Open Questions: The Ross Collective Blog
Sharing insights and stories on nonprofit strategy, racial equity and leadership
The Winding Path to Racial Equity
Clarity of vision can give each of us the energy to work towards equity.
Creating strategic priorities for your strategic plan
Now you're ready for strategic priorities, which bring the mission of an organization down to earth. They are the buckets that different parts of your work will fit into.
How to Write Strategic Planning Mission Statement: 3 Powerful Examples to Inspire You
A strategic plan mission statement focuses on the present state of the organization, providing insight so everyone understands what they need to do each day to work towards their collective vision. A mission statement defines the focus of the work that organizational leaders do every day.
Why every meeting should mention race and equity
Going forward, one of the best ways that I can honor and affirm the students, colleagues, and participants in the conversations I lead is to be open, direct, and courageous in talking about race.
Why values matter now more than ever
When we are unable to conduct business as usual, values help us to know who we are as an organization and how we want to move through change.
How much can we plan in moments of intense uncertainty?
Ask these key questions to ask to determine your readiness for strategic planning
For a more compassionate world, we need accountability (Part 5 of 5)
In order to move towards justice, we need to widen our circles of accountability.
In a dangerous moment, take strong action (Part 4 of 5)
Leadership is using our power to move the world towards justice.
Confronting resistance with love (Part 3 of 5)
When you think about resistance, what comes to mind?
The powerful and heart-centered act of noticing (Part 2 of 5)
At its core, noticing is to see and affirm that every person of every race, gender, ability and background deserves to live a life of safety, prosperity, opportunity, and health – and we don’t have that yet.
Whenever Given the Choice, Choose Love (Part 1 of 5)
People discover their own energy and ownership when they build positive visions toward the direction they want to go.
How are you using feedback for ongoing improvement?
Sometimes the one person with the critique has an essential truth that the rest of the organization needs to hear
Finding energy in challenging times
So many of us are Carolina right now: Grieving and suffering and trying to tread water.
How one organization made the shift to a more equitable board
“As soon as we had new perspectives on the board, we started coming up with new ideas about how to approach our work and our impact in completely different ways. The shift was really palpable across our whole organization. I can’t recommend putting in the time and investment enough. It was really so powerful.”
We are so excited to launch our very first course!
Given the hunger of nonprofit boards to embrace equity (I hear it again and again from my clients) and diversity with the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd and other incidents, The Ross Collective has created the Equitable Board Lab course as a way to work with a small cohort of nonprofit leaders from different organizations to learn about and practice tools to deepen racial equity.
Meeting this volatile moment with energy and compassion
It is hard to fault any one of us for being overwhelmed, for not wanting to know, for turning to fear and misinformation as a way to tune out the truth.
And yet – I want to share three sources that speak to meeting the moment:
Ask now: What would John Lewis do?
In these times, we each need to get in touch with courage. We need to move through the fear to stay connected with one another and express caring towards each member of our society.
Good News…or Courage?
If your organization has not made a statement condemning the recent unwarranted murders of unarmed black people, turn away from your computer, pick up your phone, call your leadership and write one together. If you’re not sure what to say, look around at what other organizations are saying. If you are not following any organizations that have spoken up, expand your circle to people and organizations who express leadership in this area.
How to Steer with Compassion and Inclusion at a Scary Time
Our best chance at figuring out the route down the river is to inclusively use the wisdom of the group. We need to be asking each other: What do you see now? What do you envision in our best future? What can we each do to make that happen?