Posts from — November 2007

If two people are talking and there is no one else in the room, how many participants are there in the conversation?

This is not a trick question, but the answer is four. The two people conversing, both of whom are visible and audible, and the inner voices in each of their heads, both of which are invisible and inaudible.

Though these inner voices cannot be seen or heard, they are very much a part of the conversation. And they might be saying something that is quite contrary to what is being audibly voiced. Consider the following hypothetical interchange between a supervisor and a subordinate:

The Definition of Leadership …
Leadership has been called “The ability to get followers.” One of the deepest cravings of human nature is the need to feel important, to have a sense of meaning and purpose in life and work.

Leaders are invariably those who can tap into the deeper emotions of others and get them to rise above and beyond anything they may have accomplished in the past.

Inspiring Words Lead to Victory …
Winston Churchill was able to arouse and inspire an entire nation with words like these: “Let us so carry ourselves that if the British Empire should endure a thousand years, men will still say, this was their finest hour.”

Inspire Others to Peak Performance …
A transformational leader is one who excites and inspires people to perform far beyond their own expectations of themselves. Transformational leaders practice certain behaviors that cause their people to feel stronger, happier, more confident and more committed.

Delegate Responsibility …
The first of these behaviors is the delegation of high levels of responsibility for results. Transformational leaders pick the right people, match them to the right jobs, achieve mutual clarity on the desired results and then they get out of the way and leave the individual with maximum freedom to perform.