Lens on Leadership
Two-minute tips for leaders on how to create the types of vision, plan, and culture that will move the needle for your mission.
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Get Unstuck: Getting to the Heart of the Issue
Getting a handle on the heart of the problem makes it easier to decide where to focus your limited time, attention, and resources.
5 Ways to Be an Awesome Mentor
Mentoring others is one of the great joys of being a leader. It’s also an important part of building your organization’s capacity.
3 Myths about Rest (Debunked by Athletics)
We all know rest is important. And we often go about it all wrong - undermining our performance, our mood, and our overall wellbeing. Here's how to rest effectively.
Progress vs. Togetherness
Making progress takes a lot of pushing. Making change last requires everyone to advance together. Effective leadership requires that you strike the balance.
3 Myths About Assertiveness that Undermine Leadership
In a highly collaborative environment, you might worry that you’ll come across as repetitive, overconfident, or even rude if you are assertive. But the exact opposite is true.
What the Declaration of Independence Demonstrates about Strategy
If it’s time to take your organization in a new direction, start with a compelling vision – perhaps modeled on the Declaration of Independence.
3 Keys to Balanced Boards
Commitment to your mission is not the only factor in your board’s effectiveness. Boards must also balance their governance capacity and their understanding of your organization's character.
We Need to Talk
Worried about the consequences of bringing up an uncomfortable topic? The consequences of staying silent are often more concerning.
4 Steps to Uncompromising Inclusion
It is tempting to exclude voices that conflict with our mission. Practice inclusivity without compromising your values by listening to legitimate stakeholders, even if you don't adopt their input.
Embrace Your Uniqueness
Embrace what makes you *you* (as an individual or as an organization), instead of conforming to limiting beliefs about how you “should” be.
When Your Purpose Feels Uncertain
Uncertainty about your purpose can feel daunting, but it’s perfectly normal. Finding your “next closest” purpose can help you break through the logjam as you continue to seek clarity.
Ready… Set? Stop.
Growth sometimes requires that we stop doing what no longer serves our mission. Get clear on what's not working, and how to guide your team through the transition to something better.
Conserve Energy, Not Time
Busy leaders may try to maximize their efficiency by doing as much as they can in as little time as possible. But the toll on your energy may cause this approach to backfire.
When Your Success Depends on Someone Else
Partnerships help you have impact beyond your in-house capacity. They also introduce risks. Use careful planning to ensure partnerships improve, rather than threaten, your chances of success.
Avoiding vs. Leaning Into Discomfort
Emotional discomfort is our body's way of telling us we need to change something to protect ourselves, or we need to change something inside ourselves.
“Should” is a Dirty Word
Shift from “should” to clear advice and direct requests to remove any sense of obligation or judgment and create an opening to explore (rather than assume) the best course of action.
5 Places Where Your Strategy Belongs
Using your strategy as a communications tool in stakeholder conversations will foster greater alignment and better results. In fact, your strategy is *the most important* thing to communicate.
5 Inexpensive Ways to Invest in Your Team
There are less-expensive ways to build your team's capacity - for their benefit and yours - than formal training and education.
5 Steps to Making Inclusive Decisions
Decisions have implications for your stakeholders. To build up their advocacy, creating opportunities for input is only half the battle. Proactively engage stakeholders to foster commitment.
5 Essential Questions for Managers to Ask their Staff
Investing the time to get to know your staff - at a human level - is critical to unlocking their creativity and engagement.