Learn what matters most to members of your team with this brief, team building exercise. From a list of common values, select the six that are most important to you. Use the worksheet to place the most important of the six in the inner circle. Then identify the next two most important values and place in the middle circle.  Finally place the next three most important values in the outer circle.

Once finished, share with your team mates what you identified to be your core values. Discuss the following questions as a team.

• Why did you place them in the order you did?
• Did you add new values to the list? If so, what were they and what is it about those values that is so important to you?
• How might this exercise inform you about how to provide good support to someone on your team?

Click here to download the CIRCLE OF CORE VALUES worksheet.

Each year, the Alliance for Nonprofit Management reviews books published in the nonprofit sector and awards the Terry McAdam Book Award. The Alliance forms a diverse Award Committee, which seeks nominations for the most inspirational and useful new book published which makes a substantial contribution to nonprofit management. Through the Terry McAdam Book Award, thousands of technical assistance providers, and hundreds of thousands of nonprofits staff and board members, benefit from the very best thinking and ideas in management and governance.
To be eligible for the award, books must meet the following criteria:

• Specifically address issues of nonprofit management, management consultancy, or advancement of the 501(c)3 nonprofit sector.
• First edition published in 2012 or 2013.
• Must be actively marketed to the national nonprofit community or a specific nonprofit community.

All books that meet the above criteria are eligible and multiple submissions by prolific authors or editors are acceptable. Books published in 2012 and nominated for last year’s McAdam award will not be considered. The Committee will not consider PDF publications. Ebooks may be considered if they represent a significant work and are available for purchase to the public.
Nominations will be accepted until 5pm (PST), April 1, 2013. Submissions will be accepted by completing the survey here.
The winning author(s) will be notified in mid-July and invited to accept the award at the national conference of the Alliance for Nonprofit Management, August 7-9, 2013 in Newark, New Jersey.

Terry McAdam
The award was designed to commemorate NMA (Nonprofit Management Association) board member and The New York Community Trust Vice President, Terry McAdam, who devoted his life to improving the nonprofit management field and urged us all to write about the sector so that we may better understand it.

For more information please contact a Committee Co-Chair: Mary Beth Lepkowsky, Pathways Facilitation Services at marybeth@pathwaysfacilitation.com or Linda McMillan, Funding Administration Center at LMcMillan@fic-ftw.org

• Announcements: Tweet about upcoming events you are hosting or conferences you are attending.
• Photos: Then post pictures, posters, and powerpoint slides from those nonprofit programs, events and fundraisers.
• Videos: Provide links to interesting videos that are related to your organization’s mission.
• Blog Updates: Don’t have one? Start one and alert followers to your latest entry.
• Insights: Share inspirational, entertaining, and motivational thoughts.
• Resources: Link to valuable tools or articles related to the work of your nonprofit.
• Responses: Reply to inquiries, start a dialogue.
• Requests: Ask for wishlist items; invite people to volunteer and, yes, donate to your cause.

Why are they important?  Outcomes and objectives help individuals and organizations stay focused on that compelling vision of where they are trying to get to.  They provide a manageable structure of looking at the big picture vision as well as the small steps forward and the markers for celebration. For organizations and systems of care, they also provide a way of evaluating how well care and support services are meeting people’s needs.

What are these terms?

Objectives or goals are intended results or the impact of learning, programs, or activities, etc.

Outcomes are achieved results or impact of what was learned or experienced.

The outcome is best, and most clear, when stated as if it has already been achieved. It then serves as a snapshot of a desired future state.

 Indicator or measure: is a visible or tangible target lets us all know when people are approaching their desired outcome. They are steps, or ‘indicators’  along the way

Questions to help us sort this out might include:

What are we trying to achieve? What will be the end result or impact when all efforts on this are finished? – the outcome

How will we know when we are making adequate progress? – these become measures or indicators

What steps will we take to achieve our desired outcome? – objectives or goals

Stephen Covey advocated that we ‘begin with the end in mind.’  In this spirit it is helpful to start with the overarching desired outcome first, followed by selecting measures (indicators) of progress, and finally determining strategies or goals/objectives that make sense.

Of course, to do this well, we must know what is important to and for each person and ensure that they have choice and control over identifying outcomes and indicators that are make sense and are meaningful to them.

A System View

The development of outcomes and indicators at the organizational and system levels are also an important part of establishing a reliable method of tracking progress toward change and improvement in systems of support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) and their families.

In an organizational context, personal outcomes assess life experiences of people who receive care and support in order to measure how well the services in place are meeting the person’s needs.

In the US, two frameworks that are referenced broadly when developing outcomes are the Council on Quality and Leadership (CQL) and the National Core Indicators (NCI). CQL has developed 21 Personal Outcome Measures, as a result of interviewing thousands of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. These can be individualized and are organized around three factors:

My Self: Who I am as a result of my unique heredity, life experiences and decisions.

My World: Where I work, live, socialize, belong or connect.

My Dreams: How I want my life (self and world) to be.

You can learn more about the quality of life personal outcomes developed by CQL at their website http://www.thecouncil.org/Personal_Outcome_Measures.aspx

and by reading this document http://www.thecouncil.org/assets/0/86/201/0c471dea-633c-4539-85a7-aa048e68ac0a.pdf

In many states, and now in California, the National Core Indicators are helping to guide understanding and practice around quality of life outcomes.

NCI uses a framework of individual outcomes in five broad areas:

Relationships:   People have friends and relationships.

Self-Determination:  People have authority and are supported to direct and manage their own services.

Choice and Decision-Making:  People make choices about their lives and are actively engaged in planning their services and supports.

Community Inclusion: People have support to participate in everyday community activities.

Work:  People have support to find and maintain community integrated employment.

To learn more about the National Core Indicators visit http://www.nationalcoreindicators.org/indicators/- Individual Outcomes

How does this all work together?

If we put it all together, it doesn’t have to be overly complex.  It can, in fact be quite simple. Here I’ve included two examples of how outcomes, indicators, and objectives can be used together to clarify support for Ken. I’ve also included a column that shows how the same process is used on an organizational or system level.  After the outcomes, indicators and goals are determined, the discussion would continue to identify the services, supports or strategies to be put into place to support the accomplishment of the goal.

an innovative, practical meeting process that ensures that people can listen carefully, think clearly and therefore make effective decisions together

Create a more person centered meeting culture within an organization that involves:

• Having a clear purpose and outcomes for each meeting
• Creating a process and environment where people can be listened to and think for themselves
• Working to people’s strengths and sharing responsibility for a successful meeting through people taking different roles.

What does the course cover?

This course will enable you to change your meetings as you learn:

• Techniques for developing a clear purpose and outcomes for each meeting
• Practical ways of ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard in the meeting.
• Simple ways to increase the quality of thinking in the meeting
• Different tools for problem solving and covering agenda items.
• Graphic templates to record information from meetings

How long is this course?

A one day course for people leading meetings on Positive and Productive Meetings, will include practical tools, a practice meeting to experience the tools at work, and coaching  to put  what you have learned to use in your meetings.

Who is it for?

Anyone who facilitates or chairs meetings. The transformation is especially effective when your entire team completes the training together.

What will people be able to do as a result of attending this course?

Change their meetings, so that:

• There are opportunities for people to listen to each other and think together, and therefore make better decisions.
• Roles are shared within the meeting, as people work to their strengths rather than the chair doing everything.
• They have a new, flexible meeting process, and meetings are more positive and productive.

Person centered practices are transforming whole systems of care and support. This groupsite  will allow leaders to come together to find peer learning and support to make things happen!  Contact me to learn more about how you can join the conversation.

Approach:

Mary Beth had participants complete a pre-training survey to learn about their successes and challenges in supervision. She customized a two day training that was practical, hands-on, scenario based and grounded in solid management and person centered practices. She provided a framework for high performing  teams, and demonstrated how person centered tools and practices can be applied to support the five essential aspects of a person centered team. Participants practiced a variety of person centered tools and techniques using  scenarios and their own real work experiences. The strategies are designed to increase trust, empowerment and accountability within teams. Additionally, participants were invited to join an online learning community to receive follow up peer support, as well as access to online tips, tools and templates to help them as they implemented the skills and approaches they learned in the course.

Outcome:

Participants were engaged and actively contributed for the entire two-days! They practiced tools and used new templates. They reflected on their learning and developed personal commitments and action plans before the end of day two. Many commented that they intended to change their supervision meeting practices immediately as a result of the course.

Here’s what a few of the participants said in their evaluation comments:

The useful tools – I love tools. So any time I get more, I add them to my “toolbox” to use in the future. Loved it!!! Mary Beth, you were awesome – you related everything discussed on a level that made it engaging, as well as, educational.

This workshop truly offered training that I could come back to my office the next day and use with my staff. It was such a motivator to help make the most effective use of time and results during meetings.

Mary Beth was an excellent trainer using both her personality and experience to keep the class very interesting. I have given her name to our CEO as a possible trainer for future events with our organization. Thanks so much for a very worthwhile training.

The Alliance for Nonprofit Management is pleased to announce the 2012 recipient of the Terry McAdam Book Award as Giving Back:A Tribute to Generations of African American Philanthropists, by Valaida Fullwood and Charles W. Thomas Jr. Published by John F. Blair Publisher,this inspiring book is a refreshing and inspirational portrayal of philanthropy. It captures the stories of African American men and women whose philanthropy, big or small, is a making a difference. It shows people who are not only giving their money but also their time and their talents to make the world a better place.

Michelle Torgerson, Chair of the award selection committee, explained, “Author Valaida Fullwood and Photographer Charles W. Thomas Jr. approach the subject matter through provocative stories, quotes and photographs to punctuate the message and uplift and inspire the reader. The layout of the book has broad appeal, is approachable, and elevates the conversation about philanthropy to a discussion of  personal responsibility and opportunity to give.”

An honorable mention was awarded to, Leap of Reason: Managing to Outcomes in an Era of Scarcity, by Mario Morino for elevating the importance of measuring outcomes as a critical key to long-term sustainability.  In this book, the author has created a concise compilation to aid a broad range of nonprofit managers for years to come.

Terry McAdam

The award was designed to commemorate NMA (Nonprofit Management Association) board member and The New York Community Trust Vice President, Terry McAdam, who devoted his life to improving the nonprofit management field and urged us all to write about the sector so that we may better understand it.

by Helen Sanderson and Mary Beth Lepkowsky with Michelle Livesley and Ruth Gorman

Many, if not all of us, upon experiencing the impact of supporting people in a person centered way, see the value in applying person centered practices with staff. Person centered organizations recognize that people are central to success. They focus on developing employees as well as getting good results with the people they serve. Employees who are respected, heard and supported well by supervisors and team mates who model person centered practices, are more likely to be person centered with people they support.

In our busy work days, it can be hard to know how or where to begin to apply person centered approaches within a team or organization setting. This paper, Using person centred practices within organisations and teams,  shares some ideas and concrete, practical examples of how different person centered thinking tools and practices have been used by supervisors, managers, and senior leaders. 

I have enjoyed thinking together with Helen, Michelle, Ruth and others about person centered teams, and continue to write on the topic for a book that will be published in spring, 2013.  We hope you will find this paper useful and that you may be inspired to try something new to embed person centered practices deep within the culture of your organization…and then, by all means, please share  what you tried and learned. Find more resources for person centered teams at www.helensandersonassociates.co.uk and learn about person centered thinking at www.learningcommunity.us  To be notified about the release of the book Person Centered Teams, sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of the page. 

Jan Masaoka was awesome! I listened to her discuss her book,  Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability, which she co-authored with Jeanne Bell and Steve Zimmerman. She spoke of the relationship between the mission of the nonprofit and its finances. To ensure sustainability, a dual bottom line must be considered, assessing both mission impact and fiscal impact of programs and services. A Matrix Tool evaluates impact and profitability and generates a graphic representation of the entire business. This data can drive decisions, strategy and evaluation.  Streamlined and powerful!

An example from her Board Cafe blog on the same topic is

• Education reform mission statement: “Our mission is to apply current learning theory and best management practices to improve outcomes for K-12 students in the District.”
• Education reform business model statement: “We bring current learning theory and best management practices to the district, led and supported by a few committed individual and foundation donors who share the same vision for education reform.”

This book is a great read! It demystifies finances and provides practical tools to build transparency and educate oneself and others about the financial well-being of the organization.