Executive Coaching, Leadership Training, and Personal Development
Daniel Pink explains how positive self-talk is better than negative self-talk. Doing a fist pump and telling yourself “I am going to rock this donor call” is going to create more success than telling yourself “there is no way I can ask the donor to give that much.”
I am sure this is not too big a surprise.
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I’m fond of Napolean Hill’s expression: “Whatsoever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” It comes back to me time and time again, especially when it seems as if progress is difficult.
I’ll admit that up until recently embracing this axiom was difficult. Then I recently read an excellent book by Claude Bristol entitled The Magic of Believing. It helped me recall several episodes during my life where I held an intention to be, do, have, or accomplish something without being attached to any particular way it manifested.
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You’re restless, and so am I.
In 2013, Penelope Burk surveyed more than 1,100 fundraisers and found the average time someone stayed in a fundraising position was 16 months. 16 months! And we know that it typically takes at least 10-12 months to integrate and acclimate an individual to become productive in an organization. Wow!
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Sidney Mathias Baxter Coulling III, the retired S. Blount Mason Jr. Professor of English at Washington and Lee University died in February at the age of 92. I had the distinct privilege of being taught Old English Literature and Poetry by Professor Coulling in 1981 as a freshman at W&L. It was the toughest “C” I ever earned (one of only two as an undergraduate). How I made my way into a sophomore level course (also taken by many juniors) is a testament to my naiveté–an error that only a greenhorn freshman can make.
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I recently completed Ron Schiller’s excellent book, The Chief Development Officer: Beyond Fundraising. It’s well worth reading, and I can recommend Ron’s work to you without reservation, especially if you are considering the Chief Development Officer Role (CDO) now, or in the future.
While Ron focuses primarily on the CDO, my work as a leadership coach tends to focus on mid-career fundraising leaders at the various Director and AVP levels. You are our future CDOs!
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I was exploring the topic of “subtraction” during a gathering of a special group of leaders over the past weekend. Part of our discussion addressed the question: “what do we want to strip off (or leave behind), and what to we want to step into” at the start of the new year. It was a heartfelt, vulnerable conversation that left us invigorated for the possibilities of 2016.
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