A Note From Our Director
Silo-ization... or the perils of a restricted view versus Team Impact
One of the elements of professional work is the fact that much of it is done in teams of mixed professionals. There are teams of social workers and lawyers; social workers, doctors, and nurses; social workers and teachers; social workers and MBAs, and many more multidisciplinary collaborative teams where social workers play a role.
This means for success in professional life, we not only have to learn to work and play well with others, but with others who have different approaches and perspectives on the problems we are considering.
It is sad, then, that we essentially train independently of the other professionals with whom we will be working. This training "independence" is the principle behind educational "silo-ization." We are often more like tribes than teams, and have boundaries rather than borders, all of which acts as a drag on team impact. It is tunnel vision.
Perhaps even more of a problem is the issue of the skills needed to lead and manage an interprofessional team. As Social Workers, with our training in listening and blending various per
spectives, we have a good start with these management skills, and there is help available to enhance our already useful skill set. A new book by Gillian Tett of the Financial Times entitled, "
The Silo Effect" would be a good place to start. Here is a summary from Amazon:
From award-winning columnist and journalist Gillian Tett comes a brilliant examination of how our tendency to create functional departments -silos- hinders our work...and how some people and organizations can break those silos down to unleash innovation.
One of the characteristics of industrial age enterprises is that they are organized around functional departments. This organizational structure results in both limited information and restricted thinking. The Silo Effect asks these basic questions: why do humans working in modern institutions collectively act in ways that sometimes seem stupid? Why
do normally clever people fail to see risks and opportunities that later seem blindingly obvious? Why, as psychologist Daniel Kahneman put it, are we sometimes so "blind to our own blindness?"
Gillian Tett, journalist and senior editor for the Financial Times, answers these questions by plumbing her background as an anthropologist and her experience reporting on the financial crisis in 2008. In The Silo Effect, she shares eight different tales of the silo syndrome. Some of these narratives illustrate how foolishly people can behave when they are mastered by silos. Others, however, show how institutions and individuals can master their silos instead.
Tett explains how people organize themselves, interact with each other, and imagine the world can take hold of an organization and lead from institutional blindness to 20/20 vision.
Remember, in the words of the shift sergeant from Hill Street Blues, "It's a jungle out there." You need all the skills and vision you can develop! Good luck.
Director, Leadership in Community Benefit Organizations
Professor of Social Work
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Leadership Careers in Focus
New Opportunities for Consultancy and Capacity Building
Many nonprofits valiantly impact communities with limited means and heightened challenges. Demonstrate your expertise through team consultancy and capacity building opportunities.
**Available Now**
1)
60 Seconds! --
Do you have a project design that you'd like to share with social engineering designers. Please
register
your interest and place Flash in the subject line.
2)
Social Work Consultants --
Brilliant social engineering design teams seek MSW consultants to advise them on taking their great ideas and inventions into community. Please
register
your interest and place Engineering Consulting in the subject line.
3)
International Design Team --
Join a design team of engineers on a journey to Ghana or Ethiopia? More details will be available mid-November. Until then, please
register
your interest and place International Design Team in the subject line.
4)
Social Work Writer-Educators --
The engineering school has created an online academy for its design students and is interested in curriculum from the perspective of the social worker.
Register
your interest and place Learning Block in the subject line.
Seize this opportunity and position yourself for your leadership career!
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Have you ever noticed yourself noodling over a solution to an organizational problem? Has your leadership mind identified opportunities that swamped do-gooders don't see? Could you advise organizational leaders in mission drift rectification or mission impact?
Rather than becoming frustrated with organizational misste
ps or shortsightedness, offer to help. Contribute your expert voice to one of the thousands of organizations that aim to benefit community every day.
- Visit high functioning board meetings where industry leaders like the president of Northern Trust Bank and sector leaders like the president of Common Ground serve.
- Train with scholars and leaders in board governance and best practices.
- Volunteer on board committees to contribute and to prove your "value add."
- Serve as a trustee.
While you're at it, network with professionals whose organizational needs just might match your career aspirations. Your elevator pitch will come in handy.
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Leadership Program and Career Services Events
Leadership as a Recent Grad - Panel
Monday, November 9, 5 - 6 PM, B760
Regardless of concentration, you can be a leader in social work!
Come hear from 4 recent MSW graduates (
from all 4 concentrations!) about their experiences as leaders in our field.
Collaborative Skill Building Exercises for Team Leadership Development
**Presented by MSW Student, Nina Levin!**
Monday, November 16, 12 - 1 PM, B798
Are you leading a staff, group, or a project and want to learn some activities to develop team building?
Learn team problem solving exercises and collaborative skills activities; use these exercises with staff, teammates, clients, classmates, for developing collaborative problem solving strategies; gain tools for adapting content of these exercises to your particular task environment.
Global Activity Scholar Nina Levin will facilitate a workshop on team building exercises she learned during her field placement in Melbourne, Australia.
Lunch will be served.
Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy - Info Session
Wednesday, November 18, 12 - 1 PM, 2733 SSWB
The
Student Ambassadors Program (SAP) prepares the next generation of social workers to take part in community service and education about political arenas. SAP firmly strives to increase the number of social workers in elected or appointed offices across all levels of government by 2040. This
8-month policy and leadership development program provides students with opportunities to learn more about federal legislative and policy processes, the inner workings of Congress, and public policy.
Each year, SAP prepares a diverse group of 40 social work students from across the country to become ethical leaders, policy analysts, political social workers, community advocates, administrators, or lobbyists by exposing them to members of the Congressional Social Work Caucus, the CRISP, and esteemed social work leaders.
Lunch will be provided.
Career Services Alumni Lunch Series
Board Fellows Forum: Board Governance and Accountability
Wednesday, November 18, 5:30 - 7:30 PM, R0220, Ross School of Business
**Our Director, John Tropman, will be featured on the panel
Join us for the first of the Board Fellows Forums throughout the year as a panel of nonprofit experts discuss board governance accountability. If you are interested in serving on a nonprofit board, this event will shed light on the responsibilities and legal accountability required of board members. Open to the public as well as current participants in the Center's Board Fellowship Program.
Scaling Impact: Generating Business Value and Alleviating Poverty
Thursday, November 19, 3:30 - 5 PM, 1840 (ECC)
This talk will provide an overview of the
William Davidson Institute and the Scaling Impact Initiative. The Scaling Impact Initiative focuses on accelerating the development of sustainable and scalable impact enterprises that generate a net positive impact for the base of the pyramid (BoP). The talk will highlight the SII's focus areas and some on-going research projects aimed at providing actionable tools and frameworks to enterprise leaders who wish to scale their organizations' poverty alleviation impacts while also achieving financial sustainability.
Preparing Your Professional Launch
Wednesday, December 2, 5-6 PM; SSWB 3752
Whether you are preparing to graduate or planning ahead, join Janice Williams Miller as she discusses launching your career as a social work leader.
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Student Leadership Opportunities
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Become an OFI Field Peer Facilitator!
The Office of Field Instruction is accepting Field Seminar (SW531)
Peer Facilitator applications for Winter 2015.
Field Seminar Peer Facilitators are part of an evolving educational experience for MSW candidates. Students that are selected will have a variety of responsibilities, including:
- Working with OFI field faculty in the Field Seminar course to engage students in focused activities, generative interviews, and open-ended discussions about their field placements
- Planning activities to address the educational goals of the students and their seminar curriculum
- Helping students navigate the field instruction process
- Providing feedback on the students' field assignments/experiences
- Managing the Canvas site
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Win up to $50,000 for your Social Enterprise Idea!
Hear more at the Michigan Business Challenge and Social Impact Track Information Session
Wednesday, November 4, 5 -5:30 PM, R0240, Ross School of Business
A prize pool of $17K is available to social enterprise business plans and
the top overall team could win up to $50K in total prizes!
Hosted by the Center for Social Impact in partnership with the Zell Lurie and Erb Institutes, the Social Impact Track supports the creation of new businesses, products, or services that promote social and/or environmental impact. The venture can be for-profit or nonprofit, and a 2-3 page statement is all that is needed to apply.
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Funding Available: Transdiciplinary and Social Justice Programs
The Munger Graduate Residences is looking for students who have innovative program ideas or creations that they would like to bring to fruition at MGR. The funding has recently been increased to help fund innovative ideas.
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The 8 Principles of More Human Leadership
This 'More Human Leadership Philosophy' is guided by 8 principles:
- Crossing the bridge from 'I' to 'We' - It can't be about you, its about a team
- Asking for trust and keeping your promises - Integrity is an absolutely must
- Establishing a mantra of key values - It's the glue that holds all of us together
- Finding and teaching more human leaders - The legacy must be passed on; we can't do it ourselves
- Building a culture of accountability - It's all about fairness and shared responsibility
- Measuring, monitoring, and managing with the right metrics - The tea
 m needs to know where they stand, and what they are aiming for
- Fighting complacency and the naysayers - Inertia is a moment killer, as well as those who still desire the old ways
- Connecting it all to a higher purpose - Humans want to be a part of a meaningful cause that's bigger than themselves
For more information and to read specific posts about each principle,
click here.
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20 Leadership Habits: Start Building Them Now!
H3 Leadership
by Brad Lomenick is the result of experience and a lot of reflection.
When he reflected on the habits that propelled him forward he came up with twenty and organized them around 3 important questions every influencer must ask:
HU
 MBLE: Who am I?
HUNGRY: Where do I want to go?
HUSTLE: How will I get there?
The answers to these questions help you to become a change agent. And the habits associated with each of these questions create the playbook for your leadership journey. Lomenick says that your leadership success if built upon habitual work. "It is worked out every day in the tasks we complete, the ways we approach our work, and the rhythms we nurture in our lives. It hangs on the hooks of the patterns we create, not just the success we may stumble upon."
Most of the actions we take during the day are habits. So we must be intentional about what habits we develop and why. Lomenick organized all 20 habits around these three areas.
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12 Books You Should Read to Impress Your Boss and Improve Yourself in the Process
A telltale sign of a good leader is a
constant desire to learn, and reading's one of the best ways to show your higher-ups that you want to grow, both within and outside of the organization. Not only that, it improves your vocabulary, expands your world, and generally makes you a more educated and interesting person to be around.
12 entrepreneurs from
YEC
suggest books that they themselves have loved and passed on to their employees. Read just one and you'll find yourself ahead of the game. Read the whole list and, well, you might just be looking at a promotion.
**If you read one and like it (or don't), write an op-ed for our newsletter!**
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Apply for the Presidential Management Fellowship
The Presidential Management Fellowship Program (PMF) is designed to attract outstanding graduate students to federal served from a variety of academic disciplines and career  paths who have a clear interest in, and commitment to,
excellence in the leadership and management of public policies and programs.
This opportunity offers LOAN REPAYMENT for macro students!
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Professional Memberships & Networks
Network for Social Work Management 
Membership rate: FREE Member-only benefits:
- Networking opportunities
- International Mentorship Program
- Attend National Conference in 2016, TBA
- Human Services Management Competencies
- Interactive Webinar Series
- Communications
Independent Sector
Membership rate: $10/year  Member-only benefits:
- Networking opportunities
Independent Sector Affinity Program - Attend National Leadership Conference, Embark
- Access to NextGeneration (NGen) online community on LinkedIn
- Public Policy Benefits
- Communications
Young Leaders Society - United Way of Washtenaw County Join Here Membership rate: Giving Circle Donation
*Other local chapters available*
Member-only benefits:
- Volunteer & fundraising opportunities
- Networking & leadership events
- Monthly activities- including service projects, social gatherings, professional development meetings
- Community updates & news
Young Nonprofit Professionals of Washtenaw County VIew their Facebook Page
*Other local chapters available here* Membership rate: FREE Member-only benefits:
- Connect with other young local leaders
- Share resources & information
- Nationally recognized
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Congratulations!
Several MSW Students will be participating in the Center for Social Impact's
Board Fellows Program:
- Rebecca Ahmad-Robinson
- Arielle Goodman
- Brett Jones
- Janelle Walwyn
For more information about the Board Fellows Program and other programs through the Center for Social Impact,
visit their website.
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Additional Leadership Events
Storytelling for Change and Purpose - Webinar
Wednesday, November 4, 2 PM
How do we drive results with our teams? How do we help individuals find their purpose and make a difference? It ALL starts with storytelling. Storytelling is consistently considered one of the top skills needed for managers interested in leading change and creating a compelling vision for their team and organization.
Mozart Guerrier, MSW, has shared stories for change at social impact conferences at MIT, Brown, and many TEDx conferences throughout the country. This webinar will offer new and veteran managers cutting edge tactics and strategies to become better storytellers and leaders for social impact.
Watch Mozart's TEDxUtica talk on Love and Social
Innovation in Action
Do you want to go beyond the classroom to make impact? Join the U-M School of Public Health's University-wide competition
Innovation in Action
to create new solutions to real-world Public Health and Education challenges!
Community Leadership Summit: Equipping Leaders, Building Capacity, Accelerating Change
Saturday, November 7, 10am - 2pm, U-M Detroit Center
Connect with leaders from across Detroit. Link to resources and buld your network. Learn how to maximize your impact. Special guests include:
- Raquel Castaneda-Lopez, Councilwoman, City of Detroit
- Peter Hammer, Faculty, Wayne State University, Detroit Equity Action Lab
- Lisa Johanon, Executive Director, Central Detroit Christian CDC
- Lisa Leverette, Executive Director, Community Connections
- Jamila Martin, Community Organizer, Director of Operations, 482Forward
- Frank McGhee, Program Director, Neighborhood Service Organization
- Angie Reyes, Executive Director, Detroit Hispanic Development Corp
Validated parking in the Orchestra Place structure behind the U-M Detroit Center. RSVP by calling 313-593-4132 or
[email protected]
ZLI Startup Workshop: Communicating with Investors
Thursday, November 5, 5:30 - 7 PM, R1220 Ross School of Business
Explore the various tools and approaches entrepreneurs use to communicate with investors, all examined through a common framework - elevator pitches, executive summaries, investor slide decks, business plans and more! Facilitated by Jim Price, Ross Faculty & ZLI Entrepreneur in Residence. Learn More
ZLI Startup Workshop: Exploring Business Models
Friday, November 6, 12 - 1:30 PM, R2220 Ross School of Business
This 90-minute workshop will explore different types of business models and how entrepreneurs develop innovative models that create social and economic value. We'll explore historical and recent examples of interesting business models (such as those used by Airbnb, Dell, Google, Southwest Airlines, 23andMe, Uber, Warby Parker, and others), examining which were successful and why - as well as the unique aspects, pros, and cons of various models you may wish to pursue. Facilitated by Josh Botkin, Ross Faculty & ZLI Entrepreneur in Residence.
Positive Links Speaker Series: Transforming Relationships for High Performance - The Power of Relational Coordination
Monday, Nov. 16, 4:30 - 5:30 PM, The Colloquium, 6th Floor, Ross School of Business
Organizations are fundamentally patterns of interrelating, reinforced by structures and work processes. It's no wonder they are hard to change. In this presentation, Brandeis University Professor Jody Hoffer Gittell will introduce relational coordination as a tool for both research and practice. She will share live case studies illustrating how organizations use relational coordination principles and measures as tools for change, and then conclude with a Relational Model for Organizational Change.
Young Leaders Society - CEO Breakfast with Al McWilliams
Friday, November 20, 8 - 9:15 AM, Shinola Ann Arbor
The United Way of Washtenaw County's Young Leaders Society is excited to present our fall CEO/Leadership Breakfast Series - we will be featuring Al McWilliams, CEO at Quack!Media.
AGENDA
8am- Registration, networking, and breakfast
8:30am- CEO Talk with Al McWilliams
9am- Q&A
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**Copies of
The Chronicle of Philanthropy are located in the outside mailbox on John's door (3734).
**If there are articles from other publications that require a membership fee, please let us know and we can access them for you.
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Contact Us
| John Tropman, Director |
SSWB 3734 |
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(734) 763.6275 |
| Rachael Wiener |
SSWB 3751 |
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(734) 764.4903 |
| Janice Williams Miller |
SSWB 3751 |
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(734) 763.9211 |
If you would like to submit items for the Leadership in Community Benefit Organizations' Newsletter (events, op-eds, resources, etc.), please email Rachael.
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