Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Blog Topic #11

How did your SE leader use effective leadership skills to move toward the mission of the organization?

5 comments:

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  2. FoodAssistance,Inc. mission states, "Groceries on Wheels offers food, friendship and hope to improve health and wellness to low income seniors in Guilford County." An important leadership quality to have when trying to fix a problem such as hunger is support. People who are hungry need support for not only food itself, but someone has to pick up the food, deliver the food, but it's not all about food. In their mission statement they mention the word friendship. When dealing with friendship a leader has to be effective in the way they manage the relationship. You have to send consistent messages to the participants so they know that you are there for them. Food Assistance also mentions the word hope in their mission. When offering someone hope, the word that comes to mind is action. When a social entrepreneur is active in the community and people in need see it, this would give them hope for a better quality of life. Someone who is active in the community like Jane Carlson is, it’s a type of leadership skill that will always be noticed.
    Posted by Koula, Amanda and Matt

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  3. The mission of horsepower goes as follows “HORSEPOWER’s mission is to promote
    and enhance the welfare of individuals with disabilities by providing a program of
    therapeutic, educational and recreational value, and further, to empower individuals
    who are mentally, physically, emotionally and/or socially challenged through the use
    of horses, while providing therapeutic benefits in a safe and controlled atmosphere
    (www.horsepower.org)”. Our social entrepreneurship leader used good skills to move
    forward in her mission. She has a reliable pool of volunteers to draw from along with
    a financially savvy mind set. She has the ability to write grants and is excellent at
    fundraising for horsepower. In addition she looks out for the nonprofit first and foremost
    and only surrounds herself with people who share her interest and beliefs for the
    horsepower program. But I think her biggest leadership skill is leading by example. Her
    passion can be seen and therefore is an inspirational tool to those around her.

    Adam S, Ayesha K, Tony A, Ashley H

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  4. In any business, having a team of effective leaders adds a great deal of value to an organization. It is especially important, within a social enterprise, for the individuals in leadership roles to be mission focused. In the beginning of the semester, we discussed the significance of mission and venture alignment. It is equally as important for leaders to be aligned with the organization’s mission as well. Great leaders have the power to influence and, for the social entrepreneur, this could equate to more social value.
    LifeSpan's mission is to “transform the lives of adults and children with developmental disabilities by providing education, employment, and enrichment programs that promote inclusion, choice, family supports, and other best practices.” LifeSpan offers a variety of different programs from 24-hour residential programs to adult day care to horseback riding on the LifeSpan farm.
    Our community partner leader overseeing the “snack shack” project this semester was Michelle Davis. At LifeSpan, our volunteer opportunity was based around the health and wellness of the individuals. Ms. Davis kept us motivated to create the “snack shack” and periodically offered her insight, advice, and encouragement. Also, she promoted the inclusion of the individuals throughout our project; she helped us think of new ideas for the “snack shack” based off the likes and dislikes of the participants. From the very first day it was clear that Ms. Davis was a mission-focused and task oriented leader. Ms. Davis truly cares for the individuals, her fellow staff, and the volunteers that she works with. She is a passionate and effective leader for the organization as well as a devoted enthusiast of LifeSpan’s mission.

    Posted by Catherine Langley and Morgan Vickers

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  5. Ten Thousand Villages is a goal-oriented organization with a leadership skill that is focused on the welfare of fair trade. At the Ten thousand villages boutique in Greensboro, the store manager was working with the volunteers. Its capacity of being here for its employees is phenomenal. In general, the leadership is working hard to follow its goals of granting the artisans in developing countries a better income. Ten Thousand Villages has used their leadership skills by making sure the company stays in tune with the mission statement. By being one of the oldest fair trade organization in existence (run since 1946), and still staying true to their original mission i believe that speaks volumes and model leadership at its finest; they have not change the mission since then, yet worked diligently to fulfill it. The organization has moved toward their mission by becoming increasingly aware of the inequality of unfair trade practices, where the produced products are normally undervalued. Through the movement of fair trade, Ten Thousand Villages has ensured that the producers were able to receives a fair price for their products, and the end users get to pay at a reasonable rate when they made their purchases. There is one aspect of Ten Thousand Villages that has changed, however: the local community aspect. Ten Thousand Villages has engaged in more community awareness in recent years and has been able to bring more people to the store, which helps the organization fulfill their mission statement.

    Team Johanson Urkle Grou
    Itay Baron
    Tran Ngo
    Aubrey Paquet
    Emilie Roos
    Myshaina Kehinde

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