Taking time to understand how the dimensions of time and relationships factor into the feedback phase of a project will help leaders generate the strongest insights.
Read More
Thanks to a recent client I’ve spent a couple of months reading and thinking about a slim 2020 publication: “The Flat Org Chart” by Dan Pallotta. I have found this publication to be fascinating and provocative and it turns upside-down the social sector’s assumptions about “doing good” and achieving equity!
Read More
In 2021, my goal is to improve my personal wellness, which begins with prioritizing my work-life balance. Here are four tips I’ve implemented in my workday as I work to achieve my 2021 goal.
Read More
It is revealing that in every network assessment we have completed at See What I Mean, we hear the same sentiment from members - with me, not to me. In other words, be my partner not my boss. However, it shouldn’t be all that surprising.
Read More
Headline after headline of 2020 focuses on the collapse of trust - in elections, in news, in healthcare, in data, in experts, and in one another. It’s heartbreaking. It’s also a cause for change. Over the last 10 years we’ve been researching trust and helping people put it into action.
Read More
We live in a visual world and we are designed to learn visually, but we keep teaching in ways where information is overloaded and visuals are disregarded. By using visuals to deepen our learning we form stronger connections with our ideas. Visually learning helps us understand the relationship between concepts and helps us stay connected. If you are looking to enhance how you use visuals in your meetings and work, I encourage you to set a similar goal by focusing on your visual thinking.
Read More
In the past few weeks, all of us at SWIM have been wavering between emotions. Emotions ranging the gamut from fear and sadness to hope and excitement for the future. In this week where we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Inauguration of the 46th president of the United State of America, Joe Biden, hope and excitement are rising to the top. However, there is a lot of work ahead.
Read More
One of the things that has continued to fascinate me is how the concept of accountability both challenged and transformed that work on democracy and how public/political democracy intertwines with democratic processes in everyday activities and in community/social change organizations.
Read More
Many organizations are looking for ways to diversify the voices around the table at meetings, on boards, or on their staff. However, it goes against practices of diversity, equity and inclusion to simply invite without a clear purpose, role, or attempting to cultivate a relationship.
Read More
One of the most important--if not sacred--bonds in organizations is the partnership between the staff Executive (e.g. President, CEO, Executive Director) and the Board Chair, usually a volunteer who has a history of service to the organization. Most organizations handle board leadership transitions as a “taking turns” experience. Thought goes into it but more often than not the decision is more about circumstances than strategic process or planning.
Read More
We are grateful to the change makers who have persisted and adapted and persisted and adapted through each twist of 2020.
We are grateful to the change makers lying awake at night not counting sheep but counting the ever rising number of people who need help.
Read More
In times of decision-fatigue, surveys are powerful and are used to help focus on specific choices while developing a plan. We all know what it feels like to get an email asking you to fill out another survey for an organization.
Read More
Slow down and take a few soothing breaths.
Read More
I struggle with meetings. Keeping people on topic and accomplishing meeting goals is tough. However, after taking the See What I Mean workshop, I have seen dramatic improvement! Here are the top 3 ways I’ve changed my meetings.
I am the person in your meeting that likes to sit back, take it all in, and find a moment to drop a truth bomb that hopefully creates positive momentum towards our goals. I know that about myself because in my head it is pretty calculated. I read the room in the meeting, understand how much influence I think I can have based on many factors (position of leadership, tenure, expertise), and then calculate when will be the best moment to use my influence. BOOM!
Read More
In the world of philanthropy we have a lot of rules. Rules that often work against equity and inclusion in the funding process.
Stuff like:
You can't be an individual and apply.
You must have 501(c)3 status to apply.
You can't use a fiscal agent to apply.
One of the secrets to a great meeting is creating a vivid and resonant shared understanding of both the meeting purpose and intended outcomes. In my work I have found that using metaphors to describe and facilitate meetings can break through the daily noise and distractions. Once people have responded to a vivid image it is harder to forget or get distracted from the purpose at hand.
Read More
Lately, we’ve been facilitating a lot of high stakes meetings; choosing strategies for the future, discontinuing activities that aren’t working, analyzing systems that harm rather than help.
We’ve also been facilitating a lot of lower stakes meetings with people experiencing high stress; learning meetings where people are distracted, brainstorming meetings where people don’t feel energized, and relational meetings where people are Zoomed out.
No matter the setting, the stakes or the people, one little word - NOT - helps our clients accelerate progress towards their goals and build trust with their teams.
Read More
Like many students, going back to school virtually was not how I imagined my last year as an undergrad. Online school has been difficult and brings challenges for different types of learners. See What I Mean believes that we learn by doing, not passively listening -- which is not as easy in a virtual setting.
Read More