Moving into your first role as a new manager is a big deal. In fact, it’s probably the biggest step you can take in your career. Once you’re on the management ladder, climbing it gets easier with time and practice. But the first step is fraught with challenges and difficulty. Building on last year’s Emerging thoughts […]
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This video explains how the three elements of face to face communications (as researched by Albert Mehrabian) work together to deliver your message. Using a mismatch of body language and tone compared to your words can lead to your message being lost or misconstrued. Match all three to have the biggest impact. Laura Slater, =mc […]
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In this blog, =mc Director Charlotte Scott asks leaders to take a look under the rock… Leaders who want to do the very best for their team and organisation tend to have some awareness of their impact on their teams already. Especially in the charity, social and public sectors. We like to think that we […]
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January is traditionally a time of looking forward and looking back. A time to consider the challenges – and failures – of the year before. To set resolutions and plan for a better year ahead. Full of good intentions, these resolutions are usually broken by the end of the month.I have never been a fan […]
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Leadership in fundraising organisations Leadership. It’s a big word and covers so many things. And it feels like the very notion of leadership is changing, morphing and growing. Being a charity leader means much more than simply being the boss, holding a senior position in an organisation, and calling all the shots. And there are […]
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Time management. It’s a popular topic in management training. Whichever way you look there is something else demanding your attention and therefore your time – and it can feel like drowning. To compensate we set up many systems to do the time management for us: email, diaries, shared calendars, spreadsheets, trackers, applications, phone alarms, meeting […]
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It’s an interesting and challenging time in the world of Fundraising. Never before has there been such intense scrutiny on equality, fairness and safeguarding. In the wake of the #metoo movement people are speaking up and asserting their rights. Diversity is being recognised for its importance. However, making yourself heard and recognised is not always […]
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Fresh from her session on assertiveness with Ruby Bayley-Pratt at this years Institute of Fundraising Convention, =mc Director Yvette Gyles offers insight into why training is not always the solution. When we get calls asking us to come in and provide mandatory training for all staff / managers / leaders in order to ‘fix’ them, […]
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In this blog, =mc Director Yvette Gyles shares the secrets of leading without knowing everything. Recently, I have been running a lot of training programmes for Future Leaders. These are experienced managers or experts, looking to develop their leadership capability. Sometimes they have people management responsibility, and sometimes they need to lead people through influence […]
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Being assertive at work can be really hard, and this is something many people struggle with. Our insecurities, perceived weaknesses, motivations and goals can all stop us from being assertive when we need to be. In this article, Charlotte Scott explains why we need assertiveness, what it actually is, and how to be assertive. Why […]
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Over the course of my career I have been very fortunate to have support from some brilliant people. I genuinely would not be where I am today without the input, insight and inspiration from my mentors – and indeed, my mentees. A mentor can be defined as simply as ‘an experienced and trusted advisor’. But […]
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Investing in developing your team or your whole organisation is a bold commitment. Choose the right training and it can help you improve productivity, achieve more goals and make a lasting difference to working life. Get it wrong and you’ve invested money from the shrinking (or non-existent) L&D budget and simply opened a can of […]
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I’ve been working with managers and leaders in public sector organisations for some time now. It’s still a bleak picture for many: a lack of central funding and increasing demand means crucial services are under more and more pressure. In nearly every programme I’ve delivered I have been asked to help managers with leading their […]
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Working in local government has never been so tough. The economic, political and social context means more and more services are feeling the strain. The outlook is a bit on the bleak side, with damning reports from the UN on UK austerity highlighting a disconnect between policy and reality. For many leaders of councils, this […]
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I’m a resolution failure. According to USA today you have already broken your new years resolution, along with almost everyone else. Apparently, fail day is 17th January. And it seems to me (admittedly from chats and straw polls, this isn’t science) that almost every year resolutions tend to be about mind, body, and not drinking […]
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How many times have you felt the stirring ambition to learn a new skill, get better at something, change your habits or behaviours? You enthusiastically book yourself on the next course that promises to give you all the new-fangled knowledge, skills and abilities that you desire. Or perhaps you order that new self-help book from […]
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The festive season is upon us and the annual question of gifting etiquette looms ever present. Work colleagues – do you give or not give? How much should you spend? Are you going with silly or serious? Is it appropriate? Phew. What a minefield. So what can you give that won’t cost you a penny […]
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Walk down any UK high street at this time of year and you will be bombarded with seasonal offers, treats, ideas and temptations. And one thing that always stands out in the shop windows is the vast amount of glittery dresses and sequined jumpers. It is the party season! Office parties, team parties, events for […]
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For your final =mc insight of the year, we sought advice from the leader of one of the biggest enterprises known to wo/man. Among other things, this inspirational figure is responsible for running a worldwide manufacturing and distribution service as well as maintaining a large and demanding supporter base. He manages a team of thousands […]
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When organisations are experiencing change, we’re often called upon to help smooth the transition using various tools, techniques and training programmes to address the challenges. So you’d think that now things are changing here at =mc, we must be excited, full of beans and finding it all plain sailing, right? Not exactly. Just because we […]
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If the answer is nothing, then be warned… I had the honour of convening a panel discussion about Women in Fundraising at this year’s IoF Fundraising Convention (#IOFFC). I was both shocked and inspired by the debate. The panel was honest, the audience was forthcoming, and the discussion produced very useful suggestions. What fascinates me […]
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It’s well recognised that project management is an essential skill for all of us these days – even outside work. Inside work, there is the added dimension of project governance – who sets the parameters for any project and who’s ultimately accountable – and this usually falls to a senior manager. This person will often […]
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7 Common problems for emerging managers – and how to overcome them Stepping into management is fantastic – sort of. A huge achievement and a massive career change, yes – but which for most of us is also pretty daunting. You’ll find plenty of blogs and articles online to help with the change, but where […]
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Imagine the scene: a trendy-yet-affordable restaurant in Kings Cross, a selection of delicious tapas to share, bottles of wine, and 10 well-known leaders discussing challenges they face and sharing solutions in how they overcome them. Who wouldn’t want to be a fly at that table? What could we learn? What might inspire us? At a […]
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There is something about the summer that brings on the desire for a team away day. Maybe it’s because it’s too hot to do all the usual things, managers want us to get together, get outside and have some fun. Or maybe the extra daylight inspires us to dream of a new way of working […]
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There is something about the summer that brings on the dreaded team away day. Maybe because it’s too hot to do all the usual things, managers decide it’s a good time to get everyone together, get outside and have some fun. Or maybe the extra daylight inspires us to dream of a new way of […]
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Bernard Ross, =mc Director and co-author of the best-selling book Change for Good – using behavioural economics for a better world blogs about why the ‘identifiable victims’ principle is important to fundraisers. Maybe like me you were in one sense glad to see the attention the Thai boys trapped in the cave got. And at […]
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As a Learning & Development Consultant at =mc I have supported many organisations – from MS Society to the University of Reading to WWF UK – in developing their project management. Probably like many of you reading this, I also juggle several projects in the office. And like some of you, I have the advantage […]
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Behavioural economics quiz This quiz comes from Bernard Ross and Omar Mahmoud’s latest book Change for Good – Using Behavioural Economics for a better world. It is based loosely on work by Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel Prize winning economist, and his talented colleague Amos Tversky. Their work is the inspiration for much of the book. (The quiz […]
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They’re just trying to rationalise. (Tell you rational-lies!) Fundraising consultant Bernard Ross gets serious in part two of this #BlogOff, fighting the ‘no’ corner in the battle of whether you should listen to your supporters – or not. Read the opposing view from Dana Segal here. Fundraisers are an emotional bunch. They care a lot […]
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In this #BlogOff, fundraising consultants Bernard Ross and Dana Segal go head to head offering different answers to one important question: Should you listen to your supporters? Dana says YES… It’s been a few weeks since the recent GDPR influx to my inbox; proclamations of love and a desire to keep in touch came from organisations […]
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“Being a manager means I have more on my plate than ever and trying to keep up with my own workload as well as those of my team is a big job. I’ve got too much to do and not enough time to do it all. What can I do?” On our management training programmes, […]
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In the Influential Fundraiser training, =mc uses its powerful five stages of influence model and teaches you the 15 tools you need to learn to apply systematically and sensitively for success. These techniques have been used to secure at least six £1M+ gifts in the last five years, as well as countless smaller ones. You […]
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Working in a matrix should make us more flexible, productive and effective. So why am I finding it long-winded, hard and messy? Matrix management is when reporting operates along both task and people lines. We are hearing from more and more people in the NFP sector that their organisation has developed a matrix structure. This […]
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Working in a matrix should be empowering, agile and developmental. So why am I finding it confusing, hard and messy? Put simply, matrix management is about dual reporting lines. Someone based in a regional office might report to the regional manager – the geographical line – and to the head of their department who’s based […]
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Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of calls lot about providing training and advice for managers in two specific areas. One call, often delivered in a slightly worried and urgent tone, asks for training on managing change. Another, usually slightly more upbeat call, asks for a workshop on creativity and innovation. What strikes me as […]
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Negotiating with others, whether it’s at home with a partner over household chores, or at work with a colleague about help with in a project, is part of everyday life. And reaching an amicable agreement isn’t always easy. People often tell us they walk away from these situations feeling they either haven’t achieved what they […]
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We’ve all been there. After a long day at work, in meeting after meeting, you look at your phone and see that dot. The FEAR begins. The one that tells you there are 87 unread messages. And you are itching to look at them – but you have to get off home. You get in, […]
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In this blog, =mc’s newest Learning & Development Consultant Georgina Wright blogs on the exciting journey from extinguishing fires to preventing them. Why am I dealing with this issue again? Why am I hearing the same complaint that I heard before? Why are people unhappy about what that their manager keeps doing? Why are managers […]
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