Total Leadership News
December 2009
 
Hi!
 
It's with gratitude that I write, in this season of thanks and giving, with my appreciation to you for reading this quarterly newsletter and keeping up with the unfolding story of Total Leadership; a proven method, used by companies and people worldwide, for improving performance as a leader in all parts of life -- work, home, community, and self -- by integrating them better.  

I hope you find it useful to read this news about how I and a growing number of kindred spirits are helping leaders at all levels learn how to align their actions with their values; to actively pursue "four-way wins" -- practical experiments designed to make things better for our businesses, our families, our world, and ourselves.   

As you look to the year ahead, I encourage you to use this holiday time to reflect on what you can do to be a better leader and have a richer life.

In this issue
Where in the world is Total Leadership
Three new videos on TLTV
From the community
My recent blogs
Total Leadership in the media
Causes we support
New books we like
                                               
Where in the world is Total Leadership
 

We at Total Leadership have been busier than ever! 


Expanded offerings and reach


Over the years, people have been asking me how they can adopt Total Leadership principles to transform their organizations.  In the past, my scope for creating impact has been limited.  I'm proud to report that, in the past year, with the support of many advisors and friends I've built a team and developed a variety of new solutions.  

Our upgrades include a comprehensive train-the-trainer program and a robust Web site, with social media tools, that both enables peer-to-peer coaching and tracks all the exercises and results.  These capabilities allow us to provide organizations the means to expand the breadth and depth of our program's impact.  Click here to learn more.  


With whom we've been working


Here are some of the organizations where Total Leadership has been active since our last newsletter.


  • Ariba
  • AutoTrader
  • CEO Think Tank
  • Eisai
  • Ethicon, a division of J & J
  • Merck/Healthcare Businesswomen's Association
  • National Business Group on Health
  • National Convenience Stores Distributors Association of Canada
  • Phase Forward
  • Target
  • Wharton Alumni Club of Atlanta
  • YPO Chicago
  • YPO Long Island


Three new videos on TLTV


Visitors to our Web site have been telling us how much they enjoy our TLTV network, where you can watch intimate conversations I've had some amazing leaders, TL alumni talking about their experiences in our program, and clips from a few of my presentations.  Check out these three new conversations with these fascinating people of great accomplishment:

Brett Hurt, Founder and CEO of Bazaarvoice

Brett talks about how to capitalize on openness in all aspects of business life and how this results in commitment, accountability, and great performance; learning from painful experiences the importance of building the right culture; Bazaarvoice's innovative practices to ensure that people find meaning while driving results; and how he applies Total Leadership to express his passion for learning and continual improvement in performance in all parts of life, for himself and for the Bazaarvoice team.

Joseph Ansanelli, Co-Founder and Former CEO of Vontu

Joseph talks about how he overcame the fear of failure and created cultures that value the whole person.  He recounts how a cycling accident made him more successful by forcing focus.  He describes how to engage people at work through flexibility that fits with life: a focus on results, not how they're achieved; paying attention; and experimenting to make things better.  He speaks about why he advises young entrepreneurs, the need to be clear about direction, the importance of love, and the discipline of learning from mistakes and getting needed help.

Dave Lissy, CEO of Bright Horizons Family Solutions

LissyDave talks about how he was selected to lead Bright Horizons when the visionary founders moved on; how he listens to 18,000 employees; and how his team cultivates a culture that engenders engagement. He describes his humble beginnings and how his parents modeled generosity; competing for talent in a low-wage field; and building a company where people are respected for nurturing children. Dave talks about his main priorities; how his family integrates work and life; how his company integrates community and work; and the importance of early childhood education.


From the community

Here are a few of the stories we've heard recently from among the thousands of individuals who've taken up the Total Leadership challenge. 

Rich Cisek, CEO of Unplugged Engineering and an alumnus of the Wharton Executive MBA program, wrote:  "Starting a company in the worst recession in over 70 years was a daunting task.  However, I quickly re-learned something emphasized in Total Leadership -- focusing on what matters most.  I never knew that realizing my dream of entrepreneurship would have such a big positive impact across all four domains of my life.  While the start-up requires significant time, I spend more time in the family, community and personal domains than I ever had before.  For the first time in a long time, I feel truly happy!"

Ted Faigle, who took my course at Wharton a few years ago, wrote:  "I want to let you know that, incredibly, I have pretty much achieved the integration of life and work we learned about in your Total Leadership class. As Program Manager for this innovative Program for LGBT Health at Drexel University since last August, I have taken on a position that pulls together every aspect of my life and all my vital interests and talents that have driven me over the last 30 years. I am loving what I do and I'm reconnecting with people I worked with 20 years ago who are still engaged in the kind of work we were doing back then. Of course, back then it was all grass-roots agitation sort of stuff like ACT UP and street protests, but now we have grown up and are working within the system. It's pretty remarkable.  Thanks for inspiring me to pursue my dream."

Sarah Hill, who attended a recent workshop, wrote:  "I have just finished reading Total Leadership with my kids.  We greatly appreciated the book. I have never had a problem feeling that I could integrate my work with the rest of my life, but using the tools in Total Leadership has been a fabulous adjunct in helping me do just that. The book was most helpful, though, in framing the idea of me as a leader. I now truly see myself as that, not only among my small tribe at home, but in my community as well. My concept of a leader used to be the image of someone with quite a large ego who wanted to overshadow others on a journey of self-aggrandizement. Total Leadership has helped me to see how important it really is to see myself in a leadership role, for my kids and for my community."


Simran Singh, a 19-year-old who came from India to take the Total Leadership class at Wharton over the summer, wrote:  "Today I gave a speech about your course in front of 200 freshmen and their parents in my college.  They were so eager to know more about my TL experience. The response that I got from all the audience was just awesome.
"

My recent blogs
 
 
It's hard to focus on your work when your child is hallucinating.

One of the least discussed yet quite salient issues for American business in this year of health care reform is an important yet hidden cost associated with mental illness: the drain on productive work endured by family members struggling to support loved ones who suffer from such diseases. The good news for business leaders is that it's not hard to do something to help and thus feel good while improving company culture and morale, as well as your bottom line. More.


Three Reasons Why Bruce is the Best Boss

Bruce Springsteen - great leader? You might be skeptical, but bear with me as I describe a few practical ideas we can pull from Springsteen's repertoire of the critical "soft skills" that set the memorably high-impact leaders apart from the rest of the pack.

On a recent night in Philadelphia, listening to Bruce and his E Street Band, I was reminded once again of why the Boss (big B) is not only New Jersey's greatest export and America's rock poet laureate, but why he's a model for other bosses (small b).

Consider these three simple principles that Bruce exemplifies to inspire his followers: More.

 
The Hurt Locker is a gripping movie - enthusiastically and universally acclaimed - about an elite team of American soldiers in Iraq "who have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world: disarming bombs in the heat of combat." Time after time we watch the team's new leader, Staff Sergeant William James, arrive at a bomb site and, with gut-wrenching intensity and focus, attempt to untangle and defuse an I.E.D. (improvised explosive device). Totally consumed by his mission, he exposes his two subordinates, Sanborn and Eldridge, to unnecessary dangers and risks, "as if he's indifferent to death."  More.
 
 

I hope you'll read my blog, subscribe to it, and share it with anyone who might be interested.
 
                                -------------------------------------- 
 
 
Are you sharing Total Leadership with people in your world?  Let me know by writing to [email protected].
 
Until next time, Stew

 
Let's connect!
 
 
 

Give this book!

 

Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life, an award -winning national bestseller, is an easy-to-give gift for the important people in your life -- at work, at home, and in the community.   
 
 
 
 
 
If you or your friends, family and colleagues prefer listening to reading books, you can hear Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life.  Find it at iTunes or audible.com.
 
 
Total Leadership in the media

Thinkers 50


I was thrilled to be chosen by the Thinkers 50 as one of the business thinkers shaping the future.  "Two things about Stew Friedman:  the New York Times cited the 'rock star adoration' he inspires in his students; and Working Mother chose him as one of America's 25 most influential men in having made things better for working parents." More.
 
People Matters (India)
 
 
Leadership: It Starts and Ends with You
 

"Total Leadership presents a fresh approach for developing leadership. It offers a new method for integrating work, home, community and self. Total Leadership is designed to work for anyone, at any organizational level and at any stage in career."  More.



Harvard Business Ideacast
 
Boost Resilience, Decrease Stress, and Improve Your Performance

In this 15-minute interview, I talk about ways to manage stress, increase your resilience and maintain high standards for performance.  "The key to building resilience and continuing to enhance your capacity to deal with rapid change is continual learning." More


Ceridian Lifeworks Podcast

I offer tips for how employees can achieve better work/life integration in this interview.  "The common language that people talk about is work/life balance...but this is an outdated way of thinking."  More.

Learn more at Links we like and our Press page. 


Causes we support

 

Total Leadership is devoted to helping those who suffer from mental illness and their families. 

We support Mental Health America, which is celebrating 100 years of advocacy and "is the country's leading nonprofit dedicated to helping ALL people live mentally healthier lives;"  NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness; and bringchange2mind.org.
 
 

New books we like

 

Victor Friedman
 
My father, Victor Friedman, who'll be 80 in May, has published his first book of photographs. Flag is now available online and in stores, and I'm very proud to say that it is an exquisite book!  It's a  perfect holiday gift.  Here's the description at Amazon.com:  

"An acclaimed photojournalist provides a stirring tribute to the American spirit through poignant pictures of our flag.  FLAG

"With this last election, the flag has never felt so inclusive and Victor Friedman's photographs capture the ubiquity of this American symbol. Spanning forty-five years, Friedman's photos of the American flag are by turns haunting and rousing, intriguing and evocative. Black & White magazine says, 'Friedman imbues his work with the soul of a true artist.' With more than eighty of these unique works, Flag celebrates a powerful emblem and beautifully brings to life its everyday essence.

"With a range of scenes from countryside to cityscape, these photos are universal and timeless, illuminating the diverse perspectives that shape America's soul. Whether displayed across a barn wall, through a weather-beaten tenement window, flying in the most unlikely bar, or perched in the sand with a group of teenagers at the beach, the flag is a part of our lives. In the captivating spirit of America 24/7, Flag is a volume for every generation to treasure."

Ed Wallace

Business Relationships That Last

Everyone knows that relationships are critical to business success, but there's been little guidance on how to systematically turn contacts and acquaintances into valuable assets -- until now. Business Relationships That Last provides a systematic program for advancing business relationships. In five easy-to-follow steps, the book shows how to transform any casual business relationship into a valuable source for revenue, leads, and advice. Ed Wallace combines memorable anecdotes with a clear theoretical framework that shows individuals how to leverage their hard business skills with the often-overlooked soft skills of relationship-building.

Executives know that the strength of their client, customer, and referral relationships is critical to achieving their goals each year. But very few have a formal process for planning, managing, and growing business relationships. This book describes such a process, which is needed by so many people and organizations.


 
For more stuff we like go here