In my work, I spend time with CEOs of professional societies and trade associations, helping them to find a way forward in the 21st century. It most often involves innovation, taking them beyond the status quo to create new ways of serving their members. In particular, I am interested in how these leaders, along with […]
Leadership – a Bigger Conversation Read More »
I’ve worked with many boards leading strategic planning retreats, professional development seminars, and grand challenge discussions. Some boards are high-functioning. Others are not. Through my work, I’ve identified four areas in which the most high-functioning boards excel, and each of the four areas is the responsibility of the organization’s CEO. If you are a CEO looking
Getting the Most from Your Board Read More »
Calvin Dove and I are pictured above. Calvin is the coffee roaster at Quartermaine’s, one of my hangouts here in Bethesda. I wrote my two last books in Quartermaine’s. Calvin and I often strike up a conversation while I am there. Yesterday we took some time out after he got off his shift to get
Day-to-day Friends Read More »
I’ve distilled the Visionary Leadership skillsets down to three super categories: Market awareness Association leadership Self-development Each of the three categories has its own set of skills. Today we will tackle, market awareness which includes: Detecting larger patterns Ecosystem leadership Systems thinking Identifying disruptions Detecting larger patterns is about noticing what’s going on in the
Market Awareness and Visionary Leadership Read More »
That’s me above telling an original story at Busboys and Poets just last month. I am a lover of a good story well told and enjoy listening as much as performing. I was fortunate to contribute to the investigation of storytelling as a serious business tool during my time at the World Bank. Through a
The Power of Storytelling Read More »
The 20 years I’ve worked with visionary leaders has led to the identification of a core set of competencies found in the most successful executives. Customized to leading in the association space, these ten competencies fit into three categories: Market Awareness Eco-system leadership Systems thinking Identifying disruptions Detecting larger patterns Association Leadership Reframing obstacles as
Visionary Leadership Self-assessment Read More »
One of the things I love about my work is that I get to spend time with groups of professionals designing and executing “Grand Challenges,” those big, bold goals that leverage expertise and experience, combining it with partners from other organizations, and using it to make a positive contribution to the world. This work fills
Harnessing Your Enthusiasm Read More »
A special thank you and shout out to Henry Chamberlain, CEO of the Building Owners and Managers Association International for his willingness to let me draw from our experience as we prepared for a portfolio review, including the potential of sunsetting existing programs. Portfolio evaluation is always a challenging exercise. BOMA’s new strategic plan
Portfolio Evaluation Read More »
I am in Madison, Wisconsin, where I lived from 3-5 years of age. Of course, the world looks different from a toddler’s point of view than an adult’s. I remembered the Paul Bunyan (an American folk myth, for my non-US readers) murals in the student union, and especially the one where his dog is running
An association’s social systems include all the constellations of people who work together to achieve the organization’s objectives. There are two things leaders can do to optimize social systems. First, remember these groups are people. People who need to be appreciated and need the positive feedback required to make them rise up, become enthusiastic and
Optimizing Your Social Systems Read More »
