The Latest

Civic Leadership and Community-Based Leadership Programs

Wicked, persistent problems that diminish the quality of life in our communities often frustrate leaders accustomed to achieving change within their own organizations and institutions. While they know that homelessness, blight or hunger cannot be addressed as quickly as the strategic challenges they resolve within their company, hospital or university, they understandably wonder why progress on civic challenges is so elusive. And if these leaders travel or talk with colleagues from across the globe, they may also wonder why some communities make progress on wicked, persistent problems and others don’t. 

Read More

Just who are we doing this for?

My colleague and mentor Jay Connor often pushes me with this question. On the surface, it seems like an easy question to answer. We are doing this to improve the lives of people in our communities who are being impacted in negative ways. That answer pulls at heart strings. It gets lots of heads nodding in agreement. But it is also a vague response and one that does not hold us to account.

Read More

Leadership and the Power of the Imagination

Read More

Character Driven Leadership

Isn't it curious how we realize the same simple things about ourselves over and over (and over again) but that each time it seems like an ah-ha moment?For example, realizing each time how calm you feel after a walk in the woods, or how happy you are every time you put clean sheets on the bed... I keep learning again and again that I draw to understand. If you know me this must sound ridiculous.  You would probably think that drawing to understand would be in the first few lines of my internal dialogue. It is not.
I am a committed doodler and focused note-taker. These skills grew out of simple strategies to capture and control my busy thoughts during long meetings and training sessions. Drawing seemed like a professionally acceptable strategy, rather than knitting, to keep my hands occupied.

Read More