Am reading the new book by Seth Godin - Tribes - WOW - well worth the read.
He actually talks about you being able to be a leader of anything about which you have passion. He also goes on to say that with the new tools available in social media, you can be a leader of a tribe that is equally passionate about your specialty, hobby, product or service. Are you leading a tribe? Are you aware of all the tribes out there?
Now, what are the tools to find your tribe? Well, there are many:
Twitter
Facebook
MySpace
Squidoo (founded by Seth Godin)
Plaxo
Linked In
and many more...
And finally, Mr. Godin describes the difference between management and leadership...
"Management is about manipulating resources to get a known job done.
Leadership, on the other hand, is about creating changes that you believe in."
My hats off to you Seth Godin.. sounds like a description much like the one we use in Contagious Leadership.. thank you for being a great leader!
Stay Contagious,
Monica
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Do you need someone who thinks "Out of the box?"
The March issue of Harvard Business Review made me laugh!
Leaders often look for employees who utilize out of the box thinking and when you apply that concept to this cartoon - it's good for a great chuckle.
Are you a Contagious Leader who is looking for a unique,
out of the box thinker? Are you hiring for attitude and
teaching skill or are you looking at skills, hoping to change and instill a great attitude. Let me recommend the first as a better
practice.
Determine whether you need a follower on the team who
will stay in the box, follow directions, and fulfill the needs you outline OR if you need a leader who will toss out the box, make a new one, reshape it, or build a better mousetrap.
Oh, and as a cat owner, the whole out of the box thing... totally different connotation. Made the laughs even better. Have a contagious... out of the box... kind of day!
Leaders often look for employees who utilize out of the box thinking and when you apply that concept to this cartoon - it's good for a great chuckle.
Are you a Contagious Leader who is looking for a unique,
out of the box thinker? Are you hiring for attitude and
teaching skill or are you looking at skills, hoping to change and instill a great attitude. Let me recommend the first as a better
practice.
Determine whether you need a follower on the team who
will stay in the box, follow directions, and fulfill the needs you outline OR if you need a leader who will toss out the box, make a new one, reshape it, or build a better mousetrap.
Oh, and as a cat owner, the whole out of the box thing... totally different connotation. Made the laughs even better. Have a contagious... out of the box... kind of day!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Leadership Training - Art Form?
The Harvard Business Review this month listed Leadership Training as more of an art than a science. What are your thoughts?
It does seem that leadership training and the act of leadership, contagious or otherwise, is an an art form. In fact, Max Dupree wrote The Art of Leadership some time ago. Yet there are also specific skills that can be scientifically developed and trained and that go beyond the "gray area" soemtimes seen in an art form.
There is the science behind learning how to communicate with others. There is the science of learning how to appropriate recognize and how to discipline, as well as coach. And of course, there is also the science, if you will, of learning how to maintain your sense of humor, even when things get stressful.
Maybe leadership is an art, but when we make it all about an art, it leaves far too much to the imagination and less to responsibility for learning the process and the skills that are also required.
Best of success of your Contagious Leadership journey!
It does seem that leadership training and the act of leadership, contagious or otherwise, is an an art form. In fact, Max Dupree wrote The Art of Leadership some time ago. Yet there are also specific skills that can be scientifically developed and trained and that go beyond the "gray area" soemtimes seen in an art form.
There is the science behind learning how to communicate with others. There is the science of learning how to appropriate recognize and how to discipline, as well as coach. And of course, there is also the science, if you will, of learning how to maintain your sense of humor, even when things get stressful.
Maybe leadership is an art, but when we make it all about an art, it leaves far too much to the imagination and less to responsibility for learning the process and the skills that are also required.
Best of success of your Contagious Leadership journey!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Leaders Learning What Sells: Spirituality has trumped Sex
Contagious Leaders Look Out! Beware in boardrooms everywhere and pay attention to the new marketing and sales buzz. In the coming years, your ad plans may change and the way you "sell" your ideas may change as well.
Leaders, whether of a business, an industry, or even the voices in your head...ha!... often want to know how to sell an idea or product. Selling is a primary revenue driver and there's new news on the horizon. In the ad and media world, sex has been trumped as the primary sales vehicle by... spirituality.
Now, let's be clear - selling sex can be a dicey topic, but it comes out in things like image, the models you choose for an ad, and person you send in to close the deal for your next big client. It isn't all tawdry and for years it has been the reality of what "sells" stuff the most. Studies are now showing and experts are clear that spirituality has more selling power.
Check out these resources to see how "getting more out of life" and "finding your purpose", as well as "feeling fulfilled" via religion or other spiritual sources is becoming a major selling point:
http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/search/article/550578/spirituality-sells/
http://www.iamnext.com/spirituality/metrospirituality.html
There are many ways one could look at the shift, but a key question that this change in trends brings about is how are you selling your ideas to those you lead and those you serve. Contagious Leaders already focus on the people they lead, but now maybe it's time to incorporate more focus how those people feel. Are they connected, feeling fulfilled, and clear on their purpose?
Leaders, whether of a business, an industry, or even the voices in your head...ha!... often want to know how to sell an idea or product. Selling is a primary revenue driver and there's new news on the horizon. In the ad and media world, sex has been trumped as the primary sales vehicle by... spirituality.
Now, let's be clear - selling sex can be a dicey topic, but it comes out in things like image, the models you choose for an ad, and person you send in to close the deal for your next big client. It isn't all tawdry and for years it has been the reality of what "sells" stuff the most. Studies are now showing and experts are clear that spirituality has more selling power.
Check out these resources to see how "getting more out of life" and "finding your purpose", as well as "feeling fulfilled" via religion or other spiritual sources is becoming a major selling point:
http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/search/article/550578/spirituality-sells/
http://www.iamnext.com/spirituality/metrospirituality.html
There are many ways one could look at the shift, but a key question that this change in trends brings about is how are you selling your ideas to those you lead and those you serve. Contagious Leaders already focus on the people they lead, but now maybe it's time to incorporate more focus how those people feel. Are they connected, feeling fulfilled, and clear on their purpose?
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