Author: Elisa Warner Delineating areas of responsibility for board members can help avoid leadership conflicts. Problem Leadership conflicts arise between an association’s staff and the organization’s board of directors. Solution Ensure that the organization’s board members clearly understand the roles and responsibilities associated with their position. Discussion While new board members accept their positions with [...]

Author: Elisa Warner Permitting respectful disagreement heads off larger conflicts. Problem An open exchange of ideas is crucial to organizational growth and development. However, disagreements between individuals can lead to interpersonal conflicts that can create an unpleasant environment and reduce an organization’s effectiveness. Solution Create a team culture that embraces differences and gives members permission [...]

Author: Elisa Warner Implementing a strategic plan gives an organization focus and flexibility. Problem Without a strategic plan, a non-profit organization can drift from its mission and underserve its stakeholders. Solution Design and implement a strategic plan. Discussion Strategic planning presents an opportunity for an organization to examine its mission and set goals for the [...]

Author: Elisa Warner The success or failure of a project often lies in the transition from idea to action. Problem New projects can become bogged down in the process of moving from an idea to an end product. Solution Organize the project development process by crafting a mission statement, prioritizing tasks, and evaluating team performance. [...]

Author: Elisa Warner Allowing team members to play to their strengths sets the foundation for a successful project. Problem Ineffectively managing a team of individuals with different personalities and working styles can result in unnecessary challenges and lead to the failure of a project. Solution Successfully manage a project by structuring project meetings and tasks [...]

Author: Elisa Warner Trusting and supporting your tech team helps them to achieve collaborative goals. Problem Although your technical knowledge is limited, you must effectively manage a group of technical professionals. Solution Earn the respect of your team by utilizing your unique perspective and abilities, while acknowledging your limitations. Help your team to shine by [...]

Author: Elisa Warner Supporting creative differences through leadership can help a project reach its potential. Recognizing that enthusiasm is a more powerful motivator than coercion, most managers adopt the style of a coach rather than a dictator. Problem While managing a team project, it’s sometimes difficult to maintain structure without alienating staff or stifling creativity. [...]

Author: Elisa Warner Utilizing a variety of project management strategies will help ensure success. Problem Some projects have clear objectives and goals while others’ end results are uncertain. Each type of project has its own set of management challenges. Solution Implement different project development methodologies based on project conditions and team size. Discussion Organizations should [...]

Author: Elisa Warner Nonprofit organizations face special challenges in project development and management. Project management in the non-profit world carries unique challenges. While comparisons can be made to corporate teams, the unique structure of a non-profit creates special conditions for project leaders and supervisors. The non-profit leadership structure may create a divorce between project development [...]

Enabling visitors to email a web page supports the user experience. Problem Visitors can’t easily share your site with others or archive its contents. Solution Add an “email this page” link to every page on the site, and allow visitors to add a brief note to the email. Discussion If you want to track how [...]