Leadership

If you're wondering, "Who in the world is John Cleese?" then you were probably born after 1980.  For the rest of us, we remember him from Monty Python.  Brain Pickings, a wonderful web resource/curator of interesting facts, has an old video of Cleese talking about the creative process.  Here are the five main points: Space (“You can’t become playful, and therefore creative, if you’re under your usual pressures.”) Time (“It’s not enough to create space; you have to create your space for a specific period of time.”) Time (“Giving your mind as long as possible to come up with something original,” and learning to tolerate the discomfort of pondering time and indecision.) Confidence (“Nothing will stop you being creative so effectively as the fear of making a mistake.”) Humor (“The main is that it gets us from the closed mode to the open mode quicker than anything else.”) What do you think?  How do you approach…

Have you ever licked a battery to see if it still had any juice in it?  Me neither. In the days before rechargeable batteries, when a battery went dead you would throw it away.  Now you just plug in your iPod or phone (or car) and recharge the battery.   It's a wonderful thing! When it comes to your personal battery, there are two important questions to ask: What drains my battery? and What recharges my battery? It may be that what drains your battery is unavoidable -- life happens.  We have responsibilities that must be lived up to.  It takes effort to be productive.  On the other hand, some of what drains our batteries might be unnecessary.  Distinguishing the necessary from the unnecessary -- and reducing the unnecessary -- actually extends our battery life. How do you recharge your battery?  Do you read?  Exercise?  Take a day trip?  Have…

"A leader simply operates at their best when they understand their ability to influence is much more fruitful than their ability to control. Here’s the thing – the purpose of leadership is not to shine the spotlight on yourself, but to unlock the potential of others so they can in turn shine the spotlight on countless more. Control is about power – not leadership.  Surrender allows a leader to get out of their own way and focus on adding value to those whom they serve. Forget span of control and think span of influence." -- Michael Myatt

"If you wish to enrich days, plant flowers; if you wish to enrich years, plant trees; if you wish to enrich eternity, plant ideals in the lives of others."  -- S. Truett Cathy, founder Chick-fil-A

"For a leader, communication is connection and inspiration – not just transmission of information." -- Gary Burnison, The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership Most of may remember the basic definition of communication we learned in school: you have a sender and a receiver and information flows between the two.  Communication has occurred if the transmission was successful. Along the way, we recognize the deficiencies in such a definition.  If the receiver doesn't understand what the sender has said, no matter how often he or she says it, communication has not occurred.  If the sender isn't listening, communication has not occurred.  And, according to Gary Burnison, if the transmission of information is the only goal, communication has not occurred. Good leaders understand that one role of communication is to forge a connection with the listener.  A good speech or conversation reinforces what the sender and receiver have in common.  Leaders (or preachers or teachers) use…