Category: leadership

Leadership is not

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Leadership is not a title. A leader might have a title, and yet not having a title does not mean you cannot act as a leader. Seeing something that others do not see yet, and taking them with you on the path to discovery.

Leadership is not telling others what to do. On that path, the leader might actually benefit much more from listening and observing rather than telling. Each path is different, so applying other path’s rules and frameworks might often prove to be only limiting.

Leadership is not getting things your way. A leader treats the rare occasions in which this happens as mere coincidences, as they know discovery can only really occur when different perspective meet to shape not only the path, but the destination itself.

Leadership is not being better and faster. If a leader happens to be so, they will have to slow down and make sure everybody is there and has everything needed to carry on. Getting somewhere sooner and in a better shape is a Pyrrhic victory, as very few, if any, will have shared the path.

And most importantly, as should be clear by now, leadership is not the point of arrival. Many end up seeing, and yet only few manage to make others see as well, while taking them along on the path to an improvement for the whole group.

Want a book?

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I am turning 40 in few weeks, and instead of getting some gifts, this time around I would be happier to actually give something. Books, specifically.

Through my LinkedIn page, I am giving away four copies of Linchpin and three copies of What to do when it’s your turn. Both books are by Seth Godin, and I want to extend the invitation to grab one to those who read my blog as well.

Linchpin is a book about a different approach to work, one that goes beyond the 9-to-5 task orientation, and that could transform you in somebody people will actually be said to lose (professionally speaking).

What to do when it’s your turn, on the other hand, is a collection of thoughts and ideas from Seth’s blog. It is pure inspiration, something to open every once in a while, at a random page, just to make sure you are on the right track.

If you’ve followed this blog, you’ve probably understood by now that Seth Godin is a pretty huge inspiration of mine. Now I’d be delighted to share these books with you. If you live in Finland (Helsinki area, possibly), I’d be happy to meet you to deliver the book, and maybe grab a coffee and have a chat. If not, I’ll post the books to your address, no matter where you live.

Reserve your copy here. No registration form, no emails required, no bait and switch. Just first come, first served.

Great communicators

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There’s a general belief that a great talker is also a great communicator. That might be true, and yet I find that most often it is not.

The way I see it, there are three core qualities of a great communicator (that a great talker not necessarily has).

First, great communicators craft their messages carefully. I mean this in the broadest possible way. A good framework to look at it through is Grice’s maxims: quality (a message that is true), quantity (a message that is no more than what required), relevance (a message that is pertinent to the discussion) and manner (a message that is orderly, polite and clear).

Then, great communicators are consistent in their messages. They are not afraid of repeating, as they are aware that different people absorb information at different paces. Furthermore, having the message well-crafted allows them to experiment with channels and formats in ways that benefit the spreading of the message in the long term.

Finally, great communicators have profound understanding of their audience. This is also true in a broad way: they know who they are communicating with before the communication actually happens; they are awake and aware to signals from the audience while the communication is undergoing; and they are capable of redesigning (without losing consistency), learning from feedback and sentiment they perceive after the communication is over.

If you want to be a great communicator, talking a lot and well is not enough. Establishing a relationship aimed at some type of change is much more important. And much more complicated.

Adjusting expectations

Fabrizio1 Comment

It is very easy to hide when we can’t deliver.

When we have promised to do something, and then things changed unexpectedly, the most trivial thing to do is pretend the promise was not made in the first place. Not explaining what went wrong. Not answering to the request of clarification. Not showing up the next time.

Hiding.

And yet, we owe the people around us a “why” and a “what now”. Expectations can be adjusted, but trust is not easily given a second time if we fail it from the get-go.

 

Self-development time

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Most companies allow employees to allocate time for self-development. In some cases, you can use up to 20% of your time (1 day per week) for that. You won’t probably get much guidance on the development path, and I don’t see your boss complaining if you forfeit that time and decide to finish a couple of tasks and answer a bunch of emails (they should complain – if you stop developing, it is bad for them too).

For this reason, you need to be ruthless with self-development. Make it a regular appointment on your calendar (mine is on Friday morning), and defend it. Decide what you want to learn, register to an online course, or collect some material, and then take that time, just do it. At the end of the day, you will feel much more accomplished: you will feel better with yourself, your work, your company and everything else.