This time of massive disruption and crisis, from COVID-19’s health, social, and economic impacts to the systemic change being demanded around police violence, racism, and white supremacy has caused us to reflect on our work. Al and I have spent time thinking and talking about what to continue and improve upon, what to change, and
Read more »Culture Change
Planning Effective Online Meetings
As professional facilitators, we have been thinking a lot about how to bring the important elements of in-person meetings online. While we expect the same outcomes when meeting online or in person, we know that the meeting is fundamentally different when we are working together without sitting together. Instead of simply repurposing our in-person plans for
Read more »Relearning How To Meet
The abrupt switch to online meetings jolted many of us out of our meeting routines. We first had to acclimate to new technology. But, the switch has required more than just figuring out how to unmute yourself. If you have participated in an online meeting, you know it’s not just an in-person meeting on the
Read more »Working Together: Four Values for Collaboration
Being together feels a little different now. We needn’t be physically near to be together. Personally, I’m thrilled to find that my kids spend more time with their grandparents during isolation than they did before – it is possible to babysit a three-year old over FaceTime! In the same way, our society’s understanding of working together is changing in
Read more »Rescuing Outcomes from Measurement
Measurable outcomes is a phrase we hear a lot in nonprofit management. It comes from the practice of outcomes management or performance management – i.e. “What gets measured gets done” – and gets used a lot in planning, grant writing, and evaluation. We want measurable outcomes because they help us set achievable goals (think SMART
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