Blog

It’s Not Enough to Just Show Up: Encouraging Participation in Board Meetings

By: Amy Ruck Kagan, Senior Partner In my capacity on the charter school board, I’ve come to understand that our meetings are where the rubber meets the road. Whether due to busy schedules or competing priorities, the time we spend in these meetings is often the primary opportunity to move our work forward. Recognizing the […]

Preparing for Meetings: How Planning Makes You a Team Player

By: Amy Ruck Kagan, Senior Partner Think back to that first school board meeting, the one that felt like a complete disaster. I remember mine and the feelings of fear and anxiety that took over. It was a mess—no structure, no direction, just a bunch of people talking in circles. I couldn’t help but wish […]

Board Service: What I Wish I Knew as a First-Time School Board Member

By: Amy Ruck Kagan, Senior Partner As someone who works with school boards for a living, I thought that becoming a board member at my kids’ charter school would be pretty straightforward. After all, years of working in the field have made me acutely aware of all the challenges that come with board service, and […]

When the Word “Feedback” Makes You Squirm: Tips and Tricks for Making the Giving of Feedback Accessible.

Leaders – what comes to mind when you hear the word “feedback?” Does it give you flashbacks to uncomfortable performance reviews, remind you of conversations you need to have but are trying to avoid, or bring to mind elements of your team performance that need a bit of a boost? The word “feedback” can strike […]

Who Needs Professional Coaching?

By Lisa Diaz and Dr. Laura Groth Welcome to a fresh new calendar year! At Lumen we believe one of the most powerful tools in each of our toolbox is looking forward – designing the vision of the work and life you want and then taking specific, actionable steps to make it real. If you […]

Practicing What we Preach: A Case for In-Person Retreats

By: Cori Egan, Junior Partner You have heard nightmare stories of work retreats: failed trust falls; emotionally charged coal walks (any Office fans out there?); catastrophic personality clashes. Fortunately, at Lumen Impact Group, these problems have never been a part of our annual retreats, which take place in-person in the Fall each year. But, despite […]

What’s in a Name? Why Meaningful Change Centers on Impact

By Lisa Diaz, Lumen Impact Group, Founder It was 2009, and I had been on the board of a school in the community where I live for a number of years. My boys attended the school, and things were going well. The school was, for the most part, achieving good results, but there was something […]

Accessible, not Cringy, Self-Care

By: Dr. Laura Groth, Senior Partner Sometimes when I share that my company includes “self-care” as an official corporate value, the response is almost a cringe. At first, the idea feels a little too soft, a little too gooey, a little too warm and fuzzy and unicorns and sunshine to hang out with other corporate […]

When the Load is Heavy and Hill is High: How to Use an Effective Change Process to Not Go It Alone

By Lisa Diaz, Lumen Impact Group, Founder Imagine I present you with two options: Option 1: Drag a full wagon of rocks up a steep hill on your own. Option 2: Same wagon full of rocks and same hill, but this time, you get a team of people to push from behind as you climb […]

How to Listen to Your Teachers: Tips and Thoughts for School Leaders Who Want to Lean into Feedback

By Lisa Diaz, Lumen Impact Group 97% of teachers “wish decision-makers would listen to teachers’ opinions and perspectives,” according to a recent poll of more than 1200 pre-k-12 teachers (Listen to Your Teacher!). Teachers are telling us loud and clear that in this time of unprecedented teacher shortages, they have feedback to give, and they […]

What If There IS an “I” In Team? The Necessity of Diverse Styles in Teamwork

By: Cori Egan I was involved in sports when I was young, which means that, at a young age, the idea of a group of people working toward a collective goal was a big part of my life. The teams I was on and the work that I put into them allowed me the opportunity […]

Commitment over Loyalty (And Why We Think There’s A Difference)

By: Stephanie VanDyk It is impossible to make an impact without commitment. And yet, our culture seems to have a bit of an aversion to the idea of commitment. This is likely because of its similarity to the concept of loyalty, which is often associated with words like “blind” or “false.” Decades ago, it was […]

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