A skilled facilitator brings some important materials to a meeting including an easel, markers, post-it notes, sticky-dots, chime, a small clock and most challenging of all to carry on a bicycle, a full sized poster board to scribe notes to capture everyone’s good thoughts. As my clients know, I usually carry all of these items to their retreats on my bicycle. Why? Because I love bicycling. Because I just don’t want to talk about sustainability with clients, I want to incorporate it into my own lifestyle. Bicycling keeps me healthy, alert and aware, while saving me money. Continue reading
How and Why I Bike to Retreats
Retreat Success: Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA)
Organizations change. Visionary founders launch organizations. Over the long term, staff work together and make the vision reality, each contributing their own unique passion. What better place to have these discussions than at a retreat for the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach. Continue reading
Posted in Retreats
Tagged #Nonprofit, Facilitation, Leadership, Leadership Development, Retreats, Staff, Strategic Planning, Team Building
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Retreat Success: Los Feliz Improvement Association
“The activities Ron planned worked great and I was delighted at how fully the board members threw themselves into the skits and other things on the agenda. I was also impressed at how well Ron kept to the time frames, getting us all finished in time for breaks and lunch at the times they’d been sent – I know that that’s not an easy task. I liked Ron’s enthusiasm and the way that he Continue reading
Posted in Retreats
Tagged #Nonprofit, Board Development, boards, Facilitation, Leadership, Leadership Development, Retreats, Team Building
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Retreat Success: Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust
“We had a great retreat. All of the staff were really happy.” –Beverly Keefe, Director of Operations, Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust
Organizations grow. They hire new staff. As they grow, they need to bring everyone up to speed so they can effectively work with each other. Continue reading
Posted in Retreats
Tagged #Nonprofit, Facilitation, Leadership, Leadership Development, Retreats, Staff, Team Building
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Mapping My Network
I value relationships and appreciate all of the fantastic people in my life. When facilitating retreats, I do my best to build stronger relationships within the leadership I serve. Outside of retreats, I do my best to steward relationships I have developed over the years. Whenever I can, I attempt to connect people from different parts of my life together. When serving clients, I keep on the lookout for potential volunteers, members, donors and board members. As I reflect on my own network, some categories emerged: Continue reading
Posted in Sustainability
Tagged #Nonprofit, #NPLA, Board Recruitment, Community, Leadership, Leadership Development, Team Building
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Art and Skill of Facilitation Mini-Conference: Sept. 8
I’m thrilled to present at the upcoming Art and Skill of Facilitation Mini-Conference hosted by the American Society for Training and Development on September 8th. I’m developing a new workshop for the training based on my experience facilitating meetings and retreats: Facilitating the Decision Making Process. I’m excited to join a group of professional peers who will present on a wide variety of topics related to supporting healthy group processes that lead to building more effective organizations.
Posted in Fundraising
Tagged boards, Facilitation, Leadership, Retreats, Team Building
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Ron Milam Consulting 