Dreaming Works (April 7, 2016)
Vaughn Upshaw
As a teenager, my father told me “A wise person dreams at night and works during the day.” That was good advice 40 years ago, and it remains good advice […]
March 21, 2016
If You Don’t Want Your Board to Get “Into the Weeds” . . . Stop Holding Your Retreats in a Vacant Lot (March 21, 2016)
Peg Carlson
We’re nearing the end of board retreat season: the window of time between December, when elected officials are sworn in, and April, when budget deliberations start in earnest. All across […]
READ POST "If You Don’t Want Your Board to Get “Into the Weeds” . . . Stop Holding Your Retreats in a Vacant Lot (March 21, 2016)"September 25, 2015
The Perils of Leadership (September 25, 2015)
Rick Morse
When I teach leadership one of the first discussions I have is about the differences between leadership and management. Warren Bennis says that management is about doing things right and […]
READ POST "The Perils of Leadership (September 25, 2015)"August 31, 2015
Starting Off On the Right Foot (August 31, 2015)
Vaughn Upshaw
It has already begun. Candidates for municipal offices are telling the public how they will change your city or town. Some mayoral and city council candidates may be campaigning to […]
READ POST "Starting Off On the Right Foot (August 31, 2015)"April 24, 2015
We Have To Stop Meeting Like This! (April 24, 2015)
Vaughn Upshaw
Some meetings really are a waste of time. A recent survey reports American workers spend up to 9 hours a week preparing for and attending general status meetings. Status meetings […]
READ POST "We Have To Stop Meeting Like This! (April 24, 2015)"March 18, 2015
Creating a Culture of Civility (March 18, 2015)
Vaughn Upshaw
Are we losing civility? Over 1,000 US adults were surveyed in 2014 and a whopping 94% considered the tone and level of civility in the country to be a problem, […]
READ POST "Creating a Culture of Civility (March 18, 2015)"February 6, 2015
The Intersection of “Transparency” and “Conflict Management” (February 6, 2015)
John Stephens
In January, I had the pleasure of teaching two sets of veteran county and city elected officials through our LELA program, Managing Conflict: How to Disagree and Still Get Along. […]
READ POST "The Intersection of “Transparency” and “Conflict Management” (February 6, 2015)"February 4, 2015
Annual Retreats, Part 2: How to plan a successful retreat (February 4, 2015)
Lydian Altman and Margaret Henderson
Producing a long list of issues to learn about or discuss at a retreat is easy. Crafting an agenda that will generate effective discussion, decision-making, and follow-through, however, is a […]
READ POST "Annual Retreats, Part 2: How to plan a successful retreat (February 4, 2015)"February 4, 2015
Annual Retreats, Part 1: Why hold a board retreat? (February 4, 2015)
Lydian Altman and Margaret Henderson
By Lydian Altman and Margaret Henderson It is the responsibility of elected and appointed leaders to set a vision and direction for their communities. This function involves convening the stakeholders […]
READ POST "Annual Retreats, Part 1: Why hold a board retreat? (February 4, 2015)"