Photo by Mark Strozier
This article is very counter intuitive to most of the news reports about how poverty is increasing in the U.S. It is really making me think about the forces that drive individual financial circumstances . The story of our national economy is complicated.
Most Americans make into the top 20% of income earners.
This short video from the Pew Research Center does a great job reporting the facts. As a community mental health center director and family counselor, I see the the unfortunate fallout the facts have on our children.
The Ashland County Mental Health and Recovery Board sponsored an important conference highlighting the long term effects of adverse childhood events. I was fortunate to be a participant.
Jerry Strausbaugh, executive director of the Appleseed Community Mental Health Center, said the conference was a substantial benefit and reinforced the need to reach each in-need or at-risk individual with personalized care and understanding.
“We straddle this world of bureaucracy where to come get help means you get a diagnosis and then you fill out a treatment plan and all kinds of things,” Strausbaugh said. “I understand why we have to do those things, but really what we need to do to help people is validate them and help them tell their story, and help them understand that their past doesn’t have to translate into their future.”
Follow this link for the article in our local paper:
A hard workout that includes mindfulness and prayer can completely change your perspective.
Difficult conversations do not always result in a consensus but they are still worth having.
Spending a little extra for quality coffee is worth it.
Whenever possible have a face to face conversation about something. Too much is lost or left up for interpretation in email.
God sometimes just says “here”, and gives you an unexpected blessing.
An organization is fueled and energized when the right conversations are happening between the right people. As a leader I need to make sure I am facilitating this.
Lately I have had to “relearn” to always assess the assumptions I am making. As the executive director people often come to me with problems or conflicts. In all of those cases I am making a decision or giving advice. Sometimes (all too often) I rush to a judgement. A few times in the recent past my quick analysis has been way off. Unfortunately not before I am halfway down the road of dealing with a person or situation incorrectly.
“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.” ― Isaac Asimov
My advice: Always make sure you do yourself the favor of getting ALL the information and challenging your beliefs about a situation before acting.
Here is a nice reminder not to let others define you… http://acculturated.com/daily-scene/10-painful-rejection-letters-to-famous-people-proving-you-should-never-give-up-your-dreams-distractify/
Kouzes and Posner write about about it in The Leadership Challenge. Warren Bennis writes about it in On Becoming a Leader… the reality that effective leaders are learners. I find myself though, not only in need of learning, but also relearning. I am frequently reminded of the lessons I’ve learned and forgotten. Little things like always check my junk mail file because invariably, something important is in there, or something more impactful, like keeping tabs on how tired or stressed I am so I don’t over-react to people. Today my relearning involved being mindful of what I am communicating. Not so much the words, but how and what I am emphasizing. As a leader what I emphasize becomes what the organization emphasizes. I’m praying I’ll be a leader whose communication emphasizes the importance of our organization staying focused on the energizing and creative ways it can accomplish its mission.
I have been listening to this line on a song in my I-Pod for last couple days,
“If you want to show’em who is the boss, then you have to trade your high- horse for a cross”- Jenny Anne Mannan.
It has made me realize I need to reread Greenleaf’s Servant Leadership.
If I am to be effective in leading our organization in accomplishing its mission, I must come alongside side people as a servant and teacher, helping them connect the dots from the “how-to-the-why” we do what we do.
Being a leader is either a continual process of evolution in effectiveness or a journey to stagnation and decline.