Category: Blog
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32. When Optimism Becomes Denial
Optimism is a good thing, right? Absolutely! But… and this starts innocently enough… a sincere desire to be (and seem) optimistic can, over time, give way to something that is… not so good.
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31. We all have blind spots
You have blind spots. I have blind spots. And they can impact our approach and our success. Remember, blind spots are only problematic when we ignore them.
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30. Make sure you know what your Board really wants. As in… really, really wants.
I’ve seen it happen and often to tragic effect. Boards will hire a leader to bring about substantive change… only to find out later that the process of creating that change caused more friction and tension than anticipated. This week’s brief episode is a reflection on how best to prevent this sort of unpleasant surprise…
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29. The importance of external feedback
Some of us kittens look into a mirror and see a mighty lion staring back at us. Some of us lions see little kittens. Honest and clear-headed self evaluation is important… but alas this is a podcast about leading mission driven organizations and I’m no pop psychologist. Nevertheless, I believe that the parallels to leadership…
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28. How to Storytell the Mission
In my book, Saving Organizations That Matter, I describe the importance of “storytelling the mission”, that is, describing the work of an organization and its mission in a compelling and even emotionally stirring manner. In this week’s episode, I describe three quick tips for improving your ability to storytell the mission. Thanks for listening. And please…
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27. Six Reasons For-Profit Medicine is Bad for Your Health!
For-profits… non-profits… what’s the difference? In this episode, I provide six reasons that the movement toward for-profit health care has had some negative impacts on all of us. I suspect this is going to be a bit controversial but… I’ve seen what I’ve seen.
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26. Why mergers and acquisitions FAIL: They were set up to do just that from the very start!
For many nonprofit organizations, merger and acquisition strategies are viewed as desperation moves, as a proverbial Hail Mary scenario. This is… quite different… from their for profit counterparts who see M&A options as a way of cashing out of the business or as a means to grow and increase shareholder value. In this week’s episode,…
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25. Where does DEI “Belong” When Creating Your Strategic Plan?
You’re preparing your strategic plan and hoping to reflect your organization’s top tier priority around DEI and anti-racism… so, you make it one of your named top tier priorities or “strategic pillars”. Hm… not so fast. This week’s episode offers an alternate approach and, as I state, I have come to believe that this is…
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24. What’s Your Strategic Disposition?
If you are the leader of an organization, what do you see when you “look in the mirror”? In this episode, I discuss that awkward situation when you realize that everyone else sees something different.
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23. Tolerating Uncertainty
We all have differing levels of tolerance for uncertainty. Organizations are the same. Unfortunately, however, some leadership teams and boards of directors are SO uncomfortable with uncertainty that they will make rash and unhelpful decisions. I discuss this topic today and offer three potential remedies.
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