Monthly Archives: August 2012

Olympics 2012 view…..

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Today I flew to Philadelphia courtesy of US Airways – nothing special in that you might think apart from the young lady sat across the cabin from me clutching a  box to her chest and smiling with that profound sense of achievement that only arises in those truly special moments of endeavour.

Sure enough  the 5 rings on the outside of the box gave witness that she  had achieved something really special – she was a member of the USA Ladies Basketball team who had won a gold medal at London 2012.

The sense of achievement was infectious and was quickly shared amongst the many Americans throughout the cabin, there were many pictures (mine included)and much whooping and hollering in celebration.

She talked at length about the opportunity that she had been given by her parents, her school, her college and thanked each and every well wisher with a modesty that reflected a side to her nation that is not universally recognised throughout the world.

As a Brit I am immensely proud of London 2012 – it reflects well on our nation but as we celebrate, quite rightly, the achievement of Team GB let us remember and celebrate the opportunities that we have provided for each and every one of the participants of London 2012 – our legacy is far wider than we perceive.

With special thanks to Tamika Catchings… Gold Medal Winner London 2012, USA Ladies Basketball Team

Anybody Can Be A Leader…..

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A colleague of mine recently extolled “Anybody can be a leader – all you need is an idea and the ability to influence people” (1)

“Hmmm that rules out about 95% of us.“ I responded jokingly.

My colleague’s comment was delivered during a hugely successful Leadership Development programme and was supported by a lucid case in support of her assertion. I was initially drawn by the simplicity of the statement but over the last week or so I have returned to it repeatedly as I mulled over the skills that are required to fulfil the needs that underpin this apparently simple statement.

In essence the statement embraces both the internal and external attributes of a leader that are fundamental to the execution of good leadership by any individual.

The creation of an idea that is pertinent to a given situation requires intelligence that is both cognitive and experiential. Cognitive intelligence that draws on the ability to reason, analyse and embrace divergent thinking is combined with the experiential intelligence that delivers engagement through effective communication and relationship building. Whilst it can be reasonably argued that we all possess these attributes to a greater or lesser extent (and indeed we do) it is the combination of a highly developed capability across both perspectives that enables effective leadership to ensue.

The ability to influence on either an individual or collective basis can be viewed as being underpinned to a large degree by the leader’s level of motivation. This motivation provides two independent imperatives.

Firstly, the leader’s motivation delivers a consistency of purpose that yields a focal point for the team of followers; it serves to bring the vision to life. The second facet of the leader’s motivation is to provide the drive to deliver and most importantly also address the many issues that the team will face along the way.

The leader’s ability to influence a positive outcome will also depend on many other attributes including openness, integrity, tolerance, curiosity and a large dose of confidence to boot.

So the ensuing question for many of us is not whether we can be a leader or not it’s more about do we really want to be……

 

(1)    – Dr Sue Bridgewater – Teach First Programme July 2012