The period after return also is recognized as an opportunity for reflection. While that insight makes intuitive sense, a wealth of management writing confirms it. Why do some people appear to know instinctively how to inspire employees—bringing out their confidence, loyalty, and dedication—while others flounder again and again? Yet the Mormon process goes deeper on every level.
Most companies stay within a narrow comfort zone. In interviewing more than 40 leaderwhip in business and the public sector over the past three years, the authors discovered that all of them—young and old alike—had endured intense, often traumatic, experiences that transformed them and became the source of their distinctive leadership abilities.
Runs typically stretch hundreds of miles along public thoroughfares. And because many of its ventures are secretive and subject to external surveillance, it works to prevent organizational decapitation by maintaining a leadership pipeline. Crucibles of Leadership Development peter July 24, Run organizers benefit from building on legend and venturing to create their own.
Organizing a run is no simple affair. And these two otherwise radically different groups have important things to teach business. The most relevant test? For example, before they leave for their particular postings, missionaries get intensive training in language, culture and pedagogical technique. They will require, however, an openness to experimentation and risk taking in the area of leader development — perhaps the biggest hurdle of all.
Some organizations have taken this idea to heart. For example, Toyota, Boeing, General Electric and MIT through its Leaders for Manufacturing program have put programs into place bennid to take advantage of experiential learning. Embody your message with personal authenticity. And learn tools of language and speech that can bring your message to life. As you think about the intersection of leadership and communication, what observations and insights do you have? Take a moment to share your thoughts below.
I love this quote. This side of eternity, whether we are thinking about growth and improvement individually, as a team, or as an organization, if we are waiting for perfection, we will always be waiting. Rather than waiting for something—perfection in this life—that will not come in the pursuit of excellence, we rather need to work toward ongoing growth. Remember, excellence and perfection are not the same thing.
If we are striving for excellence, growth, and improvement, the best path forward is not waiting for some unattainable moment of perfection, but rather starting the journey and then learning and growing along the way.
Another way of talking about this dynamic is to contrast linear growth and iterative growth. Traditional wisdom invites those starting a work project or large journey to engage in a process of extensive planning. The goal in this linear mindset is to do all of the planning for the project up front. Those involved with this first step must foresee all possible needs, opportunities, and obstacles, and then solidify a plan before proceeding. Image Credit: Abigail J.
Experience has a way of revealing the limits in such a linear model. Once a plan is executed, reality begins to confront and challenge our plans. John Steinbeck pointed to this in his novel Of Mice and Men —the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
In contrast to linear models of growth, many fields—like software development and design—are now emphasizing the power of iterative processes. Rather than one discrete step of planning followed by another discrete step of implementation, an iterative approach embraces a path of ongoing improvement. The process of planning and implementing is repeated again and again as ongoing learning takes place, continually informing planning and improved practice in an ongoing manner.
Instead, lean into iterative learning. Make a plan; implement the plan; learn from this implementation; adjust your plan; implement this learning; and continue this cycle of learning in an ongoing plan of growth and improvement.
Photo by Anugrah Lohiya on Pexels. Kelleher passed away today at the age of Kelleher left quite an impression on both the airline industry and on those who worked with him. The drive for Kelleher and Southwest was not merely financial. It was about people. The airline is known for its commitment to affordable travel for its customers, friendly customer service, and employee-centered servant leadership practices. He was an exceptionally gifted man with an enormous heart and love for people—all people.
We have been beyond blessed to have him as a part of our lives. Kelleher provided a model of servant leadership and valuing people. Herb Kelleher sought to do to this at Southwest for people at every level of the organization—whether fellow executives or those in line jobs as baggage handlers and mechanics.
Barrett writes:. Herb was courteous to everyone who was trying to shove the guy out of his space so that they could fill it, but he gave this man his time. It was clear … that Herb had no hierarchical concerns—he was completely interested in what the Mechanic was trying to tell him.
As you think through your own leadership, what cues might you take from Herb Kelleher? Share your thoughts below. I took about three hours yesterday to reflect again on what I want to prioritize in the year to come. I am, however, a fan of using this season as a time to reflect and prioritize or perhaps re-prioritize is a better term…returning to what has already been prioritized in our lives previously.
As I look back on the past two years, one of the items that has slipped more than I would like is the prioritization of reflection. This is more about the future than the past. The past two years have been full of wonderful opportunities—increased administrative leadership needs at my institution and the privilege of working on a book project that is scheduled for release in the summer of One evidence of this is the break from actively posting on this platform.
One of these is reprioritizing reflective leadership. While effective leadership includes honest self-evaluation, nurturing a rhythm of self-awareness and evaluation is difficult without a simple feature: time to reflect.
Do you intentionally create time in your schedule to think and reflect? In our day of continual connection to the world around us through technology, it is increasingly difficult for leaders to find time and space for deep reflection.
Consider the ready access people have to you through smartphones, text messaging, a regular flow of emails, and meetings that are scheduled for us on shared calendars. While technology creates efficiencies in our work, this same technology also fills our lives in such a way that intentional reflection can be difficult. Writing in The Nation 40 years ago, Hunter S. Returning missionaries form leadershipp networks, often composed of church members who qnd through the Missionary Training Center together.
With 12 million members, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is well on its way to becoming a world religion. Sonny Barger, a founding member of the Oakland, California, Hells Oof chapter, explains the significance of the run: Experience can make you better, but you have to have the right skills within you. For those learning to lead, experience trumps formal training. Each group uses a particular activity as a crucible experience for leader development.
Crucible experiences, when properly set up, managed and mined, can help aspiring companies develop their next generation of outstanding leaders. What makes a great leader? In each phase, the church emphasizes the acquisition of technical skills and learning skills. These are not one- or two-day etiquette seminars intended to prevent faux pas. It opened my eyes even more to what it takes to keep your freedom og do what you want.
For example, Toyota, Boeing, General Electric and MIT through its Leaders for Manufacturing program have put programs into place specifically to take advantage of experiential learning. No mean feat, considering that large fractions of its leadership have been arrested periodically. A third form is the bennnis of new territory, in which the individual is thrust into a new social role or asked to take on an overseas assignment in an unfamiliar country.
Paradoxical as it may seem for an organization widely regarded as anarchic, the Hells Angels is exemplary in its use of critical experiences to grow leaders.
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