Tag archives for Leadership - Page 2
Lessons in Leadership from Andrew Strauss
Andrew Strauss being interviewed 2010 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I was lucky enough to hear Andrew Strauss speak about the lessons in leadership he has learnt as a cricket captain and then as Director of Cricket England. Andrew Strauss has led the England cricket team to win the ashes three times. Twice as Captain and once as the Director. Andrew Strauss's lessons in leadership chimed enough with me to make notes. I think everyone could benefit from them. Here is my summary of those lessons in leadership, minus the cricketing examples. Lessons in Leadership People are the most important thing, and you need to focus on them don't let other people do the dirty work, if you are giving bad news then you need to look people in the eye when you do. Everyone has their own perspective, and they all take…
Labour Leadership – Who to Choose?
Labour logo. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I generally avoid politics because my job needs me to stay politically neutral. However the Labour leadership election isn't just politics, it's also about voter engagement. Unlike all the previous party leadership races I've watched, this labour leadership election is different. In the wake of their electoral defeat the Labour Party are trying to engage voters to choose the next Labour leadership team. This is a bold move, which hasn't been without its controversy. People have alleged that hard left groups have registered to vote, and others that Tories have done the same. Both allegations have been used to justify the support for Jeremy Corbyn. The former group are seen as true believers in socialism and the latter in an attempt to make Labour unelectable. Personally I doubt that either group can get enough support from the 610,000 eligible…
Leadership Values – How do they develop?
I'm currently in the midst of the HR component of my current Open University module (B203). It got me thinking about my leadership values and how they developed from my experiences as a leader. Young Leader My introduction to leadership came at the age of 16. As part of my Venture Scout activities I helped out with the 1st Glen Lusset cub scouts. This involved running activities for 7-10 year old boys, including teaching them how to start fires. I then went to university and became a Territorial Army Officer Cadet (at 17 and a half). My first formal leadership training was from the British Army. This training was backed up with practical experience, leading scouts and soldiers (similar outlooks, soldiers are older and have guns). This strongly shaped my leadership values. Civil Service Leadership I joined the civil service from university (after a six month…
Half Trained
I am now a half trained cub scout leader. I spent the weekend at Bentley Copse scout centre in Surrey doing the first two days of the four day adult leader training course. When I'm done I'll have earnt the wood badge worn by thousands of scout leaders worldwide. The course exceeded my expectations, although those started fairly low. I was expecting two days of death by powerpoint being fed the party line, however unrealistic it may be. However what I got was a training team that understood that we were all thinking adults and that we were involved in scouting because we wanted children to have fun trying out new things in a safe environment. As well as that the theory was well interleaved with practical activities and discussion for us both to get to know each other…
Mintzberg’s 5Ps & Whittington’s 3Ps
I noticed that a number of the people visiting my blog are looking for strategy material. So I've trawled my unpublished archives and have put together some short posts on strategy topics. Here's one on looking to explain two ways of defining strategy. Mintzberg's 5Ps and Whittington's 3Ps. The main thing to bear in mind, with both Mintzberg's 5Ps & Whittington's 3Ps, is that they're not a process tool for producing strategies. However, they are both excellent tools for analysing and evaluating strategies. That is definitely worth doing if you have to devise strategy. Before you release a strategy you need to robustly take it apart to ensure that it is fit for purpose. If you find it weak then it isn't yet ready for prime time. Mintzberg's 5Ps Henry Mintzberg has described five ways of looking at strategy as plan, ploy, pattern, position and…