Changing the World - click by click!

Sorry for not being around so much folks….I’ve been a bit busy lecturing….well that is my excuse and I’m sticking to it!

Anyway, I saw this article today and really liked the thoughts expressed in it…

“Over the past two years, organizations have fought to do more with less — to hit next quarter’s target, to meet payroll, and in too many cases, to simply survive. At the same time, employees have struggled to do more work than ever before, maintain a positive attitude even as uncertainty about the future deepens, and develop skills even as opportunities for advancement diminish in a low-growth environment. In such an atmosphere, many organizations had little budget for training, nor could employees take time away from their day-to-day responsibilities for training. Yet as leadership expert John C. Maxwell notes, “Good leadership is learned in the trenches.” With or without formal training, leaders have been emerging within your organization because of how they have responded to the stresses and strains of the Great Recession. They kept peers motivated with a positive though realistic attitude. They maintained momentum during trying times and delivered results for the organization. They remained focused on developing and mentoring the individuals they lead, even when there was little or no time to do so. In other words, when fear and paralysis set in for many, these people led from wherever they were in your organization. By now, they may be frazzled, burned out, and thinking about finding work elsewhere. Before they do, consider Maxwell’s idea that “Leading as well as they can wherever they are is what prepares leaders for more and greater responsibility.” ”

Just thought I’d share.

One of the key elements of the Distributed Leadership is the concept of Sensemaking…which, simply put, is making sense of the environment in which we find ourselves. And it is one of the key elements, I would suggest, that is needed in an election campaign. When you think about it, it seems pretty logical that understanding the environment in which you find yourself  is pretty key to winning an election…what is the mood of the public, what is their state of readiness for change, what things are important to them etc. But the thing is, all sides of politics seems to be chronically bad at it….and I think part of the reason is their excessive fascination with opinion polls.

Now don’t get me wrong, opinion polls are no doubt a very valuable tool. But they are just that…a tool, and one of many ways of establishing an understanding of the circumstances they are facing. At the moment, however, they seem to be being used as the definitive answer to a complete understanding of the environment. Unfortunately good sensemaking is much more than that. (more…)

I think that the main element of the Sloan Distributed Leadership Model that we are going to see during the Australian election campaign is that of Visioning…this is what an election is after all, convincing people to vote for your vision of the future. As the campaign goes on though, there are a number of things you should look out for. But let me say first up that visioning, as a general rule, is not handled that well by anyone…politicians, business leaders, community leaders alike. It’s relatively easy to come up with a compelling image of the future…most people can do that…but convincing people to really buy in, especially for the long haul, is not so easy. And this is where the elements you should look out for come in.

Firstly a good vision is based on a core ideology…something that is central to very existence of the organisation. Core ideology is itself made up of two elements…core values (what you stand for)  and core purpose (what you do). The important thing about these elements is that they cut to the very core of the organisation, so they are not so much based on activities that you are currently involved in but on the philosophies you believe in. (more…)

So it’s finally happened…the Australian election has been called. Now we’ll get to see some leadership in action…maybe! It’ll be interesting to see how much real leadership comes out from either side…or how often leadership is put aside in the name of political expediency. I’ll be keeping an eye out!

Hiya all

I’ve  added another page over at the website. This one is about the Sloan 4 Capabilities Leadership Framework. Head over and have a read…..http://www.clarksonread.com/articles.html

Hey folks, there is a new article introducing Distributed Leadership Models over at the website…check it out

I was chatting to a friend last night and she was asking how the stuff on this blog might apply to her….well actually she was saying that she didn’t think I had made it clear what the blog was all about! More than fair comment me thinks. Why would non-business people want to read a blog about adaptive challenges, leadership and such-like? I had lots of stuff running thought my head like ‘we can all be leaders’ and ‘it’s not about being the head of an organisation or the captain of a team’. And then, while reading a leadership text book (oh what an exciting life I lead! ), the words I wanted were there in front of me…..so like any self-respecting IT graduate I adhered to the programming mantra of re-using other peoples work and repeated it here!

“Do you have the capacity and commitment required for taking a leadership role in your school, community or workplace? What does it mean to be a leader? For many people, leadership  stems from a desire to make a difference in the lives of others and the world. It means believing in yourself and those you work with, loving what you do, and infusing others with energy and enthusiasm to accomplish a vision for a better future. There are leaders making a difference every day, (more…)