Monthly Archives: May 2013

#152 The root of all ills in the workplace

Send to Kindle

As I was idly thumbing through the latest copy of The Economist, I wondered why there is so much pain and suffering in the world. The Buddha has provided some reasons, but I was interested in a more practical answer.

There is no dearth of knowledge, talent, and resources in this world. Unless a problem has too much unknown about it (cure for cancer, travel to distant planets, and <insert your favorite bugbear here>), it can be solved handily with the capabilities we have today.

Then what is the problem? I was reminded of Pogo’s words, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” The human factor makes problems hard to define, hard to accept, hard to communicate, unpredictable, and just plan difficult. No amount of studying, learning, frameworks, tools, and techniques will work unless this fact is understood, and dealt with.

So when you come to work, be in the moment, go with the flow, commit yourself, and don’t let success or failure be your concern. In short, demonstrate leadership behaviors.

Share

#151 Leadership = A Means to an End

Send to Kindle

I’ve always felt leadership is a means to an end. It is not an end in itself. Meaning, you can’t really develop “Leadership” and hope to do anything useful. You have to apply leadership behaviors in your context, in order to reap the benefits.

Here is at least one person who sees it that way:

“Leadership” is the military’s snake oil (Warning: the article is provocative and polarizing)

This does not mean leadership is a waste of time. This also does not mean leadership is a silver bullet. The truth is somewhere in between.

Leadership is a “hygiene” factor as well as a “motivator.” If you or your co-workers lack leadership, your organization is doomed. Showing leadership behaviors is not enough. You still have to meet and exceed customer expectations before you can declare success.

You will deal with the imperfections and ambiguities in the workplace much better with leadership behaviors. Note that you are imperfect and ambiguous to your co-workers, thus you are both part of the problem and the solution.

Share