Learning about Race: Reflections and Resources
Not long after I became board president of my local food co-op, I began a more focused study of racism. I say “more focused” because, like many of us, I started learning about racism the day I was born. When I stepped into the board presidency, right away I noticed that I was being treated with less respect by some of my colleagues than I had been before I changed roles.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and the Employee Experience
One of the best ways to understand how an organization is treating the people who work within it is to directly ask the employees themselves. “Staff experience” surveys are a useful tool to gauge how employees perceive their workplace
Thoughts on Excellent Facilitation and Love
More and more often, it seems like I am the messy person in the meeting: you know, the one who has something (or more often some feeling) that feels so important to express that I can’t read the room. I especially can’t see that the discussion is winding to a close, or that others in the meeting are beyond tired; or, worst of all, that my point was actually made by someone else fifteen minutes ago. This is where good facilitation comes in. I have always been aware that excellent facilitation requires a degree of intuition and compassion, and I realized recently that it also requires love. Messy contributions can be made valuable with the help of skilled and, yes, loving facilitation.
Resetting Board Systems and Culture: A Quick Guide
Board work can sometimes seem like a big challenge. I often open a workshop with a newly forming group with an activity in which the goal is to set a tent pole on the ground together, while the participants have also been told to keep their fingers in contact with the pole. It sounds simple, but in practice it can be very difficult. What’s more important? The goal of the individual or the goal of the group? If the group doesn’t focus on its shared objective, it will not be able to set the tent pole on the ground.
Board Trainings Tackle Trust and Conflict: January webinars build leadership skills
Welcome to 2023! As your co-op board of directors reflects on the past year and refreshes for the upcoming one, don’t forget that Columinate’s Cooperative Board Leadership Development program (CBLD) is here to support your work. For nineteen years, this award-winning program has been a resource to co-op boards across the country, providing monthly consulting, facilitated board retreats, and a robust lineup of engaging, relevant webinars. In January, CBLD is kicking off its fresh slate of webinars with sessions focused on building trust and navigating conflict.
Chris Dilley’s Path from Kalamazoo to Columinate: “There is always more to learn”
For the general manager of a food co-op, every day brings new challenges and new opportunities. Each and every day. That’s probably why Chris Dilley, who recently retired from People’s Food Co-op (PFC) in Kalamazoo, Michigan, knows exactly how long he was in that role. “Nineteen years,” said Dilley, before quickly adding: “and one month.”
Jen Christopher Profile: Strengthening General Manager Development
No new food co-op manager (GM) walks into the position fully formed, knowing everything they need to know to make their co-op successful. Even experienced retailers can have a hard time navigating the intricacies of leading a cooperative enterprise. Luckily, Columinate has a large pool of professionals willing to offer the benefits of their experience in order to make leaders within the co-op sector stronger. One such professional is Jen Christopher, a point-of-sale (POS) and IT systems consultant working within Columinate’s GM Development Program.
Board Self-Monitoring: Replacing Surveys with Discussion
At the Moscow Food Co-op, all C policies (Board Process) and D policies (Board-Management Relationship) are currently monitored using categorical surveys sent out to each board member with either a “How much do you agree with the following statement?” scale or, “With this sub-policy, is the board in compliance or not in compliance?” For each global policy and sub-policy, there is a comment option where a board member can express their thoughts and can explain why they answered as they did.
Online in November: Financial Training for Directors
Enrollment for Columinate's Financial Training for Directors is open! This will be the last session of this series in 2022, and we'd love to see you there. Monitoring the financial health of the organization is often the most intimidating responsibility assigned to co-op directors—but it doesn’t have to be! This training “covers the most important and critical aspects of co-op finances in a thoughtful, easy-to-understand manner,” explains Dave Olson, senior director of retail support at National Co+op Grocers. “Whether [you] just need a refresher or are entirely new to financial concepts, this virtual series can empower [you] to understand and participate in financial conversations with confidence.”
Columinate Compensation Database: What it tells us about other management positions
Since its launch in the summer of 2021, the Columinate Compensation Database has gathered a wealth of data on management compensation in food co-ops.,The database covers not only general managers, but also managers on every level, from members of senior leadership teams to department managers in multi-store co-ops. As I hope this update will make clear, the more that co-ops participate and provide data, the more useful the database becomes to everyone.