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(Happy Monday! Today’s post is from Sande Smith, our communications expert.)

For the past week, I’ve been thinking about the critical importance of sharing our perspectives, experiences and solutions to the problems we see.

By our, I mean the people who are passionate about bringing more empathy, equity and exuberance to the world!

These thoughts were catalyzed last Sunday, when I attended a workshop on writing op-eds that was led by Katie Orenstein and Katharine Mieszkowski. Wow! Talk about passionate.

Orenstein is passionate about changing a basic inequity: Women’s voices and perspectives were not appearing in the op-ed pages, a major forum for influencing public debate and public policy. Op-ed pages of leading newspapers such as the New York Times, LA Times, and Washington Post are read by congress members and their aides, corporate CEO’s, journalists, philanthropists, donors, influencers in all sectors, and yes, even President Obama.

And why are women’s voices missing? At a minimum because women weren’t submitting op-eds! According to the Washington Post, out of 10 submissions, only 1 is written by a woman.

Incensed by this knowledge, Orenstein tried to get someone to start a program to train women in writing and submitting op-eds. When that failed, she started it herself. Now 2 years old, the Op-Ed Project has trained thousands of women, and seen many of the graduates successfully publish op-eds in news outlets across the country.

On Sunday, I was amazed by the women in the room. They were exceedingly accomplished in their professions, as well as passionate about using their knowledge to make a difference in the world.

Yet, when Orenstein asked us to consider any area of our life and then finish the statement, “My name is ____and I’m an expert in ____ because ___”, many of the women found it difficult to answer.

I want to restate that Orenstein emphasized that we didn’t have to give an example from our professional lives. For example, we could say something like, “Hi, my name is Sande and I’m an expert on making frittatas because I’ve made hundreds of frittatas with ingredients such as artichoke hearts, bacon, and gruyere, and when my friends eat them, they ooh and ah, compliment me, and then ask for seconds.”

Orenstein said that women in the US often find it hard to finish the statement of expertise because they haven’t learned how to provide the evidence that establishes their authority to speak on a topic.

Yet, we can’t successfully write and publish op-eds about the issues we care about unless we develop and present ourselves as credible experts. So what are some of the elements that establish our credibility?

• personal experience
• statistics
• anecdotes
• expert quotes (keeping in mind which experts will be credible to your audience)
• testimonials
• history
• legal precedence
• logic
• trends (three of something makes a trend)
• university and other academic credits
• authoring a book
• awards
• results you’ve achieved

And please don’t think that personal experience is less worthy than the other items on the list. In fact, the opposite is true. Personal experience often trumps all else!

I left the workshop excited about finishing my own op-ed (see basic op-ed structure here), but also determined to take more seriously the expertise that I’ve already developed and the importance of sharing it. What about you?

p.s. The picture above is a Wordle, created by playing with the words from my bio. Make your own at wordle.net.

Substitute, “I’m not an expert,” with, “I’m an expert on . . . because . . .”

“What can I do that isn’t going to get done unless I do it, just because of who I am?”

- Buckminster Fuller

(Happy Monday! Today’s post is from Tuti Scott, our leadership expert.)

The world of nonprofit Board development can be enriching and invigorating.

Recently, an Executive Director called to ask me if I could suggest a Board Chair for their organization or provide insight on who might be a good fit for them.

I was curious how he thought I could help so I started with questions. “What is the role of your current Board chair? What are the expectations you and the Board have for this role? What drives you to be energized about the mission of the organization?”

Throughout our phone conversation as it became clear that he wanted me to suggest prominent names of people he could recruit, I thought, “Where are the ‘headhunters’ for social profit board leaders?” I do know of several organizations that have used BoardNet (an online matchmaking site for Board members and organizations) with success.

While I am not a Board chair headhunter, I have recruited and energized many Board members over the years and have learned some key principles to consider with any Board chair recruitment and with Board and Executive Director relationships:

1. Build a partnership. First and foremost, a good Board chair has a similar amount of passion and drive to see the organization succeed as the Executive Director. Starting with this base, the partnership can grow.

2. Tell stories. For a leader to mobilize a team of Board members, he/she should have the ability to be a storyteller and paint a picture of where the organization is going and how their role makes an impact. Using all forms of communication, an ideal Board chair would be capable of motivating and mobilizing the Board and donors to act and engage in the ‘work’.

3. Meet with current investors. To ascertain what a good pool of Board candidates could look like, talk with your wise counsel, Board members, and top supporters. Seek out people who come from different industries or sectors to offer unique perspectives.

4. Establish rules and rhythms. For an ideal partnership, there would be a clear set of expectations for each role. Understanding what ‘dashboard’ items are important to share with one another and the Board is key to success. Consider having an established time that is set aside on a consistent basis for discussion on issues, topics, and future focus.

Experienced and engaged Board leadership is crucial for the health and stability of our organizations. Use these four principles as a baseline for your Board recruitment and Board chair relationship building.

Substitute, “Let’s recruit a prominent name for our Board” with “Let’s find a person to lead who is passionate for the mission of our organization.”

“An organization looking for new people to join its nonprofit board of directors should consider people who are already engaged in the organization or community.”

- Molly Schar
(Read more at Suite101: How to Find Great Nonprofit Board Members.)

I have a new favorite book.

Written almost 100 years ago, in 1913 by Eleanor H. Porter, this book is about a little girl who helps people find something to be glad about in every situation.

Maybe you’ve heard of her. Her name is Pollyanna.

She’s had a hard life. Her mother died when she was a baby and she grew up poor, living with her dad until he died too. Then she gets shipped off to an aunt she’s never met, a woman who forbids her to speak of her beloved father and who sticks her in a small bare room next to the attic so she’ll be as isolated as possible. Oh, and she also gets hit by a car and is paralyzed.

Pretty daunting life challenges – especially for a kid. But somehow Pollyanna manages to survive with a love for life and the people around her. She transforms her situations by playing a game her dad taught her. The game is to “find something to be glad about in everything – no matter what ’twas.” Her enthusiasm is infectious and pretty soon the whole community is playing her ‘just being glad’ game.

Pollyanna is a reminder of the power of our attention. What are we focused on? “You see, when you’re hunting for the glad things, you sort of forget the other kind.”

The Pollyanna story also highlights the affect we have on one another.

As Kay Redfield Jamison writes in her memoir, Nothing Was the Same, “Moods are contagious; they spread from those afflicted to those who are not.”

Jamison talks about how hard resisting the human interplay of mood is and says, “Moods are too insinuating, too persuasive; despair begets despair; suspicion and anger give rise to paranoia and rage. Concerned disengagement is the Holy Grail at such times, but obtaining and holding on to such a state is difficult; to remain impervious to provocation flies against all odds and is scarcely reasonable to expect from human nature.” (pg. 18)

The beauty of Pollyanna is that she never denies what is happening, she merely looks to find the silver lining and no matter how small it is – focuses on that.

We’ve been taught that “being Pollyanna” is a bad thing, but why? Especially if we do affect each other so powerfully with our moods – wouldn’t we rather have a few more Pollyanna’s around? Try out the glad game this week and see what happens.

Happy Monday!

Substitute, “Don’t be a Pollyanna” with “Be a Pollyanna.”

“Once you start looking for the happy things, you don’t think about the bad ones as much.”

- Pollyanna

(Happy Monday! Today’s post is from Tuti Scott, our leadership expert.)

In a room full of women leaders I remind them that power is not a bad word – only the abuse of power is.

Power is simply the ability to motivate people to do what you want them to do; to influence others. Power is manifested by how you communicate and how others receive you.

Often power is a subjective experience. There are three factors which influence the perception of power:

• Power of position – hold title and/or authority/access
• Power of wealth – have or are connected to wealth
• Power of knowledge or expertise – master of facts and arguments

Power of wealth and power of title or the ‘corner office’ are places that women and people of color have not traditionally had access to. Centuries of structural and systemic sexism or racism have kept us out of these spheres.

There are hundreds of folks who have spoken and written on the ‘light’ topic of “The history of patriarchy and the creation of race as a construct for domination.” Feel free to read bell hooks, Gloria Steinem, Barbara Jordan’s speeches, and others.

Without equal access to positions of power or power stemming from wealth (which women and people of color generally do not have) what is the best access to power in this framework? For many of us it is the third frame or knowledge, data, and expertise.

Having knowledge and data gives you the power to think, to rationalize, and to make the best choice so that you and your organization can be successful. You are more likely to get a CEO or leader to commit to a project if you make your case using established facts, data, and by explaining how the choice will impact society, the staff, and the constituents the organization serves.

We can all work toward the three ‘stations’ of power being broadened with smart community organizing, increased social capital, and the changing of who sits in the corner office. In the meantime, and on this auspicious day of celebration of International Women’s Day,  let’s also keep framing a powerful story and case that offers what we stand for rather than what we are against.

P. S.  For those of you who have a spiritual or physical understanding of the connection of sport and how this can help shape one’s approach toward power, feel free to check out an organization I serve on the U.S. Board of and their brilliant launch of International Sports for Women’s Rights Day.

Substitute, “Powerless” with “Powerful.“

“But tonight, here I am. And I feel — I feel that notwithstanding the past that my presence here is one additional bit of evidence that the American Dream need not forever be deferred.

We are a people in a quandary about the present. We are a people in search of our future. We are a people in search of a national community. We are a people trying not only to solve the problems of the present, unemployment, inflation, but we are attempting on a larger scale to fulfill the promise of America. We are attempting to fulfill our national purpose, to create and sustain a society in which all of us are equal.”

- from the 1976 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address by Barbara Jordan

(Happy Monday! Today’s post is from Sande Smith, our communications expert.)

I finally found it – my new apartment in San Francisco. In a little bit more than a month, I saw 40 apartments!

When it came down to the final two, I was stuck trying to decide between an apartment with lots of sun, bay windows and French doors or one with arched doorways, 1,000 square feet and a view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

I chose the view.

At first my choice felt frivolous, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. First of all, every time I look out the window, I stop and I breathe, deeply. The view literally compels me to expand my sights – to look out beyond what’s right in front of me.

And it resonates with a goal that I’d set two years ago, when I took a 3-day class on facilitative leadership presented by the Interaction Institute for Social Change.  Facilitative Leadership calls upon leaders to be “servant leaders” who involve others in the process of change and continuous improvement that our organizations and communities require.

In preparation for the class, we were asked to think about the seven practices of facilitative leadership and then decide which one we wanted to focus on during the three days.

1. Share an Inspiring Vision
2. Focus on Results, Process and Relationship
3. Seek Maximum Appropriate Involvement
4. Design Pathways to Action
5. Facilitate Agreement
6. Coach for Performance
7. Celebrate Accomplishment

It was hard to choose, because who doesn’t want to be great at everything? But I decided that I wanted to improve my ability to convey a clear and compelling vision, closely followed by designing a pathway to action.

Why? Because I have spent much of my career being the one who does what needs to be done, rather than leading a team that carries out the work. As I’ve grown, and increased my area of responsibility, it’s become clear that not only is it impossible to do it all myself, but the outcome is vastly improved when a team of people skilled at working together produces the work.

I wanted to learn how to be the kind of leader that brings out the best in the team and in myself, while also deeply enjoying the process. After setting my focus on learning how to imagine and articulate a clear and compelling vision, the three days of the workshop proved to be just the beginning.

Everywhere I turned, I saw examples of how to do it. I saw it when a colleague insisted that we do regular presentations to staff about the work of our communications team. I saw it in Obama’s campaign, which not only included inspiring articulation of a vision of unity and hope, but was accompanied by a social media campaign that gave people the tools they needed to run their OWN campaigns on behalf of the candidate. And I saw it in fundraising letters that do a good job of describing both the problem and a vision for how the world will be different.

We will not be able to transform the world if we don’t become very good at stopping, taking a breath, and giving ourselves space to widen our sights. We must imagine, describe and co-create our vision of the world that all of our fundraising and advocacy is trying to create. Research shows that people work with greater commitment and excitement when they are guided by a vision and feel their efforts can make a difference.

Can YOU see it?

Substitute  “This is what I want you to do,” with, “This is where I want us to go. Together, let’s figure out how to get there.”

“When I dare to be powerful – to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”

~ Audre Lorde