Saturday, September 26, 2009

Just Ask Leadership - Do you look good from below?


This week I have been devouring the book, Just Ask Leadership: Why Great Managers Always Ask the Right Questions by Gary B Cohen.

Expect that you will be find me sharing a number of nuggets from this good book. Like what often happens, I end up defacing the book with my notes and circles. I'll share some of these nuggets.

You've likely seen the Truman quote above from other sources, "It is amazing what you can accomplish......." The point, however, that I circled was actually the Captain Symonds quote where he proposes, " A lot of folks.....make it too far in this business because they look a lot better from above than they do from below."

This quote reminded of a the Leadership Acid Test that wrote in 2007 when I proposed a good test of leadership:


Pick a Leader with a title. If that Leader no longer had a title, would you still follow him/her. Would the leader still have influence?

It is another way of suggesting that leaders need to look good from below. Without a title, would you still look good from below; would you still be leading?

And maybe, looking good from below will ultimately cause them to look even better from above.

There are more nuggets worthy of sharing. Expect more as I continue to deface this book.

Thanks for reading. Please lead quietly and watch your looks.

Don

Posted via web from Intersectable

Thursday, September 24, 2009

The Collaboration Imperative - Vineet Nayar - Harvard Business Review

This is the Version 2.0 era. We have seen the rise of Web 2.0 technologies; companies are using Enterprise 2.0 tools; and in the aftermath of the recent financial crisis, the world's leaders are trying to create Capitalism 2.0. As companies wade through these challenging times, I see a distinct shift towards another new paradigm: Collaboration 2.0.

There's growing recognition everywhere of the need for corporations to collaborate with government, with customers, with NGOs, with stakeholders--and even with competition. In order to survive, business requires the cover of a collaborative ecosystem that will probably render obsolete traditional views of competition.

Smart companies have realized the need to reinvent and align employees' roles with organizational goals in a democratic way,

I appreciate the imperative that drives an organization to collaborate with employees, partners, and stakeholders. The classic model where managers dictate seems unsustainable in today's environment.

This article reminded me of a quote from Peter Drucker:

“The leader of the past was a person who knew how to tell.
The leader of the future will be a person who knows how to ask.”

For me the article compels me as a non-manager leader to continue to ask for an opportunity to collaborate and have impact.

Thanks for reading.
Please lead quietly,
Don

Posted via web from Intersectable

Monday, September 7, 2009

Shopping for School Supplies: Are Calculators getting heavier?

I was surprised with the message from today's Office Depot shopping experience.  Are these calculators too heavy to pick up?

Have a good Labor Day.


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What 21st Century Educators (Leaders) Need To Learn To Survive

Eight Habits of Highly Effective 21st Century Teachers

Teaching_skills_21st_ century_educator_know_survive_by_andrewchurches.jpg

I was struck when reading an article about the skills that modern teacher need in survive and thrive in a changing learning environment that these same skills are the skills that modern leaders will need.

In my LeadQuietly thinking, the match is nearly perfect and author Andrew Churches could literally search and replace teacher with leader and submit the article to almost any modern leadership blog.

My key takeaway on the education side is that we expect our teachers to lead and innovate with the pay and status of an assembly line worker. Makes me go hmmmm.

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A Road Map to Success | FlowingData

This map originated in 1913. The roadblocks to success seem not to have changed.

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