“…A key psychology for leading from good to great is the Stockdale Paradox. Retain absolute faith that you can and will prevail in the end regardless of the difficulties, and at the same time confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be… Continue reading
Organisational & Social Transformation
Creating a climate where truth is heard….
“…A key psychology for leading from good to great is the Stockdale Paradox. Retain absolute faith that you can and will prevail in the end regardless of the difficulties, and at the same time confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be… Create a culture wherein people have a tremendous opportunity to be heard and, ultimately, for the truth to be heard. Continue reading
Communication and Conversation
Communication. A popular and narrow definition of communication is ” the exchange of ideas, messages and information”. In architecture, communication is the term for linking different spaces. A hallway, for instance, is a method of communication for the offices that open into it. we say Communication is any action that links separate elements into a larger system. Without communication, there is nothing in common: no teamwork, no mutual benefit and no business value.
Conversation.. Conversation is the uniquely human kind of communication. In the forms of impression(eg. Listening)and expression (eg. Speaking) conversation is how we learn about and influence the world and ourselves. Conversation is the language that causes perception, meaning, action, and learning most business writing about conversation is trivial compared to it’s real nature and power. The education of any leader is incomplete without an accurate working knowledge of how conversation causes perception, meaning , action, and learning.
– Mickey Connolly and Richard Rianoshek from ‘ the communication catalyst’
Four Unexpected Qualities of a Leader
“…Yes, everyone agrees that leaders need vision, energy, authority, and strategic direction. That goes without saying. But we’ve discovered that inspirational leaders also share four unexpected qualities: Continue reading
What is a well-conceived vision ?
” Vision has become one of the most overused – and least understood – words in the language.The word vision conjures up all kinds of images. We think of outstanding achievement. We think of deeply held values that bond people in a society together.We think of audacious, exhilarating goals that galvanise people. We think of something eternal – the underlying reasons for an organisation’s existence. We think of something that reaches inside us and pulls out our best efforts.We think of the dreams of what we want to be. And therein lies a problem.All of us know vision is important, but what exactly is it?” Continue reading
Competence in Relationships as well as Technical Competence
“Can an organisation intentionally shape itself into a movement? One of the first things required in movements is spirit-lifting leadership, leadership that enables, enriches, holds an organisation accountable, and in the end lets go. Continue reading
Creative Tension
“Leading through creative tension is different than solving problems. In problem solving, the energy for change comes from attempting to get away from an aspect of current reality that is undesirable. With creative tension, the energy for change comes from the vision, from what we want to create, juxtaposed with current reality. While the distinction may seem small, the consequences are not. Many people and organisations find themselves motivated to change only when their problems are bad enough to cause them to change. This works for awhile, but the change process runs out of steam as soon as the problems driving the change become less pressing…With problem solving, the motivation for change is extrinsic. With creative tension, the motivation is intrinsic.”
– Peter Senge, Author of The Fifth Discipline : The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization
You can’t be the only one making decisions.
“Leaders of federations don’t think of their associates as ‘troops’. And the associates don’t think of their leaders as generals. The leader of the new federal corporation has to be a leader of leaders. Continue reading
Obliquity
” one key reason why the presidents of large corporations do not control the United States is that they do not control their own corporations…when implied organisational skill and power are deployed and the desired direct effect flows, all that we have witnessed is the same kind of sequence as to what we observed when a clergyman is fortunate enough to pray for rain just before the unpredicted end of a drought…”
– Alasdair MacIntyre
“Whatever the problem, community is the answer.”
My own work, and what I’ve observed and participated in, has convinced me that global change always begins from small local efforts that then connect with other small local efforts; after many years of hard work, of experimenting and learning together, these small efforts may suddenly emerge as a powerful global system of influence. Continue reading
ONE TUSK 