Fundraising Leadership ™

Executive Coaching, Leadership Training, and Personal Development

  • About
  • Coaching
  • Training
  • Contact Us
  • Members
    • Login
    • My Profile

I Used To Be Confident. What Happened?

August 18, 2023 by Homaira Kabir

 

By Homaira Kabir

(This blog represents the research and area of expertise of the author, a leading expert on the science that underpins women’s confidence and leadership. We hope the men who choose to read this will get something out of it!)

Are you struggling with confidence? Rest assured, you’re not alone. But how do you build back your confidence and overcome your confidence crisis?

If you’re like a lot of women I meet, you probably wonder what happened to the confidence you once had. And you might be wondering what you can do to build back your confidence to the level it once was.

You’ll remember the days when you felt pretty good about yourself. Things seemed to be under your control—you were doing well, you had time to do things you enjoyed, and you know what, you even liked the way you looked.

And now you’re exhausted and overcommitted.

You compare yourself to others and feel worse about yourself. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Coaching Tagged With: Personal Development

What Happened When I Cracked My Rose-Tinted Glasses

October 29, 2021 by MARGARET CANN

Close up of a blue eyeSometimes seeing the person that is actually standing in front of me – rather than the person I wish were there – feels like standing in the rain with a painting I spent my whole life perfecting, watching all the colors run down my legs and into the street.

It is an experience of grief.

Many of us could use some exercise around reconciliation of humans, even though it can be excruciating. Sometimes the reconciliation can be required for a spouse or a parent – or even a child.  Sometimes, it is articulating that a job you’ve longed for isn’t sustainable, isn’t as described, or is tainted by a boss who feels ogre-like.

Many of us, especially in the nonprofit and fundraising worlds, have some Pleaser saboteur in us. By definition, we have deep reservoirs of hope and idealism. We have it in our DNA, some of us, to see people as good, to look for their shiny and their silver linings. And many of us don’t like rocking the boat, so we make excuses or silently endure the parts of others that are jagged or mean. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Coaching Tagged With: Personal Development

Lessons Learned by Putting my Head Through a Windshield

July 6, 2021 by Sharon Kitroser

I graduated from college with a shiny new degree that I thought would take me far. Instead, it took me to central New York State to a radio station at the top of a mountain.

On day one, I was excited to learn how to sell radio commercials. My new manager shared the station’s staff drama, of which there was a ton, and gave me a cassette tape as training. He also sent me out for one day of shadowing his most successful salesperson, who got himself an ice cream cone after each close.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Coaching Tagged With: coaching

Pulling Back the Curtain on Coaching for Higher Ed Leaders

April 1, 2021 by Patrick Mather

Coaching for Higher Ed Leaders

When I arrived at Bucknell University in 2016, I was thrilled by the challenges and opportunities that awaited me as the freshly minted dean of their prestigious College of Engineering. While my career in academia had seen a steady increase in leadership roles, I found myself in a whole new world. As excited as I was, I also recognized that there likely would be challenges ahead for which I had limited experience and (certainly) no formal training. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Coaching Tagged With: Personal Development

Rest and Renewal is Part of the Work Too

February 5, 2021 by Amy Varga

Person relaxing on park benchA few days ago on my morning run with my dog, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts. The hosts were talking about their predictions for what the top four regrets leaders will have once this whole pandemic has passed.

When they got to their prediction for the #1 regret, I knew immediately they were right. 

It is the same issue that I’ve worked on with every leader I’ve ever coached. And one I struggle with, too.

The #1 regret? 

I should have taken more time off.

So simple, and yet so true. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Coaching Tagged With: Personal Development

Community Reflections on 2020

December 9, 2020 by Janice Cunning

A display with a floral 2020 planner and pencilsAs coaches and facilitators, we have watched our community members and their organizations experience tremendous challenges throughout 2020. We have also been inspired by the creativity and resilience both in our community and the nonprofit sector. Each December, the Fundraising Leadership team offers reflections on the past year. Michelle shared her reflections and rituals in 2019 and Janice did the same in 2018.

Reflection can be defined in many ways. It can represent careful thought being given to a topic. It can also mean the image of something in a mirror.

The metaphor of a mirror feels relevant this year as 2020 reflected many important things. It showed us more about ourselves, the nonprofit sector, and society as a whole. It reminded us all of the importance of connection and community.

In this spirit of connection, we decided to highlight some of the voices from the Fundraising Leadership Community. To honour the collective and personal experiences of 2020.

We were inspired by these words of our community members and we know you will be too. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Coaching Tagged With: Personal Development

How Emotions Point to Our Values

October 1, 2020 by Isabel Perez-Doherty

LighthouseMy values are what are keeping me grounded during this time. The work I embarked on early this year with the support of Janice Cunning and her leadership coaching has been crucial to keeping me a little sane during these times, and I feel privileged to have had this opportunity.

As part of this process, my goals were: to identify my superpowers, understand how could I expand my influence for more significant impact in my work, and most importantly, ground my leadership as I took action on the challenges and dreams that I have for my team, my organization and the feminist movement.

I make it a practice to continually check within myself on my perceived values to move with coherence through the intricacies of our sector and the fundraising profession. I believed that writing down and naming my values one more time early in 2020 would not have been so much of a challenge. This was my first challenge as I worked with Janice towards my coaching goals. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Coaching Tagged With: Personal Development

I know you’re busy- Now is the time!

September 14, 2020 by Susannah Gal

There’s an adage, if you need something done, ask a busy person. What people say about certain types of professional development is, “I’ll do it when I’m less busy.” Let me encourage you to overcome that mindset when it comes to the PQ training program coordinated by Fundraising Leadership. When you’re busy, now is the time to do it.

The PQ training is based on the book “Positive Intelligence” by Shirzad Chamine.  The book discusses the major saboteurs that make us less able to function well and sets the stage for 5 sage powers that help us to overcome those saboteurs. The PQ model is one of a muscle- your Positive Intelligence muscles that need to be fortified to help you overcome the negative saboteurs and strengthen the sages.  While I highly recommend the book for anybody, the PQ training program I did takes that mindset to a whole new level by providing a significant number of additional tools and resources with which to build your PQ muscle. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Coaching Tagged With: career, Personal Development

Mental Fitness – Getting Your Mind Right

May 13, 2020 by David Langiulli

In the 1967 Film, Cool Hand Luke, Luke (played by Paul Newman), is a prisoner on a southern chain gang. Upon his second failed escape attempt (and receiving his second set of leg irons), Luke is told by the Captain (memorably played by Strother Martin) that he is not going to need a third set of chains because he’s: “gonna get his mind right!”

As we say, “art imitates life.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Coaching Tagged With: Personal Development

Refocus for 2020

December 4, 2019 by Michelle Maloy Dillon

As the year 2020 approaches, it is such a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the past year’s successes, what we learned and what we want to create in the year ahead. It’s so easy to just let life take us down the river and to end up in a place where we don’t want to be. Creating a system to check in with your team to make sure you are heading in the right direction is important. And it can be a fun and creative process that you all look forward to each year. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Coaching Tagged With: Personal Development

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • Next Page »

RSS Recent Podcasts

  • Ep 159: Leadership and Emotional Intelligence
  • Ep 158: Using Your Mind for a Healthier and Happier Life
  • Ep 157: Choice in Personal Growth and Leadership
  • Ep 155: Handwritten Letters to Foster Relationships
  • Ep 154: Dealing with the Death of a Loved One
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Copyright © Fundraising Leadership ™ All Rights Reserved.