Leadership Matters

On the Air

2011-09-30T08:51:00.002-04:00

I've disappointed myself in becoming negligent of this blog! It's been on to other things for a while, but I think I'd like to pick it back up. For now, I'll post this link to our LIVE UNITED Radio show. It's a great way to have a voice in our community around engagement and important things! Take a listen!

Casting Call

2010-05-06T10:55:00.004-04:00

Click HERE for story...

Ethics, Morality, and Leadership

2009-12-09T11:02:00.002-05:00

I very recently had the wonderful opportunity to go through a university-level course in leadership and ethics with Dr. Joey Faucette (Listen to Life). Core text for the course included a book by Rushworth Kidder entitled How Good People Make Tough Choices. Dr. Faucette's goal was to make the course "transformational," and he succeeded -- at least with me. The basic concepts revolved first around the difference between moral temptations and ethical dilemmas. Moral temptations, Kidder contends, constitute choices between right and wrong. Ethical dilemmas arise when faced with the choice between right and right.

Do I invest now in an MBA program in order to set myself up for success (long term), or do I forgo my own professional development to spend more time with my kids (short term)?

Do I terminate the employee who committed a violation of company policy (justice), or do I take the opportunity to train them and create a better employee (mercy)?

These are just two examples. There are also the conflicts between individual and community, and between truth and loyalty.

But this posting is not really intended to promote the course, or even to reveal the resolution principles (buy the book). It is actually about what I REALLY learned from the experience, which is this: As leaders, we must intentionally get in touch with our own deep-seeded values and shadow beliefs. If we make ethical decisions (and we face many of them each day) on a whim, we will most likely make poor decisions. Instead, we should be so in tune with our core values that we recognize a dilemma when we see one, and we are guided by those values to choose the best right path.

Furthermore, as stories of David Letterman and Tiger Woods remind us, we must be ever vigilant in a world where moral fiber is tested on a daily basis. If we cannot effectively choose right over wrong, then we don't stand a chance in making sound decisions of a right-vs-right nature.

As a United Way professional, and as a member of a number of non-profit boards throughout my career, I am all too familiar with some of the ethical dilemmas that board members face. I have seen some tough moral strength, and some ethical weaknesses on display. The Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, designed to protect us from corporate failures like Enron, applies in the non-profit arena as well. Conflict of interest statements, codes of ethics, and whistleblower policies are all elements of the law. But can ethics and morality really be legislated? Can we abide by the letter of the law and still violate the spirit of it? Unethical people will find a way.

Take My Hand - 2009 Campaign Video

2009-08-04T11:02:00.001-04:00

LIVE UNITED

2009-05-20T11:21:00.003-04:00

Here is Video from my speech at our United Way Annual Meeting this year. The main idea is that we can only solve community problems by uniting around the work.

The Broadfoot Three

2009-02-22T18:58:00.009-05:00

During a recent panel discussion I moderated for our Chamber of Commerce Leadership Southside Program, the participants heard from Danville's Chief of Police, Phillip Broadfoot, among others. The theme of the discussion was leadership through crisis, and all the panelists had a great deal to contribute.

I asked each to define leadership in their own way, and Chief Broadfoot's concept of leadership was one that stuck with the group throughout the rest of the day, and into our afternoon review of the film "Apollo 13." His description of leadership became known to us the rest of the day as the "Broadfoot Three," and it is quite simple, but lent itself to the day's design. I'll summarize:

Leaders fall into the following three categories:

Those who get out in front and say, "Follow me, I know the way."
Those who stand beside the team and say, "Let's find the way together."
Those who stand back and encourage the team, saying, "You can do it. I trust and believe in you."

The greatest leaders, he went on to add, know when to display each of those types. There are times when each of those three is appropriate.

This is a refreshing view of leadership, as it proves that leadership cannot be encapsulated into any one definition.

Stimulus

2009-02-22T12:46:00.003-05:00

I still do not understand the government stimulus package. But I know that whatever small pieces of it that are discretionary need to fall into the right hands. For United Way and other worthy organizations to seize opportunities to manage some of those funds to advance the common good seems plenty sensible. It is doubtful that our local United Way will play a role in that, unless some of the state stimulus funds are regionalized and include some of the work we are doing. We will see.

In the meantime, my thought is that we not wait for the government stimulus package to save the day. Our work must be more meaningful and impacting than ever. So the question I am asking myself is, what can OUR United Way do to stimulate the economy? But that doesn't quite sound right either. Let's try this one.....What can our United Way to minimize the damage being done by the economy in our community while building systems that will help avoid future economic crises for our citizens? I am more satisfied with that question, but now the real challenge -- finding the answers! There is certainly more than one right answer, and in the board room this year, we need to spend time finding those answers. But as always, we cannot limit our search to the confines of the boardroom. We have to convene. If ever there was an opportunity to deliver on our value proposition as a community convener, this is it!

Some ideas:

Reach out to our state legislators to offer help deciding how any trickle-down state funds can be used to strengthen our region.
Consider basic needs for individuals as a higher priority in our program allocations.
Frame our impact work around short and long-term economic solutions, from early childhood education to financial stability and wellness.
Without being idealistic, inspire confidence. Sell aspiration, not desperation.
Customize the campaign message in the workplace to inspire people to GIVE in tough times.
Accelerate efforts to broaden the resources through grants.
Accelerate efforts to establish our 10-year community goals and frame work around those goals.

This is just a start, but we HAVE to start!

Problem Solving

2009-02-22T12:38:00.003-05:00

RANDOM THOUGHT:
Leadership is about problem solving as much as anything else. How leaders respond to problems that arise within their organizations is very indicative of their overall qualities as a leader. While leadership requires making decisions, some leaders are too quick to react to problems by making rash decisions without involving those eventually affected by those decisions. Shutting down efforts when problems are present is not usually the answer. Leadership requires dealing with situations as they arise, and respecting others that are involved in the effort. The bottom line: Collaboration demands communication, and issues demand adequate time and deliberation before major decisions are made. If every piece of our work got closed down every time some glitch manifested itself, we would quickly have no work to do. Just something for United Way leaders to keep in mind as we work with other organizations through various initiatives.

National Professional Council

2008-12-24T11:23:00.003-05:00

I am honored and excited to be selected to serve on United Way's National Professional Council (NPC). I will begin a three-year term January 1, 2009. The NPC is a group of around 60 United Way CEOs who provide thought leadership, guidance, council, and direction for the system. It is not a governing board, but it is the best link and liaison between the local "field" and United Way of America.

As I enter a term on the NPC, I am certainly excited to be a part of such a respected group of leaders. I know some of them already, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for their talent and dedication. The success records of the United Ways they lead speak for themselves. I hope to contribute to the work of the NPC. I hope to contribute my own leadership. But most of all, I hope (and expect) to learn from these community leaders. I consider this appointment to be in the best interest of United Way in Danville, as well as for the entire system. I am a believer in our movement, and a fan of United Way of America and the leadership they provide to the system.

Serving on the NPC may be one of the best career builders a United Way professional could leverage. But my approach is two-fold:

1. Serve and Strengthen the System - I believe one gains as one contributes. The United Way system (sorry for the overuse of the word "system") has served me greatly. I can thank the resources of the collective movement for my current job, my knowledge of community impact, my boldness to lead, my ongoing opportunities for personal and professional development, and the support resources, models, and best practices we have used to build a better United Way in Danville. I owe the system whatever I can give back to potentially create value for other leaders and their commmunities.

2. Learn and Implement - I am lying if I say that I do not have selfish hopes for my NPC experience. I do indeed see it as an opportunity to bring even more strength to our local United Way. I believe United Way of Danville-Pittsylvania County is one of the leading organizations of our size across the country. I am openly proud of the work we have done to build a more viable model for our community. But I have led with a strong support system at my disposal. I have employed the thoughts and best practices of some of the organization's finest leaders. I have no intention to change my approach to that. Serving on the NPC will undoubtedly expose me to more ideas, greater clarity of thought, and inspiration.

3 Things Different

2008-10-06T18:03:00.005-04:00

I was recently asked a very good question by our interim city manager here in Danville:

What 3 things would people notice are different about United Way since the time we developed our new community impact model and culture?

Here is the answer:

Allocations more accountable and not membership based
We still raise money and give it to non-profit organizations. But we do not do so on an entitlement basis, and we require outcome measurement and greater accountability for results in the areas deemed critical by the community in our impact agenda (Education, Health, Youth & Families, Stronger Neighborhoods, and Crisis Assistance).

We no longer have "member" agencies. The organizations/programs we support are considered partners in the work of creating impact in our community.
More hands on in the work of impact
We would not have dreamed ten years ago that United Way would be either a lead or a key player in a number of the collaborative initiatives we see today. We have not only created these initiatives, we have branded and co-branded them as change catalysts for our community.
The bottom line is that we are doing much more than just funding programs. Here are some highlights:

- The Dan River Center for Voluntarism
Here is the only physical, full-service volunteer center in Southside Virginia. It is housed and supervised at United Way. It is funded by AmeriCorps, through a grant written by The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research and United Way. Its strategic plan is developed by the community voluntarism committee of the Chamber of Commerce.

- The Neighborhood Leadership Institute
This initiative was created by members (including United Way) of a business leadership program out of our local Chamber of Commerce (which is one of only 4% of all local chambers with a 5-star accreditation from the US Chamber). It is funded by United Way, and the curriculum is designed and delivered by Virginia Cooperative Extension. The facilities are provided in kind by the City of Danville and the County of Pittsylvania. Its purpose is to foster grassroots leadership, create more neighbor-to-neighbor engagement, and provide technical assistance to neighborhood leaders in the areas of neighborhood association formation and capacity, and more

- The BEST (Building Economic Success Together) Coalition
United Way pulled this coalition together, wrote and secured a grant for over $600,000, and turned leadership over to The Community Action Partnership. The coalition is composed of United Way, Community Action, Virginia Legal Aid, and The Caswell County Senior Center. Its purpose is two-fold: 1) Increase the number of residents claiming and receiving the Earned Income Tax Credit (a federal benefit for low-income families and individuals) and 2) provide financial literacy training and capacity in the areas of asset building, etc.
Seen as a leading convener and agent of change
A recent assessment of our region's economic environment conducted by the Corporation for Enterprise Development names United Way several times as an organization poised to be a change and impact catalyst in our region. It cites the Neighborhood Leadership Institute mentioned above as one of high-potential initiatives in our community.

Community Leaders are calling more and more on United Way to be a part of critical conversations, and in many cases, convene and facilitate those conversations.

Journal Entry # 29 - Catching Up

2008-09-12T08:12:00.003-04:00

Wow! It has been a long time since I updated this blog! I have a lot of catching up to do documenting the direction and accomplishments (and failures) of our local United Way. It won't happen here in this posting, but I will summarize some things that will be forthcoming:

LIVE UNITED - Our board has adopted a tweaked version of our model to align more closely with the national branding and goals. Our board feels very good about our latest tweak, and our endorsing partners (more on that later) find that "Advancing the Common Good" around education, income and health resonates with them.
PRODUCTS - What exactly defines a "product" for United Ways? I had an engaging conversation with a mentor of mine in the system that has me thinking -- she has always been able to do that to me! How does she do it? Her name is Susan Eckert. She is President/CEO at United Way of Lancaster County in Pennsylvania.
HOW DEEP CAN WE GO? - Leading a small United Way has it's challenges (and benefits). We have done well to build a new United Way culture here in Danville. But now it's time to dig in deep and do the difficult work our new model requires of us. As we grapple with our capacity to do the work, how can we manage risk -- risk of burnout, risk of losing focus, risk of getting in over our heads, risk of failure?
WHAT ARE THE THREE THINGS PEOPLE WOULD NOTICE ARE DIFFERENT ABOUT OUR UNITED WAY TODAY? - This question was posed by a city official in Danville. I was thrilled to answer him. My answer will be here later!
CAMPAIGN ANALYSIS - How does Danville perform against the rest of the country when we factor in all the variables (economy, job index, community size, etc.)?

These are just a few things I will be discussing here soon!

LIVE UNITED

2008-07-05T14:22:00.008-04:00

Well it just makes perfect sense. I was a bit reluctant at first at the thought of yet another change in branding. But LIVE UNITED resonates. It is a call to action. Give. Advocate. Volunteer. More later, but the idea that together, we can advance the common good -- ensuring that everyone in our community has access to an EDUCATION that leads to gainful employment, an INCOME that can sustain a family through retirement, and GOOD HEALTH with which to enjoy life -- is invigorating!

Major Step Toward Community Impact

2008-03-03T14:43:00.001-05:00

Danville Regional Foundation

Big stuff. This is a major milestone for our United Way and the work recorded in this journal!

Sad Day for United Way

2008-02-22T08:04:00.001-05:00

My predecessor here in Danville, Bill Kantz, passed away this week. It's a sobering thought on many levels for me. My prayers and thoughts are with Kelly and the United Way family in Fredrick, MD. The Danville Register and Bee has the story HERE.

Danville Register Bee | Taking shape

2008-02-16T12:23:00.000-05:00

Danville Register Bee | Taking shape

Danville Register Bee | United Way exceeds goal with Legacy Campaign

2008-02-16T12:20:00.000-05:00

Danville Register Bee | United Way exceeds goal with Legacy Campaign

ABC 13 - Many Poor Children on Southside

2008-01-12T09:49:00.000-05:00

ABC News Story about the plight of children in Danville

Once you're in the article, you can click to watch the e-video version of the report. There is a very brief soundbyte from me on behalf of united Way.

Year in Review

2007-12-25T14:38:00.000-05:00

Wow! It's been quite a while since I posted here. I keep a personal/fun photo blog, and I have been devoting more time to that. I also kept a project log for school during the fall semester.

But I have spent some time reflecting on the past year accomplishments as well as what I believe are the keys for success in 2008. I have done this each year since 2002 (my first year in Danville).

So, here is the 2007 year in review:

Though it is unofficial at this point, I feel pretty confident in reporting that we will achieve our 2007 campaign goal of $1 million.
We greatly expanded the infrastructure of the campaign, with over 100 volunteers.
We conducted our first full year as the organizational lead for Neighbors Helping Neighbors, a utility assistance effort in conjunction with the City of Danville and Danville Utilities. We have helped over 200 families to date in keeping power flowing into their homes.
The Danville-Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce launched the Neighborhood Leadership Institute with an inaugural class of 25. This single initiative in our focus area of strengthening neighborhoods is a promising impact effort.
We unveiled results data to the community for the first time ever. Our annual report was chock full of outcomes of the programs and initiatives with which we partner, fund, lead, or otherwise support.
We improved our cash position - again. I am quite proud of this accomplishment, since we have improved our cash position several years running, despite a decline in campaign dollars due to difficult economic conditions. We have managed our resources well.
We aligned our bylaws with the new work we are doing. We made tremendous progress in updating our policies and procedures to be compliant with the latest guidelines, including the infamous Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This laid a solid foundation for completing our policy and procedure/internal controls manual in 2008.
We assisted a neighboring United Way (South Boston, VA) in becoming UWA-compliant. This is a struggling organization in rebuilding mode, and this was a huge and necessary step in the process of revitalization.
We secured new grant dollars for such initiatives as Born Learning, our volunteer center, and youth engagement.
We increased our resources under management, despite a decline in the workplace campaign revenue. We did this through creative partnerships.

As for 2008, here are some key objectives:

Complete the strategic plan. We are near completion of the second strategic plan since I became president in 2002. We are basing this one on the United Way Standards of Excellence.
Get campaign chair in place early in the year. We achieved this in 2007, and it served us well.
Launch the Tocqueville Society - We have 3 leaders in our community giving at this level, but we have never formalized the society here and aggressively recruited others. We will launch that effort in the spring of 2008.
Complete the Policy and Internal Controls manual
Complete the next generation of our Community Impact Agenda.
Revive monthly e-communications marketing effort.
Develop organizational performance indicators linked to the SOE and strategic plan.
Comprehensive campaign analysis and 2008 plan (CAN-DO)
Alignment
Grant development

I love beginnings. I love the turning of a new year. I always become more motivated and determined. 2008 needs to be a very productive year in the arena of creating a community culture and brand experience that is defined and recognized by measurable impact.

Danville Register Bee | United Way reaches midpoint of its campaign

2007-11-14T22:01:00.000-05:00

Danville Register Bee | United Way reaches midpoint of its campaign

Danville Register Bee | Kits will help residents winterize their homes

2007-10-19T10:12:00.000-04:00

Danville Register Bee | Kits will help residents winterize their homes

This is a cool community impact kind of thing! It stems from a partnership between United Way, the City of Danville, and Danville Utilities. It's the next mini-step toward a more comprehensive cost reduction strategy for Danville residents.

Failure is Not an Option - But it's OK.

2007-10-07T19:55:00.001-04:00

Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner is one of the few politicians I actually like, probably because he is a good public speaker and someone who can talk intelligently about leadership. So, I went to hear him speak on behalf of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (Geez! all these institutes!).

The gist of his message was that failure is not only okay, it usually paves the path to success. He told stories of his failures in two different business ventures before succeeding as the co-founder of Nextel. He remind us that he lost his first U.S. Senate bid before becoming Virginia's very popular governor. And as an effective speaker always does, he got me thinking about my own failures as a leader.

I have been both a student and a teacher of leadership for a number of years. I chair the Leadership Development Council for the Danville-Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce. I serve as adjunct faculty for the Center for Community Leadership in Alexandria, VA. I have been through leadership development programs from Harvard Business School to Fortune 500 CEO coaching. I'll read a good leadership book long before I will read fiction. I love leadership.

When I reflect on my career as a leader (good or bad), I try to focus on my successes. But listening to Gov. Warner got me thinking again about my failures:

- Like the time I ran my first printing shop, but had no clue about the difference between leadership and management. I failed to impress the owners, and got “laid off.”

- Or the time I blew off an important appointment as an advertising rep for a small-town newspaper, and lost an account we had been trying to snag for years. I was “downsized.” Organization, follow-through, responsibility … damn those details!

- Then there was the time I was “let go” for making too many typos as a typographer for a college printing firm. That’s when I learned about having others review your work and tell you what you don’t want to hear, so that the wrong people don’t tell you with greater repercussions!

I can’t say I am any big success like Mark Warner, but I feel successful. I enjoy what I do, and feel rewarded for it.

2007 Campaign Kickoff

2007-09-08T11:07:00.000-04:00

Danville Mayor Wayne Williams speaks at United Way Kickoff

Danville Register and Bee Article

Eat That Frog

2007-08-09T20:35:00.000-04:00

Brian Tracy wrote a great little book called "Eat That Frog." My best friend recommended it to me last year, and I finally got and read it. It's a 15-minute read, and it's a bit redundant, but the gist is that if you eat a frog first thing each day, it's the hardest thing you'll have to do all day. The book is about overcoming procrastination, and it has already helped me restructure how I plan my days. Nike says it best...."Just Do It." I have begun dividing my day into hour-long blocks, and it has worked beautifully. Here's how it works:

Before each day ends, I create a detailed plan of action for the following day. I do it hour-by-hour. If I finish an hour's work early, I spend the remainder of that hour working on what I call my "open" file -- stuff that doesn't have to be done that day, but can move me ahead if I can get to it. I'm starting sleep better at night!

I try not to let meetings go beyond one hour. It's not any more complicated than that, but I have been much more productive. I have also began putting the "frogs" early in the day. If I can get through the not-so-fun stuff early in the day, the rest of the day is fun and productive. At the end of the day, I feel a great sense of accomplishment. The frogs don't taste quite as bad as they did a few weeks ago.

Stop Worrying

2007-08-08T10:13:00.000-04:00

At a recent strategic planning session, our executive committee was discussing things we should start doing, keep doing, and stop doing. Our Vice-chair for community investment, Patty Grigoryev said we should stop worrying. She referred to the numerous decisions our board has made that we toiled over, worrying about political or PR fallout that might occur if we did the right thing. At the end of the day, the right thing is the right thing, and we should move with confidence that the direction we are moving is the right one.

She was quick to point out that it didn't mean we aren't cautious and deliberate in our decision-making process, but that we should never operate out of fear for public backlash. Sounds like leadership to me. Any thoughts? Incidentally, Dr. Grigoryev is a psychologist and business consultant. She brings a wealth of perspective and expertise to our board and our decision-making process.

Communication

2007-06-24T20:23:00.000-04:00

Just some notes I want to capture...

The United Way Standards of Excellence is a superb document and strategic guide. Our United Way board uses it as the framework for strategic planning. In a recent board team meeting, as we reviewed Component 2 (Impact Strategies, Resources & Results), our board members made it clear that while we may be doing good things, we are still not where we need to be in terms of communicating our work to the community at large.

Measuring outcomes is one thing. Communicating the meaning of those measurements is quite another. In addition, our board recognizes that we have achieved outcome measurement at a program level, but not at a community level. That led to this conclusion: we need expertise, and we will only find that outside our internal structure.

Staff Leaders Conference

2007-05-20T09:02:00.000-04:00

Recently returned from Pittsburgh, PA with our entire staff. We attended the 2007 Staff Leaders Conference, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
This shot I took from the Lemont Restaurant does not do the beautiful city justice. I was not expecting Pittsburgh to be such a unique and pretty city.

You can read ALL about the conference on the SLC Blog, but I'll leave a few of my major takeways:

Community Impact is not only measured in outcome results,or even community indicator progress. It is measured and tracked in our financials! Where overhead used to be the metric for reporting quality to the community, now we need to be tracking things like leveraged capacity, resources under management, and lives changed.
Leadership and authority are not the same thing. We must have the skills to lead from any chair.
We are making progress as a system, but too slowly. This was Brian Gallagher's observation, and I agree with it. I am not sure how much faster we can get there, but it does seem slow. It does make me ponder about my own United Way and how fast we are moving. I honestly feel like we are moving as fast we can toward the vision locally.
We are not alone in our struggles! United Way in Danville is not unique in the challenges we face. This really is helpful to be reminded of, because it usually means we aren't necessarily doing something wrong. We are simply facing steep challenges.

Of course, there is much more, but I had to sum it up quickly, that's how I'd do it!

A Lengthy Entry on Leadership

2007-03-29T16:51:00.000-04:00

Ok, this is a lengthy one, but I suspect is will resonate with others! The following are my responses to a questionnaire on non-profit leadership conducted by our Chamber of Commerce Leadership Development Program, in preparation for my serving on a panel in late April.

1. What is the vision for United Way of Danville-Pittsylvania County? What is the mission?

This summer, our board will be updating our mission and vision statements. But our mission (not necessarily our mission “statement”) is to assess health and human service needs in our community and marshal resources (money and otherwise) to meet those needs. Our vision is a community that works collaboratively toward meeting its own needs. We are only beginning to formulate more specific vision(s) for each of our areas of focus (education, health access, stronger neighborhoods, youth and families, and crisis planning and intervention).

2. How did United Way develop its vision?

The mission of United Way is a combination of a national movement and local need. Since we are not chapters, we have a great deal of autonomy in determining our own unique mission and vision. A national task force of local United Way representatives help to define what we should be doing as a movement, with input from all local United Ways and communities. Locally, over the past 5 years, we have conducted around 20 focus groups to determine the direction and mission. The vision is one adopted by our board, along with the top leaders of 20 leading entities in our community (like Virginia Tech and IALR, Danville Regional Medical Center, Averett, city and county governments and school systems, etc.).

3. How does United Way stay focused on its vision and develop broad support for the vision?

The following response actually answers both this and the next question:

Our strategic plan is actually what we call our Community Impact Agenda (CIA). The CIA is the map that guides us toward action within each of the 5 focus areas listed above. It was formulated through board strategic planning, national guidance, and community focus group input. The CIA is a living document to which all of our work is tied. At a staff level, we make sure that the things in which we are engaged are tied to the CIA. At the board level, we changed our board meetings from being reporting sessions to being more strategic in nature, and we divided the board into 5 teams that continually set strategy for our areas of focus.

In order to remain focused, we are holding ourselves accountable for outcomes (results) in each of our areas of focus. We constantly analyze, track, and report those outcomes in various ways. This keeps us on task, but it is still difficult, because our new mission and vision are quite different from our older, simpler mission: raise money and give it to non profit agencies.

As for developing broad support for the vision, we did or are doing the following:

- Secured endorsement from 20 leading organizations and businesses in the community.

- Conducted 20 focus groups.

- Surveyed national public opinion data on United Way perception.

- Conducted our own public opinion poll.

- Report Results.

- Constantly re-sell.

4. How does United Way stay mission-focused?

See previous response…

5. What are the three most pressing issues or challenges, in order, facing United Way?

I. Money! The economic downturn in our area affects United Way in two key ways. First, there is less money. 2/3 of our annual campaign (which is typically around $1 million) comes from employee payroll deductions. When we lose large companies and replace them at a much slower rate, we lose big money. Secondly, the needs in the community are greater! Greater need + fewer resources = challenge #1!

II. Education/Communication. As noted above, our new mission is much more complex. It involves convening, collaborating, creating new programs, etc. Educating the community on our new work and its value is a huge challenge. We operated for over 80 years under the old Community Chest model.

III. Resistance to change. Our new accountability focus and more limited resources have caused us to shift funding. This is painful for some non-profit organizations (NPOs) who have relied heavily on United Way funding for many years, but have had to do very little to get it. Of course, this challenge is tied to the previous one. Those who do not yet understand our new model are resistant to anything that looks different from the Community Chest.

6. What do you believe are the greatest leadership challenges facing United Way? Please explain.

I. Setting the example. We have set the bar high, and we must be at the top. If we are requiring more of the NPOs we fund, then we must hold ourselves to the same standards, or higher. Leadership is showing the way. It is challenging for us to do more than tell NPOs how they must be better. WE must be better. That means significant change for us internally as well as the change occurring externally.

II. Board Engagement. As many of us learned a few weeks ago at a workshop on board engagement, there is much room for improvement. The United Way board is strong, cohesive, and committed. But it is still a challenge to find valuable ways to “engage” them in the work, beyond board meetings. Succession planning for our board is a challenge for that reason. Keeping continuity on our board in the midst of such significant change is critical, but so is the recruiting and developing of fresh ideas and new faces.

III. Counter productivity. I noted above that we have a mechanism for staying focused on the mission. But the new work opens up so many doors of opportunity to engage the community that we have to be careful not to pile the plate too high. Our branding tagline is what matters. Our few staff members have to make sure that our energies are spent on the things that are making maximum impact.

7. What do you believe are the greatest leadership opportunities facing United Way? Please explain.

I. Momentum. We are beginning to see some momentum in terms of entities turning to us to help convene various stakeholders on an issue. Organizations are beginning to view United Way as a “go to” for capacity building and community assessment in the non-profit arena. We need to capitalize on that momentum and create early successes.

II. Differentiation. Nobody else in our community is doing what we are striving to do. It doesn’t mean we are doing it effectively yet, but if we can, we will be sustained for another long period of time due to differentiation.

III. Timing. Our United Way’s changing work aligns with a community in transition. If ever our community needed to re-assess and re-organize the non-profit sector, it is now, in the face of a changing culture and economy.

8. What are your greatest personal leadership challenges? Opportunities?

Challenge #1: Cycle. I began my role as executive director here 5 years ago. I established my own clear vision of what I personally wanted to achieve in 5 years. Now, I feel like I am in a new cycle, and need new motivation, fresh vision, and updated skills.

Challenge #2: Politics. I don’t mean governmental politics. I mean the fact that who you know, who you please, who you don’t please, and who you have on board are things a good leader must know how to balance. That is a challenge for me, because I tend to always want to do what is best or right – not what is politically expedient. Finding the balance is a challenge. Choosing the battles I am willing (and need) to fight is a constant challenge.

Challenge #3: Counter Productivity (again). In 5 years, I have finally reached the point where I can take on little more. Outside my United Way work, I chair two councils and serve on another. I serve on three boards, and two executive committees. I am currently a full-time student, I am maintaining several web sites, and have recently signed on to serve on a multi-state IT committee for Rotary. I periodically teach at United Way of America’s Center for Community Leadership, etc. Oh yeah….I also have 3 other people living at my house that I call my family! My point is that it is a big challenge for me to stay at peak production for all of those various entities.

9. Describe a change that United Way is going through or will be going through. How is United Way leading others (especially constituents) through that change?

We are changing our entire culture and mission! There is process change, transitional change, and transformational change. We are undergoing all three simultaneously! At a transitional systems level, we are running new resource development software, and we have two staff members with less than 2 years tenure. At a process level, we are constantly tweaking our annual fund-raising campaign, completely redesigning our allocations process, and marketing with a different set of brand standards. At a transformational change, we are trying to create a new kind of experience for our stakeholders altogether, all while trying to communicate a new mission and inspire new vision.

As to how we are leading others through the change, the answer is even more complex than the changes themselves. Each stakeholder has different values. Donors want results, but in a format that is familiar and comfortable. Agencies want and need more money from the pot. CEOs want efficiency and accountability. Volunteers want a sense of purpose and accomplishment. So we try to deliver to each stakeholder what is valuable to them. We are trying to lead by example. We are trying to demonstrate that change, while painful at times, can produce greater benefits, and we are already engaged in trying to market any small, early successes we may have.

10. How is United Way staying ahead of the constant changes that you confront?

I. Plagiarism! We borrow best practices from other thriving United Ways who are years ahead of us in building similar models, and we try to avoid the pitfalls others have exposed.

II. Flexibility. When we established our CIA, we told ourselves that as we change this business model, we must remain flexible and ready to adapt to the unforeseen opportunities or challenges. We don’t want to trade one confining model for another.

III. Perseverance. We keep reminding ourselves that the transformation we are going through is a long-term proposition. While the flexibility mentioned above is critical, we must remain true to the over-arching mission, regardless of the difficulties along the way.

11. How does United Way identify and develop leaders?

We patiently seek the right people for the right roles. We make adjustments when we realize the right people are not in the right roles. We do our best to reward performance (not just monetarily), and we invest in training and development. Being an NPO does not mean we cannot invest in our own capacity to succeed in our mission. In fact, it means we must.

12. If someone is interested in becoming more active – and assuming a leadership role - with United Way, what advice would you give them?

Nike – Just do it! We have all kinds of opportunities for involvement at all levels. Serving on one of our 5 vision councils, donating money, participating in our Day of Caring, helping in the annual campaign…..all things that provide entry-level access to world of United Way. The thing about NPOs is: the good ones don’t turn away help!

The NonProfit Times - The Leading Business Publication For Nonprofit Management

2007-03-27T08:22:00.000-04:00

The NonProfit Times - The Leading Business Publication For Nonprofit Management

Not sure how long this link will be active, but it's a good article about the shift to Community Impact across the country.

Hope Builders

2007-03-26T07:59:00.000-04:00

Printer-Friendly Version

This wasn't us, but it should have been! Kudos to these organizations for stepping up and gettin' er done! I would call this impact!

Getting the Word Out

2007-03-23T07:58:00.000-04:00

I was fortunate enough to be this week's guest on a local cable show here in Danville, called the "City Manager Reports". This half-hour interview was an opportunity to talk about how our funding is making a difference. It covers a great deal of program outcome measurement, but also alludes to some of the community impact initiatives in which we are involved. If you have time, and Windows Media Player, you can see the show here....

City Manager Reports

Journal Entry #28 - Taking Inventory

2007-01-19T09:59:00.000-05:00

At the end of this month (January, 2007), I will have been in Danville for 5 years! Time surely flies when you’re having fun! Toward the end of our annual staff planning retreat this week, I had a strange experience. We had discussed so much and identifying so many things we needed to be doing, that I realized it was really time to take inventory. I saw myself (and our organization) at a real pivotal point in our transformation journey. In fact, I felt a bit overwhelmed. So much to do, so little time. We had built the model, and even started down the path of implementation. But these next steps (years) were going to prove critical. Now that we have set ourselves up for impact, how will we assess our own performance? What will we really measure that is meaningful, attributable, and sustainable? Then, it dawned on me that I had been here for 5 years, and that I had set 5 years as an evaluation point along the way. I know I am not done here! But I am not sure my 5-year vision range is as clear now as it was when I arrived here.

This isn’t a bad thing. It is just a thing. It just alerts me that I need to work on establishing objectives for the next 5 years that are as clear, achievable, and impacting as the ones we have accomplished so far. Among those that I am relatively clear on are these 5:

Bring our costs back down. We have invested in some capacity building that has included more training and development, enhanced technology, a competent, skill-aligned staff, and an improved brand image. Now we need to rebuild the workplace campaign, level out spending, and show efficiency as well as effectiveness.
Analyze aggregate outcome data. It has only been a year since implementing our new funding model. But it is important that we get an early, accurate look at the data we have so far, and report it. Where there are data gaps, we have to be firm in fixing them. Where there are weak outcomes, we have to be firm in responding. Where there is success, we need to be enthusiastic about reporting, celebrating, and continuing momentum.
Re-establish our own performance measures. Both from programmatic and operational standpoints, we need to determine are benchmarks, indicators, and measurable goals.
Re-Sell Community Leaders – Gee, for some reason, we have to keep selling! What have you done for me lately? A few years ago, we sold the aspiration of our new vision. Now, we must sell actual results. That is why #3 above is critical.
Expand Resource Development. Planned giving, major gifts, grants, human resources, in-kind, the works!

More later!

Journal Entry #27 - 2006 in Review

2006-12-23T20:47:00.000-05:00

At the end of each year, I reflect on the accomplishments of the past 12 months for our organization. I could focus on failures, but I choose not to! Besides, as soon as I reflect on the year's high points, I focus on the things I know need to get accomplished in the year ahead, so the past year's failures surface anyway in the form of do-overs.

For 2006, as difficult a year as it was, we accomplished a few major things.

1. We implemented our new community investment process and funding model. It isn't perfect yet by any means, but it proved to work, and was no small thing to check off.

2. We secured new grant funds for our volunteer center, our Neighbors Helping Neighbors utility assistance program, and Born Learning. In fact, the Born Learning grant helped us to develop our new website, which includes an interactive Born Learning component. These new grant funds are a huge achievement, because we have never written grants before!

3. At the end of the year, we finally filled the gap in terms of resource development capacity. The addition of a new staff member in this role is as exciting as the addition of our community investment staff. We now have an amazingly talented team who I believe is ready to take this up a notch!

4. The reaching of our campaign goal is still uncertain. There is an outside chance we will reach the million dollar mark, but at least as good a chance that we will not. That being said, we have done well to raise the $880,000 we have raised, given that we lost another $150,000 in one place. We added another Tocqueville member to our leadership giving circle, and we saw increases in several of our most significant corporate arenas.

5. I think our biggest achievement is the toughest to define. In essence, we beginning to be thought of as a new United Way, and many community entities are stepping forward to want to partner with us in ways we could have never engaged before. More on this in a future journal entry...

Journal Entry #26 - Revisiting the Mission - Again???

2006-11-25T11:51:00.000-05:00

In a recent workshop I conducted on mission, vision, and change leadership, I emphasized that a good mission had a differentiation element. It made me think of ours, and I am not sure we cover the essence of our mission in this statement:

"Improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community to create, leasting, measurable changes in the conditions that affect us most."

The more I read it, the less I like it. I think it is time for our board to revisit the mission statement. It doesn't say what we do, or for whom. It doesn't define us. WE understand its meaning. But does anybody else really?

So what do we do? We assess and prioritize community needs, and marshal resources (money and otherwise) to effectively and measurably address those needs. I think that's really what we do. And THAT is different from anyone else in our community. I appreciate the "improve lives" part, but it's so nebulous -- and not different. Every non-profit in existence says they are about improving lives. To me, if we effectively and measurably address community conditions, the improved lives happens automatically. Am I way off? Comments?

Journal Entry #25 - Really Making a Difference

2006-11-19T08:39:00.000-05:00

We have an amazing opportunity in our community. The sale of our community hospital two years ago has created a regional foundation worth over $200 million. The foundation will allocate upwards of $10 million per year back into the community. In a town our size, that is quite significant.

But the opportunity this presents is equally a threat. One foundation like this can make the others, and United Way obsolete. So here's my take on how to ensure that doesn't happen:

Hold a "Funders Forum" where all of the funding entities can communicate their priorities, and where a common needs assessment of the community can be used to make funding decisions (without duplication). We have made a proposal to the new regional foundation for them to help us coordinate such an event.
Don't try to replace United Way and other local foundations in supporting human services.
Don't go the other extreme and ignore United Way and local foundations (or the entire non-profit sector altogether).
Follow the United Way model for impact. If you can't measure it's impact in some way, don't do it.

These are just a few suggestions, and they have a clear bent toward United Way, but that shouldn't surprise anyone!

I recently had an opportunity to address the board of this new foundation. I appreciated the chance, and they seem like very dedicated people, determined to lift our community. My pitch to them was not for money (though I did throw that component in). I tried to drive home the point that if our city is to receover from the economic hits it has suffered, we must all work in a united fashion, and we must focus on what matters.....not just what looks and sounds good. We have a real chance to make a difference here, and I am seeing more clearly than ever how United Way can play a role of convenor. If we can pull off this funders forum, I think we will have done something meaningful for decisions we all make in the future.

Lournal Entry #24 - The Morphing Continues

2006-11-04T09:26:00.000-05:00

I am very glad we looked ahead and built in some flexibility during this time of change for ourselves. 4 and a half years ago, as we were in the beginning stages of building this new model of operation, we told ourselves we had better leave room for course corrections and other avenues of flexibility, because we did not want to leave one confined area for another.

I highly recommend to any United Way (or any organization for that matter) going through a change process that you not lay down too many policy laws early. We want structure, but not restraints. We have not locked in our allocations process policies yet. We don't want another one-size-fits-all model. We have not made any new commitments we can't keep. I don't want to sound like we are making this up as we go along, but we are!

The tough part for us right now is that we might be in one of (if not THE) worst economies in the country. Our unemployment rate remains the highest in our state (most recently at 10.6%). That means lower campaign figures. We've got some big talk for a United Way raising barely a million dollars, and dropping!

The good news is that it is not our shift to Community Impact focus that has our campaign down. Our largest employer (Dan River Fabrics) has closed operations here. Our Goodyear plant is on strike with the other 15 Goodyear plants. Our unemployment rate is sky high. We have lost nearly half a million dollars in 5 places! The fact is that despite these losses, we have held our own, and maintained a level above $1 million. We are hoping that doesn't change this year. But there is more good news..... we are learning how to leverage funds, and have more resources under management (to borrow a line from Brian Gallagher). We have nearly $200,000 in local grants under our management (for things like Born Learning, utility assistance, voluntarism, capacity building, and youth leadership development). We have NEVER done that before. There is much more on the horizon, and new relationships being forged with other funding entities, etc. In reality, the change to this new model has kept us afloat. Many community leaders and companies would have decreased their support for us by now if we hadn't changed. But the PR battle is that the campaign figures make it APPEAR that the new model isn't working.

If we can weather the storm (which we will), we are on the cusp of some exciting stuff that would not be possibile if we were still thinking the old way. These changes take a long time! Especially in Danville, VA. But it's happening! Stay tuned!

Danville Register Bee | United Way sets goal of $1 million this year

2006-09-13T08:13:00.000-04:00

Danville Register Bee | United Way sets goal of $1 million this year

One of the better written news stories regarding our kickoff.

Danville Register Bee | A season of hope

2006-09-13T08:11:00.000-04:00

Danville Register Bee | A season of hope

Here is an editorial endorsement of United Way run on September 13, 2006. This can't hurt!

Journal Entry 23 - We're Getting There (with the message anyway)

2006-09-07T20:32:00.000-04:00

How exciting at our most recent board meeting to ask the question of our board members, with no prompting, “What do we do?” and hear the following responses:

Strengthen Community
Foster Collaboration
Define/Identify Critical Issues
Raise Money
Coordinate Resources for Impact
Educate the Community on Issues/Solutions
Play Leadership Role in Non-Profit Sector
Measure Results

These would not have been the responses 3 years ago. Now, clearly, we are not actually “doing” these things to an impacting degree yet….but to all be singing the same song at least at the board level is significant.

Journal Entry 22 - Change Management

2006-09-07T20:24:00.000-04:00

Having a change management expert/consultant on our board is a true advantage. She reminded me recently that while all of our changes make perfect sense to us, that the psychology of change resistance is not necessarily rational. Our agencies (particularly those who are now receiving less money from us) are feeling a sense of death and divorce. Those are extreme metaphors, but to whatever degree, the dynamics are very much the same.

With that in mind, we are proceeding cautiously with regard to how many changes we make at one time, and how we market even the changes that we think THEY will think are good. Trust is not running extremely high at present with many of our agencies, because they simply do not know what we are going to do next with regard to their funding. So, while we go about changing United Way, we must keep in mind what our stakeholders, agencies, donors, etc. are feeling. When we sense resistance to the kind of cooperative spirit we think everyone should have (after all, everyone should love everything we do!), we need to see it for what it is.

Intro to Resource Development - Again!

2006-08-24T19:49:00.000-04:00

Just the picture for now..... Great class!

Journal Entry 21 - It's On

2006-08-19T16:55:00.000-04:00

In 4 and a half years, we have made tremendous strides in building a new United Way model. If our economy were strong enough to maintain and grow the workplace campaign, we would be in amazing shape. As it is, we are struggling to maintain the campaign over $1 million, and we are having to make funding choices based partly on the impact agenda and refocus, and partly on the diminished campaign.

In addition, we are becoming more committed to making funding changes based on the performance of the agencies we are supporting. This combination is creating interesting challenges. We now have what appears to be the following categories of agencies:

Agencies that are thrilled with our new model, because they are receiving more funding than they used to. (20%)
Agencies that are happy that their funding trend from UW is holding steady. (20%)
Agencies that are disappointed with reductions in funding due to a smaller allocations pool (declined campaign). (20%)
Agencies that are upset over funding decreases that are the result of greater performance accountability measures (20%)
Agencies upset over our decision to reduce their funding on the basis that they do not fit as well within the new community impact priorities. (20%)

With such a diverse set of challenges, we are working hard on agency relations, communication, and keeping our eye on the prize (impact).

At this point, we have shown that we are serious about the changes we announced 4 years ago. High-profile community leaders who gave us an endorsing nod under the condition that we "stuck to our guns" cannot deny that we have held up our end. Now, it is their move. This is the community's United Way. They alone can ensure its success. In order for us to weather the storm that is brewing over agency cuts, we now need these leaders to stand behind us, and support us in more direct, tangible ways (i.e. money, public championing, strategic alliances, etc.).

In the meantime, our next tasks include:

Complete a meaningful community report card to be made public before year's end. This must be in terms that demonstrate the progress we have made, as well as the direction we must continue to move.
Find more money. Grants, campaign increases, major gifts, something!
Put together a comprehensive marketing plan that empowers us to maintain a critical mass of community support for our plan.
Make significant progress on our revamping of internal controls, bylaws, policy changes, etc. that better fit our new work.
Engage vision councils to address next steps for each of the 5 community impact focus areas.
Take the Volunteer Center to the next level.

My next journal entry will list some of the major successes of the past two years. It's on now, and we can't look back.

Back to Basics - Resource Development 101

2006-07-01T11:08:00.000-04:00

Managing a local United Way the size of Danville's is a blessing and a curse (much more a blessing, mind you!). One of the potential pitfalls is the neglect of the details. This happens because with such a small number of staff, the CEO has to manage the big picture AND get involved with details. The need for each sometimes runs in cycles, and I have been on a big picture kick for a while now.

When I was honored with an invitation to co-facilitate the Introduction to Resource Development class at United Way of America, I was forced, both in preparation and actual class time, to tune up on the details of new account development, making CEO calls, crunching and analyizing numbers, generating creative campaign ideas, and more. Fortunately, my facilitating partner was Katie Rennard, from Akron, Ohio. As VP of Resource Development for a Metro I United Way, she brought a tremendous amount of energy, experience, and most of all, technical knowledge. We ask each participant to share their proverbial "take-aways" at the end of the class. Here are mine!

If the caliber of the participants is indicative of the quality of resource development staff across the country, then the future of United Way resource development is in good hands. Not only were the professionals in this class ahead of the game in terms of their knowledge, they are also in this for all the right reasons. That makes the difference.
As different as a Metro I is from a Metro IV or V, they are also the same. There is much to be learned from a United Way where the various pieces of resource development are approached with such technical accountability. I need to incorporate more of that in our efforts.
The devil IS in the details! Research, analyze, plan, prepare, study, practice, and do.
It is ironic that we are currently seeking a Resource Development Director in Danville. Seeing these professionals in action aids in the search, because I am reminded of what it is I am looking for: energy, dynamic personality, attention to detail, analytic mind, lover of people, etc.
And finally, a reminder that no matter how much we say that raising money is not our goal, we must realize that it takes money to achieve our goals! Raising money matters!

Staying in the Zone

2006-06-12T20:47:00.000-04:00

"What do you guys do in the off-season?"

I still get asked that question. There was an era when the work load between February and July was much lighter than it was during the campaign time period. For the community impact United Way, those days are long gone.

Today, I found myself "in the zone". I was productive the entire day. And it dawned on me that it had been a little while since I was that motivated. Not that I am not productive, but when so much is pressing, one can lose focus. I am reminding myself that I cannot afford slow days right now. This work requires intensity.

At the same time, I still believe in working at the optimal pace -- not the maximum pace. Burnout serves noone.

I suppose the bottom line is that we can ill afford much idle time. It is amazing how much there is to do!

Harvard Classmates

2006-06-05T13:12:00.000-04:00

Don't know why I didn't post this sooner! Here are the participants of the "Leading Community Problem Solving" course at Harvard this past spring:

Harvard Check-In

2006-06-01T09:26:00.000-04:00

In a previous posting, I talked about some of the take-aways from the latest Harvard course I attended (Leading Community Problem Solving).

Part of the process was to "check in" in 6 weeks. In preparation for that check-in webinar and conference call, I reflected on the issues to which we are attempting to directly apply the concepts we embraced during class... Here's what jumped to the forefront in my mind:

We are attempting to play in the major league, and we are working to bring something of value to the table (besides money). We have to earn the credibility to play our new role. Our strong reputation as a successful fund-raiser is not sufficient. We have to earn the respect for our new work. For example, we are committed to playing a role in adult education and workforce re-training in our tattered local economy. But we are playing with big boys such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Workforce Investment Board, and the city's economic development arm.
We must become more knowledgeable in the core issues. I have heard (UWA President) Brian Gallagher say this repeatedly, and I am beginning to see practically what it means. To facilitate forums, convene partners, advocate for action, etc., we must be credible, and that means we must demonstrate a mastery of the issues at hand in order to make the case for action and inspire potential partners.
Some of the new work is not as "warm and fuzzy". Our past success in fund raising can be partially attributed to our ability to strum the heart strings. The "charities" we have supported in the past lend themselves to emotional appeals. Some of the community problems we are addressing are more difficult to paint with the same brush. So how do we marry on our ability to tell stories with the new work in which we are engaged?
Finally, which comes first -- fund-raising, or results? Our local campaign has been declining, due to the demise of our textile and tobacco economy. In the meantime, our new work requires new skills and talent, and we won't get that unless we invest in it. Consequently, our costs are increasing while our campaign is decreasing, and we must create some successes we can tout in our resource development efforts. It's a tough balancing act for us right now.

Keeping an Open Mind

2006-05-31T16:02:00.000-04:00

Lately, I am thinking of posting more frequent thoughts here, even if very briefly explored ones. Here's one:

In the past month, we have lost two staff people. In the good old days, we would put an ad in the paper and fill those positions right up. Today, I try to view every event as an opportunity to do something different. With the need for cross-pollination and team roles dedicated to achieving community impact, we have an opportunity to create a position (or two) that is perfectly timed for our current and future needs.

We don't need a campaign director -- we need someone with resource development skills. We don't need a grant writer -- we need someone who understands community problem solving. We don't need warm bodies -- we need talent.

The ability to flex with situations is one of things I love about this work.

Danville Register Bee | Saving power the neighborly way

2006-05-19T09:02:00.000-04:00

Danville Register Bee | Saving power the neighborly way

Some of the "Hands-On" work in which we are now engaged, under the focus area of assisting families and individuals in crisis...

Danville Register Bee | United Way officials take new approach to organization

2006-04-28T08:49:00.000-04:00

Danville Register Bee | United Way officials take new approach to organization

Not exactly the way I would have written it.....but....

Journal Entry # 20 - The Pain of Refocusing

2006-04-18T19:01:00.000-04:00

Note: This blog starts at the bottom of this page. To keep up with the Journal entries, start at the bottom, and read up!

Remember those “Magic Eye” stereogram pictures that had hidden 3-D images in them? They were all rage about 7 or 8 years ago. You had to shift your focus beyond the picture in order to see the hidden image. You had to train your eye to work differently. You had to be willing and able to break your natural viewing habits. I have come to believe that finding solutions to community problems requires a similar skill.

Two phrases that began circulating in the business universe decades ago (I know they were used heavily in the 80s and 90s) come close to describing this phenomenon: thinking outside the box and paradigm shift. Other words, like innovation, creativity, ground-breaking, and precedent-setting were integrated into civic and social nomenclature as well. I even participated in a program convened by the Pew Charitable Trust called the Civic Entrepreneur Initiative. The goal was to form teams in 10 cities throughout the country who would engage each other and their social circles in arriving at an innovative solution to a self-identified community problem.

Our team in Shreveport, LA took on the issue of low academic performance in the public schools. Our approach: the promotion and ultimate implementation of a school uniform policy that (theoretically) would reduce conflict among students, temper peer pressure, and foster a focus on academics rather than social status. Our self-imposed guidelines led us to promote a policy where the school board urged implementation of a uniform policy, but left details and flexibility with each school within the district. The initial result was quite favorable in that a number of schools quickly implemented uniform policies without feeling forced into a version of a policy they did not embrace.

The longer-term outcomes have yet to be determined, as the program disbanded and follow-through was weak. However, pre-project research showed the positive impact on a number of school districts around the country (i.e. better grades, fewer disciplinary incidents, etc.). I say this not to advocate for school uniforms here, but rather to make the point that the solutions to problems we face are not always found in the obvious places. Our angle was to respond to an academic issue with a social tool – not another educational program.

It’s amazing what creatures of habit we all truly are, not only individually, but also collectively. Sometimes, in community problem solving, multiple entities turn to the same sources for money, the same people to serve on our boards, the same businesses to promote events, and the same tools with which to do our work. Then the following year, we wonder why we are dealing with the same problems, and we start the cycle all over again. It’s not an indictment of apathy or indifference, but it is perhaps an indicator of our stubbornness.

A new United Way professional in Philadelphia said something to me recently that resonated. He said that true collaboration requires people/organizations to be willing to do something differently than they do independently. Otherwise, you merely have people in the same room who leave the room and maintain their instinctive routines. The result: Nothing changes.

Therein lies the discomfort of renewing focus. It can be literally painful to view those “Magic Eye” pictures. I remember viewing picture after picture until I started getting a headache. I even learned to use an advanced technique to see the images in reverse dimension (concave) which was very hard on the eyes. But the revealed visual result was worth it. Of course, you don’t have to view stereograms to relate to this dynamic. A simple visit to the optometrist and change in eyeglass strength can bring days of discomfort. Our eyes are accustomed to seeing things the way they have been conditioned to see them. Even though our vision may be blurred, or we are unable to see the full dimension of a stereogram, we are content, because we are familiar.

Our United Way – indeed our community – is being challenged to refocus. And the adaptive leadership required to grow is difficult because we are passionately pursuing that which we cannot yet clearly see. Social problems are not generally conducive to technical solutions – at least not solutions that are known in advance. So, we adapt. We adjust. We strain to see a hidden picture. We increase our community vision prescription strength and, for awhile, that’s uncomfortable. We make mistakes, learn, celebrate successes, and grow. Then, a new image begins to emerge. And we share the enthusiasm with others.

United Way will continue to embrace the historical legacy our organization enjoys, strengthen existing partnerships, and enhance current, successful methods. But we are also committed to finding new tools, engaging people in new ways, holding new conversations, raising new resources, and identifying new problems and new solutions. Here’s another hot 80s term: synergy. One definition of this word is: The simultaneous joint action of separate parties which, together, have greater total effect than the sum of their individual effects. This is how I believe we will solve community problems.

I believe it was originally Canadian research that measured the power of two horses individually, then measured their strength as a team and discovered it to be more than 5 times the strength of one horse. That’s synergy. Imagine that principle put to use in our community. It would give an entirely new meaning to the name United Way.

Journal Entry # 19 - Time Out for Harvard - PART II

2006-04-16T12:05:00.000-04:00

Note: This blog starts at the bottom of this page. To keep up with the Journal entries, start at the bottom, and read up!

It Occurred to me days after leaving Harvard this time around that the one thing I really got out of this year's class was this:

It takes courage to lead adaptively. Not just because you will upset people. Not just because it's hard work, etc. It's a risk because the end is unknown, and there is the possibility that the goal will not be achieved, that the plan doesn't work, or that the organization doesn't emerge better than it was. Failure is not an option, but it is a very real possibility.

Another thing one learns at Harvard (at least in the two classes I have attended) is that there is more than one right answer. In leadership, many decisions are made everyday. If success relied on making every one of those decisions exactly right, you quickly realize your odds are slim to none.

I gained great respect for a number of extraordinary people within our great system. I can't name them all of course, but I was very impressed with people like George Bahamonde who, as president of United Way in Hartford Connecticut, took the risk of placing his organization in the middle of a difficult collaboration because he believed the youth of his community were counting on him. I learned from very smart people like David Fair in Philadelphia that if I am going to involve myself or my organization in "collaboration", then I have to be ready to behave differently, instead of expecting everyone else to just jump on my cause and support it.

I learned from a number of folks at United Way of America that they care immensely about the success of the local United Ways around the country -- not just because they rely on us for support, but because they truly believe in the work we do, and they seek passionately the best ways and tools that will help us achieve real impact.

I was inspired by people like Columbus CEO Janet Jackson. I have heard about her a lot, but after having the chance to get to know her, realized that she is not in her position because it's a CEO position, and she likes the spotlight. She plays her role because she loves people, and isn't satisfied until every one of them is touched. She reminds me of Lois Weisberg!

As United Way newcomer Bethany Timmons reminded me, we learn more from each other than we do any curriculum or classroom instruction. I appreciated the work of the faculty at MIT and KSG. Their real job was to facilitate conversation among us, and they did that well.

At the end of the class, we reflected on what we were going to do (differently) when we returned home. Here's my to do list:

Focus on finding some role within United Way's work for everyone I meet. Go from meeting people to engaging them.
See if I can find "Big Duck". Sorry. If you weren't part of the class, that one will not mean much to you, and I can't briefly explain here.
Write a Harvard-like "case" for our United Way, and share it with some of our key stakeholders for input and discussion. I think this would make for a great focus group.

Thanks to everyone at the "Leading Community Problem Solving" class for sharing such wonderful things!

Journal Entry #18 - Time Out for Harvard - PART I

2006-04-10T23:17:00.000-04:00

Note: This blog starts at the bottom of this page. To keep up with the Journal entries, start at the bottom, and read up!

In July 2004, I was fortunate to have had the wonderful opportunity to attend Harvard Business School for a class in Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management. Since it was everything it was cracked up to be and more, and since it was transformational for me, I took the opportunity to return this year for a class in Leading Community Problem Solving.

The first visit was more intense, larger (140 non-profit directors from all over the world), but this one is just as timely, and is custom-designed by Harvard/MIT/Kennedy School of Government for United Way leaders. In our new world, leading community problem solving is precisely what we WANT to be about.

As I sit here in this beautiful and silent study hall on the HBS campus, I have the opportunity to think in ways I don't normally think. And I remind myself that this kind of thinking is critical, and needs to be done more often.

Recently, I even went so far as to redesign my own office to be more conducive to thinking. There is much to think about, and creating plans for how to operate in this new business is time-consuming work. The class this year is only half over, so I'll have more to post later.

So here's what I have thought about (or heard others say that resonated) this week at Harvard, between the material delivery in class and my own tangential thoughts:

The type of leadership challenge we face at United Way of Danville-Pittsylvania County (and the national system) is adaptive -- not technical. In other words, we don't already know what the end looks like, so we don't have the silver bullet that will get us there. We are learning as we go, and we are selling potential -- possibility. We are creating a holding environment for others to take on the work. A new definition of leadership has been proposed, and while I do not completely subscribe to it, it bears mentioning for its provoking value: disappointing your own people at a rate they can absorb. Having bad guys criticize you only stirs up righteous indignation. Having good guys criticize you takes courage.
We should do much more than meet people. We should engage them. All of them.
To state the obvious: resources are more than just money.
We must become better at telling our "story", but we must also pay attention to others' stories. Stories tell us where people's interest and values lie.
Loss is part of growth. A biological analogy: What are the United Way values are that are not so essential that they cannot be left behind in pursuit of growth and/or transformation? How do we balance that with the preservation of those values of which we are not willing to let go?
Collaboration requires the invested parties to act differently than normal. Otherwise you only have parties "at the table".
There is a difference between practicing leadership and exercising authority.
Technical problems start out with a high degree of stress, because there is a known problem, and a period of anxiety that ensues until the solution is made known, and begins to happen. Adaptive problems are harder, because they start off cold, and we have to find ways to "raise the temperature" to create the realization that there even IS a problem that needs solving.
Anyone with a computer and Excel spreadsheet can process donation designations to agencies. What value do WE bring?

I'll make this a wrap, and call it part one. It's late at night, and I need sleep for tomorrow's intense day. More later....

Nonprofit recruitment faces new mission

2006-02-24T11:30:00.000-05:00

Nonprofit recruitment faces new mission

Timely article about the new non-profit leader.....

Danville Register Bee | Community leaders launch energy campaign

2006-02-20T08:18:00.000-05:00

Danville Register Bee | Community leaders launch energy campaign

Journal Entry # 17 - Conference Thoughts

2006-02-10T14:44:00.000-05:00

Note: This blog starts at the bottom of this page. To keep up with the Journal entries, start at the bottom, and read up!

Last week, I attended my first United Way Brand Forum in San Diego, CA. Besides getting to spend time with my sister and her family, AND getting to see Tiger Woods win the Buick Invitational in an exciting playoff (Thanks again to my wonderful nephew, James Vega), the highlight of the 2006 Brand Forum was the time it gave me to jot down the inspirational random thoughts I get at conferences!

Tiger putting at Buick invitational

This week, I attended the 2006 United Way CEO Forum in Charlotte, NC. Besides the blessing of having my wife Mary with me on this trip, the highlight was again the chance to take time to think about things I generally don't take time to think about!

Conferences for me are outlets for creative thought. I usually get more out of the random thoughts that the inspiration of a conference encourages than I do the specific course material. So, in context with the rest of this blog's theme of United Way leadership in a new community impact model, here are the things I "took away" from these two conferences:

Our work is about social engagement - giving people something to do besides write a check.
Facilitate - Don't dictate.
Dial down the hype. Consumers have little tolerance for hype. When bragging about organizational successes, do it from passion, NOT hype.
Community engagement is creating commitment to act on shared goals/opportunities. It is an iterative process.
Alignment is a group of individuals working toward a common goal with a coordinated effort. (This refers to my Journal entry #12 on alignment. Here is one definition that makes some sense.)
To change the brand experience, we need to be more strategic about volunteer development. We need talent and competence, just like we do on our staff.
At some point, we have to stop trying to run two organizations (the old and new United Ways).
We must stop seeing our donors as ATMs!
Our building should be a community destination point...a place where the community convenes. Non-Profit Center should be state-of-the-art, and assist NPOs to perform well.
We have to move from aspiration to execution in order to create momentum.

Journal Entry # 16 - Rules of Engagement

2006-01-25T15:16:00.000-05:00

Note: This blog starts at the bottom of this page. To keep up with the Journal entries, start at the bottom, and read up!

As we move deeper into a new culture of thinking about how United Way can add value to the community, I am encouraged at the fact that community entities are turning to us more for assistance in convening, facilitating, and even guiding. As they do, I am sharing with groups what our rules of engagement are:

We must act. Forums and planning sessions are not only useless, but also counter-productive IF they are not immediately followed with action. Capturing notes taken on a flip chart and e-mailing them to the group participants is necessary, but not sufficient. Roles and responsibilities must be clear, and people must walk away with a job to do.
We must be willing to change systems. Focus groups and planning meetings must go beyond being mere information sessions where everyone says what it is they do. We must identify collective objectives, and be willing to do things differently, even if it means something we are very familiar with gets shaken up.
We must not let politics impede progress. Government and community politics are a necessary part of solving community problems. However, as engaged community citizens identify issues and propose solutions, grassroots leadership must take effect. Those things we cannot control will be placed aside, and we will work over the long term to advocate and influence public policy. In the meantime, we must act on what we CAN control.

These are just a few, but you get the idea. Meeting for the sake of meeting will bog us down. This community impact stuff is about action. Of course, we understand that fixes are long term, and that we cannot change the community or solve problems over night. On the other hand, we can no longer afford to wait on things to happen. The work is constant. But it is work. One of the 8 essential attributes of a community impact United Way according to a brilliant document circulating our system is having "leaders who walk the talk". We have to plan the work, then work the plan.

Danville Register Bee | Worth pointing out

2006-01-24T08:04:00.000-05:00

Danville Register Bee | Worth pointing out

Adaptive Leadership

2006-01-21T13:00:00.000-05:00

Had to post this quote from the book Leadership Can Be Taught (Sharon Daloz Parks):

Those who practice adaptive leadership must confront, disappoint, and dismantle and at the same time energize, inspire, and empower.

If that doesn't sum up the challenging work we have as United Way leaders in 2006, I don't know what would!

A Good Western - by John Meeks

2005-12-28T11:16:00.000-05:00

Publisher's Note: As a new feature to my blog, you will occasionally find some guest bloggers. These will be journal entries from people whose leadership perspective and example I have come to deeply respect. The first of such postings follows here. John Meeks is not only a dear friend (the kind he describes in his posting here), but he is also a proven leader. He is the Scout Executive for the Old North State Council of Boy Scouts of America in Greensboro, NC. His career with this great organization has taught him much about leadership, and he has given back to the scouts with huge leadership contributions of his own.

I will not soon forget his leadership workshop with our United Way staff at our retreat. In truly authentic style, he conveyed the true meaning of the scout motto ("Be Prepared").

A Good Western
by John Meeks

Sometimes I like nothing better than to sit down and watch a good western. Not those ‘spaghetti westerns’ with good guys and bad guys just staring at each other with menacing looks. No I am talking about westerns like, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Ox-bow Incident, or even a recent film like Open Range. These great westerns uniquely remind us of basic values for us as leaders. Besides, leadership lessons can be drawn from almost anything we do, so why not a western?

Last month I went on a business trip to New Mexico. That short trip rekindled my love of the west and brought back my unrealistic desire to be a cowboy. That will never happen, but don’t most grown-up boys still dream of life in the saddle? I know I do, especially when being a leader is not all that it’s cracked-up to be. Anyway, this trip inspired me to read novels and non fiction books on the west, and then eventually led to a week or so when I took the time to watch my favorite westerns.

Watching these great movies always leaves me feeling better and reminds me that even though these stories are fiction there are truths that we can all benefit from as leaders. In The Ox-bow Incident we are reminded that it is important not to get caught up in mob-mentality and to think for ourselves and to stand up for what is right, even if the consequences for doing so may hurt us. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance reminds us of loyalty to those who helped to get us where we are today. We see in that great movie a complicated story that revolves around standing up to bullies, standing up for what is right, and honoring those who are among the heroes in our lives.

Open range is a little different. The critics were not too kind to Kevin Costner here, but I think he created a great western. It has something for everybody, with even a bit of a love story thrown in. We see in this movie a great partnership between the characters played by Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner. The two characters they play, one the boss and one the employee have built a great relationship based on trust and true respect for one another. There are probably many take away messages you can get from this, but the one that stands out to me is just simply the importance of having friends that will watch your back, and stand with you when it counts.

These days, let’s face it; there are not too many chances that we have to stand with our friends. Life is not nearly as wild and we certainly don’t have to put our lives on the line over the same issues we see in these movies. I don’t have to worry about a critic of mine challenging me to a duel outside my office at high-noon. I don’t have to worry about a posse being formed against me when I make a bad decision, and I certainly don’t have to worry about being swept-up by an angry mob and joining them in a raucous choir to hang some poor soul from the highest tree!

But here is what we will all surely face in today’s world as leaders. You and I will have to defend ourselves for the decisions we make. In leadership you know everything is pretty quiet and dull until you make a decision, and then just wait! They always come gunning for you then! When they do, do you have a good friend that will stand with you? Perhaps more importantly, are you that kind of friend for someone else? Do they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they can count on you?

Sometimes there is one lone critic ‘gunning’ for you. Instead of meeting you out on Main Street at high noon your critic may be looking for you at the next board meeting, or corner you in your office. Other times the angry mob, like employees or customers, are swept in a negative direction based on faulty information. When that happens who will be watching your back? In all three movies I have mentioned, solid friendships and a willingness to stand up for what is right emerge as important themes.

These days most of us work hard to be the ‘good guys’ in the corporate world, and we operate with a different set of tools. We surround ourselves with wise people instead of six-shooters. We are transparent with those closest to us so that neither we nor they will get swept up in some irrational thought or take a swift but unsure direction. We choose our friends wisely and support them when they need help. We support our staff and make sure they know we will watch their backs. We ‘ride for the brand’, stay loyal to our employers’ mission, and stay focused on the things that truly matter. We are plain spoken and can be trusted. When they speak others know that they will hear the unvarnished truth and our handshake means more than just a greeting.

I hope that there will always be enough of us out there that need a good western from time to time. Sure, we don’t need more gratuitous violence than we already have, but every now and then it’s good to let this wonderful genre remind us that even though we don’t live in the wild west, we can still take comfort in good friends, value loyalty in our friendships and working relationships, and conduct ourselves ethically and morally in such a way that inspires confidence.

Journal Entry # 15 - What is Our Social Value?

2005-10-23T22:18:00.000-04:00

NOTE: The most recent post is at the top. To begin reading this journal, start at the Journal Entry # 1 from the August 2004 Link, (Archives on the right) and read up!

Just below this post, you can find an article from Harvard Business School's Social Enterprise program about how non-profits create social value. As I read it, one particular part struck me -- the part about how non-profits are formed in response to a problem. I immediately thought of organizations I have seen who exist because someone wanted to do something good, but weren't strategically responding to any substantiated problem within it's region of influence and operation.

Then I wondered how many people in our community realized what specific problem in our community merited the legitimacy and support of United Way of Danville - Pittsylvania County. In the past, the problem we addressed was that of a fund-raising gap. We responded to the non-profit sector's need for fund development with a very efficient workplace campaign machine. But what about this new value proposition? How does the community impact model create social value? We have established that the value of being a fund-raiser for non-profits has become diluted, and the dollars spread too thin. So what problem are we proposing to address now?

To me, it is clear. We are reinventing ourselves to more literally define our name, "United Way". In our community, we have a problem of organizations neglecting to work collaboratively to solve a multitude of problems. The lack of coordinated solution creation is our problem. The creation of the new community impact model is indirect response to this issue.

Our mission calls for a mobilizing of community resources, and the creation of lasting changes in current conditions. The power in the mission is that is aligned with a specific problem in our community -- the lack of mobilization. With fragmented non-profit, business, and government efforts aimed with good intentions at more symptoms than root causes, our work is made simple, though not easy.

Our new work involves leveraging our strengths (including workplace campaigning and culture of giving) to achieve a higher level of social value. I cannot help but picture the old graphic we used for years to describe the old United Way...

The new graphic is quite different...

Now the challenge is getting the marketing right. Our brand management must create a new culture of understanding in our community around our new mission. It's one thing for us to understand our new work. But to be successful, we must transfer the understanding and buy-in to "active investors" and other stakeholders/partners.

In the end, changing community conditions will require success in creating partnerships, collaborations, and shared vision. Delivering our new social value is more dependent than ever on others, but to be sure...can be achieved with effective leadership.

How Organizations Create Social Value : Social Enterprise : HBS Working Knowledge

2005-10-23T22:17:00.000-04:00

How Organizations Create Social Value : Social Enterprise : HBS Working Knowledge

Danville Register Bee | United Way takes new direction

2005-10-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

Danville Register Bee | United Way takes new direction

The Essence of Leadership : Alumni Insights : HBS Working Knowledge

2005-10-15T20:39:00.000-04:00

Another timely article from Harvard Business School on the traits of a great transformation leader.

The Essence of Leadership : Alumni Insights : HBS Working Knowledge

Journal Entry #14 - Katrina Lessons?

2005-10-08T22:20:00.000-04:00

What are the lessons to extract from the events caused by hurricane Katrina? Since this is not a political blog, I'll stay away from the politics. But for now, the lessons are:

- Be prepared. Have a plan.
- Execute the Plan when it's time.
- Stay in character mode. Don't slip into coping mode.
- Do something.
- Take responsibility.

It makes me wonder what our city's plan is for a disaster. What is United Way's role in that plan? I have something new to work on. Our new community impact agenda includes in its 5 focus areas a call to assist families and individuals in crisis. Katrina has reminded us that in addition to the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, we need a fence around the cliff.

Another Explanation of "Community Impact"

2005-08-20T13:52:00.000-04:00

United Way of Danville-Pittsylvania County

Danville Register Bee | AmeriCorps is coming to Danville

2005-07-26T22:09:00.000-04:00

Danville Register Bee | AmeriCorps is coming to Danville

Harvard Article - Vision -vs- Strategy -vs- Tactics

2005-07-17T12:48:00.000-04:00

HBS Working Knowledge: The Leadership Workshop: Give Your Organization Serious Traction

Journal Entry # 13 - It's All About Leadership

2005-07-10T11:50:00.000-04:00

NOTE: The most recent post is at the top. To begin reading this journal, start at the Journal Entry # 1 from the August 2004 Link, (Archives on the right) and read up!
Patrick Jinks

I suppose it cannot be overstated. Everything really DOES rise and fall on leadership. As I look back on my career so far, I can attribute every success or failure to the level of leadership brought to any given venture or initiative. When my leadership has been strong, success has followed for our organization. When I have fallen short in leadership, opportunities have been missed, at best. This is true of leaders with whom I have interacted as well. This seems quite elementary, but the formula’s reliability is uncanny.

Over the course of the past 3 years, I have found myself immersed in leadership development. I am addicted to it – obsessed with it. Ever since discovering for myself that everything indeed rises and falls on leadership, I crave greater leadership capacity. The exciting thing to me is that I crave it for the value of character it develops, not for any fortune it can potentially bring.

I have been recently asked to chair a leadership development council for our local Chamber of Commerce. I am flattered and honored, as it epitomizes the type of work that excites me. The council comprises high-level leaders of our community (school superintendent, bank executives, plant mangers, etc.), and carries the primary objective finding and filling the leadership gaps in our community. But our work is not programmatic (i.e. Leadership Southside Program or Neighborhood Leadership Institute). It is visionary and strategic. We seek solutions for the following issues:

How will we engage the rising leaders in our community?
How will we retain the treasure that is the wisdom and experience of our older leaders?
How will we differentiate between community orientation and leadership development?
How will we inspire citizens to “do something” and convince them that they can?

Think of the possibilities!

In his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell defines the Law of the Lid:

A person’s leadership ability determines his success.

The premise is that talent alone, nor drive, nor commitment, nor even dedication to success is enough. One must possess leadership. And, as Maxwell also writes, leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.

We read about successful businesses and the CEOs whose leadership was the key to success. Why would the non-profit sector require any less of its leaders? On the contrary, our sector demands greater leadership capacity than the private sector in order to achieve our missions. Have you looked at the missions of some of the world’s greatest non-profit organizations? They are rather lofty! The mission of the American Red Cross is to provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. Oxfam America works under the mission of developing lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and social injustice. The mission of our local United Way is to improve lives by mobilizing community resources to create lasting, measurable changes in the conditions that affect us most.

Some might argue that those missions are unrealistic. I say they are achievable with strong leadership. And yet, I believe a problem exists in our community, and others. The non-profit sector lacks strong leadership. We have strong leaders, but not enough of them. We pay what we say we can afford for the leaders we have, and give them meager resources to achieve their missions.

Part of United Way’s strategy over the coming years is to work to increase capacity of the non-profit sector, and to heighten awareness of the needs, the potential, and the power of non-profits to change our community. But our ability to reinvent ourselves as a leading community impact organization is directly linked to leadership. So I am doing everything I can to ensure that our local United Way has the leadership to win, and I have to start with myself.

Danville Register Bee | The next level

2005-05-18T08:03:00.000-04:00

Danville Register Bee | The next level

Journal Entry # 12 - Alignment

2005-04-01T21:23:00.000-05:00

NOTE: The most recent post is at the top. To begin reading this journal, start at the Journal Entry # 1 from the August 2004 Link, (Archives on the right) and read up!
Patrick Jinks

I’m not even sure what the word alignment means anymore as it relates to the new work of United Way, or even more generally to the concept of business model changes. The reason for my uncertainty is partly the fact that I’m not that darn smart, and partly because I have a hunch the term has been distorted by people inadvertently misusing it. Many other business terms share this fate – social capital, marketing, customer relations, value, and even treasured terms like strategy, positioning, and brand. I’ll probably join in the slaughtering of these concepts as well eventually in this blog!

But for now, I’ll tackle alignment.

In the traditional United Way model, alignment was clear cut. We had campaign, and we had allocations. We had processing systems, and we had marketing. In short, silos (another overused and misused term). And while campaign was a silo in the alignment of the organization, it alone served a higher calling: it was the primary mission and driver of the business.

Simply put, this has all changed dramatically, at least at United Way of Danville-Pittsylvania County. The mission driver now is impact (improved lives – changed community conditions). Everything must align with that – not in silos, but in cooperation and synergy (there’s another one). The simple implications:

Staff talent and expertise must align. New skills are needed (e.g., understanding of social work, more comprehensive resource development skill beyond the traditional workplace campaign, grant writing, community indicators, community systems, better networking, and true brand management).

Board structure and function must align. No longer can our boards be bodies of community leaders who meet monthly to hear the finance, campaign and allocations reports, and vote on the annual budget. Now our boards must be strategically developed to champion the new work. Board leader roles must go from being perfunctory masters of ceremony to being engaging thought leaders and mobilizers. Our board must reclaim ownership of the organization, with the greater good of the community at the heart of the work. It must think strategically and responsibly as if it does not have a professional staff, and then leverage the professional staff as a tool to excel.

I realize as I write that this all sounds like a total de-valuing of folks who have served on our board in the past. It is anything but that. Likewise, this whole change is not an effort to de-value our long-affiliated agencies. But the reality is, we fostered this role. We created it, and we used it to get the old work done. It was effective within that framework. But as the demand for new work has surfaced, so has the need for a more defining role for the board.

Branding must align. We (even a small United Way with very limited resources) must be skilled delivering the brand. After all, if the brand is how people perceive us, feel about us, and characterize us, then we must make it consistent, impacting, and aligned with the mission. It must say who we are as much as or more than our mission statement. Saying it in a stark, clear sentence doesn’t make people believe it or feel it. The results do that, but only if the results and the organization are connected in people’s minds.

Administration must align. Old work required old processes. The new work requires a re-thinking of the systems. New capacity is needed, which will cost significantly more if old processes are kept in place. We can’t cram the new work into the old systems. We must redesign systems to support the new work. For example, pledge processing, particularly the part that involves donor designation, must be rethought. Our financial statements must reflect the new work (not just a list of campaign revenues and agency-by-agency allocation amounts). Our stewardship now goes beyond processing pledge envelopes and writing monthly checks to agencies.

Capacity must align. We have been well staffed to deliver the traditional value. The meager investments we made in training, marketing, and technology were sufficient during the era when the workplace campaign was such a part of the corporate and community culture that it practically ran itself. People were not any more or less motivated by the package as much as they were the message, because the message had become engrained. The new message will take years to become engrained (the previous message is 83 years old!). As a result, we must jump-start the new brand with momentum, and a feeling of success, innovation, and intelligence – oh, and of course, caring!

Behavior must align. – We have to practice what we preach. We must collaborate differently. We must reach out to more of the community. We must take the work outside the board room and into our neighborhoods, our city council chambers, our schools, our donors, etc.

Values and commitments must align. More specifics on our values and commitments in a future posting, but by now, you get the flow.

Everything must align with the mission. The right hand must be in clear communication with the left. We are getting there, but still have work to do. We learn more about what we need to do every day!

Journal Entry # 11 - Social Research

2005-01-29T20:26:00.000-05:00

NOTE: The most recent post is at the top. To begin reading this journal, start at the Journal Entry # 1, (Archives on the right) and read up!
Patrick Jinks

Southside Virginia is excited to have a powerful initiative moving forward to enhance economic development in our area. The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) is a state-of-the-art facility. But it is more than a facility. It is a concept -- an innovation. It is a product of a vision held by community leaders, and supported by nearby Virginia Tech. It receives government funds as well as public support. More information can be found at the IALR website... www.ialr.org.

But the short of it is that this is a research institute. Research in the areas of polymers, unmanned systems, horticulture, motor sports, and more are already attracting business and commerce to the area. Currently, a graduate lecture series entitled "Research and the Innovative Economy" is underway at the IALR. I am attending the series, and finally beginning to understand what the IALR is all about. But during discussion with the class, the topic of social research came up. Actually, I brought it up. I asked if the IALR could also be a catalyst for social research. It seems evident to me that all the economic development in the world can't fix a community whose problems include those of a social nature.

The problems for us now are that we do not know what the questions are...let alone the answers. We are excited about our process for creating a community impact agenda -- conducting focus groups and gathering data to support our priorities. Buit in reality, we still have much to learn about what really drives the social problems in our community. It will take much more comprehensive research of a social nature -- by people who know how to do it -- to determine the most comprehensive solutions.

Fortunately, discussions of this nature are being heard, with interest, by professors, students, and staff at Virginia Tech and the IALR. Seeds are being planted for what could be a comprehensive social study of our area.

Journal Entry #10 - Feet to the Fire

2005-01-17T14:48:00.000-05:00

NOTE: The most recent post is at the top. To begin reading this journal, start at the bottom, and read up!
Patrick Jinks

When we made the commitment over two years ago to make a major change in the way we made investments into the community, we were quickly challenged by a number of community leaders to follow through. We knew that tough decisions would need to be made, and the leaders that endorsed our plan did so under the condition that we stick to our resolve and avoid making wrong decisions just because they were politically expedient. After all, the success of the new community impact model was predicated upon actually creating, measuring, and reporting real community change.

Now, after 14 community focus groups, full program outcome measurement implementation, defining what the community impact United Way was going to be about, and making bold promises to the community, we are nearing a critical stage. 2005 marks the final year of any guaranteed allocations to historically affiliated agencies. In 2006, we will start afresh and make funding decisions based on the effective and promising means for effecting community change in our areas of focus.

The next stage involves another 10-12 meetings designed to “drill down” further into specific strategies for addressing each area of focus (see journal entry #9 for the 5 areas of focus). In this round, we will rely upon the services of David Moore, Assistant Director of the Institute for Governance and Accountability at Virginia Tech. He will facilitate the focus groups, as well as coordinate the development of management information that will flow from research being conducted by students at Virginia Tech.

DAVID MOORE

The difficulty that lies ahead is in the fact that not all of our currently funded agencies will fare well (in terms of funding) under the new model. The opportunities are endless, but the buzz in the community will be about who got cut, and how United Way could place any agency in such a situation. The marketing team of our board is currently addressing communication strategies for handling the transition.

In addition, we have made the decision to invest additional resources in our own internal capacity to ensure success in the new work. Among other things, such as increased focus on training and development, increased marketing efforts, and upgraded technology, we have created a new position (Community Investment Director) to assist with the transition, coordinate the new allocations process, and provide leadership in seeking collaborative partners and resources to achieve the work of the newly-composed community impact agenda. This was a difficult decision as well, given that our agencies are facing reductions in funding for the second consecutive year, and our workplace campaign has declined. But in the end of the discussion, we saw more risk in not taking these steps to ensure a quality transition. We are reinventing our brand, redefining our mission, restructuring our work, and re-establishing our role as a leader in facilitating community impact. We cannot achieve these Herculean tasks with our current structure and capacity.

HBS Working Knowledge: Leadership: How to Put Meaning Back into Leading

2005-01-10T15:13:00.000-05:00

HBS Working Knowledge: Leadership: How to Put Meaning Back into Leading

Leadership Moment...

2004-11-04T09:38:00.000-05:00

"Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand."

-- General Colin Powell

Journal Entry #9 - Into Focus

2004-10-27T22:13:00.000-04:00

NOTE: The most recent post is at the top. To begin reading this journal, select "Journal Entry #1 from the list on the right.
Patrick Jinks

After 14 focus groups throughout the community, an impact agenda has begun to come into focus. Still much work lies ahead in defining the agenda in terms of desired outcomes, strategies, and potential partners. But we are on schedule, and pleased with the direction so far.

Our focus groups included government leaders, educators, senior citizens, high school youth, business leaders, top United Way contributors, United Way agencies, United Way board members, churches, minorities, non profits (outside the UW agencies), and other interested stakeholders. The results comprise a 5-point outline for United Way's future direction:

1. Life-Long Learning Opportunities for All
This priority area will be addressed with the workforce education in mind. Currently, in our community, around 35% of adults (25 and older) have less than a high school education. 20% have less than a 9th-Grade education. With textiles and tobacco ceasing to be the employment anchors in our area, a new economy will require better graduation rates, and a more trade-educated population.

2. Access to Quality Health Care for All
It is estimated (following a study based on the 200 census) that up to 25% of our population is uninsured or severely underinsured. Given the median income levels in our community, this is a critical issue.

3. Public Safety and Neighborhood Revitalization
This area particularly addresses the safety of our neighborhoods. Strategies will include grassroots training and leadership development, as well as neighborhood revitalization. Specific focus will be on the emerging gang activity in our community.

4. Youth Services and Enrichment
This area will need further defining, but our focus groups made clear the fact that citizens in our community feel a great need to provide recreational, educational, and leadership development opportunities at all demographic levels.

5. Core Support Services
Our focus group participants shared their view that basic needs services would always be a priority. These include such things (but not necessarily THESE things) as: disaster relief, homeless food and shelter, volunteer fire and rescue, meals on wheels, etc.

Next steps will involve research on the social statistics and community indicators for these focus areas, and the identification of the outcome goals and strategies needed to make a measurable, meaningful change in conditions in our community.

Details on next steps to come...

Journal Entry #8 - Not All Created Equal

2004-10-11T20:43:00.000-04:00

NOTE: The most recent post is at the top. To begin reading this journal, start at the bottom, and read up!
Patrick Jinks

As the community impact movement spreads across the United Way system, one thing has become very clear: The same approach does not fit all United Ways. Each community has to make though decisions regarding the speed, scope, direction, methods, etc. of the implementation of the new model.

For example, many United Ways are gradually moving in the new direction by taking small percentages of their resources, and investing them in new community impact initiatives while continuing to support historically affiliated agencies under the term "core services". Others are creating community agendas and funding them under a multi-tier system where the term "core services" takes on a different meaning as those services which directly support the community impact initiatives in the top tier of the system.

For us, only one real option seemed viable. Since we raise only slightly over a million dollars annually, we felt that we could not afford to continue funding many core services, because we believed that the community impact initiatives would need all the resources we could invest, so that we could build quick success and momentum. This doesn't necessarily mean current agencies won't receive funding. But if they do, it will likely be in a different manner, and for different programs that we are currently funding.

Another variable from community to community is the agenda itself. While some communities focus on elder care and mental health, others focus on youth and homelessness, and still others focus on healthcare and safe neighborhoods. Our community agenda is only beginning to take shape, and appears to be focusing on at least 4 areas (access to healthcare, education, public safety, and youth services).

The common denominator is in the fundamental difference among all United Ways: We are not just a funder of agencies. We are striving to make changes in community conditions that are sustainable and measurable.

Journal Entry # 7 -- Defining the New United Way

2004-10-01T21:53:00.000-04:00

NOTE: The most recent post is at the top. To begin reading this journal, start at the bottom, and read up!
Patrick Jinks

A local radio reporter, seeking clarity on our new work, recently repeated it back to me in her own words:

"So you're going from being a writer of checks to a more hands-on, strategic approach to solving community problems."

She's got it! I couldn't have said it better. As I have repeated many times at agency director meetings, board and staff meetings, and even civic club presentations, it's not just about funding.

For 82 years in our local community, we've been allocating funds. That had value in our community for about 72 years. Then something happened in our community. The most prominent of our community's leaders began to distance themselves from United Way. Not just in the typical manner of a past president going on to tackle other community tasks, but in the manner of no longer championing the value of United Way.

They didn't abandon us altogether. In fact, some of them continued to give more than most. The problem was that they were not giving what they could potentially give. United Way became a smaller percentage of the investments they personally made in the community. Not long after I arrived in Danville, one community leader told us our value just wasn't clear. We hadn't made a case for wealthy individuals in our community to give what we would call major gifts.

Our new work may best be described in a comparison of the old value proposition and the new.

Our old value proposition:

1. We will raise money every year in the fall by cranking up our powerful workplace campaign machine, and inspire the community by achieving pledge goals. Our appeal (case) will be that our agencies need more money to continue doing the good work that they do.

2. We will convene a team of community volunteers in the winter (at the end of the campaign) and review funding applications from our family of worthy human service agencies, and ensure that no impropriety or malfeasance is taking place. We will score and fund the agencies on their ability to inspire our panels and how compelling their activities are.

3. We will execute this annual process at the lowest possible cost.

4. We will do it all over again each year.

Our NEW Value Proposition

1. We will seek to learn the most pressing issues of our community. We will become subject matter experts in the social statistics of our community, and learn the heartbeat of the everyday citizens of our town as it relates to priorities.

2. We will convene a multi-faceted group of citizens and leaders to do the difficult work of setting a community agenda that contains objectives that lead to the solving of these issues. The goals will be measurable in terms of results, and the strategies will align with the feasibility of ensuring sustainability and impact.

3. We will seek out and identify partners who will work in synergy to achieve the objectives set forth in the agenda. These partners will include, but not be limited to:

Non-profit Agencies
Individuals
Governmental Entities
Educational Institutions
Social Service Institutions
Private Business
Faith Community

4. We will maximize the resources offered by and needed by our partners, and bring them together to make efficient, focused use of community assets. We will manage and leverage these resources to achieve the greatest impact.

5. We will acquire financial resources through comprehensive resource development efforts that includes a great asset, our workplace campaign, as well as new strategies in the fields of grant development, planned giving, major gifts, and volunteer training and deployment. We will invest these resources into the work being done on the community agenda.

6. We will offer our donors a portfolio of investment strategies, and report RESULTS -- Not dollars raised.

7. More lives will be measurably improved as a result of our focus on the key issues of our agenda.

8. Our community will move forward, because, along with progressive economic development efforts of business and government, we will leverage social capital to achieve social impact.

9. Our new process will be a living, breathing social organism, not repeating in a perpetual cycle of status quo, but constantly revisiting, refreshing, and renewing.

10. Our work will not be limited to an internal few. It will be a community-wide effort, and therefore we will be more accountable than ever -- to our contributors, our partners, our neighbors, our community's leaders..... to our community.

Journal Entry #6 - 2004 - Getting to It

2004-09-06T18:50:00.000-04:00

NOTE: Remember that the most recent post is at the top. To begin reading this journal, start at the bottom, and read up!
Patrick Jinks
Major steps have been taken in 2004 toward the new model we strive to build.

Among them:

Outcome Measurement - Level III
We are now in the third and final stage of implementing program outcome measurement funding. It is important to note that this does not equal community impact. It merely means we have learned from the concepts of outcome measurement, and can now begin to establish plans around measuring outcomes at the community level. It also means that the agencies who have succeeded in learning outcome measurement will be better positioned to succeed in the new business.

Communication
We have taken every measure we can think of to ensure that all stakeholders are in the loop as we make our transition. This applies particularly to our current family of affiliated agencies. While we do not yet know what our community agenda will look like and what agencies may be at the table, we have been clear about our timeline and intended strategies. Communication with our 20 frontline partners has also been important, because we want them to know we are making progress, and taking the work seriously.

"We have taken every measure we can think of to ensure that all stakeholders are in the loop as we make our transition."

Focus Groups
Finally, we are nearing the close of the focus group stage. The idea is hold around 12 focus groups in the community that bring a variety of perspectives to the community agenda-setting process. The focus group stage will identify what the public thinks about the priorities from the 30,000 ft. view. The next stage will be to conduct research on the community needs, and marry the blatant gaps with the high priorities identified in the focus groups. The groups: Seniors, youth, professionals, city government, county government, city schools, county schools, churches, chamber leadership graduates, UW board, and UW agencies.

New Brand Identity

Following United Way of America's lead, United Way of Danville-Pittsylvania County implemented the new brand identity, which included the new logo, and messaging around what matters.TM
The new logo has several subtle features that communicate impact, but the most significant one is that it is new. It signals movement within United Way.

Journal Entry #5 - 2003 In Review

2004-08-30T14:34:00.000-04:00

NOTE: Remember that the most recent post is at the top. To begin reading this journal, start at the bottom, and read up!
Year in review - 2003
Patrick Jinks
2003 was a year in which we clarified and solidified our commitment to moving toward a new funding model -- indeed a new business model that centered on community impact.

Image - We focused on image (enhanced the appearance of our office, remodeled our conference room for more functional training, and more importantly, revamped our annual meeting to reflect a more formal environment. The annual meeting was a success for us in 2003, because we were able to get the right people there (not just our agencies). Our attendance increased in quantity and quality, and were able to project a more convincing image as that of an organization on the move.

Outcome Measurement - Level II - We took the 2nd of three steps toward outcome-based funding. We offered comprehensive training again, and began requiring our agencies to demonstrate that they had a data collection system in place, and were on schedule to report outcomes in the following year.

Board Retreat - CRITICAL STEP - Our June board retreat was a pivotal moment for our United Way. It was there that we crossed the point of no return with regard to our commitment to move into the community impact business. I laid out the framework again for the new direction, and proposed next steps (focus groups, and the setting of a community agenda). It was suggested by one board member that we test the waters with a few focus groups. I emphatically declined that notion, and insisted that I would conduct no focus groups until we had made a firm commitment. The last thing we needed, I urged, was another focus group with no follow through. Communities are full of those events, and they accomplish nothing.

We asked ourselves one critical question: Would we rather raise twice what we are currently raising, and continue spreading it thin in our current funding model, or raise half our current amount, and invest it it community solutions that we can measure and know we made a community change for the better? The answer was unanimously the latter. The vote was unanimous that we proceed with the timeline I proposed, which was the following:

2001-2004 - Complete the implementation of program outcome measurement funding
June - December 2003 - Establish Endorsing Partners (more on this later)
August 2003 - Sept. 2004 - Conduct a dozen community focus groups
Sept. 2004 - Mar. 2005 - Set Community Impact Agenda
Mar. 2005 - Nov. 2005 - RFP process under new funding criteria
Winter 2006 - New funding schedule from scratch, based on new agenda
Winter 2009 - Report first level community outcomes

Frontline Partners - This was one of our biggest successes in the journey so far. We went to approximately 20 community leaders, asking for their endorsement of our new model. These included our mayor, our city and county government heads, colleges, business leaders, school systems, chamber of commerce, media, and more. The entire list of partners can be viewed on our website: http://www.dpuway.org/04new_unitedway.htm

This step was designed to firm up support in the key pockets of the community before we roll out or new model to the public. The message here was that this was a community process -- not just a United Way process. The partners all jumped on board with great enthusiasm. We were told more than once that this was a long overdue strategy.

Details on 2003 are coming soon...

Journal Entry #4 - First Year Accomplishments

2004-08-30T10:07:00.000-04:00

NOTE: Remember that the most recent post is at the top. To begin reading this journal, start at the bottom, and read up!
Year in review - 2002
Patrick Jinks
Among many things, the following stand out as the keys to fast action as I began to dig into my work:

Schedule and begin a strategic planning process - Board members could not recall a formal process being recently undertaken. This would lay the foundation for things we knew needed to be addressed immediately. The items that follow came out of the plan.

Open the lines of communication with agencies - I began publishing a monthly communique to all agency directors and board presidents, as well as our own board members. We began holding monthly meetings of all agency directors. It was important that I understood their perspective and that they understood my intentions and motives.

Begin the implementation of outcome measurement funding. - This meant that we approach it afresh (it had already been discussed, and some application elements had already been revised). It meant rather than demanding outcomes, we must first train ourselves and our agencies on what it was, and how to do it. We acquired the services of an outcomes expert within the United Way system, and introduced outcomes in a full-day workshop. I then repeated the offering twice later in the year to ensure everyone had ample opportunity to attend. The first year could require agencies to produce a logic model. We simply wanted them to demonstrate that they understood the concepts, and had some measurable targets established. They did not have to actually show results -- yet.

Boost technology access in our office. - When I arrived, there was one PC with internet access (dial-up). The newest PC was out of date, even to the standards of early 2002. We were paying big dollars in film developing, and more to have our photos digitized for web publishing. The web site was a great effort on the part of a dedicated staff person, and the internal design saved thousands of dollars. But the site lacked brand continuity and had the home-made look. In a short time, we invested in some basic upgrades (1 new PC; high-speed internet access and network, which gave every staff person access to such resources as United Way Online, not to mention the rest of the internet; digital camera and scanner; LCD projector for training; and some much-needed software upgrades). Using new software, I redesigned our website (which has been revised yet again to reflect the new United Way brand standards and message). - www.dpuway.org

Enhance Media Relations - Change can create energy and momentum. We used this to our advantage when building relationships with local media. We relied on our knowledge of two realities about media, at least in a community our size: 1) Relationships are key. New releases alone do not produce results. 2.) It has to be news! The media cannot cover every event, focus on every our allocations process, and they are even tiring of announcing our goals, etc. It simply isn't news anymore! We have to communicate and sell the "news" of what we are doing. The shift to community impact investing is news.

Achieve the Campaign Goal - It was important to me, as much for pride reasons as any, to achieve the campaign goal in my first year. After all, I was hired because of my extensive campaign experience in a larger city. It was also important that along with some significant image and operational changes, the campaign help create momentum and awareness. We not only achieved the goal, we did so in record fashion, raising just over $1.4 million.

Journal Entry #3 - The Next Level

2004-08-29T16:28:00.000-04:00

NOTE: Remember that the most recent post is at the top. To begin reading this journal, start at the bottom, and read up!

December, 2001
Patrick Jinks
After 7 campaigns as the chief fund-raiser in Shreveport, I pursued an opportunity to be the executive director at United Way in Danville, VA. I felt it was time for me to take my own shot at leading an effort to achieve community impact. My executive director was most supportive, and the phone interview process began in November of 2001. In December, the field was narrowed, and I was invited to meet in person with the search committee.

The interview consisted of several elements, including a meeting with the affiliated agencies. During that meeting, I made it clear that if I was selected, I would be advocating for changes in how United Way strategically invested its funds into the community.

During the final stage of the interview, I was asked to give a 10-minute presentation on the "Future of the United Way Movement". The crux of my message that day was that United Way had gone from being a movement to an organization, and was only now in the process of becoming a movement again.

But it was during the first stage of the interview that my challenge was laid before me: "We're looking for someone who can take our United Way to the next level."

They didn't quite know what that next level looked like, and honestly, neither did I. My first thought was around improving the image, focusing on a more sophisticated marketing approach, putting campaign knowledge I had gained from working at a larger United Way, and engaging in strategic planning. My interview skills got me through it, and I evidently said all the right stuff (whatever that was). Now I was faced with a huge reality. The job was mine, and I had to take it to the next level.

Journal Entry # 2 - A Good Start

2004-08-29T12:35:00.000-04:00

1998 - 2001
Patrick Jinks - After finally settling in and understanding this great campaign machine, I began to immerse myself in bigger picture roles. I was fortunate to have an executive director with superb leadership skills who allowed my gifts and talents to make room for themselves. As he invested in my training and development, I invested in the organization. I soaked up all the training I could get, but mostly learned from watching him operate. The value of positive mentors cannot be understated. But I also took every opportunity to "plug in" the things I was learning. I engaged in new marketing strategies, participated in strategic planning, and helped urge key volunteers to move forward with a greater purpose and expanded role as an organization.

One area I began learning about was the concept of outcome measurement. This is a given today among funders and those directly involved with human services. In the private industry sector, it is also a reality, but with different terminology (e.g., results, performance, etc.). But at that time, it was new, at least for many local United Ways and our agencies. We had a history of funding on a deficit/gap basis, rather than on performance. We tracked outputs rather than outcomes. At United Way in Shreveport, I was introduced to the concept of measuring the benefits and changes the funded programs offered.

Measuring the outcomes of the programs we funded was a good start for United Ways in the move toward community impact. It has much to do in my view with the new brand message - what matters. TM

Instead of only measuring quantity, we began focusing on quality. The number of program participants became less important than what the participants were getting out of the program. In other words, what was changing as a result of their participation in the programs?

With this in mind, I took my first executive director position in Danville, VA. My journal entries from here will chronicle my professional journey, as it happens, toward community impact.

Journal Entry #1 - Background

2004-08-29T11:50:00.000-04:00

September, 1993
Patrick Jinks - I was working for Gannett (media company which owns nearly 100 daily newspapers and other other media around the United States) at a local newspaper. I was on a fairly fast track into sales and marketing management, and was currently sales development manager in Shreveport, LA. I entered into a volunteer program (called the Loaned Executive Program) which enabled me to work full-time for the local United Way while the paper continued to pay my salary. I made presentations to groups of employees around the city, soliciting contributions for United Way. I was impressed at how United Way funded so many different things at such low cost.

After a transfer to the Gannett paper in Monroe, LA to take on greater responsibility there, I was called and offered the position of Campaign/Marketing Director at United Way of Northwest Louisiana, back in Shreveport. The story of how and why is long, and irrelevant.

In June 1995, I started my work in the non-profit world -- the United Way world.

My job: Raise as much money as possible through the annual workplace campaign. I managed a team of 4 staff people and dozens of volunteers in canvassing the business sector and drumming up employee campaigns and contributions in order to achieve the annual goals - fund-raising goals. The funds we raised were allocated to 32 different non-profit, local, human services agencies in the area. The agencies funded included Red Cross, Salvation Army, Goodwill Industries, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, the Y's, and many more local entities like the councils on aging, and the local legal aid agency. Others included transitional homes designed to break the cycle of homelessness, sheltered workshops for the mentally disabled, and a center for the deaf and hard of hearing.

My success was gauged by one thing: achieving annual fund-raising goals. In my first year, we raised $2.8 million. In subsequent years, we reached as high as $3.3. The problem was that the 17% increase in money raised was not directly proportionate to any specific quality of life changes made in the community over the same period. If it was, it wasn't measurable. We still provided funding for the same 32 agencies, operating with just a little more capacity than the years before. This is not stated as an indictment. It is to illustrate why that local United Way and others across the country have engaged in dialogue and action toward changing our strategic purpose and objectives. This was the beginning of my journey as a leader in this effort -- the effort to transform community through United Way.