2007 SLC Blog

Even before I started going to the national conferences, I would get excited when seeing the announcements for the SLC/CLC coming out - it was the sign that spring was here and shortly after the event - I would be off to vacation in the Caribbean with my wife (no kids allowed) - things haven't changed - five days after the conference, I will be sitting in the sun by the pool in Jamaica.

SO - here it is five days before we leave for the conference and we all have a million things to do before we leave...here are a few of my things:

1. Answer the flurry of emails from those asking "are you going and can we connect"?
2. Finding some clean team wear - I was told we are suppose to wear it Wednesday!
3. Dusting off my Bengals gear - cause we are going to our arch rival city! Who Dey! Who Dey gonna beat those Bengals!
4. Getting an oil change because our arranged transportation (a bus) never happened! And I have been practicing all my favorite 'bus songs' for the last three months.
5. Staying up late to fine tune my resume and passing it out during the conference (just kidding Rob).
6. Charging up the blackberry - "always on always connected" is the motto of the Young Leaders.

I am sure I am forgetting something - I'll save that for next posting. If you have things on your last minute list..please post!

My United Way Thought for The Day:

I find some irony in the fact that in today's world we believe that technology has made us "more connected" - but I find that people get so excited about the CLC/SLC because it gets back to the best way to really connect with each other - in person, with real conversation, hand shakes for new friends, and hugs for old friends.

Oh yea, I must give a shout out to all my Peep's in Cincy that couldn't make it to the SLC. The Blog will be great to connect with people at the conference but also with all the important people back home - keeping the 'wheels on the impact bus' in motion (that's for you - Lauren).
Charles (B Log)

The SLC program on Friday morning is all about leadership development and leadership behavior--kicked off by Ron Heifitz of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Heifitz, a trained psychoanalyst, is one of the more sensitive and thoughtful writers on the leadership topic we know--which is why he was invited to the conference! His two well known books, Leadership Without Easy Answers and Leadership on the Line both deal with what he calls "adaptive leadership" and "adaptive situations"--and suggest a much more nuanced model of leadership than classical, hierachical-with-authority approaches. In addition to stimulating what I know will be helpful and developmental conversation for all, his session will likely raise some interesting questions about what leadership should become for United Way's new community impact work, and how much it must depend on a more interactive and collaborative relationship with others whom one "leads". For some related thoughts about these questions, and I hope some "pump-priming" of its own for those of you who will be at the Heifitz session, see latest post on my own blog, "Watching for Movement"

Hola!! My name is Carlos Gomez and I'm exited about this year's Financial Management and Human Resources Forum at the SLC. Because of my new role as Manager of Financial Accountability, I have had the unique opportunity to work with an outstanding group of volunteers (Forum Planning Committee) that have created a four day event for over 275 participants in Pittsburgh! Registered Forum participants will start their learning on Tuesday, May 15th with a joint session "The State of the System", of course viewed from the Financial and HR perspective. This year's theme for the Forum is "Building Operational Excellence" , you should know that because we are embedded with the SLC you will have access to both Forum sessions and SLC activities. As I write this "blog" (the first one ever) I can tell you we are ready for an exiting learning time in Pittsburgh. The Forum will offer over 25 different sessions and will enable you to earn CPEs for the Natioanl Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Also, the Forum is approved for some credits from HRCI-Human Resources Certification Institute. Just make sure you sign to verify your attendance at the end of each session in order to have documentation for the respective accreditation bodies. As we travel to Pittsburgh from Alexandria on Monday, May 14th at 6:30 AM. (Can you believe Ken Euwema and Evelyn Amador are driving us there, two minivans and 10 staff members, plus some last minutes handouts, PowerPoint presentations and luggage!) we are going to be talking about expectations and how to make future experiences unforgettable! So, if you have any suggestions, email me your ideas for next year's Forum! Until my next blog! Adios!

I'd love to share a ride from the airport to the convention center area with anyone arriving late (11:30pm) on Monday the 14th. Thanks, Mark

I feel very priviledged to be invited to be among you next week at the SLC. I see my role contributing an "outside perspective" to this blog. I have been working with the Global Learning Collaborative team as an outside consultant over the past seven months. I really am looking forward to finally meeting many of the folks I have interviewed in person.

My professional and personal interests are in the area of knowlede management - both capture and transfer. That's a really stuffy way of saying that what I really enjoy is getting to know people and their stories - what they are passionate about in their own work and the innovative ways in which they have figured out how to do the work of the United Way in their own communities. What never ceases to amaze me is that the folks out there engaged in the best and most innovative work are often among the most humble. They have no idea that what they are doing is on the cutting edge. Oftentimes, they see it as "just doing their job."

Everyone has a story. It is my passion to figure out how to capture and share those stories with others who might find themselves facing the same challenges. I sometimes describe what I do as putting together the pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle. I like connecting people and ideas.

I am looking forward to the SLC.

I love this blogging stuff! Thanks to Brook for sharing your new blog. I've checked it out, and it is an excellent premise for journaling.

I thought I would post my blog address as well... unitedwayleadership.blogspot.com

I have had it up and running for a few years now, and it simply chronicles my personal leadership journey as it relates to leading a small United Way through change.

Patrick Jinks
President/CEO
United Way of Danville-Pittsylvania County
Danville, VA