Posts from — July 2008

The ability to look at the world as it is and envision something new and improved is a valued trait of leadership. An act of creation, however, as the literature of India tells us, is born of destruction.

Say the word “destruction” and you immediately think of blowing up bridges, knocking down buildings, or leveling factories-all physical actions. But sometimes the boldest form of destruction is one that calls for deconstructing existing paradigms, or mental models, that stifle progress. That form of destruction may be the most dramatic — as well as renewing — form of leadership.

There are two essential qualities of leadership. Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric says that the “Reality Principle” is the most important of all. What this means is the practice of realism in all things.

Practice Intellectual Honesty …
Realism is a form of intellectual honesty. The realist insists upon seeing the world as it really is, not as he wishes it were. This objectivity, this refusal to engage in self-delusion, is a mark of the true leader.

Almost every recovering addict I’ve ever spoken with eventually uses the word “miracle.” And many of these people have been led to their miracle through the principles of AA. That’s actually a pretty good metaphor for the very best that organizational leadership has to offer: helping people achieve the miracle of personal transformation.

In this article I’ll share several lessons from AA that are directly applicable to being a more effective leader. If you find this to be thought provoking, check out the book The Spirituality of Imperfection, for more on story-telling as a pathway to authenticity. (Authenticity is Core Action Value #1 and Leadership is Core Action Value #12 because the one begins a journey that culminates in the other.)

Everything worthwhile is achieved by a variety of people coming together to perform a variety of jobs, all of which are coordinated and sequenced together to achieve a final result.

Today, this model of the virtual corporation or the virtual team is becoming the key to success in both individual and business life.

Assembling Your Team …
A perfect example of the virtual project team would be the video crew that makes my video training programs. This crew consists of about 10 people, most of whom know each other but all of whom work independently from each other.