Archive for January, 2014
Boss or Leader?
Posted by: | CommentsLeadership is Service, Not Position – Tim Fargo
William had been newly appointed to the position of leading a team, of which he had previously been a part. As a technical expert, people often looked up to him for support and to help find solutions to problems. A gentle, intelligent person, William doubted his ability to lead and was very nervous about how he might be perceived by his peers. Unfortunately he was being mentored by his Boss who had no idea how a true leader leads his people.
He was told to distance himself from the team he led, so people would respect his new “position” and he was told to be ruthless in his stance of demanding excellence regardless of what excuses were presented. Much though it went against the grain, William took this advice and gradually started to change from a helpful much loved person to someone to be feared.
With time, however, as he began to see every relationship he had built break down and people begin to resist and avoid his new found “Leadership” style, he began to reflect on what really worked for him that was consistent with his original gentle approach and discovered he was able to not only get better results from his team, but that he was also beginning to grow and feel happier. His Boss of course was not happy with him, despite the improved team results and eventually William left the company for fresh professional pastures.
How often do our careers get interrupted by the wrong examples and advice? Here are a few tips to recognize the difference between a being a Boss and being a Leader! Read More→
Thinking Beyond the Box
Posted by: | CommentsA box without hinges, key, or lid
Yet Golden Treasure inside is hid
— J.R.R. Tolkien
Tolkien really had something when he said that! All my life I have been hearing this phrase : “Start Thinking outside the box”.
Admittedly it had me puzzled. what box are they all speaking about? Is it that all of us are living in a narrow rut, like Pavlovian rats racing along a pre-determined track?
Be born, get an education, do homework, toe the line, find a job, please the bosses, do as you are told, get married, have kids, provide for them, put up with a boring job and irritating colleagues in order to earn a living so that we can provide for our families?
Buy a home in a nice subabrban neighbourhood because everyone else is doing it? Get a mortgage, pay it off, downsize to a smaller home as we get older, get away to a warmer climate during the winter and then finally, catch up with our well deserved final rest. In a box?
It just did not make any sense to me! Read More→
