Leadership

Hi Leaders During a debate between my partner and I on the reasons why Nokia failed, it was evident that perspectives were divided. On one hand the technology was inferior to Apple, and on the other the business model that was flawed. But, I couldn't help inspecting it from an operational view. A company's success is directly related to the leadership...and there is was...organisational fear! What is organisational fear? Fear is the ultimate culture killer. Most organisations have some level of fear that holds back the potential of their organisation on many fronts.It’s not always a major incident that thrusts the subject of fear and unacceptable behaviour into the limelight. Fear at some level and the lack of full alignment around values and expected behaviours is rampant in many organisations today.Fear slows organisations down, causes hesitation, drives stress, and keeps literally millions of individuals from reaching their potential in effectively supporting th...

Hi Leaders "Let me ask you a question: If you were crafting a list of behaviour patterns that you think good leaders need to be successful, what would be included?" One person suggested that you needed to be politically wise to truly  manoeuvre  your way through a newsroom (gossip parties); that if you weren't, you would essentially be eaten alive. I understand the politics of a office chit chat all too well. But I also know that, as a leader, you can discourage it or encourage it. You can operate with what has become known as creative tension or you can let it be known that playing politics will get you absolutely nowhere. I did my best to practice the latter, and those working with me know I have no tolerance for politics and the gossip that accompanies it. Another point of contention came when a mid-level manager questioned whether you had to work longer and harder than everyone else to get ahead. And, he added, do people who work for you feel they have t...

I have been fortunate to be in a leadership or management position since I have been 20, and 19 years later, a lot  of things have changed. We have moved from a management approach to running a business to leadership, which is all the hype today. And for a good reason, and tongue in cheek, for the better. So what is leadership? Leadership can be hard to define and it means different things to different people. Leaders help themselves and others to do the right things. They set direction, build an inspiring vision, and create something new. Leadership is about mapping out where you need to go to "win" as a team or an organisation; and it is (should be) dynamic, exciting, and inspiring. Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right. – Professor Warren G. Bennis Instead of listing the differences between a manager/boss and a leader, I will focus more on helping you define what kind of leader you want to be, how to ge...