1. LWV STATE COACH ORIENTATION

2. A-ha moment… The camera flashed to his coach, and the obvious struck me as interesting… Professional athletes use coaches to make sure they are as good as they can be. But doctors [and others] don’t…why did I find it inconceivable to [have] someone to come into my operating room and coach me on my surgical technique? Personal Best: Top athletes and singers have coaches. Should you? by Atul Gawande The New Yorker, October 3, 2011Atul Gawande

3. The big picture... Confident, Energized League Leaders Engaged and Growing League Membership Healthier Civic Communities Stronger Democracy

4. It’s all about communication and relationship building! How does this work?

5. Two Links Coaches Help Make  Bonding—the links that tie a group together  Bridging—the links that connect a group to others outside of its organization or network ** Shirley Sagawa, co-author of The Charismatic Organization: Eight Ways to Grow a Nonprofit That Builds Buzz, Delights Donors, and Energizes Employees

6. Partnership State Board State Coordinator State Coaches LWVUS Board Shur Fellows LWVUS Staff LWVUSStateLocal League Board Coordinator Committee

7. Membership/Leadership Program: Roles  Local Leagues Create an MLD team to implement the best practices Work with state coach  State League Appoint state coaching team Work with national coach Model/support best practices  LWVUS Supports national coaching team (and state coaches) Provides regular and updated content

8. Your STATE Role  You are stepping up to represent the state League!  You can bring experiences from your local League, but do not represent them.  You will NOT be coaching your own local League.  You will focus on membership and leadership development; not other aspects of League.

9. As a coach, YOU will be a: o Mentor o Cheerleader o Accountability Coach o Communicator For 2 local Leagues in your state

10. As a coach, you’ll focus on:  Helping local Leagues  Grow membership  Become visible in the community  Engage current members  Develop new leaders  Be intentional in all planning Don’t worry- LWVUS will help you focus your calls!

11. What a State Coach isn’t  Not a miracle worker  Not a problem solver; you’re a problem manager  Not negative  Not close-minded Remember to stay focused on growing the League!

12. Questions?

13. Communication with local Leagues You will: Establish monthly call time with each local League you coach Call will last about 30-45 minutes each Monthly, regularized communication is key to building trusting, supportive relationships.

14. Effective Calls with your Leagues  Regularized time  Send out call-reminders with: Time and date of call Agenda (with a request for suggestions of topics)  Take Notes  Wrap up with next steps/to dos Your national coach will provide you with training lessons to share with your local Leagues each month!

15. Other Tips for an Effective Call  Stick to agenda  Start on time and end on time  If working with a team, make sure everyone’s voice is heard.  Be enthusiastic  Set some ground rules  Use the mute button  Share back notes with your local Leagues

16. Setting Up Your Calls  Monthly Timeline:  First 2 weeks: State coaches call local Leagues  3 rd week: Conference call with your national coach (aka Ruth S. Shur Fellow) and all state coaches  4 th week: Ruth S. Shur Fellow team call with LWVUS

17. Who are the national coaches? National coaching team (Ruth S. Shur Fellows) support state coaching teams via monthly coaching team calls. They are direct link to LWVUS for ideas, resources and support.

18. Communication with National  Your national coach and state coaching team:  Will establish a monthly call time for this team to talk.  Call will last about 60 minutes.  You will complete monthly surveys about each local League before this call.  Usually take about 5-10 minutes each to complete.

19. What do you mean Monthly Survey?  Help you focus your calls  Help you assess your local Leagues  Better communicate with LWVUS  Keep a record of progress  Only 5-10 minutes to complete

20. How does the survey work?  Receive a new link from national each month  Easily completed online  National coaches and support staff will read online  Confidential

21. How can I be effective? o Build relationships o Be a partner o Share ideas o LWVUS will help provide! o Be flexible o Be an active listener This is a process – not always “linear”

22. Qualities of a coach Patient Supportive Enthusiastic Good verbal communication Non-judgmental Flexible, open to change Responsive Sense of humor Good listening skills

23. How can YOU be an Active Listener? Tend to spend “listening” time formulating our responses based on preconceived notions We retain approximately 30% of what we hear and remember half of that "If we were meant to talk more than listen, we would have two mouths and one ear.“ – Mark Twain

24. How can YOU be an Active Listener? Focus on the Person Speaking Eliminate Distractions Empathy – Listen for Feeling Content – Listen for Details Ask Questions for Clarification Rephrasing – repeat without parroting (“Did I hear you say”)

25. Ask Open-Ended Questions  Who  What  Where  When  Why  How Let local Leagues find their own solutions and come to their own conclusions.

26. Positive Psychology In reviewing over 30 years of psychological research, found there were 45,000 studies on depression and only 300 studies on joy M. Seligman, President APA University of Pennsylvania

27. Ap-pre’ci-ate (verb)  To value…  To recognize the best in people or the world around us;  To affirm past and present strengths, successes, and potentials;  To perceive those things that give life (health, vitality, excellence) to living systems  To increase in value, e.g. the economy has appreciated in value

28. In-quire’ (kwir) (verb)  To explore and discover  To ask questions  To be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities Synonyms: discover, search, study

29. Change begins the moment we ask a question! The words we use, and the words we pay attention to create our experience of the world! We choose how we look at things and how we talk about them

30. The Art of Asking Questions! DEFICIT APPROACH  What ’ s the biggest problem here?  What do you have to do to correct what’s not working?  Why do you miss the mark so often? AFFIRMATIVE APPROACH  What possibilities exist that we have not thought about yet?  What ’ s the smallest change that could make the biggest impact?  What solutions would have us all win?

31. Let’s Practice  Ask an open-ended question to your “coachees” in this scenario: “The local League coaches tell you in one of the monthly calls that it is difficult for them to get the other board members (like the program chair) to see the value in adopting the membership and leadership growth best practices while planning events/activities.”

32. Set the Tone of the Call  Be Positive  Focus on what IS possible  Provide and lead Leagues to consider their options

33. Setting the Right Tone  Create opportunities for equal voice  Focus on the affirmative  Help people speak from the inside out  Give away the power  Be sure they succeed  Excerpted from The Power of Appreciative Inquiry by Diana Whitney and Amanda Trosten-Bloom

34. Setting the Right Tone Yes, but... vs Yes, and...

35. What are you coaching to?  Membership and leadership development best practices  Found in the MLD binder  Include a range of ideas, techniques, and tools local Leagues can utilize to strengthen and grow the League

36. Media Allied Direct Membership Recruitment: 3 Types of Outreach Quick Overview of Best Practices

37. Making the League Stand Out!  Say it consistently  Say it constantly  Speak to your audience Find the right message for the right audience and then --

38. Quick Overview of Best Practices Invite/Ask - Interests Engage in Activities Support/ Mentor & Train Membership Engagement and Leadership Development

39. Leadership as a Ladder Leaders Board members, committee chairs/members New/Emerging Leaders Participate regularly in activities, start taking on responsibilities Active Members Attend events, participate in activities Members Pay membership dues

40. #1: Event/Activity Planning Checklist

41. Resources  Binder  MLD Coaches Forum  Monthly Guidance  Does everyone have a binder?

42. What’s Next? 1. Work with your state coordinator 2. Work with your National Coach 3.Get coaching assignment 4. Build relationship with your mentee Leagues

43. How to contact us: Kelly McFarland Stratman kmcfarland@lwv.org Shauneen Grout sgrout@lwv.org Questions?