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.

Well the dust has settled on the events of last week and the removal of the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, is seeming more like a distant memory every day. It’s amazing how quickly we adapt isn’t it…it appears to be very much business as usual again in the political world. So now might be as good a time as any to reflect on the part the new Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, played in the whole episode.

You only needed to have read the papers and visited the comment section of on-line articles  over the last week to see that there is a wide range of thoughts on the level of her involvement and the rights & wrongs of what she may, or may not, have done. While a lot of this has been focused on her ascension to ‘leader’ I think this is an interesting event to look at from the perspective of followership.

I think the first element of followership (more…)