Creating Our Future with Organizations by Design

I like to live in my bubble. It’s comfortable and familiar, surrounded by people who think and feel just like I do. It feels great to be on the same wavelength with everyone, right? But sometimes, like this week, I have to admit, living in that bubble isn’t healthy. When we’re all nestled together in our little comfort zones, we can get blindsided by what’s happening outside our circle. It’s almost like wearing blinders—we become so focused on our own views that we start to miss out on different perspectives. The result? We could find ourselves caught off guard by changes or events that others saw coming. Plus, if we only engage with like-minded folks, we might not recognize the signs of bigger issues brewing beyond our bubble. Social changes, cultural shifts, and political movements can evolve without us even realizing it. Before we know it, we’re stunned when these things rip into our reality. So, while I love the coziness of my bubble, I know it’s important to peek outside every now...

In the realm of independent contracting, where the ebb and flow of contracts dictate our professional lives, the transition between projects can often be anxiety-inducing. As someone whose livelihood hinges on securing contracts, I've experienced the familiar pang of worry that creeps in as one contract nears its end. It's that feeling—akin to the Sunday before the Monday of work—that can cast a shadow over the otherwise fulfilling nature of our work. However, through a transformative mindset shift, I've learned to turn that worry into wonder, fostering a healthier and more confident approach to the uncertainties of the freelance world. Embracing Change: Change is a constant companion for independent contractors. Projects conclude, clients move on, and the prospect of what comes next can be both thrilling and daunting. It's natural to feel a sense of unease as a contract reaches its conclusion, but instead of succumbing to worry, I've learned to embrace change as an...

  Mukesh Gupta wrote, "We know that the ability to ask good questions can go a long way in how effective we are as leaders, entrepreneurs or in the process of discovery and innovation. Questions typically create the frame of reference within which the answer is thought in. They create the prototypical “Box” and if we are to think outside the box, we need to create a different question that allows us to think in a bigger box. We can never truly think outside the box but we can definitely think in a different box." Leaders develop constructive questioning techniques which help us to gradually understand how things work and what isn’t working. When it comes to creating changes, it can be easy to focus on what’s wrong, what’s missing, what’s not working and what needs fixing. And while it might be a helpful way to understand how you got to where you are, it’s not necessarily a great way to create the energy, buy-in and momentum that you may need to get to where you want to go ...

  Are you focusing on your smaller donors? The rate of giving grew by double digits among donors gifting <$250. Those gifts add up and deserve your attention and thanks as much, if not more, than "major" donors' gifts. Ten years ago, in a piece I penned for Huff Post , I argued that "people with little or zero disposable income are still stereotyped as receivers of services-not supporters, donors or contributors. With a few notable exceptions, many organizations dole out the “major” label for an elite minority of their donors. It is time for us to rethink how we look at generosity, and how we engage with small donors." Fundraising Effectiveness' latest study demonstrates again that nonprofits gain when we see that the collective giving across lines of class can have a sizable impact when pooled together for change.  As I said in 2011, "Indeed, there’s no small change when we’re changing the world, together." Barbara Organizations by Design Full ...

This morning I looked back on my emails from one year ago. My heart began to beat a bit faster as I relived those moments of anxiety and fear I was feeling, while trying to portray a sense of calm for my staff. I thought I’d take a moment to share lessons I’ve learned (or relearned) over the last year. Trust your instincts: I worked in field that was connected to institutions in Europe, and in January/February of 2020 started to get the sense that something was happening that we here in the US didn’t yet understand. I asked colleagues at other organizations what steps they were taking. Few were beginning to address the coming risk, tied up in those immediate tasks and emergencies we faced daily. Yet, I asked my staff to think about the actions we would take if the virus was to come to our area. Little did we know what was before us. ·          Bill Gates says, "Often you have to rely on intuition." The facts are great, and we need them, but ...

  In general, a decision that stems from any emotion is usually not as sound as one that is based on fact and reason, and perhaps most importantly, your values. Have you had that feeling? The pressure is on. Friends and family are waiting. The bills are mounting. Your self-judgement grows. You finally chose - the car, the apartment, the job. But instead of relief, you feel queasy, uneasy. Thinking it is "only nerves", you move ahead ... but the feeling doesn't go away, instead it intensifies and begins to affect other parts of your life. Can you name that feeling? Fear . When fear begins to control your decision-making abilities, you may notice that not only is your work off-kilter, but your personal life is as well. This occurs when your fear of the future you've chosen becomes so debilitating that you're not able to focus on anything else, even when you try. This is true when you make career decisions out of fear. Sure, the pressures may be mounting to make a c...