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Emily Bolton Named Editor of The Point
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Emily Bolton as Editor of The Point. Emily is a key member of the Bluepoint team, using her many talents in communications, website development, editing, and workshop development. She holds a Master of Philosophy Degree from Cambridge University, and has a passion for research and writing in the field of leadership development.
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Selling Leadership Secrets
By Gregg Thompson
You are at the airport and you have some time to kill. A mild panic envelops you as you realize that you are going to be stuck without a Wi-Fi connection and a cell phone connection at the same time and will be bored to tears by your own thoughts.
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Leadership 425: Self-Trust
By Susanne Biro
I am always a little offended when I read an article entitled something or other 101 - as if the concept presented is so basic I should have already mastered it. So, although the concept of self-trust is a leadership fundamental, I believe its application actually operates at an advanced level - at a 400-course level, if you will.
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November Webinar
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
1:00 pm EST/ 10:00 am PST
Don't Procrastinate: Innovate!
Join us online to discover how to make your 2008 leadership development program the best ever.
David Parks, Senior VP, Bluepoint, will discuss how to get management buy-in and achieve lasting results from your leadership development program.
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Emily Bolton Named Editor of The Point
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Emily Bolton as Editor of The Point. Emily is a key member of the Bluepoint team, using her many talents in communications, website development, editing, and workshop development. She holds a Master of Philosophy Degree from Cambridge University, and has a passion for research and writing in the field of leadership development. We look forward to seeing her special mark on The Point. Emily can be reached via email.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank outgoing Editor, Ron Crossland, for his outstanding work in developing The Point into a highly regarded and widely read leadership journal. Ron will continue to be a senior contributor to The Point.
Sincerely,
The Bluepoint Leadership Development Team
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Selling Leadership Secrets
By Gregg Thompson
You are at the airport and you have some time to kill. A mild panic envelops you as you realize that you are going to be stuck without a Wi-Fi connection and a cell phone connection at the same time and will be bored to tears by your own thoughts. You realize that you will need to find something to keep your mind occupied for these few hours of purgatory. (I would suggest reading "Turning your Mind Into an Ally" by Sakyong Mipham, but I'll save that for another column.)
So what do most of us do? We head to the magazine rack to find our relief. Why magazines? Because in their easily digestible, bite-sized articles accompanied by their bright shiny pictures they promise to reveal secrets. We don't just want to be entertained; there is something inside all of us that wants to learn. From the titillations of People to the intellectual offerings of the Harvard Business Review, we want to learn something new. And we want it in a hurry, served up in concentrated form so that we can leave the magazine for the aircraft cleaning crew. I am no different. I would like to claim that I use this time to catch up on my James Joyce and Franz Kafka, but usually find myself with 3 or 4 new magazines that promise to summarize the issues that are of most importance to me within their shiny pages.
As a leadership coach and facilitator, I found a recent edition of Fortune irresistible. I simply couldn't walk by a magazine that offered to share the secrets of leaders from companies like GE and P&G. (The fact that three of the five top-rated companies are Bluepoint clients did not escape my attention either.) The articles were well written and interesting, but as I read, I was struck by the fact that I have seen these same ideas in dozens of books over the years. The truth is, there are no secrets to leadership. We know what it takes to successfully lead organizations. It's just tough, and we'd like to find an easier way to do it. And maybe Ken Chenault of American Express has the answer.
Leading today's organization is not for the faint-hearted, but the elements of what it takes to be successful at the craft are well-known.
First, be the kind of person to whom others attribute the qualities of leadership. Words like authenticity, integrity, trust, and respect are often used, but it boils down to having the requisite personal stature, as measured by organization members, to earn the right to lead. (Bonus points: create an organization of stature.)
Second, determine where the organization is going and how it is going to get there. (Bonus points: create an organization that can effectively respond to the inevitable changing winds and tides that will surely throw it off course.)
Third, craft innovative business models, systems, processes, and structures which unleash the natural talents and capabilities of people, while harnessing the inevitable chaos associated with organization life. (Bonus points: create teams and organizations that re-design themselves as they encounter obstacles and opportunities.)
Fourth, build a purpose-driven community where all members get to contribute, learn and earn in a big way. (Bonus points: create the environment and processes that will supply an endless supply of leaders that are even better than you.)
Great leadership is not a secret; it's just hard work on four well-known fronts.
Gregg Thompson has collaborated with Ron Crossland to write an exciting new book entitled The Leadership Experience: From Individual Success to Organization Significance, a myth-busting exploration of the four timeless, non-secret labors of leaders; Authenticity, Navigation, Architecture and Community. Gregg's two sisters and his aunt think that this is the finest book on leadership ever written and have promised to read it as soon as he sends them a complimentary copy. Pre-order your copy today. Email Gregg at greggthompson@bluepointleadership.com
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Leadership 425: Self-Trust
By Susanne Biro
I am always a little offended when I read an article entitled something or other 101 - as if the concept presented is so basic I should have already mastered it. So, although the concept of self-trust is a leadership fundamental, I believe its application actually operates at an advanced level - at a 400-course level, if you will.
What exactly do I mean by self-trust? Simply this: How frequently you act upon what you know. To gauge how much you actually trust yourself, consider the following:
- In meetings and group conversations, how often do you say to yourself, "That's exactly what I was thinking, why didn't I say it?"
- After completion of a project, do you frequently want to kick yourself because you failed to do something you knew you needed to do (and now not doing it has come back to bite you)?
- Is there someone you already know you need to fire (or move to another part of the organization), but you have yet to take the necessary action?
- What is the challenging conversation you know you need to have? How long do you suspect you will wait before actually having it?
Questions such as these can raise your awareness of how much you trust yourself; the extent to which you believe in the value of your own thoughts and feelings.
Let's consider another scenario: When you first meet someone, which do you tend to focus on more -- how you are being perceived, or what you think of them? Give this some honest consideration. This one difference can either put you at a serious advantage or serious disadvantage in business.
I once heard a famous actress state that before the age of forty she would walk into a room and ask herself, "I wonder what these people think of me?" From forty onwards, she said her question became, "What do I think of these people?" This one simple shift is fundamental. For this actress, it meant that she was no longer up for judgment, at least not by anyone other than herself. Upon reaching forty, she decided to give more credit to the thoughts, feelings and opinions she had. By validating her own experience in this way, she was now able to truly focus on others and begin asking herself more useful and important questions, the kind of questions leaders need to be asking themselves:
What do I think about this person?
Do I respect how he conducts himself?
What value do I believe this person can contribute to
our business?
What can I learn from this person?
What can I teach?
The idea of self-trust is a simple concept. Of course we should trust ourselves. We are highly educated professionals; many of us hold senior leadership positions. However, as an executive in one of my sessions recently exclaimed, "Doing this is harder than it sounds!" Yes, it is. Putting into practice all we already know is harder than knowing it, but that's the real work.
Do This:
Bring awareness to what you think and feel. Then, find three times today to practice acting upon that knowledge. This may be sharing your real thoughts in a conversation or meeting, or disciplining yourself to complete that task you know needs doing. By taking action, you will realize that you can, and in fact need to, trust yourself more.
"To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Susanne Biro is Director of Leadership Coaching at Bluepoint Leadership Development. She can be reached by email.
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November Webinar
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
1:00 pm EST/ 10:00 am PST
Don't Procrastinate: Innovate!
Join us online to discover how to make your 2008 leadership development program the best ever.
David Parks, Senior VP, Bluepoint, will discuss how to get management buy-in and achieve lasting results from your leadership development program. He'll also share some inside stories about the innovative leadership programs at Symantec, DHL, GE, HP and Google.
You'll learn how to:
- Win internal approval for leadership development
- Position leadership development as a distinctive
learning experience (not just a workshop)
- Create a world-class leadership program on a limited budget
- Deliver results that drive your organization's goals
Click here to register for this free webinar.
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