had never even thought about running until someone asked her to consider it.

At a recent meeting, I listened as participants took turns providing updates on their work as it related to community capacity building. One government employee reported that a clear direction was being communicated at a number of different levels. The direction she and others were hearing? Action! Enough research and planning already!

Elected officials and senior staff were conveying that they wanted to see new or improved programs and initiatives delivering relevant and meaningful outcomes related to individual, social, economic and environmental well-being. Apparently, their current focus on research and conducting needs assessment was too often resulting in “analysis… More Posted on 06-21-10

It was a Good Plan

My husband and I are working hard to re-enter the real world as we’ve just returned from a fabulous vacation in Mexico. Having recently experienced a lack of life balance, simply anticipating the week had provided serious incentive for hanging on. However, being so busy also meant that while we had managed to book the flights and hotel, we hadn’t done much else in terms of planning our itinerary.  Or perhaps we had? 

If planning is addressing the gap in between where one is now, and where one wants to go, we did have a plan. We were stressed… More Posted on 06-14-10

Learnings from Youngstown and Avatar

Small town living and the movie Avatar might have something in common. 

Last week a colleague and I delivered a community building workshop in Youngstown, Alberta – population 190. Forty five people from a variety of backgrounds attended including business owners, elected officials, volunteers, and social profit and government staff.

As we were setting up for the workshop, Mayor Bob mentioned they had held a ceremony for a bumper crop of high school graduates in the same hall the previous week. Curious as to what “bumper crop” would translate to in a town of less than 200, I… More Posted on 05-30-10

Advocacy Doesn’t Mean Ankle-Biting

It might not have been ankle-biting but it wasn’t exactly an effective advocacy strategy either.

A number of years ago I was managing the Centre for Community Leadership at Niagara College during a period when the social profit sector was being subjected to a particularly brutal round of funding cuts. With little understanding of what advocacy really is, we took it upon ourselves to challenge regional government as one of the sector’s key funders. We asked for, and were granted, an opportunity to speak to a committee of Council to present our concerns regarding the sector.

We presented… More Posted on 05-23-10

Our Shared Value….Community Matters

There is wisdom in our communities.

That belief was reinforced for me last week after spending three days with a group of amazing local community leaders at a retreat designed to help them enhance the quality of life in their communities.  A unique mix of staff, volunteers, business owners, and elected officials, they came wearing different lenses and bringing diverse sets of skills and experience. But, as one participant pointed out, while the challenges and solutions within their respective communities were unique, their paths to success were in fact very similar. 

While I totally agreed with the statement, it… More Posted on 05-17-10

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