An overview of what is succession planning and why it’s important.An intentional process of succession planning, whether for your board or for your executive staff, will safeguard against unplanned and unexpected change and the potential chaos that can ensue. A clear and straightforward process is equally as helpful in facilitating smooth leadership transitions when change is predictable and planned. Either way, it will contribute to your organization’s sustainability and potentially grow leadership in your community. And it’s NOT complicated. It simply requires making the time and ensuring engagement. Learn how and where to start. Designed for both executive staff and board members, this interactive session will provide both strategic and practical insights into this essential practice. You’ll look at what is succession planning, why it matters, who’s involved, and how you can make it happen, including the potential challenges involved.Topics will include: (1) An overview of what is succession planning and why it’s important; (2) Look at what’s involved in executive staff succession planning; (3) Cover the benefits and processes of board development and sustainability, with the emphasis on succession planning, and (4) Discuss how it all aligns to achieve an organization’s mission.______________________________________________________________________________________________________About the presenter:Jane Baxter Lynn is passionate about working […]

Learning to develop others to achieve performance goals, develop skills, solve problems, work productively, and advance their careersHow do you engage and develop others, so they can achieve performance goals, develop skills, solve problems, work productively, and advance their careers? In a 10-year research endeavor dubbed Project Oxygen, Google, Inc discovered the key is leadership coaching. Many other research projects have reached similar results (e.g., HBR Leadership that Gets Results), concluding that leaders who coach their staff create productive, motivated, and successful employees, teams, and organizations.Learning to coach — like learning to lead — is a journey, not a quick fix. In this exercise and practice driven introductory workshop, we will clarify the concept of coaching and hone our coaching skills. Please come prepared with at least one personal or professional goal you are trying to achieve, a difficult decision you are trying to make, a problem you are struggling to solve, or a struggle you are addressing. There will be an opportunity to receive in-room coaching and to coach others on their goal, decision, problem, or struggle.Learning Objectives• Understand when coaching is useful and when it is not• Develop skills for effective listening and asking powerful questions• Learn how […]

Participants will experience a variety of methods to help solve problems and make decisions in a nonprofit setting.Participants will experience a variety of methods to help solve problems and make decisions in a nonprofit setting. The class will present tools to assist participants in examining problems and making decisions within nonprofit settings. It will start with the context in which problem solving and decision-making takes place, and includes examining ethical elements, communication, negotiation, various styles of decision-making, and the importance of stakeholders. The tools section of the class will present six steps and various processes to allow participants to examine the problem solving and decision-making tools they already use and add to their toolbox.Learning Objectives:• Understanding ethical issues when making decisions and solving problems.• Determining root causes.• Involving people in the process of decision making and problem solving.• Identifying steps to problem solving.______________________________________________________________________________________________________About the presenter:Kathleen McCleskey, KM Consulting and Training Connection, is a facilitator, trainer, consultant, and curriculum developer. She conducts classes in project management, multi-day presentation skills class, increasing personal effectiveness, strategic planning, and leading teams and groups are some of the classes Kathleen has conducted in her career.Kathleen has conducted workshops in the United States, Egypt, Guam, Korea, […]

Interactive, three-part series, where participants will reflect on their own stories, their organization’s stories, and the commonalities.Effectively telling your organization’s story is essential to fundraising, audienceengagement, and even employee satisfaction. Does your board struggle tocommunicate all your organization does? Do your staff members inconsistentlydescribe the organization’s purpose? When you tell your organization’s story, areyour beneficiaries’ voices always included?In this interactive, workshop-style three-part series, participants will reflect on their ownstories, their organization’s stories, and the connections between the work theydo and the people and issues they represent. We will dig into the Why, Who, andNow What of your organization’s story with the goal of crafting a simple,authentic, and compelling narrative that every board, staff, and target audiencemember can engage with and appreciate.Week 1: Your Organization’s Why - January 16, 2025This is where any organization must start when crafting a compelling narrative.We’ll dig into how to identify your organization’s unique Why. (Spoiler: it’s notyour mission statement.)Week 2: The Essential Who - January 23, 2025This is the magical missing piece many organizations overlook when telling theirstory, yet it is most likely the reason the organization exists. We’ll dig into theexperiences, expertise, and aspirations of the most important people (orcreatures or land) related to […]

Looking at the bigger picture for nonprofit programs and their organizational performanceSometimes it is challenging to see the forest through the trees. Nonprofits often have many programs running at the same time, and an endless “to do” list for each program. This workshop will guide participants in taking a step back to assess the big picture for their organization, program, or activities. Participants will engage in an evaluation exercise that will include identifying bottlenecks and “traps” their work may have fallen into. Identifying and addressing these bottlenecks and traps will lead to increased organizational agility, resilience, and sustained performance. This learning opportunity will utilize the Liberating Structures EcoCycle Planning micro-structure, an open-source tools.Nonprofit Austin reserves the right to postpone this opportunity if there is not adequate registration.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Our facilitator, Christine Gendron: Christine Gendron is an experienced and entrepreneurial leader, a systems thinker, connector, collaborator, and capacity builder. She has nearly 20 years of leadership experience serving as a resource for nonprofits, policymakers, government, and philanthropy organizations on strengthening outcomes for children, youth, families, and underserved populations.Christine previously served as the Executive Director of a statewide association and advocacy organization for eight years. She stepped into that role when the organization was […]

This workshop will focus on how to tie nonprofit programs to its goals to help accomplish the mission.Managing a nonprofit takes strategic thinking and strategy to be able to purposefully tie their programs to their goals. To do this, program managers need to strategically consider the internal and external factors facing each nonprofit program and the outcomes and results each program will produce. This workshop will focus on how to tie nonprofit programs to its goals to help accomplish the mission. Participants will learn to develop the basic outline of a strategic plan by determining how each program fits into the overall strategic plan of their nonprofit.If possible, participants should bring their nonprofit’s strategic plan with a mission statement, vision statement, and priorities/goals/objectives/strategic initiatives.Learning Objectives:• Understand the differences and relationships between strategic planning, strategic thinking, and operations.• Develop an understanding of the relationship between nonprofit programs and the goals of the nonprofit.• Construct concrete goals.______________________________________________________________________________________________________About the presenter: Kathleen McCleskey, KM Consulting and Training Connection, is a facilitator, trainer, consultant, and curriculum developer. She conducts classes in project management, multi-day presentation skills class, increasing personal effectiveness, strategic planning, and leading teams and groups are some of the classes Kathleen has conducted […]