As part of our train-the-trainer program at Marlboro College, we offer shadowing opportunities for participants. They join a faculty member for a workshop or facilitated meeting, observe what happens, and then we talk about it. Before a recent gig, one of the students surprised me with a question – one that I don’t consider very often … [Read more...]
Five options for board orientation
Joining a board without a proper welcome and relevant education is like landing in a foreign country without a map or any knowledge of the local language and customs. You might find yourself at your first meeting, trying to decipher strange acronyms or wondering why everyone is giggling at jokes you don’t understand. Lacking a … [Read more...]
It’s all about implementation
How many times have you participated in a really productive learning experience – a class, workshop, or webinar – and thought to yourself, “This is terrific stuff. I’m going back to work and I’ll start using it immediately.” And then you didn’t. Why not? Let us count the ways: lack of buy-in from peers, unexpected deadlines, … [Read more...]
Fundraising Therapy, Part 1 – Getting Over the Fear of Fundraising
Are you afraid of fundraising? How about your board – when it’s time to raise money, do they run away? As a fundraising trainer and consultant, this is my biggest challenge: many people are frightened of fundraising. If you ignore or avoid this “fear factor” – especially during your year-end fundraising push – you’ll miss … [Read more...]
What You Can Learn by Training Trainers
When was the last time you spent a year planning something – and then launched it? If you felt that unique combination of excitement, anxiety, satisfaction, and relief, then you’ll understand what I was experiencing a week ago. Last Monday, we rolled out the brand-new Training, Facilitation, and Consulting Certificate Program – a … [Read more...]
Hiring a consultant? How be a savvy consumer
Do you need help? Silly question … who doesn’t? As the gig economy expands, many nonprofits and businesses are turning to consultants and contractors to help with a variety of tasks, and to supplement staff capacity. For example, I’m recruited as a consultant to train board and staff members, lead community workshops, … [Read more...]
Board Fundraisers — What’s on the Menu?
Have you ever spent time with a three-year-old child? As a parent, grandparent, sibling, babysitter, teacher…whatever your role. If the answer is “yes,” then you undoubtedly learned the following strategy. It’s not useful to ask a young child, “What socks do you want to wear?” Instead, you offer a specific, limited set of … [Read more...]
Graphic Facilitation 101: Telling Your Story Visually
For years, I’ve been fascinated by the work of graphic facilitators, thanks in large part to my friend Julie Stuart at Making Ideas Visible. If you can imagine capturing a meeting or planning session in a series of images – and using what you’ve captured to advance the conversation – you'll begin to understand the power of this … [Read more...]
Who is Your Board Fundraising Spark Plug?
Imagine the following scene. The lonely staff fundraiser – let’s call this person Executive Director or Development Director – sits alone in a very small room, thinking about a very large fundraising goal. “Hello, board!” the fundraiser cries out. “Are you there?” A long pause. Nobody answers. “We need to raise a lot of money. … [Read more...]
A Trainer’s Guide to Asking vs. Telling
I have a colleague – a thoughtful, compassionate consultant and educator – who loves to tell people what they need to know. Here’s the relevant research, my colleague says, clicking through the slide deck. Here are the trends. Here are the facts. Internalize this stuff. Use it to change your behavior. This is, after all, a … [Read more...]
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