Thought for the Week - 5/26/09

Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd. -- Voltaire

Challenge:

As servant leaders, we must be continuously asking ourselves how we are doing as a leader/supervisor. We need to ask ourselves how we can be better at what we do. We need to identify what changes we need to make in order to better serve both our staff and our organization. At Rising Sun, we like to ask ourselves: “How would I like to have me as a leader/supervisor?”

There are also a number of ways in which to seek feedback from others. Most obviously, we can simply ask them directly.

When was the last time you met with our staff, either one-on-one or in groups, and ask them for feedback on how well we are meeting their needs?

When was the last time you asked them if there is anything else you could be doing to better support their needs?

When was the last time you asked them for feedback on what they would do differently if they were the leader/supervisor?

Additional Resources:

White Paper: “Focus on Health, Not Problems: Building a Healthy Organizational Lifestyle”
(http://www.risingsunconsultants.com/images/white_papers/PDFs/focusOnHealth.pdf)

Thought for the Week - 5/11/09

Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right thing. -- Warren Bennis

Challenge:

You probably see it every day, but when was the last time that you actually read your organization’s mission statement and reflected on each word? When was the last time you read your organization’s vision statement or statement of shared values? How well do you know what your organization stands for? How committed are you to seeing the mission and vision carried out? How clear are you as to how your role in the organization affects the mission and vision?

Equally important, how well do those you lead understand how their individual roles and responsibilities affect the mission and vision of the organization? How well do those you lead contribute to other areas in the organization? What are you doing to enhance your team’s understanding of the organization’s mission, vision and shared values? What are you doing to ensure collaboration across departments?

Additional Resources:

Book Review: “Gung Ho! Turn on the People in Any Organization” (http://www.risingsunconsultants.com/images/book_reviews/bookreviews_html/leadership1.html)