Tinelli on Leadership )
Ideas you can use today Issue 49 - January 31, 2009
In This Issue
  • Starting Anew.
  • Lippmann on Leadership.
  • Socrates on Leadership.
  • It's the dead of winter. The night's are long, it's cold, and it seems as though spring will never come.

    We all need a bit of a respite.

    .Take time to enjoy a warm fire, a good book, a home- cooked meal with the family, or a cup of hot chocolate.


    Archie Tinelli, Ph.D.

    Starting Anew.

    I'm often asked by leaders about what they should do when they take on a new job, whether it's in the same company or a new one. Their concerns have to do with several challenges that typify a change of position.

    For example:

    How do you deal with the legacy of your predecessor? How much of what your predecessor did should you embrace and how much should you change? Are you a change agent or should you build on and enhance what was done prior to your arrival?

    How do you deal with the differences between you and your predecessor? How will you handle the differences if he was collaborative and you're more directive, or if she was outgoing and gregarious and you're introverted and quiet, or if he was far more experienced and you're less so, or if she was a long- time employee of the firm and you're brand new?

    How do you establish your credentials and your authority with your new staff? How do you wean them from loyalty to your predecessor so that will they follow you? What will you have to do to earn their respect and the trust?

    There is another, often overlooked, concern. When you start a new job, do you start anew or do you replay being the kind of leader you've been before?

    In many cases, leaders can and should replay what has contributed to their previous success as leaders - they should lead as they've always led. In other cases, leaders should start anew - they should change some of what they've done before, try new ways of leading, and add to their reservoir of leadership practices.

    What are those instances? There are at least three.

    First, if the situation calls for a different kind of leadership than you have practiced before, it makes sense to start anew.

    If, in the past, you've been highly supportive and collaborative, but the situation demands that you drive significant change, you may need to be more directive. If, in the past, you've always pursued innovation, but the situation demands a more stable environment, you may need to be more focused on establishing and maintaining reliable and consistent work processes.

    Second, if you've been hamstrung by a reputation that has limited your career, it certainly makes a lot of sense to start anew.

    If your organization has pigeonholed you and limited the extent to which you can make a difference in the business, you may need to move to another part of the business or another company to open up options that otherwise would be closed to you. Many organizations typecast leaders; they see leaders in terms of the things they've always done. The organizations fail to open up new avenues of opportunity that require different skill sets and abilities that heretofore have not been seen because of the typecasting that has occurred.

    Third, if you're ready for changes that are unlikely to occur where you are, it makes sense to start anew.

    If you have been stuck doing the same things for too long, or if you want to pursue opportunities or develop abilities that can't happen where you are, you may need to move on and start anew. Some leaders realize that the career path they are on where they are now is not one they want to stay on. The only way to spread their wings is to go elsewhere.

    Is it time for you to consider starting anew? Where? Why?

    Regardless of the reason, starting anew can be difficult. Next time, we'll talk about how to address some of those difficulties.

    Lippmann on Leadership.

    Walter Lippmann, a well-known journalist from the last century, once wrote, "The genius of a good leader is to leave behind him a situation which common sense, without the grace of genius, can deal with successfully."

    How true!

    Good leaders leave their organizations better off after they've gone than when they took the job. The really good ones leave behind a legacy for which they consciously planned.

    What will you leave behind when you move on from the job you now have? What will your legacy be? Did you plan for it?

    Socrates on Leadership.

    Socrates said, "Our democracy is destroying itself because it misrepresented the right to liberty and equality. It taught the citizens to regard disrespect as a right, lawlessness as a liberty, impertinence as equality and anarchy as enjoyment."

    His words were used to explain the causes of the recent riots in Athens, Greece.

    What do Socrates' words have to do with leaders today, however? Members of organizations, like citizens of countries, ought to be taught how to behave appropriately. Leaders bear the responsibility for instilling values in the members of their organizations that help them to think, decide, and act responsibly.

    In what ways can you help those in your organization to embrace the values that will enable them to be more responsible, productive, and professional?

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