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Category Archives: Managing Leadership

Business leaders

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

A short while ago I offered a review here of Captain D. Michael Abrashoff’s new book, It’s Our Ship. Lee Thayer, the author of The Leader’s Journey, made a comment filled with fascinating insights, one of which I think is of particular relevance in our current discussion. Here’s a quote from it:

Also filed in Individual Leadership, Mary Parker Follett | | Comments (2)

Vision and leadership

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Vision is closely related to purpose, which we discussed yesterday. But while purpose is fundamentally utilitarian, telling us what we are doing now, vision is forward-looking, struggling to discern how and where we will be doing it in the future. . .

Also filed in Organizational Leadership, Women in Management | | Comments (1)

Leadership and organizational purpose

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

As indicated yesterday, we are going to reorient our discussion of what leadership actually does in an organization directly onto the various functions described as uniquely attributable to it. But it might be advisable to establish at the outset that while I am an opponent of the transcendent view of leadership and of individual leaders that is promoted by the modern leadership movement, this does not mean that I do not believe that there are functions that are unique to leadership. . .

Also filed in Individual Leadership, Organizational Leadership | | Comments (3)

Which produces which?

Friday, June 6, 2008

The discussion the past several days of goals was generated by the story of supposed leadership in a US Marine platoon, which turned out not really to be about individual leadership. The tale seemed to suggest that large, ambitious goals may have been behind the tremendous transformation that unit experienced, and so we considered one guru’s argument that this – the production of such lofty goals – is the quintessential role of the leader. . .

Also filed in Individual Leadership, Organizational Leadership | | Comments (0)

Professionalism, personality, and preparation

Monday, April 21, 2008

I recently observed a very peculiar negotiation. One of the parties, a woman, had been asked to organize an event for a leading expert in her field. The other, a man and a local figure of sorts in that field, wanted to step in, have the woman announce publicly that he was fully or partially responsible for work that he had not done, and then dominate the event itself. . .

Also filed in Individual Leadership, Negotiation, Women in Management | | Comments (2)