Fundraising Leadership ™

Executive Coaching, Leadership Training, and Personal Development

5 Ways to Lead from Behind

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When did you begin to see yourself as a leader? Some of us only see ourselves as leaders when we attain a certain job title. Or once we have staff reporting to us.

The Fundraising Leadership team (David, Silvia, Michelle and I) have all completed the CTI Leadership program. This program rejects the top-down, one-dimensional leadership model and expands our definition of leadership.

This new model is grounded in the idea that everyone is a leader because “leaders are those who are responsible for their world.” [Read more…]

5 Tips to Cultivate a Growth Mindset Culture

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Fostering a culture of accountability within your team is a key skill and it aligns perfectly with the coach-like style of leadership. We have covered the topic of accountability in past posts “Creating a Culture of Accountability” and “A is For Accountability.”

The foundation of accountability lies in asking three questions:

What will you do? When will it be completed? How will you report back?

When you create a work culture that embraces accountability you need to ensure that it is held without judgement. This creates an environment where everyone can learn from success and failure. [Read more…]

9 Essential Qualities of Successful Nonprofit Leaders

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Human resource professionals and hiring managers often ask me if there are certain qualities to look for when hiring prospective new successful nonprofit leaders that are likely to make them extraordinarily successful in their leadership roles. While there are no absolutes, Janice Cunning and I identified nine essential qualities through our personal experience in the nonprofit world as well as our work training and coaching nonprofit professionals that make nonprofit executives extraordinary.  We found that there are a few characteristics that if carefully screened for can yield excellent new-hire results. [Read more…]

Creating a Culture of Accountability

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In his 2002 business classic, The Five Dysfunction of a Team, Patrick Lencioni describes “Avoidance of Accountability” as one of the core behaviors that teams exhibit when they are dysfunctional.  In Pat’s words: “In the context of teamwork…it refers specifically to the [un]willingness of team members to call their peers on performance or behaviors that might hurt the team.” [Read more…]

Who’s In Your Tribe?

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Earlier this week I was watching The Life Sized City, a documentary highlighting citizen-led urban renewal. My own city of Toronto was the featured location. I was inspired by the story of a group of people who decided the city needed more public seating. They created #sitTO and unfolded simple Ikea chairs and tables around Toronto.
[Read more…]

Leading with Appreciation

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On teams, it’s not uncommon for individuals to overlook those with whom they work each and every day. As the saying goes: “familiarity breeds complacency!”

And now there is clear evidence that the expression of appreciation improves employee retention rates. According to employee retention expert Leigh Branham, author of The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave: How to Recognize the Subtle Signs and Act Before It’s Too Late, one of the top reasons someone leaves an organization is because s/he feels unrecognized.
[Read more…]

Staff Failure–Allowing it, Embracing it, Encouraging it.

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Girl DrowningA few years back, our family was vacationing in Florida (before we permanently relocated). One morning, our two daughters were swimming in the pool, while we visited with my wife’s sister seated in chairs poolside. At some point, our younger daughter (who was just learning to swim) decided to jettison her life jacket and play on the steps in the shallow end near us. All well and good.  Even though she was just learning to swim, Claudia was still under our watchful eye.  As parents, Lillian and I are inclined to give our children some leeway.
[Read more…]