Resources for Ongoing Learning
These are based on priorities and learning goals surfaced in the assessment and planning process.
Most of these are from sources I regularly read. I try to find things that are based on research, from reputable and respected sources, and have frameworks for application.
Many of them are nonprofit or social mission specific. Many are not - leadership and culture, people and relationships, equity and justice are essential in all types of organizations and teams!
These are not meant to be read all at once. Some are light, some are dense.
These can be used in many different ways - individually read to refresh your skills or create a plan and approach; apply the work in a leadership team; read a piece together as a whole staff and discuss how it applies or how we could use it in our organization.
I will continue to add to this when I find things that resonate with me, or that I think will resonate with you.
aloha, Kina
Leadership ATTRIBUTES and practices
Leadership is not about hierarchy and direction, leadership is about empowering people to be their best selves and work toward a common goal. Another definition I like: leadership is responsibility for our world. All of the resources below reflect this philosophy and approach to leadership today.
How to Be a Successful Change Leader. The Center for Creative Leadership has resources and trainings for leaders in all fields.
HBR On Leadership. This collection of Harvard Business Review articles offers some good insights on building the relationship aspects of leadership. Most worthwhile reads:
What Makes a Leader? (page 2) focuses on the five components of emotional intelligence essential to leading - self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, social skill.
The Work of Leadership (page 35) illustrates roles and responsibilities in five areas - direction, protection, orientation, managing conflict, shaping norms.
Seven Transformations of Leadership (page 83) describes different leader contributions, how and where they might achieve the best impacts
The Less Visible Leader, Institute for Conservation Leadership. “Facilitative leadership” is essential in running collaboratives and groups, but the premises apply to organizations and community work as well. Three attributes of leadership to develop in complex system work - 1) catalyzes a culture of spirited collaboration, 2) shares power and generates momentum, and 3) stays true to the long-term vision while navigating frequent twists and turns.
Disruptive Times Require Skilled Community Changemakers, Tamarack Institute. This piece is also oriented to community change, this article references practices helpful to organizations in times of growth and change. We’ve already applied the first few practices in this process: 1) Make the voice of people central, 2) Work across boundaries, 3) Catalyze change and work adaptively, 4) Engage in systemic thinking and action, 5) Be courageous
6 Reasons Why All Leaders Need Coaching, Psychology Today. Leadership is hard work and lonely work, and those who work alongside trusted partners are more supported and effective.
Culture of Well Being AND EXCELLENCe = HIGH FUNCTIONING PEOPLE AND TEAMS
Core values center around collaborative and teams, trusting and empowering people, and creating a culture where employees are healthy, well and thriving.
Teams are at the core of most nonprofit and mission-driven work. A culture that supports health and well being is essential for
8 Characteristics of High-Performing Teams - the qualities that show up in high functioning teams
7 Leadership Techniques for Building High-Performing Teams - and the leadership approaches that get there
Strengthen Your Team With a Meaningful Core Value Exercise - culture is your norms and values, values are the glue that hold your team together and the guideposts for making decisions and progress
How Empowerment Sparks Performance. A trusted and empowered staff is one of THE essential keys to organizational excellence and mission impact. Some of the best resources here are relevant beyond the nonprofit sector.
6 Ways to Empower People to Be Their Best. The subtitle says it all: Leadership is shifting from telling everyone what to do, to empowering others to come up with the best and brightest ideas that have never been thought of before. This is how you empower people to be their best.
If You Love Your Employees, Set Them Free. The basic idea is: less control = more value.
Are you a micromanager?. Self-reflective behavior analysis and leadership suggestions based on the premise: “Micromanagement can kill motivation, employee creativity and job satisfaction, and yet it remains the biggest beef workers have about their boss… Studies show lack of autonomy at work elevates stress hormones and can have other negative health effects, potentially even hastening mortality.”
Burnout is Real, On the Rise, and Retractable. And it is damaging to people and their productivity and the organization and mission. There are a lot of resources but a few with some applicable approaches:
Avoiding Burnout and Building a Positive Culture - apply Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to mission-oriented workplaces to move from functioning to fulfilling
Employee Burnout: Don’t Prize Productivity over People - the 9 strategies for balancing productivity and well-being at the end are particularly helpful
Shift Your Culture or Risk Employee Burnout - create a culture of trust, transparency, and openness and prioritize rest
Equity and Justice
There is a growing movement recognizing that environmental and sustainability movement is inextricably linked to equity and social justice.
Environmental Justice: The Intersection of Social Equality and Environmentalism, Medium. The climate change movement will never win until we achieve social justice.
Intersectional Environmentalist aligns with KHF’s focus on education and priorities to serve diverse communities in our islands. This website offers partnership, resources, trainings and other tools that could help elevate and sharpen this direction.
A Framework for Considering your Organization’s Equity Journey, Bridgespan Group. A tool that can help you identify how equity is embedded in your mission and ways to apply it.
Nonprofit AF. A weekly e-newsletter and blog by Vu Le, who runs a Seattle nonprofit - and was the virtual HANOCON keynote in 2020. His weekly posts are funny, pointed, irreverent, and always make me think deeply and examine some of my own practices. Worth reading regularly for their thought- and action-provoking points.
White Supremacy Culture. Warning, this may be difficult to read because it should make us all recognize behaviors in ourselves and our organizations. Tema Okun has been doing racial justice and facilitation work for several decades and she has complied this list of supremacy attributes, and I’ve found the framing and proactive suggestions to be really worthwhile in organizational culture work. It’s worth emphasizing two of her points: these attributes come from the dominant culture we have been living in and are conditioned by - it takes work to “un-learn” and shift from this. Second, supremacy can show up in all kinds of colors and ways - this should not be used as an attack on individuals but can be helpful for broader conversations about practices within your organization. The Dismantling Racism website has a wealth of resources and info to guide organizations on this journey, including a workbook with exercises and approaches to try.