Somewhere along the way, we decided that being “professional” meant being less human. We learned how to dress the part, how to sound the part, how to keep our emotions neatly folded away, like extra sweaters we might need later but definitely shouldn’t wear in the meeting. And to be clear, "professionalism" matters. Competence matters.Credibility and experience matter a lot. But when professionalism turns into performance, something else gets lost: Humanity. And yes, I’m

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Or, put another way, "Whew! We made it and won't even look at 2025 in the rearview . . . " I sat down to write this post and my Gen-X roots took over and I've got the Violent Femmes stuck in my head: "Eight, eight, I forget what eight was for . . . " But did you know that VF's "Blister in the Sun" is the perfect earworm eraser? It's true. Try it next time you get a song stuck in your head, start with "When I'm walkin' I strut my stuff . . . " It'll knock

In the inimitable words of Noel Fielding , "We're halfway frough!" (Can you tell I've spent part of this weird in-between timeless time bingeing the most recent season of Great British Bake Off , the source of all things pure and lovely and good in the world?) Halfway through our series on the 12 Skills Fundraisers Need for the New Year. Rather than projections of what fundraising might be in the new year, we're tackling skills you can develop to be prepared for what may com

Yes, yes — I know. Yesterday we talked about Systems Thinking , and today we’re talking about Thinking Upstream . That is a lot of thinking in a row. Before anyone panics, this is not the kind of thinking where we sit around, stare thoughtfully into the middle distance, and say things like, “Hmmm,” while absolutely nothing changes. When I say thinking , I mean how we frame the situation before we act . Where we look first. What we assume is causing the problem. What story

We're now on Day 5 of the 12 Days of Christmas and the fifth skill in our countdown of what fundraisers need for fundraising in the new year. So far, we've covered: 1) Curiosity 2) Grounded Confidence 3) Discernment (wow, that one really resonated!) 4) Data & Tech Literacy And that brings us to #5 - sing it with me now - FIVE GOLDEN R . . er, I mean, "SYSTEMS THI-I-INK-ING" . . . ok, so it doesn't scan exactly right, but you get it and you're welcome for the earworm. Brief

In the immortal words of Inigo Montoya, "Let me explain. No, there is too much, let me sum up." We're on Day 4 of the 12 Days of Skills fundraisers need for the new year. Rather than projections of what might be or could be, we're focusing on what fundraisers can do and can control to face the challen . . .er, opportunities of the new year. So far we've covered: Curiosity Grounded Confidence Discernment Today we move into everybody's favorite: Data and Tech Literacy. Nothi