A Reponse to the G&M’s Margaret Wente

I just read this...

Firstly, don’t event get me started with this statement, “Of course some research, especially in the sciences and medicine, matters a great deal to the advancement of society. But a vast amount of it – especially in the humanities and social sciences – does not”.

Secondly, what Wente describes is very far from my experience as a post-secondary student in the Atlantic Provinces.

During my four years at the Université de Moncton (au département de Science Politique), I encountered the best and most encouraging teachers. And smart too! They had brilliant research projects of their own – though probably neglected because of all the time they spent with us -, and offered thought-provoking and enriching classes. I was never turned away when asking for help and further explanation. I would pop by my professors’ offices to chat about class, current issues and career preparations. They are the best of the best. I would also soon find out that the education I received from them more than prepared me to be in a program with graduates from UofT, McGill, Queen’s…their education had nothing over mine.

And perhaps somewhat to my surprise, I was met with the same commitment at the larger Dalhousie University for my Master of Arts program. The Political Science professors here also happily (I think!?) took to the time to answer my 101-questions inside and out of class.

At both of these institutions, professors (professeurs et professeures) pushed me to be reflective, critical and daring. They believed in my academic performance and ability, far more than I did. They were there every step of the way.

So, I don’t know what Wente is talking about – but it’s not my experience of postsecondary education in Atlantic Canada. That is not to say that there is no pressure to rapidly produce research projects in some fields and universities in the country…but please, don’t blame it on the professors.

Lamrock, Democracy 101 et la fracture numérique

Hier, monsieur Kelly Lamrock a annoncé le projet « Democracy 101 » - assumons qu’un titre français sera affiché sous peu -, une initiative cherchant à accroître la participation citoyenne dans les affaires gouvernementales et publiques de la province. Chaque semaine, 101 ménages seront choisis pour dialoguer avec d’autres citoyens, des invités spéciaux et – assumons -, Mr Lamrock et d’autres parlementaires sur certaines questions de l’heure. Je comprends que ce dialogue aura lieu par entremise de médias sociaux tels les microblogues (Twitter), et les outils de gestion de réseau social (Facebook).

Certes (j’espère), ce projet verra une participation jeunesse notable. Je l’ai toujours dit – que les « jeunes », et moi incluse, ne sommes pas apolitiques. Nous participons à la vie politique autrement que nos parents et grands-parents – dans notre préférence pour la nourriture organique, dans nos manifestations contre les hausses de frais de scolarité, et oui, en affichant des liens à des pages web sur notre profile Facebook, etc. Ce projet a le potentiel de faire connaître l’intérêt politique qu’ont les jeunes, déjà familiers avec ses médiaux sociaux.

Cela étant dit comment ce projet va-t-il tenir compte de la « fracture (ou fossé) numérique » (dit Digital Divide en anglais) - un problème dans le monde entier, incluant notre province. Est-ce que des partenariats avec les centres d’accès Internet ou des foyers de personnes âgées seront établis? Comment faire pour s’assurer que ce dialogue soit accessible à tous – jeunes et moins jeunes, autochtones et non autochtones, rural et urbain, etc. ?

Oui, c’est une belle initiative, mais pas sans avoir adressé la fracture numérique (voire, fracture sociale) qui existe dans notre province.

what young public servants are looking for

This word cloud was made after I cut and pasted the entire text of a document that provides the basis for a meeting I'm facilitating tomorrow. It's a group of rising star young public servants from GNB who are helping create a New Professionals Network within government. The bigger words indicate more mentions and thus, so the theory goes, are of more importance. Click on the image for a better view. I'll have more to say on this event and our 21 Leaders weekend later this week.

Connaissance de soi et le leadership

Quels sont les attributs d'un bon leader? Nous savons qu'il existe plusieurs styles de leadership mais comment peut-on reconnaître quel type de leader nous sommes?

Nous croyons que l'identification du style de leadership doit être précédée par une connaissance de soi, et qu'en ayant une perspective réelle de qui nous sommes en tant qu'individu, nous serons en mesure de nous identifier en tant que leader.

Cette réflexion marque le point de départ de la programmation de l'édition 2009-10 du programme des 21 Leaders, qui débutera le 10 septembre prochain à Fredericton. Afin de permettre aux leaders d'identifier leur style en tant que leader, nous tenons à leur donner l'occasion d'apprendre à mieux se connaître eux-mêmes. Nous avons donc invité Phil Holmes, auteur et directeur général d'Ambir, à guider nos leaders dans ce parcours vers la connaissance de soi.

Cette session n'est qu'un aperçu de ce qui est prévu pour nos 21 Leaders, laissant présage à une fin de semaine des plus intéressantes!

Nonprofit Management

Managers of nonprofits are frequent readers of business books. I often find colleagues at the bookstore browsing through the latest Jim Collins, or a classic by Peter Drucker. Unfortunately, there aren’t many Canadian how-to-manage-nonprofit books. There are several in the US but even there the pickings are slim.

Which is why I was stoked to recently find these blogs, www.leadingbydesign.blogspot.com, and www.advancingthenonprofit.blogspot.com. Neither are Canadian but they do meet a real gap I’ve been experiencing of late, a daily dose of thinking about management specific to the nonprofit sector.

These nuggets of wisdom I found particularly compelling. In a post labeled “Seismic Shift: The Changing Nonprofit Landscape” the Karen Eber Davis talks about some important dynamics we’re seeing in New Brunswick.

A Dual Focus on Outcomes and Savvy Communications. The outcome focus is not new, what is new is the understanding that outcomes alone are inadequate. If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there, it doesn’t help your cause. Those who thrive will provide outcomes plus have the public relations savvy to successfully communicate why these outcomes are important in the noisy market.

Absolutely. You can’t have one without the other. The relationship between outcomes and communications is something we’ve been thinking about for a while. But I’m not sure we, as an organization (on individual levels we’ve had strong voices on both sides) ever fully acknowledged just how much of our focus should be shared between these two elements.

Over at Leading by Design, Anne Ackerson puts words on what all nonprofit people know to be true. That we live and die by the meeting,

Given the fact that nonprofits are all about people means that there's a ton of communication that must take place in order to nurture and maintain them, and service the constituents who need them.

Given that there isn’t a “nonprofit chamber of commerce” (we’re members in an actual Chamber of Commerce), these sites are an important way people in the sector stay connected, informed and motivated.

Congrats John!

It’s a good day for the 21inc community.

John McLaughlin, President of UNB for another couple days, is the recipient of the Order of New Brunswick. Clare Whelton-McCain, a strong supporter of the arts in New Brunswick is also a recipient. Through our partnership with McCain’s I’ve had the opportunity to meet Clare and this is great recognition of her work.

It’s not an embellishment to say that John has been an instrumental force in New Brunswick. His NextNB program at UNB (link to about us) spawned 21inc, and John has continued to be a huge champion for us. That’s why it was a no brainer when 21inc co-Founder and Founding Chair Anne McInerney proposed that a group of us nominate him for this award.

But not only was it his vision that was the impetus behind 21inc, but the New Brunswick Business Council and the Wallace McCain Institute for Business Leadership too. At his retirement dinner David Ganong spoke of his legacy going beyond UNB’s walls, creating institutions that will continually spawn more and better leaders for New Brunswick. How awesome is that!

John’s vision has always been challenging, unconventional, progressive and inspiring. For example, this is from a speech he gave to the Public Policy Forum in Ottawa.

“…our political process has become pretty bad theatre. There is this sense that it does not connect with us individually or collectively. It does not resonate and it does not deal with the real issues that are emerging. It does not allow us to be engaged in any meaningful fashion.”

"As we in Canada wring our hands and reflect on how we somehow have to regenerate and rejuvenate our political process, I would say to our political parties that the next great Canadian political leader will not be the one grasping the ten-point plan, not the self-described populist who thinks he or she is speaking up for regular people, and I doubt it’s the one who is most familiar right now to the establishment. You will know him or her when you meet them. It is going to be someone who can not only read the crowd, but who can translate what they are saying and from whom you can get that sense of empowerment and engagement.”

Congrats John! Well deserved.

A Buffer Against Mediocrity

How do you teach and inspire leadership attitudes and behavior? This is the challenge for leadership programs like 21 Inc.’s 21 Leaders for the 21st Century. Skill development is necessary. Mentorship is important. Contextual knowledge is often forgotten. None are by themselves sufficient. Unless they combine in ways that foster entrepreneurial and collaborative attitudes there is more work to do.

Reaching this outcome is not easy. Which is why it’s unfortunate that two national leaders in the field have recently halted operations. The Walter & Duncan Gordon Foundation recently announced the conclusion of their Global Fellows Program, and Action Canada (of which I’m a 2007 Fellow) discontinued their program this year.

If we’re learning one thing about fostering the attitudes and skills we need in our future leaders it’s that the peer networks created through programs like our 21 Leaders program, and the discontinued ones mentioned above, are crucial.

In the same way that people come to identify with being part of a certain group (Canadian, New Brunswicker, an X alum, or Maple Leafs fan), participants in these programs start identifying themselves with and against others in these networks. As a result they begin to expect more from themselves. They are more willing to take positions of responsibility and be effective in them. They hold themselves up to a higher standard of excellence. These programs are buffers against a Canadian culture that more often inspires muddling along.

The WDG Foundation did create a Northern Fellows program that they’ll start up this year. However, Canada is nowhere near capacity yet with these programs so the loss will be felt. The results of these programs are long term and their disappearance is going to be manifested as potential not reached, rather than an acutely felt loss. More muddling.

This is not to say these programs are perfect. As an Action Canada fellow I can tell you that that specific program needs reform. But their termination leaves a big hole for young Canadians wanting to be better prepared to make a positive impact on our world.