Childhood and parent relationships can be reflected within the workplace. A way this can occur is by our exhibiting signs of dependency. Dependency in this sense simply means we are, at some level, dependent upon a person or understanding that we consider superior to us. Harry Levinson in his book titled “Executive: The Guide to Responsive Management,” said four aspects of this issue are especially relevant to good organizational fit.
Read MoreIf you lead from a foundation of values shared by your members, if you emphasize team building, if you involve your group when making decisions, if you support those who work with you and aren’t status or class-conscious or independent and individualistic then it’s likely you could lead in any social or organizational culture.
Read MoreIf you find yourself wanting leaders to be “real” you’re not alone, seems most people do. The premise is simple: when leaders are authentic those who follow them have a better experience. But when is a leader authentic? For that matter, when are followers authentic? Here’s three ways you can tell.
Read MoreI talked with a leader who was in the quandary of feeling she wanted to do one thing but thinking she should do something else. In essence, her head and heart weren’t in agreement. She knew what convention expected of her, even what the demands were that she placed upon herself but meeting those expectations wasn’t satisfying her emotionally.
Read MoreFor those of us who see ourselves as leaders we need to know that people certify our leadership based in their mental images of what a leader is. Another way of saying it is that we’re leaders because people think we are. Perceptions do count.
Read MoreNo one is perfect and few fully adjusted. In other words, most of us are like cracked pots: We have the promise of potential but with a few leaks and if the strain gets too great our insides show. The goal isn’t to repair the cracks – they’re life long – but to make our inside beautiful so that when we’re strained people experience grace instead of grief. After all, isn’t that the kind of leader you’d want leading your enterprise?
Read MoreDiscerning the story of our life can be very rewarding but like most things we do having an example helps, especially one that enables us to feel less strange about who we are.
Read MoreIt’s said to be “more important to know who you are than where you are going, for where you are going will change as the world around you changes.” In this light the demand to know direction and “do something” isn’t always a leader’s best counsel. In fact, the busyness of doing can get in the way of the business of being and become a way to defer taking a look at yourself.
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