In our coalition work, we are constantly planning and hosting meetings, projects and events. Depending upon our time, staff/leader capacity and partner availability, these can have varying levels of complexity and require us to consider many factors. Last week, during one of these planning meetings, I came up with lots of ideas that would result […]
Take your own advice. Read More »
As we plan and prepare our coalition meetings, we have lots of decisions to make about the type(s) of meetings we host. We once again have opportunities to meet in person, sometimes we host hybrid meetings and we continue to have most of our meetings in a virtual platform. Prior to 2020, virtual meetings were
Top 10 Tips for Facilitating an Online Meeting Read More »
As we head into Spring (and the same thing happens in the Fall), we are facing meetings in every area of our lives! If you are leading groups of volunteers, there is likely a window of a few months in the Spring and Fall that are meeting heavy. When we are trying to get people
Eight Elements of Effective Meetings Read More »
When I first developed this blog post in April 2020, I never realized we all would STILL be primarily leading online meetings in April 2021. Since we are still mostly leading online meetings, let’s revisit my Top 10 Tips for Facilitating Online Meetings for you again today!
Top 10 Tips for Facilitating an Online Meeting Read More »
One of the most effective ways to engage your coalition members is to find opportunities that interest them and the coalition. When the work benefits the purpose of the coalition and the individual member, everyone wins! Join me this week as I recommend three ways to pursue win-win opportunities for your coalition.
Coalition Engagement Skill #10: Find win-win opportunities Read More »
Communication is the foundation of coalition work. Even though our coalition members may be overwhelmed by emails and weary from meetings, we have to find ways to communicate clearly and consistently. If there is occasional communication with only a few coalition members, the overall coalition will lose interest and struggle with engagement. Join me this week
Coalition Engagement Skill #9: Communicate Clearly and Consistently Read More »
If you are leading a coalition, partnership, team or board, you are also leading lots of meetings. Effective meetings create opportunities for engagement and potential for follow-through. However, effective meetings don’t just “happen.” You have to invest time, energy and resources to prepare, host and follow-up to successfully conduct “effective” meetings. Join me this week
Coalition Engagement Skill #8: Conduct effective meetings Read More »
Engaging coalitions, partnerships, workgroups and teams is particularly challenging right now. Most meetings are still occurring virtually and “zoom” fatigue is real. When only a few people show their video and the energy is low, it is really difficult to effectively engage participants. As a coalition leader, you are responsible for modeling and encouraging positive
Coalition Engagement Skill #6: Demonstrate energy and enthusiasm Read More »
One of the most important roles for a coalition leader to play is that of a “master facilitator.” Although you may think you need to be the one to “do” everything, if you are really going to be able to achieve more together than you can on your own, facilitate conversations and connections. Join me
Coalition Engagement Skill #5: Facilitate conversations and connections Read More »
This “Zoom background” post has been developed by one of my colleagues and friends, Jamie Studts, who always has an interesting background as part of his zoom meetings. Thank you, Jamie! I should start by noting that I do not have any specific training in technology; therefore, it is very possible and even likely that
Zoom backgrounds: How can I make them work? Read More »