A 'Divergent' Path: Tips on Becoming a Teacher Leader

—Jaap Buitendijk/Summit Entertainment

By Cheryl A. Redfield

Recently, while captivated by Veronica Roth's dystopian novelDivergent and its film adaptation, I found myself connecting with the lead characters, Tris and Tobias. These two young people voiced my life goals very simply: "I want to be selfless, smart, and strong."

But Divergent got me thinking for another reason. Tris and Tobias live in a society where people's roles are chosen for them and opportunities are limited. People who seek to change the system and embrace multiple roles are characterized as divergent and pose a threat to the status quo.

In real life, I believe this is also true of teacher leaders.

Teacher leaders possess a mindset that isn't determined by an official role or title. They also represent a paradigm shift away from traditional career advancement that leads only to administrative positions. Instead, many teacher leaders prefer to focus on instruction and influence policy from expertise gained through their own classroom practice.

In Divergent, society is separated into five communities of people, each representing a different characteristic: Abnegation (selflessness); Amity (peaceful); Candor (honesty); Dauntless (courage); and Erudite (intelligence). Divergents seek to blur the lines between these communities and pursue versatile, complex roles.

Like bona fide divergents, teacher leaders function outside the norm and exhibit a combination of these traits. Here are five "divergent" qualities that teacher leaders possess:

1. Selflessness. "Thinking of our students' needs is the first thing on our minds," says educator Shirley Brohner, who provides positive behavior support to junior high students and their families on three campuses. After spending hours observing and analyzing students' behavior, Shirley provides plans for teachers and families that help them shift their responses in order to reinforce good choices. The time and energy involved in creating seamless support networks represents a student-centered approach that makes students' needs a priority.


2. Intelligence. Teacher leaders typically work year-round to improve their instruction, often without additional compensation beyond their school contract. They disavow the notion that educators have summers off. Instead, during those six to eight weeks, they're pursuing another certification, degree, or learning experience that provides an extended understanding of content.
As one teacher from New Mexico, Toni Hull, notes, "Teachers spend a lot of time learning with their peers" throughout the school year. This ongoing professional development helps teachers gain insight into their instruction and discover new ways to enrich learning experiences for their students. 
3. Courage. A day in the life of a teacher brings fresh opportunities to face the unknown with a keen mix of expectation, preparation, and flexibility. One hallmark of a teacher leader is willingness to take risks and do things differently in order to meet the needs of the whole child. Mathematics teacher Crystal Francom understands that "we have to reach out to all the basic learning styles, as well as those students who do not fit into any mold." Teachers meet this challenge with determination and a range of tools that they use to engage students, overcome language challenges, and accommodate different learning styles and intelligences.


4. Honesty and peace. For most teacher leaders, leadership is more than just something they do. It is a mindset that motivates them to advocate for great teaching and learning in every class and every school, regardless of the zip code. Teacher Brian Griggs believes that educators "have a voice. We can leave an epic legacy that starts with our day-to-day interactions with students and our community." From translating progress reports into a student's home language or inviting parents to partner in their child's learning, teachers strive to understand the needs of families and serve as trustworthy advocates who can unite communities.


5. A threat to the status quo. Similar to the divergents in Roth's novel, teacher leaders threaten the very fabric of traditional teacher roles in our country. Rather than being the norm, teachers who lead by advocating for their students and profession are often considered the exception (or in some cases, the aberration).
However, as educator Patrice Dawkins-Jackson notes, this may not be the case for much longer. She says that the teaching profession "will no longer let our voice be muzzled by fear. It will roar and echo for change."

Finding Your Own Leadership Path

Becoming a teacher leader isn't something that happens overnight. There is no curriculum or set of courses that can magically transform your practice.

Here are some initial questions you can ask yourself in order to explore your leadership potential:

• Which traits (or combination of traits) from this list describe me as a teacher? As a leader?
• How would my colleagues describe me or my practice?

It's also possible that you already engage in some form of leadership—without even realizing it! Here are a few leadership pathways that teachers pursue:

• Blogging about your classroom experiences.
• Collaborating with colleagues to design and deliver the professional learning you want and need.
• Partnering with a variety of stakeholders to resolve issues that plague students in your school.
• Joining teachers in online professional learning communities and networks like the CTQ Collaboratory.
• Reading about current education policy that influences decisions in your district or state.
• Sharing what you learn about policy with colleagues.
• Investing your talents in an association that shares your vision.
• Developing long-term alliances with legislative, business, and community leaders.

Finally, you may recognize that you already have the qualities of a leader or that you are on your own leadership path. No matter where you are in the process, leadership still requires an intentional process of growth. Here are a few ways teachers can take their leadership to the next level:

• Cultivate an awareness of who you are as a teacher and as a leader.
• Make reflection an integral part of your practice.
• Take meaningful risks that expand the impact of your learning and teaching.
• Strategically address areas of needed professional growth.
• Seek opportunities to extend and invest in your areas of strength and accomplishment.

Teachers are more powerful than we realize. But in order to become teacher leaders, we must recognize that we are experts who are well suited to lead our profession. I live for the day when all teachers awaken to their potential and take part in creating student-centered, systemic, and sustainable changes that transform teaching and learning in our country.

I long for the day when teacher leadership is no longer divergent, but expected.

Read more; http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2014/04/30/ctq-redfield-teacher-leader.html?cmp=SOC-SHR-TW

Coaching Young Leaders

A great piece on Church leadership from Dr. Dan Reiland

...

Coaching young leaders is one of the most rewarding things anyone can do. I recently had lunch with six young college students who are summer interns at 12Stone® Church. I was impressed. They are all sharpies! Kevin Monahan our Next Gen Pastor, arranged this lunch as an informal time where the interns could ask me any leadership or ministry question they wanted to ask. They needed no prompt for questions, they were ready to go! 

Their questions were thoughtful, insightful, and genuine. As I listened to what they asked, and answered the best I could, some patterns began to emerge. There was a pattern of things that seemed to find a similar connection through all of their questions. The pattern was more personal than professional. And the pattern reveals that they are hungry for mentors who care and won’t let them down. 

As I drove back to the church I thought it might be helpful to capture some of the commonalities that came from their questions. My hope is these real and practical thoughts will help you better coach and mentor your young leaders.

Before I list these for you, here’s one tip from me to you on being a good coach. If you listen well, they will tell you how to coach them well! Yes, you bring your wisdom and experience to the table. But in order to be a good mentor, you need to stay fresh, relevant and “young-minded.” They are eager to help you do that if you give them a chance. Listen carefully to their questions, they are telling good stuff! The important thing for you as the coach is to sustain a willingness to change and grow yourself. If you do, the young leaders will be much more naturally drawn to you. 

Here are 4 things your young leaders need and want to know.

• Slow Down

It’s understandable that sharp young leaders want to rise up and conquer the world - fast. They live in a culture where everything is fast. So why not? The problem is that development can’t be rushed. Experience can’t be fast-tracked. My observation is that many young leaders start in smaller churches and get frustrated because there is nowhere to go, instead of taking time to develop their skills. The temptation is to jump to the next size larger church. The assumption is that their skills have developed and they grew something, when in many cases they merely moved to a larger environment. This isn’t bad or wrong, but it does often short-circuit development, especially if the young leader ends up over his or her head. Now they must perform rather than develop. This performance trap can be devastating. So it is essential for young leaders to get in a place where the veteran leaders will invest in their development, and stay long enough so they can grow as a leader. 

• Be Yourself 

Many of us learned this the hard way, trying to be like someone else for a time. (Hopefully a short time.) It’s good to learn from and emulate your mentors, models and heroes. But it’s not wise to try to be like them. Young leaders need to be encouraged to be themselves. It’s important to coach them in the understanding that people like them best when they are truly themselves. That’s part of how genuine connection takes place. Not everyone will like them, but people will like any of us best when we are ourselves. The path to self-awareness and liking yourself so you can be real is a long road for some, but it’s worth the trip. Regardless of the length of the journey, all young leaders need to get there. This is one of the greatest gifts you can give as a coach, to help a young leader figure out and get comfortable with who they are. 

• Dig Deep

There is no substitute for discipline. We lift up the notion of working smarter not harder, and that’s good. But you can never get out of good old fashion hard work if you want to achieve your fullest potential. Another great gift you can give young leaders is to teach them the value of working hard. Talk with them about the truth that there are no short cuts in a life well lived. Talk about the principle of pay now and play later. There is so much wisdom here you can pass on. Digging deep isn’t just about working hard at your job, but digging deep to learn more about God, self and others. The combination of a deeply reflective life and one that takes action is a powerful life. If you remove either component, that is, reflection without action, or action without reflection, the results are less than desirable. A life of significance, meaning and reward comes only by digging deep. 

• Dream Big

Many young leaders are discouraged about the future. From what’s happening in local and national government to global issues, many are candid about a sense of frustration and even moments of a sense of hopelessness. Perhaps one of the very greatest gifts you can give as a coach is hope, hope for the future. There are two reasons why I have so much hope in difficult times. First, Christ is our hope for the future and no one can shut Him down! Church may look different in the future, but it cannot be stopped. Second, the young leaders themselves are our hope. They are the future. Let them know you believe in them! They will figure out a way for the church to thrive if we believe in them now. It’s also important to empower young leaders now. They can’t lead in the future if we don’t let them practice now. So inspire your young leaders to dream big! Remind them that with God all things are possible, and give them opportunity to lead! Trust them with responsibility along with your guidance! 

Read More; http://ht.ly/AkA9S

Have you BLOWN IT as a leader?

Being in a leadership position is no guarantee we are leading. Holding the title of leader isn’t an indication one actually leads.

Leading by definition is an active term. It means we are taking people somewhere. And, even the best leaders have periods — even if ever so briefly — even if intentional — when they aren’t necessarily leading anything. Obviously, those periods shouldn’t be too long or progress and momentum eventually stalls, but leadership is an exhaustive process. It can be draining. Sometimes we need a break.

For an obvious example, I try to shut down at the end of every day and most Saturdays. I’m not leading anything — but I’m still a leader. And, I periodically stop leading for a more extended period. During those times — I’m intentionally not leading anything. There are other times, such as after we’ve accomplished a major project, where I may intentionally “rest” from leading to catch my breath and rely on our current systems and structures to maintain us.

But, again, those times should be intentional and they should be too extended. In my experience, leaders get frustrated when they aren’t leading for too long a period.

For me personally, I like to evaluate my leadership over seasons, rather than days. Typically, just for simplicity of calendar, I look at things on a quarterly basis and then on an annual basis. How/what am I going to lead this next quarter — next year? How/what did I lead last quarter — last year?

If the past review or the future planning is basically void of any intentional leadership — if all I’m doing is managing current programs and systems during that time frame — if we are in maintenance mode for too long — I know it’s time to intentionally lead something. That’s good for me personally and for the teams I lead.

How do you evaluate if you are leading or simply maintaining? One way is to look for the results of leading. What happens when you do lead? And, ask if those are occurring.

For example…

Here are 7 indicators that you’re not leading anymore:

Nothing is being changed. Leadership is about something new. Somewhere you haven’t been. That’s change. If nothing is changing — you can do that without a leader.

No paradigms are being challenged. Many times the best change is a change of mindset — a way we think. Leaders are constantly learning so they can challenge the thinking “inside the box”.

You’re not asking questions. A leader only knows what he or she knows. Nothing more. And, many times the leader is the last to know. A great part of leadership is about discovery. And, you only get answers to questions you ask.

There are competing visions. Leaders point people to a vision. A vision. Not many visions. One of the surest ways to derail progress is to have multiple visions. It divides energy and people. It confuses instead of bringing clarity. When we fail to lead competing visions arise and confusion elevates.

No one is complaining. You can’t lead anything involving worthwhile change where everyone agrees. If no one is complaining someone is settling for less than best.

People aren’t being stretched. There are never moments of confusion. Please understand. A leader should strive for clarity. But, when things are changing and challenging there will always be times of confusion. That’s when good leaders get even better at communicating, listening, vision casting, etc.

People being “happy” has become a goal. Everyone likes to be liked. Might we even say “popular”. In fact, some get into leadership for the notoriety. But, the end goal of leadership should be accomplishing a vision — not making sure everyone loves the leader. Progress hopefully makes most people happy, but when the goal begins with happiness, in my experience, no one is ever really made happy.

Leader, have you been sitting idle for too long? Is it time to lead something again?

Read more; http://www.ronedmondson.com/2014/08/7-indicators-that-youre-not-leading-anymore.html

Former first minister and DUP leader Ian Paisley has died

Continue reading the main story

Former Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley, has died aged 88.

Ian Paisley

Career in numbers

88

years old

40

years in politics

• 40 years as an MP
• 37 years as Democratic Unionist Party leader
• 25 years as an MEP
• 13 years as a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly

PA

Baroness Eileen Paisley said her husband died on Friday morning and the family was heartbroken.

Mr Paisley moved from a political "never man" to Northern Ireland's first minister.

He ended up leading a power-sharing executive at Stormont - although he had supported the strike to bring one down 30 years earlier.

In her statement, Baroness Paisley said: "Although ours is the grand hope of reunion, naturally as a family, we are heartbroken," she said.

"We loved him and he adored us and our earthly lives are forever changed."

Baroness Paisley said that his funeral would be private.

Prime Minister David Cameron said Mr Paisley was "one of the most forceful and instantly recognisable characters in British politics for nearly half a century".

He said he was a controversial politician but his contribution in his later years to stability in Northern Ireland was "huge".

"In particular, his decision to take his party into government with Sinn Féin in 2007 required great courage and leadership, for which everyone in these islands should be grateful," Mr Cameron said.

"Ian Paisley will be remembered by many as the 'Big Man' of Northern Ireland politics. He will be greatly missed."

Ed Miliband, Leader of the Opposition, said Mr Paisley was "a towering figure in Northern Ireland politics for decades".

"His decision to take the DUP into a power-sharing partnership with Sinn Féin was the ultimate act of political courage and reconciliation,"he said.

First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson said that during the height of the Troubles, the "sure and certain ring" of Ian Paisley's voice had a "special resonance" with the people of Northern Ireland.

"I don't think that there's anyone who has had more influence in Northern Ireland over the years," Mr Robinson said.

"Even those who thought the least of his politics thought the most of him as a person."

He said those who knew Ian Paisley knew his priority was his faith - above all else in life.

"In terms of Ian Paisley's political contribution, I think there are many people who look at his early days in the context of the more stable and peaceful society that we have today.

"The Ian Paisley of those days was an Ian Paisley that was keeping together a unionist community that felt it was under fire, that it had no friends to help it constitutionally, that its representatives were being picked off, there was genocide along the border," he said.

However, former Alliance Party leader John Cushnahan said that while he sympathised with the family, he was astonished at the "rewriting" of Ian Paisley's political contribution.

"While I welcome the fact that he ultimately embraced power sharing, it was too little too late and should not be used to excuse the pain and suffering that he inflicted on the people of Northern Ireland for the majority of his political life," he said.

He said the 1974 power sharing executive in Northern Ireland had been brought down by "a combination of increasing IRA violence and the fascist UWC strike led by Ian Paisley and loyalist paramilitaries".

"Tragically thousands more people were to lose their lives or suffer serious injury before Sinn Féin and the DUP embraced what already been on offer in 1974. The belated conversion of both should not result in an attempt to naively rewrite history."

Martin McGuinness, Sinn Féin, who was Ian Paisley's deputy first minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly, said he had learned of the death with deep regret and sadness.

"Over a number of decades we were political opponents and held very different views on many, many issues but the one thing we were absolutely united on was the principle that our people were better able to govern themselves than any British government," he said.

"I want to pay tribute to and comment on the work he did in the latter days of his political life in building agreement and leading unionism into a new accommodation with republicans and nationalists."

Analysis: Nick Robinson, BBC political editor

Loved and loathed, admired and feared, the life of the man known simply as "Big Ian" is the story of Northern Ireland's transition from violence to peace.

Some will remember him for a single word - "Never!" - rarely spoken, usually bellowed.

He was, for years, the symbol of unionist defiance and, occasionally, menace.

Others will reflect, instead, on what was to become a routine but nonetheless extraordinary sight.

The sight of him sharing a smile and a laugh with the man who had been his bitter enemy - Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair said Mr Paisley was "a man of deep convictions".

"The convictions never changed. But his appreciation of the possibilities of peace, gradually and with much soul searching, did. He began as the militant. He ended as the peacemaker," he said.

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins said Mr Paisley was "a man of deep convictions".

"His early career was characterised by an uncompromising position of a constitutional kind. However, his embracing of the change necessary to achieve a discourse that might lead to peace was of immense significance, as was his commitment to building relationships in support of that peace," he said.

Former Irish prime minster Bertie Ahern described Ian Paisley as "a big man with a big heart".

Ian Paisley pictured outside Stormont in 1969
Read more and see videos at; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-29177705

6 Ways to Know if You're a Change Maker or Change Breaker

The leader’s innovation challenge is how to make major changes produce pragmatic results. So much is written about "innovation" that I think misses the mark on actually innovating.  There are way more “great ideas” than can be done, but not enough leaders capable or willing enough to do them.

Leaders and their organizations are used to being and doing things as they are today. This (what I call) status quo fetishism is so powerful that great companies of the past have shown a disinclination to accept what’s plain as the nose on their face and undergo transformative change, adopting new approaches, products or services.

If you accept my assertion about the distinction between innovation and innovating, then it’s important to know in what ways are you a change-maker or change-breaker. This self-test might help:

1. On a scale of 1 to 10, where one is skeptical and 10 is open-minded enough to try something different and see where it leads, rank how you tend to respond to ideas / suggestions from credible people for significant change in your organization?

2. On a scale of 1 to 10, where one is completely satisfied, and 10 is completely dissatisfied, rate your attitude toward the current products, services, people, and organization you lead?

3. On a scale of 1 to 10, where one is "very unwilling to allow for a potential failure" and a 10 is “could weather a potential failure well,” rate your proclivity to deal with a potential failure from implementing change.

4. On a scale of 1 to 10, where one is less than once a month and 10 is frequently each week, how often do the meetings you conduct focus on pragmatic steps to implement options for significantly different approaches to people, process, technology, or all of the above?

5. On a scale of 1 to 10, where one is risk-focused and 10 is reward-focused, how does risk management versus the potential for rewards tend to influence your decision-making?

6. On a scale of 1 to 10, where one is completely passive (interested but not doing anything about it), and 10 is completely active (experimenting, piloting new approaches, people, products or services on an ongoing basis) how would you assess your own engagement in what and how things could be different in your organization?

Now do the math: add up your six ratings, multiply by 1.66, and this will give you a percentage of 100.

If you scored below 70, take a fresh look at those questions you scored lower, and ask yourself what might need to change in how you think about / execute innovation.

If you scored between 70 and 90, bravo, you are more of a change maker than a change breaker. What can you do to shore up the lower scores?

If you score above 90, the question is if you might want to look a tad more carefully before you leap? Just a concern for you to keep in mind.

Consider the factors I’ve queried, above: open-minded, dissatisfied with the status quo, failure-tolerant, attentive to new ideas, reward-focused, experimentation-inclined. Many leaders have rejected tremendous opportunities because they lacked (or shied away from) one or more of these six factors. Such resistance is understandable—after all, transformative change upsets our sense of normalcy. Yet this need not be you. How open are you to these key ingredients in your world? Make any necessary changes to get yourself and / or your team in shape for innovation.

Read more; http://leadershipunleashed.typepad.com/leadership/2011/01/6-ways-to-know-if-youre-a-change-maker-or-change-breaker.html

Why saying NO gets you ahead!

Declining an invitation or a project is hard to do, but don’t let the pangs of guilt dictate your career and life. Here are 7 ways to say, ‘no.’

Everyone knows the adage: good fences make good neighbors. Basically, it means to set firm boundaries. By setting boundaries, we find the freedom to behave in our best interest, with fewer distractions and fewer unwanted intrusions. This is even more important in our digital age, where there are so many people vying for our attention and so many ways to be distracted.

Building good fences—setting boundaries—is one of the most important skills to master for both personal and professional growth. And one of the most important aspects of a good fence is the ability to say no to the people, activities and engagements that we do not enjoy or that do not advance us personally or professionally. When you say no to the things that don’t help you, you are, in effect, saying yes to the things that will. By saying no, you open up the space necessary for yes.

For most of us, saying no is exceedingly difficult. We seem to say yes to everything. I think one of the reasons we find it so hard to say no, especially as women, is that we want to be liked. We want to be seen as team players. 

We want to be included. We don’t want to hurt feelings by closing our door or, God forbid, saying no to someone or something. We say yes to too many things maybe out of guilt or maybe to prove that we can do it all.

Whatever the psychological back story, whatever the reason, the fact remains that saying yes to too many things is overwhelming and counterproductive. By saying yes to too many things, we may be saying no to some very important things. If our plate is too full, there’s no room for the unexpected or ideal opportunity. If our fences aren’t strong, everything gets in.

We have to build good fences and resolve to say yes only to the things we enjoy, that advance our careers, or that don’t distract us from our goals.

Here are seven tips to help you say no:

Implement a 24-hour pause period. Give yourself 24 hours before accepting any invitations, professional or personal. You don’t have to give an answer right away! Think about what you will get out of it, if it’s worth your precious time, and if it’s something you really want to do. Also consider what is already on your plate? Will you have to give something up?

For example, when you have received an invitation, simply say: “Thank you for the invitation. Let me check my schedule and think about it, and I’ll get back to you tomorrow.” If it is something you really want to do but simply can’t, be sure to convey that: “Thank you so much for the invitation. I can’t do that right now, but I would love to serve in the future, and I hope you will keep me in mind for future events/projects.”

Say no with grace and authority. We know how to say yes, but we don’t know how to say no, and we often go down a rabbit hole of excuses, especially if it’s something we don’t want to do. If you’ve thought about the invitation and the answer is no, decline gracefully but authoritatively. Here’s how to do it without twisting yourself in a knot of excuses and guilt:

If you really don’t want to do it: “Thanks for the invitation. I’m afraid I will not be able to make it/accept/serve on your committee, but I really appreciate you thinking of/including me.”

If the person presses you for a reason, say: “I’m just not able to make it, but thanks so much.”

If they really press, say: “I have so many other things on my plate/in the pipeline that I am simply not available. But thank you.”

Do not offer maybes, half-steps, or specifics. And you don’t have to lie—it’s not a lie to say that there are other things on your plate or in the pipeline.

Now, if you would actually like to accept the invitation but cannot, and you want to stay on that person’s radar, make that clear:

“Thank you so much for the invitation. I would love to do it/serve/get involved, but I just can’t right now. I hope you will think of me again.”

Honest, simple, straight forward.

Simplify your commitments. Resign from boards, committees, organizations, or commitments that are not value added. If you don’t enjoy it, aren’t fulfilled by it, or it doesn’t help you personally or professionally, stop doing it. Make sure each commitment is meaningful and worth your time. And “just for fun” is A-OK in my book.

Create white space on your calendar. Say no to those lunch dates, dinners, or events you don’t enjoy. You know exactly which ones I’m talking about.

Minimize meetings. Say no to meetings that aren’t essential. Do you really need to go? Is it critical for you to be there? Again, weigh it against your goals and responsibilities. If it measures up meaningfully, do it. If not, don’t go. And only attend meetings where the creator has planned enough to include the agenda.

Notice the “shoulds.” Only do volunteer work if you enjoy it or it helps burnish your skills. If it feels like a chore or a “should” change your focus or stop doing it.

Set your boundaries, and stick to them. Part of saying no is establishing boundaries at work and at home and then being clear about them. We teach people how to treat us, so we have to re-teach them our boundaries. For example, if you do not wish to be bothered, simply say: “I’m sorry. I can’t discuss that right now. I am working on something else. How about at 4 p.m.?” If you don’t want to work in the evenings or on weekends then don’t. Let people know when you will be available, and then do not answer calls, texts, or emails during that down time.

You need to train people. If you have to, use a vacation responder or voice mail for after hours, something like: “Thank you for your call/email. My regular work hours are X. If this is an emergency, please contact X. Otherwise, I will respond to your call/email when I return on X.”

If colleagues call or contact you in the evenings and on weekends, train yourself not to take their calls or respond to their texts or emails. When you are back to work, you might say:

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to take your call. Unless it’s an emergency, I do not work after 7 p.m. or on weekends.”

In order to reach your goals you have to build some fences to guard and protect yourself so you can grow. This means discriminating between the things that help you get there and the things that don’t. Learn to say no to the people, situations, and commitments that do not move you toward your goal, that distract you, or that you simply do not enjoy. Be purposeful in your actions—learn to say no! It’s a powerful little word with a huge impact.

Read more; http://fortune.com/2014/08/19/why-saying-no-gets-you-ahead/

13 Leadership Lessons World War I

The Great War of 1914-18—it became the First World War only in tragic retrospect—was the seminal event of the 20th century. Its after-effects reverberate in our day.  One might argue that the 20th century actually began with the war in 1914, culminating with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The Great War and its immediate aftermath (including the flu pandemic) consumed 37 million casualties. As shocking as the absolute number is, consider what it would mean in today’s terms. In 1920 the population of the earth was approaching two billion; by contrast, today that number has passed seven billion. By a conservative accounting, that would translate into more than a hundred million casualties in our time. At the outset of a new century, it may be useful to reflect upon leadership lessons that the Great War provides. Just as the war affected aspects of life far beyond the battlefield, its leadership lessons have resonance far beyond wartime.

13 Leadership Lessons World War I

1. Leadership Matters. Leadership—of individuals and elites in power—was of great significance. The war did not “just happen.” Barbara Tuchman’s enduring literary history, The Guns of August, made the case for the war being the result of failed diplomatic arrangements. Once the fuse was lit, the conflagration was inevitable. More recent scholarship, such as The Sleepwalkers, returns attention to widespread, identifiable leadership failures of various political and military figures.

2. Shared Interests Can be Overwhelmed by Other Considerations. Europe in 1914 stood astride the world. Globalization of trade and finance reached unprecedented levels. Against this backdrop, a protracted war between European nations would be manifestly irrational. Norman Angell’s powerful book, The Great Illusion A Study of the Relation of Military Power to National Advantage made this case in 1911. Nonetheless, European decision-makers stumbled toward continental self-immolation.

Woodrow Wilson | A Tragic Stroke of Fate

3. Health is a Critical Leadership Issue. At the highest levels, where judgment is their foremost added value, leaders’ health can be decisive. With tragic irony, Woodrow Wilson foresaw that American presidents would need to become “citizen athletes” to meet their responsibilities. Wilson’s own failing health and brittle, increasingly volatile temperament were significant factors in his troubled relationships with various stakeholders, from other nations and across Pennsylvania Avenue. English Prime Minister H.H. Asquith, a man of notable accomplishment and ability in peacetime, buckled under the combined pressures of long tenure and the war. He was succeeded by David Lloyd George. LG was exceptionally energetic and effective. Czar Nicholas of Russia was fragile psychologically, scarcely able to manage affairs. Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm’s psychological profile was troubled. Taken together, the health of these leaders must be seen as of great significance in the unfolding tragedy.

4. A Century of Managed Peace Yielded No Guarantees for the Future. The Congress of Vienna, following the Napoleonic Wars, had resulted in relative peace on the European continent for a century. This accomplishment had habituated many people to assume that conflict could be kept within bounds, even as various European powers became entangled in a web of alliances. However, past performance is never a guarantee of future results. It may be that individual leaders each assumed that the broader “system” would ensure that their own forays into irresponsibility might be contained. It was not to be.

5. Social Reform Was Blocked by Outdated Institutions. In various nations, it appears that the capacity to forestall change outweighed the capacity to accommodate evolving experiences and expectations. By the early years of the new century, many came to see war as a necessary cathartic for the body politic. This was built on the breathtaking misconception that the clarifying conflict would be relatively risk-free and of brief duration. These factors were among the reasons for the initial burst of public support for the war in several nations.

6. Institutions May Be Most Vulnerable at the Moment They Are Generally Accepted As Inevitable. The stagnation of politics doubtless helped foster the illusion that familiar institutions were durable. Indeed, the years just prior to the outbreak of war were recalled as a high point of confidence, at least among the elites. In retrospect, it was more in the nature of an Indian summer, the last moments of a passing scene.

The Age of Chivalry Was Dead.

7. Failure of Historical Imagination. The intertwined elites of the European powers could not conceive a world without monarchy, aristocracy, and European primacy. Most could not imagine the destruction that could be wrought in a total war, mobilizing the untapped powers of modern industry and entire populations. In fact, the American Civil War, fifty years prior, constituted a chastening preview of coming destruction.

8. Management Dysfunction Can Consume Legitimacy. The shortcomings of political and military leadership were experienced on the ground as lethal management failures. The notorious acceptance of mass casualties prompted widespread mutinies in the French and Russian forces. The very names of Gallipoli and General Douglas Haig conjure up visions of unimaginable, unnecessary slaughter, with industrial age weaponry blasting row after row of young bodies into bloody bits. The butcher’s bill was unfathomable. Confidence in the authorities was swept away. This would hasten the emergence of anti-colonial movements and strip the legitimacy of military, social, and political institutions. Many of the young people who had ardently entered service would be disillusioned, a “lost generation.”

9. War Aims and Consequences Were Poorly Communicated. The Great War was notable for the development of mass propaganda. However, the capacity to communicate did not necessarily result in clarity or transparency. For example, the surrender of Germany in November 1918 was widely misconstrued. Many Germans believed that the Armistice was the result of betrayal by treasonous domestic forces, rather than dictated by defeat on the battlefield. This opened the way for Adolf Hitler and other unscrupulous politicians to cast blame on the “November Criminals” who “stabbed Germany in the back.” Politicians offered righteous war aims–such as “open covenants, openly arrived at”–and became objects of obloquy as the realties of the resulting peace became known.

10. The Allies Failed to Summon Magnanimity in Victory. With reason, the retribution wrought by the victorious Allies in the Versailles Treaty is generally reckoned a contributing cause to the desire for vengeance sought by many Germans. Hitler would play upon such sentiments. So, too, disquiet over them among many in England, France, and the United States may have been a factor in the fateful unwillingness to confront Nazi Germany in its initial conquests.

11. The Victors Wrongly Projected Their Post-War Views of the Catastrophe. Millions of people desperately sought meaning from the horror and sacrifice of the Great War. There was a widespread sentiment in the victorious nations that this must be “the war to end all wars.” A successor generation of statesmen would believe avoidance of a general European war to be their highest calling. Where they erred was in presuming that others necessarily took the same lessons. Hitler, who had served as a soldier in the Great War, saw others’ reluctance to fight as an opportunity press his revolutionary policies. Horrific innovations, such as the Armenian genocide of 1915, were viewed by Hitler and his ilk not as cautionary tales, but as blueprints for expanded wickedness.

12. The Fog of War is Lethal. Entering a war has been compared to walking into a pitch-black room—and shutting the door behind. World War I was triggered by violence in the Balkans. The Armistice did not resolve the issues that prompted the outbreak. So, too, Second World War began with the Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939. The ostensible allied war aim of protecting Poland’s sovereignty ended with Russian domination.

The same principles hold for conflicts in all settings. War, or its parallels in business and civilian life, can take on a life of its own. The enveloping “fog” that descends can take the participants far from any outcome they would have foreseen, much less desired.

First Meeting of League of Nations, 1920.

13. History Does Not Stand Still. Incumbency is dangerous. People must have action. Technology, culture, economics, trade, and finance were driving Europe in extraordinary new directions through nearly a century of peace prior to the fateful summer of 1914. Political and social structures, reflecting the values and value of earlier times, failed to keep pace. Looking past wistful renderings such as Downton Abbey, one recognizes the tragic shortcomings of a European aristocracy that squandered its birthright, bringing ruin to the nations it was theoretically intended to serve. The tides of history can be ignored for a time–but to do so is to risk being overwhelmed soon enough.

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