|
|
|
Being Family Friendly
The trigger date - 6 April 2003. Family Friendly rights, brought to employees and employers alike with the implementation of the Employment Act 2002. These include increased maternity leave together with the introduction of paternity leave, adoption...
Buying Overseas Property
Copyright 2005 Hugh Griffin
Fourteen Top Tips for Overseas Property Investment:
1. Buy what you want to buy. The most important decision when buying a property is deciding exactly what you want the property to do for you. Is it purely for...
English Language Sputtering Online Like an Old Ford!
Sad, but true. Just about everywhere you look online, the English language is suffering a fate worse than death. The problem, in reality, is so widespread that it has begun to affect all aspects of the language. "But, what on Earth does this...
Scammers Use Better Business Bureau Name To Commit Scams
The Better Business Bureau recently issued a national alert to warn consumers and businesses about two questionable operations that are falsely using the BBB name to scam victims.
One business is perpetrating an advance fee loan scam that...
Top 3 Myths of Leadership Debunked
What happens people define “leadership” as something attached to a title, or a salary, or a corner office? Both managers and employees suffer the consequences! Explore what happens when leaders and staff buy in to the top 3 limiting “myths of...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top 3 Myths of Leadership Debunked
What happens people define “leadership” as something attached to a title, or a salary, or a corner office? Both managers and employees suffer the consequences! Explore what happens when leaders and staff buy in to the top 3 limiting “myths of leadership.” And learn how you can ask the provocative questions that unleash everyone’s greatest potential in your organization.
Have you noticed that across the business world people are recognizing that we are fast outgrowing the thinking and language of hierarchy, but we're also struggling to create a new, more collaborative future? The challenge for all is to figure out how to operate in this emerging paradigm—the one that our own efforts are helping to shape.
As I work with top leaders in organizations and then, independently, the staff they lead, I’m frequently struck by the gulf that occurs between the two in the early stages of change. Typically what the leaders are trying to offer employees is very different than what’s being received by them. While a significant number of leaders begin with optimism about their efforts to engage everyone’s greatest wisdom, staff members can be slow to recognize and trust the intent of initiatives undertaken to empower them. Many employees simply don’t believe that their insights and decisions will really be valued so they continue to hold back. Some may be unwilling or feel unprepared to share in responsibility for what the group creates. In their hesitancy they actually work against the changes and make it more difficult to include them in creative and decision-making roles.
When members of either group become frustrated during the creation of a new working order it’s easy to resort to what they know best—the behaviors of the boss-subordinate relationship. Those with formal authority may again feel compelled to take up too much space (by using commanding words and actions), and followers too little space (by silencing their voices or talking only in whispers amongst themselves). When this occurs, leaders once more feel all the weight of responsibility on their shoulders, as well as the exhaustion that comes with constant staff resistance—a resistance they can no longer understand.
What accounts for the tension and the different perceptions that exist between two groups who must rely upon each other to maximize success?
Unfortunately, many myths and “old truths” about leadership linger and keep us caught in the snare of hierarchy. At every level of an organization these beliefs undermine a company’s potential greatness and cause unnecessary stress and dissatisfaction. These myths must be ferreted out and talked about in order for businesses to successfully, and more effortlessly, create a collaborative and effective culture.
** 3 MYTHS OF LEADERSHIP **
1. LEADERS MUST HAVE FORMAL AUTHORITY.
What happens when people throughout the organization believe leaders must have formal authority? People see leadership as a position, rather than as an action or behavior accessible to everyone. It invites those with formal authority to value their own opinions over others, and it keeps people who don’t have it from stepping to the plate and sharing in responsibility for the success of the organization. It divides the powerful from the powerless, and creates the tendency for the people in these two camps to lob blame back and forth across the fence that separates them. Each group holds the other responsible for the dynamics between them, and for bringing about the needed change.
2. LEADERS MUST HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS.
Do leaders need to have all the answers? People tend to answer this question with a resounding “no,” but in everyday business the myth creeps subtly in to do its damage. Many leaders secretly harbor feelings of inadequacy and incompetence as they try to speak with unconvincing expertise and authority on every aspect of their complex business. At the same time, front line workers fault their leaders for lacking their own particular brand of genius and,
consequently, ridicule or work against their efforts. Employees may almost arrogantly wait for a leader’s plan to fail, and take no responsibility for failures when they do occur.
3. LEADERS SHOULD KNOW HOW TO ACHIEVE THEIR VISIONS.
Although at first blush it makes sense that leaders ought to know how they are going to achieve their visions, the speed of change in today’s world makes it prudent to reassess the “rightness” of the organization’s direction after each step taken and to make regular “course corrections.” Equally important, as things become increasingly complex, and people place value on contributing in meaningful ways to accomplishing a shared vision, it is crucial to consistently include the wisdom that exists everywhere in the organization. Sadly, efforts to create this agile, responsive and inclusive workplace can be misunderstood by many employees if they are not given the chance to really understand why and how things unfold as they do. Rather than seeing themselves as co-creators of the organization’s success, many feed upon the idea that management already has all the answers and is “holding out on them” in some important and harmful ways, or that leadership is inept for not fully charting the course before beginning a new initiative.
** 10 SIMPLE CONVERSATION STARTERS **
At Highest Vision we believe that leadership today is less about having the right answers and more about having the right questions. The next time you see an opportunity for a meaningful dialogue in your organization, consider posing one of these questions to get the conversation started. Include everyone you can in the process. (In large organizations it helps to host groups that are comprised of both participants who have and do not have formal authority, and to keep each group small enough for genuine dialogue to occur.)
1.What stories about leadership are told within our organization? What different perspectives exist?
2.How can we ensure that everyone feels like a valued contributor to our shared success?
3.How can we invite people to act upon their right and their responsibility to be a fully participating member of the organization?
4.What will entice people to contribute their own knowledge and experience?
5.How can leadership be exhibited by every person in our organization?
6.What will it take to create relationships where people ask for your ideas and offer you theirs?
7.How can we make sure that information and ideas are flowing freely?
8.What is needed to ensure that decisions are able to be made as close to the front line as possible?
9.What can leaders do to challenge the myths and invite forth everyone’s full participation?
10.What can staff members do to challenge the myths and invite forth everyone’s full participation?
** CONCLUSION **
As our organizations increase in size and complexity, “quality of life” issues gain attention, and our businesses continue to shape the world in ever greater ways, successful companies must actively engage every member of their teams in both formal and informal ways.
So what can you do to move beyond the myths of leadership discussed here? Begin by recognizing that if you wait for someone else to take the first step—no steps are taken. With or without formal authority, find your voice and use it well. Ask provocative questions that invite open discussion and the sharing of ideas. Risk joining the conversation and shouldering the responsibility for what we create together.
About the Author
Susan J. Schutz founded Highest Vision in 1999. Highest Vision services – executive coaching, leadership development, and team building -- reflect her deep conviction that professionals can be attentive to their “bottom lines” while also creating lives worth living and businesses that contribute to the good of all. For a free subscription to VantagePoint, Highest Vision’s free E-zine for trailblazers in life and business, go to www.highest-vision.com.
|
|
|
|
|
| Language Tools |
| Translation of text and web pages between English and several European languages. |
| www.google.com |
|
| Language - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Gestures are a part of human language too. Some invented human languages have ... In human languages, the symbols are sometimes known as lexemes and the ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| English language - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Estimates about second language speakers of English vary greatly between 150 million ... Distribution of first-language native English speakers by country ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| Free Translation and Professional Translation Services from SDL ... |
| SDL International is the world's number 1 provider of free and professional language translation services for websites and documents. |
| www.freetranslation.com |
|
| AltaVista - Babel Fish Translation |
| Select from and to languages, Chinese-simp to English, Chinese-trad to English, English to Chinese-simp, English to Chinese-trad, English to Dutch ... |
| babelfish.altavista.com |
|
| yourDictionary.com • Comprehensive and Authoritative Language Portal |
| Comprehensive index of on-line dictionaries in more than 200 different languages. Includes an index of on-line grammars, word of the day by email, ... |
| www.yourdictionary.com |
|
| iLoveLanguages - Your Guide to Languages on the Web |
| The Human-Languages Page is a comprehensive catalog of language-related Internet resources. The over 1900 links in the HLP database have been hand-reviewed ... |
| www.ilovelanguages.com |
|
| AltaVista - Babel Fish Translation |
| AltaVista Babel Fish provides the online text and web page language translation! ... Select from and to languages, Chinese-simp to English, Chinese-trad to ... |
| world.altavista.com |
|
| BBC - Languages - Homepage |
| Learn French, Spanish, German, Italian and other languages with the BBC. Start up with our courses or brush up with our audio magazines. |
| www.bbc.co.uk |
|
| Online Dictionaries and Translators |
| online dictionaries that assist in the conversion from one language to ... If the dictionary only translates from one language to another you will see this ... |
| www.word2word.com |
|
| The Klingon Language Institute |
| Nonprofit organization offers language tutorials, related merchandise, mailing list and membership information. |
| www.kli.org |
|
| MARC Code List for Languages |
| MARC Code List for Languages prepared by the Library of Congress Network Development and MARC Standards Office. |
| www.loc.gov |
|
| Python Programming Language -- Official Website |
| Home page for Python, an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented, extensible programming language. It provides an extraordinary combination of clarity and ... |
| www.python.org |
|
| SYSTRAN Language Translation Technology |
| Machine translation products. Free online translation available (the engine used by Altavista's Web translator) - English to French, German, Italian, ... |
| www.systransoft.com |
|
| Project MUSE - Language |
| Language, the official journal for the Linguistic Society of America, ... Edited by Brian Joseph , Language serves a readership of over 7000 and has been ... |
| muse.jhu.edu |
|
| Learn a Language :: English, Spanish, German, Italian, French ... |
| English language courses online: e-learning, learn English online, ... English language learning events,news, conferences, workshops and seminars ... |
| www.edufind.com |
|
| Parlo - Welcome to Parlo - learn to speak a new language. |
| Parlo helps you learn English, French, Spanish and other languages with free online courses, music, a magazine, flash cards, chat rooms, message boards and ... |
| www.parlo.com |
|
| PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor |
| PHP is a server-side HTML embedded scripting language. It provides web developers with a full suite of tools for building dynamic websites: native APIs to ... |
| www.php.net |
|
| Ethnologue, Languages of the World |
| Home page of ethnologue.com, a searchable database of language resources. |
| www.ethnologue.com |
|
| Language Log |
| Weblog run by University of Pennsylvania phonetician Mark Liberman, with multiple guest linguists. |
| itre.cis.upenn.edu |
|
|