Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles’ Post

Four real examples of quitting as a form of leadership, from clients I've worked with: 1. Freya was a mission driven leader who felt a deep sense of purpose and commitment to her team and organization. But after a year and a half leading a fledgling organization, she could feel her performance slipping. She powered through because she knew her team was counting on her to see the organization through a difficult time, but when she got honest with herself about how burned out she was, she realized that it was in her best interest to leave the organization. She didn’t have the reserves in the tank that were necessary to drive the organization forward and provide stability and strength for the team. It was in their best interest, too, that she make space for another leader who could take on the challenge with energy and endurance. 2. Abby was six months into her first job in public relations. It was hard won after a grueling job search, but it was nothing like she expected. Her boss, who had promised to mentor and train her, was only sporadically available (usually when she’d done something wrong). She worried about messing up—so much so that some days she wasn’t able to eat at all. She was too anxious to sleep. More established professionals around her encouraged her to stick it out for at least six months, for the sake of her resume. But in an act of self-leadership, she made the decision to leave a job that was making her sick, and go back to her retail position to regroup and pivot. 3. Rex grew an organization from an idea to a thriving nonprofit. After ten years leading the organization through extensive growth and the challenges of the pandemic, he looked around and saw a strong team in place. They were ready to step up. It was time to pass the torch of leadership to the next generation of leaders. He didn’t know what was next for him, but he knew he was ready for some new challenges—and that his team was ready to usher the organization into the next chapter. 4. After Hannah retired from her career as a spiritual leader, she was a sought-after mentor—particularly for female priests in new leadership positions. She had a particularly close relationship with a younger female priest named Aaron, whom she supported through challenges and growth over several years. At a recent meeting, Hannah pulled a pink stole and chalice down from her shelf and gave them to Aaron, explaining that she had used them throughout her ministry and was now passing the mantle. In a sermon that Aaron shared later with her congregation, she reflected: “To have the person you admire most in the world trust you with their story, with their legacy, with the tools of their heart - is a gift beyond words. And it isn’t lost on me, the responsibility it holds.” Read the full article about why quitting is a leadership skill here: https://lnkd.in/gz2JG7qN

It's time to stop using the word "Family" to describe corporate culture. While I understand why it is and has been used, there are other ways to describe that culture. Try "close knit," "like a group of great friends," or "we look out for each other." When Uncle Bob shows up late to every family gathering, he doesn't have his livlihood taken from him. When money is tight in the family, you don't get rid of one of the kids because you can't afford him or her. When Aunt Sue earns no bonus because the company changed the qualifications mid year, she doesn't go home and look at who she can kick out of the family to save money. At least in my family, stuff like that doesn't happen. But it can or does happen at most corporations in the United States. Let's give our new team members a warm, yet realistic, expectation of the company culture. What are your thoughts?

👋 Say hello to the newest staff members of Big Brothers Big Sisters! Get to know them in our latest Big Blog post. 📖 Read the here: https://buff.ly/4b51kJJ #bigblog #bbbs

We all have our ups and downs, even those whose names are known worldwide. Today in the office, we spoke about Will Smith and his incredible journey. It's a reminder that everyone faces challenges, but it's what you do with that time that makes all the difference. #LMGInc #Journey #UpsAndDowns #Inspiration #LifeLessons #InspirationFromWillSmith #OvercomingChallenges #SuccessStories #TeamReflection #MotivationalTalks

Based on three experiential studies, involving 493 non-family employees from various U.S. family firms, we find that family firms can boost non-family employees’ emotional connection with the family firm using three approaches. From Peter Jaskiewicz of Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa, Josh Wei-Jun Hsueh of Jönköping International Business School, Elizabeth Tetzlaff, and Giovanna Campopiano of UniBergamo. https://lnkd.in/d7N76ddn

This is brilliant - and what an impressive competitive advantage! This is my soap box: women control 85% of consumer spending decisions, and 90% of Fortune 500 CEOs are men. Which means that *most* big corporations’ strategy is dependant on the assumption that men understand what women want. Not only does Bobbie have an impressive flexible working situation, they are clearly putting their target audience in key roles within their company. (And I assume there’s a tantrum contingency plan.) Bravo! #startups #babytech #venturecapital #foodtech #diversity #inclusion #flexwork

Motherhood and Leadership. What a ride! There’s so much to say on this subject but first and foremost let’s acknowledge the incredible families who are navigating this with so much heart and grace (whether they see/feel it for themselves yet or not). I know first hand that it feels nearly impossible to “get it right", but I coach clients every day who are showing up, trying unique approaches, finally talking about their experiences, joys and challenges and advocating for themselves and each other at work. This is a different kind of diversity, equity, inclusivity and belonging. The comments shared in the original post are thoughtful and informative. Join the discussion and add your perspective! 🤩 #leadershipcoaching #motherhood #worklifebalance #creativeapproaches #parentsfirst #evolvingdefinitions #success #empathyandgrace #coaching

This is so powerful

We celebrate the hard work and incredible impact of our Canopy moms this Mother’s Day and all year through. “Too often we talk about work and life as separate and that’s why the word career never meant much – for me, it’s all the same road.” –Ara Katz, co-founder and CMO at SpringNYC #ConsultingExpert #ConsultingServices #ConsultingFirm #DenverBusiness #CanopyAdvisoryGroup

In my deep dive on DEI initiatives of late (in part in preparation for last week's Today Show Segment https://lnkd.in/gPW874-2) I came across this article which sums up what I've been saying for years. 𝗜𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘀𝗼. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲'𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀. This used to bum me out. Don't people WANT to do what's right? After 15 years running this business I've come to realize that - well - it's complicated. In my early days as a #professionalspeaker and #futureofwork consultant I used to think that I could simply stand on stage or in board rooms, introduce people to new ideas, give them the research behind those new ideas, appeal to their innate goodness and they would walk away changed. Quite naive (not to mention arrogant) of me, no? I'm thankful that my training as a US CPA helped me understand the broader, commercial realities. Regardless of how much people WANT to do the right things if they have shareholders, boards of directors or investors breathing down their necks they need to understand the business ramifications of doing those right things in order to change their behavior and sway those aforementioned stakeholders. Most DEI programs don't work, as explained in this article. Because most are based in virtue signalling and not in hard commercial realities. But guess what...it's actually good business (as well as the right thing) to do DEI well. More on this from me later. In the meantime, this article is great - a bit Americentric, but can be applied elsewhere. Also, what do you think? Those in the field...what's worked or not worked about DEI initiatives? What are your thoughts? BTW, Spoiler alert...I'll be pulling on this thread on Thursday during my session at The Learning and Development Collective's Learning Day. That is, if the group chooses this path...I'm doing my 'Choose Your Own Adventure' version of the "9 Keys to keep your best people from walking out the door." Some folks I'd specifically like to hear from include (in no particular order): Anneli Blundell CSP (She/Her) Silje Hilden Barningham Coleen MacKinnon Amy Singh Kate Drews Clarissa Fraser (nee Gamble) (she/her) Laura Staples #FutureOfWork #leadership #culture #DEI #genderdiversity