It happened again. The mayor who welcomed and introduced our team of presenters assumed the majority of those in attendance at the workshop were volunteers because they represented non-profit organizations and were interested in our topic of community building. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am extraordinarily respectful of volunteers.  I come from a long line of them and have done a lot of volunteering myself over the years.  However, I found myself bristling when yet another, albeit good meaning, individual assumed the non-profit sector was only about volunteers when in fact the majority of those in the audience were… More Posted on 01-25-10

Playing with the Rules

I just spent two days in a marathon planning session and was left rattled by a rather unexpected revelation.  Could it be that planning is fun?

If you’d asked me for adjectives to describe a closeted two day weekend with board, committee members and staff, fun probably wouldn’t have made the top ten list of adjectives. The reality however was that it was quite enjoyable. There was spirited discussion, disagreements, and ultimately some breakthrough thinking and productive results.

For me, and perhaps others, it was due in part to what author Jerry Hirshberg calls “creative abrasion”. In his book,… More Posted on 01-17-10

On Being a Trend Watcher

Poets can be wrong. Some 250 years ago Thomas Gray wrote “Where ignorance is bliss, tis folly to be wise”.  I’m not buying it. These days ignorance is not bliss. Given the current pace of change, being ignorant is more likely to be a risky business.

By way of example, I recently had a conversation with a senior administrator in a small Ontario municipality who had been invited to take a leadership role in facilitating the involvement of residents in a community-wide strategic plan. The employee instead chose to opt-out, as he wasn’t comfortable in the role. Whereas he… More Posted on 01-11-10

3 Keys for Keeping Your Resolutions in 2010

I’m not exactly a poster girl for making and keeping resolutions for the New Year.  Here I am trying to write an inspiring column while, once again, beating myself up for not living a more balanced life, exercising more regularly or losing weight.  Luckily I’m a Pollyanna who always believes the answer is out there somewhere so I keep searching for the magic formula.

However today I don’t even want to think about making any resolutions.  Heck I’m still in my pajamas and working on my first coffee. Good thing there are millions who will make resolutions as it… More Posted on 12-27-09

Cabbage Rolls and Trifle?

Despite the best of intentions to slow down and enjoy the season, the reality has been a rather frantic pace. It makes me especially grateful for the good number of nurturers on our team who do a fabulous job of making sure the human component that drives our work stays front and centre. This priority translates to such activities as meetings that begin with quick, personal introductory exercises. On a team conference call this week, the staff person assigned to facilitate started off by asking each of us to share our favourite Christmas tradition.

People were quick to chime in. … More Posted on 12-20-09

To Be a Leader

The elevator doesn’t always go to the top when I’m stressed and busy but this week I had one of those moments of insight that ended up explaining a lot.

I realized that leadership means different things to different people. The variance in their interpretation may be the result of age, education, experience or perhaps it may be about genetics or gender.  Likely there isn’t ever a right or wrong – there is just different – and that’s okay.

For example, under my current contract I’m working for a wonderful man for whom leadership is very much about logic. It… More Posted on 11-29-09

Dancing for Collective Joy

By the end of the week I’m generally tapped out. As a result, I’m more susceptible to the magpie syndrome and easily distracted by anything bright and shiny. This week it was a link to a YouTube video sent by my mother.

It was shot in the main concourse area of a busy train station in Brussels. As I watched, the classic version of Do-Re-Mi, sung by the indomitable Julie Andrews, was suddenly heard over the loudspeakers in place of the typical announcements of arrivals and departures. By the looks on the faces of those captured in… More Posted on 11-22-09

Rethinking Linking

Tough times typically result in reduced resources and employees working flat out. As a result, it seems anything falling into the nice-but-not-essential category is dropped from our never ending to-do lists. Although networking often falls into that category, trends are suggesting it should be moved up on our list of priorities.   

This week I experienced the advantage of being part of a network when a potential duplication of efforts in a draft proposal from a member was flagged. We were able to identify the overlap only because we had spent time getting to know more about one another’s… More Posted on 11-15-09

Promising Practices

Up against a deadline, I can pull an all-nighter and still function. I can deal with cranky people, manage in chaotic situations, meet deadlines, cook decent meals when I need to, keep my house sort of organized, and multi-task with the best of them.

It seems when I put my mind to it, there’s a lot I can do. Except one for one thing.

Lose weight.

I simply haven’t been good about managing food choices. That recently changed when I found an article written by a woman who suggested, along with a number of other strategies, the idea… More Posted on 11-09-09

Stories Matter

This week I was reminded about the power of stories. It occurred as the result of taking part in a conference that included a session entitled “Community Development in Action”. In the one hour and fifteen minute session, representatives from ten communities shared their respective stories about how they were working to become more active, creative and engaged. Despite the five minute time limitation for each presenter the group managed to deliver compelling stories that had the audience laughing, crying, ooh’ing, ah’ing, and applauding enthusiastically.

Hardly the reaction to a typical conference session, it clearly demonstrated the important and often… More Posted on 11-02-09

The Fun Theory

This week my son taught me a lesson without even being aware he was doing it.

It happened because I finally made the time to review and upload to my website the183 photographs stored on my digital camera. Clicking through the photos I landed on a group of shots I knew I hadn’t taken. While my photos are generally pretty standard, many of these were shot on an angle. The majority were close ups of people with broad grins, laughing out loud, or making faces at the camera. All of the photos conveyed an artistic sensibility as well as an… More Posted on 10-25-09

Aboriginal Learnings

Like many Canadians I should, but don’t, know a lot about Aboriginal communities. My only exposure was the result of having three brothers who played lacrosse against teams from Six Nations. Typically they were outplayed and ultimately trounced. Within my rather white-bread high school of some 800, there were a total of two aboriginal students.

All I really knew is that Aboriginal peoples were the first people to live in Canada. They had many different spiritual beliefs and cultural traditions including a very special relationship with nature. 

Consequently my understanding came primarily from a media too often focused… More Posted on 10-19-09

Never Too Late

On a recent shopping expedition, my 80 year old mother tried on a beautiful, mauve wool sweater. With her silver hair and bright eyes she looked adorable. Not quite taking my word for it, she insisted on finding a mirror.

When she found one, she gazed intently, adjusted the collar, and sniffed, “It looks like an old lady sweater”. To this I responded, “Mom, just for my own frame of reference, how old does one have to before they’re considered an old lady? I’m not sure but I think at 80 you might just qualify?” 

Not considering herself… More Posted on 10-11-09

What Makes a Valuable Employee?

Although everyone should always be mindful of the need to be seen as a valuable employee, during recessionary times it becomes even more important.

A number of years ago I hired an amazing woman named Alison who distinguished herself during a very competitive interview process. Her answer to one question in particular has stayed with me over the years. The question asked was, “What three words would a previous employer use to describe you?”

Her first two words were ones I had heard before – team player and good communicator, but it was the last one we all… More Posted on 09-20-09

Strategies for Innovative Leadership

No one on our team wanted my job this week – me included. One of our contractors felt so sorry for me that she sent me flowers. 

Staff changes, challenging policy developments, extensive budget reviews, multiple demands, immovable deadlines and difficult decisions have all contributed to this being an even more challenging time than usual. 

And yet, even though I did take time to vent and must confess to attending several personal pity parties, I knew I didn’t have the right to complain. After all, I hadn’t signed up to maintain the status quo and neither had anyone… More Posted on 09-13-09

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