Taking Wing with Virginia Audubon

It’s hard being the middle child. That’s one lesson we’ve learned over the years from work with the state affiliates of national nonprofits with local chapters. The state affiliates are at risk of Middle Child Syndrome, getting tangled in the potentially blurry lines of role clarity, member management, fundraising and program delivery.

When we’re able to walk into a room and have a different sort of conversation, that’s a good thing.

Something along those lines happened last weekend when we spent the better part of a gorgeous Saturday indoors at Maymont with the Virginia Audubon Council. Rather than getting entangled in conversations about memberships and dues and chapter relationships, we talked about something Virginia has that is unique, important and powerful – Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

There are about 3.5 million acres of IBAs in Virginia – 20 large, forested swaths that are a refuge and home to hundreds of migratory bird species. IBAs have historically been at the heart of the Virginia Council’s work. And during our retreat, the Council realized that IBAs were a “core product” – something no one else had, and something that could help the Council, and the six state chapters, thread together funding, public awareness and mission delivery in a powerful way.

We started building the outlines of a plan on Saturday. The local chapters will add color to the framework in the coming weeks. Watching a small board leave a planning session with enthusiasm for an emerging plan is no small thing. It’s what makes a working weekend worthwhile.

Building Leadership: Know It, Grow It, Show It

Listen, we love infographics. They can make even the most complicated of concepts seem way simpler (and they're usually pretty easy on the eyes, too). 

Last year, our summer intern interviewed a ton of our past clients and worked with graphic designer Ben Dacus to create a visual representation of our beliefs about leadership. It's so nice to have this visual reminder of Floricane's unique approach to leadership development!

If you have any questions or additional thoughts, please comment below! Oh, and here's a link to download your own copy, if you want to hang one up in your office like we have.

The One Thing That Leaders REALLY Need...

It's so nice to see an article-- written by someone other than us-- about the importance of self-awareness in leaders. This post from Psychology Today asserts that the most effective executives have a "realistic assessments of their own abilities." We couldn't agree more, which is why we love using Insights® Discovery as a self-awareness and personal effectiveness tool. It's a simple way to reveal to someone their personal strengths, potential weaknesses, and ideal work environment (among other things). We've seen the combination of an Insights® profile and Intro to Insights workshop completely transform the way people show up at work. We've seen it change teams for the better, and we've seen it alter an individual's career path in a huge and exciting way.

“Self-awareness isn’t one of those big marquee leadership qualities like vision, charisma, strategic thinking or the ability to speak eloquently to an audience the size of a small city… but it’s a quieter ancillary quality that enables the high-octane ones to work. To use a chemistry concept, it’s a psychological catalyst.”

— Victor Lipman | Why Self-Awareness Is Key to Effective Leadership

Understanding what drives you, what motivates you, and what drives you crazy, is the foundation for becoming a better team member, manager, and leader. Lucky for you, we offer Intro to Insights workshops every few months. Sign up yourself, or sign up your entire team. 

Join us on Thursday, December 4 at 
Intro to Insights® Discovery.

The Power of Positive Visibility

Good consultants spend a lot of time… well, consulting. But they also spend a fair bit of time developing relationships, and connecting with new faces.

The Floricane team is big on relationships. In fact, we think a large measure of our success is tied to the depth of the relationships we create with our clients.

As a team that tilts heavily introverted, however, we don’t generally jump up and down with joy when we’re gearing up for conferences or other big public events.

So, for me, it’s been refreshing to have had significant, and fun, opportunities to be out and about in new environments this fall. The environments have run the gamut – from two days of facilitation with a group of association CEO’s in Williamsburg to a major Greater Richmond Chamber meet-and-greet to a packed crowd at the Richmond Society of HR Managers strategic leadership conference. The next month gets even more varied – two full days with entrepreneurs and business owners under the umbrella of the Henrico Economic Development Authority, and a sit down conversation with the Richmond chapter of the International Coaching Federation.

Bumping elbows and making eye contact with hundreds of people is not a recipe for deep, meaningful relationships. But from each event, I walk away with personal connections to five or ten people. And time has shown that most of the connections continue and deepen over time.

The funny thing I’ve discovered? Whether I’m presenting, chatting with someone at the Floricane marketing booth, or connecting at a reception, I’m consulting. And that makes the networking much more meaningful.

We need more better managers, not just better leaders

Leadership sits at the heart of so much of our work at Floricane. Whether we’re working on strategic planning, organizational change or coaching, a focus on leadership is front-and-center.

I’ve said for years that we believe two things about leadership:

• Good leadership is a powerful, and positive, force in organizations.
• Leadership lives at every level of an organization.

I’d like to add two more beliefs to my list:

• Good leadership does not equal good management.
• Great organizations grow and develop good leaders and good managers.

After six years of working with thousands of people in hundreds of organizations, I’ve seen consistent evidence that leadership and management skills are at the heart of the most good and engaged organizations.

We need more better managers. You need more better managers.

In January, we’re launching a new management series focused on front-line managers and supervisors – and young, high-potential employees who yearn for solid skill development.

During the multi-month program, we’ll talk about the difference between leadership and management, and emphasize that everyone in the room has opportunities to lead and influence within their organizations. But we’ll emphasize basic management skills – effective communication, meeting management, providing in-the-moment (and job specific) feedback, strategic thinking and building results-focused teams. If you’re interested in learning more about the program, email me or stay tuned to your email in-box.)

Maybe I can sum all of our thinking up with one simple belief:

Effective leadership and management skills are at the non-negotiable heart of any organization interested in thriving in the 21st century.

As we move forward with our work at Floricane, we will be increasing our emphasis on developing and supporting good managers – and understanding the value of core management skills. 

Dropping the ball

Sometimes, I drop the ball and under-deliver. It’s one of the most awkward and embarrassing aspects of my work – as a consultant, as a boss, as a parent, as a spouse.

When it happens, my impulse is to procrastinate. There’s usually a conversation that needs to happen that feels like it is going to be difficult, and so I put it off. Which only compounds the situation.

In August and September, life on the home front accelerated ten-fold as Nikole and I tried to wrangle the challenges of her last month of pregnancy, Jack’s arrival home and all of the associated juggling that a first-grader and a newborn require.

Sleep evaporated, as did the number of hours available for work. Several Floricane projects went from boil to simmer to cold.

Getting each of those projects back on the rails required action – reaching out to a client, apologizing, explaining the circumstances, and asking what I could do to set things right.

Not surprisingly – as has almost always been the case in the past – every conversation ended on a positive note. And each of the derailed projects is moving forward.

There’s a simple lesson here, isn’t there?

Best Feedback Ever

We launched a new workshop series last month. Our $10 Toolkit workshops are designed to be a low cost, high value experience for anyone interested in learning a new skill quickly. For the low investment of one hour and ten dollars, participants are introduced to a simple management tool or concept. Our goal is to help people be more effective in their work.

Our first $10 Toolkit was focused on Situational Leadership – matching your management approach to the developmental level of your employee around each task. We had a half dozen participants.

Last week, I happened to run into one of those participants, a small business owner, on the street.

“Everything about the way I work with my employees has changed as a result of that workshop,” he said.

We didn’t have time to talk at length – he was busy running his business. But we didn’t need to. In one sentence, he told me everything I needed to know.

(Our next $10 Toolkit is focused on a tool designed to help you understand how we move through change – as individuals, and as teams and organizations. It’s not too late to join us.)