Joe’s Leadership Blog

Learn2Develop has some coaching tips for mentors/supervisors. He uses the GROW system (Goals, Reality, Options and What’s Next). I like the simplicity of the cycle, the fact that it pushes the mentee to come up with their own solutions and that it has a call to action. I think the key to this and any mentoring is the relationship. The reality step requires a coach who will have edge and help the mentee face the hard truths. Without this type of honesty, it is difficult to grow. If you care about the people you are coaching and mentoring, it is important to help them face the facts so that they can improve.

Categories: Leadership
Tags: coach, Leadership, Management and Supervision, mentor, Staff Development

Presentation Zen asks the question, Who Inspires You? I’ve been lucky enough to have many inspiring people in my life, particularly in these trying times.

My folks inspired me to help others (Mom was a teacher, Dad coached, both always looked out for those in need). I was inspired by the passion, creativity and humor of Mr. Sugarman (algebra) and Mr. Chicoine (calculus) who were a large part of the reason I became a math major in college. Ed Delaney inspired me to coach basketball with his enthusiasm and knowledge.

The staff at the Boys & Girls Club of Manchester has continuously inspired me since age 14. Brian Tremblay inspired me to break out of my shell and take chances, Dennis Stone and Ken Neil to be more fun and crazy with the kids at Camp, and Gary Frost to see that I could make a larger impact on kids as an administrator than doing direct program. Kurt Norris, Ron Hadorn, Mike Joyce, Lisa Bailey, Rick Metters, Rich Barrows and Romero Brown inspired me to have an impact beyond my community, to push boundaries and stretch for excellence.  Mario Pena, who founded a conference to help underrepresented teens get to college while he was still a junior at Daniel Webster College, inspires me to help more teens get to college.

Seth Godin inspired me to start this blog. Scott Zoback inspired me to start paying attention to local politics. My brother (and his family), Karen MacDonald, Corey Dantzler, Jenn Aldworth, Judi Kirk and Jesse Edwards inspire me to strive for work/life balance.

My favorite inspirations however, have been the teens and kids that I have had the joy to work with over the years, making it easy to get up every day. Whenever I wonder about all the stress and long hours, a trip downstairs or to one of our outreach sites provides all the inspiration I need to keep going.

What is the theme for all of these inspirational people from many different generations, careers, economic and social classes?  Passion, enthusiasm, creativity and purpose.

Who inspires you?  Let us know in the comments.

Categories: Leadership
Tags: creativity, inspiration, Leadership, passion, purpose

I’ve talked to a few friends who are interested to starting blogs. Here are some of the links I’ve found helpful. It isn’t as hard as it looks to do the basics. Just get started and let your voice be heard. It can always be dressed up later.  Content is what matters more than theme, layout or anything else.  If you like to write and have something to say, give it a shot.  Reading other people’s blogs and seeing their layouts is the best way to learn about blogging. The hardest think to learn is to keep it short. People skim on the web-so I’ll stop now. Please post any other links you found helpful in the comments.

Blog Getting Started Checklist

Blogging Starter Checklist on Squidoo

21 Surefire Tips for a Successful Blog Launch

101 Steps to Becoming a Better Blogger

Blogging Tips for Beginners

Top 30 Plug-ins for Wordpress

Hosting Comparison

Google Adsense

Feedburner

Add a Footer to Your RSS Feed

Google Analytics

Creative Commons

Categories: Technology
Tags: blog startup, blogging, start a blog

I just finished reading Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture.  One of his nuggets is that the best piece of advice for caregivers is given by airline attendants, “Put on your own oxygen mask before helping others.”  It’s something that folks in social services have to remember too.  I know many people (including the person who I see in the mirror every morning) who can get so focused on their work and their mission that they forget to take care of themselves.  It is a recipe for burn out.  Take the time for yourself.  You can help more people that way.

Categories: Leadership
Tags: burn out, health, randy pausch, work/life balance

One of the reasons I love working as a non-profit leader is that I am never bored.  Last night, within about a three hour time period, I picked up trash, did some writing, mingled with donors and board members, ate dinner with members, chased down a scholarship winner who was coming back from a college basketball game, unclogged a toilet, refilled toilet paper, gave a speech, dressed up as Santa and managed staff.

Last night was our Alumni Hall of Fame dinner and it is always a great night.  It highlights the long term good that we do (we inducted a Congressman, Police Chief, composer and Olympic gold medalist who grew up in the Club) as well as our current success (4 members were given college scholarships).  Our development staff does a great job making it a special night by paying attention to all the details.

This is my first post in a month or so.  I’ve been traveling and trying to have some balance in my life.  I should be posting more regulalry after Thanksgiving (and my 20 year high school reunion).

Categories: Leadership
Tags: Leadership, multitasking

I’ve been on vacation for the last week.  I really needed the break to clear my head.  This is the first vacation that I have done absolutely nothing work related since I’ve owned a cell phone.  No phone calls, didn’t check my e-mail, stop by the office to grab something-nothing.  I think that is due to the fact that I have started to learn how to truly delegate.  I think before I would delegate, but hold back pieces, which meant that they couldn’t function without me.  Hopefully, this is a trend and will continue to lower my stress level (which has been going down rapidly since June).  I had  a great week.  Rather than go to a beach or someplace, I connected with a number of people I hadn’t seen in a while and took a couple of short trips to Cooperstown, the Patriot’s Hall of Fame and Providence.  I’m supposed to finish by playing golf tomorrow with one of my mentors, but may get rained out.

I should be back to more regular blogging early next week.

Categories: GTD
Tags: energy, GTD, vacation

One of the cornerstones of most time management philosophies is to capture information and next actions in order to eliminate the panicky feeling of “what am I forgetting?” Mike St. Pierre has a good article on Open Loops. Some of his suggestions (you should read the whole post):

1. Keep a capture tool with you at all times. A PDA, small notebook (my favorite- a $.99 notebook from Staples!) or pad of paper will do the trick. If you need to remember it, write it down. Don’t trust your memory- write it down.

2. When around those who have a habit of putting up with open loops, move them towards next action steps. Ask, “What’s the next action on that?” You could also ask, “What can we do today to keep that project moving forward?”

3. Set a good example. You don’t have to be perfect but consistency is a must. Practice your weekly review. Get things out of your head and be a person of action.

I really like using outlook tasks to help with this. I have it set up so just tasks due today pop up. The weekly review gets easier the more often you do it. The hardest part is being honest with how much you can actually get done each day I used to spend half the night worrying about what I had to do and if I would remember critical tasks. . I sleep much better now that all my tasks are in one place and updated regularly. How do you keep loops closed?

Categories: GTD
Tags: capture, GTD, open loops

Michael Wade at Execupundit talks about work patterns with his post Burst vs. Flow. There is some good info in the comments as well. I agree with him that we are more effective at getting tasks done at different points in the day. The key is to try to schedule the burst times when we feel we can avoid interruptions and to plan on checking e-mail etc. when the energy has passed. When you need a burst and are low on energy, try to schedule something that will give you emotional energy prior to the scheduled task. For me, that is checking in with staff or interacting with kids at the Club. How does this concept fit into your workday?

Categories: GTD
Tags: GTD

Tired of talking to machines when going for customer service? I find the companies that do the best job of keeping customers talking to a machine are the communication companies (phone, cell phone, internet, cable etc.). Now you can Dial-a-Human! They have the right codes to get you to a live person as quickly as possible. What a great idea. I can’t wait to try it out.

Tech Soup is not only a source of cheap software for non-profits, they have some great information for everyone. I just found some good free Photo Manipulation tools on their blog which is ideal timing as we are getting ready to put a lot of our organizations photos on the web.

Categories: Technology
Tags: customer service, Non-Profit, photography, Technology

Execupundit notes that Alabama is the first state to charge a higher health insurance rate to employees who are overweight. I can see the reasoning behind it, but I’d rather see rewards for being healthy (i.e. a discounted rate for every with a BMI (Body Mass Index) under xxx , loss of x pounds, lowering your cholesterol or going to the gym at least x times a year). They could be fact checked with Dr.’s records etc. I would imagine insurance companies could figure out what discount still allows them to save money due to improved health. Some would call it discrimination, but my feeling is that for the vast majority of people, being overweight or not exercising is a choice. I’m a big guy, but that’s because I had bad habits for a number of years (drinking too much coke, late night fast food and not enough exercise).  All choices made by me. It’s hard to change them and will probably take a number of years to counteract them.  My brother has the exact same genes and he’s in great shape, so I have no excuses. I think an economic incentive (rather than the punishment that Alabama is using) would be much more effective than banning trans fats etc. With the rising costs of health care, I think we need to look at all options. Has anyone else seen much of this in the HR world?

Categories: Leadership
Tags: health, HR, incentives, insurance