Volume 1, Issue 1 (Spring 2010)
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Letter from the Editor
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You’ve Survived, Now What? Michael Petty
As a result of the current economic upheaval, firms face a new reality of chaos, complexity and continuous change. To lead organizations through this new economic landscape, leaders must begin to think beyond the challenges of the next quarter [...]
The skills theory grew from the obvious flaw in the trait approach; traits are relatively fixed. This meant that trait theory was not particularly useful for developing new leaders who lack those traits. Skills theorists sought to discover the skills and abilities that made leaders effective. Similar to trait theory, skills theories are leader-centric, focused [...]
The search for the characteristics or traits of leaders has existed for centuries. History’s greatest philosophical writings from Plato’s Republic to Plutarch’s Lives have explored the question of “What qualities distinguish an individual as a leader?” Underlying this search was the early recognition of the importance of leadership and the assumption that leadership is rooted in the characteristics that [...]
I’m going to stretch my rule on reviewing solid, researched books on leadership or organizational theory. The Peter Principle is in, fact theory. However, it hasn’t been researched because it’s also satire. The Peter Principle is both a book by Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull and an organization principle similar to Parkinson’s Law.
The Peter Principle [...]
Two Actually: useful lies.
All theories are useful lies. Theories are attempts to simplify what is happening in a set of observations. They are attempts to describe reality that typically fall short (otherwise they wouldn’t be so simple). Consider the opposing theories of the earth’s shape: flat or round. At first, mankind thought the earth of [...]
This inaugural episode’s guest is Bret Simmons, PhD. Dr. Simmons is a professor of organizational behavior and leadership at the University of Nevada, Reno. His interests include leadership, followership and positive organizational behavior. Additionally, Dr. Simmons runs corporate training sessions and blogs regularly at bretlsimmons.com.
0:00 Introduction
2:05 Do you notice a difference in receptiveness to theory [...]
During WWII, Allied bomber losses were high, so high that the British Air Ministry undertook a rigorous analysis in hopes of finding a solution. Their engineers set out to eyeball every bomber they could, gathering data on each bullet hole. After analyzing the results, engineers decided to reinforce the areas that had the highest concentrations [...]
At first it may seem an odd choice for a book review. The One Minute Manager series is known for being a simple, easy to digest series of books seemingly designed for busy managers stuck at an airport bookstore with $20 to burn. And in fact, that is exactly what Leadership and the One Minute Manager [...]
Fortune Magazine has compiled a list of ten companies who make talent development a priority and ranked them by who does it best. IBM takes top honors but what comes as a pleasant surprise is the inclusion of GE. While they have suffered through some tumultuous times, it seems they have not abandoned Jack Welch [...]
Airport bookstores are crowded with books on leadership, and each one seems to promote a “leadership lack.” They’ll each begin with phrases like “The most pressing issue in organizations is that leaders lack integrity…or empathy…or strategy…or even humor. These books continue by laying out the authors’ simple framework for developing the perfect leader. On and [...]
On New Year’s Day, I had the opportunity to listen in to a teleconference given by Daniel Pink on what he’ll be focusing on in 2010. Ever since I encountered his TED talk, I’ve been a fan of Daniel Pink and I have been waiting to read his new book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates [...]
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