Eclectic Change

How toxic before you amputate?

Last September, France Télécom SA announced it would train all of its 22,000 managers to identify staffers showing signs of depression or erratic behavior after unions blamed a recent spate of suicides among workers on the company's recent restructuring efforts.  By October, the situation had worsened and a France Télécom executive resigned after the employee suicide tally had risen to 24.  One resignation?  A good analysis can be found by Gill Corkindale on the HBR Blog at that same time:  Why...

When did the words “I” and “Why” become so bad?

If you are coach or a facilitator, then maybe you should limit the use of these words but leaders - it is about time you reclaimed them. Leaders need to be using the word "I" when it comes to expressing how they feel regarding something and certainly to take responsibility.  Stop passing the buck by disappearing into that innocuous and vague collective "WE". When did the word "I" become all about me.  There is no "I" in team.  Spare me.  As Peter Jager would say "Just as 'there's no I in TEAM...

Mary Poppins as a medaphor of eclectic change or 5 skills of Change Agents

Around the time that I was designing and contemplating this new blog, I ended up watching "Mary Poppins" with my family one weekend.  I had forgotten how entertaining it is regardless of one's age.  I had also forgotten how many years it has been since its first release.  Besides feeling nostalgically old, I began to look at it in a new light.* While the protagonist is Mary Poppins herself, I began to see that she represented not the new leadership of the 21st century as one might imagine but...

5 Skills of Eclectic Thinkers – Leadership Essencials

Eclectic thinkers like their counter parts eclectic philosophers and deep thinkers are bright and inquisitive.  While they tend to be introspective it doesn't appear to be a necessity.  Why is being an eclectic thinker and important skill for leadership (or at least having access to one)?  Eclectic thinkers are the "mavens" who not only have valuable information at their fingertips, they possess the ability to filter through today's noise and create meaning from that data.  While eclectic thinke...

Sustainability through a “North Star” Goal

Finally, someone has captured the full scope of the sustainability issue and resolved some of the inner conflict I have been experiencing lately.  Protecting the natural environment isn’t the whole story: companies must consider their social, economic, and cultural impact as well.  Sustainability is good business and therefore corporate social responsibility makes good sense to businesses and all of us. Intuitively I knew this but try to explain the logic in a ROI sense and it sometimes takes a ...

TILT – Pam Boney on Wisdom (audio)

Kay Cannon interviews Pam Boney about Wisdom Quadrant of the Transcendent Leadership Model of Tilt. What are The Tilt Meta-Factors If a leader is able to accomplish four key aspects of leadership presence, the potential for performance is exponential instead of incremental. Why? Because a leader that can be trusted to put the objective needs of the enterprise above their own interests are operating on principles that rise above the personal agenda of ego to accomplish the right objectives ...

Leadership doesn’t show up on a resume

What struck me most about the interview of CEO Richard Anderson was his answer to the first question. Q. What was the most important leadership lesson you learned? A. I’ve learned to be patient and not lose my temper. Patience I have learned over the past five years is my biggest developmental need.  (Such a nice way of putting that I too impatient and easily I loose my temper at my children.) A colleague, CJ got around to blogging about this this interview and it is always interesting t...

It is time to take off the blindfolds

Wednesday April 22nd was Earth Day and to be honest, I didn't do anything particular to celebrate or honour it. I was too busy blogging, driving kids from activities, fixing meals, doing laundry, changing light bulbs and arranging my next trip to Canada. So when this video crossed my desk this morning via Twitter, I thought it was a great way to both acknowledge the importance of Earth Day - everyday AND a good follow-up to my post from yesterday about personal safety and change. Although th...

Kudos to Marshall Goldsmith

You have to have a strong ego to write blog posts that are well read by others (who have their own opinions) and then read all the comments.  Two days ago, I took exception to the term "uncoachable" that Marshall Goldsmith used in a recent in his "Ask the Coach" segment in HRB: "How to Spot the "Uncoachables".  To his credit, Marshall responded and qualified the terms he was using. I encourage you to read the post and the comments (including mine and his responses). Earlier today, I put up a ...

Leadership – Our responsibility to serve the world

Jacqueline Novogratz, Acumen Fund’s CEO, shares lessons in leadership from her work in venture philanthropy. This interview was conducted by Bill Javetski, an editor with the McKinsey Quarterly, in February 2009.  This video is about what it really means to be a leader today and our social responsibility. Ms. Novogratz  talks about humility ("I had to learn to have the humility myself to really listen to their perspectives") but it is her call to action that is the most powerful message. Par...