Autocratic Leadership
A very large portion of the reason why England underperformed in the World Cup can be put down to the style of leadership administered by Fabio Capello and his team. It being distinctly hierarchical if not totally autocratic, and was far too dictatorial for the overall health of the team when encountering the stresses of tournament play.
When one person takes sole charge of a group of individuals, responsibility lies very squarely on their shoulders to get it right and dictate what the lower ranked individuals should be doing. It is very easy for the foot soldiers to pass blame, disengage and become demotivated when their interests aren't being acknowledged and talents utilised within the system being administered.
By Capello not announcing his team sheet until two hours prior to the game, playing people out of position and not listening to his team, he remained very much in control, his players had little or no preparation for the game at hand, not knowing who was likely to be supporting them in their role, where their own responsibility lay and they lacked confidence in their own ability.
Although an unwritten common purpose could probably be established for this years England team of winning the World Cup, it is very likely that very few of the team actually bought into it, believed it could happen themselves and knew how they would individually contribute. Consequently we didn't fulfill our true potential and got beat quite comprehensively.
Compare that to a more authentic style of leadership, where more of the individuals of the team, were free to express their individual talents, opinions, the passion they had for certain positions in the squad, a reason to change what they had put up with in the past and a definitive common purpose that they could all buy into and I think you would have found a more, energised, efficient and productive squad, with less stress and dare I say it, absenteeism. I think we would have performed better. Just like businesses can perform better if adopting similar tactics.
There is another factor to consider here however, that of love! You have to love the work that you do whether you are sat at your desk reading this email, playing for England or both. Compare Capello's style of management to Diego Marradonna's, how technical a coach Diego is is open to debate, but you can't question how much he loves the game of football, his country Argentina, the idea of winning the World Cup but most importantly the players in his team and vise versa. Big bear hugs are constantly being shared between Diego and his team, they love each other and what they do. I would suggest they will go far in this World Cup possibly all the way to winning it!
Your organisation can go all the way too!
For more on Authentic Leadership click here
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Greetings!
When failure comes, be that in a World Cup campaign, in our business or our personal lives, what can we learn from the experience, to stop making the same mistakes time and again, in order to evolve forward and eventually gain the success we desire?
Anthony Robbins might say that "If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got" and Albert Einstein might add that "You can't solve problems with the same kind of thinking that created them"
Both offer up the same answer that if failure keeps coming to greet us then we have to change something, a way of being, a way of thinking, a way of playing football, in order to gain the happiness we seek. New leadership, new understanding, new theories, new methods and new models can all start to aid us in putting things right.
The point of this June newsletter is to highlight some alternative ideas to what we have been most commonly taught, both in leadership and how we communicate with each other and our wider environment to start to understand the world we live in and the messages other people and creatures want to bring us whether we are conscious of it or not.
I look forward to hearing your response to this months articles on Autocratic Leadership, What Our Shadow Says and Creature Comforts.
If you enjoy my writing and want to hear more or contribute some thoughts yourself please visit my new blogs, http://setyourbusinessfree.blogspot.com/ for business and brand development or http://set-your-spirit-free.blogspot.com/ for personal and spiritual development and start following my posts, alternatively you can follow me on twitter or facebook by clicking on my news on the website.
Happy reading
Simon
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What Our Shadow Says
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When do we learn most about ourselves? When we are in relationship. The reason for this is because the other person shows us our shadow, they show us aspects of ourselves that we would not otherwise recognise. When I say relationship I don't necessarily mean our significant other although this is often the case, but any person we connect with.
And how do we find out most about ourselves when we meet another? Through a strong like or dislike to that other individual's particular characteristics.
This is easy to explain when the feeling is distinctly positive, when we aspire to be like someone else, wish we could do the things that they do, love or become obsessed by what they do for us. We must remember though that we have this same innate ability, but perhaps have our own unique way of doing it if not performing it identically, this is our positive shadow at work and as we reclaim it so the projection on to the other individual diminishes. We become more whole.
Similarly we can get an equal amount of learning from another individual if we get a distinctly negative reaction from them or a characteristic of them hurts or irritates us in one way shape or form.
Our task is to define what this characteristic precisely is, because there is a high chance that we are like this too, either to ourselves or others or both, either in this type of situation or another. This is our negative shadow at work. The good news is that there is a healthy kernel of goodness within that learning for the good of our soul that wants to be developed and acknowledged. Another positive within the negative. The golden nugget within the darkness of the shadow. This quality has been repressed within us and has turned negative, shine the light on it and it turns positive again.
I have got a lot of my understanding of shadow through the work of David Richo and his book Shadow Dance. So let me give you some examples of some characteristics that we might see in others that trouble us and then let me tell you what kernel of goodness lurks within the shadow waiting to be discovered within that.
If we see others as being controlling or being manipulative, we are also like that but it hides our own ability to lead. If we see others as being selfish or self centred, then we too have these exact same attributes and are being invited to acknowledge the ability to self nurture. If we see others as stubborn, we too have those unique same qualities but this is designed to acknowledge our true determination to accomplish things that we want for ourselves. If we see others as procrastinating, then we procrastinate ourselves but are really only honouring our own timing.
There are any number of positives that you can get from the flip side of a negative reaction all we have to do is be prepared to take a step back, inquire into the situation and be ready to take the journey to a greater degree of wholeness.
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Creature Comforts
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I am really passionate about the other creatures that live on this planet as well as ourselves. For me there is no greater moment when one of my furry or feathered friends wants to come and share the same space as I do whilst out in nature.
It wasn't however until I started cross referencing their appearances with that of a book I have titled "Animal Spirit Guides" by Steven D. Farmer, that I started to realise the real magic that they bring with their arrival. Where their visits seem to have a high degree of synchronicity.
Of course when seeking inspiration we are often drawn to special places we often frequent, where we are more likely to see a particular type of animal, but it maybe that we are calling upon them for the healing that they can bring.
I do inspirational walks out in nature as stand alone exercises or as part of my transformation days, I often use animal sightings as part of the message that is needed to be brought to a client.
Let me give you some examples of some significant animals and wildlife that have come into my own space recently, wanting to help me with the trials I have been faced with in my own life with regards to my business and relationship.
Blackbird and Robin have both been coming to me and telling me to let go of my inhibitions and sing my hearts song without concern for how it sounds or others' approval, as well as letting go of anything in my life that is outmoded and stagnant, planting seeds for the new by setting my goals and intentions for the coming year. Like the gardeners and songsters they both are.
When visiting my favourite cove on the South Devon coast the other day I was greeted by a large number of Jellyfish. Jellyfish are governed by the currents of the sea and have little propulsion of their own, they teach us to accept and have faith in the currents of life and go with them, knowing that life will supply you with everything that you need. 5 ravens were also there that day telling me that I am gradually shifting into a more confident, powerful and spiritually based person that will continue to emerge the more I let go of my old self. I do hope so.
For insights into your own life why not join me on a walk of life to discover the secrets nature has to reveal.
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