Philosophy and Leadership
What, if anything, can the study of philosophy teach us about leadership? Is it the content or the way philosophers think? Read the rest of this entry »
How Wise is a Crowd?
It is perhaps too soon to be certain of the advantages of crowds over individuals in all aspects of life and work. We know that collaboration has some clear benefits but we can’t say precisely where groups excel over individuals. Read the rest of this entry »
Activists as Leaders
When is an activist a leader and not a terrorist? Martin Luther King, Jr, Gandhi and Mandela were activists as well as leaders. What does it take for an activist to be classified as a leader? Read the rest of this entry »
Should CEOs be Creative?
CEOs recently surveyed claim that the most important trait they need for the future is creativity. But surely this is self-defeating because it can get in the way of the more important task of fostering creative thinking in others. Read the rest of this entry »
Beyond Focusing on Strengths
The current wave of interest in strengths and strengths-based leadership is hard to resist. A recent study reported by Alex Linley of the Centre for Applied Positive Psychology showed that performance improved between 21 and 36% when managers focused on employee strengths. Read the rest of this entry »
Followership: Sense or Nonsense?
A focus on followers coincides with the need to better engage employees and to encourage them to be less passive but the language of followership is self-defeating. The term “follower” suggests subservience. Read the rest of this entry »
Do employees leave managers?
It has become conventional wisdom that employees leave managers, not companies. Employees leave when frustrated but it may not always be the manager’s fault. Read the rest of this entry »
Martin Luther King Jr’s Leadership Traits
When we think of the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. we envisage his charisma and powerful speech making skills. He had these traits in abundance. But what can other leaders learn from him, especially if they lack these traits? Read the rest of this entry »
Are there any Level 5 Leaders?
The key difference between level 4 and level 5 leaders is that the former promote their own ideas for new directions while the latter draw ideas for new strategies out of their teams. This is the point of the slogan “first who then what” which applies to the level 5 leader. Read the rest of this entry »
Leading by Example
When we think of leading by example, we envision managers showing team members what they stand for. This is because we restrict leadership to people in managerial positions. But other ways of leading by example cast leadership in an entirely different light. Read the rest of this entry »