Nonprofit Supervision & Management Course

The final few weeks of Summer are upon us and it’s time to think about professional development opportunities for Fall. This coming September and October marks another five-session Nonprofit Supervision & Management Series offered by ONEplace@kpl – the nonprofit management service center funded by the local foundation community. This is the fifth Fall in a row we’ve delivered this course for ONEplace and the participation has been great each time. In previous years the course has been offered on five successive Monday mornings with a limit of 40 participants.

We’ve wanted to increase the involvement of participants which just isn’t possible with a group of 40 people. So this year there will be two groups participating in the course, a group on Monday and another group onThursday mornings. Each class has an enrollment limit of 20.

If you work for a Kalamzoo area nonprofit you can keep an eye on the ONEplace website for details and times as well as all the other great programs and services provided by Thom Andrews and staff.

For those outside the local area, contact us to learn how you can bring this course to your nonprofit community.

Stay tuned,

Paul

Perry Smith’s Powerful Phrase

In the late 1990’s I had the pleasure of teaching in George Washington University’s executive programs. And that’s where I got to know Perry Smith. As a retired Maj. General, author of numerous books, veteran of 180 combat flights in SE Asia, fighter wing commander, former director of strategic planning for the U.S. Air Force, former commandant of the National War College, Ph.D., former military expert of major TV networks, and all around high-level thinker, Perry is an interesting guy to be around. He is definitely not your average kinda guy.

Perry’s a great guy for checklists; things to handle, work on, get better at, pay attention to . . . One of his “useful phrases for leaders” that has stuck with me is a simple yet incredibly profound statement:

“Help me discipline my In-Basket; don’t send me issues you are competent to decide.”

Think about the implications of his statement and what it says to your employees. It works well on several levels:

• It says, “There are issues that fall within the scope of your job and expertise, and I think you can figure out which issues those are and what needs to be done about them.”
• It says, “I’m confident in your ability to make good decisions on those issues and implement them.”
• It says, “When you face an issue that you think I can help with, let me know how I can best do that.”
• It even says, “You decide what to keep me informed about and when to do so.”

What an affirming, empowering viewpoint!

How many times have you said to yourself, “it’s just easier for me to do this myself than to take the time to teach someone how to do it.” What would it take for you to honestly be able to say Perry’s phrase instead of yours?

Paul

PS – now a young 81, Perry has always reminded me of the Energizer Bunny; he just keeps on going. If you want to learn more about this remarkable man, take a look at his website.

Game Changer – ONEplace@KPL

ONEplace@KPL has become a significant Game Changer for nonprofit organizations in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Opened in 2009 with support from local funders including the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, and others, and with administrative support and facilities provided by the Kalamazoo Public Library, ONEplace is a management support organization (MSO) for nonprofit organizations. Their focus is on four key areas common to nonprofits:

• Management – operations & program directors
• Communications – marketing, public relations & media relations
• Fundraising – individual, foundation & corporate support
• Leadership – board & executive director

With leadership from director Thom Andrews and associate Lolita Moss, the list of professional development opportunities for nonprofit organizations is extensive and comprehensive. The list includes workshops, roundtables, webinars, interest groups, courses, and plenty of other resources.

At the same time a variety of  direct services, such as consulting, advising, problem/opportunity identification, and action planning are provided on a confidential basis. And because of the ongoing financial support of area foundations everything at ONEplace is available at no cost to the nonprofit organizations.

Several of us at Midwest Consulting Group have been involved with ONEplace since its founding. We love working with nonprofit organizations and the wonderful work they do; it’s a great way for us to give back to our local community.

Last week saw the kickoff of the 2015 ONEplace Nonprofit Leadership Academy (ONLA) with a bakers’ dozen of Kalamazoo County’s best and brightest nonprofit professionals taking part. ONLA consists of nine monthly day-long group sessions, one-on-one work with an executive director mentor, and other activities throughout the year.

If you lead, work in, or volunteer with nonprofit organizations in Kalamazoo County, you owe it to yourself and the nonprofits you serve to check out ONEplace@kpl. They are indeed a Game Changer for nonprofit organizations.

Stay Tuned

Paul

360 Assessments Underway

Conducting a 360 assessment process is an important part of each ONEplace Nonprofit Leadership Academy, and the data-gathering is well underway for the 2015 Academy group.

We’re using a pair of excellent multi-rater assessments, the Management-Leadership Practices Inventory (MLPI) and the Professional Communications Inventory (PCI) – [click here for more info]. Each Academy participant selects the 360 that best fits their situation and provides us with a list of people they want to ask for feedback. The scores are provided only to the Academy participant and individual rater’s responses are reported in aggregate, so confidentiality is assured throughout the process.

At the March session the group will receive the results of the assessment process. For many this will be the first time they’ve received this kind of feedback, and the enthusiasm within the group is pretty high.

When is the last time you got really honest feedback on what you do (and don’t do) as a professional?

Stay tuned,

Paul

What’s New in the 2nd Edition?

The 2nd Edition of The 8 Essential Skills for Supervisors and Managers contains several completely new chapters in addition to the many revisions and updates to existing material. We’ve added chapters on:

• Communicating in a Connected World – the growth of mobile computing allows many of us to work remotely from our “virtual” office nearly anywhere in the world. While that flexibility is wonderful, it also creates new challenges.
• Resolving Conflict – learning to resolve conflict successfully has to be part of the skill set for every supervisor and manager, regardless of the organization you work in. Ignoring conflict isn’t an option; you’ve got to deal with it!
• Diversity in the Workplace – the composition of the workforce has changed significantly in recent decades, and there is every reason to believe the workforce of tomorrow will be even more diverse.

You’ll also find a full Index as well as a Table of Cases in the Appendix of the 2nd Edition. Stay Tuned!

Paul

Revision Underway

Watch this space for news about the 2nd Edition of The 8 Essential Skills for Supervisors and Managers. We’ve added several new chapters as well as made significant revisions to content and cases. As with the 2010 edition the focus is on how we manage ourselves and each other in organizations. The 1st Edition has been adopted as a core resource by organizations of all types and sizes.

We’ll keep you posted on our progress and let you know when and how you can order the new edition.

Nonprofit Leadership Academy – Version 4

For the past three years I’ve been involved with the ONEplace Nonprofit Leadership Academy (ONLA) here in SW Michigan. This fantastic leadership development program is provided free of charge to the nonprofit community in Kalamazoo County through the generosity of local foundations. The 2015 version kicks off this month and promises to be exciting and innovative as we welcome a baker’s dozen of nonprofit managers. ONLA is always a great experience for the participants as well as for those of us involved in The Academy. Watch this space for more information as the process moves along.

In the meantime, take a few minutes to check things out at ONEplace@kpl.gov to see what’s going on in the nonprofit community. Thom Andrews and Lolita Moss do an outstanding job at ONEplace!