Big Ideas for the 21st Century Leader

Creating a New Corporate Value Proposition

  

·   Rather than trying to get more out of people, organizations are better served by investing more in them and meeting their multidimensional needs in order to fuel greater engagement and more sustainable high performance.

·   It’s not how much time we invest into our work that determines our productivity but rather the value we produce during the hours we work.

·   We must learn to embrace opposites. By celebrating one set of qualities and undervaluing another—courage or caution, confidence or humility, tenacity or flexibility—we lose access to essential dimensions of ourselves and others.

·   Because all virtues are interconnected, any strength overused ultimately becomes a liability. Honesty without compassion, for example, is cruelty. We create the highest value not by focusing solely on our strengths or ignoring our weaknesses but by being attentive to both.

·   The mind-set shift leaders need to make is from focusing too much on competency, the skills necessary for a given job and too little on capacity, the fuel people need in their tanks to bring their skills fully to life.

·   The best leaders strike a balance between challenging their people to exceed themselves and regularly recognizing and rewarding their accomplishments.

·   Leaders who default to negative emotions to motivate others may get short-term performance they’re seeking, but the costs over time are high.

·   Because the impact of “bad” is stronger than “good,” the first rule for an effective leader is the same as it is for doctors: above else do no harm. That means avoiding devaluing emotions such as anger, intimidation, disparagement, and shame.

·   Leaders who avoid conflict often cause even more harm than those who are more direct. The key for leaders is to balance honesty and appreciation, always keeping in mind the value of the other person, even when being critical of a particular behavior.

·   The best evidence of an organization’s values and purpose is to consider the behavior of its leaders. Transactional leaders focus narrowly on the “what”—how to get things done. Transformational and servant leaders are more focused on the purpose of their action and on meeting the needs of their employees.

·   Most employees are less inspired by a leader’s personal charisma than by a compelling purpose to rally around everyday. The most admired and effective leaders are those with the most inspiring vision and the greatest humility about themselves.