Archive

• Nonpartisan Leadership in a Politically Polarized World

  This entry was contributed by Margaret Henderson on November 14, 2016 at 5:02 pm and is filed under Collaborative Leadership, Leadership Development.

  

  Here we are, one week past a particularly difficult election season, with some races still unresolved.

  Most of the readers of this blog are people who hold governmental positions that require non-partisanship behavior. Others are people who got where they are, at least in part, due to their affiliation with one political party. Still others might be might be nonprofit leaders whose primary allegiance might be to a specific mission or particular client group, independent of political affiliation.

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• Appreciative Inquiry 101: Finding “The Flip” to a More Positive Outcome

  This entry was contributed by Lydian Altman, Margaret Henderson on September 29, 2016 at 9:26 am and is filed under Collaborative Leadership, Group Process, Organizational and Personal Leadership.

  

  Positive thinking is more than just a tagline.

  It changes the way we behave.

  And I firmly believe that when I am positive, it not only makes me better,

  but it also makes those around me better.
  -Harvey Mackay

   

  A fundamental practice of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is to focus on strengths rather than weaknesses. Doing so enables us open up our thinking to explore our successes and opportunities rather than obsess about our shortcomings or failures. This practice does NOT mean that we sugar-coat or overlook reality. It simply means that we build on our immediate and local assets rather than focusing on what is not there or not desirable.

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• Leadership Lessons on Police Transparency: Body-Worn Cameras in Fayetteville

  This entry was contributed by John Stephens on February 4, 2016 at 12:22 pm and is filed under Leadership Development, Organizational and Personal Leadership.

  

  Since becoming Chief of the Fayetteville Police Department in 2013, Harold Medlock has taken steps to address police-community relations. Over the past two years, his department explored several vendors of body-worn cameras (BWCs).

  Policy on the use, storage, and access to the videos of various police encounters was completed in mid-January. All patrol officers are using BWCs.

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• Conflicting Views on Confederate Flag, Memorials, Symbols: What to do in a “Post-Charleston” Environment?

  This entry was contributed by John Stephens on July 21, 2015 at 8:16 am and is filed under Group Process, Organizational and Personal Leadership.

  

  There are strong feelings and many ideas about what to do with Confederate flags and memorials in the aftermath of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church murders.

  The Confederate battle flag and flagpole were removed from the South Carolina Statehouse grounds on July 10th, after emotional debate in the S.C. Legislature.

  North Carolina Governor Patrick McCrory believes the state should stop issuing Sons of Confederate Veterans car license plates which feature the Confederate battle flag. One writer calls for taking down the NC Capitol Confederate Memorial. Some other local flashpoints have included the Salisbury Confederate Statue, the use of the Fayetteville Market House as a town symbol, and several reports of vandalism of Confederate statues and memorials.  [Update – on July 23, 2015, Governor McCrory signed S.B. 22 into law ]

  On the other hand, the N.C. Legislature seems to be moving to preserve a range of memorials and markers by restricting what state agencies and local governments can do about current statues, memorials or monuments on public property (S.B. 22 – Historic Artifact Mgt. and Patriotism Act)

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