Leading Choices

Both!

In Canada and the United States, having frequent contact with neighbors was associated with higher levels of well-being, as was the feeling of truly belonging in a group. "If everyone in a community becomes more connected, the average level of subjective well-being would increase."

Great question

When you’re facing a difficult situation or any kind of stressor, it helps to know exactly what and who will bring you the most comfort and let you express your feelings healthfully and safely.

Highlights the impact of feedback on our self-awareness - a key characteristic of effective leaders.

We need to do more than just get by. That is part of the problem.

As our culture changes, so too must our leadership.

(From the Article): Are you deeply curious? Do you respond to challenges with openness? Do you ask powerful questions? 

Or do you want just the facts? When challenged, do you defend yourself and attack the other person? Do you have more answers than questions?

I encourage you to cultivate your curiosity as a leader and to promote a spirit of inquiry among those you lead. Make extra effort to explore an issue before deciding. And, when someone disagrees with you, see that as a gift.

Intellectual curiosity, at its deepest, reaches outward and inward.

There is an external openness. The leader has a willingness to explore the unknown – seeking new situations, new data and new insights from others. When challenged, the leader wants to explore the differences.

And there is also be an internal openness to new ways of thinking. The leader is willing to challenge her own biases. The leader is willing to approach an issue with alternative perspectives.

Tips and Tools to Help You Accept What You Can't Change and Commit to Changing What You Can't Accept

Very timely for me just now, and excellent advice!

Put yourself in the other person's shoes.

Thanks to John, David and Wise Leader!  Great scoop.

From the article:

Develop Awareness– Great leaders are self aware, organizationally aware, culturally aware, contextually aware, and emotionally aware. They value listening, engaging, observing, and learning over pontificating. They value sensitivity over insensitivity and humility over hubris. Leaders who come across as if they know everything haven’t fooled anyone – except themselves.

The 5 key transitions the author proposes make you think about how great human beings we expect great leaders to be: (1) find purpose, (2) people first, (3) develop awareness, (4) shun complexity, and (5) get personal. And I could not agree more about the fact how many people assume the responsability to lead but only a few can do it well: "Average leaders spend time scaling processes, systems, and models – great leaders focus on scaling leadership".

I used this to come up with questions that I could ask myself and others as an educational leader. 

Tpotally agree with Don on item #5.  I also like #3.

Create an environment of trust.

Many organizations believe internal trust is nice to have but not a key factor for bottom line profitability. That simply isn’t true. Trust directly affects speed and cost. When trust diminishes, speed goes down and costs go up. These economic factors are usually disguised as other things, but when there isn’t trust between team members, or between the company and its customers, it is impossible to achieve real success. The myths are that trust is built solely on integrity, that you either have it or you don’t, that if lost it can’t be restored, and that it can’t be taught. The realities are that trust is a function of both character and competency, it can be both created and destroyed, it can be restored (in most cases), and be taught and developed into a measurable strategic advantage.

5 steps to defining your winning culture explained succinctly for any leader looking to change their own organisational culture.

We need courageous leadership, but lack it.

Recent research confirms that leaders who exercise compassion produce loyal, dedicated, and passionate employees. In fact, numerous studies have found that workplaces led by compassionate bosses enjoy increased rates of employee satisfaction, greater employee engagement, lower levels of overall stress and fewer reported sick days.

Though I don't like statements such as one "must" and companies "have to", I believe that the overall view is correct. The world's changing, business environment is changing as well. New leadership skills are required that were not taught in public schools at all but neither at business schools yet.

Have an identity and hold it loosely, but don't let your identity have you!

I prefer the word 'mindful' rather than 'thoughtful'. It is a big difference. I see thoughtful as being part of mindful. The author makes a good point about networks and communities being different. This means we can behave and act differently. Networks may or may not be able to hold people to account whereas a community might be able to.

“Keep your identity small.” — Paul Graham“Identity” has become somewhat of a dirty word, especially in Silicon Valley circles. In many minds, the word “identity