A few days ago I tweeted "My 8th grader had a project due in PREZI! Ahhhh to be a kid again!" And I meant it. If we can ever look past 'how our younger members work differently" and 'how I am comfortable working this way' and celebrate the revolution of the new technology and the doors it opens and - this is most important - how as kids we embraced all the cool new things that our parents didn't quite understand, we'd get where we want to be.

Noone likes to be stuck in a rut. We don't enjoy being hamstrung by tight budgets and difficult times. Yet we perpetuate that in our thinking.

I'm working with a couple of associations right now on major change initiatives. Many of the (baby boomer) leaders are stuck in a rut. They play the same songs in their heads. They chant the same complaints. They are having difficulty being like a young person embracing all the cool new things that their parents didn't quite understand (or like!).

I'm working on some imaging projects to help these individuals embrace their younger counterpart. Imagine how you feel when you put on a new outfit. It lifts your spirits. You feel new. Imagine how you feel when you buy a new car and you drive past someone in a clunker. You can go faster, in more style. You can make a call pushing buttons on your steering wheel and talking into an invisible microphone.

Do these work? What do you think? How can we help people embrace the "prezi"? How can we ourselves embrace the new?

I led a webinar today for National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) volunteers who lead the association’s networks (formerly called branches, regions, and sections) and committees. We talked about being a leader for today and how that requires us individually to change. The dilemma in preparing such a conversation is that the topic is huge and the time we have to coach our volunteers is so short. Add to that, for many of our volunteer leaders this is part-time, part-time job. 

We responded to this dilemma by focusing leaders on three practical steps and by translating their objectives, particularly for the networks, into seven types of practical tasks.  We know there are a lot of other elements to leadership and so we offered additional resources (including of course Charlene Li’s book Open Leadership). We also know that these busy members need to get this leadership gig under control and our job in coaching them is to simplify where we can.

1. Define the destination. What does your group need to accomplish? What is your main thing? Stephen Covey is generally credited with first phrasing the strategy “keep your main thing the main thing” and it is perhaps over-used. Still, I consider it the best piece of guidance I can give my volunteer leaders. If they can clearly articulate the main thing, they can accomplish it and they avoid wandering into all kinds of extraneous activities and discussions. Of course, it only works if the whole group shares the “main thing.” That’s the role of the leader – to assure we’re all on the same page. (NB: This is not to say the leader decides the main thing in a vacuum!)
2. Communicate regularly. I suggest that leaders call each team member frequently and reach out regularly to the group. Use informal and formal channels. Be visible. Be the reminder – the reminder of deadlines, goals, and of the message “why we’re here.”  The value of this can be seen in one of my associations.  Leader A was an engaging leader. She reached out to key volunteers regularly. Had vibrant email exchanges and phone calls. Leader B wasn’t. She was engaged at meetings but relatively unengaged between meetings. Under Leader A, the association met deadlines, broke records and tried a few new things. Well, as you probably have guessed, the results did differ with Leader B.
3.  Coach your team. This begins with getting to know each team member.  Then, help them get the resources and tools they need to be effective.  This is not about telling team members how to do the job, but rather what their role is in accomplishing the goal. It’s about pointing the way and enabling them to succeed.

The seven concrete tasks that NRPA identified read as a universal list so I offer them here:

• Contributing documents to the Knowledge Center
• Contributing to or writing articles for the magazine
• Identifying topics for webinars and/or online chat sessions
• Monitoring and answering questions posed in the Knowledge Center and Network sites
• Identifying research topics
• Identifying field trends
• Identifying how the field can help with the new friends model

 We left the group with an action item to gather their leadership team together for two conversations: (1) what is the team's main thing?and (2) how will we know we were successful (in meeting members’ needs)?

We trust that we’re pointing the way and enabling these members to lead successfully! How do you point the way for leaders?

Small Staff Appreciation Month starts today! (BTW, so does Breast Cancer Awareness Month!) As a small staff organization which also serves as a small staff operation for 5 small associations, we obviously love this month.  As a small organization, we operate quite differently. Probably most noticeable is our price sensitivity. We have to make the dollar go as far as possible.

Less – but should be way more – noticeable is our focus on volunteers. We know that our staff pool is ¼ paid and ¾ volunteer. We know and appreciate the importance of engaging volunteers. We know and act on the importance of empowering volunteers.

Admittedly it’s easier for small organization these days. Technology – at all price points – is readily available. Technology puts power in the hands of small organizations. Unfortunately, too many don’t know what to do with the power, but I am confident that will change.  It will change in part because companies like this month’s sponsor, MemberClicks, will coach staff and volunteers. I hope also that it will change with ASAE’s help as they focus on the needs – educational and financial – of small organizations.  

And I trust that this month, set aside to celebrate all that small staff’s accomplish, will also help shine the light on our needs and that will change lots of things for small staff organizations!