Today, the Greater Fort Worth Chapter of NACBA is conducting a workshop for its members and Phill Martin, Deputy CEO of NACBA, will facilitate the dialogue. “Trust and Betrayal in Staff Teams” is the title of the workshop. Building trust and loyalty within an organization provide essential foundations of success in providing missional programs to the public. Everyone on the same page, working completely together, for the mission of the organization.

According to Steven Covey’s book The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything, trust means confidence. The following 13 behaviors either build or erode trust: Read the rest of this entry »

The following excerpt is provided, by permission, from Melanie Herman, Executive Director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, Leesburg, VA:

In Jeffrey Rosenthal’s fascinating book “Struck by Lightning: the Curious World of Probabilities, Rosenthal explores the science of probabilities. He compells his readers to remember that risk management is accompanied by “randomness”. Many aspects of our lives are governed by events not completely within our control and uncertainty is here to stay. Nonprofit leaders have two options regarding uncertainty: #1 – Let uncertainty get the better of us and our tax-exempt organizations or #2 – Learn to understand and perhaps appreciation randomness and act accordingly.

According to Rosenthal, “by thinking logically about the likelihood of various outcomes, we can better make decisions and understand our lives more deeply.”  So what does thinking logically have to do with governance and managing risk? Read the rest of this entry »

A client commented that some business dealings are necessary evils; but what makes it so much better is when the people you’re dealing with are nice and care about you and your business. Many of our relationships are formed out of necessity. When we see beyond the need of the transaction and focus on the need of the person (to find direction, to feel special, to be encouraged and to succeed); we can not only have an impact but develop a valuable relationship. 

For more information on leadership qualities, see The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader by John Maxwell.

A leader should be able to ignore their position and put others ahead of their own agenda.  A true sign of leadership is the ability of being a servant while being confident and secure in that role.  You will be rewarded for serving others through their willingness to follow your lead.

For more information, see The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, by John Maxwell.

To be an effective leader, you must have a positive attitude.  Your attitude drives your behavior and your behavior affects those working around you.  To remain positive, think about these things:

1. Your Attitude is a Choice.  You can’t always control what happens to you (or what your client/coworker does or doesn’t do), but you can control how you react to those circumstances.

2.  Your Attitude Determines Your Actions.  Your attitude drives your behavior.  Your body language is a reflection of your attitude.

3.  Your People Are a Mirror of Your Attitude.  A leader creates the environment that determines people’s moods at the office and their mood, in turn, affects their productivity and level of engagement.

4.  Maintaining a Good Attitude is Easier Than Regaining One.

Need help in readjusting your attutide?  If you need an attitude “pick-me-up,” try the following: Read the rest of this entry »

Intuition is built from our experiences and causes us to have gut feelings about situations. Discernment is the ability to blend intuition and intellect, to see a partial picture and fill in the missing pieces. Discernment allows us to see the root of the problem and evaluate options.

Does it seem like some people often appear to be in the right place at the right time? Could it be that they have the willingness to use their experience and follow their instincts.

For more information on leadership qualities, read The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader by John Maxwell.

According to John C. Maxwell, “competence” is a character trait all leaders should possess as described in his book titled “The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader.”
Competence doesn’t just happen, it must be cultivated:

Peggy M. Jackson, DPA, CPCU and Toni E. Fogarty, Ph.D., MPH, have written a wonderful book for nonprofits. It is called Sarbanes-Oxley for Nonprofits. Now I know that most people involved in nonprofits are “people dedicated.” Most do not spend their time reading accounting rules. This book shows why it is important for the nonprofit’s management and board members to have a basic understanding of financial statements and how to analyze them. This information shows a picture of the financial health of the nonprofit. The healthier the exempt organization, the more people that can be helped. Isn’t that something we all want?

In my next few articles I will give some very basic information about the four financial statements and some financial ratios to help evaluate them. Don’t worry. This will be simple and valuable information. Who knows? You might even find it interesting and fun. Be careful. You might be an accountant in the making.