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Redefine the work of leadership

“There is a need to move beyond the heroic model of leadership—because most leaders aren’t, in fact, very heroic.”

The era of the all-wise, all-powerful leader-as-decisionmaker is over. Leaders must become savvy social architects—individuals who are capable of building environments that engender extraordinary accomplishment. To make this transition from “command and control” to “motivate and mentor,” organizations need to develop leaders who are capable of building commitment and alignment without resorting to the traditional tools of bureaucratic control. The goal: an organization filled with leaders who lift everyone up.

117 Stories
196 Hacks
9 Barriers

Redefine the work of leadership

“There is a need to move beyond the heroic model of leadership—because most leaders aren’t, in fact, very heroic.”

The era of the all-wise, all-powerful leader-as-decisionmaker is over. Leaders must become savvy social architects—individuals who are capable of building environments that engender extraordinary accomplishment. To make this transition from “command and control” to “motivate and mentor,” organizations need to develop leaders who are capable of building commitment and alignment without resorting to the traditional tools of bureaucratic control. The goal: an organization filled with leaders who lift everyone up.

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A chance question during a seminar exposed a cultural norm at Menlo Innovations that confounds most corporate thinkers. Menlo has no hierarchy. They are a team in the truest sense of the word.
Story by Richard Sheridan on July 14, 2013
Vested interest exists. This means an individual has a special interest in protecting or promoting that which is to their own personal advantage.
Story by Jim McGriff, Jr. on February 16, 2016
How a central London public service team morphed into a high performance dynamo, raising the number of training interventions by 621% and reducing unit costs by 79%.
Story by Tony Nelson on December 9, 2010
I have no intention of adding to the twisted mythology of leaders as special creatures.
Story by Eric Kaufmann on July 18, 2013
The First Line Manager: You Have Got to Have Passion About Our BusinessA President of a major electric utility summarized his executive team meeting with the following statement.
Story by Jim McGriff, Jr. on May 31, 2013
It is with great anticipation, I begin to share my share excerpts of my upcoming book, The Risk Factor: Why Every Organization Needs Big Bets, Bold Characters, and the Occasional Spectacular
If you could select one tool to achieve your short-term goal of embedding technology and innovation for growth and productivity into your organization, what tool would it be?
Story by Adela Vargas on April 29, 2019
Let us face it: the society that we have built is not working for us humans, and much less for the rest of life on this planet.
Story by Max Shkud on May 11, 2012
Co-Authored By Bill Veltrop

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