Colorado Nonprofit Association

Training: Leader Fitness Workshop

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

What makes an effective nonprofit leader?

It’s not simply taking charge or making decisions—though that can often be how leadership presents. When used wisely, these capabilities certainly enable leaders to be decisive, action-oriented, and persistent. However, when bumping up against the culture of niceness in our social sectors, leaders who challenge themselves and others may experience push-back or resistance. This leads to frustration and anxiety, often leaving leaders feeling stranded or stuck.

This workshop aims to introduce Nonprofit Executives to a fundamental framework or operating system focused on strengthening leadership capabilities by focusing on mental fitness. Participants will get a sneak peek of what’s standing in their own way and a set of practical tools that, when practiced, can greatly enhance performance, satisfaction, and relationships with peers, colleagues, teams, and direct reports.

During our time together, we’ll explore:

• The ten most common ways people self-sabotage and which way is yours. 
• The neuroscience of happiness & peak performance and 10-second techniques to activate your “skillful” mind. 
• How you generate your own stress and contribute to others’ stress, and how you can generate a quiet and focused mind instead (even in the midst of great challenges).
• The “Three Gifts Technique” and how to use it to convert failures and setbacks into gifts and opportunities.
• The mental muscle that gives top performers their edge and how you can grow it with a few minutes of daily practice.

In the second part of the workshop, participants will break out into discussion groups based on top saboteurs (from an online Saboteur Assessment they can conduct ahead of the workshop). Each saboteur group will create a simple poster describing the characteristics that present the greatest internal obstacles to their leadership, performance, achievement, and well-being. They’ll share with the entire workshop cohort. This is a fun, interactive way to gain deeper insights and help folks shift from conceptual understanding to a deep personal “a-ha” of how they have been undermining their own performance, effectiveness, wellness, and relationships.

We’ll conclude by offering resources folks can access to go deeper into the framework if they desire.

Presented By: 

Kimberley Sherwood is a consultant, coach, and facilitator who works with nonprofit executives and leadership teams to help make their organizations more effective and humane. Her company helps guide people in creating positive change and aligning their personal practices with their professional aspirations, with a special focus on strategy, governance, and financial health. Stewardship is at the core of her company’s approach, with a deep sense of responsibility to conduct her work and her company for the benefit of her clients, their stakeholders, and the communities they serve. Find out more here.