Recovering Executive Director

Last week I chatted about my recent interview on a new podcast featuring thought leaders in the government and nonprofit sectors.  The podcast was developed by a former student and graduate of our MPA program, Jacob Lawrence.  You can listen to the full hour interview here:  http://www.iamjakelawrence.com/podcast/2017/3/18/episode-3-alicia-schatteman . It was a lot of fun!  It was also interesting to think about my career and the many twists and turns which are common for those who decide to dedicate their lives to a life of service.  I started out thinking what I wanted to do was work in government and then found myself in the nonprofit space.  It seemed a better fit for me.  Our MPA students often cross back and forth between these sectors, learning, growing, changing.  Sometimes they see it as two steps forward, one step back but I do not. Whatever our experiences are, they have brought us to this day, exactly where we are supposed to be. ...

I was recently interviewed for a podcast created by a former MPA student, Jake Lawrence. When the podcast is ready, I will make sure to send out the link to everyone.  Jake asked some very good and insightful questions that really got me thinking, how did I get here? Seldom do we take the time to really reflect on "how did I get here?" so if you have never done that, it's a useful exercise.  For those of us who see our teens and twenties in the rear-view mirror, I don't think we could have predicted exactly where we would be in life today.  I am also grateful we did not have a crystal ball because we would have missed out on some valuable lessons and experiences. For myself, I grew up in a single-mother household when my parents divorced as I turned 5.  Although supported by a close-knit extended family, my living circumstances was fraught with emotional turmoil, poverty, upheaval, and just day to day stress.  There are many people and organizations tha...

I attended the DeKalb Leadership Symposium on Saturday, March 4, an event organized by the community to strengthen leadership in the community.  There were people from all sectors, of all ages and backgrounds.  There were many takeaways from the day and I will try to share the highlights here. The keynote speaker to kick off the day was Colonel Jill Morgenthaler, one of the first women to train and serve alongside men in the US Army. She did a TEDx talk called "Fake it till you make it" which you can check out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuoQE3-BTMw.   Great leaders need three things: confidence, compassion, and competence.  Confidence includes being humble in what you know and what you don't know, being confident enough to ask for help and sharing success with your team. Leadership is not about one person.  Compassion is actually caring about your team and the people you serve which also includes being inspiring to others and serving others hon...