Christmas tree leadership (Tannenbaum/Schmidt Continuum)

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are thy branches!

For some reason, this little portion of the third stanza is all I seem to remember of the song, despite hearing it repeatedly from late October through mid-January for decades.  It's an ode to the beautiful Christmas tree, and has been recorded with many different lyrics over the past 50 years.

Wondering what it has to do with leadership?

Failure and success

"If you are succeeding in everything you do, then you're probably not pushing yourself hard enough.  And that means you're not taking enough risks.  You risk because you have something of value you want to achieve."
- John Maxwell, Failing Forward

CFA Podcast: Personal Brand and Skills Assessment

This CFA Institute podcast entitled "Personal Brand and Skills Assessment" defines personal brand and delves into the relevance of brand to personal and professional success in organizations.

The key takeaway is this:  whether you manage it or not, you have a personal brand.  Others make assumptions about you based on their experiences with you and with your work/impact.  Greater awareness of this can lead to greater career success.

The Role Model

We all need someone to look up to.

A role model helps direct aspirations, measure the self against a greater standard, creates an environment of learning through differential analysis.

Good career advice from John Lees

John Lees, career author and author of How to Get a Job You'll Love, offers some great advice to job seekers in a tough economy.  For the out-of work job seeker, consider this.  Here's a 16 1/2 minute podcast he recorded for HBR's IdeaCast, just right for a short commute or while you get ready for work (or to find work) in the morning.

For the working job seeker looking for a career change, Lees has some sage advice as well.  Lees is a contributor to the HBR Blog Network, and one of his more recent posts is  "To Get the Job of Your Dreams, Stop Dreaming."

If you're thinking about your next steps for whatever reason, check out the podcast and the post - think you'll enjoy both.

Best,

Bryan

Followership

"I can't wait until I'm the boss and don't have to answer to anyone."

We've all heard something similar, either in business, in the community, children, or perhaps in our own voices.  It's a consistent refrain echoing across all ages, from the very young to the very old:  one day I'll be in charge.  For all of us, that day never comes - no matter our upward trajectory in an organization.

Too much of the wrong thing

As individuals matriculate through careers, it is quite common for blind spots to develop.  Some common blind spots have to do with interpersonal relations, focus and direction, and delivering on hard-to-quantify soft skills for the good of the organization.

Decathletes (Jump the Curve)

In his book Jump the Curve, visionary Jack Uldrich shares his "50 essential strategies to help your company stay ahead of emerging technologies." His focus is on what he calls the exponential executive, the successful forward-thinking leaders in the future.

4S Model: Steps

The final S of the 4S Model is Steps:  taking the steps to actually move the new, prepared you towards your career goals and aspirations.  The first three (Self, Surroundings, Skills) are about knowing yourself, understanding the environment in which you operate, and assessing and improving your unique skill set.  The fourth S is about creating your personal marketing plan.

4S Model: Self

At many large malls, large conspicuous maps are posted showing the many different stores, attractions, and points of interest throughout.  When the typical individual approaches a map like this, the first inclination is to look for a red dot, a big arrow, or the words “You Are Here.”

The first step in the 4S Model is Self, and focuses on creating your guiding mission and vision.  To get there, you have to understand who you are, where you’ve been, and where you want to go from a career perspective.

4S Model: Skills

In the same way organizations must continuously improve, you must also continually increase your capability to become more valuable to employers, clients, and other stakeholders in your career.

Capability is the overall combination of your knowledge, skills, abilities, and the other intangibles you possess.  Increasing this capability is the Skills step of the 4S Model, and is driven by your personal development plan.

4S Model: Surroundings

“No man is an island.”  This is the first line of John Donne’s famous poem “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” written back in 1624 as part of his private notes, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions.

Also popular in corporate circles is the story of a butterfly flapping its wings causing a hurricane:  a small event far away that creates a large impact.  While some of the nuance is usually lost, the point remains that we can be affected by events outside ourselves.

Surroundings are important, as they determine in large part what the effect will be of actions we take.  The better we know our surroundings, the more effective we can be.

Aspire Higher, by Avery Johnson

Often I read a book simply because of the author’s personal journey and characteristics – not seeking literary genius but instead insight into the individual experience.  Looking across the landscape of best-selling books, it seems I’m not alone.

Mapping your Future: 4S Model

Thinking about how to move forward in your career?  The 4S Model is a way of crafting your career approach in discrete, actionable steps.

Marathon Leadership

Just back from an excellent OD on the Edge event in Charlotte, NC.

David Knapp of Marathon Leadership (creator of The 21^st Century Leader curriculum) shared his 26.2 Tips for Modern Leaders.  He connected leadership success to distance running success, showing that both required similar traits that can be taught.  David is an avid marathoner, and ran 40 marathons the year following his 40^th birthday to celebrate the milestone.

He was joined by Molly Barker founder of Girls on the Run, author of two books, and an accomplished distance runner as well.  Girls on the Run is tasked with educating and empowering girls at an early age in order to prevent the display of at-risk activities in the future.

I also came home with a copy of The Situational Leader, by Paul Hersey – and a strong desire to start running again. :)All that to simply say this:  there are opportunities to learn, grow, and give back all around you.

Best,

Bryan

Actualized Leadership

Here's an interview of Will Sparks, talking about actualized leadership.  Exciting work, and can't wait for his book, Actualized Leadership, to come out soon.

• Part I
• Part II

Enjoy!

Case study: the annual review

Kaitlyn is a process engineer. She has worked for Jeremiah for quite some time, and feels like he understands her contributions to the team.

Several days ago, she had been looking forward to her annual performance review. She had saved the company $4 million in March of this past year, and remembered the praise Jeremiah had heaped on her in front of the company president. Shortly after this big win, the president asked Jeremiah to broaden her responsibilities. Kaitlyn expected a glowing review and a nice bonus check to cap off a stellar 2010.

Sun Tzu for Execution: How to Use the Art of War to Get Results

When I'm reading, I like to highlight passages and important nuggets of information that might be interesting or helpful to read again in the future. It directs the eyes and helps me maximize my reading based on my learning style.

At the end of Sun Tzu for Execution: How to use The Art of War to Get Results, by Steven W. Michaelson, I noticed that a great deal of the text had been underlined, something on just about every page.

Sun Tzu: The Art of War

If you haven't read Sun Tzu's The Art of War, you're missing a treat. When I was in college, one of my fraternity brothers had a habit of pulling out a Sun Tzu quote every time we had a speaking event (that's you if you're out there, Dan!).

UBS Dress

UBS, the swiss financial services firm, has recently made headlines with a dress code.  Today it's merely a five-office pilot program, but might be rolled out to all Switzerland if successful.  If you would like to read more, check out Huffington Post, Third Age, The Wall Street Journal, Styleite, or Clusterstock (a personal favorite).

The guide is consistent with UBS culture and brand, and many make sense for anyone wishing to present themselves well to others.  Here are a few paraphrased tips from the guide: