Jeffrey Cufaude, Idea Architects

When the Professional is Also Personal

2012-02-15T05:25:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, my Twitter feed was filled with Tweets from friends and colleagues talking about workshop proposals they had submitted for the 2012 ASAE Annual Meeting in Dallas. As is the norm, some were accepted and some were not. I've been on the receiving side of both the good news and the bad news.

Some whose submission had not been accepted Tweeted the news like this: I got rejected.

Now I haven't talked with any of those folks, nor would I pretend to delve into the psyche of other individuals, but that language made me take notice.

To me "My proposal didn't get accepted" is very different than "I got rejected." One focuses on the proposal; one focuses on the personal. It's a distinction worth exploring.

The more our organizations successfully facilitate a professional home for people, a place where they build community and connections with colleagues, and dare I say it, lifelong friendships, the more the professional becomes personal. In general, that is a very, very, good thing. In Gallup terms, this is a strength to leverage, one that causes individuals to contribute vast amounts of their personal and professional resources in ways that benefit the profession, the organization, and its community. And in doing so, their caring knits a tighter connection to their colleagues and to the community and its efforts.

But it also means our organizations must thoughtfully manage those moments when members of the community are told no because of budget restrictions, a competitive program proposal process, or limited slots on certain committees for task forces.

I'm guessing most organizations communicate those moments of non-acceptance purely in professional terms: "Thank you very much for submitting an Annual Meeting proposal. We received an overwhelming number of excellent submissions this year, and I regret to inform you that yours was not selected."

But just as fundraising and development professionals tailor their donor acknowledgments to reflect the contribution and commitment of the individual donors—to continue to cultivate lifelong contributions—so in some cases might we want to tailor our "bad news" communications in ways that help ensure the individuals don't feel rejected even if their proposal or expression of interest was not accepted.

It's one thing to use language that appeals to the head; it's quite another to communicate in a way that honors the heart. We don't want members of our community to feel that they have been cut off from contributing or caring.

What would such a message look like for your organization and in what instances can you see it beneficial to using it?

Seen Elsewhere: Crowdsourcing, Experimentation, and Sharing a Work in Progress

2012-02-12T12:39:00.002-05:00


Creative Commons Photo: Matti Mattila

In one of my volunteer roles, I contribute content for a feature in the ASAE Executive Management Section IdeaLink newsletter called Seen Elsewhere. Every few months I share a few interesting websites, blogs, or publications from sources a bit off the beaten path of most volunteer or staff leaders. With ASAE's permission, I will be reprinting them here, a few months after their original online publication. Thanks to Joe Rominiecki, Senior Editor, for helping polish my submissions into a more appealing form.

Summary: Three thought-provoking websites, from beyond the association management realm, that offer new ideas for association executives. In this edition, explore examples of crowdsourcing in action, experiments in new forms of management, and a case of learning driven by a behind-the-scenes look at conference planning.

Engaging Members to Crowdsource Solutions and Innovations
Open IDEO.

Companies increasingly look to customer-generated innovations, co-creating products and services with the input and effort of end users. Associations can tap into the collective intelligence of their members by experimenting with the same approach.

IDEO, one of the world's most successful product design and innovation firms, offers an excellent example of the thinking and input stages required to involve large numbers of individuals in crowdsourced thinking, at Open IDEO.

Other examples include My Starbucks Idea and Dell's IdeaStorm. If you're interested in trying this approach, two free or low-cost online software options are IdeaScale and Skild.

Reinventing Management Through Experiments and Hacks
Management Innovation eXchange.

Former Harvard Business School professor Gary Hamel is one of the thought leaders behind the MIX, which describes itself as "an open innovation project aimed at reinventing management for the 21st century. The premise: while 'modern' management is one of humankind's most important inventions, it is now a mature technology that must be reinvented for a new age."

This robust online community explores how to take management to the next levels through hacks, barrier-busting, and stories of real-world management innovations. Begin by reading the MIX Manifesto [PDF].

Facilitating Learning by Sharing a Work in Progress
Learning 2011 Design Blog

Each year, almost 2,000 training and learning professionals gather in Orlando, Florida, for the annual Masie Center Conference, hosted by "futurist, analyst, researcher, and organizer" Elliott Masie. This year, Masie shared almost 60 daily blog posts revealing the design decisions being made for the conference.

Following these posts has offered a rare behind the scenes look at the ongoing deliberations involved in producing a major event. This backstory offered tremendous learning and shows associations how simply describing what we do, as we do it, might be one of the most powerful professional development experiences of all.

Facilitation Friday #6: Balance Content and Process, Ideas and Action

2012-02-10T05:14:00.007-05:00

Effective facilitation must manage (or balance content and process, as well as attention to both ideas and action. Individuals using a facilitative approach are concerned with both what the group is discussing or deciding (content) and how they are actually doing it (process). They appreciate and understand that different groups may need to use different processes to achieve different desired outcomes.

An important part of these efforts involves thoughtfully considering how the group might reach a certain result, and then designing the right mix between discussing ideas and deciding what actions to take. The right content rushed through too quick a process is unlikely to lead to participants' truly owning any commitments made. A process which honors and elicits significant individual contributions, but produces no decisions or actions, also would be unsatisfactory.

When designing a meeting or workshop agenda/content flow, facilitators must determine what seems like the right mix of discussion formats for (1) the outcomes specified, (2) the individuals who will be involved, and (3) the environment (session length, room set, placement in the day or conference schedule, etc.). But, the facilitator also must determine alternative formats for each segment of the meeting or workshop that can be seamlessly introduced when the need to do so is displayed by the participants.

Example: if a segment designed to be a large group discussion is producing silence and blank stares, breaking the content into multiple questions and assigning each to a small group for consideration might be a better approach to advance the conversation. Such real-time calibration is the hallmark of a thoughtful facilitator. This is critical. The more options you prepare for in advance, the easier it is for you to make adjustments as needed.

Individuals enter meetings or workshops with their own expectations for what should occur in terms of both content and process. It's helpful to clarify these expectations in advance, as well as share the agenda/design you've created and how it will help produce the outcomes for which you are facilitating. In some cases, making discussion vs. decision-making segments explicit on the agenda will help some individuals feel confident their expectations will be met.

But just as you have to calibrate your efforts in real-time, so must you manage individuals' expectations on a recurring basis. It's not at all unusual that when some individuals feel a discussion is "beating a dead horse," others will still be engaged and think there is more content to explore. It's important to remember that as the facilitator, you are serving the entire group, not any on segment of it. Whenever possible, you should simply help the group manage the different process and content expectations that are appearing: "It seems some people are ready to move on to another topic. How do others feel?"

That's why the balance beam is a perfect metaphor. For a facilitator, complete steadiness and security is unlikely, so you have to maintain your own internal sense of gravity to keep from falling down on the job.

Every Friday in 2012, I will post information and insights about effective facilitation, sharing some of the content and thinking I provide in the one-day and half-day facilitation workshops that groups often engage me to present. You can find previous posts by searching for the tag: facilitationfriday.

More Resources

A brief post offering a different metaphor for thinking more about this balance in the context of being a workshop presenter
A design grid (PDF) to help you plan out a meeting or workshop agenda, content flow, and format options.
A presentation skills article (PDF) that can help you prepare to be present, not just present.

12 Simple Ways to Unleash More Creative Thinking

2012-02-08T08:19:00.000-05:00

1. Regularly consume media outside your normal reading routine: magazines, TV shows, websites, blogs, music, etc. This will let you temporarily immerse yourself into someone else's world. For a quick field trip, just visit the periodicals section fo your local library or spend time looking at the covers of the magazines in an airport shop.

2. Maintain close connections with colleagues and friends who work in disciplines other than your own. Check in with them periodically and ask them what they are reading, thinking about, etc. On Twitter? Build a network of loose connections by following people from/with diverse disciplines and interests.

3. Become a good Web explorer and spend at least 30 minutes every 2-3 weeks visiting new sites, as well as returning to favorite sites to see what’s new. Subscribe to electronic newsletters and become a good scanner, reading them quickly in a search for interesting tidbits.

4. Force yourself (and others) to think differently by placing constraints on the question you are exploring. Example: How can we do 10% more next year while using 10% less money to do so? Constraints cause you to automatically shift your thinking outside the limits of the more mundane question.

5. Similarly, use the “random word” technique to inspire new ideas: (1) take any area where you are looking for ideas (example: conferences); (2) add in a random noun (example: camera); (3) force the two words together and create a new question to explore: What interesting ideas can emerge when we bring together conferences and camera? Possible answers: give participants an instant camera to create a photo wall during the event. Capture all attendees photos digitally as they arrive on-site and create an on-line directory of attendees.

6. During one of the breaks you have at a regular board (or staff) meeting, give people 15-30 minutes, ask them to pair up, and offer them a compelling question to ponder together over a cup of coffee or short walk. Frame the question in the most interesting and provocative language possible to inspire more creative thinking about the question.

7. Hold meetings in rooms and locations that foster creativity—no windowless hotel conference rooms allowed! Consider grade schools, galleries and museums, outdoor spaces, etc. Always select spaces and manage the environment so it encourages and supports the type of thinking you are trying to generate.

8. Invite “wild cards,” to participate in your meetings and strategy sessions. Wild cards are people not tied to your organization who are good thinkers with contributions that could benefit you and your organization.

9. Spend time with others as a group working on a bulk mailing or otherwise “tedious and labor intensive” activity. You’ll be amazed at the conversations and ideas that occur while doing the task. A great deal of research validates the value of not focusing on the issue at hand as an effective strategy for generating new and powerful ideas.

10. Post a Compelling Question of the Week (or month) in your office break area. Put it on butcher block paper and hang some markers next to it, so people can share their ideas. Discuss the postings in a quick stand-up meeting (15 minutes or less). Or do the same thing in an electronic discussion area.

11. Create an “Experimental Fund” that provides seed money and incentive for staff, committees, etc. to experiment with new projects and see what works out. The equivalent of a corporations research and development fund, this nominal financial support can foster the type of ongoing experimentation needed for innovation to occur.

12. Use the power of metaphors to inspire new thinking. Let’s say you are trying to increase the community among members of your organization. Apply different metaphors to the concept of community and see what new ideas might emerge from subsequent discussion: community as the roots of a tree, community as the five Olympic rings, community as a spider web, community as the foundation of a house, etc.

What's a simple way you could add to the list to make it a baker's dozen set of tips?

10 Tips for Engaging A Volunteer Community

2012-02-06T08:19:00.000-05:00

Identify all the work volunteers can possible do.

Having a diverse mix of volunteer opportunities increases the likelihood we will fully leverage the time and talents that may be available in the volunteer workforce. Organizations would be well served to inventory all of the work that is done and to systematically identify the pieces volunteers are best or uniquely positioned to do and the pieces where it would be easy and/or desirable to tap into volunteer contributions. These pieces of work can then be developed into the various components of a comprehensive volunteer structure: work groups or project teams, solo assignments, advisory boards; task forces or committees; etc.

Recruit with a one-to-one philosophy.

Most volunteer involvement brochures and forms solicit interest in committees or task forces. But what we really want to do is to engage volunteers in those efforts for which they have passion and/or talent. Once we learn of those, we can then channel them to the appropriate opportunities within the organization. Imagine a brochure that asked a potential recruit to share her passions or interests areas, the top five skills or talents she possesses or would like to develop, the number of hours per week or month she can commit, and whether she would like to work on projects or serve on a committee or task force. We can then present the individual with customized volunteer opportunities that match her unique profile.

Connect volunteer efforts to the organization’s purpose, goals, brand, and values.

As we orient individuals to their specific roles and responsibilities, we sometimes neglect to connect their efforts to the “bigger picture.” Most volunteers derive part of their satisfaction from seeing that their efforts make a difference, and we need to intentionally cultivate their understanding of how that will occur. Equally valuable is helping individual’s understand the unique brand identity and/or core values and how volunteers can sustain and advance those in their efforts. Volunteers often form the “front line” image at conferences and other association offerings; therefore, it is imperative they represent the values and brand the association is trying to advance.

Connect volunteers to each other.

While community is often a buzzword in the association world, we sometimes neglect the opportunities to help connect volunteers to each other and the volunteer community. The spirit of community is one in which individuals care not because they have to, but because they want to. The more interconnected individuals feel, the more like they are to (1) care, (2) to act on their caring, and (3) to recruit others who also care. Associations should examine all of their volunteer meetings, trainings, orientations, etc. through the lens of community, asking: what are we/could we be doing to foster a greater spirit of community among those present?

Think of volunteering as a professional development experience.

Good organizations help employees identify the lessons they are learning from their work experiences, how that knowledge can inform their future efforts, and how it contributes to their portfolio of skills. Good associations should do the same with volunteers. Whether it is part of their original motivation to volunteer or not, individuals gain valuable personal and professional skills. We can increase the meaning of their experience by providing opportunities for them to reflect on their efforts and what they have gained from them … think of it as a resume writing opportunity for volunteer efforts.

Don’t waste volunteers’ time.

Time is one of the most significant contributions a volunteer offers to an association. It is a gift we need to manage carefully. We need to be thoughtful and intentional about our agendas for meetings or conference calls, turnaround deadlines on projects, and other areas where volunteer time can be leveraged or wasted. Associations should examine the “defining moments” of a volunteer’s experience and identify any unnecessary time wasters that could be eliminated.

Manage volunteer transitions.

When individuals move from member to volunteer, and from minor to major volunteer contributions, they feel a greater connection to the association: they become a part of the association family. What happens to individuals after they leave a significant project or position of leadership in the association? How does the association continue to communicate with them and involve them? How do we help volunteers indicate what role or contributions they would like to make in the future? How does the association track such information? Once you become part of the “inner circle” being disengaged from that information loop can be unsettling. We need to more intentionally manage volunteer transitions if we hope to reengage them again in the future.

Remember that attention and recognition are the currencies you control.

Paid employees get a paycheck every week or every other week. Associations often dole out recognition far less frequently, saving up awards and tributes for end-of-the-year events. Volunteer recognition and encouragement needs to be more frequent, ongoing, and personalized whenever possible. The form should be commensurate with the nature of the volunteer contributions and reflect the message you wish to send about the volunteer’s efforts. Yes, sending out the mail-merged thank-you note is better than sending nothing. But the underlying message is “we care enough about your generosity that we mail-merged you this letter.” Contrast the likely value of that effort with a short handwritten note in which you personally comment on the specific contributions the volunteer made. Which would engage you more?

Ask for feedback on their experience.

In some aspects, volunteers are the customers of the association’s volunteer experience. We owe it to them (and future volunteers) to solicit their feedback on what worked and what didn’t work. Creating a simple evaluation form and using it on an ongoing basis can help the association measure progress in key areas over time. An evaluation should contain: (1) a mixture of short objective statements whose ratings can be tracked over time; and (2) open-ended questions that allow volunteers to express themselves freely. One simple, but telling question can be asking volunteers: “What adjectives best describe your volunteer experience?” Keying these in as a list and then doing a simple word sort will give you a quick sense of your association’s volunteer experience.

Don’t forget the fun!

Doing the work of the association is serious business, but the way we go about it doesn’t have to be dry and boring. We must engage not only volunteers’ minds, but also their hearts. Making volunteer experiences memorable will keep them coming back for more. One of the simplest ways we can do that is to include some elements of fun and play whenever possible into the volunteer experience. Bland training of association facts and figures can become a highly charged game show with grab bag prizes; dull committee meetings can be livened up with short, but energizing teambuilders. One association went so far as to have a Fun Committee whose sole responsibility was to inject a little fun in every offering of the association. As you might suspect, it was the sought after committee appointment.

Facilitation Friday #5: Provide Leadership Without Taking the Reins

2012-02-03T07:46:00.004-05:00

Some see facilitators’ as “flipchart patsies,” individuals who stand at the front of the room and merely note on the flipchart what others say. (Side note: you can't really facilitate AND flipchart if you hope to do either very well) The fact that group members often do not see facilitators taking control of the group is by design, not by accident. Individuals using a facilitative approach provide leadership to the group without exclusively taking the reins, never resorting to "cracking the whip" except in extreme circumstances when the success of the group depends on the facilitator exerting much more control.

Facilitators lead with restraint because when group members do not share ownership of the process, the decisions, or their outcomes, they are less likely to follow through on commitments. Too often, individuals abdicate their responsibility to the leader; that is, they fail to acknowledge that ensuring a group’s effectiveness is the responsibility of all members. In order for groups to realize their full potential, every individual must be concerned with the good of the whole and share the responsibility for helping ensure it.

For this reason, facilitative leaders more often ask rather than tell groups what they need to be doing and help them move forward rather than control their movement. They more often lead with questions that invite others' input rather than directions or declarative statements that only invite others compliance or acquiescence. "Are ready to move on to our next agenda item?" feels very different to a participant than a facilitators who says, "OK, let's move on now." While facilitative leadership doesn't require participants' explicit permission for every decision related to group process, it does implicitly acknowledge the value in obtaining it on the questions that matter most.

In his classic work, Facilitation (McGraw-Hill, 1995; out of print but available used),Trevor Bentley notes that facilitative leaders position themselves differently vis-à-vis the group, depending on the situation. They lead from the front during a group’s early stages of development, when participants need to clarify their shared purpose and benefit from having a structure that connects them to the group’s work and to each other.As a group develops and members take more responsibility for directing its activities, the leader becomes just another voice, serving alongside the other members. Finally, when a group reaches higher stages of performance, the facilitative leader contributes from behind, offering insights and observations that add to the team’s evolving momentum.

When you hold a formal leadership position with a group you are facilitating—staff director leading a team meeting, board chair facilitating a board meeting—the perceived authority and power of your role can become a barrier to individuals seeing your primarily in a facilitative capacity. Because you have more of a vest interest in the outcome of the discussions, you may have a tendency to lead the meeting toward an outcome you find acceptable rather than facilitate the group to an outcome it will own. Even if you genuinely try to avoid steering the discussion a particular way, participants will filter your facilitation efforts through the leadership role you hold with/over them. You can try to interrupt this through a discussion about roles at the meeting's onset, but if you have a strong interest in advocating for a particular decisions, you may wish to have someone else facilitate do that you can be more of an active participant. At minimum, you need to remain self-aware about operating from a position of restraint to avoid participants feeling incredibly restrained about what they can say or do.

What are ways you provide leadership to groups and teams you facilitate without completely taking the reins?

Every Friday in 2012, I will post information and insights about effective facilitation, sharing some of the content and thinking I provide in the one-day and half-day facilitation workshops that groups often engage me to present. You can find previous posts by searching for the tag: facilitationfriday.

Feeding Off the Energy

2012-02-01T08:45:00.001-05:00

"The city hasn't just embraced the event, the city IS the event."

So said one journalist covering the Super Bowl here in Indy. He's right in a sense because of the compact downtown area in which the core events are taking place. You step out of just about any hotel and you are immediately in Super Bowl Village and feeling the energy of the fans embracing the chance to engage in this special experience.

Feeling the energy. Feeding off of it. This phenomenon led one journalist to describe the atmosphere ... mind you this was for a Tuesday several days before the actual game ... as effervescent.

Too many meetings are anything but effervescent, but that can be turned around through intentional design. It requires a careful calibration of the right attractions in the right space. Indy tourism once used the motto "Everything you want connected to everything you need." That mantra is one that every meeting or conference planner should adopt for an event: how do we design this experience so that people have/find everything they want connected to everything they need?

Connections are the underdesigned aspect of most conferences. A good layout and program creates a concentrated core of community and content while simultaneously allowing for informal interaction and serendipity to occur. It's about what is happening, but it also is about the way it is happening and the space in which it occurs. And this is as true for a small dinner party you might host at home as it is for an event being held for 150,000 visitors.

And the details matter. Have all your meals at 72" banquet round with plated services and you've pretty much ensured people have more formal conversations with the folks primary on either side of them. Whereas 60" rounds allow for the entire table to be in conversation, a buffet allows you to engage with folks while standing in line, family-style service at any size table creates a sense of a whole box lunches let you grab and go wherever you want. Each is a viable option, but must be decided with intention.

You really can't ever get it 100% right ... at least not for every individual. And while what works for one event won't necessarily work for another and the answers aren't always obvious, the question is: how do we design this experience so that people have/find everything they want connected to everything they need?. You just have to ask it and answer it, then repeat again. More thoughtful attention to what's being offered, how it's being done, and where it's being done can increase the likelihood of effervescence. But remember that while some people prefer sparkling water with a meal, others prefer flat. It's important to allow for individuals to feel a part of the action without becoming exhausted by it.

As the old Alka Seltzer commercial used to sing "Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz, Oh what a relief it is." Without sufficient attention to design and its details, all you get is Plop, Plop, and a slow erosion of interest and attention. Go for the Fizz!

What Informs Your Efforts?

2012-01-30T05:34:00.012-05:00

Seeing Indianapolis ready for its prime time appearance this week as host of Super Bowl XLVI is exciting to someone who has called downtown Indy home for more than 18 years.

In reading this weekend about how the host committee leadership approached planning for the event, one specific aspect of their approach really impressed me.

Naturally they drew on previous Super Bowls, but they also turned to a less obvious event, one that ultimately shaped many of their decisions: the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

The Super Bowl in Indy probably has as much (maybe even more) in common with a Winter Olympics as it does a Super Bowl in a warm and sunny climate. And the amazing lineup of concerts and other events in our Super Bowl Village echo the fan activity in an Olympic Village.

So the next time you're working on a major program or product, cast a wider net for inspiration, insight, and innovative possibilities. Instead of merely improving on the next iteration of a longstanding tradition, you may just set a new standard for the future.

Facilitation Friday #4: Help Make Connections and Meaning

2012-01-27T07:01:00.007-05:00

You get off your plane at the airport and the first thing you do is check your cellphone or the gate monitor for information about your connection. You want to know one thing: where do I need to go next? Whether it be volunteers on a conference call, staff colleagues in a meeting, or learners participating in a workshop, they seek the same thing: connections.

In a fast-paced environment overloaded with information, people need to connect on a variety of levels: with their colleagues, with the issues at hand, with internal information and external insights, and with the lessons from the past and the potential of the future. Facilitation involves listening for and seeking to make (or help others make) these connections more possible and explicit.

For example, you might ask how a current decision under deliberation could affect operations in another area, or how the current discussion connects with others that have occurred and/or with what individuals are doing in their work. Facilitation also helps connect comments made by various individuals in a conversation. Because facilitation involves deep and active listening, individuals who have developed these skills likely have an overall sense of the links among disparate threads of conversation.They help group members make these linkages, as well as identify the meaning behind what is occurring, by posing expansive, open-ended questions that invite others into the discussion.

So where are we at from your perspective?
What might the idea(s) we are considering mean for your efforts or what we collectively need to do next?
How does what Tonya just shared relate to the points Andrew and Wanda were making earlier?
What are you noticing right now and what might it mean for where we go next?
What, if anything, isn't connecting for you or making sense right now?
We've heard lots of different viewpoints. Any common threads among them?

These types of questions create a reflective space for individuals and groups where they can make sense of what is transpiring and capture real-time learning about both what they are doing and how they are doing it. Effective facilitation periodically slows the conversation and invites the group to assess the nature of the deliberations and how they can be enhanced:“How are we doing what we are doing?”

Individuals filter what is happening through their respective lenses, roles, and experiences in order to make sense of things ... to make meaning for themselves. Periodically inviting these different meanings to be shared can help knit together a richer and more robust understanding among the various individuals in a conversation since each person has his or her own lenses in play.

This often is most true when clusters of individuals come with specific shared perspectives that may be influencing the meaning they are making; i.e. individuals from different departments, different geographic locations, different institutional sizes. Workshop facilitators in particular need to help connect their content to the different contexts individuals may represent and invite individuals to make meaning of the ideas and issues being discussed by exploring the "so what? now what?" questions of implication and application. Doing so explicitly helps individuals realize greater learning value.

By listening deeply and helping weave individual comments into a coherent whole, as well as helping individuals make (and share) meaning from what is occurring and being discussed, facilitation can help achieve synergy, producing a group result that surpasses what any individual might have accomplished on his or her own.

What are questions or other tactics you've seen or used that help make connections and meaning in a meeting or workshop?

Every Friday in 2012, I will post information and insights about effective facilitation, sharing some of the content and thinking I provide in the one-day and half-day facilitation workshops that groups often engage me to present. You can find previous posts by searching for the tag: facilitationfriday.

Water Your Ideas Like a Garden

2012-01-25T00:10:00.001-05:00

I remember when I got my first house and I would dash outside in the evening and do a quick spray from the hose on all the plants and flowers, thinking I had sufficiently watered them to withstand the summer heat. I hadn't.

Garden enough and you quickly learn the value of slow, steady watering. The moisture reaches deep to plants' roots as it slowly seeps through the soil. Instead of spraying the water down on top of the plants, you use soaking hoses that lay right on top of the soil. It takes longer, but it is more effective.

Nurturing sustainable and genuine commitment to ideas, instead of mere short-term compliance, requires the same approach.

Instead of selling ideas with a superficial or surface-level appeal from a podium speech, you get down in the dirt and connect your thoughts to the roots of the people who will be most affected. It takes longer, but it, too, is more effective.

The Cost of Not Being You

2012-01-23T07:03:00.002-05:00

"We find it an awful thing to meet people, serious or not, who have turned into vacant effective people, so far lost that they won’t believe their own feelings enough to follow them out."
William Stafford, "An Introduction to Some Poems"

In his wonderful post, Joe Gerstandt asks if you've recently paid the cost of being you, of bringing your whole self into your relationships and making the contributions that only you can make.

When we stand out from the crowd, when we do not conform to others' expectations, we often have to pay a cost. I'd suggest that when we choose to do the opposite the cost may even be greater.

"If you are unfaithfully with us, you are causing terrible harm."
Rumi, Sufi philosopher

Each of us regularly makes choices related to fitting in. We dress the part and say our lines in order to be accepted by others. We did it as kids in school, and we do it as adults in the workplace and our communities.

“Whenever people refuse to participate in their own subordination, they resist the way power asserts itself in organizations and society.”
—Debra E. Myerson, Tempered Radicals

So here are a few questions for you:

Is the part you are playing in your life consistent with who you are or have you simply become incredibly adept at consistently playing a part?
Are you spending more energy trying to fit in instead of seeking the places, the people, and the opportunities that fit?
Wouldn’t you rather be rejected for who you truly are than embraced for someone you truly are not?
As you "play on bigger stages" in your life, are you slipping into performance mode instead of preserving the raw connection that comes from staying unplugged and using only your own voice?

In the wonderful play and movie Shirley Valentine the lead character namesake offers this truth about how so many people lead their lives:"We don't do what we want to do. We do what we have to do and pretend it is what we want to do."

We can only pretend for so long. It is not a sustainable choice. When so much of our attention and energy is devoted to fitting in, it depletes the vitality we need to actually make our contributions.

So yes, the cost of being you will sometimes be great. But the cost of not doing so is a limited-term loan and comes with a significant balloon payment at some point in the future.

“To be as authentic as we know how to be at the moment, so that we can be more and more present in what we do. The more we can do that, the safer we are. The problem is it feels most dangerous … But this very thing that seems dangerous is where safety lies.”
—Barbara Cook, vocalist and star of Broadway shows and movies

Facilitation Friday #3: Balancing Challenge and Support

2012-01-20T08:42:00.005-05:00

Psychologist and scholar Nevitt Sanford introduced an influential construct related to cognitive development that is a valuable framework for facilitation: challenge and support (PDF link).
Challenge, provided by either internal or external stimuli, can lead to growth and development so long as the disequilibrium caused by the challenge does not overwhelm the individual, in which case the person retreats or shuts down.

Support is an external influence that helps an individual successfully navigate the challenge being experienced without coddling the person so much that growth and development is impeded.

Let's take a physical example of this concept to help make it more concrete: lifting weights. If you're doing chest presses and select a weight you confidently know you can press 10 times, you may experience a sense of satisfaction, but because your muscles weren't challenged, you won't experience much growth.

To produce growth, you have to select a weight heavier than what you normally lift. Because this increases the challenge and the possibility of failure, you should have a spotter who can help you with the weight when your muscles become too fatigued. A good spotter doesn't step in and grab the weights though the first time you start to strain a bit … that would be too much support and your muscles wouldn't be challenged at all.

Understanding the dynamics of challenge and support can help us in the design of effective meetings, workshops, and conversations, as well as facilitating what is actually happening in real-time. A group used to meeting in a hollow square with a highly structured agenda could find a rooms et with a circle of chairs and a meeting agenda with just a few discussion questions posed to be somewhat challenging. Individuals accustomed to lecture-style presentations may find a highly experiential workshop involving a great deal of personal sharing to be somewhat uncomfortable. These are just two examples of how challenge and support are evident in a facilitation environment.

My previous post focusing on how behavior is the result of people interacting with the environment can help us think through challenge and support in a facilitation effort.

Think about the individuals you will be facilitating. What content, environment, session formats, conversations might they find challenging? What support might you build into the facilitation so that they can successfully navigate that challenge and grow instead of retreating or shutting down? What support might be excessive, unintentionally impeding their learning and growth because you eliminate too much of the challenge? Here are a few examples:

Individuals who are analytical might struggle with an exercise that has vague instructions or asks them to engage in a creative task. Offering them more detailed information or an example of what a possible creation might look like could allow them to fully engage in the activity
Workshop designs or meeting formats that focus almost exclusively on verbal participation can sometimes impede the contributions of more introverted or reflective learners. Including brief segments where individuals think on their own before verbalizing their ideas with the group can support their interaction and learning needs.
A lecture segment introducing an idea or concept to a very diverse audience might not connect with each individual's respective work environment or job function unless the presenter gives a variety of concrete examples illustrating her concept in varied settings.
Not honoring traditional or expected norms in any setting (think nametags at a conference, assigned seats at a meeting, slides or handouts for a presentation) could cause some initial discomfort as people are unsure of how events will unfold given the absence of the features to which they have become accustomed. This doesn't mean you couldn't eliminate these items, but just be sensitive to the discomfort or challenge this might cause.
A group that is very comfortable with unstructured, informal conversations can become hesitant or challenged if an intense conflict erupts in the middle of such discussions and may need the facilitator to help provide structure and new norms for working through the disagreement.
Individuals attending a workshop in which the presenter covers content they already know extremely well won't learn anything unless the speaker modifies what is being explored to include more challenging material.

Embedded in the very root definition of the word facilitation is the emphasis on actions that make it easier for groups to accomplish their goals. But if we as facilitators do the work of the group for them or provide too much support, we take away the challenge and reduce the group's likely learning and development. The same is true when working with an individual.

The key is a thoughtful calibration of challenge and support in the original design of your meeting, workshop, or conversation, as well as a real-time vigilance about recalibrating your contribution in order to produce real growth. It's more art than science, but it is critical nonetheless.

The Power of Purpose

2012-01-18T05:25:00.001-05:00

Perhaps more than ever before, we need purpose-driven organizations and leaders because they

Seek contribution from people rather than try to control them
Nurture creativity rather than force compliance
Coach members rather than command troops
Unleash commitment rather than settle for consent
Build a sense of community instead of force confinement of individuals from one another
Accept complexity instead of contrive certainties

(these qualities taken verbatim from The Purpose-Driven Organization by Terry Pascarella.

But all around us we find examples of fear-based leaders whose inflammatory rhetoric attempts to unite, but only to rally against false foes or unlikely threats. In challenging times it's easy to resort to such an approach, but if we learned anything from Built to Last, we should remember the importance of preserving an organization's (and I would suggest our own individual) core purpose and values: this is who we are and this is why we exist.

For me, the Hoberman sphere is a perfect metaphor for the power of purpose. This simple object expands and contracts effortlessly while preserving its basic framework in its entirety as it does so. An organization's or individual's purpose can do the same, remaining as the essence of ones efforts while expanding or contracting in scope based on internal priorities or external realities. Regardless of the chosen scale, the purpose—your identity—does not vary, nor is it sacrificed for quick short-term gains.

If your organization lacks clarity around that seemingly simple, yet incredible difficult to determine and preserve essence, you know where your work needs to begin.

The Memo on Meetings

2012-01-16T12:34:00.000-05:00

Apparently not everyone got the memo. That's the only plausible reason I can think of why so many meetings and conferences are still the same mind-numbing gatherings that have been turning us into drones and zombies for years.

In case you didn't get the memo here is some of what it said:

--We've shifted from being in the "meeting planning' business to being in the "connecting business," connecting individuals to the people, ideas, information, and resources they need to achieve their goals and aspirations. As a result, getting the banquet guarantee exactly correct will no longer earn you a raise.

--People actually come to events with ideas, interests, and passions. Therefore, we shall not suck the life out of them by starting our gathering with an endless number of talking heads. Anyone doing so will have their resume forwarded to Macy's Thanksgiving Parade department where swelled heads are indeed important to display.

--Packing people into a ballroom and providing alcohol and cheese cubes is not a "networking event." We will intentionally help participants connect to the individuals who have knowledge and connections they most seek.

--The most brilliant presenters of information are frequently among the least capable facilitators of learning. To ensure participants have powerful learning experiences, we select, coach, and support all presenters (even the big names with the big fees) to create engaging sessions that balance their knowledge with the wisdom of the crowd and help attendees connect the content to their everyday efforts.

These four points are just the beginning of the conversations we should be having. Actually, enough talk, let's focus on action. We already know better. It is long past time for us to start doing better. The clock is ticking and people's patience is waning. Let's not make them wait any longer.

Facilitation Friday #2: Behavior is the Result of People Interacting with the Environment

2012-01-13T08:33:00.003-05:00

Preparing to facilitate a group involves many considerations. One framework that I always draw on comes from Kurt Lewin, considered to be one of the pioneers of social psychology. Lewin asserted that the behavior of individuals results from how they interact with their environment, b = f(p,e). This simple equation helps unpack much of what we need to review for an individual facilitation effort.

Behavior

Think of the outcomes for your facilitation efforts. At the end of it, what do people need to be thinking, feeling, committed to doing? What are the behaviors you hope people will display during the meeting? How would you like them to interact with each other? What do you envision as the pace, tone, and nature of the conversation? Visualize the conversation you hope to help create as if it was happening in front of you and you are viewing it in slow motion

People

Who will be involved in the conversation? What are their existing roles and relationships? How do they learn, process information, engage in group settings? What meeting norms and expectations are they accustomed to? How do they like to do their work? What strengths can they contribute and what weaknesses might they need support managing around? What diversity of perspectives will they bring to this work and what lenses will they be filtering it through? Do any individuals have special physical needs?

When possible we must make sure the “right” people will be contributing to whatever meeting or conversation we are facilitating. The right people are the ones needed to achieve the desired outcomes for the effort. Some individuals may only need to offer input or feedback at various stages of the conversation while others may need to be an active participant throughout. We should honor individuals’ time by involving them only when it is most appropriate as opposed to assuming everyone needs to be in every moment of every conversation … the way it is traditionally done in organizations.

Sometimes, we inherit an existing group of people who may or may not be inclusive of everyone who could help achieve the desired outcomes. If we are unable to change the composition of the group, we need to help the group explore whose/which perspectives may not be represented among them and how they want to access that information to inform their efforts.

The Environment: Theirs

What are current issues affecting the people you will be facilitating? What’s the state of their profession, industry, organization, department? What’s happening in their world right now that might have implications for how they engage in the conversations? What’s the context to which they will return after the session? What does the space where they do their work look like and how does it affect their pattern of interactions? What are the communication norms in their organization? How do they use technology in their environment?

The Environment: The Meeting

When will the meeting occur, and what implications does that have for individuals’ participation, particularly for individuals in different time zones? Think about the physical space for the meeting: room size and layout options, privacy or openness, sound considerations, tables and chairs, lighting, open space for movement, what’s on the walls, options for displaying information and output, sightlines, ceiling height, location within the building, access to food and beverage, location of restrooms, what will people find when they arrive (signage, music playing, a greeter), and much more. Think about the design and contents of the materials involved in this effort: the agenda, pre-reading, any advance homework or surveys, name badges or nameplates, and items you might have on tables to engage participants (toys, markers, notepads, Post-It’s). If virtual, what technology will be used?

So what? Now what?

The environment is perhaps the most under-utilized facilitation resource. We often are able to change it far more than we are able to influence the participants we are facilitating. Doing so means really thinking about the behavior/results you want to produce and what you know about the people you will facilitate. What environmental considerations will increase the likelihood that these people will produce the envisioned results for the session? What room set and other logistics will help support the conversations that need to occur? What supportive material will help inform people’s thinking so they can make the needed contributions to the conversation?

But wait …

Don’t forget yourself: you are a part of the environment. The existing you have (or don’t have) with participants will influence the behaviors they display. Your attire, your speaking rhythm and pitch, your nonverbals, your physical placement in the room … all become a part of the setting that influences how people contribute or don’t participate. This requires remaining very self-aware of the choices you are making. Always consider how you might change yourself and what you are doing in order to create a positive change in how the group is functioning.

Next week: the role of challenge and support in effective facilitation.

Every Friday in 2012, I will post information and insights about effective facilitation, sharing some of the content and thinking I provide in the one-day and half-day facilitation workshops that groups often engage me to present. You can find previous posts by searching for the tag: facilitationfriday.

Timeless Questions, Timely Tactics

2012-01-11T04:36:00.005-05:00

One of the challenges with strategic planning sessions is that once the vision, goals, and objectives have been identified, the good thinking that created them often stops. Almost in unison you can hear the sigh of relief from planning session participants: "Whew, glad that's over with. Now we don't have to think strategically again till the next time one of these sessions rolls around."

And, of course, that is one of the reasons why strategic plans often do not yield the commitment, action, or results they are meant to produce. Any answers identified during a planning process are temporary by nature. While the objectives and tactics already identified for each goal are being implemented, continued contemplation of the questions should be an ongoing endeavor.

Most organizations can probably identify a handful (say 6-12) of what I call perma questions. A perma (nent) question is one unlikely to ever go out of style. In other words, it is one so fundamental to what you do that regularly exploring it and identifying new ways of answering it will always produce value. Nonprofits frequently turn to Peter Drucker's infamous five questions as a starting point: (1) What is our mission? (2) Who is our customer? (3) What does our customer value? (4) What are our results? (5) What is our plan?

Over the years, I've developed a dozen questions to draw on during strategy conversations, ones that while timeless in nature almost always can generate new and timely responses. They are listed below. You could draw on my list and Drucker's five questions, as well as identify some of your own. Once you've finalized your organization's list of perma questions, you should (1) incorporate them into regular meetings, brainstorming sessions, etc., (2) establish a process for screening the ideas such discussions produce and (3) add them as desired into your strategic plan.

How can we be more of who we say we are … as defined by our core purpose and core values?
What do our members (current and future) most value and how can we increase the benefits and value they associate with our efforts?
What infrastructure ($, time, people) is required to produce the future we are trying to create and the results we want to produce? How might we better engage our community in creating and producing these results?
What are the most significant issues on the horizon that will affect how we do what we do and how we will do it? How should we address them?
How can we further enable connections, facilitate community, and strengthen relationships among our members?
How can we better disseminate information so that captures members’ attention, interest, consumption, and application?
What processes and systems could we implement to more efficiently and effectively do our work?
What current successes, it they were to diminish or disappear, would have the most devastating consequences?
What efforts do we need to begin to retire or let go of?
What are the biggest obstacles to people realizing their potential and how can we remove those obstacles?
What is most holding us back right now, and what might we do about it?
What one thing, while seemingly impossible, would make a tremendous difference it was achieved?

What is a perma question you'd add to the dozen I've suggested? How does your organization keep strategic conversations occurring while still executive on current priorities?

What Kids Can Teach Us About Life and Leadership

2012-01-09T08:04:00.000-05:00

“The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age.” Aldous Huxley

Some have suggested that children and travelers are best prepared to succeed in a rapidly changing environment because both theoretically possess strong capacities for adapting to their environment, learning new things, and going with the flow.

Kids can teach adults a great deal that can help us in the grown-up playground we call work. Here are a few lessons I have found particularly beneficial, ones I share in a popular keynote entitled, Be a Kid Again. Download a colorful one-page PDF with the seven takeaways.

Be curious.

If it is on the floor or in their path, it will be in their mouth. Kids want to pick up, look, touch, throw, taste, and squeeze everything. Many years ago, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts ran wonderful ad campaign showing delightful kids looking out an airplane's window. The tagline? When did you begin insisting on the aisle seat? The campaign poitned out how growing up can dull our natural curiosity … no more looking out the windows on planes, etc. Yet curiosity and a sense of wonder is what can lead us to innovations, new and unexpected possibilities, or just wonderful learning from surprising sources.

Take field trips.

If you let it, everyday life can be a field trip, requiring only that pay more attention and with greater intention. But we all have daily routines and rituals that we should interrupt periodically, putting ourselves in new places with different people trying activities we have yet to experience. Field trips were always one of the most popular school days, and not just because they got us out of mundane classwork. They refreshed our sense of wonder, expanded our range of experience, and allowed us to interact informally with peers … all benefits equally valuable in our professional endeavors today.

Play with everybody.

For a good part of their early years, kids are equal opportunity playmates: they will play with everybody. This provides them a diversity of interactions and experiences and an openness to all kinds of individuals. No need for mandatory diversity education for kids. They live it and welcome it everyday. We adults would be wise to open up our circles, interacting and networking with a far more diverse group of individuals. This is as true for who you follow on Twitter or which blogs you read as it is for who you hang with at a professional conference or in the office lunchroom.

Speak the truth … always.

Oh the delightful honesty of those too young to know better … or those wise enough to know best perhaps. Kids do say the darndest things, but they tell it like it is. Most adults see being completely honest as risky. We need to create a world where tempering or censoring our honesty is seen as the greatest risk of all. Because it is. How much time do you or does your organization spend dealing with half-truths, rumors, and misstatements simply because people were unwilling to be honest? Enough said.

Participate … and do so with enthusiasm.

When kids volunteer in class or try to get picked for a team, they swing their arms wildly, make loud noises, and jump up and down. You really know they want to get involved. If only we could tap into that same energy level and enthusiasm in our volunteer workforce, matching people’s talents, time, and what they care about to our organization’s needs in such a compelling way that they jump up and down to get involved. And schools are particularly sensitive to ensuring kids get a chance to participate so that everyone is involved. Our organizations should adopt this mindset when looking to engage individuals in collaborative endeavors.

Let your imagination run wild.

Successful innovators know that fresh thinking occurs in a playful environment, and that sometimes the best ideas result from building on wild ideas that too easily could be rejected upon presentation. So while it is important to stay focused during any idea generation sessions, that focus must not shackle the range of ideas expressed. You can't predict when a crazy thought will become a catalyst for a provocative innovation, so while you should remain cautious of ideas that can derail a discussion, remain open to those that might provide interesting detours.

Always get back up when you fall down.

Resilient and resourceful. Kids fall down, dust themselves off, and get right back up to try again. They don’t take such apparent defeats as setbacks; rather they see them as a natural part of the process. We would be well-served in our organizations if people bounced right back up and began to try again whenever a temporary setback is experienced. Things not working out according to play should be seen as normal given that we can't 100% plan for what will happen when other people begin to interact with our programs, products, or services.

There Really Is a Simpler Way

2012-01-09T05:02:00.003-05:00

a simpler way, the wonderful book co-authored by Margaret Wheatley and Myron Kellner-Rogers, continues to guide my thinking about organizations. It asks us to no longer look at the world as a machine, and most importantly, human beings as machines.

Rereading the book over the holidays reminded me how this biological perspective, as opposed to the previously entrenched mechanistic viewpoint, focuses less on control, order, and structure, and more on exploration, growth, and life. Discarding a mechanistic perspective means embracing some alternative beliefs about people and organizations. Here are a few of them:

Living systems learn constantly.

This being the case, what is true today might not be true tomorrow. Therefore, our planning efforts must become less rigid and more like tinkering … trying lots of things and seeing what works best. The answers and plans we develop don't have to be right; they just have to work.

Living systems are self-organizing.

People in organizations, just like other biological forms of life, will self-organize into temporary working structures as needed. We can spend less time on master designs for organizational structures or hierarchies. People can organize themselves as the work requires.

Life is attracted to order, but it uses messes to get there.

We needlessly seek simple and clean solutions to complex problems. We need to become comfortable with fuzzy, ambiguous attempts to approach an issue. Further, such approaches may often be happening simultaneously at different points or places in our organization. Life isn't neat; progress isn't neat and orderly either.

Because we are living systems, most people are intelligent, creative, adaptive, and self-organizing.

"We want to learn, to do high-quality work, to contribute, to find meaning. We do not need to impose these attribute on one another. We merely need to learn how to evoke them."

From these beliefs and others, Wheatley and Kellner-Rogers suggest how we can create supportive conditions for self-organization (these are quoted verbatim):

"An organizational community that is clear about its intent knows what it wants to accomplish and knows what its purpose is." If intent and purpose are clear and individuals are self-motivated and self-organizing, they will direct their efforts to fulfilling that intent and achieving that purpose.

"Living systems are webbed with feedback, with information available from all directions." Information is what drives organizational life, and we must allow all individuals access to as much information as possible so they can make informed decisions that support the organization's purpose and intent.

"Living systems also are webbed with connections; individual members have access to the whole system." Members of organizations need to be able to reach out to others freely, to collaborate without limitations, to access talents and information whenever necessary.

Conclusion

Instead of spending our time as leader focusing on designing structures, implementing mechanistic training programs, or initiating controls and checks and balances, we should choose a simpler way ... and focus our energies and talents on engaging members of our organizations in meaningful discussions about who we are, what we believe, what we do, and how we can do it better. There is as much, if not more, power in our core purpose and principles as there is in any of our policies or plans.

a simpler way.

By Margaret J. Wheatley and Myron Kellner-Rogers. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 1996.

Readers who find this interesting should also check out the recently published Humanize by Maddie Grant and Jamie Notter.

Facilitation Friday #1: Anyone Can and Everybody Should

2012-01-06T07:22:00.003-05:00

Break down the word facilitation and you find two components: facile which means easy and ation or actions. So simply put, facilitation is defined as actions that make things easier. So what are is facilitation trying to make easier? Possibilities include:

Individuals working together more effectively
Diverse perspectives being more thoroughly explored
Individuals feeling comfortable contributing and speaking up
Groups efficiently accomplishing more and in less time
Creative thinking and innovative solutions emerging
Individuals exercising greater ownership over discussions and accountability for decisions reached

Too often we think of facilitation as the sole domain of the department head, the board chair, or the consultant leading a planning process. While group work often does involve an individual designated as the facilitator, that should in no way preclude group members from taking action and making contributions to helping the group work more effectively together. Just because there is a designated facilitator, it doesn't mean individuals can abdicate the responsibility they have for the group to function well.

As Roger Schwarz says in his book, The Skilled Facilitator,"Being a facilitative leaders means changing how you think in order to change the consequences you help create." So think about the groups and teams that you are a part of: (1) What are the consequences you want to help create? (2) What would be required for that to occur in each group? (3)What shifts in your thinking might help you do contribute to the group doing so?

Every Friday in 2012, I'll explore some aspect of facilitation in order to help you change how you think, and ultimately, change the consequences you help create. We'll explore some of the values and beliefs required for effective facilitation, best and worst practices, tools and techniques, common group and individual situations, and different facilitation environments (including virtual) or meeting purposes. In addition, I'll share and review some of the facilitation resources I find most helpful and some of the lessons learned (the good and the kind of ugly) in my own facilitation work.

All of this content is drawn from the most popular workshop I do each year (both full-day and half-day versions): The Art of Facilitation: Enhancing Results and Maximizing Individuals' Contributions. I'll be doing several public offerings of this program and will announce those dates and locations in the near future, but I'm currently accepting a limited number of requests to customize this content and present the program for individual organizations.

I Won't Be Changing the World in 2012

2012-01-03T07:08:00.008-05:00

The question posed to me was this:
How are you going to change the world in 2012?

My answer?
I’m not.

Before you shake your head in shame or run off to the eye doctor to see if you need a new prescription, let me explain.

Open Clip Art Library: jongo_jingaro

Maddie Grant, co-author with Jamie Notter of a wonderful book, Humanize (you are reading it, aren’t you) picked this question up from this post by Craig Newmark, founder of Craig’s List. After responding to Craig’s question she then tagged a whole bunch of us to respond as well.

So back to why I’m not going to change the world in 2012. I imagine some people find this question very inspiring or motivating. For others it might be daunting or overwhelming. Regardless of where you fall on that continuum, you have some thing in common with everyone else on it: you care.

You care about some people.

You care about some issues.

You care about some communities.

You care about some opportunities.

I’m soon going to be sharing how I am refocusing my work to address the professional issues I most care about, but I can tell you this now: The way I plan on changing the world in 2012? By amplifying how I help others:

gain clarity about what they most care about right now;
identify the contribution they most want to make right now, and
do what's necessary to get in action right now.

It's about identifying the inspiration. Putting in the perspiration. And trying to avoid acting out of desperation.

And you know what? By making a contribution to what they care most about all of those people will help change their worlds. And some of them might—just might—end up changing the world.

It's Always Hard to Decide When to Let Someone Fail

2012-01-02T07:48:00.000-05:00

It wasn’t that the phrase had never been used before. In fact it is used often. But this time is struck me differently, clawing its way into my mind, and refusing to leave until I thoughtfully considered the implications of its meaning. The phrase?

It’s always hard to decide when to let someone fail.

An advisor to student organizations used it while describing his work with student leaders. But it has been said many times before: by parents in reference to their children, by managers discussing the people they supervise, and by mentors commenting on their protégés.

But look at the language. Look at who has ownership over the right to fail. It is not the person engaging in the activity, but the “higher up,” the authority figure, the power player.

And that is just plain wrong.

I don’t fault those who hold this belief. Much of the world uses language and practices to encourage exactly this type of thinking. But I do fault the assumptions and mental models behind it.

Who is anyone else to determine when a person have a right to fail? What criteria could they possibly apply to make their decision ? The right to fail rests with the individual. She owns it … its possibilities … its potential problems … its consequences.

The meaning behind this oft-used but ill-meaning phrase is really this: We see ourselves in a position of presumed power. As such, we decide when the actions of others are going to have a significant enough impact on the organization, the family, etc. to cause us to intervene. When the consequences are not great in our eyes, we can sit back and do nothing, allowing the person to make mistakes and learn from them.

But what about the consequences for the individual making the decision? What are the consequences of stealing that individual’s right to make his or her own decisions and to learn how to manage the consequences of them? What about that person’s self-esteem and the impact on it when we ride in on our white horse and save the day?

Would it not be better if we were a caring and thoughtful confidante along each step of the individual’s decision-making journey? We need to ensure others have a clear understanding of how their decisions affect the group, the values we hope will guide their decisions, the trust and confidence we have in their decision-making, our availability to coach and counsel them when the going gets rough, and the consequences of failing to make a decision or making the “wrong decision.” And then we need to get out of their way.

It’s always hard to decide when to let someone else fail. It should be hard to decide because the right to make such a decision is not one we possess. We can’t rightfully claim that which is not rightfully ours.

The next time we find ourselves about to utter those words or think such a thought, let us reflect on what we are about to do: steal away the opportunity for another human being to grow, to develop, to act, to decide, to learn.

Achieve Resolution; Don't Just Make Them

2011-12-27T11:10:00.001-05:00

One of my degrees is in English, so language has a way of getting stuck inside my head. At this time of year, it naturally turns to the word resolution.

While others around the blogosphere and in print media offer tips on how to craft better resolutions, I'm more fixated on having resolve and achieving resolution.

I'm fairly confident that each of us has in our personal or professional lives some languishing intention, something we've been meaning to get around to doing. Or perhaps it is some conversation or conflict we've been avoiding for some time. The fact that we haven't yet taken action may mean it's a low priority or one we don't really care about, or it could reflect that we haven't been resolute enough in achieving closure.

It's like the shirt you mean to wear more often, but still it hangs in your closet. At some point, we either start wearing it or off it goes to Goodwill.

Maybe the best gift we could give ourselves with a new year starting is to clean out our closets (real or metaphorical) of the good intentions we hang on to, but never seem to act on. Discover what you require to be resolute about bringing them to closure, or once and for all achieve resolution by simply letting them go or passing them on to others who might find them useful.

Leadership Limerick: One Ending is Another Beginning

2011-12-26T06:39:00.003-05:00

Every Monday in 2011, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

At some point it’s going to be done

Be thankful for a very good run

Take time to evaluate

And also to celebrate

Your hard work and the battles you won

Today is December 26th, so this is the last Leadership Limerick for 2011. It was indeed good fun and a good challenge for me to start each week in rhyme.

Routines and rituals are valuable because they are a constant. We know what to expect and we plan accordingly. But embedded within the word routine is rut. Smart individuals and organizations disrupt their own routines before others determine they have devolved into a rut. As the old saying goes, "all good things must come to an end." But most endings are really just the opportunity for new beginnings.

I'm assembling all 52 limericks into an e-book of sorts that will be available for download sometime in early 2012. Next year, I'll be blogging a bit more , posting on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If three emails a week is too much for you, subscribing via RSS feed might be a better option.

While we no longer with start the week with a Leadership Limerick, I'm bringing back Facilitation Friday. Every Friday's post will focus on some tool, technique, or situation related to facilitation, a skill I believe to be fundamental for anyone, bother personally and professionally. The Art of Facilitation: Enhancing Results and Individuals' Contributions and Commitments was one of the most popular programs I did in 2011 (and one of the most highly evaluated). I love sharing the content in half-day and full-day programs with staff and volunteer leaders, so it makes sense to do the same more regularly via the blog. By the way, after offering the program twice this year (packed houses both times) ASAE will again offer a full-day session in DC in August 2012; date TBA.

I have some exciting new initiatives for the year ahead, including a couple of writing and curriculum development projects I hope you'll find of interest. I don't use the blog much to share business news or to promote my efforts out of respect for your time and attention, but a couple of times a year it's the right space to do so. Next Sunday will be one of those times.

Leadership Limerick: The Whole and My Role

2011-12-19T07:37:00.002-05:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

How can you expect me to start?

When I don’t yet understand my part

Give me a sense of the whole

And then my specific role

Knowing both will help me feel smart

To help contribute to the success of a team, project, or organization, individuals must possess a clear understanding of their specific roles and how their efforts connect with others' efforts, as well as contribute to the overall results.

At last week's Art of Facilitation workshop (download handouts here) which I led for the American Society of Association Executives, about half of the "what if?" scenarios participants asked about involved either some role confusion or ambiguity about the purpose or desired results for some efforts. We sometimes forget the amount of information individuals may require to feel comfortable and confident in what they are being asked to do. Sometimes it's a matter of different communication styles (think Myers-Briggs or DiSC); sometimes it is assuming people connect the dots on their own more than might be the case.

You can find a list of 20 simple reminders for enhancing group results and maximizing individuals' contributions to them in this PDF download.

ASAE next offers this workshop publicly in August 2012. Contact me anytime if you'd like a half-day or full-day session for your staff, volunteers, or members.

Leadership Limerick: Gratitude, Not Platitude

2011-12-12T05:52:00.030-05:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

It’s the time of the year filled with gratitude

Which should be a more regular attitude

When your appreciation is specific

The response will be more terrific

So always offer more than a platitude

We often say it is "the thought that counts." During the months of November and December when so many holiday cards and gifts are exchanged, it's important to remember their true purpose: reconnecting, reaffirming, and renewing the relationships we value.

image: myexpression.com

The feedback and appreciation that counts the most is as thoughtful, specific, and personal as possible, not something generic or general. An attitude of gratitude is best invested in expressions that are sincere and heartfelt, a statement about the relationship(s) involved. That can be tough if your list of people is long and the hours in the day are not. So we need to be even more intentional when trying to communicate with the masses.

Never let the quantity of those on your list impede the quality of your message to them. With a little creativity and planning you can still say thanks or offer praise in ways that feel individualized, not impersonal.

Update 12/12 afternoon

After publishing my post, I read a great Inc. magazine column from Jason Fired (of 37signals) on Rethinking the Holiday Bonus. It's a great tie-in to what I was saying.

P.S. Sometimes though there is value in just reaching out to the masses and creating a cause for celebration for milestones that otherwise might be missed. This is my 500th post, and I greatly appreciate you regularly sharing your most precious gift: your attention in reading and responding. So I'd like to offer you a gift as well: receive a $500 reduction in fee for any 2012 work you schedule with me between now and year's end.

When contacting me, be sure to mention the 500th Post Special. Don't delay though as I only have 11 slots remaining for new project work or speaking or facilitation engagements. Two new programs (and one classic) that you can consider in addition to my other topics and custom-designed learning experiences are:

Refreshing Your Competitive Advantage, a half-day or full-day session introducing participants to core innovation principles and the practice of design thinking and then engaging them in hands-on "lab" time refreshing one of their value chains, programs, or services. Get just a taste of what this session covers in this short, two-page CalSAE magazine article, or watch a longer video of the opening session I did for this fall's ASAE InnovationTalks day.
Toward a More Sustainable You, a keynote, breakout, or half-day session exploring the sustainable choices required to create a personal and professional life that is big enough to have meaning, yet small enough to manage. Preview this topic in my five-minute IGNITE Talk from this past August's ASAE Annual Meeting.
The Art of Facilitation: How to Enhance Results and Maximize Individuals' Contributions, a signature program refined over the years and updated continuously. In our increasingly collaborative workspaces, everyone (Particularly association volunteers) must be capable of facilitating project teams, group meetings, conference calls, strategy conversations, and other interactions with colleagues. Best done in a half-day or full-day format, the core concepts can also be introduced in a breakout session.

Enough with Not Enough

2011-12-08T08:48:00.002-05:00

Napkins available at birthdaydirect.com

Friends and colleagues may disagree, but I don't think I am a particular high maintenance traveler. When you do it 80-100 days a year, I'm not sure you can stay sane of you are.

That being said, I've had a strong of hotel experiences recently that have led me to "have enough with not enough." And while I'm certainly not turning this into a travel blog (see this recent post) I thought I'd share them with you.

Not enough light

Hey, I'm probably more eco-conscious than most, and my entire home is equipped with CFL or LED lights that are turned off the minute I leave a room. But as hotels have converted to more energy-efficient bulbs and more stylish lighting fixtures, they seem to have forgotten an important lesson: people need to be able to actually see … and read, and write.

My female friends often lament the lack of light in hotel bathrooms, but I'm finding that upgraded mirrors with the lights running around all four sides are a nice improvement. Lighting in the rest of the room is another story. Bulbs in fixtures where reading will occur should be bright, either of a higher wattage or a 3-way or dimmable CFL (yes, they have them).

Not enough hooks

Based on the almost complete absence of hooks in most hotel bathrooms, I can only assume that the property's designers are nudists who have no need to hang clothing or wet workout gear. The norm seems to be one hook, maybe with two pointy prongs protruding from it, ones sharp enough to leave permanent marking in any clothing you hang there. If I come back from the gym, I at minimum have wet workout shorts, shirt, undergarment, and headband. Four items. So one or two on the hook. One or two on the door handle (yuk). And maybe one over the shower rod where my eco-conscious conscience had hung a towel to dry. And what if I'm sharing the room? Double trouble. Dear hotels: hooks. Lots of them. Try a minimum of 4-6.

Not enough healthy options

Too many room service menus still feature too many fatty foods in oversized portions. The Andaz properties in NYC have the right idea as almost the entire menu is "build your own" whether it be salads, sandwiches, or the complete meal. Ingredients and options are listed and you just select the combination that works for you. More hotels should do the same.

Not enough comfort and warmth

Hotels are lacking this in both tangible and intangible ways. I'm a minimalist at heart but some of the stark decor and geometric furniture (see this chair from a remodeled room at the Hyatt Regency Chicago) is just plain cold and uncomfortable. So much of the entire travel experience is already that way. A winning hotel would offer the comfort and warmth a weary road warrior is seeking. That requires rethinking room decor AND employee hospitality. Too many desk agents could easily be confused for robo-callers in terms of htheir tone and conversation with guests. I recently stayed at the always wonderful Sundance Resort in Utah where every single employee was warm, welcoming, and genuine. It's sad that encountering that was such a shock to my system.

I used to say not enough electrical outlets, but that seems to be vastly improved although your mileage may vary.

And while all of my examples have come from hotels, the principle of basic functionality applies to every business, every organization, every product or service. You have to review what you are creating through the lenses of the end users (who may be very different than you) and test the functionality of your efforts based on what they are going to want to do. Are you testing your own products and services enough?

What else have you had enough of there not being enough of during your travels?

Leadership Limerick: Innovation Requires Many Contributions

2011-12-05T08:53:00.003-05:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

Many people each play a role

When “better” is the ultimate goal

Some tinker, create, or refine

Some execute on others' design

All these parts help make something whole

When it comes to innovation, too many people think of the lone genius who invents some breakthrough product, instead of a diverse team with each member contributing different perspectives and roles to create new value.

The former makes too many people think they have know role to play, that only some people are creative enough to be considered innovators. The latter is less sexy, but in reality is how the hard work of innovation occurs.

Instruments like the Team Dimensions Profile or the KAI, Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory, can help assess the contributions individuals can make to the innovation process. These scientific tools are complemented by the specific roles identified by IDEO, one of the world's most innovative product design firms, in The Ten Faces of Innovation:

The innovation process involves many roles and perspectives. At minimum, when forming project teams consider what strengths the work requires and what individuals possess them. When the team initial convenes, have individuals talk what they can offer and the style in which they typically work. Identify shared strengths to leverage and weakness to manage around (the Gallup approach).

Helping clarify what you and your colleagues can each offer is a critical step to developing a more innovative culture. How else have you approached doing so?

Three Tips to Make You a Travel Role Model

2011-11-30T06:52:00.004-05:00

As someone who travels a lot, I try to be respectful of individuals for whom it is not their regular routine. Observing a healthy percentage of these folks over the Thanksgiving holiday caused me to think of a few simple principles we can all adopt to be Travel Role Models for others.


The Traveler • Eduardo Urcolo

Begin before the bins (your security prep, that is).

Things are much easier if your security preparation begins at home. If you're going to have to take it off to get through security, don't put it on in the first place. And yes that applies to the 49 lovely bracelets normally embracing both your arms.

For airports using the new scatter-ray machines, you can't have anything in your pockets. Make your life easier by not putting anything in them as you dress. In a Ziplock bag, I put my wallet, cash, lip balm, and other items I keep in my pockets and put that bag in the front pocket of my rollerbag. I keep my driver's license separate with my boarding pass and then put them in my briefcase after my I.D. has been checked. This expedites getting through x-ray much more quickly.

And you know what really gets you through X-ray more quickly? Getting ready for it while you stand in that long line you complain about. That's the time to take off your coat and empty your pockets if you didn't follow the previous advice. Get that laptop and your liquids and gels ready to grab and put in a bin. Speaking of bins, your bag doesn't need one. Every day thousands of bins go through the x-ray for no reason because someone set their backpack, purse, or briefcase in them. All of those bins take time to move through the system, they then stack up on the other end, and require extra time for TSA to restock them. Be a better Bin Buddy. Don't use them when you don't need to and do turn them horizontally so more of them fit on the belt.

Remember you are not flying on your private jet.

Wait. You are? Call me; I'd like a ride. It's shared space people. I'm amazed at folks who haphazardly throw their bags and coats in a bin, consuming far more space than is required, and then get perturbed when other passengers move those items to make room for their own. Place your rollerbag in lengthwise as close to other items as you can, then check to make sure the bin closes.

Do use the space underneath the seat in front of you for your smaller items. I'm 6'6" tall and desperately need that space for my feet, particularly on regional jets. But I always put my briefcase there because once we have taken off I can pull it out, put it behind my legs up next to my seat, and then stretch my legs. Bins are needed for rollerbags and other big pieces of luggage. If after everyone has boarded bin space is still available, then by all means move items up there if you want.

Please don't be a Reckless Recliner, the person who slams his seat bag at rocket velocity without any regard for the person behind him. Recline very slowly and/or inform the person behind you that you are going to recline your seat and you want her to know in case she has a laptop on her tray table.

Be a conscientious hotel guest.

It's safe to assume your hotel room door will slam shut behind you, setting off earthquake tremors that wake everyone else on your floor. Spare us the aftershocks by blocking the door with your bag when you arrive and then closing it manually. Do the same when checking out. When entering and exiting the room during your stay, keep a firm hold on the door and shut it yourself. If you're really nice, you won't pull it shut in one quick move, but will go slowly at the very end since the locking mechanism almost always makes a lot of noise. Oh, and if you plan on ironing at 4 a.m. for your morning flight, please open that darned screechy thing in the evening.

Help keep the house for the housekeepers. I wouldn't leave opened packets of sugar and used coffee pods sitting out in my home, so there is no need to do so in my hotel room. If we pick up a bit after ourselves, we make it easier for the people who have a very demanding job. Tipping them daily should be our routine, but that doesn't mean we can't help make it easier for them to service our room. Putting back the ironing board, throwing all used towels in the shower when checking out, putting trash and recycling into the right receptacles ... are all nice gestures.

What are other habits and principles you would suggest for anyone wanting to be a Terrific Traveler?

And if you'd like to go beyond just not having your towels changed, becoming a real partner in sustainability efforts, here are some previously published thoughts about how to be an Eco Guest.

Leadership Limerick: More than Just the Letter of the Law

2011-11-28T07:50:00.003-05:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

For some the letter of the law is the test

But is that’s the standard that’s best?

What we value is the foundation of any rule

We should start there on our efforts to school

Or else no one will abide by the rest

The Penn State incident has once again brought to the forefront the potential differences between presumably meeting one's legal obligations and making principled ethical choices. As a society, we obsess over enforcing rules without sufficiently inculcating people in the values upon which they are based. Without doing the latter, rules can seem arbitrary and lead individuals to question why they should follow them.

Here's an everyday example. The speed limit is not a law designed to aggravate you when you are running late for an appointment. It is a rule embodying the value of human life and safety. Think about that the next time you feel inconvenienced by the squad car on the side of the road aiming a radar gun at your car. I doubt you get into your car thinking "Well if I have to kill someone in order to get to my meeting on time, so be it."

So the next time you find yourself in the role of the enforcer, it may be beneficial to focus your conversation not on the rule to be followed, but the value to be embraced and embodied in the choices individuals make.

What Game Are You Playing?

2011-11-15T19:11:00.001-05:00

A recent round of Scrabble matches with my mother (we each won once) reminded me there are often options for any game we are playing.

In Scrabble, some people focus on their tiles, trying to build words and then find spots to place them on the board.

Other people focus on playing the board, zeroing in on the double and triple letter or word spaces and how they can use their tiles to build words in those spaces.

Challenges or opportunities in our personal and professional lives are similar. We can inventory what resources we have and then try to play them in the open market, or we can look to the external opportunities that exist and then tap into our internal resources to take advantage of those areas.

Either approach can work, but having an awareness of one's strategy is helpful. What game are you playing and do you know why?

Leadership Limerick: Time for Hybrid Highs

2011-11-14T07:11:00.000-05:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

Some people like to learn online

For them, this medium is fine

Others best engage face-to-face
For them that’s the only place.

Mixing both is the future goldmine.

Increasingly effective conference design is not about face-to-face OR virtual, but about the AND. Any virtual event might also benefit from an in-person option, and any face-to-face meeting should explore how to incorporate virtual participation.

As Harvard economist Ed Glaeser notes, "Communications technology and face-to-face interactions are complements like salt and pepper rather than substitutes like butter and margarine.”

Smart conference designers are thinking about the virtual and face-to-face components that complement their overall strategy and that their participants will compliment.

Five Lessons from the Road

2011-11-09T02:58:00.002-05:00

During the past four weeks, I've had a chance to contribute to the learning line-up at some amazing conferences, as well as hear some provocative presentations from thought leaders I admire. Here are five lessons I've learned from the road during those events.

At the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues Annual Meeting, Charlene Li reminded participants that social media is about relationships. Use of any new technology should be considered in light of the character of the relationship an organization (or individual) wants to have with their members, customers, and stakeholders and how to reflect that and their core values and personality in doing so with the new technology. And I was blown away by the amazing learning community being built at Singularity University that its executive director, Salim Ismael, talked about in his presentation. I got to "bookend" this conference, making both opening and closing remarks as well as being the emcee and content weaver throughout the three-day event. Doing so was a rich experience for me.

Doing the closing keynote at the HR Reinvention Experiment in Omaha allowed me to fully participate in the conference prior to making my remarks at day's end. I loved how instead of an opening keynote presenter, the conference kicked off the day with a round of IGNITE talks led by peers. These roughly 5-minute talks created a real sense of excitement and energy, and the diversity of topics and presenters was great. Of the many takeaways from those talks, the one that still stays with me is Joe Gerstandt's reminder that we need to take better care of the language we use and the meaning we associate with it. When we get sloppy with words like strategy, vision, mission, diversity, and many others, we do a real disservice to the deep meaning and full potential they represent. Too often, people feel compelled to move on to a new word, thus reinforcing the frustrating buzzword phenomenon and discarding the deep meaning a term once carried.

One of my favorite thinkers, Jane McGonigal, was the luncheon speaker at the Annual Conference of the Independent Schools Association of the Central States. Author of the great book, Reality is Broken, and game designer extraordinaire, McGonigal artfully explained how gaming principles can be used to tackle the real challenges facing communities, countries, and organizations. This was brought home by the story of online gamers who in slightly more than 10 days cracked a challenge to decipher the enzyme of an AIDS-like virus, something the scientific community had been struggling to do for decades. I led two breakout sessions (links to slides provided): the first focused on tools and techniques for enhancing creative, critical, and constructive thinking, and the other explored the everyday practices of innovative individuals. Doing so reminded me again of the value participants find in engaging with simple tools and considering manageable habits they can adopt or adapt to improve their performance.

Designing and facilitating this past weekend's three-day Future Leaders Institute for the American Industrial Hygiene Association allowed me to once again be surrounded by some of the most passionate and committed young professionals in an individual organization. Maintaining (and honoring) their energy and enthusiasm during the content-intensive experience required calibrating the sequence and flow of activities, using different learning environments each day to refresh the sense of space, and varying the teaching methodologies used. Doing so is as much art as it is science, and it is something associations should focus on helping their volunteer subject matter experts learn more about.

And the fifth lesson learned comes from canceled flights and a disappointing inability to make it to the Association of Fundraising Professionals Volunteer Leadership Academy in Montreal. Presenters and conference planners nowadays almost need to plan for the likelihood of travel challenges and have a backup plan for using virtual technologies to ensure some sort of learning experience can occur. Nothing is more infuriating than when weather or mechanical difficulties preclude the opportunity to fulfill a commitment.

Leadership Limerick: Leave No Media Behind

2011-10-31T06:15:00.001-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

Will they think it’s a trick or a treat?

When info comes only via Tweet

For some Twitter is fine

For others it's a bad sign

Balance both to avoid a defeat

We know one size doesn't fit all, nor does one medium effectively manage every message. For some, Twitter currently holds a position of little value for them. They just don't get it, and rightly or wrongly, have little interest in learning of its benefits or experimenting with its value.

Organizations rapidly embracing Twitter for member engagement, real-time updates, or customer service need to be careful of not moving all of the corresponding support and messages to this medium unless they are OK with potentially alienating people who prefer other options.

Message repetition across multiple media forms is nothing new. We've done it before and will likely do it again. A thoughtful and deliberate strategy to support members and customers via their preferred communication approach is almost always required.

Seven Questions to Move Things Forward

2011-10-26T09:46:00.002-04:00

If a picture is worth a thousand words, some words combine to create very valuable questions, ones that consistently help a group get unstuck and make decisions leading to better results.

While the seven I offer from my facilitation experience may not have the sheen of Peter Drucker's The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization, each one has proven invaluable time and time again in helping people accomplish more.

What is it that we believe we are here to do today?
What's holding us back from what we know needs to be done, and how can we eliminate or minimize how it is constraining us?
What are the most important results we need to achieve (for this effort)?
What other perspectives or opinions might enhance our discussions and/or with whom do we need to share what we talked about today?
What is most important for us to discuss, but people might be unwilling or unlikely to bring up?
Where do we have agreement about what needs to be done, and how can we build on that to get in action and move forward?
What is the most significant commitment to act that we can all make with conviction right now?

I generally try to surface participants' responses in a transparent way with each individual sharing his/her own perspective. In some limited cases though, the only way the answers can comfortably be shared is if the process is anonymous. In those instances, I distribute index cards and have participants write their responses. I then verbalize each one to the group.

While doing so gets the content on the table, it doesn't address the fact that people didn't feel comfortable sharing their opinions outright. So I almost always engage the group in a discussion of that reality by posing an additional question when the timing seems right: What would need to change in order for everyone to feel comfortable owning and freely sharing their opinions instead of having to contribute them without attribution?

What other questions have you found really help a group with its work?

Note

If you are looking to enhance your facilitation skills (or know someone who is), I'll be doing another full-day workshop for the American Society of Association Executives in Washington, DC, on December 15. It's a very hands-on event and we explore facilitation fundamentals, tools and techniques for meetings and discussions, and how to manage common group dynamics situations. We had 45 folks in July, so a great community of learners gets engaged. Please join us if this event is of interest.

Leadership Limerick: Divide and Delegate

2011-10-24T04:07:00.000-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

They say the loneliest number is one

And while working alone may be less fun

Lots of ones becomes ten

And that quickly means then

A great deal of work can get done

I facilitated a strategy conversation recently in which participants developed an action plan for more quickly welcoming and engaging new members of their organization. One idea that excited them was having each new member personally welcomed within 72 hours of joining. However, they quickly dismissed the idea because they could not envision how the organization's limited number of staff members could execute such an approach.

They probably couldn't, but they also weren't the only people available to do the work. We are too quick to initially dismiss great ideas that seem impossible or difficult to execute.

Instead of fixating on the aggregate work involved, we should identify ways to break it into manageable chucks and to coordinate the involvement of a larger number of individuals in doing it. While the initial recruitment and coordination efforts might be a bit cumbersome, the payoff can be significant: (1) the great idea gets actually gets implemented, and (2) more individuals make a meaningful contribution to the work of the organization and share in the pride of its accomplishment.

Many years ago, I was one of hundred of volunteers helping with recruitment for my alma mater. We were each assigned to call 10 high school seniors admitted to the university, talk about our campus and career experiences, and learn more about their interests. Training consisted of some brief reading material and an online video of a typical conversation. We had 30 days to make our calls and to provide notes and suggested follow-up on an online form.

It was one of my favorite volunteer responsibilities, and I felt like I made a very meaningful contribution. And it didn't require that I travel to any meetings, and it gave me some flexibility for how and when I completed the assignment. The only thing I would have done differently is to have found some way to connect all of us calling so that we felt a sense of community in what we were collectively achieving.

So the next time an idea gets set aside because it might overwhelm the existing resources for getting things done, look instead to ways to effectively distribute the workload among a greater number of volunteers. Doing so allows more people to make a contribution and to deepen their connection and commitment to your organization and it efforts, and that's the ultimate definition of engagement.

Thinking Differently About Volunteering

2011-10-17T15:50:00.000-04:00

There's an interesting post (and the beginning of a conversation) going on over at the Acronym blog, focusing on volunteer recruitment and diversity.

Here was the comment I posted. I encourage you to check out the entire post and join the conversation.

I think we need to reframe the way many organizations currently view volunteers. They see it as something that only “some people” may do. But as The Decision to Volunteer noted, many members say they are volunteering in ways beyond how the board often defines volunteer involvement (positions, formal service, etc.).

What if we began to think of volunteering as something everyone should do because it is one of the most significant ways to build a strong professional network, to connect more to the professional community in general, and to receive more value from being a member?

That’s how most highly engaged volunteers would describe their experience: you get more when you give more.

If we start with this premise: everyone will want to (or should want to) volunteer, we would enact a very different method of invitation and engagement:

The membership application would solicit your volunteer interests and the talents and time you have available to contribute.
You’d be contacted personally within a set time (say 5 business days) to extend an invitation to contribute.
We’d look for more real-time micro-volunteering opportunities during major events like annual meetings.

In short, we would organize the enterprise for 100% volunteering.

Would we achieve it? Probably not. But in creating the system to enable and support it, we would most likely diversify the number and perspectives of people volunteering and the ways in which they contribute.

And we could also more intentionally engage non-members in connecting with and contributing to the community in limited, ad hoc, volunteer responsibilities as a means of diversifying our membership recruitment efforts and results. “Come initially to contribute to an issue you care about. Then join and stay for the community and content."

If we want to achieve radically different results, then we need to start with radically different premises and assumptions.

Leadership Limerick: Servant Leadership is the Way

2011-10-17T08:45:00.001-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

Truthfully it isn’t about you

But instead it's what you can do

Supporting others is the game

Servant leadership is its name

And doing so benefits you, too.

In The Servant as Leader, former AT&T CEO Robert Greenleaf introduced the phrase servant-leader:

"The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature."

"The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?"

An underlying sense contributing to both Tea Party rallies and Occupy Wall Street protests is that people in formal leadership positions increasingly are in it for personal gain … or at least experience significant personal gain at the expense of others. It's frustrating to think that elected officials and corporate officers might be more concerned about self-interest or a special interest lobby rather than our interests. Citizens expect our government leaders to serve our needs. Corporate stockholders and nonprofit stakeholders expect those in charge to act in ways that contribute to the greater good, not just their own pockets.

Too many people have lost sight of being servant-leaders. They focus more on self-interest and self-promotion in ways that ignore, marginalize, or inhibit the growth and interests of others. The irony is that by choosing to serve first, to do good rather than focus on making yourself look good, significant benefits accrue to one's self-interest as well. When we are generous and contribute to others' well-being, we eventually find our well-being enhanced as well.

Are You Running a Factory?

2011-10-13T05:53:00.003-04:00

In We Are All Weird, Seth Godin writes, "I've started using the word 'factory' to define any organizational effort that's built around repeated interactions and mass. If you need a map and a manual, it's probably because you're creating a business or a campaign that's based on a factory. If exceptions are a problem, it's probably because you're doing factory work."

In many associations, the word community is used as if it is interchangeable with organization. Any group of people working together is called a team. But using the right words doesn't create the meaning behind them or the emotional or cognitive connections that give them value.

We talk as if we are creating robust interactions of interpersonal relationships, but approach doing so like a factory assembly line. We embrace individuality so long as it looks like sameness or fits into one of the member engagement categories we've pre-defined. We say our meetings and conferences are about learning, yet a more accurate description would be "cost effective transmission of information to the greatest number of people possible" by volunteer presenters who may or may not know anything about adult learning. We really do want to meet member needs, but tend to approach doing so through mass aggregation of marketing data, not the facilitation of individual connections and value being made and received.

In general, it has worked for a very long time without too many complaints. But the expiration date on the factory approach to associating is starting to come due. It will occur at different times in different organizations, but a "not to be joined after ______" label will be inescapable unless the association has some indispensable hook of value that individuals can't access in any other way without significant cost or inconvenience. And that is less and less likely for many organizations.

And even if you are able to retain members and generate sufficient revenues operating a factory instead of creating a community, you may find it increasingly difficult to attract top talent to come and do the work. What rock-star professional or volunteer wants to focus their talent on doing factory work for an organization when they can be architects and artists of remarkable things in collaboration with their own tribes of like-minded individuals?

It's been more than 15 years since Don Peppers and Martha Rogers wrote The One to One Future yet so many associations (and quite honestly, corporations as well) still operate with a one to many factory mindset. It's all about efficiency and too little about effectiveness.

But try this on instead: Instead of treating me as a target market to advertise your factory work to, treat me as an individual looking for targeted meaning, meaning I will likely help co-create for myself with a little support. Instead of doing things to me or thinking you have to provide everything for me, create the eco-system in which I am able to do what I need to get done and access the provisions I value. Yes, going beyond targeting mass is messy, and if there is one thing many managers don't like, it's messiness. But that's your problem to solve, not your members' issue.

Godin has it right. We are all weird. And if you continue to do treat our relationship like factory work designed for the masses, don't be surprised if one day the masses are missing.

Leadership Limerick: Make it Easy to Share

2011-10-09T20:13:00.000-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

Getting people to share can be tough

Our systems for doing so aren’t enough

Make it easy for them to tell

What they know all too well

And soon you will have a lot more stuff

One benefit of being involved in a community or association is the informal learning that can come from peers. Organizations often try to capture this knowledge in the form of case studies, lessons learned, or models and samples. The problem is these collections rarely attract more than a small percentage of the ideas and insights individuals possess.

Organizations would be wise to set clear goals and metrics for the number and quality of the contributions they hope to receive annually and then develop a detailed action plan for soliciting, curating, and archiving individuals' contributions on an ongoing basis. Instead of simple emailing a request for submissions, build the opportunity to contribute into other appropriate forums. Example: when people register for a conference, capture an idea or lesson learned related to the conference content (maybe even incent those who contribute with a nominal discount or enter them into a drawing for a free registration).

Learning from peers is indeed one of the great benefits of affiliating with an organization, but if the collection of insights and resources is paltry then the received value will be insignificant.

Five Lessons for Diving Into Innovation

2011-10-07T04:53:00.000-04:00

Diving is one of the Olympic events that has me glued to my television set. Some of the elements of the sport seem useful for anyone thinking about diving into innovation.

It’s a long climb before you actually dive. The dive itself is over in a few seconds. Climbing the stairs to the diving platform takes far longer. The release or introduction of an innovative program or service is similar, requiring a significant investment of time in the development stage. For efforts involving volunteers with short terms of service, we need to help them understand upfront the timeframe for an innovation to be developed and the envisioned results to be realized.

Splash upon entry is undesirable. The highest scores are awarded to divers who enter the water cleanly, leaving no wake as they do. If we call too much attention to the rollout of a new product or service the splash becomes the story instead of the value of the innovation. Sometimes it is beneficial to make a big deal about introduction of something new, while in other instances a less overt rollout (like the soft opening of a new restaurant or hotel) might serve us better.

Multiple dives are performed in a meet. While the number varies based on the competition level, a diver performs many dives during the course of a meet. A single dive rarely determines whether or not they win a medal. It’s the cumulative score. Divers sequence their dives strategically, usually starting off with dives the consistently perform well and that are comfortable for them.

Similarly, a successful organization needs to innovate across multiple programs and services. No one initiative is usually sufficient to gain or lose favor with a critical mass of members or customers. It’s the value/innovation mix. And if you're trying to decide where to innovate first, you might look to a program or service where you are most confident of your ability to initially execute well. Then move on to opportunities with more uncertain outcomes.

The high and low scores are thrown out. In a competition the highest and lowest judges' scores are eliminated and the remaining ones are combined. Feedback on an innovation you introduce is likely to be mixed, so don’t get overly discouraged by the loudest naysayers or overly encouraged by the most ardent champions. Instead look to the range of remaining feedback to see what can be learned.

Raw scores are multiplied by a dive’s degree of difficulty. The judges’ initial raw scores are multiplied by a dive's degree of difficulty to produce the final score. A well-executed dive with a lower degree of difficulty therefore might earn roughly the same final score as a more difficult dive poorly performed. The results an organization achieves with its stakeholders may be similar. Depending on the brand identity stakeholders associate with your organization, members or customers may be more likely to forgive initial flaws of a huge innovation, but punish a less than flawless execution of minor incremental improvements. So if the idea you're introducing isn't a "wow" in and of itself, your execution of it better well be if you want a great final score.

Image credit: Copyright (c) G.Livaudais. Creative Commons license.

Leadership Limerick: Be Sensitive to Climate Change

2011-10-02T19:59:00.001-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

In San Francisco, August is quite cool

Which in Texas would not be the rule

The climate that is the norm

Doesn’t come in the same form

Assuming such makes you a fool

Life might be so much easier if everyone's experience mirrored your own, but it would be so much less interesting. As Seth Godin noted in a recent blog post, "Discernment is the hardest part of marketing--seeing the world as it is, instead of how you experience it." I suggest that's accurate for more than marketers. Despite the fact that sameness seems to be spreading globally (you can get your Subway foot-long in more countries than you might imagine), tremendous diversity and difference still exists. This is as true between countries or cities as it is among various departments within the same organization.

Connection, community, and conversation require people to perceive a safe climate for their contributions. The definition of safety will vary for individuals, and is not a permanent state we can create once and then never attend to again. Just as our outdoor climate changes during the day or depending on your location, so does our "indoor climate" (within our own homes, relationships, and organizations) change regularly. Safety may have to be refreshed or recreated based on the current conditions and how individuals are experiencing them.

And if we want to truly connect with other individuals, we need to listen to their story as they present it, not try to impose our narrative on their reality or make their uniqueness fit within our pre-conceived boundaries of "normal." This can be incredibly difficult as our brains seem almost hardwired to translate what others describe as their genuine experience into something similar from our own frame of reference "Oh, that's just like ... "

We need to resist the temptation to respond to others that way. Their experience is most like … their experience. It stands on its own, full of meaning and value. Making it anything other than that risks marginalizing both the experience and the individual who claims it.

Leadership Limerick: Enable Others to Act

2011-09-26T04:14:00.002-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

Whenever there is much to do,

It can’t end up being just you.

Find others who care.

Responsibility? Do share.

And success will likely ensue.

Western culture tends to favor the heroic myth of the lone leader in control. Will Apple survive without Steve Jobs? Can Meg Whitman save HP? If only President Obama would ______.

But one person can only do so much. And often the most important thing to do is to get more people doing things. James Kouzes and Barry Posner identified this as enabling others to act one of the five practices of extraordinary leaders identified in their seminal book, The Leadership Challenge.

Enabling others to act involves: (1) fostering collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and developing trust, and (2) strengthening others by sharing power and discretion.

So the next time all eyes turn to you, don't enable or perpetuate the falsehood that one person can do it alone. Instead, look to enable others to act and build a more sustainable shared leadership, be it in a relationship with a partner, in an individual department or team, or throughout an organization or community.

If you're interested in learning how to facilitate greater commitment and contributions of others, on December 15 I will again be doing a full-day workshop in DC for ASAE on The Art of Facilitation. I'll share a registration link as soon as it is available, but mark your calendars now.

10 Tips for Facilitating Conversation About Big Ideas and Innovations

2011-09-23T11:29:00.002-04:00

It's been two weeks of innovation as I was one of the facilitators for last week's National Summit on Association Innovation sponsored by the Wisconsin Society of Association Executives and as a volunteer, helped champion this week's ASAE InnovationTalks campaign. Contributing to both events reminded me of some common sense tips about what is required to facilitate conversations about big ideas and innovations. The list below is not meant to be all-inclusive, but to highlight some of the core considerations.

Determine the right time and environment. Participants need the right mental and physical space to think differently and more expansively. Block sufficient time and create an environment conducive to sharing ideas, sketching possibilities, and freeflowing discussion. Intimate and flexible space; flipcharts, whiteboards, and walls covered with IdeaPaint; food, music, and props to sustain the energy. Modeling clay and other prototyping supplies. Each of these is a desirable environmental factor.

Articulate the purpose and define success. Skeptics and fans alike need to understand just what the conversation is intended to produce in order to contribute appropriately. It's hard to do the what if you don't understand the why.

Put the conversation in context. Don't make innovation something that occurs outside of your organization's efforts. Connect conversations about ideas and innovations to your ongoing development of programs and services and incorporate these discussions into your regular planning routines.

Clarify the terms and process to be used. People need to understand the rules of engagement, whatever they are determined to be, as well as terms likely to be thrown about including creativity, innovation, value, et al.

Create, critique, construct. Remember these three types of thinking (usually attributed to Edward deBono and make sure your process addresses them in this order: (1) What's possible? (2) Which idea(s) do we choose to advance? (3) How will we efficiently implement the ideas chosen?

Facilitate assertively. What I routinely witness when facilitating ideation and innovation conversations is that participants too quickly abandon the stated process and move straight to problem-solving and implementation. Don't let that happen. Ensure people dwell longer in possibilities and more expansive thinking.

Start with observed behaviors. At the WSAE Summit, Thomas Stat, formerly with IDEO's Chicago office, reminded us that innovation begins with behavior, not ideas. If you carefully observe member or customer behavior without judgment, the rich story their actions tell will instruct you as to where innovation may be needed.

Use disruptive premises to evoke creative possibilities. Once you've identified the opportunity areas to pursue, use disruptive hypotheses or unreasonable provocations as suggested by Luke Williams in his book Disrupt. Doing so will help shift the subsequent creative thinking away from the traditional solutions and into potentially more inventive and interesting areas.

Listen for concepts behind ideas. No matter how assertively you facilitate the process, our inner critics emerge too quickly in the discussions. When you hear people reacting negatively about a specific idea (example: there should be set office hours), identify its underlying concept (example: flexible work schedules) and ask what other ideas people might that relate to it. This keeps the creative energy moving forward and is a technique called Concept Fan by Edward DeBono.

Identify opportunities to experiment. Seeking small wins (James Kouzes and Barry Posner). Try stuff to learn what works (Jim Collins). Making little bets (Peter Sims). Small innovations, not just blockbusters (Rosabeth Moss Kanter). Name your innovation guru and each has his or her own way of trying to quickly get us in action and in the process of discovery. Instead of trying to 100% plan our way to success, we need to move quickly from planning to playing with some of the possibilities we have identified.

Leadership Limerick: The Power of the Little Bet

2011-09-20T05:53:00.003-04:00

Instead of making a big play

When you’re unsure of the way

You might want to make a little bet

Pursuing big and bold paths is often the way to produce the most innovative results, but getting in action can more easily be accomplished through experimentation and prototyping to quickly learn what works and what doesn't, refining your efforts as you go.

The idea of small investments is found throughout the literature. Built to Last tells us to try stuff and see what works. The power of small wins is extolled in The Leadership Challenge and most recently, The Progress Principle: using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement and Creativity at Work. But I really like how this thinking is expressed in Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge Through Small Discoveries:

“Little bets are for learning about problems and opportunities while big bets are for capitalizing upon them once they’ve been identified.”

Association professionals around the world this week are talking about experimentation, innovation, and achieving better results as a part of ASAE's inaugural InnovationTalks, a week-long campaign to stimulation conversations about, and commitments to, innovation in the association community. I had the honor of helping lead this campaign and of writing the Conversation Kit groups can use to design and manage conversations in their own organizations. There's still time to join one of the public Talks or connect with your own colleagues in a conversation about innovation in your organization. Lear more and download the Conversation Kit here. And follow Tweets about the Talks at #asaeinnov

Leadership Limerick: How Do You Manage Ideas?

2011-09-12T02:29:00.003-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

Great ideas are easily lost
And bad ones often aren't tossed

You need a system to rate
and determine the right fate

Or else you'll pay a great cost

Ideas don't always arrive on a predictable schedule, so having an ongoing idea management system is important. Not only for capturing the ideas, but also for effectively evaluating them and refining the ones identified as having the most potential. A few reminders for doing so:

Collecting and capturing ideas: If you're going to invite others to share their ideas, increase the usefulness of the submissions by succinctly defining the problem you are trying to solve or specifying the needs or aspirations successful ideas should reflect. It's one thing for a hotel to extend an open-ended invitation for guest suggestions. It's quite another for a hotel to ask "What one thing would have made the hotel feel even more welcoming and comfortable for you during your stay?"

Evaluating ideas: People evaluating the possibilities should apply the same criteria for their feedback, some of which might be weighted as more important than others. A search committee can't select the best candidate for a job if the committee hasn't already defined what best means and isn't rating resumes fairly similarly. The same is true for considering which ideas in an area might have the most merit. Having a common evaluation process can help limit personality conflicts that might arise from individuals applying their own definition of the best idea.

Refining ideas: Too often an idea that has potential is accepted as presented instead of further refining it. Identify several core features or aspects of the idea to be further refined, and assign each one to a small group of individuals for their exclusive attention, i.e. "Make this publication more practical." These parallel refinement deep dives can help improve the overall quality and value of the idea.

As you consider how to improve your own idea management process, be sure to examine some of the many online approaches worth emulating. IdeaScale, Napkin Labs, and MindMixer are three of the many online idea management systems you could use for your own efforts. My Starbucks Idea is a great corporate example of customer innovation and involvement in the ideation process, and Open IDEO models the various stages of community involvement in social innovation idea management. Quirky.com is a "social product development" site in which the most popular customer suggestions and inventions are then turned into actual products. The New York Times profiled Quirky in late August.

And don't forget that most innovations result from an iterative "trial and error" process in which a new product or service is shared with a small number of people and then refined based on their feedback. You need real users to determine the ultimate usability of what you're creating, so embrace beta testing as discussed by startup guru Eric Ries in his new book The Lean Startup.

A few other posts about idea management:

Upending the Idea Approval Process

Creative More Moving Ideas By Moving Your Ideas

Driving Ideas on Your Innovation Highway

Searching for Hidden Damage

2011-09-06T06:54:00.002-04:00

After the recent Washington, DC area earthquake, local and federal officials announced they would examine key infrastructure (bridges, train tracks, et al) and public structures like the Washington Monument for signs of hidden damage that needed repair.

In everyday life, we often experience individual or organizational earthquakes, unexpected incidents small and large that send tremors through our system. It could be downsizing at work that requires us to take on more responsibility, or a major unexpected home repair forcing us to rethink our short-term finances.

But how often do we search for hidden damage? Doing so is as simple as checking in with a friend to see if she is managing things OK, or as structured as scheduling team meetings to reconsider work flow and project management shifts that may need to occur.

Minor cracks over time give way to major fault lines. We can prevent that by remaining connected at the interpersonal level and remembering that the naked eye often cannot see all damage at first glance.

Leadership Limerick: Is It a Labor of Love?

2011-09-05T08:01:00.002-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

On Labor Day, some stop to rest
That's not what Americans do best

We move from this thing to that
Shouting "No time to chat"

Stop. Slow down, I behest.

Is the way you live your life right now sustainable?
And if so, for how long? And at what cost?

Take time this Labor Day to be thankful for those who have labored to ensure us the opportunity to do so in safe workplaces and at fair wages, particularly if you are fortunate enough to have the day off.

But also take time today to think about your labor. What role do you want work to play in your life, now and in the future? What implications does your answer to that question have for the financial decisions you are making right now? Is what you do most days a labor of love?

And if not, how long can your heart remain disenfranchised before it tells your head and your hands that enough is enough?

A once popular book was entitled Do What You Love, the Money Will Follow. I'm not sure it is quite that simple.

But after 30+ years of working, I am sure of this: if you don't do something you at least like, you won't be able to do it forever.

Avoiding Conversation Cruise Control

2011-09-01T03:15:00.001-04:00

Too many of our language conventions stop progress, stop thinking, and stop dialogue. They simply trigger pre-scripted mindsets, personally and professionally.

When I hear someone say ABC, I automatically react with XYZ.

We can't lead, work, or have strong interpersonal relationships on cruise control.

But if anyone would interrupt this conversational cruise control, we'd have to engage in actually driving the conversation again, just as tapping on the brakes of a car on cruise control requires us to reengage with the gas pedal.

The next time you are involved in a conversation that seems to be following the usual unproductive formula, be the person with a foot on the brakes. You only have to tap it lightly to change the conversation. And changing the conversation is the only way we will we get to our desired destination.

Leadership Limerick: Dealing with Deadlines

2011-08-28T12:00:00.006-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

A deadline is a specified date
But one that sometimes can wait

If your back is to the wall
And you must make a call

Is there a new option you can create?

Sometimes we decide to advance an imperfect solution because timeliness is indeed critical. "We could probably do better, but given all the circumstances here, this is good enough to get out since people need something now."

Other times we choose to revisit just exactly what has to be done right now and what can be postponed. "We've got to get the convention program to the printer, but we still have a few unconfirmed speakers. Instead of holding up the entire job, let's list the session titles and descriptions and note that the speakers are TBA."

Deadlines help ensure things get done. But meeting a deadline isn't the sole criterion for success. So the next time your back is up against the wall, ask yourself:

Does something have to be done right now?
If so, what absolutely must be done right now?
What ideally would be done now, but could be done later if we modify our approach?
Then make the choice that honors the deadline, but also the other variables critical to your effort's success.

Constraints like deadlines keep projects advancing, but we still have choice in how we respond to them. So let's make sure our choices are ones informed by more than just the clock or calendar. "On time" isn't necessarily the only critical metric for every single effort (unless of course you're FedEx or UPS, among others).

Getting More Players on the All-Star Team

2011-08-24T16:34:00.017-04:00

On Tuesday, I was invited to join a few others folks as a workshop presenter on The Future of Learning for a session at the 2012 ASAE Great Ideas Conference. I didn't know who else was going to be involved, but I was honored to be asked and excited about the possibility.

On Wednesday, I learned the names of the four other presenters and could immediately understand why a colleague kindly described us as an All-Star Team. It was most flattering, and ego aside, I think it's a pretty accurate assessment. Each of us brings many years working on learning, associations, knowledge development, and strategy. Each of us is well-known as a consistent and reliable professional and presenter.

And each of us white.

And I'm struggling with that. A lot.

I'm struggling because while we are definitely qualified to talk about the future of learning, future learners (and truthfully, a significant percentage of those in the present) are not going to look like our team: four white guys and one white female.

I'm struggling because while it is tough to ensure significant diversity is represented when you only have one or two keynote speakers, panel or multiple-presenter sessions should be the place where we can truly model the way.

I'm struggling because I feel once again "it's hard" became "we can't."

Realizing our commitment to diversity and inclusion has been hard for some time. Labeling it as difficult has not made it any easier, nor has it led to significant enough changes.

As my favorite freak-flag flyer, Joe Gerstandt, would say: Where's the evidence?

When I worked on the college campus, the phrase affirmative action was still used more frequently. One of my mentors instilled in us that it wasn't at all about a quota, it was about being intentionally affirmative, taking significant action to ensure under-represented voices would be included and heard. This affirmative commitment went far beyond traditional demographic characteristics.

I'm a 40-something, reasonably successful, gay white guy from the Midwest. I'm smart enough to know that when I initially got a seat at the proverbial table, it's because someone else pulled up some more chairs and/or helped me get an invite. While I work hard for my professional success, I am 100% aware that some of what has accrued to me is undoubtedly due to white privilege I cannot begin to fully understand.

But I'll tell you what I do understand. If I am indeed an All-Star, the only way I got on this team is because somehow I got to play and demonstrate my capabilities. For whatever reason, I got called up from the bench or invited into the game. And I got to learn from being on a team of people, any one of whom probably could hit it out of the park better than me on many a day.

I want to be on the All-Star team for the future, not playing the game for Living Legends.

Things have to change. Now. Too much rhetoric for far too long. It's time for results.

Otherwise the players we've left on the bench will go create their own game. And guess what? We'll then be the ones wondering why no one asks us to play.

I'll be damned if I'm going to sit on the bench on this issue.

8/25 Update Below (note: the first four comments to this post appeared before this update was added)

As one of the comments already posted suggests, this issue will not be without passions from multiple perspectives. I applaud that and hope that what we can collectively become most passionate about are demonstrated results. We're not going to get an A for effort when it comes to diversity and inclusion. My purpose with this post was not to suggest that the individuals developing this particular session aren't committed to diversity. I merely was reacting to the final result: five of the most visible people in our field assembled together and who are all white and whose opinions on the topic at-hand are well-published already.

So let's back out of this example and treat the issue as a bit of a general case study because I don't know all the specifics behind the formulation of the players in this session and this situation is by no means isolated or unique. Let's say you want to pull together a diverse mix of voices for a conference session, but are wracking your brain trying to figure out who to include. What do you naturally do? You first think of folks you would normally turn to for recommendations, your immediate network of "go to" people. We all have them. Maybe you post a message on a listserv or discussion board, an open call of sorts. You might also call people in your extended network and ask for their recommendations. You're still not getting many new names, but the program deadline is looming. So you decide to assemble a list of great presenters you know will do a good job. 100% understandable, and I've done exactly that thing in the past. But it doesn't move the ball forward on diversity and inclusion.

Trying to achieve it in the moment for any particular situation will probably always produce limited results. We (myself included) need to be constantly expanding our awareness of the talent in our midst in an active, intentional, and methodical way, and holding ourselves accountable for how many new folks ( and the contributions and talents they can contribute) we learn about. We can't be inclusive of people we don't know, and we won't know new people if we don't change the rhythms of who we hang out with and where we hang out. This approach is already somewhat in place in social media as we friend 2nd-level connections on Facebook or LinkedIn. If each of us expands the network of people we know of and can turn to, the aggregate effect could grow the community of visible talent over time. But we also have to be honest with ourselves when our own networks have become less diverse (not just in terms of traditional demographics) than what we might want. Over the years we may spend more time reconnecting with people we already know and deepening those relationships than reaching out and cultivating new connections. After all, the hours available to us are limited.

So we need some metrics.. We have to make visible to ourselves the progress (or lack of it) so that we really begin to see things change. When recently retired Proctor and Gamble CEO A.G. Lafley took the company's leadership helm, he instituted a requirement that a set percentage of future product innovations had to come from outside the company, a company notorious for its work from within culture. Without a clear standard to judge actions, we're only left to reflect on our intentions. Imagine a conference that commits to 25% of the speakers each year being new voices who have not previously presented. You'd have to develop a different year-round strategy to meet that goal. You know darn well that a conference like TED must have pretty sophisticated scouting systems in place to ensure a wow experience showcasing a significant number of fresh voices each year.

So we can start with ourselves. I add 3-5 new people every month on Twitter outside my world of influence. This limited number lets me really spend time reviewing what they tweet, learning about their interests, and connecting with them as I can. Others might cast a far wider net far more quickly. When I attend a conference, I make a point to come back with 3 new colleagues. When I am on a committee or council, I commit to spending the most time at our meeting with the people I've never heard of as opposed to the colleagues I already know and love. And I still fall short of helping advance an issue I believe in deeply. But I am trying to change my habits in meaningful, yet manageable ways. Otherwise, my community of contacts ends up being a gated community in which I know everyone on the inside quite well, but vacancies in the neighborhood are infrequent.

For any community to achieve different results in diversity and inclusion will likely require that we change our habits, particularly if the current ones don't seem to be working. We can't just try to do better at the current events level. We have to engage in systemic change that ensures different results.

It's going to take a lot of work, personally and collectively. And it's going to require us to be transparent and say, "What we're doing isn't working. We need help. We need new ideas." in more public forums in the hopes of bringing in fresh perspectives with different insights. I'm trying to help move things along in the only ways I know how. Those efforts will by no means be perfect just as my own individual commitments and efforts by no means have been (or will be) 100% successful. I welcome the chance to learn from your example and your comments.

A Takeaway on What You're Giving Away

2011-08-22T09:43:00.001-04:00

Some organizations give away their content,
hoping it will get you to join their community.

Some organizations give access to their community,
hoping you will then purchase their content.

Either could work, but doing both at the same time rarely will.

And it may very well be that neither your content nor your community as separate items is where your real value can be found.

Rather it may be in the conversation your community has about your content and the new content that is created as a result. I wouldn't advise giving that away.

What do you think is most valuable and why?

Leadership Limerick: Staying Alert

2011-08-22T06:59:00.001-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

Conditions can change fast on the ground
So you have to keep looking around

Decide what matters most to your plan
So you know best what to scan

Then adapt when new info is found

No plan can remain 100% static from its inception, whether it be the career path you've charted for yourself, your organization's multi-year strategy, or the route you're going to drive for a Labor Day Weekend getaway.

Too often though we work so hard deciding what to do and how to do it that we forget the importance of being ready to make modifications as events unfold and conditions change.

Any plans we make are based on current conditions and a set of assumptions about the future. It's wise to clearly document the ones that matter most, to monitor them as you execute the plan you've created, and to make the appropriate adjustments as you notice things changing around you.

Obvious? Perhaps. But for some, modification or deviation from the plan is not something they think of naturally. Help build their capacity for doing so by focusing on the issue when your choices are being made on the front-end, not when adaptation is required in real-time.

From Private Thoughts to Public Actions

2011-08-19T07:03:00.002-04:00

We can't make progress if we don't act.
We can't act on what we don't know.
We can't know unless we talk about it.
We can't talk about it unless it's made public.

So often progress is blocked because the necessary conversation among the right people isn't happening. And that frequently happens because people assume others already know and are choosing not to do something about the concern in question, or because the people who can/need to change aren't being given the feedback that would lead them to do so.

It's fine to complain about a co-worker's annoying behavior to a friend, but your friend isn't the one who could actually stop the behavior that bothers you. At some point you need to chat with the source.

If you find yourself (either as a speaker or listener) engaging in small group conversations that begin "What we really need to do around here is ..." or "I sure wish someone would ..." ask yourself what contribution you can make to advancing the desired ending or who needs to be invited into the conversation to help make things happen.

And if you find yourself having that conversation with yourself, inside your own head, know that the only way to make progress is if you make your private thoughts public and invite others to engage in the conversation and the necessary commitments.

Highlights of Recent Work

2011-08-17T21:56:00.002-04:00

I'm careful to limit self-promotion with those of you kind enough to read my blog posts. But every so often pieces of my efforts appear in other places online, and I take a moment to share links in case they may be of interest.

Earlier this year I had the chance to be both the opening and closing keynote speaker for Goodwill Industries Spring Conference. They've recently posted video highlights of those two talks (6 minutes each).

The first, Energizing the Enterprise, focuses on six core strategies any organization can use to energize its entire enterprise and help exemplify its mission while pursuing its vision.

Effort aligned around the core
Effectiveness enhanced through intention
Empower with streamlined strategy
Engage diverse people and perspectives
Efficiency through process
Experiment to learn what works

The second offers some practical advice for how individuals attending a conference can go back and be a Learning Ambassador for their organization, someone who strategically shares their conference learning in a way that gains the interest, attention, and investment of their colleagues. My remarks start at approximately 2 minutes and 50 seconds in this video.

Earlier this month, I attended the ASAE Annual Meeting and was a guest blogger on ASAE's Acronym blog. My blog post focused on the heavy interest in the IGNITE sessions presented at the conference, the possible reasons for their huge appeal, and how those concepts can be applied to other learning experiences even if you aren't using the IGNITE format.

I also took on the challenge of doing another IGNITE talk, this one entitled Toward a More Sustainable You. Video from that talk should be online in a few weeks and I'll share that link and the slides at that time. Until then, you could amuse yourself (hopefully) form video of my last IGNITE talk at the 2011 Great Ideas Conference. I donned priestly garb and delivered a sermon on why Failure Must Be an Option for innovation. For the 2012 conference, I'll be doing an IGNITE talk called Changing the Culture Begins with You.

I'm in the midst of a two-week reading and writing sabbatical which is bringing great clarity to how I am going to approach my work in 2012 and beyond. I'll share more info about that direction early in the fall. As for the rest of 2011, my capacity is just about maxed out, but I do still have room on my calendar in December (and some very limited November dates) for speaking, board or staff retreats, and the like. Fees for 2012 work will increase November 1, so plan and schedule now to save more.

How IGNITE Ignited ASAE11

2011-08-17T13:25:00.001-04:00

Leadership Limerick: Fostering Initiative

2011-08-15T06:24:00.003-04:00

You can give them more rope

But still they say “nope”

So it takes more than just planting the seed

Some people take a responsibility and run with it. Others want to do a good job, but feel the need to get approval for each step along the way.

If you want people around you to take more initiative, you may need to be more explicit in how you'd like to see them act:

"Chris, I want you to know I have a lot of confidence in your abilities and trust your judgment. When you're assigned a project, I'd like you to really take the lead on it. You don't need to get my approval for each step along the way. Instead you can just report routinely on how things are going and turn to me for my thoughts on only the most significant decisions."

And perhaps even more importantly, check your own behavior for how you respond to your colleagues' initiative. It's pretty easy to send someone back into follower mode if we question each of their decisions or unnecessarily countermand some of the choices they make.

Thoughts on ASAE 2011

2011-08-12T02:58:00.009-04:00

Earlier this week I returned from the annual meeting of the American Society of Association Executives held in St. Louis. Here are a few thoughts about the experience from a 20,000 foot altitude. Others including Jamie Notter, Shelly Alcorn, David Patt, and Stefanie Reeves are diving into more micro play-by-play. Even if you are not an association professional, there may be some lessons learned that can be adopted or adapted for your own efforts.

Play to your strengths
It seems so obvious, but sometimes hosts (and host cities) overreach, trying to be something they are not and ending up creating a karaoke-like experience, mouthing the words of someone else's style and not sounding very good. St. Louis wisely did not play that game. The Opening Party was under the Arch. The Closing Block Party featured a smorgasbord of local food and talent. And in-between the two were endless examples of Midwestern hospitality.

Too bad the opening keynote Tina Brown didn't do the same. She's most definitely not a keynote speaker who is ready for primetime, and she would have done herself a favor by insisting on an alternative format that would have shown her in a better light … or actually doing some serious preparation.

Variety is valued
ASAE increased the variety of educational session formats this year, and we were the better for it. People want to engage with content in different ways and a conference program needs to be more elastic to allow them to do so: deep dives, IGNITE sessions, self-organizing flash sessions all helped support a better learner experience.

The experience can be exhausting
While the experience was exhilarating, it also was exhausting. The schedule begins early and ends late. Getting anywhere in the convention center requires long walks. You wake up to a daily conference newspaper and throughout the day a never-ending Twitter stream calls for attention. More than ever before, I felt the need to check out in order to stay tuned in. Not sure how I feel about that.

Sustainability is still a sideshow
We talk a good green game, but the reality is any conference involving 5000 people still produces a significant amount of waste by design. Until that changes, refillable water bottles and solar-powered signs are going to be our best achievements. That's not enough.

Logistics still matter
An otherwise fine facility, the America's Center features woefully inadequate lighting in many of its meeting rooms, leaving participants in a somnambulant state or reaching for their iPhone flashlight apps in order to see what's being served for lunch. That aside, I'm beginning to think we've made an unwritten pact that crescent round seating is a presenter's nirvana all the time, and it is not. The IGNITE sessions in particular should have been set all theater, a much more appropriate environment for the nature of that learning experience that also would have comfortably accommodated far more people. And we have to find some happy medium between pre-setting a room for the entire day and allowing the optimal set for individual sessions. Finally, speakers need logistics support. When several things weren't correct in one of my session rooms, I was left to wander the halls in search of a staffer because I had not been provided any information about how to rapidly contact someone on-site.

The event still touches a minority of professionals
ASAE and St. Louis hit a home run with an overall great experience. When the most significant complaints are about the rooms being too cold, you know life is pretty good. But for the love of learning, the America Center folks really need to improve that lighting stat. It was appalling.

But a minority of ASAE members had this great experience. And an even smaller percentage of association professionals overall (counting non-ASAE members) were directly touched by it.

That's a problem, or an opportunity waiting for an innovative solution. TED and other major conferences have a clear strategy to spread their ideas in order to affect change. The conference experience is just one critical element in their overall strategy for doing so.

Too many other organizations, ASAE included, still treat the Annual Meeting as a learning experience for participants as opposed to an advancement platform for a profession. Meetings and conferences serve a higher purpose and are a means to a much more meaningful ends: advancing a profession in order to advance a greater good for those the profession serves.

Doing that requires a more expansive and comprehensive design strategy from the onset, one that will be far more innovative than simply offering session recordings on CDs. The meeting must be designed to enable the rapid and real-time sharing of key learnings, to facilitate and support the transfer and application of conference content into the workplace with colleagues who did not attend, to reach and influence a sizable majority of the practitioners of a profession regardless of whether they were meeting participants or are association members, and to sustain the energy and enthusiasm of the post-conference high months after the event.

So kudos to all involved with ASAE11. It truly was a remarkable event. Here's hoping ASAE12 and Dallas think even bigger and bolder about what the event eventually can achieve.

You've Changed, Others Haven't: Tips for Coming Home from a Conference

2011-08-10T05:43:00.001-04:00

This is an encore post in honor of the just concluded ASAE Annual Meeting and Exposition. It was originally published March 11, 2011.

You went to a conference.

You networked, renewing old friendships and making new connections.

You shared challenges, gained fresh perspectives.

You've returned to work brimming with energy and ideas, eager to share all the insights you have for improving everything in your organization.

Don't. I repeat. Do. Not. Share. Like That.

Dial down your "I'm ready to change the world" passion out of respect for those who aren't ready to have their world changed by you.

They did not just come from the mountains of Colorado, the beaches of California, or the fabulous retreat center in the hills. They've been dutifully slogging away, probably even doing a little extra to cover for your absence.

While they undoubtedly will want to hear what you learned, too much shared too soon will make them want to smack you down or vaporize you on the spot.

Share appetizers not entrees. Do a summary report of key takeaways and what they mean for your organization and post it on your internal web site. When talking individually with a colleague, drop in a casual "Hey I picked up some info for you at the conference that I'm happy to share whenever it works for you."

Over the next few weeks be careful to not start every contribution you make during team meetings with "Well at the conference I just attended." Link your suggestions to existing strategies. Connect your comments to colleagues' passions and problems.

Yes, you're fired up and ready to go, but to others you can easily seem like an out-of-control blaze who needs to be reduced to ashes. So let your new thinking and new ideas be kindling you add to others' flames … and keep stoking the fire so it never dies out.

Leadership Limerick: What Do You Have in Reserve?

2011-08-08T06:08:00.005-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

At some point you run out of time
To create even this very short rhyme

But it you stock up in advance
When this happens by chance

Getting results will be an easy climb

I'm at the annual meeting of the American Society of Association Executives right now, one of those multiple-day professional gatherings that is a strange hybrid of exhilaration and exhaustion.

Personally and professionally we all experience peak moments. Planning for them in advance and having some stock in reserve (whether that be stock for a blog post or stock for the soup you want to make for dinner) makes getting through a busy time far less stressful.

Just as financial planners advocate having several months of income available in an emergency fund, so do we need to stash away some of the resources to get us through any challenging professional times.

What would you benefit most from having in reserve and how well are you doing on stockpiling it?
_______________________________

At the ASAE Annual meeting, I'll be doing an IGNITE session (20 slides, 15 seconds each) talking about the reserves and habits we need to create to have a more sustainable life. Slides and video will be posted in the weeks ahead.

12 Questions for Better Meetings

2011-08-02T15:15:00.001-04:00

Meetings don't have to be monotonous, but ensuring they are engaging, productive, and efficient requires answering some questions at the start. Here are a dozen that I often draw on as a facilitator or meeting participant. What else would you add to the list?

Let's make sure we are clear on what success looks like for our efforts today.
What knowledge or strengths can you contribute to the work we are about to do?
What do we need to know about your interests and agenda related to our work today?
How are you likely to engage and participate in our discussions? What's your style going to be?
What are preferences or pet peeves you have related to meetings like this one?
What support might help you make the most of our time together?
What lessons from the past can inform our efforts?
How do we want to handle any disagreements that might emerge?
Whose opinions or perspectives are not physically represented in/by those actually present today?
How do we want to capture the insights and decisions from our discussion?
How will we share what happens here today, with whom, and when?
What expectations do we have for each other? The meeting facilitator/convener?

If you're looking for more more insight on better meetings, consider these posts:

Effective Facilitation: A Six-Pack of Favorite Resources
Scheduling Meetings is Not the Same as Planning Them

Leadership Limerick: Avoiding Rejection Dejection

2011-08-01T06:35:00.002-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

People have time and talents to share

They volunteer whenever they care

If you must turn them away

Instead of “no” why not say

We’ve love to engage you elsewhere

Customer service training often stresses the value of saying yes to a customer's request even if the answer is no. "I'm not going to be able to do ____, but let me tell you what we can do in this situation." The obvious benefit is that customers feel you're helping them achieve their goals even if you're not completely satisfying their need.

Organizations that rely on the contributions of volunteers to get work done (speaking at conferences, serving on committees, working at events) would be well-served to think similarly. Inevitably, not every potential volunteer can be selected, so plan to manage the rejection so it doesn't lead to dejection. Say no in a way that keeps qualified volunteers interested and engaged in contributing to your efforts.

So if I'm not selected to speak at a conference, point me to other opportunities to share my knowledge. If I am not chosen to serve on a committee or task force, let me know how I can share input or work on projects related to my interests.

Organizations constantly complain they don't have enough volunteers, yet often poorly manage the application and selection of people with their hands in the air. If you want people to freely share their time and talents, carefully redirect their interest and caring when you must say no to their original interest.

Create More Moving Ideas by Moving Your Ideas

2011-07-28T06:10:00.000-04:00

In my first association job, sharing drafts of projects you were working on with the entire the team was the norm: everyone had voice into our major initiatives. Feedback would range from correcting typos to suggesting major shifts in strategy. Ultimately, you decided the best path forward, but it was now informed by others' perspectives.

In those days, you routed a paper draft of your project plan through everyone in the office to get their input. And while technology now allows us to track changes in Word documents and do online discussions and collaboration boards, I think there is much to be said for gathering input low tech every now and then. So if you want to generate great ideas, ones that will truly move people, might I suggest you try moving your ideas to other people? Literally?

Imagine a corkboard or whiteboard on which you post your idea. It could be a text outline or description, a mindmap, or even a collage of images and headlines. Just make it substantial enough that people get the sense of what you are trying to accomplish. Be sure to include the goal to be achieved or problem you're trying to solve and any specifics about the input you would most value.

Now roll the Roaming Idea Seeking Input into someone else's work area (preferably when they aren't around so you surprise them) along with a posted note: "Hey, I'm an idea in search of input to make me better. Can you help? Please take 5-10 minutes to share your thoughts. Then pass me on to someone else whose perspective you think would be helpful. Just return me today by 5 p.m. to ____."

The whiteboard gives people a place to gather engage individually or in a small group that is quite different than receiving a Word document to review: your physical engagement is more significant, the scale of what you are reviewing is more substantial, and you can scan all the information at once instead of flipping through individual pages. Instead of your idea being one more attachment in a folder or one more paper in a stack on a desk, it has presence that is potentially more inviting And if it was me, I'd attach a bag of candy or granola bars to the board so people get a snack while thinking how to improve upon your idea. Finally, there is something fun about deciding who to roll the idea to next, whose input you want to encourage.

If you like this approach, consider other variations: initiate an Idea Input chain letter (I know not everyone will like this) sending it to a few individuals in your network and ask them to in turn share it with five more people in theirs, again with a deadline for input. Or create an Idea Graffiti Board (Corkboard.me is an electronic option) and park your rolling whiteboard (or the same info on flipchart paper or newsprint) in an office common area where people can gather and post input throughout the day. Instead of a specific idea post a weekly question to the graffiti board such as "What's one thing we could do to operate more efficiently and save time?"

Regardless of the approach, we each need to incorporate more time and more techniques to tap into the collective wisdom of colleagues. As Steven Johnson notes in his recent book Where Good Ideas Come From, a lot of innovation happens through the cross-pollinating of ideas and accidental discoveries from informal sharing. Similarly, in his book The Medici Effect, Franz Johansson asserted the importance of The Intersection, a place where people and ideas from different perspectives and disciplines can connect and create with each other.

What other habits could you embrace to increase the likelihood of that happening in your own efforts?

What's it worth to you?

2011-07-27T06:32:00.008-04:00

The yogurt shop near my home is packed most days right now. In December? Not so much. Try to snag a last-minute seat on a fairly full flight and you're likely to pay far more than the passenger who booked months in advance. But walk into a hotel at 10 p.m. and you might just negotiate an unbelievable rate since the room is about to go unsold. And that $4 bottle of water at the outdoor concert in 95 degree heat provides value that makes you momentarily forget about the outrageous mark-up you are paying.

Books abound on pricing strategy for products and services, but ultimately what something is worth depends on how an individual calculates value. Next week I will be joining 4500 other professionals who work in or care about the association profession for our annual meeting being held in St. Louis. I have no doubt that I will benefit from my participation: renewed connections, new relationships, fresh thinking from educational sessions, and maybe some new speaking or facilitating opportunities.

That being said, I was intrigued to see how the sponsoring organization, the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) calculated why someone should attend because the emphasis was almost exclusively on cost to make the case for value, and even then not all of the relevant costs were calculated. Since several of my association colleagues will not be attending because they don't perceive enough value, I wanted to dissect this calculation a bit. I think what we discover has merits whether you are involved in pricing or just everyday purchasing of products.

The primary comparison being made is between a webinar you can watch in your office and the multiple-day face-to-face meeting asserting that you get far more value for your registration fee for the St. Louis meeting when compared to the costs of a webinar. It's an interesting choice because while many organizations still charge a decent price for webinars (including ASAE at $195), I receive several invitations a month to register for a free program, many featuring high-quality content leaders. So for some, the webinar has already been commoditized and is seen as a freebie, potentially invalidating the entire premise of the calculation being used.

But even if the webinar comparison holds true for you, not all of the costs of attending the Annual Meeting are included in the calculation provided. A webinar doesn't require me to get on a plane, stay in a hotel, take a cab or light rail to/from the airport, drive to my home airport and pay for parking. Those costs for me in St. Louis will amount to $1200. Add that to the $895 registration fee being used for comparison and now instead of saving me money compared to a webinar, Annual Meeting attendance is costing me a small amount. Ironically, the chance to meet with hundreds of business partners in the exhibit hall is labeled as priceless. But some attendees (including a few of my non-attending association colleagues) deem it worthless because it is not an activity in which they need to engage. They view the dedicated exhibition hours as time when they aren't getting education that might actually be of value to them.

Completely absent in the calculations are the increased time, energy, and psychological costs anytime we are away from work or family for multiple days: falling behind while you are gone or trying to stay caught up late in your hotel room each night, depending on your partner or spouse to assume all family household responsibilities, and much more. So the way the case is calculated for Annual Meeting attendance actually backfires when focusing primarily on cost comparisons, but it does raise several questions any organization has to consider when trying to see you on what's something worth:

What are the total costs someone might associate with the purchasing decision you want them to make?
How does your target audience calculate value and how can you use their calculations in making your case?
What would your product, program, or service have to be like to provide so much value that its actual cost would be hardly considered?

For a large organization investing $2000/person to attend the major industry gathering of the year may be less of an issue, but for a small organization that could reflect a sizable percentage of the annual professional development budget for the entire staff. $2000 for one person to attend one meeting or 10 webinars (using the ASAE price) per the course of the year in which the entire staff participates? Understanding the criteria your intended purchasers use when making decisions is where the real insight into your perceived value can be found.

So three closing thoughts:

Our communications should focus on the real value that might be obtained from our programs or services even though we must craft our message with an understanding of the true and total costs involved. After all, if you get one idea in an educational session and it could save you $5000, you just made a huge profit on your $2000 conference costs.

Consider adding one question to your valuation form that assesses perceived value in relation to total costs expended. The answers provide a simple metric about the overall state of your meeting that could be very useful in year-to-year comparisons and trend analysis.

We have to ensure that value literally oozes in every single aspect of every single thing we do. Publications should be edited ruthlessly to eliminate any text that is not meaningful. Meeting design must ensure that every educational session is top quality; that networking opportunities lead to true connections and problem-solving; and that social events are inclusive, welcoming, and make people proud to be a part of our community.

And though it probably goes without saying, let me say it anyway: the very thing that once was invaluable at almost any cost probably isn't going to remain that way for much longer if you don't invest in refreshing, revamping, or reinventing it.

Leadership Limerick: Generate Commitment Instead of Enforcing Compliance

2011-07-25T03:21:00.001-04:00

It means that you believe in the why

Compliance is to follow the rule

Like the speed limit or attendance at school

And people do so with a very big sigh

A squad car on the side of the road gets most people to slow down. That reflects a desire to avoid a fine and ticket more than a commitment to the speed limit. As author Peter Block notes in his book The Answer to How is Yes, “If my commitment is conditional on your response, or on your delivery of a promise, then it never really was a commitment. It was a deal.”

When it comes to getting your kids to do what you want, "because I said so" is always an option you can try to enforce. And while the same holds true in the workplace, it puts you as a manager or leader in the position of being the enforcer, the squad car on the side of the road. Colleagues jump to attention and do the right thing when you're in range, but then revert back to their normal routines as soon as you are out of sight.

Compliance therefore is temporal, in place when the threat of punishment is present. But long-term effectiveness requires a self-enforced commitment to a strategy, policy, or routine. It's less about "have to" and more about "want to." I do something not merely because I was told to or because I am afraid of getting in trouble if I don't. I do it because I believe it is the right thing to do. And that conviction requires an understanding of the purpose and relevance behind the practice. It more likely develops through discussion and dialogue, not a manager's monologue or mandate.

It's hard to be truly committed to a what if you don't understand or believe in the value of the why. You'll have to write fewer tickets to drive others' performance if you focus more on the latter when seeking to correct the former.

Leadership Limerick: The Authentic You

2011-07-17T22:31:00.001-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

Authenticity can take you quite far
If you'll only be who you are

You will hear others' voices
With thoughts on your choices

But let your values be your North Star

It's natural that friends and family have opinions about the choices we make in our lives. It's helpful to have colleagues and role models worth emulating. But authenticity ultimately requires living from the inside out, not the outside in. We have to make choices consistent with our values regardless of whether or not others perceive they are right for us.

It can be tempting to say yes to opportunities not quite consistent with our core because they may offer a benefit or reward that is appealing (money or prestige for example). This is as true for organizations as it is for individuals.

Instead of trying to fit in with the opportunities presented to us, we need to seek the places, the people, and the opportunities that fit. And in doing so, we must ensure that the part we play in our lives is wholly consistent with who we are and that we haven't just become adept at consistently playing a part.

Authenticity isn’t always going to produce easy results, but then neither does projecting a facade or making inauthentic choices. Both have risks. Personally, I’d rather be rejected for who I truly am than be embraced for being someone I truly am not.

For more reading on authenticity, see this article previously published in Executive Update.

Lobby Learning: Not Just for Latecomers Anymore

2011-07-14T21:41:00.000-04:00

AJAXWorld Conference and Expo

You know the drill. You arrive late for a play and theater doors are already closed. At least you can stand in the lobby and watch a live feed on an LCD monitor until there is a break when you can be seated.

But what if I would rather live in the lobby? What if instead of sitting in the general session room for a major keynote speaker at the annual meeting, I prefer to watch it broadcast to an alternative location? What if that location could offer a variety of seating configurations, ones conducive to real-time conversation with others about what the speaker is saying? What if there was food and drink and beanbags and couches?

No need to completely wonder "what if?" when conferences like TED and the AJAXWorld Conference and Expo have already modeled the way with their Simulcast Lounges. Each has featured its own unique combination of the ingredients listed above, and the lounges themselves have often been paid for by sponsors who are able to promote their services in the lounge, essentially using the lounge like the world's largest exhibitor booth.

TED Simulcast Lounge • ted.com

While many meetings and conferences have previously put extra tables in the hallway and broadcast a speaker on TVs, they did so for overflow reasons when the main room was already at capacity. But what if we stopped thinking of this as a temporary solution to an attendance problem and instead viewed it as a possible innovation opportunity for our main event? Maybe there ss no general session room with a live speaker, but instead multiple viewing rooms for a speaker broadcast in from a remote location, rooms perhaps targeted for people with shared demographics like job responsibilities or organizational size that make it valuable for them to converse with each other? This format mirrors typical university distance-learning to satellite campuses or what we do for webinars when registering as an offce, but imagine the possibilities it might hold for a more engaging learning experience at your meeting, as well as potentially reducing speaker costs because of travel time and expense being eliminated?

Yes, there is value being in the same room at the same time with the entire conference community, but that is no less true when we disrupt that norm and try something different. What used to be a temporary solution might just be a source for more permanent and useful value.

Anyone Can: So Why Not You?

2011-07-13T06:13:00.005-04:00

Anyone can …

ask a question that reframes a conversation.
offer encouraging feedback to a colleague.
help ensure an organization is more inclusive.
look for information to bring fresh insights to a challenge.
say what everyone knows knows but is afraid to bring up.
propose an experiment or little bet that might yield big rewards.
clarify perspectives people hold during a contentious discussion.
create a shortcut that makes routine work less time-consuming.
clean out the office refrigerator.
send handwritten thank you notes to hardworking volunteers.
make sure newcomers feel welcome and supported.
bring in a healthy snack for what will be a very long meeting.
share a website, a link, an article, or other learning.
remind people of what matters most in the moment.
do something small to boost everyone's morale.
invite those just listening to share their insights and opinions.
come up with a breakthrough idea that is a gamechanger.
call attention to trends others aren't noticing.
ask what's being learned from what's being attempted.
suggest that maybe a stretch break is in order.
raise the ethical implications of a decision being considered.
offer a little humor to break the ice and re-energize a group.
research a question that is holding back progress.
look for inspiration in unexpected places.
share a big dream that unleashes others' passion and energy.

Anyone can. Perhaps you should.
What are you waiting for? Today would be the perfect day.

Leadership Limerick: The Danger of "What do you think?"

2011-07-11T05:25:00.005-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

While “What do you think? is often inquired
In conflict or debate it can leave people mired

Without shared criteria for each to apply
It's just others’ thoughts being shared on the fly

Unable to decide a group merely grows tired

"So what do you think?" seems like such an innocent question. Someone makes a proposal. A new idea emerges in conversation. A description of a current situation is shared. Naturally, we want to know what others think or feel.

Gathering people's perspectives is helpful as it lets us know the mix of opinions among a group. But reaching a decision from a mix of opinions can be difficult without some shared criteria to be applied. Absent that, individuals may merely advocate their opinion and their perspective which may or may not be based on the same set of criteria that others are using.

Debate ensues. Conflict emerges. Tempers flare. An impasse is reached. And quickly simply asking others What do you think? leaves you asking yourself What was I thinking?

If we're trying to decide whether or not to invest in a new idea and I'm basing my decision on the perceived risk, you're focusing on the potential return on investment, and others are most concerned about how doable the idea is, we're really not having the same conversation.

To get the best decision-making from a group of people with different perspectives, first determine the key criteria on which to base the decision and the relative weight of each individual factor. Then let individuals share their thinking, making sure to tie their perspectives to the criteria just established. This should produce more "parallel processing", wither everyone applying the same decision-making criteria. You could even let people do individual numerical ratings and then compute the average rating for each factor.

Do you need to step back before every single decision and create a list of rating factors to apply? Probably not. But the more significant the decision, the more helpful it will be to possess a simple set of shared criteria and a common understanding of what the right decision means.

Note
A great book and one of my favorite facilitation resources is the Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making." And if you're interested gaining hands-on practical experience facilitating group decision-making and other efforts, it's your last chance to register for the July 19 full-day Art of Facilitation program I am presenting for ASAE in Washington, DC. This program's content can also be customized for half-day or full-day facilitation skills development sessions for your staff or volunteers. Contact me to learn more.

Be Careful of Format Fetish

2011-07-06T06:58:00.010-04:00

I loved being a part of the IGNITE presentations earlier this year at the ASAE Great Ideas Conference and look forward to doing another IGNITE, Toward a More Sustainable You, at the Annual Meeting in August. To see the enthusiasm for different content delivery approaches has been great.

But I'm experiencing a slight unease and deja vu as I see some conference planners rush to add IGNITE talks to their conference schedules.

Years ago when Open Space first got mainstream attention, everyone wanted to try it. Often, however, what people introduced as Open Space was really some inadequately structured time tacked on to a conference or included as part of a workshop. It had little to do with the true spirit and principles of Open Space, nor did it use its methodology. As a result, some participants had unsatisfying encounters with what they thought was the Open Space meeting technology when they actually had not experienced it at all.

Meeting professionals, presenters, and facilitators must beware of format fixation or fetish: using a format for format's sake. Not all learning formats or discussion processes are best suited for all content or every meeting or conference.

Not every webinar has to include polling.
Not every panel discussion has to include presentation segments from the panelists.
Not every general session has to include a keynote speaker.
Not every conference has to include breakout sessions.

Every content segment can be brought to life in dozens if not hundreds of different ways. Our mantra as planners or presenters needs to be: It's about the learning.

As minimum we must consider if the format is appropriate for the participants, the content, and the overall learning experience we are designing. We also need to examine if our intended use reflects the format's true methodology and principles, or if what we are planning is really "in name only." If the latter, we shouldn't use the name. Showing a limited number of slides for a limited amount of time does not fully equate to an IGNITE or Pecha Kucha experience.

Shiny new technologies or formats will always catch our eye, and we most definitely should be looking for them and experimenting. But choosing to adopt or apply them needs to serve the learning experience we are trying to create and the needs of the participants we seek to engage. Otherwise we do a disservice to ourselves, the participants, and ultimately to the format or technology itself.

Leadership Limerick: Traditions Matter

2011-07-04T09:10:00.001-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

Traditions unite many as one
They can be somber, serious, or fun

Community is the ultimate aim
Diverse people experiencing the same

Passing on meaning is what has been done

Fireworks. Holiday caroling. Tossing the bride's bouquet. Lighting the Menorah. Hunting Easter eggs. Saying Grace before a meal. Putting flowers on a grave.

Regardless of (or perhaps because of) one's faith or cultural background, everyone at some point in their life experiences traditions, common activities shared with others across generational and geographical boundaries. Traditions and rituals play a valuable role in creating community because they provide shared language, experience, and meaning. Having that common connection allows individuals to feel part of something bigger than themselves.

The longer a tradition has existed, the more reluctance there may be should anyone want to change it. "But that's the way we've always done it" is an oft-repeated cry of resistance. But not every routine act serves a ritualistic purpose. Not every tradition is meant to exist in perpetuity. Whereas routines can become ruts, but rituals are rites of great meaning and significance that reflect values a community holds.

What is most important to preserve is the function of the tradition, the unifying role it can play, not necessarily its form. Meaning and understanding is the heart of a true tradition or ritual. That is what they try to preserve and transmit.

Changing rituals or traditions (legitimate or otherwise) has to be done with great care given how embedded they may have become in the identity of an organization or community. But we can preserve the meaning behind the tradition even if we might modify the method through which it is achieved.

Toward a More Sustainable You: Alternative Belief to Consider #4

2011-07-01T05:45:00.002-04:00

Belief #4
I don't have any choice.

Alternative belief #4
I always have choice even if the consequences may not be ideal.

It's a phrase you often hear: I don't really have a choice. And at first, it rings true. Any of us can find ourselves in a situation in which it seems as if we have no options except the undesirable one we lament. But closer examination reveals that's not really the case.

We must change the conversation we have with ourselves if we ever hope to change the conversation we might want to have with others. Example: Let's say you feel your boss micro-manages you and your work. Your decisions are often second-guessed, and you are asked to report in great detail about your daily activity.

You could choose to see this situation as one in which you have no choice but to put up with your supervisor's management style. But that really isn't the only option available to you. You could throw a tantrum, ignore your boss's request for information, or even quit, but let's not go that far. Another option is to have a conversation with your boss that could go something like this:

I know you want me to do the very best job possible for you. I'm feeling a bit hampered in doing that by all of the reporting and checking in that is being asked of me. In order for me to contribute at the level I know I am capable of doing, I need more freedom and discretion when it comes to decision-making and reporting. But I also know you are held accountable for everything that is occurring and need to stay informed. Can we talk about how we might honor both these positions?

Your language might vary, of course. The point is, we always have more options available to us than we might initially realize or accept. For some, the conversation above might seem risky, and indeed it might be. But it is an option available. As is quitting. Now you might say, "I could never quit as it would next to impossible to find another job, so I'm stuck here." Totally understood. But quitting remains an option, even though it is one with undesirable consequences.

It is too easy to create a world for ourselves in which we opt to believe that we have no options. Ultimately, portraying ourselves as helpless is rarely very helpful. If we don't acknowledge that we indeed have freedom of choice, we essentially choose to never be free.

Leadership Limerick: We Are All Creative

2011-06-26T20:18:00.002-04:00

People stopping before they start

Denying they can play a part

In trying to find a new way

Many people equate creativity with generating completely new and breakthrough ideas. Since that isn't always their forte, they determine they have no contribution to make to the creative process.

But being creative is about making different or novel connections, generating fresh insights, and envisioning previously unforeseen possibilities. It doesn't necessarily imply that the creativity has to occur at some grand and mystical level.

So the next time someone says "I'm not creative," gently push back on that self-imposed limitation. Why? Because we live in a world in which one of the few things that cannot be commoditized is creativity itself.

Toward a More Sustainable You: Alternative Belief to Consider #3

2011-06-24T02:39:00.001-04:00

Belief #3:
To succeed I have to keep climbing the ladder.

Alternative Belief #3:
My definition of success may involve ladders and lattices.

More. Bigger. Upward advancement. These are the usual hallmarks of increased success as defined in North America. But are they yours? It's important to know because they almost always involve trade-offs you may or may not find acceptable.

If a promotion means more money, but less time with your family and friends, what is the end result for your quality of life? Moving from a committee chair to a board member position likely means reducing your involvement in hands-on projects and increasing your time spent on policies and strategy. How does that match with your interests and strengths?

While many suggest it is universal truth that "if you're not getting ahead you're falling behind," we don't have to make our decisions based on criteria or beliefs that don't reflect what we value in life. Your priorities may require taking one step back in some areas to go two steps ahead in others. Making life decisions based on others' definitions of success is rarely fulfilling.

In his book, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, author Alain de Botton says, "What I want to argue for is not that we should give up on our ideas of success, but that we should make sure that they are our own. We should focus in on our ideas and make sure that we own them, that we're truly the authors of our own ambitions. Because it's bad enough not getting what you want, but it's even worse to have an idea of what it is you want and find out at the end of the journey that it isn't, in fact, what you wanted all along."

You Got Me in the Door. Now What?

2011-06-22T00:10:00.000-04:00

I recently used a Groupon to visit a local restaurant, one I otherwise probably would not have tried. In that sense, the Groupon was a success for the merchant in that it brought in a new customer. Getting people to try you out is great; getting them to come back is better.

Many organizations focus so much attention on getting people in the door (registered for your webinar, sampling a product, trying out association membership, attending an event, et al) that they don’t spend enough time considering how to convert the one-time visit into a pattern of repeated engagement and interaction.

Fundraisers model a basic principle worth emulating. First-time donors usually receive a thank-you and an additional solicitation.

Dear Jeffrey: Thanks so much for your generous gift of $50. We welcome you into the community of people who care about ______ and will be able to accomplish much more with your support. The need is great, however, and our ambitions quite bold. Another $50 contribution from you right now would immediately allow us to _________.

This additional solicitation is actually a test, a simple way to assess just how interested and committed someone is to the cause. We can do the same thing in our organizations, offering a nominal inducement upon a first-time expression of interest in an attempt to deepen an individual’s level of commitment and engagement.

Dear Jeffrey: It was great having you at the luncheon workshop for potential new members last week. I hope you enjoyed the keynote speaker as much as I did and that you have already put some of her great info to use in your own work. This program is just one example of how we can help you connect with like-minded colleagues and strengthen your professional skills. We hope to have you as a member of our community and see you at many more events in the future. We’d love to have you as a colleague so much that if we receive your completed membership application within the next 30 days, we’ll immediately send you a complimentary set of session CDs from last year’s Annual Meeting.

While the example I gave is related to membership, the same principle applies to volunteering. We don't always know the potential interest or commitment level of individuals volunteering for the first time. We need to debrief with them after their experience, thank them for their contributions, and then learn if they would like to remain engaged, exploring the possibilities for how they can do so.

Some people are 100% satisfied with the one-night stand and are not looking to marry our cause or organization. But we don’t really know that if we don’t put out a second invitation.

Transactions can be transformative if we intentionally try to cultivate longer-term relationships and convert one-time visitors into long-time colleagues.

Leadership Limerick: Getting All the Facts

2011-06-20T05:40:00.002-04:00

As a group you’re more able

With all the info on the table

When you have something big to decide

I can no longer be trusted with a half-gallon of ice cream. I've deluded myself for many years saying I'll limit myself to a cup of ice cream each day and no more, but the evidence of empty cartons only days later would suggest my willpower is definitely lacking. As a result, I no longer buy ice cream to keep in the house. Accepting the need to make that decision took a very long time.

Leaders are confronted with choices dramatically greater in scope and consequence than my self-imposed ice cream cutoff, but the difficulty in coming to terms with the truth is not that much different. Jim Collins first explored the importance of confronting the brutal facts in Good to Great and then examined the consequences of not doing so in How the Mighty Fall. He suggests that leaders must have faith in the ability to prevail, but not let that faith obscure the brutal facts of an organization's present reality.

We must help create a safe climate throughout organizations that allows difficult truths to be expressed without blame, as well as ensure that any decision-making sessions engage the complete set of facts and explore their real implications for the choices we make.

It doesn't take much leadership to make the easy calls or avoid reality. The true test of leadership lies in doing just the opposite whether we are leading an organization or leading ourselves.

Toward a More Sustainable You: Alternative Belief to Consider #2

2011-06-17T01:45:00.001-04:00

Our beliefs and mental models deeply influence the choices we perceive available to us and the expectations we need to meet. In a new workshop entitled Toward a More Sustainable You, I've been offering four of the current beliefs that I believe inhibit our effectiveness and four alternative beliefs that, if adopted and implemented, could lead to a personal and professional life that is robust, yet more sustainable.

Each Friday in June I explore one of these beliefs and its alternative.

Belief #2:
I can't pass up such a good opportunity.

Alternative Belief #2:
If I never say no, I can't be fully committed when I say yes.

Here is a truth I have come to accept: good people usually have more good opportunities available to them than they should rightfully accept. Talent, commitment, dedication, and generosity lead to abundance, not scarcity.

This can be difficult to remember when a great opportunity comes to you at a less than ideal time. "But if I say no now something like this may never come around again." Perhaps.

But applying that logic also can lead to overcommitment. None of us are capable of accepting every possibility that comes our way. Only when we carefully consider the consequences of saying yes to a possible commitment can we more fully understand how it might affect the other obligations we already hold.

And if we never say no when opportunity comes knocking? At some point we won't have the strength to get up and answer the door. That just might be the time when the possibility truly is too good to pass up. Saying no every now and then frees up your ability and energy to say yes and engage in the future. Committing beneath your means, not exhausting your capacity for doing so, is the sustainable choice.

Read about the first alternative belief here.

Your Meeting Needs a Gallery

2011-06-16T08:05:00.002-04:00

I stumbled across this picture in a BizBash article about TED (yes, TED is overexposed, but deal with it) and the wall the conference created with colorful placards of all its speakers. I immediately became enamored with the possibilities it could offer for meetings and even see room for improvement.

Imagine doing something similar for one of your conferences, but instead of just listing speaker names, you include one provocative statement from the speaker related to the content of their session. Now this wall becomes a learning/takeaway device. You could even add session info (date, time, location) to make this a scheduling/planning tool.

No need to limit the wall to speakers though, why not involve participants (particularly in a smaller meeting) in making their own posters and sharing one concrete idea others can learn about by speaking with them during the event?

Years ago at one of the Real Time conferences it sponsored back then, Fast Company magazine captured real-time quotes from speakers in sessions, immediately printed them out on 11x17 posters, and had them lining the hallways outside the meeting space right after the sessions ended. Instant learning reinforcement!

And while it's currently all the rage to have television monitors project a scrolling Twitter wall with Tweets from conference participants, I must admit to favoring these more old-school, handcrafted applications a bit more. Scan the posters for any of these simple approaches and you immediately have a content-rich slide deck or PDF to provide participants as a conference takeaway.

Adding some sort of wall display or gallery creates a new community space, one where people can gather with others, engage in informal conversation, and create new connections. What other possibilities can you envision for adding a gallery wall to a conference?

Doing Nothing is the Real Risk

2011-06-14T15:40:00.003-04:00

There is an incredibly pervasive belief among people that it can be too risky to speak up, to try new things, to do something very different. But that belief offers nothing but false security.

Doing nothing could risk everything.

If we are unwilling to fail or fall short at something, we will never innovate anything.

Individuals who are in temporary volunteer leadership roles can be more risk-averse. They don't want to be the ones who "screwed things up." Individuals bring their own beliefs about risk into the work setting and the boardroom. We would be wise to help people make their own perspectives transparent and to discuss how those beliefs relate to the level of experimentation and risk-taking that needs to occur for them to be good stewards of the organization or their particular responsibilities.

Harvard Business School professor and popular author Rosabeth Moss Kanter suggests a mix of experiments in her innovation pyramid. It can be a useful framework for leaders looking to make strategic investments in calculated risks. Determining the right mix depends on an organization's goals and the returns it needs to generate. something individuals should understand from their own financial planning efforts. And this HBR blog post from Innosight's Scott Anthony highlights four low resolution ways to test possible innovations.

At some point, every individual or organization has to put something at risk and in play in order to ensure or increase their future success. I'd rather have lots of times at bat to achieve winning results: strike out sometimes, get base hits other, and continue to work my way around the bases.

If the only way to win is to get a grand slam home run in the bottom of the 9th, that may be the riskiest position of them all. So now is the time to step up to the plate and take a swing at something. The next time you find yourself in a situation where everyone is tlaking about what can't be done, see if this question helps move you forward:

What's the most significant action and step toward innovation that we can commit to right now?

Leadership Limerick: Letting Go

2011-06-13T06:17:00.000-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

Imagine if everyone would
Just do what you think that they should

But on any given day
It won't work that way

So thinking it will does no good

I know. It's frustrating when people don't do what we think they should. It would be so much easier if they did, right? But people do things for their own reasons, in their own timeframes, and on their own terms. Despire knowing his obvious fact, we still often spend a lot of energy lamenting its reality.

We need to spend more time understanding their perspectives, not judging their shortcomings. So change your "if only they would …" into "if only I could … "

get a sense of what matters most to them
appreciate what they feel holds them back
gain insight into why these don't see what I propose as desirable
try on their worldview for this situation

Focus on shifting your own actions rather than imposing your will on others. Changing ourselves often is the best first step to influence others.

Toward a More Sustainable You: Alternative Belief to Consider #1

2011-06-09T18:45:00.003-04:00

Our beliefs and mental models deeply influence the choices we perceive available to us and the expectations we need to meet. In a new workshop entitled Toward a More Sustainable You, I've been offering four of the current beliefs that I believe inhibit our effectiveness and four alternative beliefs that, if adopted and implemented, could lead to a personal and professional life that is robust, yet more sustainable.

Each Friday in June I explore one of these beliefs and its alternative.

Belief #1:
I have to be the one to do it.

Alternative Belief #1:
I need to make sure it gets done.

It is too easy to assume too much responsibility for situations that do not require us to do so. Yes, things have to get done, but that doesn't mean it is our job as managers or leaders to actually do all of them. Instead our role is to ensure things get done and this means enabling others to act, one of the key commitments for extraordinary leadership outlined in The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner.

When we take responsibility in a situation where (1) it does not right belong to us, (2) we are not uniquely skilled or positioned to assume it, or (3) we will be taxed to follow-through accordingly, we do ourselves and our colleagues a disservice. By becoming over-responsible we enable others to be under-responsible. When others do even less to complete a project, advance an initiative, or the like, we not feel compelled to take on even more responsibility given how invested and associated we have become with the effort. This, in turn, allows further under-responsibility from others. This dangerous cycle is explored in Roger Martin's excellent book, The Responsibility Virus. Download a PDF article that Martin authored about about board governance and the responsibility virus here.

So pause the next time you find yourself thinking, "I have to do this." Think about whether or not something really needs to be done right then. If so, be sure to consider whether or not you are the person who needs to do it. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Making Things Work by Design

2011-06-08T06:38:00.003-04:00

Tom Peters has been championing the importance of design long before it was the darling of the masses. He has an entire section of his website devoted to posts about its importance, it is mentioned widely throughout many of his books, and he has at least one publication devoted exclusively to its value. Moreover, his own corporate graphic identity is about as crisp and as clean a design as you could ever create, simply his name followed by an exclamation point, a simple reminder of the boldness of his ideas and the energy he brings to his work.

Yet, I've always felt his slides didn't reflect the amazing value of his content. (see the sample slide from one of his recent talks). So some time ago I Tweeted that very observation, and this was his reply: "they work in a room, which is all I care about." Personally, I found this an interesting definition of success: they work. I'm not 100% sure they work as well as he might think, but Peters is in good company suggesting this as a standard for success. It's often the reply of Craig Newmark when people suggest that Craigslist could be better designed.

Whether we be an individual speaker, a presenter talking on behalf of a multi-million dollar company, or an association volunteer speaking to a group of peers, we all have to decide the standards by which we will deem our presentation a success. At minimum, our content and any visuals we use to support it, must indeed work. Those attending our presentation must be able to grasp the key points we are trying to make.

But for a presentation (and all that goes with it) to also work, I believe it also must reflect the principles we espouse and the values we hope to have associated with our work. Some presenters may see this as aspirational, I see it as fundamental. The more consistent we are in exemplifying our identity, the more people expect all of our efforts to be in alignment with our beliefs and values.

Tom Peters is one of the most intelligent, engaging, and hard-working thought leaders we are likely to ever see. And he has been a relentless champion of the importance of design. As long as his substance remains strong, I'll work harder to read slides whose design I find difficult or challenging. But I'll also continue to wonder why they don't reflect the amazing visuals that you find in his books and on his web banner.

The rest of us aren't Tom Peters, and the audiences we address may not afford us the same consideration. If our standard for what works makes them work too hard, we may not find them sticking with us … as presenters or as leaders. While we each can set our own internal standard for what works, ultimately those who choose to follow us will make that determination for themselves.

Leadership Limerick: Putting a Price on Value

2011-06-06T07:19:00.008-04:00

But while it may seem very nice

To find zero as the price

It makes you wonder what the value will be

Give something to get something. Debates about the merits of free admission or giving away some content or product to entice individuals into membership or subsequent purchases are likely to occur forever. Chris Anderson addresses the topic quite nicely in his book, Free, the preceding thinking for which can be found in this WIRED magazine article. Some professional associations have attempted the freemium model in which a base level of membership and benefits is provided for free with more valuable programs and services available at higher-priced levels of affiliation.

In The Art of Pricing, author Rafi Mohammed, suggest eight pricing strategies: the nine and zero effect, payments to promote satisfaction, prestige pricing, anchor pricing, quantity suggestive pricing, larger vs. small losses, stuffing the bundle to convey value, and everyone loves a bargain. Pricing is such a critical consideration there is an organization, The Professional Pricing Society, devoted exclusively to its practice.

You shouldn't just play around with price. Whatever you opt to charge for an individual program or service, make sure that:

it is part of a comprehensive strategic approach to value and pricing, one informed by data and not just individuals' opinions;
you have clear metrics in place for determining whether or not the pricing strategy is successful;
it is based on an understanding of what your competitors charge and their position in the marketplace; and
it reflects the overall brand qualities and value propositions you want people to associate with your organization and its efforts.

In my own work, I regularly am asked to write or speak for free in exchange for exposure or asked to reduce fees to meet an individual organization's budget constraints. Groups making such an offer are in a stronger negotiating position if they can prove such exposure has led to subsequent engagements. I've never had any organization follow up with me to learn what business I may have received as a result of this free trade we did for exposure.

In those few cases when I choose to vary the normal investment required for my professional services, I always invoice the fee normally associated with the services provided and then subtract the reduction as a charge against my annual pro bono contributions. It's a small attempt to ensure the value (and what I charge for it) remains as the anchor associated with my work.

As Marco Bertini and Luc Wathieu note in their May 2010 Harvard Business Review article entitled "How to Stop Customers from Fixating on Price," there is indeed a cost to be associated with free.

"The constant undercutting to capture customers sometimes spurs efficiency gains, but more often it damages brand equity and erodes profit margins. To make matters worse, customers in these markets develop low expectations and grow disengaged: They fixate on price and lose interest in marketing communications and all but the most radical innovations."

Remember, too much discounting of individual offerings can potentially cause members or customers to discount the quality of what you are offering or the value of your organization overall. If what you do is truly of value, you'd be wise to count the potential negative consequences if you seem to diss it in your pricing strategies.

Using 3x5 to Accomplish More 9-5

2011-06-03T02:06:00.000-04:00

Despite being a fairly early adopter of most technology tools, I'm pretty old school in a few ways. Perhaps no better example exists than my use of a daily index card, a habit I picked up when I was state student council president back in the dark ages.

Each day, I fill one side of a fresh index card with my appointments and list of things to do. I leave the other side blank for action items that come up during the course of the day, ideas I want to remember, and appointments or other commitments I make.

At day's end I take a few minutes to review the card and take the necessary actions (transferring the info to another place, moving appointments to my calendar, carrying over any unfinished tasks, etc.).

While I can do all of these things on my iPod Touch, I like the functionality of the index card. It's always powered up and can be read in almost any light. It's lightweight, portable, and easily accessible in my pocket.

But perhaps most important, the act of reflecting at day's end and then planning for the days ahead is a brief ritual that helps me make meaning of my efforts.

Leadership Limerick: The Power of Story

2011-06-01T05:09:00.001-04:00

A story can allow others to see
The way it's been or could be

Leadership Limerick: Values into Action

2011-05-30T04:51:00.002-04:00

But it’s not the words that most matter

Without action, they are just chatter

Driving behavior is what they are for

It's not unusual to see eyes roll when talk turns to mission or core values during a strategy retreat or staff workshop. Unfortunately, in many organizations, conversation around core values is primarily associated with painful wordsmithing.

In the seminal work Built to Last, co-authors Jim Collins and Jerry Porras assert that 80-90% of a leader's time should be focused on ensuring alignment between core ideology (mission or purpose and values) and the envisioned future. If what you stand for and why you exist isn't understood and embodied in the thinking and actions of every individual throughout your organization, much of the activity that occurs each day will lack the appropriate level of intention, meaning, and impact.

To ensure the integrity of the experience they offer their customers and stakeholders, smart organizations craft brief narratives that expand on the values selected. They should be prescriptive enough to bring a value to life, yet open to enough interpretation so that individuals can own them authentically.

Here's a sample core values statement from my last consulting practice (like minded people) where I was a co-founder, the alignment mechanisms for one of the values, and some tips on crafting your own core values statement. And check out the June 2011 issue of Inc. magazine for some great examples of how small businesses put their core values into action. Finally, here is an earlier post about core values.

Leadership Limerick: Staying Curious

2011-05-23T06:56:00.001-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form.

Curiosity may have killed the cat
But we're not even sure about that

You must interrupt your routine

And make sure new things are seen

To keep your thinking from going flat

Routines are valuable because they are orderly and make more efficient use of time. But routinely offering the same programs and services can quickly become a rut. You can help prevent this by not letting your own experiences fall into rigid and inflexible patterns.

Breaking up your routines, trying new paths, and exposing yourself widely to different perspectives will keep your thinking fresher and cause new connections and possibilities to be imagined.

So one of the new routines worth adopting is regularly interrupting your routines. Which "but this is the way I've always done it" are you going to interrupt today?

Time to Consider a Capital (Human) Campaign

2011-05-18T05:14:00.000-04:00

Almost every major nonprofit institution will embark on at least one capital campaign during its lifetime, soliciting significant financial contributions for new buildings, programs, or their endowment.

It's time for any organization that solicits volunteers' time and talent to do the same. Except instead of raising money,ask for pledges and commitments of time, talent, and leadership.

First, create a compelling vision of the meaningful and bold accomplishments that will be achieved if the goal for volunteer contributions is met. Make the case compelling, crafting a vivid story bringing to life what this massive influx of time and talent will make possible. Think like the renowned Chicago architect Daniel Burnham who famously said:

"Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty. Think big."

Second, just as with a major fund-raising campaign, have a quiet phase in which you solicit major contributions and matching challenge grants from lead donors and prominent individuals to model the way for the masses.

Third, recruit individuals to serve as team captains, each pledging to reach out those in their circles of influence and to obtain a certain level of commitments and contributions.

Finally, go public with the campaign, sharing your goal for the results you want to achieve and inviting individuals to pledge their commitment to help make the vision a reality.

Too many organizations fail to fully imagine what might be possible from a broader and deeper contribution of time and talent from those who care about their purpose or cause. And if we never make the ask, individuals can never make the gift of their ideas, insights, and labor to making major achievements possible.

The community is always resource-full. We just need to be more resourceful in engaging it.

Leadership Limerick: Good Discussions

2011-05-16T07:24:00.001-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form.

Conversations can often get tense
When others' reasoning doesn't make sense

If you can keep an open mind
You very often will then find

There's no need to go on the offense

It's tempting when you disagree strongly with another person's opinion to go on the attack, to try and win the discussion and get others to adopt your position. While that may indeed be an appropriate choice at some point, it's not a helpful default position.

You're better served by first learning more about others' positions, listening non-judgmentally in an effort to gather more information. In doing so you often gain not only a better sense of what they believe to be important, but often discover some common ground where you both agree. That's almost always a more productive place to begin resolving your differences.

Effective Facilitation: A Six-Pack of Favorite Resources

2011-05-12T06:15:00.000-04:00

Whether you are doing the work of a meeting, process, or workshop facilitator or just looking to incorporate more of a facilitative approach in your work as a manager or leader, these are five resources I find invaluable.

Gamestorming and The Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making are essential toolkit books filled with activities and techniques applicable for facilitators of all skill levels. The remaining four texts explore the values, principles, and processes intrinsic in facilitation work and are probably most appropriate for intermediate to advanced learners. If you are looking for a book that covers facilitation fundamentals at a more basic-intermediate level, I would recommend The Facilitator Excellence Handbook by Fran Rees.

Dialogue: The Art of Thinking Together
by William Isaacs

Isaacs is founder of the Dialogos Institute at MIT and at times writes with the headiness of brainpower of someone you would envision in that position. But overall, this is an accessible book filled with insights about how individuals can collectively think better together by changing the patterns of how they listen and speak to each other:

"You have a dialogue when you explore the uncertainties and questions that no one has answers to. In this way you begin to think together—not simply report out old thoughts no one has answers to. In dialogue people learn to use the energy of their differences to enhance their collective wisdom."

Four key aspects of dialogic leadership are: (1) speaking your true voice and encouraging others to do the same; (2) listening as a participant to the meaning emerging in the larger whole; (3) respecting the coherence of others' views even if we do not share them; and (4) suspending our certainties so that we not only advocate our perspectives, but inquire into those that others hold.

Facilitation: Providing Opportunities for Learning

by Trevor Bentley

An incredibly unique resource that is now out of print (but can still be bought used on Amazon.com), Bentley's book moves between description of an actual facilitation with a group and narrative about the facilitation approach and choices he adopts. It's about as close to fishbowling an actual facilitation as you can get in printed form.

Bentley deeply believes that facilitators should generally operate from a position of restraint, not overly managing a group, and one of the many useful models he offers is a Facilitation Spectrum that illustrates the myriad of choices a facilitator has available to select form when contemplating intervening with a group. His philosophy, approach, and technique indeed show us how we can make groups and conversations a safe place for individual and collective growth.

Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making

by Sam Kaner, et al

Simply put, this is one of the most invaluable resources you can have to guide you through how to work with groups to help them reach a decision, in terms of both content and a process. Most importantly the values, tools, and techniques explored will help groups achieve sustainable agreements, not just make a decision in the moment that will unlikely be implemented after the conversation.

Kaner and his colleagues describe the dynamics associated with group decision-making, highlighting the important shift from divergent to convergent thinking and the "groan zone" that has to be traveled between the two, one of the most challenging spaces for a facilitator to help a group navigate. The book is chock-full with insightful narrative of facilitation values and beliefs complemented by very useful sections outlining common facilitation techniques and even case studies of group decision-making in action. Check out a preview of the much of book's content via Google Books.

Gamestorming

by Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, and James Macanufo

Gray is the founder of Xplane, the visual thinking company, one of the first firms to create infographics for complex concepts and stories. His work fits nicely with Dan Roam's writing in The Back of the Napkin. Subtitled as "A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers," the book defines gamestorming as "about creating game worlds specifically to explore and examine business challenges, to improve collaboration, and to generate novel insights about the way the world works and what kids of possibilities we might find there."

While some of the more than 80 activities outlined in the book are definitely games, I'd suggest more of them could be described as exercises or activities, an important distinction given the potentially negative connotation (unjustified in my opinion) some associate with the game label. Some of the activities have been excerpted on the Go Gamestorming website.

The 9 Disciplines of a Facilitator:

Leading Groups by Transforming Yourself

by Jon C. Jenkins and Maureen R. Jenkins

"Facilitative leadership enables all of the relevant ideas to get onto the table and creates an environment in which constructive dialogue can lead to innovative breakthroughs." This assertion is at the core of this book which focuses on the facilitative leader's three developmental paths and the three disciplines they associate with each:

Regarding others (detachment, focus, engagement)
Regarding myself (interior council, sense of wonder, intentionality)
Regarding life (awareness, presence, action)

This is a "make you think" book, one that causes you to reexamine some of your general assumptions about leadership and about leading groups in particular.

The Skilled Facilitator
by Roger Schwarz

Schwarz is perhaps one of the better known facilitation trainers, and this new and revised book is an excellent guidebook not only for facilitators, but also trainers and consultants. What I particularly appreciate about this book is that it takes a systems perspective for the work of facilitation, acknowledging that any action a facilitator takes can affect a group in multiple ways that have multiple consequences.

His method, the Skilled Facilitator Approach, is anchored in four core values: valid information, free and informed choice, internal commitment, and compassion. The behaviors, techniques, and tools offered in the book reflect these values. Schwarz is particularly effective in dissecting the considerations involved in diagnosing a group's needs and determining if, when, and how to intervene as a result.

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Join me and what promises to be a great community of learners for a one-day facilitation intensive I am presenting for the American Society of Association Executives on July 19 in Washington, DC. It will be a very hands-on learning experiences covering the core principles of effective facilitation, a variety of tools and techniques, and providing ample opportunity to apply them to the common situations we encounter in meetings, workshops, and our everyday interactions. Learn more here.

Leadership Limerick: Keep Moving Forward

2011-05-09T07:10:00.000-04:00

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form.

Some days it is all you can do
To simply plow on, to get through

Put left foot after right
And day soon becomes night

Let's hope such times are very few.

We all have them. Days when either nothing seems to go right, or days when we just aren't making progress on the bigger creative challenges that confront us.

Staying in motion, chipping away wherever we feel we can, often will help us get to a better space, one where we will finally achieve the progress that seems to allude us. So when you have one of these days, act on things that are definitely doable. Engage with what you know you can complete, and then experience the satisfaction of crossing them off your list.

A sense of accomplishment, even of things minor and less significant, almost always feels better than a sense of being stalled and going nowhere.