I was at a leadership seminar many years ago where the presenters offered the idea of incorporating sociological grace within organizations. I was familiar with the concept of how God is so gracious to us as people, but I had never considered that as a potential for a leadership model that could be a vital […]

I have the privilege of having regular conversations with Dr. Sandra Bloom. Lakeside is managing her newly formed Creating PRESENCE organization which provides trauma responsive training and certification to organizations that are desirous to become trauma-informed in their knowledge, skills, policies and practices. It is an exciting new movement throughout our country for organizations! In […]

I make it a habit to tour around my organization and departments as often as I can. As I enter offices and check-in with staff one of the realities that I have observed is the wide range of emotions and perspectives they may have on any given day. Their emotions can range from very happy […]

As a non-profit CEO you often have discussions with disillusioned employees. Some are exhausted with their work. Some are upset about organizational issues or offended by other staff members. Some feel they have been discriminated against. Some have very legitimate complaints and others have personal issues that may have nothing to do with their job […]

The term compassion is typically used for those who are people helpers and caregivers. It is often not a part of the training of most leaders and managers. Yet when we think of the leaders we admire, most of them have a level of human connection and compassion that created positive relationships with those within […]

There has been a lot of research and publication on the issue of mindfulness. There are several ways to think about mindfulness but in leadership it is an essential characteristic that makes a huge difference in the emotional and relational climate of the group of individuals that you are leading. A mindful leader intuitively creates […]

I have the unusual privilege of speaking to non-profit leaders all over our country and even in other countries about some of the struggles they face in their organizations. Particularly with the many issues around COVID-19 and its variants there has been an allostatic load of stress and trauma for their staff, their organizations and […]

One of the most difficult aspects of being a leader is to hear what could be perceived as criticism about something you have said, done or changed. Yet non-profit leaders are asked to make all kinds of decision with the goal to do our mission better or improve our organization.  However, these changes can often […]

Non-profit organizations are typically mission-driven with staff who are working in the non-profit because they believe in the mission of the organization and what they are attempting to achieve. The staff is usually made of up of altruistic individuals who are not working for the salary but for the impact they believe they are having […]

Many leaders get a reputation for their particular style of leadership. Some leaders learn from previous leaders. Some find themselves in situations that are crisis oriented. Others spend much of their leadership reacting to situations that are already part of an organizational culture. One could conclude that there are as many leadership styles as there […]