Until recently, the only way for nonprofit leaders in Sonoma Valley to hone their leadership skills was to travel outside the Valley for training – with no follow-up coaching available. Now, through the generosity of Jeni Nichols, owner of Sonoma Leadership Systems (SLS), local nonprofit executive directors can improve their leadership skills at no cost by attending the firm’s two-day workshop, “The Leadership Challenge,” followed by monthly participation in the Nonprofit Leadership Forum.
SLS offers “The Leadership Challenge” four times a year in Sonoma. These two-day workshops attract leaders from the country’s largest corporations and government agencies. Last year, Nichols began inviting a different local nonprofit executive director to attend these public workshops every time she offered one. She said, “I decided to offer “The Leadership Challenge” to Sonoma Valley nonprofit executive directors because I’ve seen the value of leadership development with leaders in organizations both in the private and public sector. There is no doubt about it, better led organizations benefit in several ways—higher employee and volunteer engagement, lower turnover, and higher productivity.”
The centerpiece of “The Leadership Challenge” workshop is the opportunity for individuals who regularly see the participants at work to complete an anonymous assessment of the individual’s leadership strengths and challenges. Participants use the results of that assessment to develop competencies around five key leadership practices: modeling the way; inspiring a shared vision; challenging the process; enabling others to act; and encouraging the heart. Local nonprofit executive directors who complete the workshop are then invited to meetings of the monthly Nonprofit Leadership Forum “to discuss leadership challenges and to further cultivate their leadership skills,” according to Nichols.
According to Leadership Forum member Laura Zimmerman, executive director of the Sonoma Education Foundation, “Through the workshop process, I have learned a new way of thinking about and measuring my work.”
Dr. Holly Seaton, psychologist and leadership coach, leads the monthly meetings of the Leadership Forum. Topics discussed at the Forum include leadership road blocks, ways to better collaborate with each other, and strategies for continuing to grow as a leader. Dr. Seaton said, “I believe that leadership is everybody’s business. Executive directors of social profit organizations are challenged daily with leading with heart and managing the bottom line with limited resources.”
Kathy Witkowicki, executive director of the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance and member of the Leadership Forum, said, “I seize every opportunity to improve my leadership skills and this monthly Nonprofit Forum focuses on just that. Each session addresses specific issues that will ultimately enhance my ability to be a more effective and competent leader.”
Barbara Cullen, executive director of WillMar Family Grief & Healing Center and Leadership Forum member, stated that the Leadership Forum “is a collaborative, learning time between community leaders.” She added, “There is a strong sense of trust between the participants and the group facilitators.” Additional Leadership Forum participants include Dave Pier of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley; Nancy King of Pets Lifeline; and Cynthia Scarborough of Vintage House.
For more information about “The Leadership Challenge” workshop for nonprofits, call 933.3882.
Dr. B.J. Bischoff is the owner of Bischoff Performance Improvement Consulting, a Sonoma firm specializing in building the capacity of nonprofit organizations and public sector agencies to better serve their stakeholders. She assists her clients with strategic planning, training resulting in performance improvement, fund development, and community relations. She is President of Impact100 Sonoma and leads the Sonoma Valley Presidents Council. She serves on the Sonoma Upstream Investments Portfolio Review Committee as an appointee of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. Contact her at bjbischoff@bjbischoff.com.
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