The term Leadership often connotes such things as one’s ability to motivate, to manage others, to guide, to influence, to inspire, to be courageous, to take risks, to be fearless, to be creative, to be a role model, to take responsibility and so on. The ultimate aim appears to be to lead “others” into new and uncharted waters where they individually or collectively will achieve some preconceived goal.
In many cases approaches to coaching individuals to become great leaders focus on the development of new skills that will allow them to be more powerfully influential. The general focus is therefore directed outwards, that is “what can I learn to get others to do what I want or need them to do”.
Unfortunately, what tends to happen is that by taking such an approach being a Great Leader becomes a task of learning how to convince “others” that what is being asked of them is somehow in their own best interests, whether or not it actually is. Therein lies there reason why leaders find themselves repeatedly having to revisit and reinvent their repertoire of “leadership skills”.
When one’s aim is to get others to do something that is ultimately against their deeper core human values one will always be confronted with motivational problems among those they are trying to lead. As we all know this “motivational” problem is one that many leaders find resurfacing regularly in their organizations.
When motivation becomes a problem again, what do most leaders do? Well they look to find new ways to try to “influence” others to do what is not inherently desirable to them. In other words they try to find new ways of “fooling” others to follow them. Of course this strategy will only last so long until the “followers” begin to realize that, after the rhetoric has subsided, they are no longer feeling inspired by the leader’s strategy of words.
Is this to become therefore a never ending battle? Is there no end to this cycle short of enslaving the followers in some way and forcing them ultimately to do what the leader wants? Unfortunately this is the road that some “leaders” have taken, and continue to take.
Well in my view there is a solution but it will require that the leader adopt a new definition of leadership that will significantly test his/her inner resolve. Let me explain.
I wish to coin the phrase “Personal Leadership. By this I mean one’s ability to follow or be guided by one’s own core human values, felt as emotions and which live deep within the heart of the individual. Now for some this may sound a bit vague if not dubious. Especially so perhaps for many corporate leaders who rely on their training, their intellect, their skills, and their ability to analytically make decisions.
They have, in other words, relied heavily on what they have stored or accumulated in their brain or mind. Hence the idea of relying on something that smacks of vague emotional reactions or feelings may make some leaders cringe if not feel terrified.
In order to try to allay some of these concerns I will elaborate further on the concept of “core human values as felt emotions” and try to illustrate the benefits of heeding these as a way of becoming a true leader.
In my view being a great leader essentially means having the courage to do what is right in any given circumstance. So what does it mean to do the “right thing”? Well in my view it means to make decisions based on and in alignment with one’s deeply held core human values. After all, why would anyone not want to do this? Is there some advantage to doing something that is not valued? To say that that there is is clearly a sign of unsound judgment, is it not?
By “core human values as felt emotions” I am highlighting the fact that as human beings we feel when things feel right and when they don’t for us and for others. These spontaneous feelings, whether we are aware of them or not, reflect our deeply held core human values. For instance when you see someone being injured, I think that it is a natural human emotional reaction for you to feel some sadness. This is an indication that we value safety, health and the integrity of our physical bodies. In the same way we also have emotional reactions to many of the daily decisions we choose too make.
Too often we exclude or are not even aware of such emotional reactions emerging from within us. There are however significant hazards to excluding the felt emotions that reflect core human values. Why is this? Well because that is where we, as human beings, feel the consequences of our decisions.
Some might find it interesting to realize that we have within us an inner wisdom that has the ability to comment on the decisions we choose to make with our minds/brains. Perhaps you might find it puzzling that this inner wisdom is not even originating in the mind/brain.
If it was there would be no need to have this conversation at all because they would be one and the same and hence would always be congruent. You might be even more curious to ponder the question of what it means when this inner wisdom is not in agreement with the decision being made (at the mind/brain level).
In our society we are so used to giving the mind/brain executive status that we have become too easily accustomed to ignoring our inner wisdom. So much so that we have actually turned against it, maligned it, diminished it, berated it and even pretended to forget that it even exists.
Again to emphasize the nature of this inner wisdom. What is it? What does it represent? Why should you trust it? Well, simply said, this inner wisdom reflects the sum total of all your “core human values”. By “core human values” I mean all those things that at the deepest level you, as a human being value and therefore are in your best interest. If you notice closely the values themselves become evident to you as you feel them deep in your heart, if you allow yourself to do so.
For instance, when you are asked to do something that you truly value you will likely feel, if you are aware of it, uplifted, happy, joyful, more inspired, more alive and so on. If you take a moment and notice where these feelings first emerge from within your body I think you will get a clearer sense of where this inner wisdom is living within you.
What’s more interesting is that this inner wisdom “is you”. This is because “you” are the person doing the valuing. Hence where you feel these good feelings is not only where your inner wisdom lives, it’s where you, or your experience of what I term your “core self” lives.
Similarly, when you ask someone else to do something, they too will feel something at the level of their core self where resides their inner wisdom, wherever that lives for them. If what is being asked of them “resonates” with their core human values they will feel inspired and will of their own accord align themselves with it. This is because they automatically know that this is what they value and desire.
However if you or they are unaware of the feelings emerging as information from the inner wisdom of the core self there is a tendency to allow one’s self to be led astray into doing something that ultimately is not valued. This, as I mentioned before, can only occur for so long because sooner or later the individual will start to “feel” uneasy. This is their inner wisdom rearing its head and notifying them that they have gone astray.
So how does all this tie in with the initial discussion of leadership. Well, in my view, to be a great leader means to listen to and to be guided by one’s inner wisdom always. In other words to live and work according to one’s core human values as they are conveyed by one’s inner wisdom. Now I suppose you probably “thought” you were already doing this didn’t you?
Well I can easily suggest that this is likely not so. For instance, do you ever experience stress in your life? What is stress? In my view it is when you are doing or considering doing something that is not resonating with your core human values or your inner wisdom. That’s doing something that is not desirable to you. This is so because one core human value is to be comfortable and at peace. Stress as you well know is about being in a state of dis-ease, the opposite of comfort and peace.
So you see, you are most likely not even aware of what your deepest core values are, nor have you been living them either.
In other articles I have written about a new coaching tool called the Mind Resonance Process(TM) that allows one to easily reconnect to and realign one’s life and work to one’s coe human values so as to make you a great leader. A great leader even in your ability to inspire others because by being who you are, human (because that’s what it means to be living your core human values), you will help others have the courage to do the same.
If you’d like to experience your own inner wisdom and become a great leader please visit the web link below and book an introductory consultation.
Dr. Nick Arrizza is trained in Chemical Engineering, Business Management & Leadership, Medicine and Psychiatry. He is an Energy Psychiatrist, Healer, Key Note Speaker,Editor of a New Ezine Called “Spirituality And Science” (which is requesting high quality article submissions) Author of “Esteem for the Self: A Manual for Personal Transformation” (available in ebook format on his web site), Stress Management Coach, Peak Performance Coach & Energy Medicine Researcher, Specializes in Life and Executive Performance Coaching, is the Developer of a powerful new tool called the Mind Resonance Process(TM) that helps build physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being by helping to permanently release negative beliefs, emotions, perceptions and memories. He holds live workshops, international telephone coaching sessions and international teleconference workshops on Physical. Emotional, Mental and Spiritual Well Being.
Business URL #1: http://www.telecoaching4u.com
Personal URL: http://www.telecoaching4u.com/Spirituality_And_Science.htm
Tags: core values, emotional IQ, excellence, executive, leaders, leadership CEO, manager, performance
What do creativity managers do?
Replace the word management with the word optimisation.
That’s what creativity managers do: they optimise the quality of the idea pool (creativity) and the implementation process (innovation).
There are many methods of optimisation and the creativity leader must be aware of all of them, in other words, he or she must synthesise them for optimal effect.
Areas [within creativity] that need managing include motivation, organisational culture, organisational structure, incremental versus radical effects and processes, knowledge mix, group structures, goals, process and valuation.
Areas [within innovation] that need managing include idea selection, development / prototyping and the art of commercialisation.
It is worth noting that 4000 good ideas result in 4 development programs, which in turn results in 1 winner.
Engagement in rest and unrelated activities
Insight is often explained as something like this, “I was walking across a traffic light and then the idea came to me!” The apple falling on Newton’s head is a classic example of this idea of aha! or Eureka! It is a classic example of this concept that ideas occur out of the blue.
However, ideas do not occur out of the blue. The mind is at some point exposed to the problem, whether this be at the conscious or subconscious level, works on that problem at various cognitive levels and then arrives at a solution.
This process that leads to insight consists of the following at least:
a) Problem identification.
b) Intense investigation.
c) Forced solution seeking.
d) Stimuli search.
e) Allowing the unconscious to take over through rest and engagement in unrelated activities.
Engagement in unrelated activities is a core part of the process toward insight, and within the framework above, is essential to parts d) and e).
Engagement in unrelated activities is also a core element in the expansion of tacit knowledge and bridging: the linking and crossing of incongruous domains. Both are critical to effective creativity management.
Learn more
Download the MBA research, learn about this topic at http://www.creativity-management.com/
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Kal Bishop, MBA
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Download the MBA research, learn about this topic at http://www.creativity-management.com/
Tags: creativity, managementIn this issue, I will share my experience acquired from the conglomerate and its operating companies. For the purpose of this article, I will articulate the Agility which is one of the eleven core values and concepts used in Malcolm Baldrige Criteria. As before, I will use case studies to show how some of the companies implement them.
To recap, below are the Eleven Core Values and Concepts of Baldrige Criteria:-
Visionary Leadership | Customer-Driven Excellence | Organizational and Personal Learning | Valuing Employees and Partners | Agility | Focus on the Future |Managing for Innovation | Management by Fact | Public Responsibility and Citizenship | Focus on Results and Creating Value | Systems Perspective
Articulated Agility
The Agility of an organization response to rapid changes to business has an advantage over those do not. Obviously this principle is easily understood in the business world. In today’s business environment, change is inevitable. It is so rapid that strategies and decision made previously no longer adequate or valid. Businesses are facing great demand in value added product and services from customers. Example: are shorted cycle time, instant information access, fast response to enquiries, etc. In order to respond to these demands, an organization needed to be agile. That requires agility.
Agility requires a whole set of new thinking in business structure, bureaucracy, restructure of work systems, multi-tasking of employees, simplified and innovative processes, employee empowerment, etc to strive for Agility in the organization. It is not about respond fast to the customer or business environment; it is about how to support it.
Agility is not just a philosophy of doing business to keep up to date, but they are key success factors for today’s business survivor. Hence, Key Performance Indicators must be established that are aligned to this new business platform. These KPI might include cycle time, response time, error rate, productivity, improvement efforts etc.
Case Study on Agility
All companies response to changes in business environment. As a matter of fact, some of them reacted so frequent that they loss focus on their long term business objective. To some extend, they take it part of the business process. Due to these unpredicted changes, crisis management seems to take over the continuous improvement initiatives.
At least some of the changes are not new, even way before their annual Business Plan and Budget. Unfortunately, they do not seem to prepared for the implication to their business when it become a reality. To quote some popular examples are: Foreign Exchanges fluctuation on USD against RM, escalating of raw material price, increase in logistic cost due to increase in petroleum price, a long list of them. It is not fair to say leaders of these companies do not know these factors will affect their profit margin, but most of them have the hope that it will not happen.
Issues with Agility
As mentioned, most of them spend so much time in reacting to these crisis, they lack focus on long term improvement initiatives. Hence, lack focus to restructure the organization to reduce operating cost, improving processes for better productivity, aggressively do material cost down program , develop employee to be more agile in their work with multi-skill. Solving problem using ad hoc team or crisis management seems to be the solution to the day-to-day operational issues…
Opportunity for Improvement
Leaders need to realize that most of the above scenarios are external factor which is not their circle of influence, therefore it is only logical that they take these changes as real and prepared themselves to counter it. Developing the organization be agile is a logical and most economical way to receive changes. With Agility, an organization can take changes and turn it into opportunities. Organization should be agile with short cycle time, reduce error and quality problem, improve productivity and reduce waste. Innovation to their product and service should be an focus effort tot drive the total business cost down.
In summary, having understood the Agility in Values and Concepts of Malcolm Baldrige, Leaders might benchmark their CEO of Baldrige Winners on their TQM successes in this value. My next article will articulate the next Core Values and Concepts in Focus on the Future
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Disclaimer:
All rights reserved. This article is written by the author based on his practical application experience. All definitions and interpretation of terminology are his point of view and has it has no intention to conflict with experts in similar topic. The author holds no responsibility for the use of this article in any way. Full Baldrige Criteria are available at http://www.nist.gov/quality
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Free to reprint or re-publish:
All rights reserved. You are free to reprint or re-publish this article as long as you include my resource box at the end of this article. And ensure that the URL in the resource box remained intact and it is linked to the author’s website.
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Resource Box: About the Author, LM Foong
The author provides consulting services specializing in TQM Implementations in manufacturing and service sector. He provides facilitation workshops and hands-on application in Cost Reduction and Productivity Improvement projects. He publishes TQM articles, ebooks, case studies, trainer manual and presentation slides. Please click