LEADERSHIP: THERE'RE ALWAYS CONSEQUENCES

published: 2009-08-03

Come year end, how will you judge your own performance? And, that of your team members? Does everyone have clear and measurable goals? More importantly, are they taken seriously? And, if I fall short, are there real consequences?

LEADERSHIP: LEARNING FROM NET GENERS

published: 2008-12-14

In 1997, Don Tapscott published "Growing up digital" - and coined the name "net generation" for the natives of the online world.  Now 11 years on, and after a two-year survey of 8,000 people (born 1978 to 1994) from across 12 countries, he's published "Grown up digital".  He concludes that on average Net Geners are smarter, quicker and more tolerant of diversity than the decrepit oldies like the Baby Boomers, let alone the dodos like me, familiarly known as Veterans.

LEADERSHIP: DEMONSTRATE SUCCESS NOT HUMILITY

published: 2010-02-08

When someone commented to Winston Churchill that Clement Atlee was a modest man, he famously replied that Atlee had "much to be modest about." I suspect Churchill (in contrast to gurus like Jim Collins) would find the current fashion for bland CEOs unacceptable. Collins says the best are "humble, self-effacing, diligent and resolute souls." Diligent and resolute sound good to me and my four decades of business involvement say they're needed characteristics. But, humble and self-effacing contradict my experience. Some CEOs cultivate quietness and consultation but that's not the same as being humble or self-effacing. So, what kind of CEO are you; and, is it working? Here are some things to ponder.

LEADERSHIP: PHYSICIAN HEAL THYSELF

published: 2010-05-10

The author of this article opens with an unbeatable leadership confession. He states that “The problem with health care is people like me.” He’s a doctor but the article equally applies if “doctor” is replaced by engineer (my training), actuary, lawyer or any other profession. By definition, leaders start with some specialisation – technical, social or commercial. And the better we perform, the more likely someone will appoint us to lead others – first in the same area and later across others. And the rot starts there – unless, like Thomas Lee, we recognise that changing roles requires changing priorities. Leadership is another profession. But we often fail to see that or we come to it after starting to lose our flexibility of thinking and behaviour. How well would your people say you’ve transitioned? High, medium or low?

LEADERSHIP: WHEN IN DOUBT, DISAGGREGATE

published: 2010-05-31

Seth Godin is part blogger, part public intellectual. Some days, he really nails a topic. Here’s an abbreviated introduction to a recent posting*.

“The typical American buys precisely one book a year … (but) when it comes to books, there is no typical American. There are a lot of Americans who buy zero books … and then there are people like me who buy 400. The average is irrelevant.”

It’s the old warning of the non-swimmer, who drowned in a river of one-metre average depth. So, what’s the equivalent for your leadership? Are you just taking “average” one-size-fits-all actions? Here’s a three-step alternative.