Skip to content

Category Archives: Organizational Leadership

Savants and sinners

Thursday, August 7, 2008

We have been discussing how personal characteristics of a particular type tend to come paired with others that, while not exactly opposite, are nevertheless frequently counteracting. This appears to be especially true when we are talking about particularly salient expressions of these traits. . .

Also filed in | | Comments (4)

Sins and sanctimony

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Is there an unavoidable link between great strengths and great shortcomings? If we believe we must have extraordinary characteristics in our leaders, must we accommodate ourselves to these coming inevitably in positive and negative pairs?

Also filed in Individual Leadership | | Comments (1)

Vices and virtues

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Vendors of lists of leadership characteristics can certainly develop plausible arguments for those that they insist as being vital for a successful leader. Better still, they can provide real-life exemplars for each of these essential traits, demonstrating how inextricably bound up with each person’s success were the highlighted characteristics. But one of the many problems with this approach resides in the often less pleasant aspects of some of these characteristics as exhibited by particular sampled leaders . . .

Also filed in Individual Leadership | | Comments (2)

Leaders without leadership

Monday, August 4, 2008

Let’s take another try at getting a handle on what leadership by considering where it comes from. The standard belief is that it comes from people – in particular, from the boss, the “leader.” As we’ve noted over the past couple of days, this seems particularly obvious in times of crisis, when the leader decisively casts aside paralyzing confusion and sets the organization into enthusiastically focused forward motion. Actually, there are a number of potential problems with this view, even if it accurately describes leadership. But let’s just consider here the issue we touched upon at the close of yesterday’s post . . .

Also filed in Individual Leadership | | Comments (5)

Standing up

Friday, August 1, 2008

When someone takes a clear position on an issue, we typically are inspired with admiration. If it is a political or social question, the person has told us who he or she is, without apology and with full awareness that there will be those who will take, perhaps vociferous, exception. We respect that. Some of us are even encouraged by such an example to become more like actual people, ourselves – to not merely think about who we really are, but to test that supposition by subjecting it to criticism. But when the boss does it – now that’s something else again. . .

Also filed in Individual Leadership | | Comments (1)