Where Art, Life and Leadership Intersect
In This Bloutcher
- Leadership Bromides
- Announcements
Leadership Bromides
Few topics get as much attention as leadership. If you look up Amazon the number of titles associated with leadership shows 82,642. That compares with 13,590 for creativity, 70,885 for parenting and 25,084 for golfing. Of course that is not as high as religion at 856,019 or spirituality at 165,971. But it is up there.
Presumably, each of these leadership titles found a publisher under the premise that it offers a unique take on leadership--each has something to say that other books have not yet said. My goodness, do we really have 82,642 new, unique takes on leadership? Unlikely. Perhaps we need a book of books about leadership? Also unlikely.
And this bridges into leadership bromides. Perhaps what we need is to re-examine what is already out there.
As an example, take the very popular notion that leadership of others begins with management of oneself. This is certainly an appealing idea and a lot of good stuff can come out of it. Since we can reasonably define leadership as the capacity to influence others I suspect that the others in this definition take into account how well someone models behavior as an important factor in whether s/he will follow a particular person. So, self management becomes the starting point in becoming an effective leader.
Or does it? Personally I don't think so. I believe that leadership and self management have an important antecedent--and that is self narrative. I have had the opportunity to interview many folks over the years. Both organizational leaders and individuals navigating change in their personal lives. One of the things I have learned is when personal narrative is based on a strong sense of personal agency self management can follow. In the absence of this kind of narrative, self management crumbles in the face of stress and challenge. When one weaves together the warp and woof of one's personal experience into a story about oneself that embodies resilience, hope and belief in the ability to make a difference then one has created a powerful foundation for self management and leadership..
What is the story you tell yourself about yourself?
Does your personal narrative hold empowering or limiting attributes?
Here are elements of a powerful agency based personal narrative I have picked up over the years:
I am resilient
I am resourceful
I am a learner
I am self reflective
I land on my feet
I can self correct
I've known fear and acted despite it
I know how to ask for help
I am honest with myself
I am accountable
I have the capacity to give and receive love
I have the capacity to forgive
Click here to see an example of a story we tell ourselves about ourselves:
Announcements:
- The Coach's Studio. We are excited to announce the Fall Session of The Coach's Studio will begin October 3rd. We have received outstanding feedback and we continue to add elements to the program. Let me know if you might have interest. Or if you know someone who might. For a full description of the program click here.
- I will be speaking at the American Creativity Association National Conference in Lewiston, Maine this weekend. Creative folks from all over the globe will be driving their broomsticks to the University of Southern Maine for the two day conference, beginning Friday and ending Saturday. Check it out here.
- Bill Zinke is a visionary with a long and successful career in the human resources field. In 2007 he created the Center for Productive Longevity--dedicated to "stimulating the substantially increased engagement of people 55 + in productive activities, paid and volunteer, where they are qualified and ready to continue adding value." CPL held its first conference in Washington DC that year. This year he will be holding a series of conferences at Babson College in Waltham, MA, The Kellogg School at Northwestern in Chicago, and the University of Denver in Denver, CO. As part of these programs CPL is sponsoring an essay contest for those 50+. I will be one of three judges for the "Later Life Essay Contest." If you are interested in entering the contest with the possibility of winning $1000 click on this link: To learn more, click here.
