 by Becky Lunders, teamWorks
The worldwide pandemic has afforded most of us the rare opportunity to reflect, assess, and create the way forward. In the everyday hustle and bustle of work and life, rarely do we get a chance to pause, let along actually come up for air. We all have the choice of coasting along or stepping on the productivity gas pedal. Now is the time to set some goals. Whether you are an employee working from home for the first time or a kid learning to manage your class workload online, we can all benefit from goalsetting. Without goals, it’s tough to stay on track when there’s no one watching over your shoulder. Without goals, how will you be ready when your opportunity comes? In my home gym I made a sign that says, “What are you doing today to prepare for tomorrow?” Are you making progress or are you just spinning your wheels? Goals are helpful when it comes to daily workouts, work, relationships, and life. As a virtual employee, YOU must determine what you will accomplish on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis in order to reach the deadline for your project or overall outcome. Long term goals are great, but without a plan to reach they don’t happen. I have found mini goals are helpful in achieving the long-term goal but also in motivating you along the way. Here’s how it works. If you have a project due the end of the month, determine what you need to achieve each week to meet that deadline. Then, give yourself a goal for each day. You’ll find motivation in hitting the benchmarks as you progress. I’ve found it helpful to chunk out my day and spend concentrated time on a single project. This allows me to go deep and not be tempted by the outside distractions of social media, the daily COVID-19 Task Force update, or the fully stocked pantry that is hollering for a drive-by visit. The same applies to your workout routine. If you are going to do 100 push-ups this week, how many will you do each day to get to that goal? If you are going to connect with five old friends this month, who will you reach out to this week? If you are going to read a book this week, how many pages will you read each day to accomplish that? COVID-19 has afforded us some much-needed down time. Make sure you use it wisely so when the shelter-at-home order is lifted, you’ll be proud of what you were able to accomplish!
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 Every nonprofit dreams of that CEO or C-suite executive who agrees to lead the gala, chair the walk, or sit on the board. After all, development directors know that volunteer leadership is critical to generating revenue, attracting sponsors, and building capacity. But these people are already tapped out! Corporate executives are in a quandary: they want their organization to be involved, but don’t have the bandwidth to lead.
What if Corporate America looked at volunteerism as an opportunity to develop rising talent while also engaging with the community? What if that CEO said, “Hey, nonprofit. I can’t serve in this role, but I’m giving you one of my best employees who really cares about your mission. I’d like to develop them as a leader, so they are ready when a promotion comes about. You have my commitment that our company will fully participate in your (fill in the blank). Thank you for this talent development opportunity.” And what if nonprofits went to corporate executives and said, “CEO, we know you are super busy. We love that you support our cause. Who do you have on your team that connects with our mission and might want to develop their leadership skills by managing a committee or leading an event? We’ll train them, give them the tools to manage volunteers, and recognize the heck out of them!” It’s a completely different ask. Over the years, I’ve seen it work incredibly well. Companies need to engage with the community; nonprofits need leaders to head initiatives. It’s mutually beneficial. Corporate partners get to recognize leaders with the opportunity to develop talent and have a presence in the community, while nonprofits get qualified leaders who have the time to do the job, and the leverage to involve employees every step of the way. Let me know if you want help to make this happen. We are teamWorks. We’ve been building capacity for nonprofits and developing corporate leaders for twenty year.
I go to conferences to fill up my tank - to learn, grow, and be inspired. Sometimes I’m a speaker; other times I’m a participant. I love to sit in on sessions because it helps me be better at what I do. I’ve experienced amazing facilitators who have great content, provide an environment that taps the knowledge and expertise in the room, and inspire me with their passion. I’ve been to mediocre sessions where the content is relevant, if attendees can stay away long enough to absorb it. Worse yet is the facilitator who sees a room full of eager learners as the perfect venue to sell his or her latest book, while name-dropping to solidify their relevance. What kind of speakers do you provide?
After two decades of training, I have come to realize that investing time and resources in your facilitators is money well spent. Only certain people have the opportunity to attend your conference. If the learning stops with them, you have missed the mark. A speaker’s ability to share information, teach how it applies to real-life situations, and help create a plan to put it into action is golden. If attendees are able to tap the best practices in the room, they have an better chance of figuring out how it can impact their organization. What are you doing to ensure your conference attendees get all of this? Training matters, and there are some simple components you can put in place to increase stickiness. Teach your speakers to create buy-in and enable participants to connect in each session. Help them understand the different learning styles and delivery strategies. Educate them about the difference between a presenter and a facilitator so they can prepare accordingly in order to wow the crowd. What support do you offer your speakers? Becky Lunders of teamWorks offers Training Matters, a three-part video webinar series for organizations interested in training that packs a powerful punch. On Monday, December 11th, join teamWorks for a complimentary preview of the series to see if it’s something you’d like to offer to your conference speakers. Register here: http://www.totalteamworks.com/online-video-webinars.html |
Becky Lunders, teamWorksAuthor. Speaker. Motivator. Archives
April 2020
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