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Leadership: a mash up of metaphors

published: 2011-10-31

The Harvard Business Review loves them: authors, who use three or four anecdotes to derive a general principle. But, as Phil Rosenzweig famously showed in 2007*, this is shoddy logic. And, the HBR article (Fire, Snowball, Mask, Movie – November 2011) is the genre Phil dislikes. Read it if you wish but only if you then do your own thinking. Leadership is about problem-solving – not repeating someone else’s tricks or even your own. Each day is new: with different people (or the same ones feeling differently) and different challenges – as the economy churns, competitors attack, suppliers mess up and so on. So, let’s check what the HBR article has to say – and then think a little deeper. ... read more

Leadership: what a load of rubbish!

published: 2011-09-26

According to a recent Harvard Business Review article, “In an era when discontinuity is the only constant, the ability to lead wisely has nearly vanished.” What nonsense. This sort of populist generalisation about leaders makes me mad. I’ve been around for decades and there’s little new in what’s happening today. And, if I’d lived for centuries, the same would be true. Cycles are part of evolution. So are good and bad decisions. And, the main problem today is not in business but politics and government. The failure to legislate and regulate well – and promptly. If you want to follow my rant further, please continue below. ... read more

Leadership: how innovative are you?

published: 2011-05-23

According to The Economist magazine “Business writers have always worshipped at the altar of success” ... and ... “This success-fetish makes the latest management fashion all the more remarkable. The April issue of the Harvard Business Review is devoted to failure.” Well, what does that mean for you and me as leaders? Are you noted for fostering new ways - and risking failure? Do you innovate personally – including in how you lead? Here are 10 action suggestions, I’ve put together from reading The Economist report. ... read more

Leadership: you don't need a sex change

published: 2011-02-14

Michael Wallent (an 11-year Microsoft veteran) and Megan Wallent (a co-worker) couldn’t be more different. One is a man; the other a woman. Each, we are told by Harvard Business Review*, demonstrates the classic “male” or “female” leadership traits. Michael has the engineer’s narrow-gauge logic and bluntness. Megan shows sensitivity and inclusion. The HBR explains wide-eyed (at its own permissiveness, I sense) that Michael and Megan are actually the same person – pre and post a sex change. Do you dare to read on? ... read more

LEADERSHIP: TURNING AROUND FAILURE

published: 2010-09-06

I’ve just discovered that my favourite blogger, Seth Godin, is also a columnist with the Harvard Business Review. However, even in this mainstream venue, he retains his quirky preoccupation with what’s wrong in the world. He prises open our minds and this is certainly true when he redefines failure, so we recognise various forms of “getting by” as actually various ways of failing. Below are his eight examples with his introductory wording. For each, I’ve appended an action option – taken from my V|E|C|T|O|R Leadership framework. Ask yourself this: how would colleagues rate you on your readiness to take such actions? ... read more

LEADERSHIP: FOR SUCCESS – AND HAPPINESS

published: 2010-07-19

Like Professor Clayton Christensen, I’ve faced a life threatening cancer and found it a crucible for clarifying my thinking about what’s important. The day after the operation, my wife asked me to step down from chairing a major fund-raising appeal for my daughter’s school. This seemed reasonable and I agreed. Overnight, however, I came to a different view: what was the point of being alive if I turned my back on this type of activity? We all face such decisions but, as Christensen points out in the July-August edition of the Harvard Business Review (2010), we must be proactive in formulating our life strategy. Are you clear about what you’re doing to ensure you are successful, have a happy family life and live by rules of which you can be proud? Below are Professor Christensen’s three strategic questions. ... read more

LEADERSHIP: FOR BETTER CSR

published: 2010-05-17

It’s unusual to read something balanced and practical about CSR. Activists want business to carry the wrap for everything. Apologists limit it to immediate operating activities and what the law requires. True, the primary responsibility is to sell sound products that people want, employ and reward fairly and act honesty and responsibly. But, the authors of a recent HBR article offer an insightful approach to the boundary issue of what is and isn’t a company’s responsibility? They make this erstwhile no-man’s land a fertile ground for corporate creative thinking and commercial good sense. ... read more

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? ... read more

LEADERSHIP: WHEN GOOD-TO-GREAT IS ONLY LUCK

published: 2009-11-23

Business gurus and their books are full of magic formulae for achieving business and career success. It's alluring: we all want to succeed. And, they often clothe their advice in research across hundreds of companies or thousands of leaders. Very impressive on the surface. But, at bottom, it's all just another medieval philosopher's stone - promising to transmute stodgy lead into winner's gold. Lovely words but not for real. And, all too often, later review will indicate this "great" company has now slipped back, and that exemplary leader has fallen from grace - or, worse, is doing time. But is there something we can learn here?
... read more

LEADERSHIP: BE SPECIFIC AND PRACTICAL

published: 2009-11-02

Twenty years ago, which was also twenty years into our marriage, my wife and I nearly separated. But with professional help, we reviewed what we each wanted and how this could be achieved. We set goals and negotiated actions. What saved us was specifics, not general principles. In most areas of life, the principles are pretty obvious. However, the specifics are what's tough and personally challenging. And, that's particularly true of leadership, which is perhaps a strange sort of legalised polygamy. A relationship between a leader and his or her followers. So, like many marriages, it may need some help - and here are some thoughts. ... read more

LEADERSHIP: WHAT'S IN A BRAND?

published: 2008-03-24

The article "Building a Leadership Brand" (HBR July/August 2007) is excellent. Assuming, that is, you’re a CEO or HR strategist in a major global corporation. In other words, a few hundred people. But, what about the rest of us: working in smaller organisations, or leading our own businesses? And, worrying daily about delivering products and services, dealing with staff and hoping to improve productivity and profits?
... read more

LEADERSHIP: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

published: 2008-03-17

The article, "The Making of an Expert" (HBR July-August 2007), is worth reading if only for one line: experts are always made, not born. And, as the authors stress, this is as true for business leaders as sportspeople, scientists and artists. But how? Years of "practicing intensively"; focusing on "tasks beyond your current level of competence and comfort"; and, having a coach not only to guide you but "help you learn how to coach yourself." ... read more

LEADERSHIP: THINKING IS OFTEN THE LEAST OF IT

published: 2008-03-10

"How Successful Leaders Think" is a classic HBR article: big-name leaders (yes, Jack Welch is there), a handful of anecdotes (passing for evidence), a strong metaphor (we can all understand) and a simple diagram. A revolutionary idea and leadership made easy. Except that the core "opposable" thinking (thesis/antithesis/synthesis) is as old as time, as is also the CEO’s unique integrative role across conflicting needs of individual business units, functions and market groups. But, above all, leadership is about much more than thinking. ... read more

LEADERSHIP: WHAT THE HELL IS AUTHENTIC?

published: 2008-03-03

"Discovering Your Authentic Leadership" (Harvard Business Review, February 2007) is like a 20-minute, personal-growth workshop. All the feel-good, righteous stuff is there. You should be self-aware and authentic. Don't try to be like anyone else. Find your own life story and build on that. Ensure you've got life balance. Well, all that's fine so long as it finds you on parade and taking leadership actions others will esteem and follow. And, in this regard, my experience (from three decades of consulting and leading) says there are other factors as well. Like being passionate and driven, market savvy, technically proficient, tireless in the service of your team and, yes, at times even angry and unfair. Generals Patton, Napoleon and Wellington weren't heavily into self-awareness. Nor are many CEOs – including ones I've known and admired. Nice is certainly valuable, but not sufficient. ... read more

LEADERSHIP: FOUR PRINCIPLES OF ENDURING SUCCESS

published: 2008-02-25

People love lists of dos and don’ts. And, why not? They often contain useful hints. And, a good example is Stadler’s article “The Four Principles of Enduring Success” (HBR July/August 2007). He follows in the footsteps of others like Jim Collins (of Built to Last and Good to Great), who analyse the performance of lots of companies and draw simple conclusions to explain why some excel and others fall behind. ... read more

LEADERSHIP: WHAT’S YOUR INNOVATION INDEX

published: 2008-02-18

The authors of an article in the December issue of Harvard Business Review assert that “five ‘discovery skills’ separate true innovators from the rest of us.” They list the usual suspects: Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson and Ratan Tata. And, as usual, it’s more about after-the-event generalisations than scientific deduction. But, that doesn’t stop us asking: what must I do to be more creative? Here are their five thoughts – and one I’ve added. ... read more

LEADERSHIP: LET A THOUSAND FOLLOWERS FLOWER

published: 2008-02-11

“Increasingly, followers think of themselves as free agents, not as dependent underlings. … A confluence of changes – cultural and technological ones in particular – have influenced what subordinates want and how they behave, especially in relation to their ostensible bosses.” I like that expression: ostensible bosses. Are we ever much more than that? Each day and in each situation, we have to win our followers to the cause or journey, for which we’re responsible. So, how are we to do that? ... read more

LEADERSHIP: HOW WOMEN CAN GET TO THE TOP

published: 2008-01-28

The authors of “Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership” take a new viewpoint on the challenge women face in rising to senior leadership roles. They emphasise deep systemic problems rather than a single obstacle such as the glass ceiling, which has dominated debate for 20 years. In their view, “by depicting a single, unvarying obstacle, the glass ceiling fails to incorporate the complexity and variety of challenges that women can face in their leadership journeys.” However, notwithstanding this broader perspective and a wide-ranging review of available research, the authors don’t come up with a lot that’s new – or, more importantly, that a woman executive can directly control. So, is there an answer? ... read more