So, we'll examine today the latest "effort" of the JFNA Mandel Center for Leadership -- something called Yasod; something redundant and something being proposed in total disregard for other programming that preceded it and which continues. The JFNA Budget suggests that Mandel receives $3,000,000 a year (that Steve Hoffman is quite a fund raiser, isn't he??) of the Dues your community pays to JFNA...and, I guess, one could ask: For what? Searches? Could be done better at a lower cost to the system by, e.g., Korn-Ferry, DRG or any number of others. And, what else? Uh....
You may have heard or, more likely, participated in The Wexner Heritage Program. I count back to 1986 when I Chaired my Federation and our dear friend and mentor, Rabbi Herb Friedman, z'l, approached us to be one of the first partner federations -- we immediately embraced the idea of deepening the education and training of our future federation lay leaders. Here's where Wexner is today:
"In recent years, community partnerships have brought the Wexner Heritage Program to Atlanta, Baltimore, Boca Raton, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, East Bay (CA), Houston, Los Angeles, MetroWest/NJ, Miami, Montreal, Russian Speaking Jews/NY City, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Seattle, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay area, Washington, DC, and Westchester, NY."1000s of young Jewish community and Peoplehood leaders have matriculated through this dream of Herb Friedman and Les Wexner. It is a program that has only gained in strength since the mid-1980s when it began to today, almost three decades later.
Now, we all know that JFNA leaders, most of whom, right up to the top of the professional food chain there, have no institutional memory or have helped to eradicate what little was left, may not know of the Wexner Heritage Program -- but, surely their lay leaders do -- I would wager that the two outstanding Co-Chairs were graduates of Wexner. Nonetheless, with all kinds of fanfare, two respected, wonderful lay leaders announced this absolute copy remaking the wheel as only JFNA and Mandel can't do:
From: Desk of Cindy Shapira
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2014 3:53 PM
Subject: Announcement - Yasod - Volunteer Leadership Development Program
We look forward to sharing our progress as we move forward.
May 12, 2014
TO: Federation Presidents
Federation Executives
FROM: Cindy Shapira, Yasod Chair
Sheryl Kimerling, Yasod Co-Chair
We are very excited to inform you about the Yasod Volunteer Leadership Development Program - a new initiative being offered by the JFNA Mandel Center. The goal of Yasod is to support communities in building a pipeline of excellent volunteer leadership.This intensive leadership development course, developed by the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning, a project of the Hebrew University, and written by Dr. Erica Brown, will focus on the skills and knowledge needed to lead a Federation. The curriculum includes discussions on the attributes of an effective leader, managing change and growing and mentoring others.
We will launch the program with a pilot effort in a few communities. If your community has an interest in being considered for the pilot please review the attached detailed description and the program criteria, and send a completed questionnaire (also attached) to Elissa Maier of the Mandel Center by May 27, 2014.
Trust that the attachment describing Yasod (which means "Foundation") essentially describes a Wexner Lite without the quality educators and leaders. (Perhaps, unlike Wexner which splits the annual cost with participating federations to give them "skin in the game," JFNA Mandel will make Yasod available at no cost given the $3 million "gift" JFNA bestows on Mandel annually [one of Steve Hoffman's best solicitations]). Here is the Draft Curriculum:
- "Defining Great Leadership
- The Personal Journey to Leadership
- Growing From Failure
- Mentoring and Growing Others
- Nurturing Vision
- Effective Change Management
- Inspired Communication
- Creating a Leadership Pipeline with Better Succession Planning"
I sent the Yasod materials to one of the most knowledgeable and creative leaders in our system. He looked them over and reminded me:
Yep, here's what we do at JFNA in lieu of creative thinking, monitoring of the extinct or throwing unfunded so-called "Big Ideas" at the wall -- we replicate an incredibly successful program and pretend that it's (1) ours and (2) brand new and, then, they can't comprehend when it fails."In the 60's the great advertising pro, Jerry Della Femina, titled his book about his first thought when Sony came to him to represent them in North America: From the Folks Who Brought You Pearl Harbor!"
Rwexler
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7 comments:
This Curriculum reads like the intersection of Jeopardy categories and a mediocre self-help book. Where is the session on the global agenda or understanding community dynamics or god forbid fundraising Jewish style...the creator of the program is a brilliant woman who nevertheless always looks at our enterprise from the outside in.
As one who was deeply involved in one of the earliest Wexner programs there appear to be several major differences which I suspect will doom this effort to failure or more likely will attract the types of people that go to Tribefest. First and foremost was that Les Wexner and herb Friedman were not only committed to training leaders but to producing a seriously Jewishly educated leadership, leaders who would make decisions for their communities rooted in Jewish values. There was an extensive interviewing process with strict criteria and well developed expectations of those who were selected. In fact in our group two people were forced out because they did not take the study requirements seriously enough. Second, within a few years there were already 10-12 communities involved with about 200 students/future leaders. They were all brought together once a year for a weekend seminar where you had a sense that you were part of something very big, very global thus further inspiring you to go onward and upward in leadership. In fact, I think that Herb selected the earliest participating communities so that they would be geographically close to each other and that they would be able to share the facilitators/educators. And there was so much more.
Unfortunately it looks like this too is doomed to failure. But then again isn't "F" the middle initial of JFNA.
As one who was deeply involved in one of the earliest Wexner programs there appear to be several major differences which I suspect will doom this effort to failure or more likely will attract the types of people that go to Tribefest. First and foremost was that Les Wexner and herb Friedman were not only committed to training leaders but to producing a seriously Jewishly educated leadership, leaders who would make decisions for their communities rooted in Jewish values. There was an extensive interviewing process with strict criteria and well developed expectations of those who were selected. In fact in our group two people were forced out because they did not take the study requirements seriously enough. Second, within a few years there were already 10-12 communities involved with about 200 students/future leaders. They were all brought together once a year for a weekend seminar where you had a sense that you were part of something very big, very global thus further inspiring you to go onward and upward in leadership. In fact, I think that Herb selected the earliest participating communities so that they would be geographically close to each other and that they would be able to share the facilitators/educators. And there was so much more.
Unfortunately it looks like this too is doomed to failure. But then again isn't "F" the middle initial of JFNA.
What a shame!
Two wonderful philanthropic women who deserve better than this.
I close my eyes and imagine Jerry, the Master Seller, pitching them on how they will have full authority, will make an impact on the system, blah...blah...blah.
Reminds me of another philanthropic leader who was 'sold' by Jerry: Joanne Moore. And we all know what happened with her.
I read these comments and am very upset. As someone who lives in a community that applied for this program, I see it as a great benefit to our system. I know that for Richard Wexler and the Chicago community, paying $350,000 for 20 participants in Wexner is merely a rounding error. For others, it's near impossible. The way I read this program is that it is not to take the place of Wexner (I understand that the Wexner Foundation staff was consulted about it). But it is a way for communities that want to focus on leadership development to do so in a high level (Dr. Erica Brown has designed the curriculum) way with low cost.
Will it succeed? Time will tell. But it is being promoted as a pilot to see if it can work. I find Richard Wexler's constant negativity about anything and everything new coming out of JFNA very spiteful and not useful. Give this one a chance. You may be surprised (but I expect you would not admit so).
To the last Anonymous,
Do you object to the Comments and, if so, for what specific reasons? It's ok to call Wexler names but I know that he has no agenda other than to try to get JFNA's lay leaders to lead; you, on the other hand, appear to just want something, maybe anything, for nothing.
As to the previous commentator, I totally disagree with you. It is not okay to call Wexler names. It is not okay to call anyone names. It is okay to vehemently disagree with comments, which is what I did. I believe that Wexler and everyone else, in general, has only good intentions.
The specific reasons is that all of us who have applied have seen the curriculum. Have any of the other commentators? I expect not. Like I wrote, it is that "constant negativity about anything and everything new coming out of JFNA" that fills these pages.
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