Is Your Staff Crumbling in 2021? With Fraying, We Must be Braiding
I have a feeling that many of us running summer camps have seen and experienced elements of this fraying — and practiced braiding — in the last month.
People are exhausted, mentally and physically. Expect the crumble. It’s coming, if it hasn’t already. Plan for the crumbling and consider new ways to braid people, yourself, and your community back together.
What have you learned? Leave a comment here.
I have a feeling that many of us running summer camps have seen and experienced elements of this fraying — and practiced braiding — in the last month.
People are exhausted, mentally and physically. Expect the crumble. It’s coming, if it hasn’t already. Plan for the crumbling and consider new ways to braid people, yourself, and your community back together.
What have you learned? Leave a comment here.
4 Expert Recommendations on Managing Gen Z in the Workplace
This article offers four practices for engaging and managing Gen Z in the workplace:
Keep things moving, and fast
Want their attention? Use visuals, not text
Keep your internal communications game strong
Offer workplace flexibility
Read the complete descriptions here. The article is two years old now, and doesn’t take into account the effects of the pandemic. What still rings true? What would you add?
This article offers four practices for engaging and managing Gen Z in the workplace:
Keep things moving, and fast
Want their attention? Use visuals, not text
Keep your internal communications game strong
Offer workplace flexibility
Read the complete descriptions here. The article is two years old now, and doesn’t take into account the effects of the pandemic. What still rings true? What would you add?
Centering BIPOC Voices: Preparing Camp for Summer 2021
On Monday, May 10th, from 1-3 pm ET OAAARS, and The Summer Camp Society will be hosting a panel of BIPOC camp leaders and youth workers who will have a conversation on what camp would look like if we centered BIPOC folks and the DEI work necessary to do so. This would be a great staff training tool to use for your upcoming orientations and staff training! If you want to learn more, please register here and we really hope to see you all there!
On Monday, May 10th, from 1-3 pm ET OAAARS, and The Summer Camp Society will be hosting a panel of BIPOC camp leaders and youth workers who will have a conversation on what camp would look like if we centered BIPOC folks and the DEI work necessary to do so. This would be a great staff training tool to use for your upcoming orientations and staff training! If you want to learn more, please register here and we really hope to see you all there!
Executive Director Coaching
ECCC is partnering with Bishop Brian Prior to offer an Executive Director Coaching Course. “Coach approach” leadership provides both focus and accountability. This ECCC Coaching Course is an opportunity for camp and conference center Executive Directors to work on their specific areas of desired growth, and acquire the fundamentals of coaching to use with their staff. We will learn together as a group while individual coaching will also be available. Please contact Patty if you are interested and would like more information.
ECCC is partnering with Bishop Brian Prior to offer an Executive Director Coaching Course. “Coach approach” leadership provides both focus and accountability. This ECCC Coaching Course is an opportunity for camp and conference center Executive Directors to work on their specific areas of desired growth, and acquire the fundamentals of coaching to use with their staff. We will learn together as a group while individual coaching will also be available. Please contact Patty if you are interested and would like more information.
Compassionate Communication Course
Wednesdays, April 14-May 5th, 10 am PT / 1:00 pm ET
Compassionate Communication teaches that when we are able to identify our unmet needs and express them in a healthy way we can improve our relationships. Likewise, being able to listen to others to understand what they need fosters deeper emotional connection.
This free course is led by UMCRM colleagues Rev. Todd Bartlett (OR-ID), who has studied Compassionate Communication for the last decade, and Rev. Jack Shitama (Pecometh, MD), who helps to synthesize the material with family systems theory to increase our capacity as non-anxious leaders. It will be hosted within The Non-Anxious Leader Network, a private forum created by Jack to help leaders grow together. Both the Network and the course are FREE. All sessions are recorded so you can access the material when it works for you. Sign up here
Wednesdays, April 14-May 5th, 10 am PT / 1:00 pm ET
Compassionate Communication teaches that when we are able to identify our unmet needs and express them in a healthy way we can improve our relationships. Likewise, being able to listen to others to understand what they need fosters deeper emotional connection.
This free course is led by UMCRM colleagues Rev. Todd Bartlett (OR-ID), who has studied Compassionate Communication for the last decade, and Rev. Jack Shitama (Pecometh, MD), who helps to synthesize the material with family systems theory to increase our capacity as non-anxious leaders. It will be hosted within The Non-Anxious Leader Network, a private forum created by Jack to help leaders grow together. Both the Network and the course are FREE. All sessions are recorded so you can access the material when it works for you. Sign up here
How to Be a Great Leader in Tough Times
Here’s an hour well-worth your time: Six questions from author Marshall Goldsmith that all great leaders must ask.
Here’s an hour well-worth your time: Six questions from author Marshall Goldsmith that all great leaders must ask.
How to manage up when your boss lacks self-awareness
If a leader doesn’t know how to use the collective intelligence of their employees, it can result in poor engagement, high turnover, and costly mistakes. This article outlines three ways you can help a leader with aunawareness become more in touch.
If a leader doesn’t know how to use the collective intelligence of their employees, it can result in poor engagement, high turnover, and costly mistakes. This article outlines three ways you can help a leader with aunawareness become more in touch.
How do households make giving decisions?
This new report — Women Give 2021: How Households Make Giving Decisions — from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy explores charitable giving decision-making in the general population. The report analyzes the first new data on this topic in 15 years, and finds that household giving dynamics are changing, with fewer couples making decisions jointly. For example: 61.5% of couples make giving decisions together – a decline from 73.4% in 2005.
This new report — Women Give 2021: How Households Make Giving Decisions — from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy explores charitable giving decision-making in the general population. The report analyzes the first new data on this topic in 15 years, and finds that household giving dynamics are changing, with fewer couples making decisions jointly. For example, 61.5% of couples make giving decisions together – a decline from 73.4% in 2005.
Leading Beyond the Blizzard: Why Every Organization Is Now a Startup
A long, worthwhile read, that’s (again) a year old.
Trust is the greatest resource in human society. Without trust, we relate as competitors and in a mindset of scarcity. With trust, we discover creative pathways that unlock abundance we could never have found on our own. All worthwhile human work and life takes place under an umbrella of trust or, to use the stronger biblical word, covenant — the shelter of mutual respect and love that forms a kind of canopy protecting us from the wild and dangerous world, making room for great acts of sacrifice and beauty.
There’s a follow-up, too, which offers a roadmap for “redemptive leaders seeking to survive the winter by building for the ice age. These summarize the counsel we’re giving to (and learning from) the hundreds of business and nonprofit entrepreneurs in our community and beyond:”
Embrace your role.
Maximize your runway.
Prototype in sprints.
Organize for resilience.
Lead by naming.
Design for a different future.
A long, worthwhile read, that’s (again) a year old.
Trust is the greatest resource in human society. Without trust, we relate as competitors and in a mindset of scarcity. With trust, we discover creative pathways that unlock abundance we could never have found on our own. All worthwhile human work and life takes place under an umbrella of trust or, to use the stronger biblical word, covenant — the shelter of mutual respect and love that forms a kind of canopy protecting us from the wild and dangerous world, making room for great acts of sacrifice and beauty.
There’s a follow-up, too, which offers a roadmap for “redemptive leaders seeking to survive the winter by building for the ice age. These summarize the counsel we’re giving to (and learning from) the hundreds of business and nonprofit entrepreneurs in our community and beyond:”
Embrace your role.
Maximize your runway.
Prototype in sprints.
Organize for resilience.
Lead by naming.
Design for a different future.
Registration is Now Available for the Compass Points Classes in September
The certificate program courses that were scheduled for April will now be held on September 12-18. Pilgrim Center in Wisconsin will be the host site for the Articulating Our Mission, Role, and Value course and the Nonprofit Business Management course, which will be offered back to back. Only seven rooms remain, so please register as soon as possible. You can learn more about the program and these courses by going to www.compasspointsprogram.org.
The certificate program courses that were scheduled for April will now be held on September 12-18. Pilgrim Center in Wisconsin will be the host site for the Articulating Our Mission, Role, and Value course and the Nonprofit Business Management course, which will be offered back to back. Only seven rooms remain, so please register as soon as possible. You can learn more about the program and these courses by going to www.compasspointsprogram.org.
Demonstrating appreciation to employees
We’ve shared resources before around the 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace; similar to the 5 Love Languages, this is a tool for communicating with people in the ways that connect and are meaningful for them. This quick video talks about how to be effective with communicating appreciation to employees, in a world where 56% of senior managers think they are, and yet only 12% of employees feel appreciated.
We’ve shared resources before around the 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace; similar to the 5 Love Languages, this is a tool for communicating with people in the ways that connect and are meaningful for them. This quick video talks about how to be effective with communicating appreciation to employees, in a world where 56% of senior managers think they are, and yet only 12% of employees feel appreciated.
Leading during Crisis: Building the Airplane While Flying It
This article from the American Camp Association offers six components of leading during a crisis: Effective leaders:
Take action
Adapt
Communicate effectively
Focus on the positive
Practice self-care
Analyze and adjust
This article from the American Camp Association offers six components of leading during a crisis: Effective leaders:
Take action
Adapt
Communicate effectively
Focus on the positive
Practice self-care
Analyze and adjust
How to be Angry
Like any emotion, [anger] includes a physiological response (including increased heart rate and muscle tension), typical thoughts (such as blaming others or wanting revenge), and predictable behaviour (such as a desire to lash out either verbally or physically). Importantly, even though there is often a desire to act in this way, most people don’t.
This article on Psyche.com includes three steps for understanding and using your anger productively.
Like any emotion, [anger] includes a physiological response (including increased heart rate and muscle tension), typical thoughts (such as blaming others or wanting revenge), and predictable behaviour (such as a desire to lash out either verbally or physically). Importantly, even though there is often a desire to act in this way, most people don’t.
This article on Psyche.com includes three steps for understanding and using your anger productively.
How to Lead When Your Team Is Exhausted — and You Are, Too
It feels like the whole world is tired. Even though the vaccine shines a light at the end of the tunnel, the home stretch will be long and perhaps take a greater toll on our professional and personal lives than we expect it to.
To move through the second wave successfully, leaders need to reexamine their personal resilience and that of their team members: the ability and strength to overcome obstacles, bounce back, and recover in the face of challenges. How strong are you under pressure? How quickly do you bounce back from defeat?
Most importantly: How can you find the mental strength to lead through the last mile?
It feels like the whole world is tired. Even though the vaccine shines a light at the end of the tunnel, the home stretch will be long and perhaps take a greater toll on our professional and personal lives than we expect it to.
To move through the second wave successfully, leaders need to reexamine their personal resilience and that of their team members: the ability and strength to overcome obstacles, bounce back, and recover in the face of challenges. How strong are you under pressure? How quickly do you bounce back from defeat?
Most importantly: How can you find the mental strength to lead through the last mile?
How to Balance Hard Work & Pleasure for Happiness
There are two kinds of happy people: Some of us strive for a virtuous life. Others strive for a pleasant one. We could all use a better balance.
(It’s a long read, but interesting!)
There are two kinds of happy people: Some of us strive for a virtuous life. Others strive for a pleasant one. We could all use a better balance.
(It’s a long read, but interesting!)
How to set clear work boundaries — and stick to them
Even though switching off can feel counterproductive, it’s playing the long game.There needs to be space between the occupancy of self and work. Taking the breaks we’re entitled to is a good way to have respite and create space — the coffee breaks, the lunch breaks, the vacation time and (if we’re unwell) sick leave. Creating space by taking breaks doesn’t mean that we’re no longer passionate, dedicated or motivated — it simply increases our capacity to keep harnessing our passion, dedication and motivation.
Keep reading, excerpted from the new book Making Space: How to Live Happier by Setting Boundaries That Work for You by Jayne Hardy.
Even though switching off can feel counterproductive, it’s playing the long game.There needs to be space between the occupancy of self and work. Taking the breaks we’re entitled to is a good way to have respite and create space — the coffee breaks, the lunch breaks, the vacation time and (if we’re unwell) sick leave. Creating space by taking breaks doesn’t mean that we’re no longer passionate, dedicated or motivated — it simply increases our capacity to keep harnessing our passion, dedication and motivation.
Keep reading, excerpted from the new book Making Space: How to Live Happier by Setting Boundaries That Work for You by Jayne Hardy.
19 Things Emotionally Intelligent People Do
Emotions can cause us to make a split-second decision, with consequences that will follow us for the rest of our lives. At times, they make us feel like we're stuck in a black hole with no way out--even if in the eyes of the rest of the world we've got it made. But they can also provide light at the end of the tunnel, making the most dire of circumstances more bearable.
It is for all these reasons that emotional intelligence is so invaluable.
Read 19 ways to learn and practice emotional intelligence here.
One potential pandemic upside: Performance reviews are getting simpler
One question that came up in our ECCC Community Check-In last week (happening weekly on Mondays at 1pm PT/4pm ET) was: How are people doing employee reviews this year?
One question that came up in our ECCC Community Check-In last week (happening weekly on Mondays at 1pm PT/4pm ET) was: How are people doing employee reviews this year?
How to tackle the monsters holding you back from being a good leader
Unacknowledged fear can turn us into unconscious leaders:
It’s hard to recognize in others what we don’t first see in ourselves. As we practice becoming more self-aware through conscious self-exploration, we will find it easier to see into others deeply and with precision. We may even find ourselves identifying others’ unconscious motivations before they do.
Self-awareness is critical in the workplace because it allows us to make smarter hiring decisions, nominate stronger leaders, and serve as empathic and inspirational mentors.
Unacknowledged fear can turn us into unconscious leaders:
It’s hard to recognize in others what we don’t first see in ourselves. As we practice becoming more self-aware through conscious self-exploration, we will find it easier to see into others deeply and with precision. We may even find ourselves identifying others’ unconscious motivations before they do.
Self-awareness is critical in the workplace because it allows us to make smarter hiring decisions, nominate stronger leaders, and serve as empathic and inspirational mentors.
The Most Important, Countercultural Steps for Making 2021 A Success
This article outlines four foundational, often overlooked, ways to approach 2021 for long-term, sustainable success and satisfaction. They include:
Taking the time to reflect and learn from the past
Focusing on long and steady effort over time
Building habits (the most powerful tool for long-lasting change)
Investing in healthy relationships
This article outlines four foundational, often overlooked, ways to approach 2021 for long-term, sustainable success and satisfaction. They include:
Taking the time to reflect and learn from the past
Focusing on long and steady effort over time
Building habits (the most powerful tool for long-lasting change)
Investing in healthy relationships