Category Archives: Leadership

The New Humanism

Here’s David Brooks talking about a ‘new humanism’. He sees it as the result primarily of insights from neuroscience. I agree that neuroscience will change everything we know about management, leadership, and whole lot else in the coming years (though … Continue reading

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Self-direction and the New Leadership Skills

We need a new conception of leadership and I believe self-direction describes an alternative model. So, what can the capacity for self-direction do for you? Well, a lot. However, its main objective is not material gain (though it often follows) but rather on … Continue reading

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Self-direction can be learned

This morning I addressed Dr Curt Bonk‘s class at the School of Education at Indiana University. Last year Curt published an important book on how web technologies are changing education and learning – The World is Open - in which he included reference … Continue reading

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Leadership porn

There’s a difference between looking at something and doing it. B-school professors pride themselves on scientific methods and empirical research. Their expertise is in objectively observing business, rather than subjectively doing business. The approach is therefore vicarious, detached, data-driven, and … Continue reading

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How we write about leadership in the modern era

Memo to self: Five things you must do when writing about leadership in the age of social media. (This is, erm, a parody.) In reverse order of importance, here they are:  #5. Use quotations up the wazoo. Big sweeping, philosophical … Continue reading

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Has Obama failed the leadership test?

It seems the US election results are partly a referendum on the President. What, from a leadership perspective, did he do wrong? A quote from JK Galbraith may reveal the answer: “All of the great leaders have had one characteristic … Continue reading

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When leadership goes horribly wrong

  John Van Der Kiste’s book on Wilhelm 2nd, Germany’s last emperor, has a wealth of insights into the horrors of bad leadership. To be fair, Wilhelm never stood a chance. After a breech birth his right arm was crippled … Continue reading

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We need original voices on leadership

There’s some pretty bad writing on leadership out there. From books to social media there’s also a lot of the same people re-hashing self-referential, bland ideas. With a few notable exceptions, there’s a sad lack of originality in what people say … Continue reading

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Leadership, zombies, and self-direction

Imagine it’s 50,000 years ago and we’re wandering around on the savannah, in a group of, say, 130 or so. Someone has to choose a direction, but we’re scared, vulnerable, unruly. The journey to find/distribute resources never ends. Nor does … Continue reading

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Motivation is not a trap

 Here’s a quote on motivation from John C Maxwell that I think could confuse as much as it illuminates: “The whole idea of motivation is a trap. Forget motivation. Just do it. Exercise, lose weight, test your blood sugar, or … Continue reading

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