Group items tagged

A gesture of friendship for my Christian (especially Methodist) friends in Leadership, but also I think this is a good leadership model of using new media and technology to send out a very old message, and also of adding a substantial level of communication by signing as well as speaking the message. And as a bishop, of course, we are looking at a religious leader in action. Happy Easter, all.

Here's a text that examines the role of social media and leadership. As we are using a social media for this class, I think this is relevant for us.

Had dinner here last night. Owner had a problem with one server. Had a quiet talk with her at the bar, his back to the customers. She protested but he persisted, quietly, gently. She ended up hugging him and going back to work. The genial atmosphere communicated authentic leadership to me. Also, interesting to note how business are using social media as this cafe does in lieu of a harder to manage website.

In this series Eli Stone works for a law firm who has built their success on representing the clients that provide the largest payouts, the most media coverage and potential for future legal engagements that perpetuate the first two criteria. As Eli Stone takes on less prestigious, less financially beneficial and more morally grounded cases, the partners react. The firm is eventually split in two as one partner chooses the high yet substantially more difficult road and two leave with more than half of the staff to maintain a law firm with the previous standards and expectations. This show demonstrates how leaders and followers react when there are dramatic changes to vision, moral standards, financial motives and leaderships reactions to these things.

Poet Robert Hass in conversation about the role of leadership and media in contemporary culture. The most relevant-to-leadership-conversation starts about half way down.

Shawn, interesting! Thanks.

Japan has had five prime ministers in as many years, creating a merry-go-round of leadership. Now, for the first time, the country is being plunged into a catastrophe and the costs of weak leadership are becoming increasingly clear. Despite that fact, the bar is low enough now that even his apparent shortcomings are showcasing Mr. Kan as the kind of quiet, stalwart leader he wasn't considered before Friday's disasters. Mr. Kan's initially quick response is also a comparative improvement from the way disaster efforts were managed following the Kobe earthquake in January 1995. "People are more focused on getting things done on the day-to-day level. You don't necessarily have to be a flashy, charismatic leader to get the support of the people," said Koichi Nakano, professor of political science at Sophia University in Tokyo. "As long as Kan appears earnest and hard-working, that's fine. He doesn't necessarily need to inspire the people."

The Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School District will have a new superintendent starting in June. The school board voted last week to hire Michael Reid to replace Interim Superintendent Thomas Anthony at the end of the school year, according to the district. The board used a recruitment agency to field candidates for the seat. Anthony is a retired administrator from San Diego and was brought in to act as interim superintendent after former Superintendent Douglas Oliveira left for a coaching position at College of the Redwoods. I posted this little article from my home town newspaper, The Times-Standard. I thought it was interesting and relevant because I grew-up with the former supervisor, Douglas Oliveria. Doug was a leader, even in high school. Captain of the basketball team, very bright personalble and intelligent. I had lost track of Doug after I left Humboldt County at the age of 27, but I know he followed in his father's footsteps and went into educaiton. I wasn't surprised to see that he was still a leader and had accepted a job as a coach at the junior college, College of the Redwoods. This appeared to me as if Doug had left his leadership position as superintendent for his dream. Coach. Another leadership position, but with less "acclaim" and more fun. Doug would be about 60 years old now. It was time to follow his dream... I wish him only the best.

I read about this conference in Christian Century (April 5, 2011) a leadership conference about failing, recovering, learning from mistakes, and community reassurance.  It's being held in a failed church that is now a bar!

This is an article from my last hometown newspaper about a group who tried to get a charter school up and running but were bascally turned down for their lack of organization which led to a lack of support. The group ould have appealed the decision but gave up.

A cartoon illustrating a reality of Utah leadership. This makes me think about how our (as a culture) perception of leadership has changed over the years. Makes me wonder about how a leader is being portrayed and how our perceptions of what visions (or lack of visions) a leader has can reinforce contemporary feelings of nostalgia, complacency, and helplessness.

Shawn, interesting contrast. Cartoonists have lampooned leaders since Thomas Nast (1840-1902). But, as you point out, cartoonists are also people who are watching trends and pointing toward changes and shifts in popular opinion.

In his continuing blog for the Huffington Post, Bill Gates talks about his ongoing commitment to changing the world. I wonder what his motivations are. Is he a true humanitarian, or is this some scheme to move the global economies in a direction that brings more profitability for the Gates family? Is this altruistic and authentic leadership, or corruption on a level we have never seen before?

This is an unlikely choice, but I picked it because it represents Judas' opinion about how well Jesus is doing as a leader. (And I happened to hear it yesterday.) And having just read the Drucker, I can't help but think about the haunting complexity of what it means that organizational success is about the leader prioritizing the task, not the leader. What does that mean in this context? I have an easy, possibly snarky UU answer to that question, which is almost certainly wrong.

Judas is shown in Superstar as also making the classic mistake for mistaking the leader for the cause--you know, it's about the church, not about the pastor.

As Passover approaches the writer engages the Seder with careful consideration for her "7 y/o self- proclaimed atheist daughter". She writes, "what kids need most is authentic parental connection" and "my daughter wants to be part of the conversation, and I want to be there as her partner in dialogue". Rarely do I see an adult willing to engage children in such a manner that invites conversation or two way dialogue about such matters that involve critical thinking. This is an example of leadership that respects divergence in location and opinion.

This article is about members of Congress going on a fast to protest hunger. These people, regardless of the reason, were willing to take a stand for what they believe is right, good, and just. This article goes along with some of the concepts discussed this week and can serve as an example of leaders working to better the lives of others.

This video is GREAT stuff for any would-be leader. The basic lesson is that folks are driven by autonomy, mastery, and purpose, not profit so incentive pay only seems to work for repetitive physical, rather than cognitively challenging, tasks. What a great way to teach -- this 10 minute video is better than hours of lecture.

Todd Sears had been openly gay as a student at Duke University in Durham, N.C. So he didn't expect the need to be secretive about being "out" after he graduated in 1998 to work on Wall Street. But soon after he started his entry-level job as a financial analyst for an investment bank, he heard someone at a nearby desk say a derogatory word toward gays. He soon learned the traditional Wall Street work environment, with its stereotypically rigid culture, was anything but welcoming to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. He conceived of the idea of gathering the major Wall Street banks in an event for the LGBT community and 10 years later he finally pulled it off.