Hi!
As I travel from the classroom to the boardroom and just about everywhere in between, I'm finding that in these wrenching economic times, people and organizations are hungering for greater focus on what's most important to them and to those they hold most dear so that they can produce the greatest value with increasingly limited resources. I'm discovering that the Total Leadership approach is timely now, more than it's ever been since I created it 10 years ago.
In this issue, read about how members of the growing Total Leadership community worldwide are using the ideas and tools to become better leaders and have richer lives with greater, more productive impact in their businesses and careers as well as in the other essential parts of their lives.
Here in mid-February 2009 we celebrate the great Lincoln's bi-centennial and do our best to contribute to economic recovery while trying to both avoid cynicism and have some fun with the people we love. For more on how the downturn in the economy, as well as the inauguration of Obama, is fostering a renewed sense of community and an invigorated call to service and leadership, check out my recent blogs. |
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In this issue
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You haven't seen TLTV?
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Lessons learned in Total Leadership
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Where in the world is Total Leadership?
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Best book award
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Recent reviews
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My recent blogs
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You haven't seen TLTV?
TLTV Network, a service of Total Leadership, shows people talking about the principles and how they apply anywhere.
On the TLTV Presentations channel see and hear me and others speaking on the purpose of Total Leadership, its core principles, and how to put them into practice.
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Please contact us if you or someone in your company or organization might be interested in appearing or if you would like to find out how to sponsor TLTV.
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Lessons learned in Total Leadership
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At the end of the Total Leadership program -- the commencement, that is -- I ask participants to reflect on what impact they've had and what they've learned as a result of their experiments. Here is a recent example from Dave Dunham:
 "The initial feedback I received from family and close friends in my stakeholder dialogues indicated that they felt like I was never actually giving them my full attention because, while with them, I was checking my Blackberry... I also realized that work was on my mind way more often than it should be given the relative importance I place on it. I decided to commit to only check my Blackberry once per night after leaving work. My wife was especially pleased with how much more focused I seemed to be on her and our children.
"Taking time in the evenings to free myself from thinking about work has certainly improved my focus when I am in the office...My direct reports and my boss have given me feedback that I seem to be less scatter-brained and more focused on the issues that I need to address.
"My wife has mentioned many times how much she loves that I am not tied to my Blackberry in the evenings. She feels I am much more attentive to her. Though my children are too young to explicitly say so, I believe they have benefitted from this as well...Just as my wife has given positive feedback, so have my friends...I believe this experiment has clearly moved me in the right direction to better meet my stakeholders' expectations."
Check out Deika Morrison's exciting new blog,  where she says, " Life has taught me that part of effective leadership is making goals, timelines and achieving them. Total Leadership taught me how to acheive real sustainable change efficiently in all 4 domains of life -- work, home, community, and self -- on an integrated basis."
Send us your updates...with pictures or video! |
| Where in the world is Total Leadership?
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At the University of Pennsylvania
In addition to the Total Leadership offerings at Wharton in the full-time MBA, the East and West Executive MBA, the Executive Masters of Technology Management, and in Executive Education, the course is now offered in the Law School and at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
In the business world
I continue to bring Total Leadership to businesses intent on producing better results for all key stakeholders. Recently, these have included Accenture, where I led a national teleconference hosted by their Philadelphia strategy group; Bazaarvoice, where CEO Brett Hurt convened a second round of Total Leadership workshops for employees ( read about our initial launch); Pearson, where I conducted a two-part program via national teleconference; and Target, where we're working with high-potentials in a leadership development program. Check out our Events page to see where we've been and where we're going and contact us if you're interested in bringing Total Leadership to your organization or group. In other colleges and business schools Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life is the required text for 350 freshman at Tulane University's Freeman School of Business, Spring 2009. Instructors are experimenting with the book in curricula around the world. Dr. Ariane Ollier-Malaterre, who recently moved to the Rouen Business School in France, is using it there. She had been teaching at Boston College and wrote to tell us that students: "expressed how surprised and enlightened they were by the new representation of their life that came to life when doing these exercises." Carlos Casanueva and his colleagues at the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid are working with Total Leadership in teaching and research. They're using it to accelerate innovation, grow network organizations, and help developing countries to achieve financial stability.
In Maryland Cynthia Mauris is using the book at Montgomery College. Marianne J. Koch at Golden Gate University in San Francisco is using Total Leadership with her executive MBAs. Abby Stein at John Jay College is adapting Total Leadership "for use in an academic setting that primes students for roles in social service and government agencies, as well as for careers in law, justice, forensic psychology, and forensic science." Dr. Paula Donson is using the book in her management classes at the University of Alaska.
Just plain folks
People are contacting us through our Web site to tell us how they're using the book to improve performance in all parts of their lives. Here are two we just heard from:
David DiLoreto: "[I am a] physician-executive with 15 years of management 20 years of clinical experience. For most of this time I have witnessed colleagues who truncate successful careers because they no longer experienced the joy and satisfaction from the practice of medicine. A significant physician manpower shortage is occurring as a result.
"After reading Dr Friedman's work, I have successfully introduced the notion of '4-way projects' into the quarterly operating plans for my direct reports. They have been received with enthusiasm and are effective... A goal for anyone managing clinicians should be the rekindling of joy from clinical practice. I think this method can make a real difference."
Lisa Fischer: "I'm currently reading your book and LOVE it! I've recommended it to so many friends and co-workers [who] want to discover the truth about the things that truly matter in their lives, set goals to find the balance they need, and start making plans to live a better life! I've taken the four-way view and identified that my career is the only area in my life that is not in sync with who I am."
On Facebook
Are you finding value in the Total Leadership ideas and methods, helping you to improve performance in all parts of life by finding mutual value among them? Do you have questions or want to know more about what others are up to? Join the Total Leadership page on Facebook and share your experiences with experiments you're doing.
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| Are you sharing Total Leadership with people in your world? Let me know by writing to info@totalleadership.org.
Until next time, Stew
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Share this book! |
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Start your own book group, as people around the world are doing right now. Check out the Appendix (p. 201) for a guide to creating your coaching network.
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Best book award |
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The commendation said: "Total Leadership...presents a concrete methodology for building a more integrated life. [The] program is really a practice, requiring both action and reflection, that urges you to explore a triumvirate of qualities -- Be Real (Act with Authenticity), Be Whole (Act with Integrity), Be Innovative (Act with Creativity) -- to help you become a leader in every aspect (work, home, community and self) of your life."
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Recent reviews |
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"The book is different because of its compelling message that it is possible to lead a richer life simply by assuming leadership of one's own life.... Friedman invites the daily practice of authenticity, integrity, and creativity. He describes these as dynamic processes requiring us to occasionally take stock, reflect, and revisit the scorecard through data gathering and reexamination of basic assumptions. He also recognizes the difficulty and time-consuming nature of total leadership and closes with an invitation for readers to think about subsequent steps, awakening their imagination to the possibilities." Read more.
---Personnel Psychology
"If you're looking to balance work and life, this easy-to-read, holistic guide to success in both areas is for you. Friedman embraces the interconnectedness of all parts of life and shows how each area - home, work, community and self - can enrich the others, achieving what he calls 'four-way wins'. There are plenty of exercises requiring lots of self-reflection. Yes, you can have it all. Best of its kind." Read more.
---Management Today
John Yeager writes: "I was browsing at the bookstore and found Total Leadership by Stewart Friedman. The first paragraph asked: What if you could improve your performance in the areas that seem to be most at odds with each other -- work and life beyond work -- at the same time? Wow, what a novel thought! I snatched up the book and began the read.
"Friedman cautions that Total Leadership - a life of authenticity, integrity, and creativity -- is not about trade-offs or juggling acts. Total Leadership emerges through the integration of four life domains: 1) home and family 2) work 3) community and 4) self. The key to integration is found in our strengths and the things that matter most to us. Strengths and values form the foundation of the four domains. They are the architecture of our home life, our work, interactions within our communities, and how we take care of ourselves." Read more.
---Positive Psychology News
Learn more from media coverage and reviews on the Press page of our Web site.
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| My recent blogs |
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Too often I hear the word "leader" misused. It's a sad fact that many business professionals don't see themselves as leaders, mainly because "leader" is a term typically linked to people in positions of formal authority. This is a fallacy that undermines performance, in all aspects of life.
Someone said to me recently, "I don't see myself as a leader. I do not feel comfortable embracing that label. I feel like it isn't something I have earned." This is a dangerous point of view - and it's certainly inconsistent with what our new president called for in his inaugural address! All of us must lead if we are to create sustainable change and make our world better. Read more.
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