Archive for January, 2010

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Management vs Leadership

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

In the 1970’s a distinction started to be made between management and leadership.  “The two different positions can be summarized as follows:  John Kotter sees managers as being the ones who plan, budget, organize, and control, while leaders set direction, manage change, and motivate people. Warren Bennis views managers as those who promote efficiency, follow the rules, and accept the status quo, while leaders focus on challenging the rules and promoting effectiveness.”

As a result our perception of management has declined substantially.  No one really has a career aspiration to be a manager.  In general the management profession is not well respected and employees are unhappy with their managers.

Julian Birkenshaw in his article Reinventing Management, published in the Ivey Business Journal, January/ February 2010 states that we need to go back “to a basic definition of management—the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives.”

This distinction between leadership and management has historically come from the emergence of large corporations and is a poor distinction when applied to smaller companies.  In my opinion the basic definition of management is one that has always applied to small and mid-sized organizations.   In this basic definition management is responsible for both the modern definition of leadership and management.

What is important is that people on the management team develop a way of working together, be it collaborative or in a hierarchy, which brings people together to accomplish goals.

I diverge with the author’s thinking in one area that the perception of management and that of employees will improve by changing the model of management/leadership as we know it today.  Perceptions will only improve if management shifts who they are Being and the way they are Being when they relate to each other and the people that work for them.  It is how we show up at work that influences how people relate to us.

To read the full article go to:   http://www.iveybusinessjournal.com/article.asp?intArticle_id=877

Jacque

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Posted in Leadership, Work Easy | 8 Comments »

Leadership and Vision

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

This morning I reviewed an on-line conversation on Vision that has been running for 2 months and over 200 posts.   Here is the conclusion.

Optimism + pragmatism along with determination = vision

Vision is knowing where we want to go.   It might be something that we can visualize and see or it might be something less distinct that we can sense or perceive.   We can get into semantics about vision and mission, but what is important is that there is some purpose, some why, something that calls us or drives us forward.

As we move forward to the perceived future and check in along the way with both what is known and what is perceived the vision can be updated to bring greater clarity.  What is important is that movement must occur.

What is the role of leadership and vision?  Does the leader have the vision or does the vision occur in some other way?

The conclusion indicates that vision is a dynamic process that comes about from the interactions and synergies of the people associated with the organization.  It is bigger and has a broader scope than just a set of planning sessions.   It emerges from the collective consciousness of the people within the organization.

The leader’s role is to tap into this collective consciousness and then to bring the vision to life within the hearts and minds of the people in the organization.   A leader brings optimism, pragmatism and determination to the execution of their role.  They ensure that actions takes place as the vision unfolds and gains clarity.  A strong leader communicates the vision constantly, directs the action of others and provides a strong role model through their own actions.

Jacque

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Posted in Leadership | 1 Comment »

Why changes you want to make don’t last.

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Congratulations to those of you who have actually started to make the changes you’ve intended for 2010.  You are part way there!  You may already be feeling the pressure to slip back to old habits.  If you haven’t started yet , maybe it’s because you want to be really sure you’re going to stick to your intentions.  Or, knowing how hard it is to change you decided not to change anything.  Making changes successfully has to do with taking charge of your emotions.

 According to Chip and Dan Heath, in their Jan. 3 article in Parade magazine “Make Changes That Last” the reason it is so hard is because the two independent systems of our brain are not in agreement.  “The emotional side is instinctive, the part that feels pain and pleasure and the rationale side is analytical, the part that deliberates and plans.”  They draw on psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s analogy, “of the Elephant (the emotional side) and the Rider (the rationale side). 

Perched atop the Elephant, the Rider holds the reins and seems to be in charge. But because he is small he’ll lose to the elephant whenever they are in conflict. You experience this whenever you act against your better judgment and hit the alarm clock snooze button, have one drink to many, or procrastinate.  The Elephant likes instant gratification and most changes require making short-term sacrifices for long-term pay-off.”  Chip and Dan go on to identify some very helpful and effective tactics to get the Elephant and Rider going in the same direction, such as giving yourself crystal clear directions, keeping yourself motivated with micro-milestones, and making your environment support your change.

 Read the article at:

http://www.parade.com/health/2010/01/03-make-changes-that-last.html

 What they don’t talk about is what to do when we habitually feel intense overwhelm, anger, frustration and anxiety. These emotions can really get in the way of making the changes we want.  Feeling this way for a prolonged period or when it’s inappropriate to the situation is often caused from unresolved or unprocessed emotion. We like to refer to it as having our buttons pushed. Step by step behavioral change strategies don’t work so well with this, and it takes a really long time.

 A better option is to make transformational change, whereby unwanted emotional habits and conditioning are resolved to the point where your buttons no longer get pushed.  Our awareness shifts to an expanded state of consciousness from which we are attuned to both the elephant and the rider and can make new choices beyond habituated patterns and triggered reactions.  

Once you know how to resolve triggered emotions and access this expanded state of awareness you’ll experience a different relationship with the emotional and rational parts of your brain.  Your emotions won’t run away on you, and you won’t be ‘driven’ by the need to over-analyze, judge and control.  Making lasting changes becomes much, much easier.

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Women’s Health and Depression

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Did you know 1 in 8 women will suffer from depression in their life?

For myself I have touched up against this at least twice in my life.   The first time was when an  unfortunate and traumatic event occurred at work causing huge stress. The second time was last year when I was facing the prospect of divorce.  Major events can cause a lot of stress and these events push our “emotional hot buttons”.

The attached article provides a wonderful summary of depression and the warning signs for depression.  Unfortunately we can be really good at ignoring the early warning signs and just keep soldiering on.   I know, I did, and I just talked to a woman yesterday who is right in the middle of it.

Here is the link to the article.  http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=f9aa97b7af9b37ce524bcab00&id=ce81a9341c&e=1e5c4ed479

The article makes some great suggestions on how to over come depression.   The first 3 options, diet, exercise and vitamins can be used to prevent as well as manage depression.  From my experience there is at least one if not many other avenues to avert depression, prior to drug therapy.

In my case I did extensive work to resolve the emotional conditioning from my past that caused me to be fearful and shut down.  Due the pending divorce I was afraid to be alone and if things just stayed the same then I would be safe.

I participated in, and now teach, Core Dynamics Coaching.  These techniques released a tremendous amount of energy that had been stored in my body.  As a result most of my fears have dissolved, I have no anxiety and I feel an amazing sense of joy.

There are alternatives to drug therapy if we are willing to recognize our situation and take positive action early.   You can dissolve your “emotional hot buttons” and I believe avoid depression.  What avoids depression also leads to greater happiness, better life balance.  Not to mention that work will feel easier when you feeling good.

Jacque

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Doing What You Love

Monday, January 18th, 2010
Living my passion.

Living my passion.

This weekend I was spending time with a friend of mine up at Whistler to go downhill skiing. I have gone downhill skiing every winter now for the last 18 years. This year my husband and I got divorced, so all of a sudden I need to find new people to ski with. This weekend I spent it with a girlfriend that I have had for 22 years.

Living with my friend for the weekend allowed me to get reconnected with her and find out what is going on in her life. Both the good and the bad, if there is good and bad, it might just be what is so in the evolution of our life.

On Saturday we had a spectacular day downhill skiing. There was fresh snow on Friday, the sun was glistening off the mountain peaks that surrounded us in a 360 degree panoramic view from the mountain top.

This was my first day downhill skiing of the year so my legs were in no shape for a second round on Sunday. Instead we went cross country skiing. I have not been cross country skiing in about 8 years. When we got out on the trails, there was tranquility and peace. We crossed several small bridges over creaks. Snow was piled on top of the rocks in the steam with water rushing its way to the river in the valley. Peace and tranquility filled my heart with an over whelming sense of joy. I had forgoten how much I loved cross country skiing.

What is something that you use to love to do and have not done for a long time? What about looking up an old friend or maybe calling a new one and becoming reacquainted with something that use to bring you joy?

Setting aside the things that our mind makes up as must do’s and getting out to enjoy something that we love is what creates life balance.

I think dancing is next for me.

Jacque

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