Leadership

Many of my blog posts here will have a leadership theme to them. I'm not an expert in this field, but I am actively attempting to improve myself here. So, check back each week to see what insights I've gleaned. Here, I'll add main thoughts on leadership from my perspective from time to time, and "leaderly" things I've done - good, bad, or ugly!

Leadership Perspectives

I believe a leader should be able to do three things well:

  1. Have a vision.
  2. Hire good people.
  3. Get results.
Implied here are excellent communication skills. You can sell your vision to others if can't communicate it. You can't get things done if you can't foster open avenues of communication.

A leader has to have presence. You should be able to walk into a room and have people take notice. Some might call this charisma, but it's more than that. For me, it means I am focused, aware of the room and all that entails, and appear ready to dive into it, whatever "it" is at the moment.

A leader has to have dual mindsets. One is for the tasks at hand; the other is for taking the long-term view. I've heard this called the view from the balcony.

A leader has to have a balance between the reptile and mammal mindset. Reptiles are good with facts and figures, having those tough conversations, making deals, and keeping focused on the tasks at hand. Mammals are good with people - your compassion and caring comes from here. Mammals are good mentors. You can read more about all this in "The Nature of Leadership," by B. Joseph White.

A leader must reflect on his/her leadership frequently. It's the only way to improve!

Leaderly Things I've Done

I've started a weekly blog post on my reflections in this area, in this space. Hope you like it!

No TrackBacks

TrackBack URL: https://blogs.psu.edu/mt4/mt-tb.cgi/26793

Search

Recent Entries

EGC Works - Our Podcast Series
Have you heard about EGC Works? It's a new offering from the EGC. Every several weeks, our "Mr. Podcaster" Jamie…
Learning Happens All The Time - Even If We Have To Steal It
Tonight in the supermarket I watched a 2-year old watch the cashier work through a problem at the register. Her…
Custom Google Forms - Nuts and Bolts
I'm working with the CIC Learning Technologies group on an upcoming virtual conference. One of my tasks was to look…
My Gamer DNA