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leadership

How much time does a NFP Board position take?

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Before you read further, take a moment to estimate how many hours a week/month a role on a NFP Board involves? What would be your guess?

Serving on a community board is a wonderful opportunity. When you find the right board role for you, it should energise you despite the time you devote to it. It may energise you through the tasks you are completing, the people you are working with (your fellow board directors) or the impact you are creating.

Let’s face it though, it’s really important to understand exactly the hours involved in a NFP Board position before you accept. The true answer to the time questions above is that it depends on the board, role and organisation as to many hours you need to commit.

However let me break down what the commitment could look like so you can get a sense of the components of a board role.

Board Meetings

Most Boards would meet either monthly, every second month or quarterly from 2 hours to 5 hours each. This would be your core responsibility to prepare, meet and participate.

Most board meetings might require this same time again in preparing for board meetings by reading the board papers, thinking through decisions and questions. You may pose these questions to the CEO or staff before a meeting or let them know that you will ask these questions at the meeting. You may also need to prepare reports for the meeting yourself such as Sub Committee reports, Board papers with an idea or suggestion, or you may have prepared a piece of work for the Board’s consideration such an update to a policy document.

Board meetings are the foundations of your board responsibility so attendance at each and every one is critical.

Sub Committee Meetings

Most Boards have Sub Committees that you would either lead or play a role in to support the Board in the work that’s required.

These Sub Committees have their own Terms of Reference and meetings can occur sometime occur less often than a Board meeting for 1- 2 hours. These Sub Committees could include Governance, Audit and Risk, Financial/Budget, Fundraising, Board Nominations, Clinical Governance and Marketing and Communications as examples.

Sub Committees are used to delegate work by the Board so they can focus their time at Board meetings. Sub Committees can provide information and make recommendations to the Board for action that’s needed.

Annual Strategy Session/s

Most boards may have a separate session focused on reviewing the strategy. This could involve a day or two to review the current strategy, monitor progress of the strategy or develop a new strategy. It may be an off site event where the board travels to a different location. There may also be a number of meetings to prepare for the annual strategy session too.

Leadership Responsibilities

If you hold any leadership responsibilities (Board Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Sub Committee Chair), this will involve further hours to prepare, connect with staff or your fellow board members. Preparation could include developing reports, agendas, work with the CEO or gather information for the Board papers. And let’s not forget emails too – this is a responsibility of all board directors!

Representation

You may be called to represent the board at further meetings and events. This could include meeting various stakeholders, speaking at events on behalf of the organisation, attending networking events or meeting with donors.

Social Activities

Many organisations have a range of social activities that board directors can or must be involved with. This may give board members an opportunity to meet and speak with staff, members or recipients of their services. This could include Christmas parties, National Volunteer Week or an annual awards celebrations. Some boards may share dinner together before or after a board meeting too.

So how much does this equal to?
So a Board commitment could be anywhere between one to four days a month. This would mostly be done outside of normal working hours. In fact, in a previous Australian Institute of Company Directors NFP Governance Report, it suggested that most NFP Board members contributes 35 days a year to their board position. 35 days per year is just under 3 days a month.

So how does that sit with your expectations of serving on a NFP board?

Surprised at the commitment? Ready for the commitment? It’s definitely good to know what you’re in for!

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Why we need Greater Good Leadership more than ever?

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This revolution will ask all of us to shift our ways of thinking to connection rather than consumerism, to purpose rather than profits, to sustainability rather than selfishness. We must awaken to see workers not as inputs, the environment not as our personal domain, and shareholders not as all-powerful. And we need to move away from old models of doing what is right for me and assuming it will turn out right for you.”

— Jacqueline Novogratz, Author, A Manifesto for a Moral Revolution

Amongst the pain, destruction, fear and uncertainty, the world is demanding a new form of leadership. Leadership that acts on aspirations beyond personal goals or even beyond the traditional bounds of a business or organisation but instead seeks to work towards the greater good. As a global society, we are facing unprecedented challenges that need solutions outside our current thinking. We need models that stretch our thinking and we need new frameworks to inspire our action.

 

We need leaders who serve the greater good.

First and foremost, Greater Good Leaders serve a purpose beyond themselves. We dare to imagine a future which affords everyone opportunities for safety, growth, choice and dignity. We dare to imagine a future which values the intangibles as much as the tangibles – our environment, human connection and the arts.

Greater Good Leaders take radical responsibility for the challenges in the world. We do not shift to blame others or shirk away from these responsibilities, but we take them on – together with others, with all the vulnerability of not knowing the answers. We live and act with integrity and take on our leadership duties with the greatest sense of honor and responsibility.

Greater Good Leaders hone our strengths and talents to face these challenges and responsibility. We act with humility through always listening, learning and building trust with others. We focus on changing ourselves first – growing our talents as well as understanding of the world. Leadership is not about me – but it is personal. We can only start with me – improve me, transform me – then we can attend to the global transformations we seek.

Now more than ever, we need a moral revolution, a moral compass to guide our leadership. We are yearning for something different – from our political leaders, business leaders and community leaders.

 

Here are 9 reasons we need Greater Good Leadership more than ever

 

1. We want to trust our leaders again

There is an all-time low level of trust in leaders and institutions – from government, politics, business or religious organisations. Trust has been broken and it needs to be repaired.

We want to trust our leaders – we want leaders who have honed their competence to perform their job well, leaders who care deeply and listen to concerns, and who are genuine and sincere in their words, actions and decisions. We’ve over leaders talking one way and acting another – you lose all respect, trust and credibility.

 

2. We want leaders who are ethical

An individual has not started living until they can rise above the narrow confines of their individualistic concerns to the broad concerns of all humanity”

— Jeff Klein, Author, Working for Good

Great success, profits and power can’t be at the expense of people or the community as a whole. Unfortunately, we see leaders who are willing to overlook wrongdoing if it benefits their success. Greater Good Leaders view performances within the lens of ethics, asking what has been the means to create this success.

Being ethical in your decision making and actions is core to greater good leadership. Being a person of integrity, honoring your word and doing the right thing even when no one is watching.

We want leaders who walk the talk who are inspiring people who lead by example. Our actions matter more than our words. Every day we show our values through our words, actions and decisions – what are you communicating through your behaviours today? Greater Good Leaders are cognisant of the values that drive our behaviours and work hard to ensure we are reflecting our values clearly.

 

3. We want leaders who take responsibility

Making the choice to take full responsibility is the foundation of true personal and relational transformation”

— The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership

Leaders who blame and shame others for the problems we face are tiring. We seek leaders who take responsibility – radical 100% responsibility. These leaders understand they may not have created the problems but they will definitely not be part in continuing them. We must be accountable for our words and actions and openly acknowledge our mistakes when they occur. We are all human. We are all learners.

 

4. We want leaders with true vision and imagination

What does following in the footsteps of everyone else get you? It gets you to exactly the same conclusions as everyone else.”
—  Ryan Holiday

The goal posts have moved – we want goals and ambitions, vision and futures with less greed, corruption, pollution and poverty and more wellbeing, connection, ethics and dignity. We need to inspire long term thinking, audacious goals as well as small incremental change. We ought to encourage leaders to dream of what could be – looking for solutions which are inclusive and sustainable. We need leaders who are willing to challenge the status quo and with that the traditional powers.

 

5. We want leaders who display courage

People see the injustice in the world. We want change. We see the discrimination, greed and corruption, and we need to see these injustices brought to justice. Otherwise we lose confidence in our democracy.

This takes true courage – the ability to face discomfort and be brave to work towards the greater good. Courage means using your voice, standing up for what you believe in, seeing things from different perspectives and working together with others.

 

6. We need more than a strong man – we need diversity

We’ve seen a resurgence of a ‘strong man leadership’ with global leaders exhibiting tough guy, hyper-masculine toxicity. We’ve also seen the world see the race discrimination that still infilitrates our structures, norms and behaviours. One man, race or country does not have all the answers to solve the complex problems of the world. We need now more than ever, a diverse collective to overcome the challenges we face. We must embrace diversity in all its forms, be willing to listen and learn, and seek conversations for understanding.

This is love work. Love is one of those words that is hard to define. But in the context of this work, here is what it means to me: It means you do this work because you believe in something greater than your own self-gain. It means you do this work because you believe that every human being deserves dignity, freedom, and equality. It means you do this work because you desire wholeness for yourself and the world. It means you do this work because you want to become a good ancestor. It means you do this work because love is not a verb to you but an action. It means you do this work because you no longer want to intentionally or unintentionally harm BIPOC”

— Layla Saad, Author, Me and White Supremacy: How to Recognise Your Privilege, Combat Racism and Change the World

7. We value more than just the bottom line

We can no longer afford false divisions between work and community, between ethics and economics. But how can we change from a system which values endless increasing profit and materialism to one in which the core values are community, caring for the environment, creating, growing things and personal development? We empower people. There aren’t many motivating forces more potent than giving your staff an opportunity to exercise and express their idealism”.

— Anita Roddick, Founder, The Body Shop and Author, Business as Unusual

There is more to the world than profits. We need meaning, we need well-being, we need connection, we need a clean and enduring environment. These goals don’t even need to be in opposition to money and growth but we need to re-imagine it’s relationship. Conscious capitalism is re-envisioning what could be and it’s the way of the future.

 

8. We want vulnerability from our leaders

Our ability to be daring leaders will never be greater than our capacity for vulnerability”

— Brene Brown, Researcher and Author, Dare to Lead

Greater Good Leadership requires vulnerability. We don’t know all the answers and we can’t be perfect. Brené Brown describes vulnerability as “uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure.” It’s that unstable feeling we get when we step out of our comfort zone or do something that we can’t control the outcome. Greater Good leaders commit to showing up and doing the work anyway.

 

9. We want leaders who work for our most disadvantaged

Greater Good leaders are characterised not by what they get (power, fame, fortune) but what they give. They put themselves last – they serve others first. They are working beyond their own self interest and instead have a genuine concern for others. They put themselves in other people’s shoes. They listen and work together with people. Do you give more to the world than what you take?

 

We are the leaders we desire…

Greater Good Leaders are not out there waiting to be discovered. We need to be the leaders we desire. In these challenging times, we must not seek outside, we must seek inside ourselves to grow into the best leaders we can be in this moment in history. To improve ourselves so together we can improve the world around us.

 

Want to join the Greater Good Collective? Launching February 6!

On 6 February, I’m launching the Greater Good Collective, a 3 month personal leadership journey to live and lead courageously to create a better world.

Check it out here to join us.
 

 

Great leaders practice journaling and self reflection

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I’m often asked what leaders can do to improve their leadership, confidence and teamwork. And for me, I would always recommend a habit that many leaders love to hate! Not many of us, in the fast paced, increasingly noisy, anxiety driven world that we live in can handle sitting quietly for 5, 10 or 15 minutes a day with the aim of thinking about our own thoughts and behaviours. Self reflection is something we all have access to. You can get started with just a notepad and pen.

Self reflection can help you understand your emotions, strengths and weaknesses and can help you identify your values and goals. By reflecting on your behaviour and experiences you can learn what drives you and what kind of impact you are having on the people you lead.

Your integrity and confidence will also develop and grow with consistent self reflection practices. Reviewing your past decisions and actions can lead to better decision making in the future with a lot less self doubt.

The results of ongoing self reflection are impressive. It’s definitely worth taking note! But do you have the discipline?

Why self reflection is important for leaders

Self reflection gives you time and space to consider your actions and beliefs for the benefit of learning. It’s a way of documenting what’s happening around you and using this understanding to create meaning for the purpose of learning.

It’s a stop. A pause. A breath. Amongst all the busyness, action and noise. Observe yourself and others to create understanding, plans and meaning for the future.

It’s an opportunity to stand back for a moment and observe yourself. Self reflection is a brilliant quality in successful leaders – their ability to observe their own behaviour – almost as if observing another person. Most people will do it after a meeting, event or interaction. Super-practiced leaders learn to self-observe in each moment.

But it’s simple enough to begin after a meeting, event or an interaction. Consider questions such as:

“How would other people perceive my actions?”

“How did I participate in that team meeting?”

“How did I show up?”

“How did I react and answer questions from others?”

“Was I open to the ideas and discussion or did I shut the conversation down?”

Reflect actively, selectively, constantly, and don’t be afraid to do it in front of the people you lead. Just as important – take time to help others reflect on what they are doing well, and help them identify how they can increase their skill sets to work more effectively towards their goals.

Self reflection is a skill like anything else, so it does take practice.

Good journaling develops from asking good questions

Many people are almost scared to sit in front of a blank piece of paper and wonder what to write about. It is a common barrier to journaling.

“You review the past to assess the present and then determine what actions are necessary to change your future. You take what you know and apply it to how you want to grow. Thus, the power of journaling.” ~ Melissa Steginus

A simple way to start is to brainstorm questions to ask yourself. They could be the same questions that you use every day, week or month to consider. You can also include exploratory questions to get you thinking and being creative.

A great daily question, which was highlighted in the book, Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being by Dr Martin Seligman, can be as simple as:

“What went well today and why?”

Other daily questions could be:

“Did I accomplish what I set out to do today?”

“What did I learn from today?”

“What are my priorities?”

Ask questions to inspire possibilities, creativity and insights

In Think Like Da Vinci by Michael Gelb, he shares that Leonardo Da Vinci used notebooks to record everything! From ideas, impressions, observations and thoughts from scholars he admired, jokes and fables, philosophical musings and prophecies, pens for inventions, painting and doodling to personal finance records and letters. Seven thousand pages of Da Vinci’s notebooks existed. Michael Gelb shares that we can develop our sense of curiosity through journaling.

He suggests the 100 questions exercise. Create a list of 100 questions that you could muse on. It could be about anything. How to have more fun? How to love more? What is the meaning of life?

Create this list in one sitting and quickly. When you’ve finished your list, he suggests you review your list for themes and then find the top ten questions that intrigue you and pique the most interest. Use this as the basis of your journaling practice.

Here are the top ten questions Michael Gelb suggests as a catalyst for personal growth and fulfilment:

“When am I most naturally myself? What people, places, and activities allow me to feel most fully myself?”

“What’s one thing I could stop doing, start doing, or do differently, starting today that would most improve the quality of my life?”

“What is my greatest talent?“

“How can I get paid for doing what I love?”

“Who are my most inspiring role models?”

“How can I best be of service to others?”

“What is my heart’s deepest desire?”

“How am I perceived by: my closed friend, my worst enemy, my boss, my children, my co-workers, etc?”

“What are the blessings of my life?”

“What legacy would l like to leave?”

Many strategies for journaling

Asking questions of yourself is an easy way to start but there are other options too. Many highly productive people have also used a technique from Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way called Morning Pages.

Morning Pages is simply three pages of long hand, stream-of-consciousness writing first thing in the morning. The idea is to pick up the pen and not to put it down until you have done your three pages. You write whatever is in your head, even if you start off with writing…I don’t know what to write!

The purpose of morning pages, Julia says, is “once we get those muddy, maddening, confusing thoughts [nebulous worries, jitters, and preoccupations] on the page, we face our day with clearer eyes.”

There are plenty of methods and suggestions, but there are no real rules for journaling. Find what sparks your interest and run with it. You might want to go out and buy yourself a fancy, leather bound notebook and make a real ritual of your journaling. Maybe you want to just pop a notebook and pen by your bed to record those last minute thoughts before sleeping. Or maybe you’re a voice memo, index card or word doc. kind of journaler. It doesn’t matter how you journal, just that you do!

Writing online vs writing by hand

A common question when it comes to journaling is:

“Should I hand write it or can I just type away on the computer?”

Some people might find it easier to journal on the computer – Google docs, WordPress, Medium or even Microsoft Word give you easy ways to type away your thoughts and reflections. Not to mention an easy way to store your thoughts and reflections!

But there are potential downsides of digital journaling. It may just be too easy to click over to Facebook or your latest email that pops into your inbox. We spend so much time in front of screens these days that any opportunity to take habits offline might be worth considering.

There are also many benefits to writing by hand. Loads of studies have shown the diverse benefits of handwriting in relation to memory, creativity, learning and expressing ideas.

Many studies have found that you connect more with words written by hand and that your brain can focus, understand and learn more from words that are written rather than typed.

There is something satisfying about opening up and using a nicely bound journal. It’s personal, it’s therapeutic, and it may make you feel like a writer in the 1920’s in Paris!

I’m going to let you decide which one works for you. I want you to think about which one you will actually do. Ultimately, the important thing is not how you do it, just that you DO IT! Will typing make it easier for you? Or are you keen to explore the benefits of handwriting?

Making it a Habit

So how do you make it a habit that you stick to? It’s all about the routines you use! Here are a couple of ideas for you to mix and match to find what might work best for you.

Last 10 minutes of your work day

Before you go to bed

Every Sunday night

A day once a quarter

Here are a few more tips to get you journaling:

  • Start small and keep your expectations realistic
  • Schedule journaling time into your day or week
  • Use different methods till you find one that resonates with you
  • Don’t stress about writing every single day
  • Where possible, always carry your journal with you
  • Keep it simple – just write!

When can you schedule it in? Is there another habit you can pair up with journaling? Self awareness is such a foundational skill for any leader. Self reflection and journaling will help your self awareness soar!

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The world needs more purpose-driven people. But where do you start? This inspiring guide will give you powerful insights to find and refine your own purpose in life.
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How to use your influence for good

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Most change-makers I know are keen to have a positive impact on the world in some way. Traditionally you may have had to be a Prime Minister or wealthy CEO to influence and impact the world.

But the world has changed! You don’t need to be in a position of authority to have the power to positively influence those around you. Tools such as the internet have levelled the playing field and allowed everyday people to have a voice, gather people together for a cause and create momentum. Think about Malala Yousafzai or the #Metoo movement.

What types of power increase your influence?

Social psychologists John French and Bertram Raven discovered that there are six types of influential power and, of those, there are two that everyone has the ability to harness regardless of their standing.

1. Expert Power – Having advanced levels of knowledge about a subject gives you power because people trust you as an expert in your subject area and look to you for guidance. Develop this power by taking courses, reading, attending conferences, finding mentors who challenge your assumptions and constantly stretch your knowledge and understanding.

2. Referent Power – This is the type of power that people wield when they are well-liked and respected. You have this power if you are well-known in your community. Earn this power by always leading with integrity, doing good work, building strong relationships and take bold actions.

As change-makers, we can work on developing these powers to influence our workplaces or communities. Challenge yourself to lead not through position, fear or demands but through something which is far stronger than these – shared values!

Shared values are guiding beliefs that groups and organisations rally around to inspire change and keep people committed to their causes. These are beliefs that excite, guide people’s actions and help define identities. Most importantly, they’re the emotionally-charged fuel that enables leaders to influence their followers.

Tap into Emotions and Get Personal

According to Harvard Business researcher Dr. John P. Kotter, most people fail to be influential because they try to influence others using logic, convinced that facts will make others listen to them.

However, research shows emotional appeals can be more persuasive. This is because the same part of your brain that you use to make decisions also controls emotions, causing the two to be intertwined. If you want to influence people to take action or adopt new ideas, you can’t just tell them why they should do it; you have to make them feel it. So, basically, how you make people feel will impact your ability to influence and make change.

How do you make people feel?

Consider these avenues of power you can exert everyday

1. Speak up – consider how you communicate with those who you know, including your family, friends and colleagues. Can you raise awareness about an issue? Can you support an event through sharing it? Consider the ways you can share more – perhaps on social media, in your workplace or just with your friends.

2. Share your expertise – can you use your knowledge, networks and expertise to support a cause by sitting on a community organisation board?

3. Consumer power – every time you purchase something, you are supporting it. Choose carefully and support business and brands that contribute something to the world.

4. Philanthropy – philanthropy is just a fancy word for carefully considering how to give funds (or time) to have a positive impact in the world. You don’t have to be rich and famous to make a donation. Just start with a small goal of thoughtfully giving 1% of your earnings this year.

5. Resources – what resources do you have at your disposal? Can you influence your workplace to support a charity, offer a space to an event or meeting or use your profile to help build momentum for a cause?

I really do believe that people just don’t know how influential they can be. We have everything at our fingertips – access to knowledge, access to platforms to have a say, access to resources.

Don’t Forget!

In a Harvard Business Review article, Ben Laker and Charmi Patel outline a number of ways that you can increase your influence with one on one.

1. Build rapport – building rapport with the people that you want to influence will strengthen the interpersonal connections and trust that you have with them. Get to know people, dig a little deeper then you usually would – find out their purpose and passions in life, consider how you can support them.

2. Be an active listener – influencing isn’t just about telling people what to do or buy, it’s about understanding what will make them want to do these things. To learn this, you must first listen to them, understand what their motivations are and be empathetic about what they tell you. Practice asking good questions and listening.

3. Be focused and set an example – you can’t influence someone to change if you have not made that change yourself. Often I’ve found this is the best way to influence. Great influence comes from sharing your own experiences, and showing someone that the change you made could be great for them too.

The real question is: Are you ready to step up?

Get this Free Guide: 6 POWERFUL SECRETS TO FIND YOUR HIGHEST PURPOSE IN LIFE

The world needs more purpose-driven people. But where do you start? This inspiring guide will give you powerful insights to find and refine your own purpose in life.
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Creating Inclusive Leaders

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In an ever-changing, diverse world, organisations require leaders to look beyond traditional ideas and frameworks to shape leadership expectations. Leaders, without consideration and reflection, can often gravitate toward people that reflect their own personality, values and opinions. With diversity becoming a developing trend, organisations are now looking for teams with people from varied backgrounds, personal experiences, personalities, and ideas. With diverse teams comes the need for diverse and inclusive leaders.

But what does it mean to be inclusive? And how do you foster inclusivity in an organisation? Inclusion requires people to feel respected by and connected to the organisation and their colleagues, feel able to contribute to wider discussions, and feel able to progress within the organisation. Diversity refers to the mixture of different people and identities coming together in an organisation. 

A report published in 2016 by Deloitte outlines “The six signature traits of inclusive leadership: Thriving in a diverse new world”. From 2011, they recorded and interviewed over a thousand global leaders, consulted experts and researchers in the field of inclusive leadership, and interviewed over 1500 employees about inclusion in the workplace around the world.

So what are the key traits you need to be an inclusive leader? 

They are:

  1. Commitment
  2. Courage
  3. Cognisance of bias
  4. Curiosity
  5. Cultural Intelligence
  6. Collaboration

Let’s explore those further.

1. Commitment – Are you dedicated to diversity?

Being a more inclusive leader requires you to be committed to diversity. This is not only in the interest of the organisation you work for, but because it aligns with your personal values. Fostering diversity doesn’t happen overnight; it requires a lot of time, energy, and hard work.

The combination of your own personal experiences with diversity and inclusion in the workplace and the rational argument from a business perspective shows your commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion in your workplace.

So how can you show your commitment to diversity as a leader?

  • Put yourself in situations where you are working with people with different backgrounds to you.
  • Take the time to read and listen to diverse information sources
.
  • Highlight that fostering diversity and inclusion in the workplace is a top business and personal priority and encourage everyone to join the learning journey
.
  • Talk about what inclusivity and diversity look like within your organisation and invite different opinions.
  • Ensure your workplace practices and processes are improving diversity and inclusivity in your workplace.

2. Courage – Are you ready to speak up?

Being an inclusive leader requires you to challenge your organisation, its practices, others, and yourself. It takes bravery to challenge entrenched organisational practices and frameworks, but doing so will mean your organisation has the chance to become more diverse. Being able to challenge others and recognise your own limitations also takes courage. This humility will help you listen to different perspectives and overcome your own limitations.

Have you got the courage to be an inclusive leader?

How can you be a more courageous leader?

  • Reflect often on the biases and weaknesses that arise in your own behaviour and be willing to call them out.
  • Seek the advice and help of others to rise above your limitations, and acknowledge when you have made an error.
  • Encourage your team to respectfully identify when biases may be occurring in the team. Emphasize this is a learning journey for all. Make it safe for everyone to make mistakes and learn.
  • Question and dispute normative organisational values, processes and frameworks that encourage non-inclusive practices.

3. Cognisance of Bias – Are you aware of your blind spots?

Being an inclusive leader requires you to be aware of your organisation’s biases and of your own personal biases. These biases can range from unconscious bias, favouritism, confirmation bias, group-think, and attribution error. In order to improve the diversity within your organisation, you must develop your self-awareness and be prepared to act.

So how do you overcome personal and organisational biases?

  • Identify when you are most prone to your personal biases and organisational biases.
  • Take note of when organisational biases take over your better judgement during stressful situations or processes, e.g. recruitment processes.
  • Ask for feedback or more opinions when making or reflecting on key decisions.
  • Adapt processes to ensure that personal biases do not influence decisions about others.
  • Ensure transparency in decision-making processes, such as recruitment practices, and provide clear explanations to those affected by these decisions.

4. Curiosity – Do you have a thirst for knowledge?

To be an inclusive leader, you must constantly desire to learn and keep improving! To improve the organisation’s diversity, you must be open to different perspectives and to areas of knowledge that you are not personally familiar with. Asking questions and attentively listening to colleagues can help you understand multiple perspectives on issues that your organisation must deal with. This also means you have to be prepared for perspectives that can be vague and indefinite.

So how can you be more curious?

  • Do not be quick to judge those who hold different perspectives to you. Listen to what they have to say, and dig into understanding their perspectives.
  • Express your desire and openness to learning about new perspectives and ideas.
  • Ask for multiple perspectives from diverse people about choices or decisions to be made.
  • Anticipate change and actively encourage different ways of thinking. This can lead to opportunities to connect with diverse others.

5. Cultural Intelligence – how do you communicate with people from other cultures?

What exactly is cultural intelligence? This particular quality of an inclusive leader requires you to recognise how your personal experiences affect your perspective of the world. You must learn to look past stereotypes and be confident in your cross-cultural communications.

Cultural intelligence (CQ) is divided into four categories; motivational CQ, cognitive CQ, metacognitive CQ, and behavioural CQ.

  • Motivational CQ concerns how interested and enthusiastic a leader is in learning and developing cross-cultural communications.
  • Cognitive CQ concerns how much a leader knows about traditional norms, values, and stereotypes surrounding another culture.
  • Metacognitive CQ concerns how consciously aware of culture a leader is during communications with people from another culture.
  • Behavioural CQ concerns how appropriately a leader uses verbal and non-verbal cues when communicating with another culture.

So how can you become more culturally-intelligent?

  • Take the time to learn about other cultures, and create opportunities to do so.
  • Be prepared when leading a culturally-diverse team. This will include learning about individual members and their backgrounds, and changing how you approach certain situations or decisions.
  • Be open in your body language and succinct in your word use when communicating with
    people from different cultures and backgrounds.
  • Recognise your personal flaws and biases towards cultural stereotypes and differences.
  • Actively reflect and question your predisposed ideas about different cultures.

6. Collaborative – how well do you work with others?

Contemporary organisations require you to harness your team’s total intelligence to get to work, rather than individually strive to complete projects. In a team, you are more likely to meet and work with people who have completely different backgrounds, and maybe even opposing ideas to your own. The challenge here is to listen, be solutions-focused, and encourage independent, self-directed thought and debate.

How can you be a more collaborative leader?

  • Create an environment where team members will take responsibility and hold themselves accountable for mistakes they have made.
  • Ensure no one is left out of conversations or group discussions and activities. You should cultivate a safe and respectful environment so that your team members feel safe to speak up and discuss ideas.
  • Ask for feedback and questions about project progress from other team members.

In summary

Being inclusive is a non-negotiable. This gives us all a great opportunity to be learners and take our leadership skills to the next level.

Check out this link for the full Deloitte report. For further information about being a more
inclusive leader, check out this link to the SPACE2 Model developed by Include-Empower.
Where do you think you need to improve as a leader? Can you see yourself developing and
implementing the ideas we have discussed? I would love your feedback!

Ready to step into your full leadership potential?

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15 WAYS TO FIND AN NFP BOARD POSITION
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Use Gratitude to Boost Your Resilience and Leadership

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It’s been shown the act of gratitude can have a significant positive effect on our resilience and also our leadership (not to mention our health, happiness and wellbeing). It can also be trained and increased with practice!

How do we use gratitude practices to increase our sense of wellbeing, resilience and leadership?

1. Make it a ritual to look for the small wins, the tiny micro moments of joy.

Often we will do the opposite and maybe gripe at the end of the day to our partners about the times people annoyed you. Instead, make it a habit to point out to yourself and your loved ones, when things worked out.

LEADERSHIP HABIT: Start or finish a meeting with words of gratitude that you and the team can share with each other.

2. Look for micro moments of connection and make it count.

Increase your wellbeing by making it a game to get a smile out of the people you meet in everyday life. It might be doing something kind for a family member, listening to a colleague, opening the door for a stranger. Look for acts of kindness that you can practice every day and it will increase your own happiness.

LEADERSHIP HABIT: Focus on connecting with teammates. Perhaps it’s remembering a birthday, an unexpected public thank you or a saying good morning when you enter the office.

3. Create a family ritual of gratitude – get your family involved.

Perhaps it’s sharing something that you’re grateful for at the dinner table or before bed time or if you have kids in the car on the way home from school. If it’s a ritual, it will encourage people to think about and look for something to be grateful for during the day.

LEADERSHIP HABIT: Leadership starts at home. Character, integrity and authenticity is not only to be practiced in the office but also at home. In fact, it’s when we are not ‘on’ that it can be the most challenging to practice this but good to reinforce for ourselves.

4. Write it down.

This time of the year, you can use the season to choose one, three or five people who you want to thank this year and let them know what you are grateful for. Of course, you can practice this throughout the year with a thank you card. Or if you really want to level up on this, consider writing a letter to someone in your life that has had a profound effect on your career, family or life.

LEADERSHIP HABIT: Set some time aside weekly or monthly to practice writing words of gratitude to those around you – bonus points for handwritten notes!

5. Take a moment to appreciate the miraculousness of life.

The Greeks would say ‘memento mori’ which means ‘remember that you will die’ and so appreciate the preciousness of life, don’t sweat the small stuff and make every day that you are alive count!

LEADERSHIP HABIT: Let’s bring humanity back into the workplace. Share the personal triumphs within your team as well as the professional ones.

Share your favourite gratitude practices on our Alyceum Facebook page.

Ready to step into your full leadership potential?

GET THE FREE GUIDE:
15 WAYS TO FIND AN NFP BOARD POSITION
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.