Every nonprofit — whether a charity, professional association, or community group — faces a constant flow of choices. Some are big and irreversible, others small and routine. But all of them involve ‘decision doors’: a threshold between what we know and what’s next. The Decision Doors framework helps us pause at that threshold. Instead of… Continue reading Decision Doors
Tag: thinking skills
Reflective Practice using Identity Mode Processing – Part 2
In Part 1 of this series, the TWLDA Identity Mode Framework was introduced as a reflective practice tool, showing how its five modes — Thinker, Watcher, Learner, Decider, and Actor — support self-actualisation, enrich executive function, and promote systemic identity coherence. We also explored its applications in individual reflection and governance contexts, with charts illustrating… Continue reading Reflective Practice using Identity Mode Processing – Part 2
The Dimensionality of Thought and Ethical Leadership – Part 2 (Praxis)
Praxis and reflective practice “Praxis is the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, embodied, realised, applied, or put into practice. “Praxis” may also refer to the act of engaging, applying, exercising, realising, or practising ideas” (Wikipedia). As its title suggests, this post therefore seeks to assist nonprofit leaders to reflectively apply… Continue reading The Dimensionality of Thought and Ethical Leadership – Part 2 (Praxis)
The Dimensionality of Thought and Ethical Leadership – Part 1 (Theory)
How often have you witnessed a ‘debate’ in which various of the participants are on different wavelengths? One sees the issues as ‘black and white’, while another sees many ‘shades of gray’, and yet another sees layers of complexity in full colour. Even when directors share a common ‘moral lens’ though, their stakeholders don’t. Dealing… Continue reading The Dimensionality of Thought and Ethical Leadership – Part 1 (Theory)
First Principles First
Thinking about first principles, the oft-quoted line from philosopher-comedian Groucho Marx, “Those are my principles, and if you don’t like those … I have others” comes to mind. Beyond the moral ambiguity implied, might there be a hidden reference to other legitimate sets of first principles here? If so, what would this mean for nonprofit… Continue reading First Principles First
Balancing ‘long’ and ‘short’ strategic perspectives
The ‘strategic horizon‘ most nonprofits use is between 3-5 years. That seems to be about as far into the future as we feel able to project – either in terms of what we might confidently predict about our operating environment, or the timespan over which we are willing to commit to achieving our goals. Such… Continue reading Balancing ‘long’ and ‘short’ strategic perspectives
Reactive, Responsive, & Proactive Leadership
A recent exploration of thinking styles (see The [mind] map is not the territory) included a reference to automatic thinking. It suggested that unconscious (usually emotional) reactions to triggering events or circumstances can benefit from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. But that was only a small part of the automatic thinking story. Reactiveness, Responsiveness, or Proactiveness Part… Continue reading Reactive, Responsive, & Proactive Leadership
Divergent Thinking a Pre-requisite for Convergent Thinking
Whether we call it analysis/synthesis or differentiation/integration, we swap iteratively between divergent and convergent thinking while undertaking most governance and management tasks. While divergent thinking is often associated with informal and creative processes, it plays a crucial role in the formal and structured context of decision-making by directors and managers. We can’t carry out effective… Continue reading Divergent Thinking a Pre-requisite for Convergent Thinking
“The (mind) map is not the territory”
Alfred Korzybski‘s famous quote ‘the map is not the territory’ reminds us that an abstraction or a reaction is not the thing itself. The header chart above alludes to the situationally determined nature of thought patterns. We sometimes describe thoughts as occurring in strings, streams, clusters, or constellations – like mind maps. Thoughts are connected… Continue reading “The (mind) map is not the territory”
Magnetic and Attention Field Insights
Magnetic forces have long been referenced in figures of speech such as “I felt drawn to this cause”, “s/he has a magnetic personality”, and “design a magnetic website to grow your audience”. While this blog has touched on this magnetic theme before, it is revisited here to consider the metaphoric connection between ‘attention fields’ and… Continue reading Magnetic and Attention Field Insights