Charisma

Every Leader in the business world in his relentless quest to achieve significant success is obsessed with getting things done; effectively and efficiently. Those leaders want to be heard, seen, respected, and appreciated.
They are often willing to go more than the “usual” “extra mile” to reach the top of success. But often, in spite of all the efforts, success is still absent. Could the answer lie in the need to develop `Leadership Charisma’ ?
What do we exactly mean by Charisma ?
According to Wikipedia, The word charisma (from the Greek word χάρισμα (kharisma), "gift" or "divine favor," from kharizesthai, "to favor," from kharis, "favor": see also charism) refers to a rare trait found in certain human personalities usually including extreme charm and a 'magnetic' quality of personality and/or appearance along with innate and powerfully sophisticated personal communicability and persuasiveness. Though very difficult or even impossible to define accurately (due to a lack of widely accepted criteria in regard to the trait), charisma is often used to describe an (elusive, even undefinable) personality trait that often includes the seemingly 'supernatural' or uncanny ability to lead, charm, persuade, inspire, and/or influence people. It refers especially to a quality in certain people who easily draw the attention and admiration (or even hatred if the charisma is negative) of others due to a 'magnetic' quality of personality and/or appearance. Similar terms/phrases related to charisma include: grace, exuberance, equanimity, mystique, positive energy, joie de vivre, extreme charm, personal magnetism, personal appeal, "electricity," and allure, among many others. Usually many of these specific qualities must be present within a single individual for the person to be considered highly charismatic by the public and their peers.
Despite the strong emotions they so often induce in others, charismatic individuals generally project unusual calmness, confidence, assertiveness, dominance, authenticity, and focus, and almost always possess superb communication and/or oral skills. Although the etymology of the word ("divine gift") might suggest that charisma can't be acquired, and despite the persistent inability to accurately define or even fully understand the concept, it is believed that charisma can be taught and/or learned. Others disagree with this assertion and maintain that it is an inborn trait and that it cannot be learned, taught, or 'gained.'

The power of a solid vision…

The Spirit of St. Louis is the name of the airplane that Charles Lindbergh flew solo across the Atlantic .In search of potential sponsors for that project Lindbergh was put in contact with the head of the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, Harold Bixby. Meeting with Bixby, Lindbergh predicted great things for St. Louis if the city were to put its support behind such an historic flight. Painting a picture of St. Louis as an aviation hub, Lindbergh convinced Bixby to sponsor his flight. A budget of $15,000 was agreed upon.
http://www.charleslindbergh.com/

How to motivate employees ?

“Alignment of aims, purpose and values between staff, teams and organization is the most fundamental aspect of motivation. The better the alignment and personal association with organizational aims, the better the platform for motivation. Where people find it difficult to align and associate with the organizational aims, then most motivational ideas and activities will have a reduced level of success. Motivation is a complex area. It's different for each person. Motivational receptiveness and potential in everyone changes from day to day, from situation to situation. Get the alignment and values right, and motivational methods work better. Motivational methods of any sort will not work if people and organisation are not aligned. People are motivated towards something they can relate to and something they can believe in. Times have changed. People want more. You should view the following motivational methods and ideas as structures, activities and building blocks, to be used when you have a solid foundation in place. The foundation is a cohesive alignment of people's needs and values with the aims and purpose of the organization.”

Source: http://www.businessballs.com

Quotes # 14

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
This is a text extract of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, and delivered on June 12, 2005 at Stanford University

What is the impact of my performance in the overall picture?

Some Workplace surveys I had access to indicated that only a low percentage of inquiries (15-25% ) stated that the organizations these people work for had their organization's strategy well communicated, and everyone's work priorities aligned to support those strategies .I assume that a huge amount of performance being "managed" in the marketplace may not have a positive impact in the companies performance.
Are the goal-settings form the organizations aligned top –down ?
Are managers' goals linked to global strategy?
Is it not wiser to link all employees' goals ?
Does everybody in the organization understand why their personal goal matter to the organization?
Some more food for thought ?

Quotes # 13

Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men; the other 999 follow women

"Groucho Marx"

Leading versus Managing ( Part 5)

" To improve our performance and achive our goals we need strong leaders:
people who can motivate their teams to achieve their objectives and deliver results.
We need managers who are accountable, agressive, adaptable, assertive, motivating and forward thinking, mature and international in their outlook. We call these qualities the leadership Imperatives and we recruit , appraise and develop our managers against them."

"Managing for value" Cadbury Schweppes

Quotes # 12

“Nothing is impossible. Some things are just less likely than others. “

Jonathan Winters

Shakleton´s Leadership Example

One of the biggest leadership lesson one can extract from Shackleton's experiences while his expedition ship, the Endurance, was trapped and then crushed in the pack ice of the Weddell Sea was the fact that during the 22-month Shackleton had to face changing circumstances and constant danger that enabled to bring the best in each of his crew member. Each contributed to the team's survival, starting with Captain Frank Worsley, whose exceptional navigation guided the men to Elephant and South Georgia Islands, carpenter Chippy McNeish, who tooke care of the lifeboats, cook Charles Green, who created meals day after day with scarce resources, Alexander Macklin and James McIlroy, two doctors, who saved steward Perce Blackborow from gangrene resulting from frostbite and ending in the second-in-command Frank Wild, who served as front man of the 21 men on Elephant Island after the departure of Shackleton for South Georgia. Twenty-eight ordinary-turned-extraordinary men, who survived nearly two years of unimaginable hardship at the end of the Earth, led by Shackleton's example and his ability to constantly ,under blistering conditions, boosting Team spirit and morale motivating and inspiring his crew to achieve their common objective the survival of All expedition members.

Quotes #11

“The fastest growth industry in the US will soon be continuous education of adults because everything happens and changes so fast” Peter F. Drucker

“Leaders should have self-confidence. They get comfortable in their own skin by being grounded emotionally, being supportive of others, and having had the freedom to fail.”

US. Army Colonel Thomas Matthews who led the Task Force Ranger mission in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1993 . Those events served as basis for the Film “ Black Hawk Down “ from Ridley Scott.

Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, and safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success. – Sir Ernest Shackleston in a 1890 job ad description for his first Antarctic expedition.
Would this be motivation enough to apply currently for a job in today’s corporate world?

Persuasion

According to the Wikipdia :”Persuasion is a form of influence. It is the process of guiding people toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic (though not only logical) means. It is a problem-solving strategy and relies on "appeals" rather than force.” If that is to be true than we are facing Leadership in his deepest roots. What do You think ?

WorldChanging.com works from a simple premise: that the tools, models and ideas for building a better future lie all around us. That plenty of people are working on tools for change, but the fields in which they work remain unconnected. That the motive, means and opportunity for profound positive change are already present. That another world is not just possible, it's here. We only need to put the pieces together.

http://www.worldchanging.com/about/

The WILL to improve.....(2)

This small and intense project-based class will involve a series of team efforts to “spread” positive behavior, which will be bolstered by exposure to and coaching from industry experts and academics. The projects will include spreading the adoption of Firefox web browser, learning and applying methods from hip-hop to fuel the spread of fads, and a capstone project on spreading financially responsible individual behavior. Project teams will be composed of master’s students from diverse disciplines including engineering, design, business, the behavioral sciences, and education.
Learning how to become a better design thinker will be a major focus of this course. Students will apply the “build to think” philosophy of the d.school and create prototypes of everything from viral marketing campaigns to entire businesses. While there will substantial helpings of theory delivered throughout the quarter, this is a course for people who want to get their hands dirty, to get out in the world and do things.

Source: Stanford University

The WILL to improve.....

There is a broad agreement about the fact that competent teams improve productivity, are able to reduce dramatically project implementation time, and boost the generation of innovative solutions. Yet, many managers complain on how ineffective their teams work , wasting time and resources on projects that do not achieve the desired results, or are not linked to the business or to its customers. As a result, it is critical that these teams have the right knowledge and develop skills and competencies in order to be able to make meaningful contributions to the company's business goals and to their customers' needs. But, how can we effectively access those competencies, measure and monitor its improvement and define realistic achievable and measurable targets?
Let us together approach this topic as one of the big challenges for 2007 in this blog.
Wish You All a Happy New Year.

A great project......

Dear Community:

Welcome to We Are Smarter Than Me, an ambitious community addressing a crucial shift in how businesses operate as they learn to leverage the power of "community."
The central premise of We Are Smarter Than Me is that large groups of people ("We") can, and should, take responsibility for traditional business functions that are currently performed by companies, industries and experts ("Me").
What do we mean? Let's look at some recent examples:
Procter & Gamble is recruiting 600,000 housewives to help market its products through word of mouth. In return for much greater reach and impact, the company is giving up control of the marketing message, relying on its community of customers/marketers to craft their own message in the most appropriate fashion.
Microlending websites provide the ability for individuals to lend to small businesses directly. The underwriting decisions (assessing the risk of each loan) are made by individuals, and the price of loan is established through lender bidding. We expect these lending decisions to be superior to the same decisions currently made by experts at banks.
Patients faced with rare diseases are increasingly turning to internet discussion groups to learn more about risks and treatment options, and as a result are participating with doctors more actively (in some cases much more actively) in decisions regarding their care.
A few books have recently been written on this topic, but they all fail to confront one central paradox. While they extol the power of communities, they were each written by only one person.
We're putting this paradox to the test by inviting hundreds of thousands of authors to contribute to this "network book" using today's technologies.
The book will be published by Pearson, and each contributor will be listed as an author of the book. All authors will receive an equal vote on the distribution of book royalties to charity.
We're seeking from our authors real examples of companies who are trying — successfully, or unsuccessfully — to harness the power of "community." And we're looking to develop and share insights about why these approaches work or don't work; and what companies have to do to make them work better.
Finally, we have invited you — members of the Wharton and Sloan School communities — to become authors in your own right. You are the students, faculty and alumni of two illustrious institutions, leaders in management and technology. We look forward to your participation and to the insights you can contribute to the project.
Sincerely,

Timothy MooreEditor in Chief, Pearson Education
Jon SpectorVice Dean, The Wharton SchoolDirector, Aresty Institute of Executive Education
Barry LibertChief Executive OfficerShared Insights US, LLC
Thomas Malone,Patrick J. McGovern Professor of ManagementMIT Sloan School of Management

Entrepreneurship ( Part 1)

The understanding of entrepreneurship owes a lot to the work of economist Joseph Schumpeter and the Austrian School of economics. In Schumpeter (1950), an entrepreneur is a person who is willing and able to convert a new idea or invention into a successful innovation. Entrepreneurship forces "creative destruction" across markets and industries, simultaneously creating new products and business models. In this way, creative destruction is largely responsible for the dynamism of industries and long-run economic growth. Despite Schumpeter's early 20th-century contributions, the traditional microeconomic theory of economics has had little room for entrepreneurs in their theoretical frameworks (instead assuming that resources would find each other through a price system). (source Wikipedia with ref. The Economist Magazine, March 11, 2006, pp 67).

Coaching ( Part 1)

It's the time of the Year for many employee performance reviews, and what are we doing about it?
This process should be linked to the vision and mission statement of every organization and embedded in its corporate culture, meaning that rather than being a evaluation based on analyzing last Years sales or general figures results, which often is mainly about managing numbers and expectations, those reviews should focus on the qualitative aspect of performance, by analyzing which actions contributed the most for helping the company achieve its main goals.
A review serves also to identify individual gaps to be developed in every managers pool of skills and competencies, therefore this process should be performed at a regular basis, at least 4 times a year, and with a very strong coaching component.
The main asset for any company is the wealth of experience that every senior employee brings with him. If those MVP are not able to pass their testimony by teaching, coaching and mentoring Young managers, than they failed as leaders.
Looking backward is important, in order to learn from mistakes as well as analyzing successes, but, a stronger focus should be placed on , together ( appraiser and employee) build a measurable and accountable action plan for both performance and personal development targets.
As every leader should see his role in motivating and inspiring his followers to achieve common objectives, ideally we could call these reviews, a personal leadership development plan.