Two points or takeaways in leadership can be found in the unfolding story of Benghazi. I'll categorize them as short-term and long-term. The short-term point is the answer to the question of: why did the Obama Administration seek to change the facts of the event? It was electioneering, campaigning, politics. That's it, no more and no less. It's certainly not the first time such things have been … [Read more...]
May 9, 2013 by
As a leader, you communicate. Your way of communicating is inseparable from your way of leading. Let me share a quick insight from the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt. By the time he is President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt has developed a gesture of communication. It's forming one of his hands into a fist and then pounding into the open palm of his other hand. Like the title to … [Read more...]
May 8, 2013 by
Yesterday, in a version of Walkshop I, one of my participants said a comment that resonated with me. She said that a lot of her new-hires or prospective hires ask about "career ladders." They want to know whether "career ladders" are available in her organization and on her team. She told me that she often tells them "you make your own ladder." That's exactly right. I suspect a double-motivation … [Read more...]
May 3, 2013 by
Earlier this week, I witnessed an amazing moment. In the span of a few seconds, 151 years disappeared. Gone. I was there to see it happen. This was the scene. Seven people, not counting me, were seated around a table. We were re-experiencing the four days Abraham Lincoln spent with the Army of the Potomac in early October 1862. A little over half-way done, I had the group take the real-life role … [Read more...]
March 21, 2013 by
We've seen a lot in recent days about the alleged attack from North Korea on selected computer systems in South Korea. It appears that the banks and television stations in South Korea were the target of cyberwarfare from sources in North Korea. When will an attack on a nation's computer systems constitute an act of war? When will a cyberattack necessitate a severe retaliatory response on the … [Read more...]
March 21, 2013 by
Today's announcement that the U.S. is transferring drones from the CIA to the U.S. military is significant. Apart from a wide-ranging effect on national security policy, I begin to wonder about the leadership implications of this issue. Think about a few for a moment. Maybe you've been in a situation similar to this. 1. An important new technology is shifted from one group's control to another … [Read more...]
March 19, 2013 by
I'm guiding a client of my Creative Conversations down the Lillian Wald River. Wald began the concept and position of public health nursing in the 1890s (starting in New York City). She illustrates a previous posting of mine regarding the partnership of leadership. Many leaders discover the need to join with someone else in pursuing their vision. A leader finds an ally, peer, friend, or colleague … [Read more...]
March 18, 2013 by
Leadership has natural impulses. That's something akin to an immutable law of physics--which used to be termed natural law--a physical reality not subject to alteration other than by an agent of equal immutability. Got it? Enough of that, let's move on to my point--I read something that struck me as a natural impulse of leadership. I'm on the final section of a book about Ronald Reagan and … [Read more...]
