Photo Credit: Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2010
Kallio’s 3 Points:
Personal Perspective on Leadership
1. Leadership with a healthy dose of scepticism and caution
2. Leadership of self
3. Action
1. Leadership with a healthy dose of scepticism and caution
I`m sceptical about leadership
As a concept, the word, ‘leadership’, did not appear until the early 19th century (Bass, 1981), but now that it does exists in the language, further attempts to define leadership have resulted in “almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define the concept” (p.7)
Leadership Theories (Bass)
- Great Person Theory
- Trait Theory
- Humanistic Theories
- Situational Leadership Theory
- Contingency Theory
- Path-Goal Theory
- Leader-Member Exchange
- Psychological Approaches
Concepts
- Transactional/Transformational (Burns)
- Charismatic
- Servant
- Authentic
- Fundamental State of Leadership
Cult of exceptionality - Leaders as heroes (An American construction)
One particularly strong dimension of the leadership discourse is the notion of the leader-as-hero. Gronn (1995), an Australian leadership researcher, notes a “persistent undercurrent of individualism lying at the heart of American social and management theory” (p. 10). Bennis (1985) observes that business in the 1980’s was in need of great change and heroes were needed to save things (p.70). The result was a rise in idolatry, celebrity and believing one’s own press.
The discourse, for example, perpetuates a “cult of exceptionality” (Gronn, 2003) or the “promotion of the superhero”, leaders as organizational soloists who act as if the organization has a singular identity in which every participant sublimates his or personal values and vision to the good of the whole (Hay & Hodgkinson, 2006). The message is leaders are exceptional people and not everyone can be a leader. The condition of exceptionality, moreover, causes some to abandon the notion of leadership (Gronn); it serves to exclude “leader candidates who do not fit the images”…and to marginalize “writers who do not use the same language” (Amey & Twombly, 1993, p. 539).
Gronn goes further, noting that a recent move to introduce leadership standards - he calls it “designer leadership” (p. 283) – represents an insidious move towards privileging certain forms and models of knowledge that can be read as a “means of subjugating bodies in the interests of docility and utility” (p. 283).
It’s tough to join the club without playing by the rules!
Covey – 8th Habit – Find you own voice and help others find theirs
2. Leadership of Self
Dump the ego (Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul, Deepak Chopra)
Fire my ghosts, prophets and gurus (I ‘hired’ them and I kept them in work; time to let them go)
My fears are my friends (face, accept and embrace what it is that most challenges or frightens you)
Wake up
“Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see”. John Lennon
Mitchell (1990)
``Perhaps the most misunderstood principle in any kind of leadership is the fact that leaders do not change others, nor do they cause others to follow them. All a leader can do is to change his or her own attitudes, values, perceptions, and actions so that others will desire and will choose voluntarily to follow him or her.`` (p. 184)
(Lennon song)
I don`t believe in yoga
I don`t believe in kings
I don`t believe in Elvis
I don`t believe in Zimmerman
I don`t believe in Beatles
I just believe in me
....
Yesterday I was the dreamweaver
But now I`m reborn
I was the walrus
But now I`m John
Care is the fundamental dimension of being human. Care for self; care for others.
Appearances matter (Mandela). Beware of how you present to your public.
Quinn says you need to reach a Fundamental state of leadership – an ever increasing level of integrity.
From the Four Agreements (Don Miguel Ruiz, 1997)
Agreement 1
Be impeccable with your word - Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
Bob Dylan ... “But I'll know my song well before I start singin’” – song is a metaphor – power of the word, but you have to have something to say and you need to know how it may be received.
OR
Words (re: Joey Gallo) -
“They got him on conspiracy, they were never sure who with.
What time is it? said the judge to Joey when they met
Five to ten," said Joey. The judge says, that's exactly what you get." (Dylan)
3. Action
Accept that you have a choice (remember Mulroney’s winning response to Turner!)
Respect your choices. Intention and reality
I think...We`re pretty well calibrated to deliver on what we believe
Chopra – at some level we`re simply energy. Thought directs energy.
Busy or productive? Strategic. Invest time and energy well (my journey – reinventing myself. Making choices about what I will do/be.)
When we do something with a quite simple, clear mind, we have no notions of shadows, and our activity is strong and straightforward. When we do something with a complicated mind, in relation to other things or people or society, our activity becomes very complex.
Ian pointed to this idea in his post 15 year plan:
The field of awareness organizes around our intentions. Knowledge and intention are forces. What you intend changes the field in your favor. Intentions compressed into words enfold magical power.
Shunryu Suzuki
Power to play safe or go for it!
Cornish (2002) suggests that being a ‘model’ leader represents an act of organizational docility in the face of power because to really practice leadership means actually deviating from organizational norms (p. 125).
Being a leader means creating conditions for “engaging…people with ‘institutional memories’” (Terenzini, 1999, p. 28) and challenging organizational inertia to “create communities of difference” (Tierney, 1994, p. 144)….that allow for “dangerous memory” that invites the organizational dialogue with the voices “that have been silent or subjugated” (p. 147). Organizational power maintains norms (docility) or drives change (deviation) (Cornish, 2002; Quinn & Spreitzer, 1997).
Tipping points – Maggie`s blogs http://www.xowhat.blogspot.com/
Structure (how you place yourself in experience)(boundaries that shape you and others)
Why does poetry, for example, require structure?
``Form imposes a certain opportunity to get deeper than your first thought…something happens and you’re invited to dig deeper into the language and to discard the slogans by which you live – the easy alibis of language and opinion.” (Leonard Cohen speaking with Shelagh Rogers, CBC Radio, February 7, 2006)
Genius is in the doing!
Charlie Wilkins –. Rowing the Atlantic. Walk to New York. Sign on with the circus
Quinn, 2004 - Building the Bridge as You Walk on It
“You can hang back or fight your best on the front line” (Dylan, Workingman`s Blues #2, Modern Times)
(Castaneda, 1968) A man goes to knowledge as he goes to war, wide awake, with fear, with respect, and with absolute assurance…when a man has fulfilled these four requisites there are no mistakes for which he will have to account; under such conditions his acts lose the blundering quality of a fool’s acts. If a man fails, or suffers a defeat, he will have lost only a battle, and there will be no pitiful regrets over that” (pp. 167, 43)
Finally........“The only thing that really matters is that you become yourself”
(Glenn Gould to Timothy Findley, CBC Radio 1, June 23, 2002)
Four Agreements ( Don Miguel Ruiz, 1997 )
Agreement 1
Be impeccable with your word - Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
Agreement 2
Don’t take anything personally - Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
Agreement 3
Don’t make assumptions - Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
Agreement 4
Always do your best - Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.
Personal leadership/learning metaphors
Dr. K
Dr. K is a personal metaphor representing accomplishment and completion.
It represents a commitment to my friends and family. A friend introduced the phrase when I completed my Masters program. He used it facetiously, but he also used it as sign of respect for what I was doing. He acknowledged, in his own way, that he knows how much I value this goal.
The term feels right for reasons that I cannot quite explain. I do know that it acts as a reference when I become discouraged or tired or frustrated.
a. Fire my ghosts, prophets and gurus
Leadership is leading without being led or being consumed by it. Independent, but not isolated, thinking is required. My ghosts, prophets and gurus become my resources and guides. When I reach this goal, I will let go of doubts, old baggage, and heroes (even teachers) cluttering my thoughts and my actions. Reflecting my personal values, I will balance inquiry with action.
b. My fears are my friends
My personal journal suggests that fear is a large part of who I am. I have dreams that present themselves with both annoying regularity and thematic consistency. I remember them because I am always present, aware of, and watching the dream. I am a dream participant capable of willful action. Typically, I experience intense feelings of inertia and resistance to easy movement; embarrassing public exposure; curiosity and terror of deep, underwater regions; wildly exciting public performances; and unrestricted flights (literally) of imagination.
I am looking at my dreams as internal mirrors reflecting unresolved issues. It is interesting, too, that I dream most richly during periods when I am most off balance; my best work as an artist, whether I am painting, drawing or writing, happens when I am comfortably unsettled. I try to sustain a sense of imbalance that I believe is healthy – it gives me energy. Eventually, my fears become my friends, maybe even my allies.
c. Searching for Truffles…Look ‘em in the eye
Truffles are rare, difficult to find mushrooms enjoyed by both humans and pigs. Humans use pigs to locate the truffles because pigs have a well-developed sense of smell that detects where and when truffles are ready to emerge.
I do a lot of running, and I meet a lot of dogs. Occasionally, I meet one that seriously considers my running a chase situation – something that I cannot possibly win. My strategy is to face the danger. First, I yell sharply to break them from their attack mode. Then I remain still, looking them squarely in the eyes. Once I am in control, I walk from the situation while keeping the dog locked in visually. Facing the danger is my only real option, but I learn from it.
My goal is to develop a highly tuned sense of my environment. I need to find the educational ‘truffles’ by seeing the subtle but significant signals emerging from my environment. Michael Gelb describes this quality as ‘sensazione’: the continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as a means to clarify experience (How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day). I need to anticipate and recognize emerging forces, assess their impact, and intervene to transform them as necessary.
d. Education – not another brick in the wall
The Pink Floyd song, The Wall, describes learners’ potential slowly being smothered, controlled, and dimmed one brick at a time. It is a metaphor for the architecture that both O’Banion and Saint-Onge said we must redesign.
e. There’s a crack in everything; that’s where the light gets in
Leonard Cohen suggests a ray of hope when faced with overwhelming feelings of helplessness. There is a crack in everything. It is where the light gets in. He reminds us to step aside from our usual patterns of thinking and look around for the clues that point to other options.
My goal statement represents the promise of illumination. Seeking cracks in the architecture between the bricks in the wall is a powerful reminder that intransigence and inertia are not permanent conditions. It reminds me that change is the only constant and that I must use my leadership skills as a change agent. It assures me that environments are created and then recreated. It tells me that leverage points are where I find them and have a strategic advantage because of it.
f. Mr. Fixit – Building my leadership toolbox
The doctoral program gives me the tools to work effectively in the organization. When systems break down, I tackle organizational concerns by diagnosing current realities, identifying symptoms of dis-ease or misalignment, prescribing solutions, and developing on-going, organizational well-being. To be effective, I require the broad range of skills and knowledge this program helps me develop.
g. Share Mona’s smile
Gelb refers to the expression, sfumato: a willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox and uncertainty. The expression was originally used to describe a painting technique Leonardo developed to create a mysterious glowing sense of light, and life, in his work. Sfumato gives a magical quality to the Mona Lisa, and it is captured metaphorically in the smile.
Mona knows. Leonardo knows. And a person who knows is a person without need for ghosts, prophets or gurus. A person who knows is fully alive to being human. The secret is not out there - it is much closer to home that that
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