The 8 Essential Skills

Colleagues

Knudstrup Paul — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:09:10 +0000

What is a “colleague”? In the broadest sense it’s a term we use for someone we work with and value. Still, it has come to mean much more than that to me. When I think of my own colleagues, I see people with whom I work, sure. But more importantly, I see friends. Individuals with their own interests, yet we share interests in some areas. Over the years we become more than people who “work together” – we become friends. We look for ways to collaborate (another lovely word) with each other, to support and encourage each other, to be there when things don’t go quite the way we had hoped or intended. And occasionally to provide that poke, prod, nudge in the direction of our true purpose when we get a little off-track.

I am blessed with superb colleagues and friends within the virtual organization we call Midwest Consulting Group, Inc. And over the years I’ve also developed a wonderful network of colleagues across the country. The times we spend together are among the best of times.

To all my colleagues and friends, I wish the very best for all of us in 2012. And Thank You for being part of my life.

How about your colleagues? When was the last time you thanked them for being among that special group we call . . . colleagues.

A Leadership Academy

Knudstrup Paul — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:09:13 +0000

For the past six months I’ve been collaborating with the great folks at ONEplace@KPL in Kalamazoo (see “Building Nonprofit Capacity” for more on ONEplace) on creating the ONEplace Nonprofit Leadership Academy (ONLA). The first group of 20 high-potential nonprofit managers begins their journey tomorrow morning, and I confess to being pretty darn excited! Thanks to Bobbe Luce (founder and ED at ONEplace) Kalamazoo County nonprofits will have a ready-to-lead group of future executive directors. Bobbe’s research shows that a majority of the EDs of larger nonprofits are above the age of 50, and many are within less than 5 years of retirement. This means there will be lots of turnover at the top of these organizations.

This is not an issue just for our local nonprofits, but a national issue that needs attention. Many of the current EDs are also the founders of these larger nonprofits, and grooming leaders to follow in those footsteps is just not being done. And in many cases little or no succession planning has been done by nonprofit boards. Thus, ONLA is born.

Tomorrow the group will receive the results of a 360-degree feedback survey of their Employees, Peers, and Manager. For many this will be the first time they’ve received this kind of feedback, and the buzz within the group is pretty high. This is going to be a great series of experiences for these 20 future EDs. Stay tuned!

Building Nonprofit Capacity

Knudstrup Paul — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:04:23 +0000

This past week marked the final session of a 5-session course based on The 8 Essential Skills and delivered for ONEplace@KPL, a nonprofit resource center based in Kalamazoo, MI. With 40 supervisors, managers, and nonprofit executive directors participating, the course was lively and interesting. The work that Bobbe Luce and Monica Priest do in assisting area nonprofits is outstanding, remarkable, and a pleasure to watch. ONEplace@KPL provides one-stop resources, assistance, and advice for nonprofits of all kinds and sizes. From one individual with a new idea to long-established NPOs with a hundred employees or more, ONEplace@KPL has rapidly become the go-to place for nonprofit managers, executives, and boards of directors. ONEplace is funded by local foundations and provides its services free of charge to the nonprofit community and is housed in the outstanding Kalamazoo Public Library. Given the increased service demands and funding challenges faced by nonprofits in this economy, ONEplace is just a really great idea! If your community doesn’t have a resource like this, maybe it’s time to start one.

Retreating to the Front

Knudstrup Paul — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 04:00:36 +0000

This summer has provided several opportunities to leave work behind for several days at a time. Some time to myself to relax and reflect. Some time with colleagues thinking, planning, and collaborating together. The experience reinforced for me the wisdom of stepping backward to go forward. The opportunity to gain some perspective on the past year, look ahead to the next 12-18 months, and give some thought to the longer term future helped me to celebrate accomplishments, clarify values and priorities, set goals, and do some planning for myself and our business. It was a great experience.

How many of us set aside time to really step back to gain perspective on a regular basis? We all know the value of reflection and but it is often hard to “get away” from the daily rush and workload. We suggest an annual multi-day retreat such as I did a few weeks ago; it works wonders. But . . . you have to get it on your schedule and then actually do it!

When will you invest in yourself, your relationships, your business, and your future? Is it time for you to Retreat to the Front?

A PCAM Thing

Knudstrup Paul — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 01:53:34 +0000

Delightful. It’s the only word I can think of to describe my afternoon on Thursday at the West Michigan Forum of the Professional Coaches Association of Michigan (PCAM). Twenty-five professionals who coach people in all sorts of situations, professions, and organizations. Along with two MCG colleagues – Mary Jo Asmus and Jean Johnson - I met, listened to, worked with, and learned from some truly great people. I’ve been coaching managers and leaders for over twenty years (long before we called it coaching) and it is a great pleasure to see it become a true profession. I’m certainly looking forward to getting together with these folks again. If you are looking for a pro to coach you in the year ahead, let us know or check out the rest of the folks at PCAM. You’ll be glad you did!

A Shift in Focus

Knudstrup Paul — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 01:42:17 +0000

As you can plainly see, this is my first post in quite awhile to this blog. In the past the blog’s focus was directly linked to the content of my 2010 book, “The 8 Essential Skills for Supervisors & Managers.” Now that the book is getting wider recognition it’s time to reactivate the blog and provide a broader focus. We’ll see where this goes and who decides to join the ride. I’m always on the lookout for what I call “neat to hang out with” people. Maybe you?

What Are You Thankful For?

Knudstrup Paul — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 16:42:58 +0000

It’s been awhile since my last post and I’m thankful to have a few minutes to write a little. The past several weeks have been a series of rewarding, interesting, frustrating and exciting days filled with what has become my temporarily bifurcated life. Living in an old (1876) house is an adventure sometimes, and what began as a “remodel and update the bathroom” project has now become a major renovation complete with new plumbing, wiring, heating runs, and foundation work.

So, with three major client projects also kicking off this fall, the resulting 14-hour days have dried up the contribution to this blog. The client projects are now up are moving forward and the renovation project is reaching the end phase, which affords me a few minutes to say hello, and mention a few things I’m thankful for on this day of Thanksgiving:

I’m thankful for the privilege of citizenship in this wonderful, maddening, inspiring, beautiful country of ours. Even with all our mistakes our better angels still triumph over our inner demons most of the time.

I’m thankful for my colleagues far and wide and especially for my long-time collaborators in Midwest Consulting Group. As one of the first virtual corporations in the Midwest, MCG has become a wonderful team of “neat to hang out with” friends and co-creators.

I’m thankful for my family and the home we have built together. The love and support of my wife Susan has been the rock upon which I’ve been able to build my professional life for 35 years.

I’m thankful for the success of The 8 Essential Skills for Supervisors & Managers since it’s publication earlier this year. We know we’ve hit the target when we keep hearing the same feedback over and over again from readers. The book is easy to use, easy to read, and it is filled with practical ideas that work. The real thanks for this goes to my editor Jan Andersen of Beyond Words, Inc. who turned my raw words into a very readable finished product.

I’m thankful for our clients. They challenge us to help them grow, improve, succeed, and reach their potential as an organization. We are proud to work with them. Over the years we have met, come to know, and enjoyed the emergence of a host of new leaders in all kinds of organizations.

I’m thankful to have these few minutes of your time. What are you thankful for today?

3 Leadership Traits

Knudstrup Paul — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 12:05:21 +0000

What leadership traits will be needed 10, 20, 50 years from now? Recently I was part of an audience of business and community leaders, faculty, students, and others who attended the first event in the Frederik Meijer Lecture Series at Grand Valley State University’s Eberhard Center. Distinguished author, thinker, and businesswoman Dr. Jill Ker Conway. The first female president of Smith College, Dr. Conway serves on numerous corporate boards and took as her topic “The Next 50 Years in the World.” Frankly, anyone willing to tackle that topic deserves my attention.

While Dr. Conway’s talk, and the subsequent Q & A addressed wide-ranging global issues, I found her answer to the following question the most interesting:

Q. – What kind of leadership traits will be needed in the future?

A. – Effective leaders will need the following three attributes:

1. The ability to deal with, communicate with, and work with opposition without demeaning them.

2. Confidence in their own ideas but open to the ideas of others.

3. The ability to find and attract good, bright people and to then nurture them.

The 1st trait would certainly come in handy today, when elected “leaders” tend to demonize each other. When the relations between tribes, countries, even regions become excessively polarized, there is no search for common ground, compromise, or a way through our disagreements to a solution that works for all of us.

There is certainly no shortage of confidence in our own ideas, but far too often it seems we are, in the words of Ambrose Bierce, ”never in doubt, but often in error”. Win-Lose thinking, I’d say.

The 3rd trait is essential if a manager and their organization are to successfully grow and develop. We may be able to find and attract excellent candidates when a job becomes available, but if we fail to help them increase their capacity and capability to contribute the talented employee will either go elsewhere or settle into mediocrity.

What do you think?

What’s Different About NPOs?

Knudstrup Paul — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:27:27 +0000

Consider several questions posed to the group of 30 executive directors, managers, and staff participating in the Nonprofit Supervision & Management Series at ONEplace@KPL:

Is managing in a nonprofit organization (NPO) different than managing in the private sector? Is it different than managing in a governmental organization? If so, what is different?

The major difference cited by the course participants was: not being able to use financial rewards (raises, bonuses, stock options, etc.) as an incentive for performance or as a reward for outstanding results. While that is true for most NPOs and is well understood by those working in the nonprofit sector, it makes me wonder if there are other significant differences – is managing simply managing or is it really different from one sector to another?

What do you think? What is your experience? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Order your copy of “The 8 Essential Skills for Supervisors & Managers” today at Amazon.com.

New Toys & Tech

Knudstrup Paul — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 13:12:02 +0000

Skill 1 – Breaking in a New Tool

I’ve long been a fan of David Allen’s approach to Managing Yourself – what I call Skill 1. And since I’m also a long time fan of new technological tools (OK – toys) I keep an eye out for ways to streamline my own self-management “system.” A key ingredient to any effective system is to have a comprehensive overview of all the things on my plate (my commitments, projects, and next actions) and all the things on my radar screen (things I’d like to have, learn, or do at some point, just not right now).

Once AT&T was able to offer service in our semi-rural area we jumped at the chance to switch from our Palm TXs to iPhones after making sure the iPhone could sync with MS Outlook. I checked the Internet to see what ad-ons might be available to help manage and sort Tasks (the iPhone operating system ignores Outlook Tasks). It looks like 2Do from Guided Ways Technology may well be the answer, but we’ll see as we go along.

Being effective at Skill 1 means always looking for ways to improve your personal management system. Fortunately, for me that means trying out new toys and tech. Unfortunately, it takes time and mindshare to do that.

What self-management tools are you using these days? Drop by and leave a comment; I’d love to know what you use and what works for you.

For more information on Skill 1 and Managing Yourself, order your copy of “The 8 Essential Skills” from Amazon.com. today! You’ll be glad you did!

And while you’re at it, stop by our web site and learn more about our approach to Personal Productivity.