High Performance Leadership

When we declare that something is true, it is because we tend to believe that it is true (unless we are deliberately lying). And, it may well be true, but what if we're wrong? Leaders are often wrong. Even high performance leaders. Here's one way to navigate that.  Instead of telling someone my truth is absolute, I will ask them to think about it. What if? Maybe we don't have to convince people immediately. Maybe we'll be more influential if they believe that they can think it over. What do you think? -- doug smith

I've been casually following a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) structured by Stephen Downes , Ethics, Analytics and the Duty of Care . While it is mainly focused on how ethics applies to analytics (particularly Artificial Intelligence) and learning, it strikes me as relevant to well, everything. In particular, leadership. Leaders must make decisions guided by their ethics on an almost daily basis. As the discuss in #ethics21 has pointed out, though, while it may seem clear what ethical behavior means, it is much more complicated than that. Ethics, when examined with any level of curiosity, uncovers more questions than answers. Maybe that's best, but it is also challenging. I did take one course in ethics in graduate school working on my masters in Organizational Leadership. Every course, though, contained ethical overtones. I learned that leaders must examine their motives and reconcile them against their values while behaving ethically. I learned that there are many more sha...

What you think today matters more than what you thought yesterday. What do you think about that? -- doug smith

You've been pivoting your whole life. Why not roll with it? -- doug smith  

Raising our voice won't always raise our credibility. Style shouldn't drown out substance. -- doug smith  

Whatever your hopes and dreams are, you'll get there faster with goals and action. -- doug smith

  I wouldn't expect everyone to be an artist any more than I would expect everyone to be a plumber. But we all need water, and we all need art. Find the art in leadership, and your leadership strength will grow. -- doug smith