How to Build Partnerships That Last

If your nonprofit or social impact organization is considering working with potential partners, keep in mind that partnership opportunities can range from cooperation or collaboration through full integration or merger. It’s important that you and your Board first clarify your rationale for seeking out partnering organizations. By doing so, you will help to ensure greater strategic alignment with any organization you choose to approach.

Once you’ve determined your reasoning to establish a partnership with another organization, it’s important to fully engage your partner – create explicit opportunities for both organizations to contribute to development of ideas and solutions, and participate in decision-making processes. Moreover, realize that building partnerships can take time. It would not be unusual for you to call and exchange information for months before a new partnership yields tangible results, such as funding for a joint project.

The most successful and long-term partnerships are the ones that involve a real relationship between the partnering organizations. Passion for the mission and commitment to mutual benefit are key factors. From our consulting work with nonprofit and social impact organizations, we have identified Top 3 Partnership Success Factors:

• Executive involvement (senior leadership and/or executive “champions”)
• Strong working relationships
• Strong board involvement

These factors often lead to the preservation of relevant services or programs, improved image or reputation, and greater long-term financial stability. Furthermore, if mutual gains are identified at the onset of the partnership, this can result in better organizational and program alignment.

To learn more about how to assess new partnership opportunities for your organization or strengthen your existing partner relationships, contact me HERE. This article is a summary of my recent workshop at The Foundation Center in conjunction with Nonprofit Specialists on the same subject.

How to Communicate for Impact: Share Your Ideas & Be Understood

In communication, many disagreements are caused by different perceptions that created different realities. It can be very frustrating thinking that you have said or done the “right thing” only to find that the person you’re communicating with doesn't see it in the same way. The good news is that when you know your own priorities, and recognize the other person’s priorities, you can reduce miscommunication and develop more productive relationships.

Everyone has a dominant priority system and communication style – behaviors that we’re more comfortable with, and use most frequently. People tend to prioritize their world based on a combination of four primary priority systems (or priosys®):

1. Process-Oriented
2. Results-Oriented
3. Relationship-Oriented
4. Recognition-Oriented

Once you understand these perspectives, it becomes much easier to recognize the associated behaviors in other people. To build rapport and facilitate better communication, you can flex your communication style and adapt your priorities to more closely align with those of the other person.

This will help to make interactions more comfortable for them – which might be counter-intuitive to how you may have previously approached communication; e.g., how can I get the other person to change? To be clear, communication style flex and priority adaptation suggests changing HOW you communicate – not suppressing your point of view, nor avoiding difficult conversations.

To learn more about how to flex your communication style or better understand priority systems (e.g., take the priosys® online assessment) contact me HERE. This article is a summary of my recent workshop for the Bergen County Professional Women's Network (BCPWN) on the same subject.

How Co-Founder or Team Conflict Isn't as Bad as You Think

How often have you put your best foot forward only to have it stomped on by someone?

There you are, every day, with so many people making demands on you:

• Team members looking to you for answers you aren't always sure of
• Clients thinking only of what they want and not of you really at all
• Founders or senior leaders challenging you with increasingly demanding expectations

Then, there is everyone else, who needs something -- usually sooner than you are able to easily provide it. And, there you are S-Q-U-E-E-Z-E-D in the middle, being pressed on all sides…

It can be very frustrating thinking that you have said or done the right thing only to find that the other person doesn't see it that way. When the other person doesn't respond in the same way as you would, it's irritating and can cause lots of anxiety. And, this anxiety can affect your ability to be most effective at what you're creating.

It leads us to one overriding fact … work relationships are confusing! [Don't even get me started on personal relationships!]

But, what if it could be different?

PRIOSYS® on Vimeo.

When there is team conflict or a lack of rapport with a colleague, we tend to get judgmental. We begin to presume things about the other person. Instead of remaining open minded, we tend to close ourselves to other perspectives.

What if, instead, you viewed team conflict or lack of rapport as an OPPORTUNITY to see issues from perspectives other than your own? 

We all manage our everyday demands differently depending on our priorities -- what we feel to be important at that time. 

If you could figure out how to quickly recognize and adapt to your team members’ priorities, you would be less frustrated when communicating, and more able to overcome your differences. IMAGINE what that would do for your own productivity (and sanity) ... not to mention the productivity and camaraderie of your team. 

How much more could you create and innovate with that level of morale? 

"If two people on the same team agree all the time, then one is useless.  If they disagree all the time, then both are useless." -- Darryl Zanuck

Share your comments and questions below. Or, contact me if you're ready to get started and would like a demo of priosys®.

What are the Top Qualities of a Senior Leadership Team?

In this NEW video -- one of a series of six videos I've produced on Teamwork & Motivation -- I share the top 6 characteristics I feel are important for senior leaders like you to develop as you lead your companies and teams into the New Year and today's ever-changing marketplace.

Qualities of a Senior Leadership Team

• Which qualities are most relevant to you? 
• Did you learn these traits 'on-the-job' or acquire them in other ways? 
• What was the most challenging characteristic for you to develop? 

Let me know your thoughts and experiences here in the comments or tweet me on Twitter.

Startup Founders Get Lean in Sydney

The past few months, I've had the pleasure of planning, organizing, and launching the second Lean Startup Machine Workshop in Sydney, Australia! The 3-day workshop was held 19-21 April at Fishburners, a local co-working and tech start-up space.

Now that I've recovered from my jet lag, I thought I'd share an inside perspective on what it can take to truly test your start-up or business idea BEFORE writing a line of code, or buying any inventory, or hiring your first person, or ... you get the idea. Here's a sample of what went down ... down under!

The Stats

• 56 entrepreneurs
• 20 mentors
• 10 ideas
• 5 speakers
• 5 judges 
• 2 winning teams who benefited from over $2,500 in prizes

The Story

We started on Friday evening with the high energy of ideas being pitched and teams being formed -- 20 app, product, and service ideas were culled down to 10 teams based on group voting. 

Natasha, Pascale & Coach Colette

Lessons from launching successful start-ups were shared in our Fireside Chat by Sydney entrepreneurs Pascale Helyar-Moray (founder StyleRocks) and Natasha Rawlings (co-founder StreetHawk App & Springboard Australia member).

Teams spent the remainder of Friday night beginning to define their problem and customer hypotheses, and initial customer assumptions using the Validation Board.

By Saturday morning, 10 teams had become 9 as one team of three people disbanded because a team member decided not to return to the workshop. Just like in the real world, when you think you've got everyone on board, someone jumps overboard; and then you have to either reiterate, pivot, or (in this case) abandon ship.

We encouraged teams to spend the majority of Saturday 'getting out of the building' to have real conversations with real potential customers. Teams begin to learn that their ideas are essentially useless until they're validated (or invalidated) by customers who are actually living/dealing with the problem. 

My 'Saturday-tough-love' coaching to any team who was resisting going out and yet still struggling to find "the 'right' answer" was: "You're not going to find it in here standing in front of the board, talking to yourselves. Get out there and ask some more people some more questions!"

Sebastien Eckserley-Maslin on Customer Dvpt

Hamish Barney on MVPs

Shihab Hamid on Landing Pages

Lean Sydney 2013 Mentors

In addition to hands-on coaching from me and our 20 mentors, teams heard relevant presentations on customer development, building MVPs, and launching landing pages to solidify their understanding of Lean methodology.

The Breakthrough

On Saturday night, the energy was much lower as many teams seemed frustrated by the feedback they were receiving from target customers. Perhaps their perceived problem wasn't really a problem at all, or maybe it wasn't an urgent problem that their proposed customers cared enough about to solve. These are not uncommon experiences for an entrepreneur -- it just doesn't often happen in a 24-hour period!

How an entrepreneur responds to this feedback is crucial: do you continue to hold onto your idea (e.g., it's such a great idea, and did I tell you how I came up with it) or do you listen to your customers? We witnessed this struggle through Sunday morning, until some of the teams had the breakthrough as described below:

".. we stopped trying to change the customer to fit [our] solution (wasting time), and started ACTUALLY looking for [their] pain points." 

The Finale
On Sunday, it was all about making last iterations and pivots; and collecting data from online MVPs and landing pages to find out how much validation (e.g., signups, pledges, and/or letters of intent) each team had gained.

We told the teams how they could win Lean Sydney 2013 -- by sharing their findings in a short, yet compelling presentation that demonstrated how they apply the methodology and validated (or invalidated) their key assumptions.

Tom Frazier on Pitching Tips

Our Lean Sydney 2013 judging panel included renowned Sydney entrepreneurs Jodie Fox (founder Shoes of Prey) and Matt Barrie (founder Freelancer.com), and Lean Sydney 2012 founder James Nathan (Food Orbit).

And, the winners were .... @pixcapp (helping online retailers create better images) and GoTix (helping business travelers find last-minute tickets to shows and sporting events). The grand prize included a cloud hosting package from Ninefold, marketing plan consultation, and free desk space at The Hive (co-working space at Pollenizer).

To practice what I'm preaching, here's feedback from one of the attendees to validate the value of the Lean Startup Machine workshop experience:

"It teaches you really good techniques for validating business ideas, so you can see if you have a valid business before wasting lots of money on it building a solution."

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Sydney -- getting to know the start-up ecosystem there, and seeing a bit of the city. I'll share more about my personal adventures in Oz soon!

NEW Podcast: Find a Business Partner Who Won't BLEEP You

So, you've probably figured out that in today's New Normal you can't do it all alone. Whether you're seeking to advance your professional career, expand your business, or launch your new "side hustle," building relationships is crucial to your future success and sustainability. Your ability to develop strategic alliances and identify new partners will determine how well you're able to enter new markets and industries, find new opportunities, and really stay afloat.

In business (as in life), relationship building can be a tricky process. We know when it works, you can't wait for the next project or opportunity to work together! And, when it doesn't work, you can't wait for the project to end - hoping never to work with that person again! We've all been there - it all sounded great in the beginning ... but somehow, things changed and what you THOUGHT was going to happen, didn't. And, now you're left wondering how you got there in the first [*!#] place.

The trick with business relationships: How can you find a partner who won't [BLEEP] you?! 

In this podcast, you'll hear my discussion with Nina Kaufman, owner of Ask the Business Lawyer, and author of The Entrepreneur's Prenup: How to Choose a Business Partner Who Won't [BLEEP] You. Nina is an award-winning business attorney, sought-after professional speaker and online columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine.

From our conversation, you'll learn how to select the right alliance partners, and when you should have written agreements. You'll also gain some tips on how to avoid the emotional and financial pitfalls of doing business with a friend or family member. In the end, ideally, you each want to be able to benefit from the other's skills, talents, resources and connections. In life, there are no guarantees; but we hope this podcast may help you save some time and aggravation.

Take a listen, and let me know what you think. Have YOU ever been [BLEEPED] by a business/alliance partner? Share your comments and BLEEP experiences here -- or tweet me on Twitter.

Coach Colette Offers FREE Strategy Coaching in October

In 2010, I’ve focused on helping you define your key priorities, implement your SMART goals and stay motivated in today’s New Normal. As you know, I’ve offered a series of FREE quarterly events (two teleseminars and one webinar) to help you and your team Bring Your Future into Laser Focus. The next seminar was originally scheduled for Thursday, September 30. Since I know it’s been a challenging year for many of us, I’ve decided to sweeten the deal and give you even more personalized help.

To help you kick start your 4th Quarter results, finish the year and exceed even your own expectations, I’ve decided to replace the September seminar and instead offer FREE one-on-one 30 minute laser coaching sessions! You should sign up if you are a CEO, CFO, Executive Director, Board Chair, or any Team Leader who is responsible for bringing in revenues, setting organizational priorities, or managing strategic projects.

Sign up for your Bring Your Future into Laser Focus individual strategy coaching session so that you can:

• Create a crystal-clear vision for the business results and revenue goals you will achieve in the 4th quarter
• Uncover hidden challenges that may be sabotaging your success in achieving these goals
• Identify ONE task you can execute right after the session that will bring you immediate, positive results
• Leave the session renewed, re-energized and inspired to share your vision, and encourage active participation and ownership by all team members in your collective success

Being clear on your vision will improve your productivity, morale, and motivation so you'll able to pull your team together to meet current challenges (e.g., higher expectations, tighter budgets and fewer resources, increased need to integrate systems and teams).

If you’re serious about making some real headway for you and your team as the economy rebounds in 2011, sign up for your FREE Bring Your Future into Laser Focus individual coaching session TODAY! I have a limited number of spaces for individual coaching sessions that will begin on Monday, October 4, 2010.

Dealing with Change in the New Normal

As we wind down the summer and gear up for fall, I thought I'd share a mini case on how my team has been helping our public sector clients manage and respond to changes this year -- in the New Normal.

 

CLIENT SITUATION: Here are some challenges faced by our client, a collective of multi-site human service organizations:

• Budget and funding allocation modifications are causing changes in programming, staffing and Center operations
• Centers will need support and oversight from active, capable board leaders who can implement changes successfully
• Centers will need directors who can capitalize on opportunities to collaborate with new partners and seek out new sponsors and financial support

OUR RESPONSE: Here is how we responded to their situation:
 
Center Directors and Board Leaders participated in a 2-day Leadership Training designed and facilitated by InStep consultants that focused on Dealing with Change, Project Planning and Board Governance. The training included visioning exercises, goal setting and action planning. Initial feedback after training indicates that 94% of participants felt very or well prepared to develop a strategic vision and successfully manage changes at their organization (compared to 48% before training). As suggested by one of the training participants: “The training show[ed us] that weaknesses will be[come] strengths after implementing the changes necessary to become a successful agency.”

 

A subset of the training participants also took part in four, 3-hour Group Coaching sessions led by InStep consultants over a 9-week period. These sessions helped participants build upon skills they gained in training, and get timely input on their specific issues and new challenges that surfaced since the training. Upon completion, 77% found the additional coaching to be helpful towards achieving the goals they'd identified at the start of the program. More than half were able to accomplish between 75% and 100% of those goals over the 9-week coaching period.

 

As one group coaching participant remarked: "I have learned to focus on one particular task, as well as seeking assistance from the people around me. I have learned to become more verbal and take the role of the leader - gained confidence as tasks or targets were completed."

For me, personally, I enjoyed watching all the light bulbs go off -- that's how I describe the "A-HA!" moments that happen in group coaching or training sessions. Often, those bright ideas surfaced from peer learning as the participants engaged in dialogue and shared similar experiences. I sometimes witnessed reduced anxiety merely from recognition of "I'm not alone" in certain circumstances.

Was it "perfect"? No transformation ever is -- it's an ongoing process. Will they still experience challenges going forward? Absolutely! Hopefully, they will refer back to techniques for dealing with change from their training or coaching experience (e.g., their ideal vision) to help propel them forward when times get tough.

How are you and your organization dealing with change in the New Normal? How are you keeping all team members informed and aligned with your vision -- even as you may need to flex or adapt to our evolving environment? Post your comments here, or tweet me your thoughts on Twitter.

How Do You Respond to Change?

One of my associates came across an interesting animation today from Movement Vision Lab on dealing with change -- and the power of having a clear vision.

Finding tips/strategies to manage and respond to change has been a frequent request from clients this year. So, I thought you also might find some value or insights in this brief video. You know, it might make you go, "Hmmmmm ...."



What are your thoughts, reactions? Can you recognize the various characters on your team? Comment here on the blog below or tweet me on Twitter @Coach_Colette.

Can You Make the Case for Diversity in the New Normal?

The team at InStep Consulting continues its focus on building sustainable teams -- this time, from a different perspective: Diversity.

We recognize that we're now living in the New Normal. Technology has changed nearly everything we do.


Budgets are tighter, time is tighter; and there's a growing need to integrate everything -- communications, knowledge, programs, systems, tools and TEAMS.

The New Normal requires that people work with each other -- perhaps in ways they haven't done so before. Even so, can you make the case for diversity in the New Normal?

If you're serious about making headway for your team this year, join Coach Colette Ellis and Tim Mulvaney on Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at 1:00 PM ET for an informative, FREE teleclass: Follow the Evidence: Make Your Case for Diversity in the New Normal.

Learn how to follow the evidence -- that is, not what you THINK about diversity, but what you can DEMONSTRATE or PROVE -- to create practical solutions that work for your team.

This teleseminar is based on models and strategies Tim and Colette pioneered as Adjunct Professors at New York University, for their graduate-level course: Managing Diversity - An Evidence-Based Approach.

Want to learn how to be a DSI -- a Diversity Scene Investigator? Then, register NOW and let Colette & Tim teach you how to Follow the Evidence!

Get Teambuilding Tips for the Tight Economy: March 30th

The team at InStep Consulting continues our focus on teams by offering free, quarterly teleseminars to help you define and execute your team's strategy. If you’re serious about continuing your team's progress in the tight economy, gather your core team members in the conference room and join other strategic leaders on Tuesday, March 30th at 1:00 PM EST for the next 2010 Team Visioning Event!

Here is a video that tells you a bit more about the session and why you should consider attending.




The energy on our January call was phenomenal! This time, we’ll be revisiting your key intentions and top priorities and checking on your progress on your SMART goals. We’ll also explore more ways to keep your team motivated and on-track, especially in a down economy.

As Napoleon Hill says, "A group of brains coordinated in a spirit of harmony will provide more thought energy than a single brain." So, register NOW to join us on March 30th at 1:00 PM EST and Bring Your Team's Future into Laser Focus!

Leaders: How Do You Keep Team Members Motivated & Engaged?

How do you keep your team members motivated and engaged? The question is an important one for team leaders and managers to consider, especially since U.S. job satisfaction is apparently at its lowest point in two decades. And, this employee dissatisfaction appears to go beyond the survivor guilt often associated with employees who observe their friends and colleagues lose their jobs.

Source:

I Can’t Get No...Job Satisfaction, That Is: America’s Unhappy Workers

Research Report #1459-09-RR

The Conference Board

I share this information not to alarm you, but to help you consider the potential impact on you and your team.

Here are two questions for you to consider as you refine your goals and priorities for this quarter and during the year:

• Do individual team member objectives align with the overall priorities? Identifying and mapping individual objectives to team/organizational goals can give team members a “line of sight” from their role and responsibilities to the greater purpose of the organization. It also helps to level-set expectations so that everyone is on the same page about what’s being expected.
• How do you reward performance? If your messaging indicates that achieving team goals are important, and yet your incentives tend to reward individual performers more, there could be a disconnect. This isn't to say that you shouldn't reward high-achievers; just make sure you're walking your talk and clearly communicating what are your performance expectations.

As a leader, one of your priorities might be to create the right environment for your members to succeed – and exceed their goals. My priority is to continue sharing compelling ideas and strategies to help you and your team to achieve sustainable results in 2010 and beyond.

I’d love if you would share your 2010 team building intentions with me. I've created a Team Building & Visioning Survey to understand which issues are most important to you as a leader. As a thank you for your input, I'll share a free recording of our last Laser Focus Team Visioning teleseminar. As always, post your comments here or tweet me @Coach_Colette.

Leaders Beware! Don't Let Key Intentions Disengage Your Team

I’ll bet you never thought that setting POSITVE intentions or defining POSITIVE values for your company or team could throw your employees/members off track. Well, the research proves that this can definitely be the case – if your team views your behavior as being inconsistent with those key intentions or values, or if your actions make you appear to be hypocritical.

Maybe it’s not “rocket science” per se; but I’ll admit to having a little “A-HA! Moment” as I read about the research conducted by Sandra Cha (McGill University) and Amy Edmonson (HBS). Their research was published in 2006 Leadership Quarterly: "When Values Backfire: Leadership, Attribution, and Disenchantment in a Values-Driven Organization." Yes, I know it’s been a few years; but I think it’s still valid.

What led me to this research today was an HBS Working Knowledge article Corporate Values and Employee Cynicism with a Q&A with the authors. Perhaps the article grabbed my attention given that I recently facilitated the Bring Your Future into Laser Focus! Team Visioning teleseminar designed to help teams set their key intentions and SMART goals for the year. And, now I’m hoping folks won’t get in their own way!

There’s a good chance that people who either participated in the session or who have downloaded the audio are on the right track given that we discussed the value in ensuring that your key intentions are:

• Aligned with your overall purpose and needs you’ve identified from your target market

• Valuable to provide the most impact in the most efficient ways

• Innovative, based on something new you’d like to offer or a new group you’d like to serve

One of the disconnects raised by Cha and Edmonson occurs when there is tension between stated intentions (or values) and the interpretation of those intentions (or values) by team members. For example: perhaps everyone on the team has reached agreement on the what [“We intend to provide a high level of customer service to all of our clients/customers regardless of the level at which they use our services/products.”]. Yet, maybe the team has yet to agree on the how – what it will mean to execute on and fulfill that intention. So, setting and agreeing to key intentions is only a first step; there also has to be dialogue between leaders and their teams, and decisions made on how key intentions will be fulfilled.

Another topic we discussed in the Team Visioning session was how to set SMART Goals that flow out of your key intentions. Another pitfall from the research to look out for is when goals (or values) seem to conflict with one another. Here, team leaders may need to give members some flexibility in how certain tasks are accomplished; or perhaps re-visit the “R” from SMART or the realistic nature of the task.

In the session, we also talked about the importance for leaders to be transparent with members about goals that may be considered stretch goals – targets that are outside the normal realm of how things are done. It’s great to help and encourage people to exceed targets. We also want to level-set expectations so everyone is on the same page about what’s being expected of them. No one likes to be set up to fail.

As a leader, one of your key intentions for 2010 might be to create the right environment for your members to succeed – and exceed their goals. One of my key intentions is to share compelling ideas and strategies to help you and your team to achieve sustainable results in 2010 and beyond.

I’d love if you would share your 2010 key intentions with me – either comment here or tweet me @Coach_Colette.

Does Your Team Have 20/10 Vision? FREE Teleseminar: January 28

I'm excited to announce that InStep Consulting is kicking off 2010 with fun, relevant programs. Our featured event this month is our upcoming FREE teleseminar on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 1:00 PM EST. It's a Team Visioning event called 20/10: Bring Your Future into Laser Focus!

In the teleseminar, you and your core team members will get help to:

• Clear the Deck and focus (like a laser) on your team’s TOP priorities
• Identify ONE thing you can do that day to help propel your team towards its most important goals
• Create a visioning tool that will keep your team motivated throughout the year to stay on track

I'm including a widget so that you can register online and also share the info with your core team members.

Now that you’ve had some time to catch up on things from the holiday and get a sense of what’s on your plate this year, there’s still time to Bring Your Future into Laser-Focus! Think of all the POSITIVE energy that will be created by having everyone on the line all being laser-focused on our top priorities and goals!

As suggested by motivational author, Napoleon Hill: "A group of brains coordinated in a spirit of harmony will provide more thought energy than a single brain."

I can't wait to speak with you and your team on January 28th at 1:00 PM EST!

Coach Colette Helps to Form Nonprofit Action Network

I'm delighted to let you know that my company, InStep Consulting LLC, has created an alliance with a diverse group of highly-skilled consultants called the Nonprofit Action Network. This multi-disciplinary group is dedicated to helping nonprofits address operational and funding challenges to achieve sustainability in 2010 and beyond.

Each of the 16 Nonprofit Action Network members brings a unique skillset and years of experience to our clients, having worked with over 370 different nonprofit organizations. Specific areas of expertise include:

• Brand Development
• Executive Coaching
• Financial Management & Fundraising Strategies
• Governance Training & Consulting
• Marketing Communications
• Organizational Development
• Planned Giving & Endowment
• Social Networking
• Website Design & Development

The Nonprofit Action Network works with clients on three distinct levels:

1. Providing individualized, direct services to create healthy, thriving nonprofits.
2. Assembling diverse teams to provide a multi-pronged approach to meet client needs.
3. Serving as thought leaders in our areas of expertise, advancing issues that are important and relevant to nonprofits through public speaking, articles and other media.

In addition to our own consulting practices, members of the Nonprofit Action Network are committed to making the world a better place. In 2009, we have proudly provided hundreds of hours of pro-bono services to the nonprofit community.

So, check us out online and meet the members of this fantastic new team! And, spread the word, if you know of nonprofit leaders who can benefit from our multifaceted expertise. Thanks!

85 Broads Goes the Extra Mile to Fight Breast Cancer

Yesterday was the Komen Greater NYC Race for the Cure. It was phenomenal to be in the company of survivors, family members and supporters of this cause. There were so many great people with great energy! Here's a brief update and photos from the day's festivities.

First, I'd like to send a huge THANK YOU to the team at Ducale restaurant on Columbus Avenue. They hosted our 85 Broads - Komen NYC team for a wonderful pre-race breakfast. As we were power walking, many members remarked about how great were the coffee and (fresh-squeezed) orange juice. Here are some team members at the breakfast.

Here's a group photo of the 85 Broads - Komen NYC team in front of Ducale before we made our way to the starting line.

THANK YOU to Krista for bringing the 85 Broads water bottles that kept many of us refreshed as we ran and power walked the Race!

And, I'm so excited to report that the 85 Broads - Komen NYC team has exceeded its fundraising goal of $3,500 USD! On behalf of the team, I'd like to send a big THANK YOU to all of our donors!! The great news is that we can continue to receive donations until October 31, 2009. I'd love to see us go the extra mile and raise $5,000 before then!

Because, TOGETHER, we WILL Run Breast Cancer out of Town!

My NEW NYU Faculty ID

I was pleasantly surprised today when I peeked at the photo on my new NYU ID and it didn't look like I'd just walked 15 blocks in 80+degree weather. Why did I walk so far to get a new NYU ID? Well, I've recently joined the adjunct faculty at NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service to teach a course on Managing Diversity this Fall!

The course, Managing Diversity - An Evidence-Based Approach will help build students' skills in diversity management and cultural competency. In this semester, the primary audience will be nurse leaders enrolled in the MS in Management program; although the course is open to other health policy students at Wagner as well. Specific topics will include: Strengthening Workforce Diversity; Expanding Diversity of Leadership Teams; and Culturally Proficient Healthcare.

I'll be facilitating classroom sessions with Tim Mulvaney, President of The Mulvaney Group, Inc. It will be cool to collaborate with him again, as we did for a few podcasts and his Courageous Conversations program.

I'm really excited to return to my alma mater in a teaching capacity! We've posted our syllabus online (access via my profile) and created our Blackboard page with the initial assignments. I'm looking forward meeting my students. Will keep you posted on how it goes and what compelling issues are surfaced.

Leadership Training Update: The Sagamore

I'm back in NYC after last week's library leadership training events at The Sagamore. The picture from the last post truly didn't do justice to the landscape and scenery. Here's a shout out to Shannon and the team at The Sagamore -- thanks for making PLA and our participants feel so welcome and special! I must admit that it was cool to be back in my home-state -- where my "Ellis, like the Island" introductory joke was met with at least a chuckle!

Once again, we had some rich discussions in my enhancing project leadership sessions. We discussed the challenges of being a team of one -- library leaders who manage the shop on their own. How can you create effective teams? How do you not burnout as you balance your many responsibilities?

I typically encourage them to think broadly about their potential team members -- volunteers, board members, trustees, students, et al. In many cases, a librarian has had an "a-ha" moment about someone to approach that s/he hadn't considered before. I also suggest they tap into the passions (WOW! Factors) of others when including people on projects -- assigning tasks that they will be excited and inspired to perform. I feel I can personally relate to their stories having founded my own practice/firm.

Even in the beginning, I spoke in terms of "we," even though I hadn't really established my network of associates and consultants. It was partially to create a more established business presence; however, it also helped me personally as it motivated me to find those team members so I wouldn't be working in a vacuum (and have to keep disguising my voice on the phone -- just kidding!). That's what makes this PLA project so fun for me (aside from the fun, "rowdy" librarians *smile*) -- the great people I get to work with on a weekly basis.

In the sessions, we did acknowledge that it can be difficult to delegate responsibilities to new team members once you've found them. Why? Because we become very efficient when we're a team of one. We figure out very creative ways to keep all of those (red, rubber) balls juggling in the air. What's wrong with that? Well, nothing -- except that your new team members may have their own ideas about how to "juggle" and perform their tasks. In the sessions, we discuss how important it is to set people up to succeed, by providing the right resources, training and support. And, also by getting out of their way when necessary -- giving them permission to do it their way. Is this always easy? Absolutely not! But, true leaders know this and they accept the responsibility.

So, I'm "off" from PLA until the end of the month. I'm looking forward to our next event in Hershey. Until then, I'll be getting ready for the GLF Retreat in St. Maarten!

On the Road Again: Training Update

I have a couple of days "down" time from traveling and I thought I'd post a few quick thoughts. BTW, it's really two days to catch up on calls, emails and laundry before hitting the road again on Sunday! I returned yesterday from Annapolis (sorry the pic was so dark) where I had a great time training a group of "rowdy" librarians -- their word, not mine ... I swear!

Thank goodness I've had the opportunity to train some energetic, enthusiastic and eager librarians and supporters over the past month. Because my travel delays have been incredible! It took me 6 hours to get to Annapolis on Tuesday -- waited at LaGuardia for almost 4 hours for a 1.5 hour flight! The reason shared by the airline -- no crew was available for my flight.

It's pretty ironic when I think of the project leadership session I lead for the librarians in which we discuss creating effective project teams. Now, if you're running an airline, wouldn't having sufficient, qualified crew members for each flight be at the top of your list??? Perhaps I'm being a bit simplistic. I understand the challenges of managing matrix organizations. However, when I (finally) arrived in Annapolis, my PLA colleagues told me they had a similar experience the night before -- a missing pilot! Does anyone else see a pattern here??

Last week, I was caught in the grounding of planes on my way back from Minneapolis and the PLA National Conference. It was pretty annoying to have to pay $75 to have the airline release my ticket so that I wouldn't spend 6.5 hours waiting for a flight that was sure to cancel. The most annoying part was that I'd left the event and missed the "spider web" closing activity with my team -- under the delusion that I could catch a midday direct flight back to New York. Yes, I know that leaders have to make the tough decisions based on the info they have available at the moment. It didn't make me feel any better, though.

I know that I'm a bit sensitive to this -- perhaps it's because my travel debacles have become one of the jokes amongst my PLA trainers and colleagues. I'm OK with the ribbing and teasing -- that's what friends do. I was concerned on Tuesday afternoon as my flight was further and further delayed that I'd miss our opening reception -- I really felt like I was on my way to a family reunion.

Well, on Sunday, I'm heading up to Bolton Landing, NY (outside Albany) -- on Amtrak! I figure that spending 2.5 hours on a train shouldn't be as bad as having another 1-hour flight delayed for a bunch of hours. Wish me luck! Our next two leadership training events are being held at the Sagamore Hotel. It will be great to meet some librarians and supporters from my home state!

Need Your Help: Wear PINK for a Cure!

Hi there, hope you had a FABULOUS weekend!

I'm writing to ask for your support of a worthy cause that has the potential to impact women around the globe. In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness month, I've created a Passionately PINK for the Cure team on behalf of my company, InStep Consulting. This can be a fun way to support research and education by the Komen Foundation -- especially if you are a fashionista! :)

All you have to do is pick one or more days during the month of October to wear PINK. For each day that you wear PINK, I'd ask that you donate at least $5.00 to our Passionately PINK for the Cure team.

Our site for donations is (paste the entire URL): http://www.komendonations.org/site/TR/Events/KomenTR?team_id=58260&pg=team&fr_id=1040 (or click on the icon on the right sidebar)

There are 31 days in October -- 31 chances to help find a cure! Thanks so much in advance!! :)
All my best, Colette