Category Archive for : ‘Leadership’

I recently had the privilege of presenting at a conference in Phoenix with my long-time friend, Dr. Don Christian, President of Concordia University Texas, about ways to strength your board of directors. Don is one of the most successful nonprofit leaders I know, and he has achieved much of his board success through a combination of deep relationship building and solid policy-based governance.

Much of my consulting success comes from helping boards develop a series of best practices that, when applied, can only strengthen the board…towards better collective leadership and

This week’s blog has excerpts from a September 29 New York Times article “The Crisis of Men and Boys” by David Brooks. The article captures many of the serious negative implications of fatherless that Tender Lions: Building the Vital Relationship Between Father and Son reveals, and we’ve been writing and speaking about for the last three years.  

The basic premise of the article is that boys and men are struggling in America, and it’s not getting better. Here is some of the data:

Girls outperform boys academically in virtually every subject and at

After blogging regularly for 2½ years I took an eight month break from writing. It wasn’t that I wasn’t working or caring about the father son relationship or leadership. It’s that I was feeling depleted. Depleted from the “white noise” caused by isolation due to COVID, intense political and racial ugliness, and trying to make sense (and grieving) the lack of empathy and love for our fellow neighbors.

I don’t have it figured out by any stretch of the imagination, but I know that writing helps me process my thoughts and

I recently was asked to do a one-hour workshop for the Siebert Foundation in Milwaukee for their many nonprofit and ministry partners across southeast Wisconsin. If you’re a nonprofit leader or board member here is a comprehensive overview (is that an oxymoron) of the key elements to build the effectiveness of your board.

Feel free to contact me if you have any follow up questions regarding this important content.

#nonprofitleadership #strongboards #boarddevelopment #leadership #leadershipeffectiveness #leadersedge

Recently I watched a riveting interview with Dr. Deborah Birx, former leader of the White House Coronavirus Response Taskforce. Her way of dealing with a very challenging situation illustrated a number of vital leadership qualities, particularly needed in our fragile and fractured country today. To see the interview just click here. By the way, the lessons listed below are my observations not hers.

Calm Under Pressure – When you’re in the public eye and how you appear is just as important as what you do, stay calm. Keep emotions, anger, disbelief,

Most people associate the word “apocalypse” with a disaster or horrible event nearing the end of times. Actually, the word means “to uncover” or “an unveiling.” My hope is that this blog will provide some “unveiling” for you.

If you’re a new reader this blog is about raising a boy to be a “Tender Lion,” and how to do that in a very challenging world. This last week brought with it some terribly challenging events, and I’m predicting that the coming weeks will bring more equally as challenging.

How do I help

Last week I had the privilege of leading a webinar for numerous nonprofit board members, CEO’s and other executives. The Christopher Family Foundation of Hinsdale Illinois offered this webinar (and periodically offers others) to their grantee network in mostly the Chicagoland region.

The webinar covers five key topics: 1) 6 G’s of Successful Boards 2) Improving board culture 3) Recruiting the “right” people 4) Implementing best practices 5) When the pendulum swings back.

Just click “Read More” in the blue box to go to the video of the webinar.

I was interviewed recently by Jay Frost, one of the leading development experts in the United States. Jay hosts an educational series for nonprofits called “Unbound” provided by DonorSearch.net.

I was invited to do a webinar for nonprofit leaders recently and then Jay extended the offer to interview me on their Masterminds Series about my thoughts on leadership in general and the pandemic. Go here for the interview. Just click and you can listen on your phone or computer.

“DonorSearch provides accurate and actionable information that identifies your best prospective major gift

Unbound Webinar Series – Hosted by Jay Frost on www.donorsearch.net Tuesday, May 12, 2020 – 1:00 p.m. CT

The Executive Director – What is the board doing, particularly the board chair, to support and be engaged with Executive Director during these challenging times? Donor Relations – What is the board doing to ensure that donors and stakeholders are well informed and cared for?Best Practices – What best practices should be maintained and jettisoned during this time? Long Term View – Short Term Decisions – What is the board doing to

My friend Roger was an outstanding sprinter on his high
school track team. He ran the anchor leg of the 4 x 400-yard relay team. At one
particular track meet, his relay was the last event of the day. If they won the
relay, the school would also win the entire meet.

The first three legs of the relay were very close. Roger
received the “anchor leg” baton in second place, but was able to sprint past
his opponent to a comfortable lead with quite a bit of track left until the
finish line. Roger became over-confident