Enduring Optimism, part 2

Volunteer Spotlight: Gayle Lantz

PUI: Can you give us an example of a leader that you consider to be strong and effective? What is it about this individual that stands out to you?
GL: One of the most impressive leaders I coached was already extremely successful, but wanted to learn more and grow personally. He looked for ways to challenge his thinking and gain exposure to new ideas and perspectives. He modeled what he wanted his team to do. His focus was on growing people as much as growing the business. Service over ego.

PUI: How essential has volunteer leadership been for your own professional development?
GL: My volunteer leadership experience at Career Connections, and with other organizations, has always been mission driven. My strengths are visioning and strategic thinking. If I see a need I really care about and believe I can impact, I will take action – even if the vision isn’t entirely clear at that point. I like to start initiatives that can grow. So professional development has been more of a byproduct as opposed to a goal. But my volunteer leadership experience has been essential in helping me grow personally and professionally.

PUI: What advice would you give to someone looking to find a meaningful volunteer leadership position?
GL: Just start something. Don’t wait. If you feel strongly about a cause, need or mission, talk to other people with similar interests. Voice what you really care about. You can make an immediate impact. Adjust and grow from there. That’s what we did with Career Connections. The need for people to find work was critical. We could have taken days, weeks or months to plan an ideal approach, but we had immediate expertise and support to offer. So we said, “Let’s get started!” I wasn’t looking for a leadership role. I simply wanted to help. I think that’s the case with many volunteer leaders. The leadership role finds them. They take action because they feel compelled to make a positive impact. Progress beats perfection when you’re trying to make a difference.

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Gayle, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions and provide our readers with such valuable insight from a proven leader.

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When you think of a strong leader, who do you think of? Why?

Leave a comment and let us know.

Need to go back? Click for the first half of the interview.

Enduring Optimism, part 1

Volunteer Spotlight: Gayle Lantz

Gayle Lantz is a leadership consultant, executive coach, author, speaker and founder of WorkMatters, Inc.  She helps organizations and entrepreneurs get clear and focused so they can grow their business and themselves more quickly. She also helps individual leaders who want to take charge of their own career path doing work that matters and provides a lot of good insight & information on the WorkMattersBlog. Her services reach local, national and global markets. As a volunteer leader, she is co-founder of Career Connections.

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Projects Unlimited, Inc. (PUI): From your perspective, how can volunteer leaders truly affect positive change in a member-based organization?
Gayle Lantz (GL): By keeping a clear and compelling vision in view. It’s not about “pushing and pulling” people, but inspiring members to be a part of something important that makes a big difference. Engage members in conversations about what the organization is trying to accomplish. Let them know their voice is needed as you move in new directions. Stop trying to do so much yourself, or you’ll burn out.

PUI: Are there any unusual “off the beaten path” type qualities of effective leaders that you find to be particularly endearing and effective?
GL: One quality is enduring optimism. People always want to have a sense of hope. These leaders view challenges through a different lens – one of new possibilities.  They also constantly raise the bar, resisting status quo thinking. They expand their vision of what’s possible, and are on fire to make it happen. Instead of trying to go from A to B, they already see G or H down the path. They think bigger.

PUI: Have you noticed any trends in the roadblocks that are keeping individuals or organizations from reaching their full potential as leaders?
GL: Yes. The biggest roadblock is usually their own mindset. Some individuals and organizations hold themselves back based on fears, doubts — unwillingness to take risk, invest or make a mistake. Mindset matters as much as (and sometimes even more than) skills. Also, organizations can be too slow in their decision making – overcomplicating the process – so they miss opportunities to make a stronger impact more quickly.

Click for the second half of the interview.

Time Commitment: How PUI Makes an Impact

Are you finding meaning in your service as a board member?

Let’s continue the discussion from our previous post.

Anywhere from 10 to 19 hours is a lot to spend on volunteer work per month. We know that you love the associations and nonprofits that you work so hard to support, but is your volunteer time and talent being used wisely and to its  full potential?

“The smartest and most effective volunteers we work with are individuals who are results-oriented,” says Ed Fields, Managing Director for Projects Unlimited. “These individuals understand that they are better serving their organizations if they recruit top talent – be they volunteer, full time staff or a professional management firm like Projects Unlimited. They stay out of nitty-gritty details and focus on governance, fundraising and advocacy.”

Consider inviting Team PUI to step in and take some of the details off your mind so that you can focus on securing that large donor, building relationships, or landing the big speaker for your annual meeting (your members are going to love you for that one…).

The PUI team approach has proven successful. We employ a few hours and the talents of multiple team members to complete tasks in the most efficient way that we can. In many cases, there are two to four of us working on one particular task at any given time. In a “traditional” setting, this task would have to be completed by one board chair or one board member alone. Our approach works because we are focused on the piece that best fits our individual strengths and knowledge-base. The result is less “fuss” time spent on things that one individual may not care to do or that they may not be particularly good at.

Here’s some insight into how Team PUI is spending time for three of our clients, on average, each month.

When I said in the previous post that your time requirements will likely ebb and flow, here’s the perfect example: the month of a membership luncheon for one of our clients, we spent close to 37 hours on the program. The month prior did not have a luncheon program and we spent a mere 4.75 hours on program planning. As one person, could you handle a spike in the time required of you like the one just described? Where would you have to pull resources from to get the job done?

Additionally, we know that we spend large chunks of time on special projects. Case in point, we spent 444 hours over 7 months on a fundraising campaign, and 507 hours across 5 months to plan a 3-day conference and expo.

Do you have this kind of time to dedicate to the details? Is there something else you could be spending your time doing to find deeper meaning in your service as a board member?

In closing, we are many people working for one — your association or nonprofit. Let us plan your meetings, prepare your financials, handle communication with your board and members, or set the stage for your big event of the year… the day-to-day tasks. You focus on building momentum, increasing your membership, working for change, developing key partnerships and promoting your cause.

And while you’re at it, just relax, because it’s handled.
We’ve got your back.

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We spend a lot of our time on tasks related to the board (meetings, communication, planning, etc.) and programs.

What tasks for your organization or nonprofit are you spending the majority of your time on?

Are these tasks using your volunteer time  wisely and to its full potential?

Let us know!

UAB: All In Casino Royale & PUI

A testimony.

“The UAB Minority Health Research Center hired Projects Unlimited to assist its Young Professionals Board with our Third Annual All In Casino Royale event. The event was very successful and raised significant funds for the Minority Health Research Center’s Healthy Happy Kids Program.

Shortly after the event, we held a wrap-up meeting during which Projects Unlimited submitted a summary report to the board. It was very well-done.  One of the most important components of our work on this board is the compilation of accurate results and useful feedback.  If we do not quantify our success each year in dollars and details, we will not know what is working for us and what needs improvement.

Projects Unlimited’s comprehensive review of the All In Casino Royale project will be extremely helpful to the board and to the MHRC moving forward.  We’re thankful for all the work they put into our board and our event!  They were an invaluable part of our endeavor.”

Donald J. Watkins, Jr.
Past President
UAB Minority Healthy Research Center
Young Professionals Board

Competence

Competence; noun.

Miriam Webster online defines competence as “the physical or mental power to do something.”

Synonyms: capability, capacity, faculty.

PUI has the knowledge you need, and we have obtained it through years of experience in the field, getting our hands dirty and tackling key issues for our nonprofit leaders. Our inherent motivation to continue learning about what we do, who we serve, and how we can improve doesn’t hurt, either.

The proof is in the pudding.

You Need: experienced nonprofit management.

• We Have: more than 20 combined years of nonprofit experience.

You Need: to implement standards-based operations for your organization.

• We Have: certification in nonprofit management with four years of industry-based studies, and we’re fully insured.

Ed’s Quick Tips For Getting Results

Constant reminders (for you and your team)

Asking people to do it for you, rather than for the project – letting them know you are not the authority and that your head rolls if things don’t go well

Never stopping until you get what you want

Give first to the people that you want to ‘get’ from

Leaning forward

Explaining the consequences of failure for you, the project and person that you are asking for results from.

Accountability partners and meetings – no matter how goodor self-starting you are….nothingbeats having to explain yourself to someone else.

PUI: New Arrivals

LeNa` Powe – Project Manager

A native of Birmingham, Alabama, LeNa` Powe received a B.A. degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Community Development, and a M.A. degree in Communication Studies from The University of Alabama. LeNa` is a graduate of John Carroll Catholic High School.

In 2007, LeNa` received the University Of Alabama College Of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Award of Merit for academic and community service excellence. As a local title holder under the Miss America Organization, LeNa` has raised over $29,000 for diabetes related initiatives throughout central Alabama through partnerships with the City of Birmingham, Children’s Hospital, the Diabetes Association of America, and the City of Prattville. In addition, LeNa` has also raised funds and volunteered for the Children’s Miracle Network, The Greater Birmingham Cultural Alliance, and the Holy Family Education Foundation.

As a former Alabama State Senate intern for Senator Linda Coleman of Birmingham, LeNa` has been involved with several community service and development projects throughout the state. LeNa` has also completed internships with The Alabama Ballet, The University of Alabama, CBS 42, and has written several articles for The Birmingham Times. During the 2009 and 2010 holiday seasons, LeNa` toured as a principle dancer with National Tour of The Chocolate Nutcracker.

LeNa` has been a critical team member since her first day with PUI and serves as the point person for our work with the Birmingham Business Alliance.

Julie Turner – Project Manager

Julie is a May 2010 graduate of Clemson University with a B.S. degree in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management and a minor in Business Administration. While a student at Clemson, Julie gained two valuable years of fundraising experience with Fund Raising Management and Counsel, Inc. Over the two years she worked with this company, Julie moved from an administrative fundraising role to a supervisory position that supported as many as ten managers and helped with major fundraising campaign development for universities, hospitals and other national clients.

In the summer of 2010, Julie  volunteered with the City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Special Events. Her primary duty was to concentrate on their largest event, Freedom Over Texas, a July 4th event in downtown Houston. As a volunteer, she supported sponsorship fulfillment functions for the event and pitched in with on-site volunteer coordination for over 600 individuals.

Julie’s spring 2010 internship with the Kansas City Chiefs focused on corporate sponsorship development and the implementation of three large-scale events: the annual Draft Day party with over 2,000 attendees; the “After the Draft” party featuring the team’s general manager, coaches, and players; and the 2010 Kansas City Chiefs cheerleading try outs, a weekend-long event. She worked closely with sponsorship coordinators and the multiple Fortune 500 level sponsors who support the team. In addition to these responsibilities, Julie also collaborated with the game day production team to research themes and to begin planning for the 2010/2011 season kick-off, which featured the grand opening of the new Arrowhead Stadium.

Julie moved to Birmingham in the Fall of 2010. Since her time in Birmingham Julie has served as the point person for three of PUI’s valued clients, including the Alabama Weatherization Association, TechBirmingham and Magic Moments.

No business talk allowed on Saturday ‘Date Nights’

ED AND CHERIE FIELDS:

BUSINESS: Projects Unlimited, 1500 First Ave. North. http://www.relaxitshandled.com
YEARS MARRIED: 4
YEARS WORKING TOGETHER: 1

When Ed and Cherie Fields got married on Valentine’s Day 2004, they vowed to love, honor and cherish.

Finally, A Real Social Media Success Story

As the newly minted president of Projects Unlimited, Inc., Cherie Fields is already proving how she helps her nonprofit and association clients become more marketing and outreach oriented.