Donors love the new and visible—think hospital lobbies over essential medical services. But as government funding fluctuates, nonprofits must rethink how they communicate their impact. This isn’t just about raising more money. It’s about shifting how we communicate impact to deepen donor commitment and sustain the work that matters most.
Read MoreFeeling stuck as a leader or owner? Admitting it can be tough, but it’s the first step to turning the situation around. Let me share how I recently helped a client navigate his challenges with confidentiality and support. Through deep listening and strategic guidance, my client was able to overcome his obstacles and take his company to another level of success.
Read MoreNavigating the transition from team member to leader can be challenging, especially when it involves maintaining old friendships while embracing new responsibilities. Sophie had to walk through this delicate balance, and learn how to handle sensitive situations while building trust within a new team. If you've ever struggled with leadership boundaries or missed the camaraderie of your former peers, this story will resonate with you and provide practical advice for your own leadership path.
Read MoreOften the work we do is hard, sometimes even heartbreaking. The ability to solve complex social issues and to make change, in both public and private organizations, can take time and patience. Sometimes that leads to feeling overwhelmed, which can lead to focusing only on the hard parts, and having less space for joy. Here are some steps that may help you get closer to feeling joy.
Read MoreEvents such as funding cuts, economic downturn threats, competition, politics, civil unrest, and even pandemics can bring a hurricane-level of chaos to teams and organizations. With a new "hurricane" seemingly forecasted every day, and new worries constantly arising, how can your organization prepare?
Read MoreAdults learn best when the content is relevant to them and they are able to actively participate as part of the learning. What worked for my recent client was the interactive nature of an activity we call “coaching fishbowls”. Fishbowls are when two people practice applying what they’ve learned thus far in front of their peers. One person is the coach and another person is being coached. Everyone else is observing. The client reported that not only did the feedback session benefit everyone from a learning perspective, but they have since discussed how to apply the fishbowl feedback process to their communication in general.
Read MoreYou can have all the right processes, procedures, and skills in place, but without communication, empathy, and trust, the work is not getting done as effectively or as powerfully as it could be. It doesn’t matter how clear and admirable your strategies are if you're lacking a positive culture. And it doesn’t matter how positive your culture is if you're lacking clear strategies. Creating that alignment can be tricky, so when I facilitate for clients, I rely on my Navigating Challenging Dialogue® Approach to Strategic Dialogue.
Read MoreIs there something you are so passionate about that you have an abundance of great information to share? Do you love sharing and are deeply invested in other people learning as well? That is an amazing and remarkable gift. Your synapses are firing and each statement you make triggers another piece you want to share. It is an amazing feeling. Contrary to what you may feel at the moment, it’s actually time to embrace the pause rather than go faster. Taking a pause may conflict with the energy and excitement you are feeling, but here’s an exercise that will help you to reflect on how a pause creates more engagement, not less.
Read MoreRecently I was struggling. I was experiencing conflict between myself and someone I care about. I felt stuck and frustrated. The feeling of being stuck began to creep into many other aspects of my life. I wanted to get unstuck but didn’t see how that could happen. I didn't have the insight to do it by myself. I knew I needed some outside guidance to find my way through this emotional place.
Read MoreHere’s what we can do when we want to remain connected with someone but their venting is just wearing us down. Especially if the person chronically vents and never takes action to remedy the situation.
Read MoreThe term “managing up” has different meanings to many people. Most leaders tell me that they wish their staff were more skillful at managing up. Almost every leader tells their team that the skill of managing up is desirable. But in my experience, almost no one knows what exactly they are being asked to do. Many leaders don’t have the focus, time, or even skillfulness to communicate how you can best be helpful to them when it comes to managing up.
Read MoreThis week’s post is brief on purpose because I’m sharing a podcast interview that I think is important that we all listen to. The interviewee is Dr. Paul Conti, author of “Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic: How Trauma Works and How We Can Heal From It”. Full disclosure, I’ve not read the book yet, but when the podcast was shared with me, I was enthralled with the words and wisdom of the Stanford-trained psychiatrist. His suggestions felt so relevant, important and doable.
Read MoreToday I’m sharing my takeaways and learnings from a few weeks of intense client work. I’m hoping that you may find them helpful as you navigate challenging dialogues!
Read More“But Beth,” you may be thinking, “if venting is a toxic, unproductive activity, why do I feel so much better after I vent?” Here is the tricky part. For a short period of time after you vent about something, you may feel a sensation of relief. But that relief is temporary and before long, you will feel compelled to vent again.
Read MoreFounder’s Syndrome is a term to describe the difficulty organizations or companies face when the founder(s) strives to maintain control or a disproportionate amount of power and influence. Founder’s Syndrome can prevent an organization from growing and transforming when external factors and internal needs require it. The same characteristics that gave the founder the energy and focus to get the organization off the ground can also hold the organization back when Founder’s Syndrome is at its peak.
Read MoreTeams are so busy focusing on the work that needs to be done and how to reach their outcome, that they don’t consider that conflict is natural when people with different strengths, perspectives, experiences, and work styles come together. When there are no norms for engaging in conflict in healthy ways, it can result in breakdowns in the collaboration, cohesiveness, and forward momentum of a project.
Read MoreIf you and those around you aren’t clear on where you’re going, how can you possibly get there? Follow my top tips to help you make your 2023 goal setting easier, and clear enough so you can take action. These strategies work for both individual goals and for organizational goals.
Read MoreTrust is such an integral part of the success of any organization, team or group. Yet, we rarely ever take a deep dive look into what trust really is and the many ways trust either does or does not show up in our relationships. The following is an excerpt from my newest book, Turn This Conversation Around.
Read MoreNow more than ever, the world needs a pathway to connection through dialogue. A survey done in 2021 showed that close to 84 million Americans have parted ways with one or more significant people in their lives due to conflicts over values and political differences. For some it is the neighbor who helps you out from time to time. For others it is the coworker with whom you bantered at the water cooler. And for others it might be the aunt or uncle who you’ve known since childhood and saw every holiday. Many of us are grieving these losses.
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