How Complexity Leads to Simplicity
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Self-Leadership under Extreme Circumstances
On Tuesday afternoon, Staff Sergeant Salvatore A. Giunta (U.S. Army) was awarded the Medal of Honor “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”
Listening to the events recounted during the ceremony, one can’t help but notice that Staff Sgt. Giunta possesses many hallmarks of a great leader: courage, perseverance, self-sacrifice, humility, etc.
Every leader should take the opportunity to watch the video, reflect on the message, and assess whether you’re living up to these ideals in your personal and professional lives.
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Leadership – Idealized vs. Actual
In the July-August 2010 issue of the Harvard Business Review, Jeffrey Pfeffer makes an important point regarding leadership in his article Power Play:
“Most books by well-known executives and many lectures and courses about leadership should be stamped “Caution: This material can be hazardous to your organizational survival.” That’s because many leaders touting their careers as models to be emulated gloss over the power plays they used to get to the top. The teaching on leadership is filled with prescriptions about following your inner compass, being truthful, letting your feelings show, being modest and self-effacing, not behaving in bullying or abusive ways – in short, prescriptions that reflect how people wish those in positions of power behaved. There is no doubt that the world would be a much better place if people were always authentic, modest, truthful, and concerned about others, instead of simply pursuing their own aims. But wishing that’s how people behaved won’t make it so.” (p. 88)
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