Blog entries tagged Leadership

Lessons from the Circus

Heather Berthoud — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0100

I recently took in a performance of Cirque du Soleil, that superb and beautiful troupe of acrobats, jugglers, and other physical feats. Beyond a fabulous show and evening with friends, I wondered about the lessons for my work and that of my clients. First, the show is impeccable. I’ve seen several of their productions and each one is a gem, a complete experience of being transported to another world where people do amazing things with their bodies, sound, light, and costume. No part of ...

Name Your Success

Heather Berthoud — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 06:00:00 +0100

A group I’m in starts its meetings with each person naming an accomplishment—personal or professional—since the last meeting. Sometimes there’s a big and obvious item to share. At other times, group members struggle to identify a victory. There’s no rule about how “big” a success must be. There is a rule about reporting with gusto. No diminishment of self is allowed. No “well, it’s not much but…” or “I wish I had somethi...

Starved for Appreciation

Heather Berthoud — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 05:00:00 +0100

I showed appreciation for someone and he cried. As I told him about the qualities that make him a valued part of the team, he welled up. As I moved on to discuss acts and products that he contributed to our program, the tears spilled out. He didn’t ask me to stop but sat for more as the tears continued.

He had been trying to hide his frustration with work under the guise of being a &ld...

2011 Ahead

Heather Berthoud — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 06:00:00 +0100

Another year has ended and the new one is hurrying along. It’s barely three weeks old and we’ve had a new Congress, the shooting in Arizona, snow across the entire country, and the iphone on Verizon. With that as an opening, there’s no telling where 2011 might go.

2010 in review

Berthoud Consulting highlights include AF...

Leadership and Accountability

Heather Berthoud — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Who holds the top accountable? As a leader, whether of a unit or an organization, it’s easy to get trapped by the illusions of the office. Check the news for accounts of people who used their offices unethically. The leader’s role is fraught with many opportunities to misstep. Leader of cause organizations need to be especially vigilant as effectiveness is often measured obliquely and in the long-term, even as there’s pressure ...

Reader's Review--Fall 2010

Heather Berthoud — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 05:00:00 +0100

I recently read several books that you might find interesting:

A Nation of Strangers: Prejudice, Politics and the Populating of America by Ellis Cose. Though written in 1992, Cose provides a thorough review of immigration debates and policies from the founding of the US up to the time of publication. In some ways, reading an 18 year-old account helped frame questions for our current debate without having to wade through today’s polem...

What are you for?

Heather Berthoud — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 01:27:42 +0100

People respond to a positive proposition with energy that’s optimistic and sustainable. That is, people will strive for something compelling even, or especially, if it’s challenging. On the other hand, identifying something wrong or objectionable and fighting against what is, gets meager results compared to pursuing a desired outcome. Analysis or critique of the current state can be useful, but a problem focus fills up the available ...

Yoga and karate: Recognizing the present

Heather Berthoud — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 05:00:00 +0100

I used to study martial arts. I loved it. It was the ballast to my activist life. It was where I discovered my athletic self. Then, after about 18 years, I fell while hiking and hurt my back. There went my martial arts career. No more jumping, kicking, punching hard. After about a year of a modified schedule, I gave it up.

I decided ...

When Private Apologies Don't Work

Heather Berthoud — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:17:45 +0100

The meeting was interrupted by an outburst from the leader to a subordinate. Whatever the person said or did to deserve that tongue lashing was a mystery. Had she broken the leader’s train of thought? Contradicted him? Offered an idea he didn’t like? Spoken one too many times? No one knew, but the effect of the dressing down was immediate. The group was silent, exchanging furtive glances instead of potential solutions for the project...

Bion Meets Obama

Heather Berthoud — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0100

Why the great disappointment with President Obama and his administration’s accomplishments? There are many explanations—he’s been too timid, too bold, unfocused, focused on the wrong things, too conciliatory, too left, too right, on and on. What’s missing from the critique is the rest of us—the citizenry—and our relationship to our elected leaders.

Ah! There is nothing like the feeling after exertion in nature. The day was cool, crisp even, but warm when the sun was out and I was getting myself uphill.

I am thankful for all the people over the years who had the foresight to preserve such great spaces. I benefit greatly whether from a local walk and ride path (Sligo Creek Pa...

2010 Greetings

Heather Berthoud — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:28:56 +0100

Welcome to 2010, already in progress and already challenging in so many ways. Now, more than ever, I feel called to engage with community for peace and justice.

The year that was

2009 was full. A big focus was the trans...

Reflection: A Must for Individual and Organizational Success

Heather Berthoud — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Not long ago, a colleague described her four-year-old Blackberry as "ancient". In organizations, campaigns and projects come one after another and often overlap. There are changes in structure, technology, policies, and personnel, plus new demands from the environment. Leaders and managers are expected to produce results and people. It seems there's hardly time to run from one meeting to the next, let alone reflect.

In times of swirling change, reflection can be th...

Segregation on a Bus

Heather Berthoud — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:42:35 +0100

At an airport, on the way to a conference, I ran into a friend and her companion. My friend offered me a ride in her rental car. We three black women boarded the shuttle bus, put away our luggage and sat at the front of the bus. The remaining passengers filed in, stowed their luggage, and went to the back of the bus. Though there were open seats up front with us, the white passengers moved to the rear, including some who chose to stand. We black women exchanged knowing and perplexed look...

Why Leadership Teams are Different

Heather Berthoud — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Leadership teams often face issues that are unique to their role at the top of an organization.

Managing multiple purposes: Leadership team members have responsibility for the organization as a whole while also being accountable for specific program and operational portfolios. This can create tension as team members work to secure resources necessary to deliver their individual priorities even as they seek to steer the entire organization. At its most challenging,

The Power of Curiosity

Heather Berthoud — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0100

When you find yourself disagreeing with or offended by someone, you know, you want to thoroughly convince them of the wrongness of their position-and the rightness of yours-try something else-curiosity. Allow yourself to wonder, really wonder, how in the world they came to that perspective. Or wonder, with all the indignation you are likely to have anyway, what they could have possibly meant by that stupid, offensive, off point remark or action. Allow yourself to say something like:

I'm c...

Building Board Leadership in Community Organizations

Heather Berthoud — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0100

It's time to approve the plan and budget of a community based organization and the staff is frustrated that the board is micromanaging and not focused on strategy. The board is frustrated that the staff is trying to get approval for programs that cost too much and haven't been fully explained. They each walk away disappointed that they have not been more fully engaged and appreciated.

The board/staff relationship is fraught with boundary and role challenges.

In organizations workin...