November 2011
1 post
Why Penn State Officials Didn't Call the Police →
This is a fascinating article. At one point, he argues,
“There’s another massive psychological roadblock in place here. Humans are programmed to not question authority, Dr. Lubit says. Men are especially hierarchical, particularly when they work in organizations made up largely of other men. To McQueary, Sandusky was an authority figure, which may explain why he didn’t go directly to the...
September 2011
1 post
Study: Power without status can lead to to... →
This new study looks at how a combination of “some authority” with low perceived status can encourage behaviors that are rude, demeaning, or abusive.
March 2011
3 posts
3 tags
Culture Trumps Strategy, Every Time →
The title says it all…
Whether you read Nilofer Merchant’s article or not, I think the title offers us a golden nugget of advice. What truly impacts your ability to execute a strategy with success?
Unfortunately, many strategic planning processes in the world today are more likely to be intellectual exercises to develop neat ideas on a piece of paper.
I’ve come to believe...
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WatchHave you ever left a powerful retreat or meeting, where it seemed like things were finally going to change around your organization, only to realize a few weeks later that nothing has changed. Here is a 3-minute suggestion from Rick Maurer on how to avoid that…
http://www.rickmaurer.com/wp/
August 2010
2 posts
3 tags
Worry Isn't Work - Dan Pallotta - Harvard Business... →
This is a wonderful and quick article to read mid-day. A colleague introduced me to it and I thought it was worth sharing here.
It takes a long view, at one point looking at Puritan values in U.S. culture and how that has contributed to a sense that fun=not work and worry=work.
Here is my favorite paragraph:
“Worry isn’t work. Being stressed out isn’t work. Anxiety...
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What's happening to community organizing?
The Sustaining Organizing report is out. The report assesses how the economic downturn has impacted community organizing groups. The highly visible closing of ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), may be eclipsed by the less visible struggles faced by smaller community organizing groups. These are the groups that do their work in church basements and living rooms,...
June 2010
1 post
5 tags
Destruction Through Email
A lot of groups get themselves into hot water over email. It’s not just tech novices; it’s the tech savvy that can be the most at risk of missing when email has changed from being a supporting tool, to a derailing or destructive force.
For groups separated by distance it’s important to recognize the limitations of email.
I’m noticing that even those that are geographically close are...
February 2010
1 post
4 tags
Mergers: Lessons From the Grassroots Institute...
Last week I posted a piece on mergers for community based organizations. Priscilla Hung, Executive Director of the Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training (GIFT), replied with a wonderful resource she wrote after GIFT went through their own merger. The article talks about the costs, difficult to measure staff hours, and impact to finances and fundraising.
Priscilla dives into seven lessons...
January 2010
6 posts
4 tags
Mergers for Community Based Orgs
There are very few merger resources that speak directly to the needs of small community-based organizations and nongovernmental groups. Through hands on work with mission-driven clients Potomac Group has developed a merger model and checklist. Offered below is an article that will help readers understand and prepare for the mechanics of a merger.
Some of the common myths or misconceptions talked...
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Groups and Leaders Under Stress
Organizations...
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Polarities and Paradoxes
This is the 3rd...
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Never Enough Time
This is the second part of a...
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Lewin’s Influence on Leadership
This...
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High-Middle-Low Performer Conversations →
Recently in a conversation with someone, they pointed me to Quint Studer and a model for understanding how to have different conversations with “high, middle, and low” performers in organizations. Studer is perhaps best known for his work in hospital and health care settings.
I have to admit two things that came up for me in reading this article. First, I have a difficult time...
December 2009
2 posts
5 tags
3 Common Myths in Managing Social Justice Groups
Ann Caton, partner at Potomac Group and Adriann Barboa, of Young Women United, teamed up to present “The Dream and the Drama: Ups and Downs of Alternative Organizational Structures” at the Sister Song conference here in DC.
This workshop created an all too rare space for 20 women from various organizations around the country to talk about the dynamics taking place inside of their...
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Female Genital Mutilation: Community-based change...
A friend of mine, Radha Patel, sent me an email this week about a consulting project she’s doing with the UN and an online symposium where she posed a question about the connection between female genital mutilation (FGM) and culture. The following are some of my thoughts that I shared with her on how a local community can use a culturally-based or community-based change approach to stop the...
November 2009
7 posts
2 tags
Barbara Ehrenreich: The Relentless Promotion of... →
The author talks about how a plague of positive thinking is permeating our society, from medicine to business, and is even contributing to our financial crisis. A friend sent this article to me over the holidays (click on link above or read the first few paragraphs below). I haven’t read Barbara’s latest book. Have others? Is this a trend that you’ve seen? Barbara’s critique of...
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Welcome to My New Blog…
Hi, I’m...
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Tacit Approval: Problems it creates & how to... →
This is a recent post by Rosa Say. I’m curious if others have seen this dynamic and if they agree with Rosa?
Tacit approval has come up in my coaching discussions with managers three times over the last week, and this will not be a strike-out for us! Let’s play ball…
What is it?
Let’s say you are the manager. Tacit approval happens when:
a) a direct-report of yours does something wrong...
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New Trend: “Infinity Factor” used to...
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Balancing Participatory and Directive Management...
One of the reasons I started studying organization structures, org psychology, and general organization development was to find more lenses that helped me explain my own experience in the groups I was a part of. Polarity Management is one of those gems that has help tremendously in that effort.
This article takes up the question of whether community based organizations should use participatory or...
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Herb Stevenson talking about becoming more of who...
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Interview with Barry Johnson: Polarities,...
October 2009
6 posts
4 tags
Interview With Libero Della Piana: Trends in Tech...
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SOS Survey Launched
The “bottom-line” for grassroots community organizing and social justice groups have been taking a pounding. Since the tech bubble busted around 2001, it’s been a slow slide down. Soon after that bust, there was a shift in funding to electoral campaigns. As this trend continued, the economy went south and there has been even less money that foundations are willing to part with....
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Interview with Herb Stevenson on the Cycle of...
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Interview with Ann Caton: Culture and Session...
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Interview with Herb Stevenson talking about...
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Interview with Herb Stevenson: Gestalt Approaches...