January 2010 Newsletter
January 17th, 2010 We are pleased to launch our video newsletters where we will be bringing you new insights, thoughts and challenges around leadership, creativity and cultural adaptability. We will also be sharing our latest updates and news under “Current.” This is an open forum for discussion and dialogue so we invite you to share your comments, questions and thoughts with us.
We look forward to the journey ahead and thank you for your support and friendship.
Defying gravity,
So-Young Kang, Catalyst, Managing Partner
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Video Excerpt: What Does Caring have to do with Leadership? By So-Young Kang |
What does leadership mean to you? Several executives and colleagues shared with me:
- “The ability to inspire people to pursue your dreams as if they were your own.”
- “Understanding that you can’t make anyone follow you. You can only lead by example.”
- “The ability to get others to follow you rationally and emotionally.”
Leadership starts with a vision or destination that is often grander than what one could achieve alone, and the power to move people on a journey to achieve that goal. What is required to lead?
The key to leadership is communicating, a 2-way process that involves both speaking and listening-a give and a take. Yet why do we, as executives, often feel we are great communicators when the “communication” is often 1-way?
The key to communicating is listening, which is not the same as hearing. Listening involves taking in, processing, and comprehension. How often are we so focused on our points, our views and our agendas that we cannot even hear the words so we are…deaf?
The key to listening is caring. Caring is about valuing people as assets to be treasured and valued, as opposed to simply required resources to accomplish a goal. When we unintentionally “dehumanize” our people, why are we surprised when they perform the bare minimum or don’t care about our goals. Soft and fuzzy?
As leaders, we often confuse communicating with 1-way monologue and caring with being something soft, fuzzy and intangible, when it really sits at the heart of leadership and performance.
The key to leadership is communicating
The key to communicating is listening
The key to listening is caring.
How much do you care? By the way, we would love to communicate with you vs. just share information with you so please post your comments or e-mail us anytime.
For the latest news and updates, please visit our Current page.
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7 Responses to “January 2010 Newsletter”
Transforming ideas here, So-Young. When one leads in the ways you’re describing, we see a fresh vision of humanity stirred in the heart of those following.
They believe that they can lead, deep in their bones, because they have felt re-humanized in the process of the interaction.
In this way, effervescent leadership such as you describe is essential for the healing of the planet, as well as for accomplishing great things.
Thanks for the insights.
Dan
[...] Excellent post on caring leadership at our friends, The Awaken Group – http://theawakengroup.com/e-newsletters/january2010/ [...]
I’m looking forward to getting more information about this topic, don’t worry about negative opinions.
Not bad article, but I really miss that you didn’t express your opinion, but ok you just have different approach
Thank you for your comments. I really do believe that if we start to really lead by caring for those around you, it’s amazing what will happen. I have been doing this with my own team, my creative collaborators, my clients, my vendors, my family, my friends…When I make the conscious choice to care about them first, the outcomes are drastically different than when I just try to accomplish a task or achieve my goals.
Interesting quotes. The person who quoted leadership as:
“The ability to inspire people to pursue your dreams as if they were your own.”
to me, this guy is clueless. this type of leadership does not last the test of time.
i think real leadership is 90% having the right strategy and 10% inspiration.
to be a real leader one needs a track record that speaks for itself. i rather have
a boring person who sees the correct vision rather that a great inspirational person
who leads his team to a dead end.
i think in general -all this leadership stuff is over weighted on the inspiration and
creative side- it is way way overvalued. if you have the wrong vision then all the
inspiration and creative leadership stuff becomes the stuff of “snake oil salesmen”.
one constantly has to change their venue or people because they lose followers
just as fast as they gain new ones.
more attention should be focused on how to help leaders discover the right vision and
strategy for their organization- at the end of the day results rule and strategy is
far more important than charismatic leadership.
just my thoughts
Caring — great insight and first time I’ve seen it highlighted. I think one example of dehumanizing employees is how quickly some managers will “fire” someone these days — rather than using it as an absolute last resort after all avenues have been exhausted. Rather, it’s more like fire and hire with some companies these days.
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