Leadership – Volunteer U

This is Why Good Leaders Tell Stories

Before you start reading, I want to ask you a question. What is the percentage of employees who know what their organization stands for?

Perception Misconception

A woman was waiting at an airport one night, with several long hours before her flight. She hunted for a book in the airport shops, bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

The 3 Types of Change Mindsets

Every once in a while, at Volunteer U, we get the chance to hear from leaders who are making a difference in their industry. This week we have a guest post from Jayne, a music teacher at a Private School, and also a doctoral student studying at Southeastern University. Enjoy Jayne’s perspective on the three […]

The Ikea Effect

Oh, Ikea. You huge, blue and yellow home of delicious meatballs and adorable, modern furniture. Have you ever put together a piece of furniture from this Swedish megastore? You open the box to find packets of tiny screws, various sized wood, and instructions that look like they were written in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. It’s hours […]

Greek Myths and Expectation Power

When talking incentives, a lot of leaders teeter between two sides of the management fence: Self-motivation versus Supervisor motivation. Which is more powerful? Are people more inclined to be motivated by their own expectations or that of their leader? Pygmalion (or Rosenthal) Effect – the power of other’s expectations. This theory states that people will […]

70, Twenty, & 10. How to Train Volunteers Informally.

You may have already heard of the 70:20:10 Model. Originally created by Lombardo, and Eichinger at the Center for Creative Leadership, this 1980s leadership development theory suggests that individuals get 70% of their knowledge from challenging assignments (experience), 20% from developmental relationships, and 10% from formal training/education. If this is true, 90% of our volunteer’s […]

A Leader’s Guide to Building Trust

Leaders will need to prove themselves trustworthy before workers will feel comfortable enough to allow themselves to be led. The only way to establish trust is through time. The only problem is, time is something that leaders (especially young leaders, with no proven track record) feel they can’t afford. But as anxious as we may […]

The 5 I’s: How to Guard Against and Overcome the Silo Mentality.

March 31, 2018
by Jim Angelakos

Silo Mentality is a mindset present when certain departments, sectors or programs, intentionally or unintentionally, do not share information freely. This type of mentality reduces operational efficiency, morale, and eventually contributes to the demise of productivity in the organization’s culture. Here are 5 ways to guard against and overcome silo mentality. 1. Identity Communicate the organization’s vision […]

7 Ways to Change Office Atmosphere. PART II

We all know how stressful work can be, and it’s difficult enough with the pressure of all our actual tasks. The last thing we need is to worry about a tense office environment. Besides, life is too short to be anything less than fun. You don’t need a leadership position to change the atmosphere […]

7 Ways to Change Office Atmosphere. PART I

I once worked in an office with an open floor plan. It was me and my co-workers, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, staring across our little cubicles. My first day I nervously sat at my desk and peeked around at the engrossed people around me. Everyone sat in front of their screens, […]