June 21, 2017 Giving Feedback, Managing People Well

How ancient wisdom can help managers give their employees better feedback

Giving feedback is unquestionably one of the most challenging tasks for any leader, as it can be painful to both the giver and receiver. It is nonetheless invaluable: Research has shown that employees recognize the importance of feedback – whether positive or negative – to their career development.

Despite the research showing that many people welcome it, provided it’s given well, most leaders are reluctant and uncomfortable providing negative feedback. So how can managers become better at providing their employees with negative feedback that successfully highlights problems and how to resolve them?

May 17, 2017 Health & Wellbeing, Managing People Well, Professional Development

Can you ‘teach’ staff to be more emotionally resilient?

You may know someone like this at work: optimistic and resilient, they appear to bounce through challenges drawing on an internal strength that helps them work through problems they encounter at work. Always hopeful and positive about the future, they treat stressful events as a “one-off” situation, appearing to have a built-in buffer that protects them against both ordinary and extraordinary events. Perhaps this is even you.

This sort of emotional resilience is often considered innate. But can it be taught?

May 29, 2017 Human Resources, Managing People Well, Organisational Strategy

The case for greater flexibility at your NFP

Dr Clare Allen is on a mission.

As CEO of VisAbility – Guide Dogs Ltd in Western Australia, she knows that work-life balance can be challenging for many people working in the NFP sector – particularly those in more senior roles, and for those in frontline services juggling high client work-loads with admin and/or management responsibilities.

That’s why she wants to spread the word about how organisations can move past a focus on “work-life balance” towards a vision of a much more flexible “work-life harmony” that empowers staff to achieve more powerful and healthier results.

May 3, 2017 Change Management, Leadership, Managing People Well

Three positive ways to lead your NFP through uncertain and troubling times

It’s no secret that the not-for-profit sector has faced unprecedented instability in recent years, with uncertainty fast becoming the ‘new normal’.

The drastic drop in donations caused by the GFC, constant fluctuations in government funding and sweeping sector reforms like the NDIS are just three examples of massive change – and that doesn’t even touch on the increasingly volatile political climate both in Australia and overseas.

To start developing skills to help lead teams during these uncertain times, and to prepare for change in the future, here are three important lessons for leaders at all levels of your NFP.

April 10, 2017 Human Resources, Legal Issues, Organisational Strategy

Is your NFP doing enough to protect whistleblowers?

NFPs aren’t doing enough to protect whistleblowers.

That’s according to the largest survey ever into the topic, examining policies and procedures around whistleblowing at over 700 organisations in Australia and New Zealand.

Protecting whistleblowers is crucial for stamping out fraud or wrongdoing. This post explains exactly where the problems are, and key areas your organisation should focus on to improve.

April 5, 2017 Health & Wellbeing, Organisational Strategy

Could flexible work be damaging the lives of your staff?

Flexible work is on the rise everywhere – particularly in Australia’s not-for-profit sector. But could working flexible hours have a dark side for employees?

In this guest post, Dr Heejung Chung outlines new research which finds that when it comes to work/life balance, having the freedom to work flexibly might not always be a positive force in the lives of employees.

July 22, 2013 Giving Feedback, Leadership, Managing People Well

Look, Listen, Act: Communication skills for great leaders

Two truisms about leadership: First, leadership is not management and management is not leadership. Second, while not all leaders are managers, all managers should be leaders. If you’re expecting your broader staff group to demonstrate leadership in their roles then those with greater authority and position absolutely have to do so first. How do leaders […]

April 3, 2017 Giving Feedback, Managing People Well, Organisational Strategy

Why justice matters in NFPs – and how to make your workplace fairer for everyone

Have you ever considered how fair or “just” your behaviour at work is?

It matters more than you might think. In fact, research shows that if managers behave fairly their staff are more likely to feel committed to their jobs and perform better overall.

The good news is that justice can be embedded into the culture of your organisation – particularly through the improvement of policies and procedures – which can ultimately improve the impact your not-for-profit organisation is able to make.

April 11, 2016 Giving Feedback, Leadership, Managing People Well

What to do if your staff won’t act on feedback

Much has been said on the topic of giving feedback – it’s vital to building an effective team and boosting productivity, among other things.

But what do you do if you’ve given a team member feedback and they ignore you? Or get defensive? Or even begin to evade discussions involving feedback?

March 1, 2017 Change Management, Organisational Strategy

Four key ingredients to building an innovation strategy for your NFP

“Innovation” is all the rage in Australia right now. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has urged an “ideas boom”, investing billions of dollars to promote private sector innovation.

But what about NFP organisations? NFPs need to innovate too, even though it’s by no means easy.

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