Category Archives: Changes

Posted on

Don’t Be Afraid To Look Funny

Words of Wisdom from an Unsuccessful Presidential Candidate

by

I am putting the final touches on a manuscript. One of the tasks given to me by my editor is to chase down a quote that I plan to use to drive home a point in one of the chapters toward the end of the book. I have said many times that I truly love a great and pithy little quote. And this one from Adlai Stevenson is no exception.

Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (5 February 1900 – 14 July 1965) was an American politician and statesman. He was known as a skillful orator and debater. He served as a Governor of Illinois and he was twice an unsuccessful candidate for President of the United States. He mounted unsuccessful campaigns running against Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and again in 1956. He did serve the John F. Kennedy administration when he was appointed as United States Ambassador to the United Nations. 

Here is a quote attributed to him:

“It is hard to lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse.”

I am struggling to find a direct attribution to Adlai Stevenson although everyone seems to be quoting him. The quote in question has been written about recently in a book by Ron Gaddie entitled, Born to Run: Origins of the Political Career. In that book, Gaddie examines the political careers of nine different individuals who ran for political offices at a variety of local and state levels. I do not intend to review the book here. Rather, I want to look at the quote and explore its implication to us as leaders.

What does the quote say to you from a leadership perspective?

Here is what it says to me. It says that we must look beyond our own real, or imagined, shortcomings in order to be an effective leader. This is especially true when it comes to our self-confidence.

Click here to read the rest of the article »

Posted on

20 Things You Need In A New Leader

Is it time for a change in your organization?

by

20-things-you-need-in-a-new-leader

Perhaps we don’t really “need” a new leader. Maybe we just really “want” it. Do you ever feel that way?

Change is inevitable. I know, that is so cliché. That doesn’t make it any less true. Leadership change is often needed when organizations have plateaued, been through a crisis, or leaders have taken themselves out of the picture for various reasons. In each of those cases, someone must take a hard look at the organization and the needs of all the parties concerned and select another leader.

What are some things that an organization should consider in selecting a new leader? Consider with me the following as a partial list of key skills, abilities, traits, or tendencies. It is not an exhaustive list by any stretch. But it may spur some thoughts and ideas as an organization moves forward with seeking and selecting new leadership.

They must possess Leadership Abilities– This one almost goes without saying. When selecting a leader, make sure they have demonstrated leadership somewhere and some place before you bring them into your organization.

They Must Demonstrate Past Performance / Results – When searching for a new leader, do your research. Check out the leadership candidate. Has he/she demonstrated strong leadership in the past? Do they get results?

They Must Realize That They Are Part of Something Bigger – Each of us is a part of a much larger organization. And we should consider that we are building something that is larger than our local organization and it should fit well with the larger organization.

They Must Show That They Have Learned From Past Mistakes – Everybody makes them. How does the leadership candidate show that they have learned from mistakes made in the past?

They Must Show That They Can Fit Within the System or Personality of the Organization – Does the candidate mesh with the organization’s overall system or personality? If not, you are destined for conflict.

Click here to read the rest of the article »

Commenting Just Got Easier

Commenting just got easier with the installation of Disqus, the premier blog comment hosting service for web sites and online communities.
disqus-logo

Disqus gives you a voice. About the stories that shape your life, on the sites you love, on your terms.  And it makes it easier for you to interact with us and the other sites that you already interacting with on a daily basis.  We hope it makes your user experience better.

There may be a few bumps in the road as we integrate this new tool.  So, please be patient and please try it out and leave a comment to make sure it is working for you.  And please let us know if you have any questions or concerns about the new Disqus integration.

Posted on

Battlestar Voices, the Skirmish with the Fifth “S”

by

I have been through several 5S training modules during the different stops in my career path.  5S is a methodology generated by Japanese manufacturing to improve the organization of a working area to drive efficiency and effectiveness.  5S stands for 5 stages identified by words that starts with the letter “S”.  These stages are: Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardize and Sustain(As translated into English).When fully supported from management down, it is a methodology I fully believe in.  With that said, I’m only touching on one aspect of this methodology in this expose of thoughts from my mind. (scary place, I know)

DriveSH

What has been in my thoughts lately due to situations in my latest career stop is the last stage..…. “Sustain”.  More to the point, how leadership in my experience commonly fails at driving actions to sustain implemented changes, processes, policies etc.   An interesting item I read is that the Japanese word “shitsuke” (translated to “Sustain” to maintain the 5S moniker) may actually be better translated to the word “commitment”. Does this mean I believe leadership has failed to be committed on a whole?  Not necessarily, but from a narrow viewpoint, I do think one of the more difficult aspects of effective leadership is a commitment to sustaining actions after the “crisis” or “action” moments are implemented.

Maybe the cobattlenundrum with commitment to sustaining is that it is boring? Dull? Lacks glitter and glamour? It is humdrum?  It does not bring forth the adventure of something new and of an attainable and tangible goal to concur!!!  In training for 5S you won’t hear about problems with the first 3 steps very often.   Why is that?  Maybe because breaking something down and rebuilding it is a challenge.  Transformation is something that we can visualize the change in, set easy goals that are perceptible in some way to achieve, can be easily celebrated and can make for a great graph or photo placed in a Powerpoint presentation. Sustaining is……..repetitive dedication to adhering to a standard.   Where’s the excitement in that?

Click here to read the rest of the article »

Posted on

Adaptive Leadership

by

 

Adaptive Leadership - 1So many of the world’s problems, and the issues that organizations, businesses, and people face every day can seem intractable and unsolvable. Leadership consultants Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow and Marty Linsky discussed a new way to lead the charge to change in their book in 2009 entitled, “Adaptive Leadership”.

Adaptive Leadership calls for moving beyond outdated approaches and embracing new skills and attitudes to guide your organization in the 21st century. Adaptive leadership combines established ways of leading with new skills and new perspectives for dealing with unprecedented challenges.

But, if it were easy, everyone would be adaptive leaders and everyone would be successful.  Before you begin the process of bringing lasting change to an organization you must

Click here to read the rest of the article »

Posted on

Listening for the Future

by

 

Listening Leaders - 1Great leaders are always “listening for the future” all the while staying grounded in the here and the now.

That sounds impressive and insightful.  But what does it mean?  Simply, it means that our society is evolving into a noisy, chaotic world; characterized by “volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity” (This is what “Futurist” Bob Johansen refers to as “VUCA”).

Elements of the VUCA paradigm have existed throughout history, but never to the extent evident in the early 21st century.  Leaders who make decisions without regard to VUCA realities tend to exhibit various “dysfunctional and dangerous” attitudes and reactions, including fear, disdain, procrastination, frustration, anger and denial.  And I am not exactly sure where the anger is strongest.  Is it on the side of those who loath their leaders?  Or is it on the side of the leaders who loath the burden of leadership?

Nevertheless, there are enduring leadership principles that will hold you in good stead during these VUCA times.  Consider the following:

  • To be on time is to be late. – Get there early.  Get there before your team arrives and be ready to greet them as they arrive for the day or for the meeting.
  • Always start on time.  – Don’t punish those who are on time for the sins of those who are late.  And don’t go back over what you have already covered for those who do arrive late.
  • Mental gymnastics.  – Build leadership skills through leadership thoughts.  Read and study other great leaders.
  • Listening Leaders - 2Actively listen.  – But carefully filter what you hear.  Make sure that in the midst of your listening that you are not swayed by an emotional message that takes you away from your core values.
  • Be ready for action.  – We are living in a fast paced world and in the face of uncertainty, preparedness is a great benefit.
  • Practice “urgent patience”. – Know when to press forward and when to ease up on your team.
  • Be a storyteller. – Use compelling stories to inspire hope in your team.
  • Observe synchronicity. – Nothing occurs in a vacuum.  So explain connections and patterns to help others find the reason for your actions.
  • Stay positive.  – It is easy to succumb to the negativity that surrounds us.  We get a steady diet of it on the news and from the media.  Do not dwell on this.  [I could speak at length here about the importance of being in some type of daily devotional reading, but I will save that for another time and place.]
  • Don’t spread yourself too thin.  – You cannot directly lead a multitude.  So, find a small group of leaders to develop and pour yourself into them and make them into great leaders.  Don’t make them clones.  Make them leaders.

Click here to read the rest of the article »

Posted on

Waiting on the World to Change

by

Waiting on the World to Change - 1Well, I can honestly say that I don’t think I have ever heard a John Mayer song sung in church before the pastor got up to preach. Tomorrow, I won’t be able to make that statement. The song immediately preceding the message was “Waiting on the World to Change”. And many of you will instantly recall the lyrics.

I will forego evaluating the use of John Mayer music in a worship setting. I will only say that the band in church this morning did an excellent job with the song and played it with heart, soul, and passion.

This song is often misunderstood. Do a little internet research on the song and you will quickly see that it has folks who can be fairly polarized in their views on whether it is a statement, an expectation or a parody. Mayer himself has been somewhat elusive on the meaning behind the lyrics.  That’s some clever writing and marketing right there.

Waiting on the World to Change - 2One stanza says this:

It’s not that we don’t care
We just know that the fight ain’t fair
So we keep on waiting
(Waiting)
Waiting on the world to change

So what is my point and what is the relevance to Leadership Voices?

Click here to read the rest of the article »

Posted on

Coming Attractions: Leadership Language

by

CA - Language - 1As a leader, am I hanging on to the past or am I grabbing on to the future?

This is an important question to consider because it speaks to our nature, to our ability to change, and to our willingness to adapt in order to become an effective leader. It also speaks to the everchanging landscape of language when it comes to leadership.

In the coming days I will be taking a look at leadership and the language of leadership. Some will call this language “buzzwords” and they would be correct. And although I think that there is more to leadership than language, language is vital as it is the most common medium of communication. And it is the shared language of the communicator and the “communicate-ee” that facilitates the transmission, reception and the all important feedback loop.

CA - Language - 2Are there leadership terms that are standing the test of time? If so, what are they? Are there leadership words that have faded with the whims of pop culture?

Click here to read the rest of the article »

Posted on

Celebrating, Taking a Break and Some Changes

by

Leadership Voices entered 2014 with a full head of steam thanks to a strong finish to 2013.

Taking a Break and Some Changes - 3

We have seen our readership grow beyond our wildest dreams.  Since we started analyzing our website activity on March 3rd of last year and through the end of December we had almost 11,000 visits to the many pages of the website.  And of those visits, almost 6,500 were unique visitors to the site.  And altogether, folks read over 20,000 pages on LeadershipVoices.com!  We are reaching over 1,000 people every month with positive messages and inspiration to be come a better leader.

In this time period we brought you 264 new and original articles on many aspects of leadership.  Some of them drew a lot of interest in a short period of time such as the first guest post by David Tannery.  As of today it has been read over 340 times.  Another guest, Chris Fowler provided an article and it was read almost 1,500 times.  One of my own that was written about the leadership style of Mahatma Gandhi has been seen and read almost 1,300 times.

But we have had many more that were not read by as many, still had an incredible impact on people’s lives as seen by the comments and replies to the article.  Billy Long’s article on being a “Sheepdog” continues to have the most comments.  Another one about the qualities of manliness that have stood the test of time has had a lot of comments as well.  Articles on Mentoring and Accountability were also very well received by you, our audience.  There have been others that were impactful as well.

Taking a Break and Some Changes - 1However, in the month of January you may seem some of our regular contributors taking a break.  Several of our authors are taking some much needed time off to recharge their creative batteries and will be returning in February.  And that will lead to some changes.  For instance, Dan DeVries has stepped up and has written a 5 part series of articles on Financial Leadership in the Home that we will be publishing soon.  I have previewed them and they are spectacular.  I think you will really find them beneficial to you and your family.  I am also working with some more guest authors and I am excited about their contributions as well.

Women’s Wednesday will be on hiatus during January so that Jamie Joy can focus on her own writing for her blog found at http:JamieJoy.com. There may be some other changes and some folks stepping up to provide content during this time.

Taking a Break and Some Changes - 2Change is coming too.  I am also working on a series for the month of February that will address some key areas of leadership.  Watch the website and newsletter for more details on this series and the other articles that will be coming your way.  And speaking of the newsletter —  Are you receiving our free weekly newsletter that summarizes all of the new and fresh content each week on LeadershipVoices.com?  If you are not receiving it, would you please look to the right sidebar of the website and give us your name, email address and how you prefer to receive the newsletter?  Or, just use the simple form on the bottom of this post today.  We promise not to spam you or hit you with anything other than the newsletter or a special notice about an upcoming live leadership event.

Be patient with us in January and we will continue to bring you new, fresh and original leadership content.

So, “Thank You!” again for a great year.  You have made us a part of your busy lives and we hope that our contributions are helping you become a better leader in every aspect of your life.

Photo credit: orkomedix / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA
Photo credit: Wiertz Sébastien / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Subscribe To Our Free Newsletter

* indicates required





Male or Female *

Email Format


 

Posted on

Lots of Changes Going On

by

Changing of the GuardThere are a lot of changes going on at LeadershipVoices.  We are gaining momentum and traffic on the blog is greater than ever.

“Manday” has been a huge success.  Rene Rivera’s recent article has created a little buzz both on the blog and in lots of private conversations.  I think that is a great thing!

What was thought to be “New Author Tuesday” is becoming “New Author Wednesday”.  And tomorrow we will be featuring our first female “voice”.  I hope that each of you will read what she has to say and let it speak to you and see the topic of leadership from a feminine perspective.

And Friday will be the start of a new focus for me.  I plan to create a focus around “Fatherhood” Friday.

Stay tuned!
Photo credit: Gabriel Villena / Foter.com / CC BY