January 2017 – Setting Realistic Professional Goals
Q: Our Board members are not engaged. They seem to think Board meetings are more of a social time than a productive time. Committee meetings are not attended. – Daniel, Nonprofit Director A: There are so many reasons for lack of board engagement. To answer this question specific to your board it would be important…
When first introduced to the idea of contacting community leaders to request a donation to a specific cause, I was scared, very uneasy, didn’t know what to say – bottom line, I really did not want to do it. So my excuse was “I am not able to ask customers to donate to a specific…
It’s Spring time – may be time to do some spring cleaning and recruiting! I have seen boards scrambling to recruit new board members to meet bylaw requirements for membership and quorums at meetings because they have someone who just termed off the board, or experienced a recent resignation. This panic situation does not produce…
Q: We know we hire experienced staff, which permits us to limit our training and have a strong team player when they start with the company. We give all our employees the same orientation however; our new hire turnover rate is higher than expected. Once an employee has been on the job for a year…
Learning to identify different communication styles is essential if we want to develop effective communication skills. Knowing yourself first is critical to effectively communicating with others. Once you have learned your strong attributes, you will better understand and appreciate others. Learning who you are will assist in speaking with others and meeting “their” communication needs.…
Nonprofit board assessment will provide a better understanding of board and committee performance responsibilities and priorities for board activities going forward. A board assessment is designed to identify the areas of strong board performance and areas that need development, identify priority areas for the board to focus on over the next 1 or 2 years…
Q: I have difficulty delegating because I want it done my way and it takes too much time to show someone else how to do it. Can you give me some tips on how to delegate? – Sandy, Financial Industry A: Success is achieved through successful delegation. You train others to do new things and…
A recent article in Forbes resonated with me as I feel no matter how large or small our companies are, we need to strongly consider the 10 Rules for a Successful Business as practiced by Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff. For those of you who are not familiar with Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff, they…
A Consent Calendar is a grouping of routine items not expected to be opposed (such as previous board meeting’s minutes, simple affidavits, etc.) into one agenda item that then gets approved via one vote. If a board member has a question about any one item in the consent agenda, or feels it needs further discussion,…