Bennis talks about this idea of letting the self "emerge" - not creating something out of thin air, starting from scratch. No, we already are born with natural inclinations, preferences, interests and passions that point us to how we can contribute best to the world (PERFORMANCE). Many of you already have a clue as to what you're naturally interested in (and what bores you). Pay attention to that. Bennis says that we need to "express" rather than "prove" ourselves. I find that refreshing in a world that seems to drive us to compete with one another, rather than simply become ourselves.
Reflection and Resolution
"Reflection is a major way in which leaders learn from the past." I would suggest there is no learning without reflection.
"What we do is a direct result of not only what and how we think, but what and how we feel as well." Remember the TFD-A iceberg? Just because we don't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Our behaviors will ultimately reveal what is going on inside. And as Freud said, "The goal of analysis [reflection] is to make the unconscious conscious." Sometimes I think of self-awareness as getting a jump on the enemy/my competitor/adversary. I don't want him/them to know anything more about me than I know, otherwise I am going to be caught off guard. That's why feedback is so useful - even if it hurts - it is helping me eventually to get myself in a better, more advantageous, more protected position.
Later Bennis talks about how failure is sometimes a catalyst for change...by why wait for that!?
At the Superintendent's Mtg (12/3/16), I believe it was David that reminded us that it is better to be proactive than reactive (even though, in this line of work, reacting and improvisation will always be part of it. Bennis underscores that idea we have to be intentional about our thinking. He cited the example of playwright Athol Fugard thought his way out of depression by practicing daily thankfulness! What a terrific example of the power of the mind.
Bennis advocates thinking through our mistakes calmly and analyzing them for what we can learn from them. "Reflection permits us to process our feelings, understand them resolve our questions, and get on with our work...The point is not to be the victims of our feelings, jerked this way and that by unresolved emotions, not to be used by our experiences, but to use them and to use them creatively." (p. 111). That is a fantastic definition of emotional intelligence, if you ask me.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Saturday, December 10, 2016
Monday, December 5, 2016
On Becoming a Leader: Chapter 5 - Operating on Instinct (pp. 95 - 106)
Are you a whole-brained person? Are you capable of using both side of your brain?
How convenient that this question in the Bennis book pops up right as we're discussing how our brains tend toward polarities - EITHER-OR, but leadership is represented by BOTH-AND... the ability to flex outside of our preferences.
"...The CEO must combine BOTH, must have both administrative AND imaginative gifts."
Do you remember the 7 Level of Motivation/Maturity?
The bottom triangle is where we (and organizations) fixate on the SURVIVAL level of living. Within that bottom arena, we try to contain, control, and predict the future. We set up tight processes (all of which are necessary, of course) and we seek to maintain the status quo. We focus on dollars and bottomline. Wait a minute, aren't these the same words that came up when we discussed the traits of MANAGERS?
Bennis says, "One of the reasons that so few corporate executives have successfully made the leap from capable manager to successful leader is that the corporate culture, along with society as a whole recognizes and reward left-brain accomplishments and tends to discount right-brain achievements. Bottom-line thinking is a manifestation of left-brain dominance. Habits are born in the left brain and unmade in the right." (p. 97)
If you recall from our conversation about the MBTI 4 pairs of opposites, the S-N dimension is about how people take in information from the environment. I can think of no better comparison between Sensing (S) and Intuition (N) than this quote from the book:
"Acknowledging the constant dilemma of organizations, and the pull between [left-brain] habits and [right-brain] visions, Richard Shubert, then CEO of the American Red Cross, told me, "I'm constantly torn between the obvious need to support the existing structure and the equally obvious need to change it." Habits (looking at the present, maintaining systems) and Visions (looking at the future, what is next). Do you see it?
Finally, near the end of the chapter, Bennis asserts this: "No leader sets out to be a leader. People set out to live their lives, expressing themselves fully. When that expression is of value, they become leaders." I happen to believe that the full expression of our (mature, developed) selves is always of value. The trick is discovering our inherent strengths and talents, developing those and them finding the right windows of opportunity to deploy our full selves.
What are your reflections from this chapter?
How convenient that this question in the Bennis book pops up right as we're discussing how our brains tend toward polarities - EITHER-OR, but leadership is represented by BOTH-AND... the ability to flex outside of our preferences.
"...The CEO must combine BOTH, must have both administrative AND imaginative gifts."
Do you remember the 7 Level of Motivation/Maturity?
The bottom triangle is where we (and organizations) fixate on the SURVIVAL level of living. Within that bottom arena, we try to contain, control, and predict the future. We set up tight processes (all of which are necessary, of course) and we seek to maintain the status quo. We focus on dollars and bottomline. Wait a minute, aren't these the same words that came up when we discussed the traits of MANAGERS?
Bennis says, "One of the reasons that so few corporate executives have successfully made the leap from capable manager to successful leader is that the corporate culture, along with society as a whole recognizes and reward left-brain accomplishments and tends to discount right-brain achievements. Bottom-line thinking is a manifestation of left-brain dominance. Habits are born in the left brain and unmade in the right." (p. 97)
If you recall from our conversation about the MBTI 4 pairs of opposites, the S-N dimension is about how people take in information from the environment. I can think of no better comparison between Sensing (S) and Intuition (N) than this quote from the book:
"Acknowledging the constant dilemma of organizations, and the pull between [left-brain] habits and [right-brain] visions, Richard Shubert, then CEO of the American Red Cross, told me, "I'm constantly torn between the obvious need to support the existing structure and the equally obvious need to change it." Habits (looking at the present, maintaining systems) and Visions (looking at the future, what is next). Do you see it?
Finally, near the end of the chapter, Bennis asserts this: "No leader sets out to be a leader. People set out to live their lives, expressing themselves fully. When that expression is of value, they become leaders." I happen to believe that the full expression of our (mature, developed) selves is always of value. The trick is discovering our inherent strengths and talents, developing those and them finding the right windows of opportunity to deploy our full selves.
What are your reflections from this chapter?
Friday, November 25, 2016
On Becoming a Leader - Chapter 4: Knowing the World (pp. 67 - 93)
In the last chapter, Bennis is talking about knowing what is inside of us. This chapter focuses on learning through what is (mostly) outside of us. "Clearly, to become a true leader, one must know the world as well as one knows one's self."
He lists specific experiences that facilitate this knowing:
- Broad and continuing education
- Idiosyncratic families (not to be confused with dysfunctional, right? Although, you can learn a lot..)
- Extensive travel and/or exile (exile! Who is that committed to learning leadership?!)
- A rich private life
- Key associations with mentors and groups
He talks about two principal modes of conventional learning:
- maintenance learning - "the acquisition of fixed outlooks, methods and rules for dealing with known and recurring situations...It is the type of learning designed to maintain an existing system or established way of life." I think this is a really important definition because it is the axis around which 'management' turns... maintaining repetitive systems. If only all of life was predictable and controllable!
- shock learning - occurs when events overwhelm people. "Learning by shock often follows a period of overconfidence in solutions created solely with expert knowledge or technical competence perpetuated beyond the conditions for which they were appropriate."
Ultimately, Bennis suggests, these two types of learning are reactive. They involve being told what to know instead of discovering on your own what you believe. He calls this higher-level learning innovative learning.
He says there are three main aspects of innovative learning:
- Anticipation - being active and imaginative rather than passive and habitual
- (Second hand) - learning by listening to others (i.e. observation, listening, getting feedback)
- Participation - shaping events, rather than being shaped by them (we'll discuss this idea when we get to the EQ Skill #6 - Conscientiousness (Citizenship)
"Innovative learning is the primary means of exercising our autonomy, a means of understanding and working within the prevailing context in a positive way. It is a dialogue that begins with curiosity and is fueled by knowledge, leading to understanding. It is inclusive, unlimited, and unending, knowing and dynamic. It allows us to change the way things are." (p. 73)
I would love to hear your reactions to these three types of learning and perhaps your own experiences with one or more of them. Which of these should be a part of a learning initiative? How will each help Ebco become and stay competitive in the commercial contracting market?
He lists specific experiences that facilitate this knowing:
- Broad and continuing education
- Idiosyncratic families (not to be confused with dysfunctional, right? Although, you can learn a lot..)
- Extensive travel and/or exile (exile! Who is that committed to learning leadership?!)
- A rich private life
- Key associations with mentors and groups
He talks about two principal modes of conventional learning:
- maintenance learning - "the acquisition of fixed outlooks, methods and rules for dealing with known and recurring situations...It is the type of learning designed to maintain an existing system or established way of life." I think this is a really important definition because it is the axis around which 'management' turns... maintaining repetitive systems. If only all of life was predictable and controllable!
- shock learning - occurs when events overwhelm people. "Learning by shock often follows a period of overconfidence in solutions created solely with expert knowledge or technical competence perpetuated beyond the conditions for which they were appropriate."
Ultimately, Bennis suggests, these two types of learning are reactive. They involve being told what to know instead of discovering on your own what you believe. He calls this higher-level learning innovative learning.
He says there are three main aspects of innovative learning:
- Anticipation - being active and imaginative rather than passive and habitual
- (Second hand) - learning by listening to others (i.e. observation, listening, getting feedback)
- Participation - shaping events, rather than being shaped by them (we'll discuss this idea when we get to the EQ Skill #6 - Conscientiousness (Citizenship)
"Innovative learning is the primary means of exercising our autonomy, a means of understanding and working within the prevailing context in a positive way. It is a dialogue that begins with curiosity and is fueled by knowledge, leading to understanding. It is inclusive, unlimited, and unending, knowing and dynamic. It allows us to change the way things are." (p. 73)
I would love to hear your reactions to these three types of learning and perhaps your own experiences with one or more of them. Which of these should be a part of a learning initiative? How will each help Ebco become and stay competitive in the commercial contracting market?
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
On Becoming a Leader (Chapter 3. pp. 49 - 66)
We are getting some outlines of Warren Bennis's philosophy on leadership. Here are some thought-provoking ideas he shared in Chapter 3. Feel free to react to any of these statements (or others that you found interesting). What did these ideas make you think about?
"People begin to become leaders at that moment when they decide for themselves how to be." (p. 49)
"Know thyself, then, means separating who you are and who you want to be from what the world thinks you are and wants you to be." (p. 50)
"Self-knowledge, self-invention are lifetime processes." (p. 51)
"...All of us can find tangible and intangible rewards in self-knowledge and self-control, because if you go on doing what you've always done, you'll go on getting what you've always got." (p. 51)
"No one can teach you how to become yourself, to take charge, to express yourself, except you." (p. 51)
4 Lessons of Self-Knowledge:
1) You are your own best teacher.
2) Accept responsibility. Blame no one.
3) You can learn anything you want to learn.
4) True understanding comes from reflecting on your experience.
"Unless you have the appetite to absorb new and potentially unsettling things, you don't learn... It's a kind of fearlessness and optimism and confidence, and you're not afraid of failure." (p. 56)
"Nothing is truly yours until you understand it - not even yourself." (p. 57)
"...Paying close attention to the signals from others that remain unaltered throughout your life." (p. 58)
"Leaders learn from others, but they are not made by others." (p. 59)
"Leaders begin, then, by backing themselves, inspiring themselves, trusting themselves, and ultimately inspire others by being trustworthy." (p. 60)
"While we cannot change our height or bone structure, we can change our minds... While there is neurobiological evidence that part of the brain is hardwired prior to birth, it is increasingly clear that the brain is also plastic in nature, able to absorb and collate experiences that cause the brain itself to change." (p. 63)
"Socrates said, 'The unexamined life is not worth living." (p. 64)
"That is why true learning begins with unlearning - and why unlearning is one of the recurring themes of our story." (p. 65)
And ending on a powerful note: "You make your life your own by understanding it." (p. 66)
I truly hope that this quality space we've creating through Vision & Voice will be an opportunity to do just that!
"People begin to become leaders at that moment when they decide for themselves how to be." (p. 49)
"Know thyself, then, means separating who you are and who you want to be from what the world thinks you are and wants you to be." (p. 50)
"Self-knowledge, self-invention are lifetime processes." (p. 51)
"...All of us can find tangible and intangible rewards in self-knowledge and self-control, because if you go on doing what you've always done, you'll go on getting what you've always got." (p. 51)
"No one can teach you how to become yourself, to take charge, to express yourself, except you." (p. 51)
4 Lessons of Self-Knowledge:
1) You are your own best teacher.
2) Accept responsibility. Blame no one.
3) You can learn anything you want to learn.
4) True understanding comes from reflecting on your experience.
"Unless you have the appetite to absorb new and potentially unsettling things, you don't learn... It's a kind of fearlessness and optimism and confidence, and you're not afraid of failure." (p. 56)
"Nothing is truly yours until you understand it - not even yourself." (p. 57)
"...Paying close attention to the signals from others that remain unaltered throughout your life." (p. 58)
"Leaders learn from others, but they are not made by others." (p. 59)
"Leaders begin, then, by backing themselves, inspiring themselves, trusting themselves, and ultimately inspire others by being trustworthy." (p. 60)
"While we cannot change our height or bone structure, we can change our minds... While there is neurobiological evidence that part of the brain is hardwired prior to birth, it is increasingly clear that the brain is also plastic in nature, able to absorb and collate experiences that cause the brain itself to change." (p. 63)
"Socrates said, 'The unexamined life is not worth living." (p. 64)
"That is why true learning begins with unlearning - and why unlearning is one of the recurring themes of our story." (p. 65)
And ending on a powerful note: "You make your life your own by understanding it." (p. 66)
I truly hope that this quality space we've creating through Vision & Voice will be an opportunity to do just that!
Friday, November 18, 2016
4 PILLARS
Under these 4 pillars reside 18 emotional intelligence skills that we will examine in Vision & Voice
We have already studied 2 of them:
EQ Skill #1 - Emotional Self-Awareness
EQ Skill #2 - Accurate Self-Assessment
Why are we carving out quality space to think and talk about these pillars of self- and interpersonal- leadership? Here are some thoughts:
- You cannot lead others if you do not lead yourself
- So you can reach your own professional development goals
- To know your boundaries (Make better decisions, be more focused, know what to say no to)
- To maintain your energy (physical/mental/emotional/spiritual) so you can give your best every day
Any other ideas?
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Accurate Self-Assessment VV#6
Hey All ~ thanks so much for an engaging time yesterday. Loved that ya'll were good sports about putting your artist talents on display. Next week will be song & dance, so get ready! (jk)
In Chapter 3 of On Becoming a Leader, Warren Bennis is going to elaborate for us on 'knowing thyself' which is a phrase taken from Greek philosophy and I'll post on that in a few days after you've had a chance to read it yourselves. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_thyself)
While some ways of 'knowing ourselves' must be revealed from God (PURPOSE), there are a lot of things we can do to discover more about our PERSONALITY, PERFORMANCE and the PERCEPTIONS of others. I've updated the Model of Knowing Self to include some other ways that we often try to define ourselves: POSSESSIONS, PARTICULARS and PEDIGREE.
Next time, we're going to talk in detail about knowing self through PERSONALITY. We will take an in depth look at the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment - the world's most popular personality assessment.
Life Stories – think back on the situations that have shaped your life so far. Observe yourself in those situations as a reporter might. What do you see? Why do you think you felt the way you did? How did you act? Why did you act that way? What impact did you have on others in that situation because of how you were feeling and acting? What does this story tell you about yourself? What changes would you like to make based on this reflection? (Bennis also talks about this in Chapter 3).
·
Assessments - Take as many psychometric assessments as you can get your hands on
and then cross-reference them to identify patterns of strengths (or
functions/responsibilities to avoid)
·
Occupations Research – look into various occupations on O*Net website
(www.onetonline.org) which lines out the tasks, tools, technology,
knowledge, skills, abilities, work activities and work context related to a
wide variety of jobs. See which
descriptions seem to be most appealing or exciting to you and identify why that
job cluster or specific job description is appealing to you.
·
Hire a career or life coach - work with a professional that can help you to
continue to explore your unique design through other means and tools (www.thumbtack.com).
·
Ongoing Study - Go through a self-paced career development workbook, read books, attend developmental workshops, conference, seminars.
·
Trigger words – what words catch your attention, stoke your curiosity and you seem
to resonate with them. For instance, Organize? Structure? Completion? Create?
Develop? Your attraction to these words can be clues to your design.
·
Frustration & Friction – what are those ongoing sources of frustration
& friction in your job or life? These can be an indication that you are not
aligned.
Dream
- how do you envision your best and authentic self operating in the world (do
not let finances, time, relationships or other constraints block your creativity)
·
Pray over spiritual/holy literature to inform you of your PURPOSE and identity
according to your faith beliefs.
Friday, November 11, 2016
On Becoming a Leader: Chapter 2 "Understanding the Basics" (pp. 33 - 48)
One liberating idea we discussed in the time reflecting on foundations of leadership is that each leader is unique. Bennis supports that assertion, but in this chapter shares with us some commonalities he has recognized among leaders:
1) A guiding vision - "The leader has a clear idea of what he or she wants to do." Don't panic. You may be saying to yourself, "Yikes, I have no idea of where I am going." That's ok. That is what this next year is about, remember? Carving out quality space to think about who you are, where you are going and why you are going there. You also might have a flicker of an idea, or a full-fledged proposal waiting to be dropped on John's desk...or the desk of a venture capitalist. For clarity on vision, reflect deeply on the "where am I going" question.
2) Passion - "The underlying passions for the promises of life and a particular passion for a vocation, profession or course of action." What stirs you? What creates "flow" for you? https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow?language=en
3) Integrity - (One of ELI's Core Competencies) Bennis defines integrity as self-knowledge, candor and maturity. You might have a different definition of integrity. Bennis suggests that, "Until you truly know yourself, strengths and weaknesses, know what you want to do and why you want to do it, you cannot succeed in any but the most superficial sense of the word." Wow, what a statement. Candor is what helps us to be honest with ourself (accurate self-assessment)
Bennis also mentions Curiosity (growth mindset) & Daring (initiative) plus a learning from Adversity (resilience/adaptability) as common traits among leaders.
Bennis recognizes the deficiencies of most leadership training courses - most teach skills in a prescriptive way (methodologies). He laments that courses cannot teach character or vision. "Developing character and vision is the way leaders invent themselves." What we are doing together in our meetings and readings is to raise our awareness of what it means to be a leader, but the hard work is left to you, making it manifest is within yourselves, in your relationships, in your teams.
This is going to be an ongoing theme, so get this stuck in your mind: "True understanding derives from engagement and from the full deployment of ourselves."
(p. 41)
Feel free to comment on any of these ideas or others that we ignited as you read these pages! Raise a question, refute an idea, propose a solution, confess a need - whatever will help you process these great ideas about leadership!
1) A guiding vision - "The leader has a clear idea of what he or she wants to do." Don't panic. You may be saying to yourself, "Yikes, I have no idea of where I am going." That's ok. That is what this next year is about, remember? Carving out quality space to think about who you are, where you are going and why you are going there. You also might have a flicker of an idea, or a full-fledged proposal waiting to be dropped on John's desk...or the desk of a venture capitalist. For clarity on vision, reflect deeply on the "where am I going" question.
2) Passion - "The underlying passions for the promises of life and a particular passion for a vocation, profession or course of action." What stirs you? What creates "flow" for you? https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow?language=en
3) Integrity - (One of ELI's Core Competencies) Bennis defines integrity as self-knowledge, candor and maturity. You might have a different definition of integrity. Bennis suggests that, "Until you truly know yourself, strengths and weaknesses, know what you want to do and why you want to do it, you cannot succeed in any but the most superficial sense of the word." Wow, what a statement. Candor is what helps us to be honest with ourself (accurate self-assessment)
Bennis also mentions Curiosity (growth mindset) & Daring (initiative) plus a learning from Adversity (resilience/adaptability) as common traits among leaders.
Bennis recognizes the deficiencies of most leadership training courses - most teach skills in a prescriptive way (methodologies). He laments that courses cannot teach character or vision. "Developing character and vision is the way leaders invent themselves." What we are doing together in our meetings and readings is to raise our awareness of what it means to be a leader, but the hard work is left to you, making it manifest is within yourselves, in your relationships, in your teams.
This is going to be an ongoing theme, so get this stuck in your mind: "True understanding derives from engagement and from the full deployment of ourselves."
(p. 41)
Feel free to comment on any of these ideas or others that we ignited as you read these pages! Raise a question, refute an idea, propose a solution, confess a need - whatever will help you process these great ideas about leadership!
Saturday, October 29, 2016
On Becoming a Leader (Introduction & Chapter 1... up to p. 32)
Hi KP's!
We are off on a deep exploration of the question, "what is leadership" with none other than widely respected leadership pioneer Warren Bennis as our guide. On Becoming a Leader (written in 1989, updated in 2009) is a thorough look at leadership from a geopolitical perspective. It is going to be deep and wide, but if you stay engaged with Bennis over the next weeks, he will challenge your perspective of leadership in important (perhaps even transformational) ways.
As you dig into the intro and first chapters, you're going to see that Bennis draws his philosophy of leadership from historical, economic, technological, political and business contexts. Giving examples of flawed leadership and the proposition of what happens in our world devoid of strong leadership, Bennis builds toward his recommendations. He reminds us that after the 9-11 tragedy, that even suffering didn't produce leadership that could draw us together as a nation with a vision of who we should become, nor how to achieve such a thing.
A study conducted by the University of Michigan determined that the lack of quality management and leadership in today's institutions is in to top 3 causes of crises in our emerging world.
Bennis posits that there are 3 basic reasons that leaders are important (p. 5)
1) They are responsible for effectiveness within organizations.
2) They inspire us and restore our hope.
3) They maintain the integrity and longevity of our national institutions.
Even within these first pages, we already see a tension between LEVEL 1 motivation (Survival, self-sustaining) and LEVEL 7 motivation (Service, the greater good). "There has always been a tension in the American character between individual rights and the common good." On one hand, James Madison, one of our founding fathers said, "the public good...the real welfare of the great body of people...is the supreme object to be pursued." Calvin Coolidge in the 1920's, however, purported, "The business of America is business." Capitalism or Humanity seems to be the tension we live in.
Early on, Bennis coins a term "authentic leadership". Perhaps as we read, you will define for yourself what it means to be an authentic leader.
Bennis draws our attention to the chronic epidemic of short-term thinking (and rewards) as a strategy for success. Hold a place in your thinking for how often this strategy shows up and whether or not it is adequate for the many responsibilities effective leadership demands.
And we begin thinking about the privilege and power possessed by the everyday citizen. "One person can matter...a citizen can matter in this country." We want to think about, how can citizens step up and take their rightful authority and responsibilities within Ebco and our teams. Bennis makes an interesting and challenging assertion: the first step of a leader, then, is to recognize the context for what it is - and declare your independence. What on earth could he mean? Keep reading to find out!
Another theme that emerges early is that of learning from failure. I don't know about you, but for me, that puts leading and learning in a much more attainable light. I used to have to a boss that would continually encourage prominent leaders in crisis, "lean into the pain." There is some key to success in failure; let's see if we can find out what this is about.
We are also starting to hear about the marriage in leadership between character and competence. We will talk about these more when we talk about the EQ Skill of Trustworthiness and how trust is built. In the example Bennis sites about working with would-be leader, Ed, ultimately Bennis saw lack of character as too great a problem to be able to recommend Ed for an executive position. Character matters.
To the contrary, Norman Lear (American television writer & producer) is held up as an example of leadership 'done right", but why exactly? "Norman Lear had a guiding vision, a belief in himself, a belief that he could make a difference..." He was inspired by the advice he received to, "Find out what it is that you're about, and be that!"
Fellow learners, I encourage you all to hold onto the idea of "full self-expression" that Bennis uses in the example of Lear. This will becoming a talking point and possibly a turning-point for many of us. Discovering who you are is going to be a critical piece of this full self-expression.
Let's end on this inspiring and curious ideal: "The first step toward change is to refuse to be deployed by others and to choose to deploy yourself." (p. 31)
We are off on a deep exploration of the question, "what is leadership" with none other than widely respected leadership pioneer Warren Bennis as our guide. On Becoming a Leader (written in 1989, updated in 2009) is a thorough look at leadership from a geopolitical perspective. It is going to be deep and wide, but if you stay engaged with Bennis over the next weeks, he will challenge your perspective of leadership in important (perhaps even transformational) ways.
As you dig into the intro and first chapters, you're going to see that Bennis draws his philosophy of leadership from historical, economic, technological, political and business contexts. Giving examples of flawed leadership and the proposition of what happens in our world devoid of strong leadership, Bennis builds toward his recommendations. He reminds us that after the 9-11 tragedy, that even suffering didn't produce leadership that could draw us together as a nation with a vision of who we should become, nor how to achieve such a thing.
A study conducted by the University of Michigan determined that the lack of quality management and leadership in today's institutions is in to top 3 causes of crises in our emerging world.
Bennis posits that there are 3 basic reasons that leaders are important (p. 5)
1) They are responsible for effectiveness within organizations.
2) They inspire us and restore our hope.
3) They maintain the integrity and longevity of our national institutions.
Even within these first pages, we already see a tension between LEVEL 1 motivation (Survival, self-sustaining) and LEVEL 7 motivation (Service, the greater good). "There has always been a tension in the American character between individual rights and the common good." On one hand, James Madison, one of our founding fathers said, "the public good...the real welfare of the great body of people...is the supreme object to be pursued." Calvin Coolidge in the 1920's, however, purported, "The business of America is business." Capitalism or Humanity seems to be the tension we live in.
Early on, Bennis coins a term "authentic leadership". Perhaps as we read, you will define for yourself what it means to be an authentic leader.
Bennis draws our attention to the chronic epidemic of short-term thinking (and rewards) as a strategy for success. Hold a place in your thinking for how often this strategy shows up and whether or not it is adequate for the many responsibilities effective leadership demands.
And we begin thinking about the privilege and power possessed by the everyday citizen. "One person can matter...a citizen can matter in this country." We want to think about, how can citizens step up and take their rightful authority and responsibilities within Ebco and our teams. Bennis makes an interesting and challenging assertion: the first step of a leader, then, is to recognize the context for what it is - and declare your independence. What on earth could he mean? Keep reading to find out!
Another theme that emerges early is that of learning from failure. I don't know about you, but for me, that puts leading and learning in a much more attainable light. I used to have to a boss that would continually encourage prominent leaders in crisis, "lean into the pain." There is some key to success in failure; let's see if we can find out what this is about.
We are also starting to hear about the marriage in leadership between character and competence. We will talk about these more when we talk about the EQ Skill of Trustworthiness and how trust is built. In the example Bennis sites about working with would-be leader, Ed, ultimately Bennis saw lack of character as too great a problem to be able to recommend Ed for an executive position. Character matters.
To the contrary, Norman Lear (American television writer & producer) is held up as an example of leadership 'done right", but why exactly? "Norman Lear had a guiding vision, a belief in himself, a belief that he could make a difference..." He was inspired by the advice he received to, "Find out what it is that you're about, and be that!"
Fellow learners, I encourage you all to hold onto the idea of "full self-expression" that Bennis uses in the example of Lear. This will becoming a talking point and possibly a turning-point for many of us. Discovering who you are is going to be a critical piece of this full self-expression.
Let's end on this inspiring and curious ideal: "The first step toward change is to refuse to be deployed by others and to choose to deploy yourself." (p. 31)
Thursday, October 27, 2016
EQ SKILL #1: EMOTIONAL SELF-AWARENESS
Pay attention to
your thoughts, because they become words.
Pay attention to
your words, because they become feelings.
Pay attention to
your feelings, because they become decisions.
Pay attention to
your decisions, because they become actions.
Pay attention to
your actions, because they become habits.
Pay attention to
your habits, because they become your character.
Pay attention to
your character, because it is your fate.
Adapted
from the Talmud (Jewish Sacred Text)
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Philosophy of Leadership
Hey CKPs!
It really was great to think with ya'll yesterday and it was fun to hear how you all have processed through some ideas about leadership to craft a definition through your own lens. Since your Philosophy of Leadership (POL) statements were so meaty, I know we'd each enjoy the chance to read them again. Thanks for all who are willing to share by posting them here!
If anyone has questions or comments about anything we talk about in our time together feel free to send me an email.
Y'all have a fantastic week!
Here is an article by John Mayer (not that one) whom I mentioned in class today as one of the early social psychologists that developed theories of multiple intelligences. You might enjoy reading this in your free time ;).
https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201403/know-thyself
See you the 24th!
Jodi
It really was great to think with ya'll yesterday and it was fun to hear how you all have processed through some ideas about leadership to craft a definition through your own lens. Since your Philosophy of Leadership (POL) statements were so meaty, I know we'd each enjoy the chance to read them again. Thanks for all who are willing to share by posting them here!
If anyone has questions or comments about anything we talk about in our time together feel free to send me an email.
Y'all have a fantastic week!
Here is an article by John Mayer (not that one) whom I mentioned in class today as one of the early social psychologists that developed theories of multiple intelligences. You might enjoy reading this in your free time ;).
https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201403/know-thyself
See you the 24th!
Jodi
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Wow, I know.
Thanks for hangin' tough, though!
My intention is that as we build these conceptual frameworks for leadership, you will have a 'bucket' to put future topics/activities and a solid rationale for what we are studying. For instance, when we start doing some online assessments, you can think to yourself, "Ah, I am using introspection and this will help me gain accurate self-assessment. I'm doing this because SELF-LEADERSHIP is critical to overall leadership. No one can leads others if they aren't leading themselves."
Or, when we study leadership styles, you will see that one of them is Visionary Leadership. By then, you will know that Visionary Leadership is an element of Social Skill. You can tell yourself, "Learning to use the visionary leadership approach is important because it is going to help me in my INTERPERSONAL LEADERSHIP abilities."
Buckets. We're creating buckets.
As Amy mentioned, I will share the quotes about leadership I shared yesterday so that you can reflect on these and see if you want to integrate them into your philosophy of leadership.
"Ultimately, leadership development has to integrate the depth of the inner self-awareness work with the breadth and complexity of the external marketplace and cultural dynamics."
"Some influence through ideas, some through systems, yet others through people, but the essence is the same."
"Leadership development is about our ongoing journey to discover and develop our purposeful inner capabilities in order to make a more positive contribution in our jobs, families and communities."
"It can be said that anyone who authentically expresses him/herself in a way that creates value in an organization is leading." (Kevin Cashman)
"If your actions cause others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." John Quincy Adams
Hopefully some of those ideas will help further refine your philosophy of leadership statements.
LIA Challenge #1: Cross-reference the 6 Core Competencies and the Learning Framework. For each of the 21 skills/characteristics listed in the learning framework, there is an underlying competency that helps facilitate that skill/characteristic. (A couple of the competencies such as INITIATIVE and INFLUENCE are simply stated as they are.)
LIA Challenge #2: Complete the leadership skills inventory in order to get a baseline for where YOU think you fall on the scale of these 10 leadership characteristics. No one will read this. It is for your reference. If you're feeling super ambitious, in a different color, complete it again from the perspective of how you think your spouse, parent, manager and closest friend might complete it for you.
I had a blast with ya'll yesterday. Thanks for showing up AND being present!
P.S. Some adjustments:
- While management and leadership call on different skill sets, they are both essential to running an organization. Sometimes the 'management' role gets a bad rap. I encourage you to read back over the functions of management and ask yourself: What would happen to our organization if no one performed these responsibilities?
- Please remember our ground rules for the group that we are employing the highest level of respect for one another and anyone else who is not with us. We are all members of one team. Thanks for keeping it classy.
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Testing. Testing. Is this thing on? Anyone out there? (tap, tap)
Thank you guys for showing up and really 'showing up' on Monday. My intention was to open the spigot of ideas around leadership, management and the responsibilities that go along with each. Plus, we considered the value of creating quality space in our lives. Next time, we'll kick off with the 9 Responsibilities of Leadership and also the 6 Core Competencies that the ELI Program is built around. We are laying a foundation these first few weeks that we can build on throughout the year.
One thing I have been personally reflecting on is Amy expressing how difficult it can be to reflect on the deep things (what it is that matters, what leadership is, what do we want, what do we want to become, and what kind of leader we are or are becoming, etc.) Don't let me put words in your mouth, Amy, this is just my interpretation of what you said. I agree with you, it is hard! Who has times to 'go deep' when so much is demanded at the surface of life.
For those that asked, I am posting John's Philosophy of Leadership statement here and I'll also email it. Mandy, I really appreciated the story that you shared about how John is authentically living out his leadership beliefs and assertions. That is where the rubber hits the road. Does anyone else have a comment on the things that John is saying here?
ELI – My Philosophy on Leadership (John Egger) August 31, 2015
A note: if you want to be notified to posting on this blog, look for the check box in the comments area where you post. You are not required to post here every week, but sure would be more fun if you did.
Thank you guys for showing up and really 'showing up' on Monday. My intention was to open the spigot of ideas around leadership, management and the responsibilities that go along with each. Plus, we considered the value of creating quality space in our lives. Next time, we'll kick off with the 9 Responsibilities of Leadership and also the 6 Core Competencies that the ELI Program is built around. We are laying a foundation these first few weeks that we can build on throughout the year.
One thing I have been personally reflecting on is Amy expressing how difficult it can be to reflect on the deep things (what it is that matters, what leadership is, what do we want, what do we want to become, and what kind of leader we are or are becoming, etc.) Don't let me put words in your mouth, Amy, this is just my interpretation of what you said. I agree with you, it is hard! Who has times to 'go deep' when so much is demanded at the surface of life.
For those that asked, I am posting John's Philosophy of Leadership statement here and I'll also email it. Mandy, I really appreciated the story that you shared about how John is authentically living out his leadership beliefs and assertions. That is where the rubber hits the road. Does anyone else have a comment on the things that John is saying here?
ELI – My Philosophy on Leadership (John Egger) August 31, 2015
"I believe that leadership is a lifelong process of growing
in wisdom and maturity. It involves:
Discovering
who I am and what I care about and value.
Finding the commitment for
self-development and self-control.
Shaping my expression of myself.
Developing the self-confidence to
have my own ideas about what it means to be a high-performing leader – having
awareness and faith in my own personal power.
Being willing to truly serve those
that I lead.
I believe that my ability to inspiration as a leader is
directly related to the depth of my cause.
People always say companies fail
because – 1)They are under-capitalized, 2) They don't have the right people, 3) There is a bad Market. How did the Wright Brothers (who had none of
these things) ever fly a plane?? Because
they had a cause. They gave blood,
sweat, and tears. They had a deep cause.
They were inspired.
There are leaders and there are
those that lead. Leaders hold positions
of power and authority. Those who lead inspire us. People don’t buy what I do. They buy because of the why I am doing it
(inspire). They buy because they believe
what I believe (inspire). If I talk
about what I believe, I will attract others that believe.
So Leadership is influence and thus it is an awesome
responsibility. I am touching and moving
real people. I always need to be a
breath of encouragement. I need to call
people up. Everything I do needs to be
elevating the humanity (much more than justice but acts of love, selflessness,
and social intelligence) within the organization. Then I need to challenge people and be there
to insure their success.
I must feed myself daily doses of courage. I will be vulnerable. I will be exposed, open to ridicule and often
defenseless to the economist, engineer, and the judge. It will almost always be the way less
traveled. As Mary Anne Radmacher said –
“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes
courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I will try again
tomorrow.”
As leadership is a continuing and sometimes arduous process
of acquiring wisdom and maturity, I will develop processes to manage energy
more skillfully so I can continue the process of becoming a high performance
leader." - End of John's statement
A note: if you want to be notified to posting on this blog, look for the check box in the comments area where you post. You are not required to post here every week, but sure would be more fun if you did.
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