The role of an Executive Director is to acquire and husband all the resources of an organization, so those resources can best serve the mission. These resources may be dollars, good will, facilities or, most importantly, the people who are making a difference.[…]

Ahh, the glorious feeling of looking at the month after next on your calendar and seeing whole empty days. How easy it is to be magnanimous and say “yes” when asked to take on a job that isn’t due for two months. So we say “yes,” and put it on the calendar. When another someone asks us to do something in the future, we again check our calendar, see that it’s still pretty empty, and again say “yes.” This happens a few more times, and all of a sudden, the 1st week in December starts looking pretty[…]

Life is like a “choose your own adventure” book.With each choice we make, our adventure changes. With one big difference. In a “choose your own adventure” book, we don’t know where the decisions will lead us (unless we look at the end). But in real life, we’re pretty good at anticipating consequences – if we think of it. It’s one of the things that makes us human. Consider – if you look backward, you can probably describe the path that led you to live where you live, work where you work, love[…]

When you travel from New York to London, the shortest flight is about 6 hours and 45 minutes. When you return, the shortest flight is an hour longer. Flying east, we have tailwinds helping us along. Flying west, we’re pushing against headwinds.Every time we make a plan, we’re also making assumptions. Some assumptions are simple and pretty universal – we all experience headwinds and tailwinds in flight.But other times we are making assumptions based on our own experiences, sometimes unaware of[…]

Do your board members feel responsible to one another?Responsible to the organization should be a given. But do the board members feel responsible to each other?On two recent occasions, I asked board members of very different organizations“What does it look like when you feel engaged?” “What actions do engaged board members take?”Both groups generated long lists of excellent responses. Perhaps you see yourself in these:  They are reflective / evaluative Work where help is needed […]

The following post on nonprofit strategic planning was written by Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultant Susan Detwiler and is part of our “Ten Years of Advancing Excellence” blog series, celebrating ten years of the Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultant program. A seasoned consultant, Susan Detwiler specializes in working with nonprofit boards and administration. She is a catalyst for boards in transition, aligning governance, resource development and planning with values and[…]