Weekend Update: 8/16/2021 to 8/20/2021
Three things I’m noticing.
- Organizations revert to past strategies and former leaders when the goal is stability.
- When personal agendas conflict with organizational mission relationships are weapons and progress slows to a crawl.
- Vision answers complaints. But complaints capture the imagination of people who don’t have vision.
Now, here’s a quick recap of this weeks posts.
THE 4 SECRETS OF GRACEFUL LEADERSHIP THAT PROPEL YOU TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Passive patience disappoints.
5 ways grace exceeds patience.
- Patience withholds. Grace gives.
- Patience permits. Grace provides.
- Patience tolerates. Grace innovates.
- Patience is restraint. Grace is intervention.
- Patience is reactive. Grace is proactive.
Generosity with strings is manipulation. Kindness that imposes obligation is barter.
ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS IS OVER-RATED – WHAT TO DO INSTEAD
A car that won’t start requires root cause analysis. But people development and culture building may not.
Don’t focus on what you can’t do and don’t have.
The challenge is doing something today in service of incremental improvement.
7 WAYS TO IMMEDIATELY OPEN YOUR MIND TO USEFUL IDEAS
Open-minded leadership is a pernicious waste of time when you lose sight of outcomes. So how can you open your mind without wasting time on useless conversations?
Conversations need boundaries to deliver useful results.
Direction is protection for an open mind.
THE 5 BEST FOUR-LETTER WORDS LEADERS CAN PRACTICE TODAY
Fools make simple things complicated.
- Complexity leads to confusion.
- Confusion produces anxiety.
- Anxiety creates insecurity.
- Insecurity leads to stagnation.
THE FIVE FACES OF CURIOSITY
Apart from curiosity, leaders…
- Feel defensive.
- Need obedient minions.
- Seldom connect.
- Tend to manipulate.
Smart people practice curiosity. Everyone else gets dumb and dumber.
Re your “Three things I’m noticing” category:
I hadn’t thought about these points in the specific way that you put them, but I immediately recalled at least two or three examples that fit each of those statements.
All astute observations, for sure, but in my experience #2 is especially prevalent in organizations headed by elected officials, where Max Weber’s “institutionalization of charisma” seems to be the rule rather than the exception. Based on the elected official’s agenda (and personality) the mission and direction can turn on a dime, often creating chaos and confusion.
Thanks for your continued thoughtfulness on these issues.
Best regards,
-JH