Leaders, now is a good time to check-in with our heads and our hearts. Amid this constant change, days over-scheduled with virtual meetings, and the staggering amount of legitimate need that surrounds us (help, support, information, etc.), we can sometimes be less than our best selves. Kouzes and Posner's Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership is a helpful touchstone to get re-centered and better serve those around us.  

Modeling the Way

As leaders, we know that our behavior must illustrate what we expect to see in others.  This includes setting a personal example, making sure that people adhere to standards that have been agreed to, following up on our commitments, continuing to build consensus around our organization's values, being clear about our leadership philosophy, and asking for feedback on our actions.  

 

 

 

Shelter-in-place and work-from-home are tough. Here are three things that put a smile on my face this week - maybe they'll do the same for you.

1. I've been listening to The Moth podcast on and off for probably ten years. I tuned in to one of their latest editions while walking in gloomy weather. By the time I got home 20 minutes later, I had gotten out of my head and into the stories the people were sharing in the podcast. 
   
   

2. I stumbled across British broadcaster Andrew Cotter's coverage of his two labrador retrievers. Like us, Cotter is stuck at home. Unlike us, he's taken to doing play-by-play videos of his dogs, and it's delightful. This one is my favorite, but check out his YouTube Channel for more joy.

Whether you just got a member to renew or join for the first time, you’ve clearly got their attention. So, what do you do with it? Too often, organizations do the worst thing they can do after earning my membership dollar - nothing.

Some of our state's most influential organizations representing health, tourism, meetings, hospitality, and trade associations are joining forces to develop recommended guidelines for groups of 10 – 10,000 to meet safely in the state. 

It is no secret that Michigan's meetings industry has been put on hold due to COVID-19 and concerns for public health, putting thousands of people out of work and resulting in millions of dollars in lost revenue. The workgroup, entitled Safe Meetings in Michigan, believes clear guidelines and protocols will help get the state's meetings industry safely back on track. 

The rise of podcasts over the last few years has seen the rebirth of an old medium we thought we lost when radio faded, but it’s clear the spoken word is back in spades. Entering 2020, there are now over 800,000 active podcasts worldwide, with that number only expected to grow this year and beyond. 

The team at the Michigan Section of the American Water Works Association passed along some tips to help us be more productive, and maybe a little less prone to loneliness, as we switch to a remote-only work process for the time being. There are some excellent nuggets of advice in this piece, and we hope you find these tips as valuable as we did!

Chief staff executives of associations now find themselves in between a rock a hard place when it comes to the impact of COVID-19 and seeking relief from the federal government. Should we apply for aid for our associations or will people view our doing so as a failure in management or an ethical lapse? Here are some things to consider when deciding whether or not to apply for assistance:

We don't know how long we will be operating under the Governor's Stay Safe Stay Home Executive Order nor how long the nation will be under pandemic guidelines.  This means we cannot predict when our members' businesses will return to normal nor when our own business will return to normal.