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October 2024
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BEING ALONE IS A CHOICE10/28/2024 Have you ever heard this phrase about leaders, that "It's lonely at the top." You heard me, it could be lonely because.. You can't talk to your Board about your personal issues unless it's officially relevant.. You can't have pity parties with your staff and managers... Your spouse and children have their issues to work on and besides, they are fed up with your constant need for a pep talk. Your bestie doesn't pretend that they can find you a solution, just a shoulder to cry on. You can't talk to your peers, Managers and CEOs running their own organization because you compete with them on funding, volunteers, and policy space. Seriously, this gets lonely when in specific issues where you need an impartial sounding board, there's no one to trust with that won't get your head axed. There are many seminars, on-demand online workshops and educational resources. But there's not substitute for a leadership coach that gets you from here to there in a nick of a time. This coach will not be beholden to what you're fearing or interested in being part of the 'soup' you're in, therefore there is no incentive for him/her to act in conflict of interest or subvert his confidential mandate with you. There is less on presenting a façade of perfection and organization, there is more effort focused on getting you support when it matters the most. Only a few people, some star performers and athletes could count on their coaches as a big part of their success. The onus to win and become your best lies on you. You can either invest in that but don't complain when you feel all lonely when you have the power to never be alone. A friendly reminder from your neighborhood leadership speaker, author, and coach.
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HERDING9/30/2024 I was in an agri-show a few weeks ago and there, I met Ray. Ray was the herd dog that was herding five ducks in a show to demonstrate how dogs can be good shepherd with proper training. The ducks went into different obstacle challenges with Ray not barking once, but pre-empting the ducks' movements, nudging them to take a certain direction, and lastly, blocking their way so that they have no choice but to take the challenge. It was a great experience to learn and see how Ray was a patient, methodical, and strategic herd. I likened this to leaders who are trying their best to show their followers the way. Through nudges, incentives and rewards, pre-emptions, and strategic blocks, leader fine-tune their styles to suit the temperaments of their team, the objectives at hand, and the process they had to be girded on. Herding is a process that requires high relational quotient. if your team doesn't trust you, your herding is scorned and ridiculed. Your attempts to pre-empt and redirect will be taken in contempt and mistaken to be self-serving. Your nudges and subtle reminders will be ignored. Like Ray, you don't need to bark to show them the way. Your subtle gestures are loud enough to warrant paying attention.
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STUCK IN SPACE9/10/2024 Boeing's Starliner's two passenger crews are stuck in space, waiting for SpaceX to rescue them next year following an engine issue, which had been identified earlier on by Boeing and NASA. I don't know what's the feeling of being stuck in space and nowhere to go but stay put for a few months until a rescue mission is possible but I wouldn't want to dare find out for myself. The crews are doing well despite the challenge but it was reported that this wasn't their first 'stuck' situation. I was stuck in an elevator for hours in Bangkok. It wasn't a pleasant one but I had to be calm and mentally present. The building technicians and the guard were alerted immediately and I knew that I just had to wait. If you're stuck in space with that blooping sound, you wonder who on earth made that stupid decision to trust a Boeing space machine despite the company's history of safety and manufacturing weaknesses. You can't fake stupidity. |