Using Our Social Capital

I know Linda – I’ve know her for many years - Linda used to live in the town I live in but now heads up the United Way in Alexandria – she is interested in providing trainings for the partner agencies she works with. I also work with nonprofits and am interested in providing training for the nonprofits I work with. Since I know her and I trust her – I can call her and have a conversation – she knows me too so we have a level of mutual trust and respect. This makes my job a whole lot easier and between the two of us we are able to expand the training possibilities even further because we each know other people, whose expertise we can draw from! This is using our Social Capital – developing our social contacts so we can better affect our productivity.

I sat in on a session at the MCN’s Leadership Conference called Building Authentic Social Capital through Community Engagement. We were put into circles and then began sharing information about ourselves and specifically what “social capital” we brought to the circle. It was so amazing to witness – people began exchanging business cards so that they could follow up with information……this person had a resource someone else in the room needed…..this person knew someone else whom they could connect to.

It is really so simple. It all starts with building good relationships with people – like Linda.

Holly Witt
Nonprofit Resource Specialist, Alexandria

What I Learned About Leading

At Thursday’s Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Leadership Conference themed “Thriving in the New Normal,” three people were honored with Nonprofit Leadership Awards. The awards are a first-time initiative of MCN to invite nominations from across the sector to recognize and honor the best among us.

Jeff Freeland Nelson, managing director of public strategy, Minnesota Public Radio, received the first ever Catalytic Leader award. Jeff says that he’s learned along the way that no matter how big and powerful you are, no one person can do it alone. That’s how he’s managed to make a difference from where he is early in his career and working from the middle in a large nonprofit. “I know a solution is out there,” he says, “let’s figure out a way to get it done.”

Kate Barr, executive director, Nonprofits Assistance Fund, said this in accepting the Visionary Leader award: “Thank you, and I need to tell you that in-between visioning and leading, there’s a lot of work! I have two plates on my office wall. One reminds me to ask ‘Why?’ and the other reminds me to ask ‘What If?’” Kate says that we need to keep asking questions and be willing to listen to answers. “Leaders have to be willing to let others take risks and to be accepting if it doesn’t always work out. We have to be enthusiastic about learning and changing.”

Michael Wirth-Davis, president and CEO, Goodwill/Easter Seals Minnesota, received the Transformational Leader award. In more than a few years of learning and growing along a very successful nonprofit career path, Michael says that “my view of leadership is it’s a group activity; it’s not a solo activity.” His list of what leaders believe is a call to action for all who have it in them to dig in.

“Leaders believe in: abundance, not scarcity; giving gifts and receiving gifts from others; not being afraid of messy work, of being wrong, of working hard, of drawing energy from giving and serving, of seeing potential in small and big things, of borrowing practices and ideas from others and sharing freely your own. Leaders believe in going with your gut, numerous starts and lots of stops; taking risks. Leaders believe in being dissatisfied with what is and optimistic about what could be.”

An incredibly inspiring cast of leaders, these three. Helps us think about leadership not as a concept or a role, but as flesh and blood and personality and passion.

Lois Schmidt
NRS – Willmar Charter

Strength Based Leadership

As I was browsing the shelves at a Waldons Bookstore recently, I saw the book Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath a #1 New York Times Bestselling Author. I remembered that I had a copy of that book in my office and decided to take a look at it again. I was also interested because the Alexandria Technical College in my area is currently offering NAVIGATE Your Talents – Strength-Based Leadership using these resources. Check it out at www.alextech.edu/CustomizedTraining.

The premise in a nutshell is the idea that by developing our "strengths" rather than focusing on our weaknesses we are more productive, engaged and positive people.

Using studies by Gallup, Tom’s team created a language of the 34 most common talents and developed the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment to help people discover and describe their talents. Check out the website for more information and how to take the assessment at www.strengthsfinder.com.

Gallup has surveyed more than 10 million people in the past decade on the topic of employee engagement and only 1/3 agreed that at work they have the opportunity to do what they do best everyday. He goes on to say that in contrast, studies show that people who do have the opportunity to focus on their strengths are 6 times more likely to be engaged in their jobs and more than 3 times as likely to report they having an excellent quality of life.

Could this be the tool your organization is looking for in 2010 to help your organization thrive?

Holly Witt
NRS, Alexandria Charter