Weathering an Organization’s Culture
“There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” I grew up in northern Minnesota. I’ve lived in the upper Midwest, northern California (Sonoma County), and southern California (San Bernardino mountains). I now live in Minnesota again. I’ve tent camped at 62° below zero and 112° above. Whether it’s high-end gear from an […]
Claymation Culture
The way your organization runs is a lot like the artform of clay animation, or claymation. As a leader, this makes you an animator. Other terms for this art form are “stop-motion” or “stop-action” animation. Either term may seem counterintuitive to what is expected of a leader…to keep things moving…ideally in the most helpful direction, […]
Succession Planning and Emotional & Relational Integrity
People have strong feelings about anything that threatens their survival or capacity to thrive. Even if denied, those feelings exist…and emerge later in some behavioral fashion. Leadership transitions affect several factors related to survival and thrival. (Okay, thrival is not a word but it helps make the point.) Let’s take a brief look at some […]
Intentional Narrative During Leadership Transition
A story is a gap-filler. A leadership transition (succession) is nothing more than a dynamic set of gaps. Until a gap can be strategically filled with either a concrete action step or a tangible person, your most effective means of filling it is with an intentional narrative…a purposeful story, well told. Even decisions within the […]
The Right Type of Leader(ship) at the Right Time
When it comes to leadership transitions, succession planning is, in part, about preparing an organization for future success. There are several key factors to consider. Let’s look at three. Character Whether your organization is healthy and growing well, struggling toward health and growth, or in a state of significant dysfunction or decline, the personal character […]
The Board’s Role in Strengthening Trust During Leadership Succession
Effective boards recognize they have only one employee. When a Board focuses on its governance role, it delegates operational responsibility to the organization’s CEO or Executive Director (or whatever the first-chair title is). When a Board prudently trusts its CEO/ED, overall efficacy increases. When trust erodes, something eventually fails that then becomes extremely difficult, if not […]
Succession Planning and the Organizational Life Cycle
The motion of a swinging pendulum can be fascinating to watch. If designed to do so, a swinging pendulum can create beautiful, symmetrical designs of calm and order. However, a swinging pendulum can also result in disarray and destruction. It depends on the degrees of awareness and intentionality in those who put the pendulum in […]
Succession Planning and Knowing What You Mean
Welcome to the first in a series of blogs on successful succession planning. This one starts it off with some thoughts on the language of succession planning and how it shapes our mindsets around the purpose and process. All of which significantly influences the success of a succession plan. (This is not an exhaustive approach, […]
The Double-Edged Sword of Virtual Teams
Remember when, before video conference calls were the norm, the team was in the same room and we could clearly see the eye rolls, the understanding smiles, the two people in the corner exchanging glances and the boss getting increasingly agitated? Back then there were abundant visual cues that alerted us to more going on […]
Insights on Workflow Management
“It’s a new year!” Does that statement provide you with hope or anxiety? Your answer may depend on how you think you will manage what you anticipate for the coming year; or how you managed things last year. Whichever it is, it likely has something to do with what can be called Workflow Management. Work. […]