Walk A Mile

Photo Credit: Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2009

Walk a Mile in My Footsteps
Where Does Our Journey Start?

This month, our leadership journey takes us to the core of community and the examination of sustainable livelihoods...vulnerability...resilience perhaps? What are the questions that emerge from this complex base of poverty, homelessness, gender issues and inclusiveness?

A. Let’s start with definitions:

1. Poverty: From the Canadian International Development Agency: “…the lack of human, physical, and financial capital needed to sustain livelihoods, and inequities in access to, and control of, and benefits from political, social, or economic resources.”

2. Poverty Reduction: The process of not only relieving, but actually reducing, the depth of people’s poverty by ensuring access to political, social or economic resources by building and engaging community.

Poverty Reduction attacks the root causes of poverty, not just the symptoms.

3. Community Engagement: people working collaboratively, through inspired action and learning, to create and realize bold visions for their common future.

4. Multisectoral collaboration strengthens a community’s capacity to address important issues by weaving together the skills, resources, networks and knowledge of the government, business, voluntary sectors and low-income leaders.

Multisectoral collaboration is based on 6 key principles:
i. Everyone is the solution and the problem.
ii. Together we can do more.
iii. We do not have answers - only a commitment to learn, change and grow.
iv. We take on issues that no one sector can take on alone.
v. Together we create increased Credibility, Capacity and Capital for the work.
vi. The synergy is magic!
Source: Tamarack Community



B. Quotes to Think About...or talk about with family and friends...

“The trouble with being poor is that it takes up all your time.” ~Willem de Kooning

“Affluence creates poverty.” ~Marshall McLuhan

“It would be nice if the poor were to get even half of the money that is spent in studying them.” ~Bill Vaughan

C. Read About... (your readings for this month)

Strategy 6, Build A Culture of Excellence in 7 Strategies for Master Leaders (sent by email)

Whole Brain Book: CEO’s, Chapters 15 & 18

Tamarack Community: Poverty at http://tamarackcommunity.ca/g3s3_35.html

• See the Canadian Council on Social Development report for a good overview of the different perspectives of poverty and the history of the ‘poverty definition’ debate.
• The Fraser Institute on measuring poverty in Canada
• Great stuff and links... what are you curious about?

D. Engage in a Teleconference on Thursday February 26:

The Caledon Institute for Social Policy and the Vibrant Communities movement bring practitioners and government policy makers together to reduce poverty and improve the prosperity of all Canadians. Learn what elements are key to any poverty policy, what roles communities and governments can play in policy development, and what tools are available to help place-based initiatives create lasting change.
Sign in at Tamarack events here: http://tamarackcommunity.ca/g1_events.html

Also: Wednesday March 4 at 1 pm: Partnering with Business to End Homelessness (sign in as above).


E. CAP TEAMS Presentations for March 12.09:

• The theme for your 12 minute presentation is: “What we’ve learned so far”.
• Discuss your team and individual learnings, challenges, observations and aha moments about your project, your host organization and leadership strategies.
• There’s theory, and then there’s reality!
• Your presentations will tie in with this month’s key leadership skill: Operational Excellence

As always, if you need help, just ask!

- Maggie

Open Doors & Open Minds

Photo Credit: Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2008




Opening Doors (of Our Minds)

“How do we frame what we are doing in a way that makes it easy for people to do the right thing?” - Al Etmansky, Plan It


Following up on November 20, 2008:


A. Our Economic Renewal and Change learning day at Bombardier was a great experience. The presentations gave us a new way to frame our vision of the potential of our City.



Michael Mehagan comments:
“Since returning to Thunder Bay about three and a half year's ago, my outlook for the city future has gone from pessimistic (glass is half empty) to realistic (glass is two times too large) to optimistic (glass is half full and filling), with yesterday's session being the final tipping point from realistic to optimistic.”

B. Kristen Oliver submitted the Mayor’s Opening Remarks and they are now posted on http://www.leadershiptb.com/ e-Board. Take 10 to read the speech. Go back and review the City’s Strategic Plan on line. Life and Business IS better here!

The Mayor mentioned Dr. Dekker, the newly arrived researcher who is all excited about the fungus in Centennial Park. We’ll ask him to be one of our presenters in the spring, because many of us are curious about the how we transform our city into a research and knowledge based industry.

C. John Hatton, from Confederation College recommended two books. John Kotter’s, Leading Change is about “crisis” as a propellant of change. Harvard Business Professor Kotter advises those who would implement change to foster a sense of urgency within the organization. "A higher rate of urgency does not imply ever present panic, anxiety, or fear. It means a state in which complacency is virtually absent."



Did you notice that the word “complacency” does not belong in Bombardier’s vocabulary? What does that tell you about higher order leadership skills?

The other reading recommendation was “Hot, Flat and Crowded” by Tom Friedman. The significance of the title is:


HOT - Global warming, the climate system is sensitive. There is only 6 degrees celsius between the ice age and today.
FLAT - The rise of the middle class all over the world
CROWDED - Population growth. 2.6B people in 1953 when Friedman was born. 9.2B people in 2053 when he reaches 100 years old. Fuels that we are using today are expensive, exhaustible, and toxic.

• According to Friedman, the 5 Megaproblems our world has:
  Energy and Natural Resources Running Out
  Petrodictatorship
  Climate Change
  Energy Poverty
  Biodiversity Loss

John also recommended the CEDC website for data, statistics and economic information about Thunder Bay. Data is powerful. You can find it on the City’s website at http://www.thunderbay.ca/index.cfm?fuse=html&pg=5485

From one of John’s Power Points (see the full presentation on the LTB E-Board):
The Role of a Leader – Appreciative Inquiry…

What If?
What are the Priority Actions?
What are the Best Practices?
Who owns the Problem?

D. Johnny (Rocket) Blackburn told us about BOS: Bombardier’s Operating System. It is remarkable. Go back to last week’s blog and re-read the Bombardier article by Dr. Brad.

Everything at Bombardier is designed and measured in 4 categories. Remember this billboard during your tour? Did you notice the Green Red and Yellow Flags which are visible standards of progress (or not and why not)?

People 1st.
Quality.
Responsiveness.
Cost.


E. Speaking of “required reading”, let’s clear the confusion about important resources for each Community Learning Day and your Community Action Project background.

1. The Whole Brain Business Book - ongoing, 1 Chapter recommended monthly

2. 7 Strategies of Master Leaders, 1 chapter emailed to you monthly

3. Resources for the CLD at the top right corner of the blog. "Read this by...". This list changes monthly.

4. The XOWhat Blog, http://xowhat.blogspot.com/ lists links or suggestions you may want to check out. The blog is posted every Tuesday, every week, and includes resources which are applicable to either the CLD or your leadership journey. Please subscribe - it's easier to keep up.

If it’s posted on the “TOP RIGHT CORNER of the XOWHATBLOG”, there’s relevant background information for you. I do my best to find appropriate, up to date and intriguing articles for you. Read as much as you can if you want to grow your knowledge base about: Community / Servant Leadership; Personal Leadership Development; the history/background/politics and current events and issues of Thunder Bay and the North. (No one will ask you what you have read. There's no test. It's up to you.)

Readings cover information and research that we just can’t fit into one learning day. Readings are posted every Tuesday so that you’re not hit with a huge amount of background info like a ton of bricks landing in your inbox just before CLD’s.

If you can’t open a link, then tell either Kari or myself…or google the topic. You can click on “comments” at the end of each week's posting, right beside the “date” and tell us all what you’re thinking. Anything controversial? Total agreement? Make a comment...

This month, for example, spend some time at the Tamarack* Community Engagement site, because December’s topic is The Voluntary Sector. Read the excellent "The Story of Somewhere" and join in the teleconference on Wednesday. See below for free registration.

I’m also recommending the introduction to Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community's Assets," by John P. Kretzmann and John L. McKnight. Your next community learning day takes the theory of “community assets” and makes it come “alive”! Go to the blog site: check out the top right corner "Read This" for the links.

F. B O N U S* - FREE TELESEMINAR!
Wednesday November 26: Register and Meet Us There for Lunch.
This free seminar is part of Tamarack’s* Practical Visionaries series. Presenters not only envision a better future for communities, but also create the means to help us to get there.

The Story of Somewhere
Date: Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Time: 12:00pm Eastern
Speaker: Author Eric Young
Description: We need a new narrative about community, says Eric Young. Stories have the power to give shape to our lives and our futures. And we have the power to create a new story for our communities, one that creates hope and inspires change. Register at http://tamarackcommunity.ca/g1_events_LCtele.html

G. A Request on behalf of Alumni and the Northern Women's Leadership Forum: Please invite a spouse, colleague, your boss or your CAP group organization’s host to join us on January 15 for “An Evening With Dr. Brad”. Please help us to fill the room and sell out this event. (Did you know that everyone working on this event is a volunteer?)


Enjoy your week! Questions? Call me or Kari… doors and minds are open…

- Maggie

807 939 3000