Regardless of stature and station, we are all standing at the intersection of a different new world. In order to accelerate our pace, reap the benefits, and share the leadership for opening the way, we need to first change our ways---bringing the human dimension of our leadership in new ways. It will involve recharging and refreshing all that you know, while incorporating a constant flow of refinements that allow you to adapt old habits, as well as, establishing new ones that reflect renewal in the way you think and operate. So where do we begin?
Personally, I've always found the best advice for new times by learning from those that first forged the paths of leadership. For example, imagine all the people throughout the world that have been touched and influenced by the leadership and wisdom of Peter F. Drucker, well known as the "godfather of modern management." I am one.
During this time of challenge, crisis, and opportunity, Peter Drucker's wisdom has been very present in my work. His advice and counsel is timeless --- fresh, real, and relevant. When I was writing Putting Our Differences to Work, lessons I learned from Peter Drucker served as valuable bridges needed to link what we know with what we need to learn, to draw together four diverse elements of business and society. Elements that have traditionally been handled separately in our work and our thinking—if not by our words and processes, then certainly by our visible actions and practices. Together they are a powerful foursome that fuels new levels of contribution and business success: innovation, leadership, diversity, and inclusion. Below are three Peter Drucker insights I shared in my book that create a framework for building capability for the human dimension of leadership essential to ignite the best in people --- the fastest way to leadership, innovation, and high performance.
Peter Drucker
BUILDING CAPABILITY INSIGHT 1:
The good news about building capability for putting our differences to work is that it doesn't require all new skills. To the contrary, it has much more to do with applying what we already know to this challenge, refocusing our attention and reshaping our habits. I discovered this truth from Peter Drucker.
In his book Post Capitalist Society, Drucker points out that most of us tend to classify what we know into specialized areas of knowledge, instead of applying the strengths of all our knowledge to different problems—looking at the problems we face and asking,“What do I know? What have I learned that I might apply to this task?”In a way, this says that we want to put the differences in all our areas of knowledge to work to solve problems. Drucker’s wisdom has been a central part of my ongoing work in helping individuals, teams, and organizations around the world put differences to work to create diverse, inclusive environments ever since. I have witnessed over and over again that what it takes to draw differences together is mainly utilizing what we already know about leading change, calling upon the strengths of our experience, with a little different twist.
Peter Drucker
BUILDING CAPABILITY INSIGHT 2:
Peter Drucker had a straight way of talking that left you feeling the true weight of responsibility one carries as a leader. If he were here to help you take on this higher calling of leadership required to develop the qualities a leader needs, he would surely get right to the point, stating clearly what he thought in plain talk, as he always did.
"The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say “I.” And that’s not because they have trained themselves not to say “I.” They don’t think “I.” They think “we”; they think “team.” They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don’t sidestep it, but “we” gets the credit. . . . This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done."
Surely, he would also remind you of the competencies he felt would be most essential for you to change your leadership habits: listening, communicating, reengineering your mistakes, and subordinating your ego to the task at hand.
Peter Drucker
BUILDING CAPABILITY INSIGHT 3:
Another time, I was listening to Peter Drucker at one of the conferences put on by the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Non-Profit Management (now Leader to Leader Institute). I remember one piece of advice he gave. Make your contribution. Everything else is a diversion. It serves as a reliable "yardstick" to measure your actions and behavior.
I had the honor of meeting Peter Drucker on his 90th birthday. I cherish this meeting and his enduring influences on my leadership and my life. Thanks, Peter, for showing up on my path. May your work live on in each of us as we apply your knowledge to the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Best...
Debbe
Debbe Kennedy Facebook http://profile.to/debbekennedy/
founder, Global Dialogue Center
and Leadership Solutions Companies
author, Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership,
and High Performance (Berrett-Koehler 2008)
YouTube Book Review by futurist Joel A. Barker
Twitter@onlinedialogues and @debbekennedy
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/debbekennedy
FiledByAuthor: http://www.filedby.com/author/debbe_kennedy/490939/
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