My favorite definition of leadership comes from Kouzes and Posner: “Leadership is the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations.” That’s a great, dense package that generates discussion about the complexity of leadership. However, sometimes we need something more active. That’s why I like: “Leaders Meet Needs.“ I know I’ve written … Read more
Last week, we talked about rubrics in general as a tool to develop vision. This week, let’s take that further to talk about a way to make your passion more obvious to your team. Examine all your own projects, initiatives, to-do items, daily tasks, and responsibilities. Compare each of them to your organizational values. Consider … Read more
We all need a starting point for discussions about vision, direction, prioritization, and hiring. That’s precisely why leaders love rubrics. Simple rubrics are easy to implement, and help make things clear. Consider using a scale of 1 to 3, or 1 to 5, to keep it simple. Example 1 You’re considering candidates for a position, and they’re … Read more
These posts, and thousands of books, explore ways to engage and lead others better. Let’s be clear; these techniques and skills work for the vast majority of folks. But not for all of them. We are plagued by “The Ten Percent.” It seems so common, that we might call it a general rule; in any … Read more
Email can eat us alive. Here are some pointers to manage the inbox, based on my daily practice, rather than ideal “best” practices. I believe in “inbox zero.” Right now, my inbox is empty. My first step when I look at my inbox is to decide a destination for a message before acting on it. … Read more
One thing I do to help leaders is teach them how to facilitate a SWOT activity. SWOT stands for: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. I’m going to assume that you already know the concepts behind SWOT (if not, we’ll make this clear during your workshop or session). I received a request to post about the … Read more
Deadlines are kind. They give people a way to prioritize their time and efforts. Priorities are also kind. Not setting them becomes fertile ground for frustration. Without priorities, people are led to think one of two things: 1- All of my tasks are equally important. 2- None of my tasks are important. The result? The … Read more
So many believe that leaders are “visionary”. It’s true – but a problem is this:
The concept of vision is “out there”, esoteric, hard to grasp. Aren’t visionary leaders somehow “special” in that regard? How can you “teach” vision?
A working definition of “Vision” as it applies to leaders:
Vision is a two-fold ability:
1) the ability to accurately see the current reality of the organization/situation, and
2) the ability to creatively see the possibilities of the organization/situation.