deepstash
Beta
Deepstash brings you key ideas from the most inspiring articles like this one:
Read more efficiently
Save what inspires you
Remember anything
Getting beyond the BS of leadership literature
9
Key Ideas
Save all ideas
Leadership literature
Leadership failures in government, business, and nonprofits have created a demand for leadership studies and literature.
Unfortunately, these materials describe unreachable ideals that are far removed from organizational reality, and therefore useless in practice.
86 SAVES
122 READS
The morality tale
Leadership has become a kind of morality tale: Leaders are supposed to be authentic and truthful, paying attention to their employees' well-being and building trust.
80 SAVES
85 READS
Oversimplification
The moral framing of leadership does not consider the real complexities and difficulties that leaders face.
Sometimes, being pragmatic necessitates doing seemingly bad things to achieve good results. This means that leaders may have to act in strategic misrepresentation, contrary to their own feelings.
91 SAVES
79 READS
Separating good from bad actions
Dividing leaders and their actions into "good" and "bad" oversimplifies a more complex reality of human behavior. People act differently depending on their circumstances and the various roles they play. For example, leaders may behave differently with their families than they do at work.
Achieving important objectives require behavior that is different from a leader's inherent traits. The lack of these attitudes cannot be used as an excuse. Certain behaviors and skills can be learned.
88 SAVES
78 READS
Build your power base relentlessly
- building a reputation for creating and providing resources that are useful to others
- efficiently building relationships, even with enemies, and using this to your advantage.
93 SAVES
91 READS
Embrace ambiguity
The reality that many people face in many sectors is the problem of getting things done in an imperfect world.
This means that sometimes questionable and obscure actions need to be employed to gain the desired outcome.
97 SAVES
79 READS
Avoid popularity contests
Bringing great ideas to life can sometimes be uncomfortable for leaders. Leadership is not about winning popularity contests or being the most beloved person.
Leaders are sometimes required to be hard on the people who work in close proximity to them.
85 SAVES
79 READS
Adapt when it is necessary
It is important to be willing to learn, evolve, and develop when it is required.
Leaders need to develop the ability to do what is required in a situation. It might mean knowing how to be strategic with the truth or to learn to display energy and confidence that is not really felt.
81 SAVES
63 READS
Master the science of influence
People are often lazy to think, not just cognitively biased. It makes everyone susceptible to influence strategies, even if we are familiar with them. These tactics depend on accepting and obeying the symbols of authority, the power of liking, the value created by scarcity.
These influence strategies present us with tools we potentially have available if we take the time to learn to master their use.
94 SAVES
81 READS
SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
3
Key Ideas
Inspiration alone is not enough
Just as leaders who deliver only performance may do so at a cost that the organization is unwilling to bear, those who focus only on inspiration may find that they motivate the masses but a...
Inspiring leaders
The leaders that inspire are those who use a personal combination of strengths to motivate individuals and teams to take on bold missions and to hold them accountable for results.
And they unlock higher performance through empowerment, not thorough command and control.
Becoming an Inspiring Leader
- You only need centeredness: a state of mindfulness that enables leaders to remain calm under stress, empathize, listen deeply, and remain present.
- Your key strength has to match how your organization creates value.
- You have to behave differently if you want your employees to do so.
7
Key Ideas
Authentic Leaders
They are people of the highest integrity, committed to building enduring organizations. They have a deep sense of purpose and self-discipline, are true to their core values, dare to build th...
Character, Not Style
Leadership has to do with who we are as human beings and the forces that shaped us. Style is the outward manifestation of one’s authentic leadership.
Authentic leaders must adapt their styles to fit the situation and capabilities of their teammates.
Real And Genuine
You can’t pretend to be an authentic leader for long because people will eventually sense the lack of authenticity, and ultimately you will not gain the trust of your teammates.
If you are real and genuine people will see you as trustworthy and willing to learn, they will respond positively to requests for help in getting through difficult times.
4
Key Ideas
The servant-leader
Servant leadership is a very social leadership style.
While traditional leadership is about the accumulating, hoarding and exercising (which often degenerates into abusing) of power by...
Servant leadership as a powerful management style
- Servant leadership has a significant effect on employee commitment to a supervisor.
- Servant leadership and employee satisfaction are strongly correlated.
10 traits of servant leaders
- Self-awareness. It helps to view situations from a holistic position rather than being self-centred.
- Empathy. People need to be accepted for their special one-of-a-kind spirits.
- Listening and reflecting upon what your team says is essential to the growth of the servant-leader.
- Healing. Many people walk around with a variety of hurts. Good servant-leaders endeavour to support those with whom they come in contact.
- Foresight. Seeks to understand the lessons from the past, the realities of the present, and the possible outcome of a decision for the future.
- Conceptualisation. Visualising the big picture and thinking beyond day-to-day realities.
- Relying on persuasion rather than hierarchical dominance.
- Stewardship. It requires a commitment to serving the needs of others first and taking responsibility for the actions and results of your team.
- Team growth. Commitment to the personal growth of every individual.
- Community building. Human beings have an innate need to belong to a “tribe” of some kind.