Here’s an excerpt from an interview with Marcel Lauzière. Current president of the Canadian Council on Social Development and the new president and CEO of Imagine Canada. In a few sentences Marcel captures what true leadership is. Read the rest of the article here. A great introduction to the week ahead!

Leaders need to be passionate because it’s through passion that we actually get people enthusiastic…[wanting] to go in that same direction. That’s the case in every sector. We have to distinguish between leadership and management. You need both for an organization to work effectively. But on the leadership front, it’s very much about communicating a very clear vision and destination, doing it in a passionate way so people get excited about issues. It’s also recognizing that leadership can’t be just at the top of the organization; leadership has to be shared at various levels of the organization. A good leader will normally try to encourage people within the whole organization to play leadership roles at different levels.

If this man was running for office, I would vote for him. I haven’t yet read his newest release, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, but Seth Godin’s recent blog entries give a sneak peek of his sage advice on marketing and getting your message out in today’s environment.

His post Leadership is the new marketing says it all - focus your efforts on leading a small group of people and take them where they want to go.

Nonprofits and small businesses or organizations alike often fall into the trap of seeking the holy grail of awareness by the general public. This is a waste of time, and a battle you can’t win. You will be more successful with a narrow, dedicated and passionate focus. So many organizations talk about lack of name recognition in their community as an obstacle - but it usually isn’t the real obstacle. The biggest hurdle is getting specific with the audiences that matter.

Time ran an inspiring interview with Nelson Mandela, written by Richard Stengel, author of Mandela’s biography Long Walk to Freedom. You need to read the whole article to appreciate its context, but here’s a summary of his eight lessons in leadership.

1. Courage is not the absence of fear — it’s inspiring others to move beyond it
2. Lead from the front — but don’t leave your base behind
3. Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front
4. Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport
5. Keep your friends close — and your rivals even closer
6. Appearances matter — and remember to smile
7. Nothing is black or white
8. Quitting is leading too

As the host of this issue of the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants, I asked fellow bloggers to share their best and worst experiences, or observations on leadership.

Jane Arsenault at FIO Partners Perspectives contrasts her firm’s experience working in three distinct cities with the six essential leadership skills needed to stand the test of turbulent times.

Sam Davidson at CoolPeopleCare reinforces something I like to emphasize often - the ability to define success.

Jason Dick at A Small Change talks about what happens when you don’t have leadership and support for fundraising, and offers some tips on how to build it.

Katya Andresen at Robin Hood Marketing offers her two cents on marketing expert Seth Godin’s recent presentation to nonprofits - how to make people feel heard.

Heather Carpenter at Nonprofit Leadership 601 describes the characteristics of a learning organization, defined as one of the best models for effective leadership.

Coincidentally, my September 30 enewsletter offered a checklist for change, to measure your leadership’s likelihood for success in managing change, a key challenge in these times.

In marketing terms, a value proposition is a clear statement of what a company or organization offers its clients. Like most things in life, simplicity is the key to clarity. The more focused the value proposition, the more effective the resulting communication.

The most powerful statement in the world will lead nowhere, however, if your value proposition is in direct contrast to your organization’s core and culture. Nothing breeds disillusionment among your staff and volunteers (and your donors!) than the rank whiff of disconnect. An organization’s culture, sometimes defined as how people behave when they think no one is looking, needs to be authentic and in tune to resonate. Inconsistency is the greatest demoralizer. Organizations that live their values are:

• authentic - act and do as they say they do
• receptive - actively interested in their donors’ and staff needs and interests
• giving - focused on the needs of their clients first
• prosperous - attract supporters and partners

The more you do something, the better you become at it. This is as true for communications and marketing, as it is for anything else. A marketing expert I read once said, "writing is like flexing your marketing muscle" and I have certainly found this to be true.

The more you write to, talk to, listen to and absorb all you can about your donors, staff and volunteers, the more natural and authentic your communications will become. You will be speaking their language, rather than the clunky, formal org-speak of your mandate, vision etc. This leads to better matches, greater understanding, and more funds raised for the work of your organization. So feel that burn (the good and healthy kind)!

Proving life really does come full circle, I have found an interesting parallel between games of childhood and boardrooms across the nations — the game of Truth or Dare.

If you’ve played this game, you know that most of the time, given the choice, people pick Dare. This is because it is easier to risk embarrassment, and to gain admiration through an act of courage or daring, than it is to reveal one’s personal feelings and Truths. In fact, our culture rewards daring (and stupid acts of daring) above truth, much of the time.

This revelation came about because I have been immersed lately in a lot of "deep thought" and tough conversations, due to a project I am working on with a client on internal culture as well as a presentation I recently delivered on the importance of building internal teams.

In a nutshell, if you are setting out to change your organization’s culture, the most important thing you can do for your organization is to frankly agree to the rules you are going to live by, and have consequences for not doing so. If you approach this by asking what you are prepared to accept, and not accept, you will soon get to the hard truth. This will take your mission statement and list of values beyond a piece of paper and will instead tell your staff, volunteers, donors and the world, what you are all about. It becomes what you stand for and how you do things, and makes decision-making clearer and more decisive. Above all, it gets to the truth of your organization. And exposes the less than truthful very quickly, in other words, the disconnects between what your organization says it upholds, and what it actually does.

Don’t get me wrong - a certain amount of daring is necessary too! But looking at ourselves in the proverbial mirror is the most difficult, enlightening, and transforming step we can take. So pick Truth!

p.s. another definition of culture - how people act and what they do when no one is looking.

Like making grand personal resolutions, good communications in organizations is something we strive for but don’t always achieve.  Like anything that’s worth doing, it’s "obvious but not easy." Quitting smoking, eating better, or exercising more is about integrating new habits and not about knowing they’re good for you. When I work with a client organization, I almost always find that they know what they want or need to do — but for various reasons can’t get there.  The same often applies to strategic planning and visioning exercises — it is more energizing and fun to blue sky the future than it is to do the daily work that will support the end goal. If this rings true for you, dust off that plan, and talk with your team members about concrete steps you each can do, today, tomorrow and this month, to make progress. The more real you can make your strategy, the less it will feel like a special project that can be put on hold while the "real work" gets done. Watch for more on habits coming soon!

Attend a few gatherings of fundraisers or nonprofit executives and you’ll soon tap into what’s on the minds of people working in this sector. One of the most common topics of discussion is how to create a giving environment, a.k.a. culture of philanthropy (another example of bad language in fundraising). I spend a lot of time helping others communicate better within organizations, and I have always been a strong advocate of what I call inside-out communications.

At yesterday’s presentation to the Association of Fundraising Professionals in Winnipeg by Tom Ahern and Simone Joyaux on Keeping Your Donors (based on their recent book Keep Your Donors –buy it!),the unavoidable and ever present link to the level of support and understanding within the organization for fundraising came up more a few times. Lucky for me as I will be speaking on this topic to the same group in a few weeks.

So here’s my spin on this: If you are lamenting that no one understands you, that fundraising doesn’t get the support it deserves, etc., convincing others how important fundraising is to your organization is not going to work. The same way you can’t argue a prospective donor who is not interested in your cause into making a donation, assaulting other staff with facts and figures is not likely to help you much.

A culture of philanthropy is not something you grow in a petri dish or in a series of statistic heavy, carefully crafted debates — it’s gained through shared experiences, rowing in the same direction and those little "emotional aha" moments when someone has realized on a personal level, how they have contributed to something that makes a difference. And they want to do more of it!

Of course, there is more that you can do, and it doesn’t happen overnight. However, it bears remembering that in fact, accountants are only human and not the mutants they are called in Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium — although they might like numbers more than the average person, they have feelings too! (p.s. I am married to one).

Normally professional, highly functioning individuals can quickly turn to hesitant, nervous wallflowers when thrust beyond their comfort zone. However being pushed slightly past what’s safe and familiar usually has amazing results! If you are passionate and knowledgeable about something, it’s difficult to keep it contained.

When it comes to fundraising, marketing, dealing with media, or making a presentation, there is no one right way to do it. Many people are so afraid of not doing these kinds of things the "right" way that they do nothing at all. That will only lead to nothing! And think of the opportunities that are missed in spreading your message.

The best approach is to arm yourself with basic knowledge, and be yourself. Most people would rather listen to, and respond to, one heartfelt, inspiring story in a speech, media interview or appeal, than a slick, precisely choreographed presentation.

More often than not, fear is rooted in your own thoughts and doubts, rather than the actual situation. Many people who make themselves sick over making a speech or conducting an interview, are the same people others admire for doing it so well.

So rather than dispense with some communications advice, today I’m offering an interesting take on how to self-coach yourself, courtesy of my friend Pamela Slim and originating from her friend, Brooke Castillo. Both of these women are professional coaches who are associated with Martha Beck.

The bottom line of the formula is like so:

CIRCUMSTANCES

can trigger

THOUGHTS

cause

FEELINGS

cause

ACTIONS

cause

RESULTS

Here’s how it could play out:

Negative Feeling : I feel discouraged and I’m not getting anywhere on my fundraising plan for the year. 

Circumstance : The fundraising goal is not on schedule.

Thought : Fundraising is pushy and people don’t want to hear from me.

Feeling : I feel discouraged and I’m not getting anywhere. I’m not good at this and people won’t like me.

Action : Awkward, weak discussions with prospects and procrastinating follow up.

Result : No progress on fundraising goal.

See what happens when the thought changes:

Circumstance : The fundraising goal is not on schedule.

Thought : Fundraising is important and I am giving people who are interested in our work the opportunity to make a difference. This is rewarding for both of us.

Feeling : I feel motivated, confident and open and alert to opportunities that fit.

Action : Sincere and passionate discussions with qualified prospects; take advantage of every opportunity to spread the word.

Result : Positive relationships and profile leading to donations.

Of course, it takes more work than a simple cut and paste of your thoughts. But being aware of the origin of your discomfort, and having the courage to realize when it is having a negative affect on your actions is a constructive effort you can make to achieve greater results, personally and professionally.