Centerpoint for Leaders and The Points of Light Foundation's newest e-publication to give you relevant and concise information on leadership and organizational development.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Sherry Anderson, Division of Volunteerism — Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services, who earned the designation of Certified Executive Leader (CEL) for demonstrating exceptional competence for nonprofit leadership by successfully completing Centerpoint for Leaders’ Online Leadership Development Program with a mentor documenting the fulfillment of prescribed effective leadership behaviors and performance standards required for the CEL designation.

Ethical Inspiration

Some ways in which your organization can implement an ethical initiative include:

• giving information to all employees on the benefits of an ethics program

• acknowledging the ethical challenges that exist within your group

• creating communications plans for implementing the ethics initiative

• developing relevant products and services to foster ethical practices.

The Ethics Resource Center now publishes its Ethics Today newsletter on-line and you may refer to the current issue, where president Patricia J. Harned, Ph.D., comments: "Take these tools and use them to assist you in your own quest for character; to help you positively impact the individuals in your organization and to promote ethics and integrity in your organization as a whole."
New words, new presentation; same story.

Thanks Ethics Resource Center! Click here to go to the current newsletter.

by Dr. John C. Maxwell

Four strategies that will keep your momentum moving:

1. \When you're doing well, instead of patting yourself on the back, go shopping. Look around for somebody that's bigger, better, faster, and smarter than you are.

2. Stir up inspirational dissatisfaction (a creative awareness that you can do better).

3. Develop a daily dose of paranoia — not a big dose, but a pebble in the shoe — that creates just enough discomfort to keep you continually alert and engaged.

4. Continue to set goals that stretch your team. A goal is only effective when it forces changes, big decisions, and bold action.

Cited and used with permission from Leadership Wired. To read the entire article, click here.

Please visit us on the internet —
http://www.PointsofLight.org;
http://www.centerpointforleaders.org

If there is a topic on leadership or organizational development that you would like to share or see us address, please send us an e-mail at info@centerpointforleaders.org.

For an executive director, the board assessment of the chief executive is sometimes the only vehicle for the executive to obtain input into his or her performance. It is a critical process for the executive's and the organization's success. It is designed to lead the board and executive through a thoughtful discussion about past performance and future aspiration.

For the board, assessing the performance of the chief staff person is an essential function.

Cited and used with permission from BoardSource. To read the entire article, click here. To purchase the assessment tool, click here.

by Ron Crossland

In the February, 2006, issue of Harvard Businesss Review, authors Brousseau, Driver, Hourihan, and Larsson investigated a behavioral database of 120,000 managers in their report on executive decision making. Their research led them to develop the idea there are four decision-making styles. What intrigued me about their article was the following statement: “...people don’t lead the way they think. The decision process is different in front of a crowd than it is in front of the mirror.” The article provided several case examples in which individuals did not know they did this until informed from feedback. nformation and change their style.

Cited and used with permission from The Point Newsletter. To read the entire article, click here. To subscribe to The Point Newsletter, click here.

by Gene Klann

The "Five E's" are example, education, environment, experience and evaluation.

Example: Leadership by example is the ability to influence others through actions and attitudes.

Education: Organizations can set up formal and informal training that focuses on the importance of character, the potential pressures on and challenges to character, and the implications of a lapse of character.

Environment: The environment is essentially the organization's culture — its collective personality, attitudes and outlook — and the culture is shaped and developed over time by the actions and values of people in the organization.

Experience: Assignments that are extremely challenging and carry great responsibility are more likely to enhance character development. In view of this, senior leaders should ensure that high-potential employees are given "stretch" positions.

Evaluation: Feedback provides information that lets leaders know how their character measures up and how they are progressing toward their character development goals. For feedback to be effective, however, clear expectations regarding patterns of behavior need to be established and communicated.

This article was adapated from the CCL/Jossey-Bass magazine Leaderhip in Action. Used and cited with permission from Center for Creative Leadership. Click here to read the entire article.