The Leadership Challenge Ch' 6

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The Leadership Challenge Ch. 6

• Enlist Others
• Attracting People to Common Purposes

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Holding Creative Tension

• People often have great difficulty talking about
  their visions, even when the visions are clear.
  Why? Because we are acutely aware of the gaps
  between our vision and reality. I would like to
  start my own company, but I dont have the
  capital. Or, I would like to pursue the
  profession that I really love, but Ive got to
  make a living. These gaps can make a vision seem
  unrealistic or fanciful. They can discourage us
  or make us feel hopeless. But the gap between
  vision and current reality is also the source of
  energy. If there was no gap, there would be no
  need for any action to move toward the vision.
  Indeed, the gap is the source of creative energy.
  We call this gap, creative tension.
• From Peter Senges The Fifth Discipline

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The Fifth Discipline

• Visions spread because of a reinforcing process
  of increasing clarity, enthusiasm, communication
  and commitment.

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The Fifth Discipline

• Why Visions Die Prematurely
• Reason 1 The visioning process can wither if,
  as more people get involved, the diversity of
  views dissipates focus and generates unmanageable
  conflicts.

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The Fifth Discipline

• Why Visions Die Prematurely
• Reason 2 Visions can die because people become
  discouraged by the apparent difficulty in
  bringing the vision into reality. People become
  disheartened, uncertain, or even cynical, leading
  to a decline in enthusiasm.

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The Fifth Discipline

• Why Visions Die Prematurely
• Reason 3 Emerging visions can die as people
  allow time and energy to become the limiting
  factor.

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Three practices (p. 148)

• Listen deeply to others
• Discover appeal to a common purpose
• Give life to a vision by communicating it
  expressively, so that people can see themselves
  in it

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Discover appeal to a common purpose (p. 152)

• There is a deep human yearning to make a
  difference. We want to know that weve done
  something on this earth, that theres a purpose
  to our existence. Work can provide that purpose,
  and increasingly it is where men and women see
  it. Work has become a place where people pursue
  meaning and identity. The best organizational
  leaders are able to bring out and make use of
  this human longing by communicating the meaning
  and significance of the organizations work so
  that people can understand their own important
  role in creating it. When leaders communicate a
  shared vision of an organization, they ennoble
  those who work on its behalf. They elevate the
  human spirit.

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What do you most prefer in a job?

• of workers saying aspect was the most important
• 1973 1980 1985 1995
• Important meaningful 52 52 48 50work
• High income 19 20 19 24
• Chances for advancement 18 19 22 16
• Job security 7 6 7 6
• Short work hours 5 3 3 4
• Source National Opinion Research Center surveys,
  University of Chicago, 1973, 1980, 1985, and
  1995.

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Give life to a vision (a lá MLK Jr.)

• (p. 155) Leaders make full use of the power of
  language to communicate a shared identity and
  give life to visions. Successful leaders use
  metaphors and other figures of speech they give
  examples, tell stories, and relate anecdotes
  they draw word pictures they offer quotations
  and recite slogans.

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Commitment 4 Enlist Others in a Common Vision
by Appealing to Shared Aspirations

• Get to know your constituents.
• Find the common ground.
• Draft a collective vision statement.
• Expand your communication skills.

• Breathe life into your vision.
• Speak from the heart.
• Listen first and often.
• Hang out.