Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
The Elusive Creative Leader
I recently read a great blog post from Navi Radjou, Executive Director of the Centre for India & Global Business at the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge. The post is on the website of Conscious Capitalism Institute “Why Are Creative Leaders So Rare”? Please click here for the whole post.
Radjou’s blog centers on a talk given by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India. Dr. Kalam suggests that corporations and nations need a new breed of leader – the creative leader. So what is a creative leader? Dr. Kalam’s 8 principles for creative leaders are:
- Vision for the organization
- Passion to transform vision into action
- Travel into an unexplored path
- Know how to manage both success & failure
- Courage to make decisions
- Nobility in management
- Every action should be transparent
- Work with integrity & succeed with integrity
Radjou describes how he and other audience members are baffled at how few leaders they know who actually embody these attributes. He targets CEOs of Fortune 500 firms, financial institutions, and politicians who are stark reminders of leaders lacking integrity. He dreams that business schools will begin cultivating leaders with a moral compass filled with integrity. I couldn’t agree more. My experience and observation is that 1-5 is somewhat the norm, but the going gets tough at 6, 7, and then 8.
What is it going to take for this to happen? How can our small voices effect such radical change from what we have now? Below are some ideas I’m kicking around:
- You first. Take a look at the 8 tenets and see where you’re succeeding and where you need work. Be the leader of you!
- If your leader is not a “creative leader,” encourage, inspire, challenge, coach him/her to make the change. Leadership can start anywhere.
- Start your own business and stop participating in something you don’t agree with.
- Look around & identify people who are “creative leaders” and join them. Help them grow so they become the standard for success.
- Stop blaming “the man.” You step up! Even something significant as standing up for the right thing is needed.
- Pull together a group of like-minded people and brainstorm ways you can make a difference.
- Students: Insist that your curriculum include training that centers on conscious capitalism.
- If you are a leader who has been part of the problem, be a part of the solution. It’s never too late to change. In fact, if you don’t change, you won’t make it. There are too many people who are tired of the status quo. It’s going to get a lot harder for you to be successful.
- Creative Leaders that we don’t know about – we need to know you. We need to hear from you. We are counting on you to demonstrate that success and integrity do go hand in hand.
I’d love to hear from you about how you are being a creative leader, what other ideas you have to help folks take a stand for creative leadership, what challenges you have for this model, and anything else you care to share.
Career Roadmaps
Yesterday I went to the DMV to get my license renewed. The officer gave me a little card with traffic signs and descriptions. Cramming before before the test? As I sat there waiting (for over an hour), I studied the signs and wondered what difference it would make if there were signposts on our career roadmaps. Maybe we would be better navigators of our careers if there were visible signs.
If you’ve stopped and are not moving in your career, there are people behind you urging you to go on, but before you do, make sure you are heading in the direction you want to go. Do you feel that you have accomplished what you set out to do in your work or where you are working? Have you been holding back and not giving your best? Are you not sure what you want to do when you “grow up”? It’s time to get moving!
Something happened and your job has been eliminated (downsized, right-sized, re-engineered, fired). Your job has come to an end and you have no idea what to do. This could be a great opportunity for you to do something you really want to do. I’ve worked with many people who have found themselves in this situation, and the ones who stay creative and open-minded are the ones who find opportunities – many where none existed.
Many of us grew up being taught that your career should look like a ladder, sometimes referred to as a linear career path. “Climb the corporate ladder, push your way to the top” are some phrases we’ve heard throughout our career. However there are many of us who don’t enjoy that type of career path. And in today’s economy and global marketplace, that type of career path is disappearing quickly. So, what we do? Don’t be afraid to get off your safe road and take a side road, maybe many side roads. Just be sure it’s the road you want to take.
Maybe you are in the job market and have interviewed for a job that you just don’t feel right about. Perhaps something is just “off” but you don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s work that you’re not very excited about – but it’s better than nothing. Or, maybe you are finding that what’s important to your organization is not what’s important to you. Have you been asked to take a new role but are not motivated at all to take it? Is your boss asking you to do something you feel is out of integrity with who you are? Please … Do Not Enter! These are all signs pointing you in the direction of extreme caution. Trust yourself to know what is right for you.
Although there may not be physical signs on our career roadmaps, there are many indicators if we just pay attention. The world of work today in the future is looking very different from the way it looked in the past. I believe we all need to be leaders of our careers and navigate our own paths through these tricky waters in our work. Let’s stay in the driver’s seat of our careers and be sure to recognize the signs that guide us towards careers that we are steering.
More up-to-date blogging
Now that I’ve finished grad school, I’m going to spend more time updating my blog with ideas for my readers that I hope will be beneficial to you in your careers and life. I hope you will come and visit often. I also hope that you will engage with me as we journey through a new way of working and communicating. Connecting is essential in today’s world – that’s how most people get jobs and how relationships are built. If you don’t know how to connect, it’s easy to learn … and learn in a way that is real and true to who you are, not a formula that everyone should adhere to. I look forward to connecting with you more frequently.