Tag Archives: Organizational Health

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Uncomfortable Questions and Leadership…

Do you encourage them, consider them and ask them?

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I was leading a small team in a culturally diverse city in the U.S. when two of my employees asked why all the titled leaders on our leadership team were white.

I was raised in a part of the country that was not culturally diverse, today – nearly a decade after their question 89% of the population in my home state is white and 95% of the county that surrounded the town I grew up in was white.  As a result, it was a question I didn’t see coming and one I did not have a good answer for.

[Tweet “If you seek to lead well… You will consider uncomfortable questions.”]

My reactions:

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Your Organization: A Reflection of What YOU Create & Allow

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Several years ago I was asked to serve on a Board that was responsible for overseeing resources from the federal, state and local area.

To learn more, I did a lot of research and then decided to drive to the locations that provided those services.

I found the first location with no problem.

But when I followed my GPS to the second location. I found a police station. Then drove up and down the street and around in circles.

I tried to call but a recording made it impossible to reach a live person. …When I finally asked a police officer, he had no idea where the place was.

Eventually I drove down a little alley. Parked my car and walked into a building – that was right next door to the police station, with old lettering on it that read, “Community Center”. Inside a bunch of cubicles filled a large area that had at one time been used for community gatherings.

It was indeed the location I was looking for.

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How to reject divisiveness and make people feel valued

Guest Post by Jane Perdue

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TODAY is the International Day of Peace!

This is the 4th article in a series to highlight what each of us can do to bring more peace to our world.

  • The first three articles are linked at the bottom of this post.

I’m honored to include the post below from Jane Perdue, the CEO/Principal at Braithwaite Innovation Group, a friend and one of the co-author’s of the book, The Character-Based Leader…  Instigating A Leadership Revolution…  One Person at a Time.

Jane-Perdue-300x300I live in Charleston, South Carolina. In just a few days this past summer, my heart went from being broken by a senseless crime motivated by hate to being uplifted by people choosing to forgive, not fight or retaliate. Given my awe and respect at how my community handled this tragedy, Chery’s invitation to write about how leaders can limit division and create peace was incredibly serendipitous.

Retaliation and revenge are powerful motivators. We want to right the real or perceived wrong.

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1 Way You Can Create a More Peaceful World (Really!)

International Day of Peace, Sept 21, 2015

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This is the second post leading up to the International Day of Peace on Sept 21.

The goal?

  • To share why real peace (not fake peace) matters to organizations, communities, and our world.
  • And to highlight specific behavior that anyone can do, wherever we are… To make a difference.

How many articles have you read lately where the headline and the image were shocking?

…But there’s a COMPLETE DISCONNECT between the article and the hooks that made your blood pressure rise?

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Leadership and Peace Making

International Day of Peace Sept 21, 2015

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The International Day of Peace is Monday September 21.  And I’m so ready to talk about what we can do to heal our organizations, communities, nations and world – instead of continuing to feed the fires that divide us.

This is the first post in a series.

 Yes – Conflict is messy, painful and destructive!

  • When it appears in our personal lives, it is tempting to flee from it or to add to it.
  • When it appears on our televisions it’s easy to begin to believe that there is nothing we can do.

[Tweet ” The Truth Is:  Change never begins “out there”.  It ALWAYS begins within us.  “]

If current events across our world that emphasize fear, hate, violence, chaos, and division cause you to ache for others, worry or feel helpless…