What's with the sandbox?

One question in your mind, dear reader, may be why I chose to title this blog "Leadership Sandbox". To answer, I'll share a bit more about the Strategic Connectors Leadership Institute (SCLI) itself.

The SCLI gathers 23 nonprofit leaders from around Minnesota for an extended leadership experience. I am so impressed by the diversity of the group: age, experience, type and size of organization, etc. More than just a conference or workshop, we gather together monthly to discuss various aspects of leadership in general and nonprofit leadership in particular. Topics for each of our sessions include:

• Strategic Communication
• Leveraging Information and Technology
• Examining Boards
• Program Development
• Shaping Organizational Culture
• Leading in the Middle
• Money and Power
• Financial Sustainability
• Community Engagement Strategies
• Working with Government
• Leadership for the Long Term

I'm excited about all these topics as well as the readings and projects related to the institute. As part of the institute I will be working on a leadership project for Ready 4 K, the organization I work for day to day. In my application to the SCLI, I wrote a bit about what I thought I'd do for a project. It's still not set in stone yet, but I plan to do some work to build up and support Ready 4 K's Grassroots Leaders Network... a loose "network" of people around Minnesota who have been Ready 4 K's strongest advocates for early care and education in their communities. I want to strengthen these advocates so that they see themselves as part of a network and identify as a group. I also want to support these individuals to be even stronger and more effective advocates (not that they aren't all truly fantastic as it is).

To help us delve more deeply into our projects and gain the most support that we can, all 23 of us have been divided into small groups. There are four others in my group and we all reflect the diversity I mentioned earlier. In true group-bonding spirit, each of the small groups was asked at our opening retreat to come up with a group name and a logo. We had 15 minutes to do this! Now, I live with someone who is a graphic designer by training and from what I've learned from his creative process is that this is no time at all.

After letting go of a mild sense of panic, our group came up with the name Sandbox for the Common Good. We thought that a sandbox was a good metaphor for how we want to approach the institute and our time together: in a sandbox you are free to create new things, try new ideas but know that nothing is permanent. A sandbox is a place for creativity and play. Our group hopes to play and create with the common good in mind. I hope you'll join us.