Busy week

Well, it was a busy week. First off, on Monday evening and saw Milarepa: The Movie. Milarepa is one of Tibetan Buddhism's most famous teachers. However, before he became connected to the dharma, he practiced black magic and even killed people. Check out the trailer.

On Wednesday, I went to the Center for Creative Leadership. You know, last week I talked about the expense associated with leadership development and the limited access there is to such programs. Well, I got to see that first hand. CCL has a campus in Greensboro. Interestingly enough it was founded by the guy who founded Vick's.  Anyhow, walking through the halls and being a "fly on the wall" at one of the training session continued to confirm what I believe. There were no black people and very few women in the training session I saw. It was interesting to say the least. I asked a few questions and for the most part, the majority of folks who come to CCL's trainings are from Fortune 500 companies. Very few come from nonprofits or local governments. I was actually a bit surprised about governments not using it. They did talk about the military using it, which was a bit scarey, but very few local government.

On the other hand, I realized just how much I miss this work. The work of helping people develop themselves. It is a powerful thing to watch people learn and grow and function as a team. It also brought me back to the challenges I have with my current work situation. I love the work I do, but as with any organization, there are certain dynamics that are simply "sick." When I was the Director at Genesis Home, I had the ability to change things. However, here, I have no authority, so I have to do the work in a different way. I'm feeling like that is my next challenge. We shall see.

I'm in the process of writing two papers and studying for one of the comprehensive exams I failed in the summer. I hope to get that done shortly after Thanksgiving.  

Comments

[Celeste]

Ha HAH! Govt "leadership"?! (of course, some things they do seem like Fortune 500 moves...)

All the nonprofits I ever worked in had inherent dysfunction based on the personalities of management. The staff was more unwell than the clients. Egos, egos, egos. Big honkin' egos.

...to your question on my blog...I am in both houses. At the moment I am in Athens. We are renovating the Athens house ourselves before moving in. Tues-Fri we are at the mtn place, doing employment. I'm still doing therapy, and I teach yoga and work at Weight Watchers.

I can't renovate right now b/c of my back injury. 8-(

Drop me a line and let me know how your renovation is going!