Leadership

Transferring and Securing Wisdom and Knowledge: A Mission Critical Activity For All Leaders

An unquantifiable amount of individually accumulated knowledge and wisdom will be lost if the current long term directors, chief executive officers and executives of not-for-profits, no matter what industry or sector they operate within, fail to transfer and secure this most precious resource. Demographic research, statistics and observation tell us that the generational scales have tipped, Generation X (1965-1980) and millennials (1981-1996) are on the rise, whilst baby boomers (1946-1964) are past the tipping point and are on the decline; a transition from one generation to the next.

Nurturing Organisational Health

In the ever-evolving landscape of organisational management, the quest for sustained success amidst uncertainty remains a challenge. A quote from Professor Dutch Leonard at the Harvard Business School really resonated with me and the work we do in the not-for-profit sector. “We cannot have low expectations for what we deliver to those we serve, nor for what they deserve.” This should be applied to both our teams and our beneficiaries. In Life Ed’s case, we serve young people every day, and the core teaching practice is that we have high expectations for every child we work with.

Post-COVID Lessons for Strategic Leadership and Planning

We certainly hope that we are now travelling in a post-pandemic world, having spent the best part of three years being disrupted across all areas of life by COVID. We all saw the unexpected arrival of a global pandemic, a dramatic increase in remote working, and a louder call for equity and inclusion in the workplace. Our global economy continues to experience turbulence. Leaders right now are trying to work out what the “new normal” actually is post-COVID, with many authors on the subject settling on some sort of hybrid model of work that tries to balance a perceived conflict between organisational needs and personal preferences of staff.

Uncovering Your Purpose as a Leader

When change is omnipresent, your leadership effectiveness is amplified, which is why it helps to have an acute understanding of your purpose as a leader. How do we define this type of ‘purpose’ and why is it so important? How can you uncover it and create a plan of action? We’ll look at several types of ‘purpose’ before honing in on what is meant by your ‘purpose as a leader’ and then I’ll outline how to uncover yours.

Finding Collective Leadership Success

People join boards for various reasons and bring their personalised interpretation of leadership styles based on compounding individualised influences and knowledge of organisational governance on specific operational and strategic components that accumulate followers from either fear, admiration, or financial goals. Research findings have proven continuously through analytical assessments that many organisations need to incorporate the findings of historical board failures and academic research into their board’s selection tools and guides when developing and building their boards, committees, and advisory groups.

Engaging Remote Teams: Key Skills for Leaders

The benefits and risks of teams working remotely Over the past few years, beliefs about how, where, and when work is performed have shifted, and employee expectations and needs have changed. Technology now often allows us the ability to get the same job done, no matter where we are. This means remote work options are not only viable, but sometimes preferred. As a result, many employees now conduct a lot of their work remotely (physically apart) and this has led to more work being conducted virtually (communicating, collaborating, and interacting in a virtual space).

How Do Australians View the Leadership and Governance of the Charity Sector

Charities are at the heart of social ecosystems and play a vital role in building and sustaining flourishing communities. Yet, charities face several interlocking challenges that have only become more complex in a post-pandemic environment. In this context, charities are grappling with increased demand for services, financial sustainability, increasing job complexity, a declining volunteer workforce and the need to re-establish relationships with donors, all in the context of sustained impacts on the mental health, well-being and resilience of charity employees and leaders.

Integrated Leadership – Solving complex problems with the power of many

How to solve complex problems with integrated leadership teams that harness the power of many. The world is an increasingly complex place to navigate, especially in the stakeholder heavy NFP space. But that is your job. Our leaders are busier than they have ever been. The problems they face require people with diverse skill sets and perspectives to work together to solve. Talent alone is not enough. There is a lot of noise (especially in the NFP sector) about ‘diversity’.

What Are Your Leadership Anchors?

Many people are talking about the Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) world we are living in right now. The pandemic, natural disasters, financial and funding insecurities over the past few years are just a few factors destabilising many people and organisations. The consequences include significant levels of poor mental health, constant change and overwhelm. Unfortunately stress and overwhelm kills creativity and innovation, which is exactly what we need to counter the effects of a VUCA environment.

What Is It About the Role of the Chair?

Once upon a time there was a board member who was passionate and diligent but inexperienced and naïve who was asked to take on the role of Chair of the Board. “I’m really flattered. I don’t really know what I have to do other than chair some meetings, so how hard can it be?” they thought to themselves. A fairy tale it might appear to be, but this was me. Twenty years on, I reflect on my transition from well meaning board member with little experience to having held the role of chair on a few occasions in my career.