Vengeance Will Be Mine

There is a delicate balance in leadership. I see the struggle play out regularly. It seems to me we've evolved our collective corporate lives into something very different from our personal ones. In so doing, we leave behind the messages of support we tell our friends and family, being there for them, and forgiving them when they make an honest mistake.

In the world of work, we've created cultures that are far too often risk averse, mired in negativity and have our team members worried about making even the slightest mistake. 

This simply can not be. Our hyper-competitive world simply will not survive under the weight of an old school command and control management style. 

Beware the New World

As the corporate world begins to open it's eyes to the possibilities of a new way to work (and more and more old school leaders retire) we are beginning to see real change take place.

What hasn't changed however are the pressures and expectations on leaders to deliver. In fact, the corporate post-recession business model seems to be focused on a new obsession with "do more with less."

This simply can not be. I'm a huge fan of efficiency...and don't mind going through some pain to achieve it. But simply being "nicer" while having an underlying my-way-or-the-highway leadership style is candidly a huge fail. Huge. Fail.

Temptations Are Everywhere

Power is what most often seems to get in the way of good work. As the pressure from the senior leadership team flows down, the middle managers have no choice but to succumb to the culture that has been established. 

"Culture is what senior leaders do, not what they say, or post on a plaque, or put in a press release. Yes, words are powerful...but action is culture."

Yet it is so hard to resist the trappings of power, and authority and a fancy job title to make sure good work gets done! When the desire to wrap oneself in their ego drives decision-making  because "they know their view is the correct one" then it's time to call it a day. None of us have all the answers. But collectively all of us do.

Are you with me?

How About You

The culture chase is a tricky one. On one hand we in leadership have an incredible opportunity to transform our organizations. On the other, we have the opportunity to create chaos. Just so we're all clear, chaos is bad. Right?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Khaos Legions or New Leadership

The baby boomers are now in a full retirement blitz, right? Think about it...thousands of experienced professionals transitioning out of paid employment into a new phase of life. Who will follow them? One option is that legions of inexperienced leader-wanna-be types have convinced themselves they're ready to step up. But are they? 


Work/Life Balance is A Lot of Work
Have they embraced the need to respect work/life balance but also appreciate that without hard work, whining about balance is perceived as a lame excuse to slack off? Have they developed the maturity to understand that as the world of work has evolved the role of ethical decision-making is more important than ever? We'll see...the last thing we need with a big election year looming are the khaos legions taking over. We have enough of those in high profile public positions, no need to fill the list of leadership vacancies that are soon to follow with them too.

Best Days Behind Us
Some might say that without an old-fashioned work ethic the future of corporate leadership looks bleak. Without a laser focus on achieving goals, making sacrifices, and joining the cult of profits above all else, we are doomed to continue our economic nosedive. How can we possibly move ahead without laughing off the younger generation's expectations of that infamous balance? Surely we can't make the world of work better and different at the same time, right?


Best Days Ahead
I'm here to tell you both are possible. Not only are they possible, but quite frankly they are essential if we're going to take work to a place that has meaning beyond a paycheck. Work can be so much more, but it takes leadership. It takes new leadership across many facets of life.


It takes you.


How About You
What have you done to prepare yourself to lead effectively in 2012. So much is riding on what you do as an individual, as a member of a team, and as a representative of your organization. Are you ready?


I'd love to hear from you.


No Excuses.





pic courtesy of appsfuze