Understanding, Clarifying, and Reinforcing: The Paths to Intentional Board-Staff Relationships, a plenary session town hall on strengthening board & staff relationships, facilitated by Calida Jones, M.M. & Douglas R Clayton.

#BoardsCanWork #BoardsofDirectors #BoardOfDirectors #Leadership

How boards and staff can work together to build sustainable, equitable, and resilient organizations for the future.

🕰️ Join us on Saturday from 1:30-3:15pm and be sure to say hello!

challenges of how much an employer, manager, or the team as a whole is responsible for the well-being of each person.

The fall session launched last week, and we'll soon share some of the larger questions and possibilities flowing out of our classroom 🎓

inspired with ideas, but the faculty do as well."

-Kami Norland, Director of MA Creative Leadership @MCADedu

We loved hearing how faculty as well as our students feel the energy of discovering these pathways and choices! A key aspect of the #IntentionalWorkplaceCulture course is to explore the /2

(🗯️ Be sure we're connected so you can follow the pathways through our our various industries' journeys, starting with the friends pictured within)

❔ How have you or your company evolved? Where do you need more choices?

Because discomfort doesn't mean unsafe, or attacked, or judged. Discomfort means engaging with the real specificity that truly makes an impact.

Read more: lnkd.in/eeSD5B59 /to be continued, still to evolve......

hat did we avoid? What did we dodge? What were we so comfortable that we missed?

We make it very clear to the people we work with that it's going to be uncomfortable sometimes. We'll remind you of this. And when you reach a point of genuine discomfort, we'll likely say, "That's good." /6

what values are we truly living through based on our behavior? "Embracing discomfort" emerged as one of those core values.

Now, if we go through a conversation, a day, an engagement, or a creative process and reach the end feeling completely comfortable, we stop and ask ourselves: /6

we continue behaving as we always have. This can lead to unspoken resentments and ongoing conflict because of this fear of discomfort.

At Creative Evolutions, we experienced this firsthand. For a few months at the beginning, we operated without stated values. Then, we started asking: /5

It means acknowledging that some behaviors need to change within the group. When we get that granular, it can feel very personal, like an attack on someone's behavior.

To avoid this discomfort, people often shy away from specificity. The result? We agree on pretty words, but then /4

compared to how they might behave elsewhere.

People often avoid this crucial conversation because it's uncomfortable. As soon as we talk about actual behaviors – "we can do this or that," "we can say it this way or that way," "we can include you in this meeting or not" – it can get uncomfortable/3

list of ten. But when we ask them afterward what behaviors they actually expect from each other based on these values, we discover they're not necessarily aligned at all. They haven't truly discussed what they want people to do or not do as a team in this environment, /2

along with CE Friend Christine Bernardi Weil. Virtual is a wonderful way to connect when needed, but we'll never let a chance to meet in person slide by!

How are you connecting to your support network today? /3

Still, it's much more than that. It's moving forward in your day knowing how those around you aren't just encouraging, but actively cheering you on to success.

Last week @DouglasRClayton got the chance to say hello to @GrahamFandrei in his new role as Director of Development @BroadStage_SM, /2

A toast! 🥂

"Everyone will leave your organization, and that's okay!" Running out of time but here's more about that!
www.creativeevolutions.com/post/in-the-...

I just got my updated annual Stakes of Financial Interest!
'Having a permanent right to a financial payout (however large or small) through Stakes of Financial Interest is a very clear way to demonstrate to each person that they are a valuable part of the journey and essential to all that follows.'

Doug explaining how they approach each person as an individual, and if one of them can't work with a client, then neither of them can.

#WeHaveMoreChoicesThanWeThinkWeDo