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Leader Letter
March 2008
Learning Right from Wrong - Doing the Right Things Right by Considering the Opposite by Linda Hatcher, Leader Guide Magazine Editor.
I am not a sports person in any regard, so keep that in mind as I pitifully try below to call into play (no pun intended) the use of a sports analogy to explain the twist on our usual editorial approach in the March edition of the Leader Guide Magazine.
I once took golf lessons from an accomplished pro, who finally told me, “You are now at a point that you have to actually play.” I had advanced all I could from the safety of the practice range, and it was time to take to the course. I never did. It was not a priority for me, and the clubs were sold with glee at a yard sale.
But as I begin this column, I hearken back to some lessons I learned from the golf pro. We usually look in Leader Guide for models and examples of “doing the right things right.” This month, we are still interested in how to do things right; but this time, by learning from the wrong things, done wrongly. I remember one interesting thing from the golf lessons: the pro spent as much, or more, time telling me what NOT to do than what TO do. “Now, you do not want to have your feet this way” (then illustrating the RIGHT way) and “you do not want to keep your knees and back locked like this after you have swung” (thus showing me how I was to move as the ball did.)
While doing the research for the March articles, I became interested in some statistics about the growing challenges of business leaders (both in their being effective leaders AND in their growing turnover). I came across the work of a man who proudly proclaims himself “The Corporate Cynic.” I was intrigued by his work, but at first thought it contradicted our mission to provide “Practical Ways to Do the Right Things Right,” as it seemed he talks a great deal about Enron-esque leaders and the situations they were involved in. Then it hit me: by addressing in sometimes painful detail the ways some leaders do the wrong things, it becomes clearer about how to do the right things.
Jerome Alexander, BA, MBA and CPA, has used his extensive education, along with his equally incredible depth of management expertise spanning more than 30 years, to state truths about leadership that few other writers are insightful and bold enough to verbalize. He is the author of a fascinating book called 160 Degrees of Deviation: The Case for the Corporate Cynic.
Alexander’s unique combination of education, spanning macro and micro thinking, the arts and the sciences, is probably a factor in his holistic, multi-layered look at Corporate America. He writes with heart and humor, pathos and elegance, and most importantly, with clear honesty.
In the March edition of Leader Guide Magazine (CLICK HERE) we feature two articles based on the work of Alexander: 1) “The Destruction of Trust in the Workplace” and 2) “From Cynicism to True Leadership in the Workplace.” The third article is titled “Trusting Your Subordinates” by Fred A. Manske Jr. In this article Manske says, “One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is to undersell their people by not having faith in them. Manske relates an incident early in his career when his boss taught him a valuable lesson about trusting others; a lesson he would never forget.
LEADERSHIP ETC:
Defining Leadership : “Leaders are not separate from those that follow them. Although leaders have a separate role, they must identify with the group being led and become part of it. Their self-interest can be no more important that that of their followers. If it is, they are no more than cattle herders or slave drivers.” Jerome Alexander, featured leader for March
Inspiring Leadership Quote : Take pride in your accomplishments but realize your limitations. Enjoy life. It’s too short. Allow your employees to do the same. — Jerome Alexander, featured leader for March
Thought for the Week: Tomorrow morning get up and decide to do something to help 5, yes 5 people that you come in contact with. Do this each day this week until it becomes habitual. It may be as simple as assisting an old person struggling to cross the street before the light changes, holding the door for someone rushing to catch the elevator before it leaves, or even giving a warm smile to someone who looks distraught. Always remember that your real purpose for existing on this earth is not to accumulate wealth and status; but to help others less fortunate than yourself.
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