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?
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