Posted on Monday, 19th January 2009 by chris wignall

I tend toward the optimistic side of most issues, occasionally to my detriment. The state of the economy is undeniably bad the world over, but I’m reluctant to spend much time lamenting the situation. Doing so serves mostly to distract us from mission and probably contributes to the self-fulfilling prophecy of doom that is simultaneously [...]

Tags: Leadership, Resources
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Posted on Saturday, 6th December 2008 by chris wignall

In the last year I’ve spent more time in a variety of leadership workshops and training seminars than ever before, including the last two days. I like learning and leadership is a topic for which I have a large appetite. So why is it that in the vast majority of cases I am checking email [...]

Tags: Leadership, Resources
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Posted on Monday, 24th November 2008 by chris wignall

I am coming to really like Patrick Lencioni‘s work. I recently read his latest book and am eager to try applying the principles and strategies to my own family. Now, he has again written something quite stimulating in his POV newsletter. (sign up here) This time he argues that no Executive/leadership team/board, whoever really makes [...]

Tags: Leadership, Resources
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Posted on Tuesday, 28th October 2008 by chris wignall

One of the e-newsletters I subscribe to if from Patrick Lencioni. As with his best selling books, these shorter pieces are always insightful. Here’s a quote from the latest: Whenever I hear someone encourage all young people to become leaders, or better yet, when I hear a young person say glibly that he or she [...]

Tags: Leadership, Resources
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Posted on Wednesday, 8th October 2008 by chris wignall

This morning we began our first program of leadership development for high school students. We are with a class of 24 through the business department of Abbey Park High School in Oakville, ON. It was a good start as we explored the ways in which those things we did as children that we really enjoyed [...]

Tags: Catalyst, Resources
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Posted on Thursday, 25th September 2008 by chris wignall

Last May, in a hotel room overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Fort Lauderdale I was strongly impacted by a pre-release trailer for a movie called “Call and Response“. There is a growing awareness of the ugly reality of human trafficking in our time, particularly the sexual exploitation of children slaves. Please see and circulate this [...]

Tags: Resources
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Posted on Monday, 8th September 2008 by chris wignall

We are partway through the process of evaluating our applicants from this funding cycle. It has been a large learning experience. In a few weeks I will post some of what we’ve learned in the hope of becoming better at it next time around. One of the challenges at times in our discussions has been [...]

Tags: Catalyst, Resources
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Posted on Saturday, 6th September 2008 by chris wignall

The word Catalyst gets used in several nonprofits and ministries. One that I can recommend is the Catalyst conference and all the ancillary elements they’ve added. I’ve enjoyed their podcasts for a couple years and am disappointed that I won’t be available to accompany a group from our area to Atlanta next month to see [...]

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Posted on Wednesday, 27th August 2008 by chris wignall

I am learning quite a lot about the roles and responsibilities of board members. I’m realizing how very important an effective board can be to the long term work of an organization, and conversely, how crippling a poor board can be. In evaluating grant applications one of the factors we consider is the effectiveness of [...]

Tags: Leadership, Resources
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Posted on Friday, 22nd August 2008 by chris wignall

I seem to talk to a lot of Executive Directors of nonprofits who claim to enjoy fundraising. Without questioning their integrity, I doubt most of them. I suspect that what they really enjoy is talking about their organization, telling the stories of their team and the people they serve. When it comes to the moment [...]

Tags: Resources
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