On the Eve of Thanksgiving in the US

As I chatted today with a friend for a long over-due chat I shared with her all the learnings/happenings around leadership (many of which are posted here) over the past few weeks.  What continues to rise to the top for me is that all the concepts we have been discussing are intertwined:

The overarching concept is to recognize the humanity in others so that one can recognize the humanity in oneself (Ubuntu) and from that place one can examine their own culture (including privilege) and the culture of others (culturally adaptive leadership) all under the lens of personal leadership.  And personal leadership may include both followship and leadership OR we may all be leading.  And that the problems arise when do not lead around a common stake.  This is what happens when there is a breakdown in a culture, whether it is a company's culture or a family's or a community's.

And, we can all be committed to doing the work of leadership; but first we must experience forgiveness and compassion in others - their humanity - and then we can begin the other work.  So, on this eve of Thanksgiving, it seems suitable that we should think about forgiveness and compassion in our own personal leadership work!

Peace,

Ann

Ann Dinan, Ph.D., M.S.S.A., C.P.C.C.

The Deeper Leadership Institute

The New Wave of Leadership

Hi all,

I was chatting today with a friend who is unemployed and she was mentioning how when she attends all these groups for folks who don't currently have jobs, that there is a sense that people don't just want any old job.  This time around, they want to make sure that they can embrace the job.  In fact, many are even considering career changes indicating that they never even wanted the career or job that they previoiusly held!  This is what we are referring to as the silver lining.  We couldn't be more pleased that folks are truly taking stock of who they are and what they want and then aligning their job searches accordingly!  We certainly hope that this type of thinking is truly the wave of the present and future when if comes to leading one's own life - ie personal leadershp.

We would love to hear stories from some of you who have had such an experience (what was your old job/career, what did you not like about it, what are you doing now, and what is it about the new situation that you love?).  Looking forward to your posts!

Ann

Ann Dinan

The Deeper Leadership Institute

Ubuntu Leadership

So, what the heck is Ubuntu???  I am sure I cannot do the definition justice here as it has been stated much  more eloquently by Archbishop Tutu and President Mandela; however we define it as the process of seeing the humanity in others in order to see the humanity in self.  We hope that by the time our clients finish one of our programs they have such a solid sense of self and purpose that they understand the place of compassion and forgiveness in leadership.  Thus, from this place, truly enlightened leadership can transpire.  And, one does not have to be a president of archbishop to attain this level of leadership.  Becoming self aware and then determining a value-guided leadership path are the start that is needed in order to arrive at your destination. 

Ann

Ann Dinan, Ph.D., M.S.S.A., C.P.C.C.

The Deeper Leadership Institute

Leaders and Followers

I continue to get amazing inspiration from both the CTI list-serv and the participants from the Intl Ledership Assn!  The latest discussion I have been following and participating in is one about whether we need followers in order to avoid chaos?

As you probably know, we at the Deeper Leadership Institute maintain that we are all leaders.  So, that premise begets the question:  can one be both a leader and a follower?  And/or is it necessary to have followers?  And/or can we all be leaders and be co-leaders?  If the last scenario is plausible, I can see the case made for chaos; but if we are all co-leading around an established stake, then do we need followers or can we all co-lead? 

Let's hear from you!

Ubuntu,

Ann

Leadership, Privelege and Diversity

Hi all:

I am still here in Prague at the International Leadership Association conference and today we had quite an exciting roundtable discussion about leadership, privilege and diversity.  We have always maintained that learning about one's own privilege was a key element of personal leadership as well as diversity and that in fact, personal leadership is a key element of diversity training!

It appears that the confluence of leadership and diversity is a topic that has not received a lot of attention and yet what we are hearing at this conference is that what was heard during the presidential electoral process, was so blatantly racist that our attention must return (if it ever left) this topic.

What are your thoughts on this matter?  Is there a place for the discussion of diversity and/or privilege when discussing leadership?

Ann

Ann Dinan

The Deeper Leadership Institute