[Vnbiz] Leadership -- A little more on Honesty
AD Marshall
admarshall at gmail.com
Fri Jul 27 09:34:28 PDT 2007
Oops. Messed up (yet again :)). Revised - re "What are *YOU* LOOKING FOR
in a leader?" [ed - my emphasis added]:
ADM's Top Ten Prioritized Leadership Qualities, ver 0.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
00. Wisdom (somewhat ineffable, but likely comprised of the following
qualities, several of which overlap or are interdependent)
01. Wit
02. Grace
03.
Kindness
[ed - 01-03 imply charm and ethical goodwill with others]
04. Inspirational Active
Resilience
05. Visionary Intelligence tempered by
Humility [ed -
typo fixed]
06. Planning Acumen & Open-minded Skepticism
07. Physical, Mental, Spiritual & Economic
Fitness [ed - role
modelhood & sane, responsible ethicalness are implied and can be deduced]
08. Sufficient Awareness of Contemporary Domestic and Global
Issues [ed - wake up: the US is not Us]
09. Reasonable Degree of Contemporary Legal, Scientific and Technological
Savvy [ed - sorry, but if a leader hasn 't got this s/he just don't cut it
in my books today]
OK? OK? Back on track yet? :D
Cheer y'all,
Andi
On 7/27/07, AD Marshall <admarshall at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Still a good list Shane tossed out there. I'd just suggest boiling it
> down a bit.
>
> A Hoanh's vision (defined, broken-down or qualified), compassion,
> competence and honesty (qualified) still seem like a good core set of
> qualities.
>
> I'd also stick to most of my own top-10, partly as a distillation of some
> others' lists here, partly not. I'd also refine a few and maybe add a few
> qualities that were discussed or came to mind later. To wit, this is how
> i'd now cook it up to better incorporate the above:
>
> Top Ten Prioritized Leadership Qualities, ver 0.2
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> 00. Wisdom (somewhat ineffable, but likely comprised of the following
> qualities, several of which overlap or are interdependent)
> 01. Wit
> 02. Grace
> 03. Kindness
> 04. Inspirational Active
> Resilience
> [ed - "Inspirational Active" added]
> 05. Visionary Intelligence temper by
> Humility [ed -
> "Vision" incorporated]
> 06. Open-minded Skepticism
> 07. Physical, Mental, Spiritual & Economic
> Fitness [ed - needs
> clarification; note, sane ethicalness implied]
> 08. Sufficient Awareness of Contemporary Domestic and Global
> Issues [ed - "Sufficient" added]
> 09. Reasonable Degree of Contemporary Legal, Scientific and Technological
> Savvy
>
> I'd only add a reminder that the original topic was "What are you looking
> for in your leader?" -- though it might have been or should be changed by
> now, no? -- and suggest again that A Ba Thien's suggestion to (re)define the
> context and kind of leader/ship -- ie, be more specific about scope of
> debate -- might improve the, let's say, cost effectiveness of this thread.
>
> Cheers,
> AD
>
> PS: A Hoanh, with all due respect, if a mailing list's environment were
> more like that of a courtroom trial i'd definitely consider the advisability
> of shutting up and sitting down much more seriously. Over to you... ;)
>
>
> On 7/27/07, Tran Dinh Hoanh <tdhoanh at gmail.com > wrote:
> >
> > [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
> >
> >
> > Dear anh Shane,
> >
> > I don't think the discussion is falling apart though. That is the
> > nature of discussion. More often than not, we come up with opinions so far
> > apart that the only final agreement we have is "We agree to
> > disagree." That is both the human nature (to be different from each other
> > here and there) and the nature of democracy (trying to live peacefully and
> > happily :-( with the jerk next door :-)
> >
> > Vigorous differences are a very good sign--the sign that everyone has
> > opinion, and is willing to contribute his/her opinion, and is strong enough
> > to take the stand for his/her opinion. That is the sign of intellectual
> > vigor. Agreement is good, but agreeing all the time may be a sign of
> > lethargy.
> >
> > As long as we don't hit each other in the head, let's quarrel a bit here
> > and there to make life more interesting.
> >
> > Have a great day!
> >
> > Hoanh
> > ___________
> >
> > On 7/27/07, Shane Wall <shane.wall at translingualexpress.com > wrote:
> > >
> > > [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
> > >
> > >
> > > I agree Bro. Hoanh, it seems the discussion is "falling apart" and we
> > > are no closer to actually finding out the qualities that we, as a
> > > family, think are the qualities all leaders should have.
> > >
> > > To be very frank and honest, the reason that this discussion has not
> > > achieved its original purpose and has gone a long way off from the
> > > original is simply because THERE IS NO LEADER in this discussion!
> > >
> > > My CACE, I will "lead" this discussion if you would like me too, but
> > > please be aware that I try very, very hard to adhere to the 10
> > > principles/ideas I have previously posted (appended again after my
> > > address block).
> > >
> > > Something that nobody has mentioned yet is the willingness of a leader
> > > to "step-up" and voluntarily take responsibility for the situation. I
> > > love it when somebody does that. I work extremely hard for them
> > > because
> > > they have taken on the risk. Sadly, far too few people are willing to
> > > "take the risk" and become a Leader.
> > >
> > > This is what I said previously and what I try to encourage, enforce or
> > >
> > > enable in my own leadership situations:
> > >
> > > *1. Willing to openly canvass and listen to all opinions, including
> > > ones the leader may disagree with.*
> > > Only by listening to all views and perspectives can the correct
> > > one
> > > be found.
> > >
> > > *2. Be totally committed to the welfare of the "entity" being led as
> > > a
> > > whole, not just elements within it.*
> > > If only one section of the entity is cared for, human nature will
> > > quickly ensure that the entity disintegrates. This also means that
> > > sometimes a leader must be willing to harm part of the whole in order
> > > for the whole to become or remain healthy. A true example is the Ship
> > > Captain whose ship has an uncontrolled fire in the engineroom. He
> > > knows
> > > there are 4 sailors still in the engineroom and 195 others safe. He
> > > does
> > > not know if the 4 are still alive or dead already. He orders the
> > > engineroom sealed and the firefighting chemical Halon to be dumped
> > > into
> > > the compartment. Halon is lethally toxic when it reacts with fire
> > > (that's part of how it works). He knows if the 4 are alive, he has
> > > just
> > > killed them. He knows if he does not extinguish the fire, he places
> > > all
> > > 195 others in jeopardy. I know this story is FACT because it happened
> > > in
> > > the Royal Australian Navy when I was still serving.
> > >
> > > *3. Not afraid to make the hard decisions, like the example above,
> > > for
> > > the good of the whole.*
> > >
> > > *4. Able to be self-critical and honest about mistakes or errors.*
> > > The member of a sports team who gives their all and is defeated by
> > > their opponent because the coach put them in the wrong position or
> > > gave
> > > the wrong task is not to blame for losing the game, the coach who put
> > > there is. The coach must then be able to exonerate the player and take
> > > the blame.
> > >
> > > *5. Never asks another to do what he/she would not do themselves*,
> > > a.k.a. lead by example or leading from the front.
> > > This does not mean the leader has to actually participate, but it
> > > does mean that those being led must know that when placed in the same
> > > position, the leader DID do exactly what he/she is now asking others
> > > to
> > > do, so understands their plight.
> > >
> > > *6. Is cooperative rather than combative or manipulative.*
> > >
> > > *7. Honest, moral, ethical and upstanding with a sense of justice and
> > > what is "right".*
> > > Nothing loses the respect of the led faster than some misdeed by a
> > >
> > > leader. Nonetheless, this does not mean the leader cannot have made
> > > mistakes, (See 4. above), but just how they handle them. Another true
> > > story. On learning that their team leader was simply writing his own
> > > reports based on his own presumptions and perceptions and not
> > > analyzing
> > > and compiling their results and reports as he should have done, the
> > > team
> > > simply stopped collecting the information and writing the reports -
> > > not
> > > a healthy situation for intelligence operators. When I took over the
> > > team, they were the worst, most demoralized team and the laughing
> > > stock
> > > of the Unit. Morale was deeper than Whale doo-doo!
> > >
> > > *8. Openly and equitably distributes and shares the benefits and
> > > burdens.*
> > > I've seen instances where everything is shared equally (a
> > > Communist-style model) and others where things are shared according to
> > > pre-determined criteria or systems (a Capitalist-style model). From my
> > > (limited) experience, it doesn't seem to matter which method is used,
> > > rather that it is open and mutually agreed upon (See 6. above).
> > >
> > > *9. Deep understanding of the aspirations, wishes, needs and desires
> > > of
> > > the led.*
> > > Without this understanding, no leader can ever hope to satisfy
> > > these
> > > things for their followers.
> > >
> > > *10. Willingness to delegate responsibilities, reward success and
> > > rectify the causes of failure.*
> > > By letting people undertake important tasks, rewarding them when
> > > they succeed and helping rectify the reasons they may have failed, a
> > > leader builds trust. From mutual trust comes teamwork. From teamwork
> > > comes success. Any team-building guru will tell you that, or something
> > > similar.
> > >
> > > Finally, I don't remember where this comes from, but I remember a
> > > definition of "Leadership":
> > >
> > > _*"The ability to make others willingly do what they otherwise do not
> > > want to do."*_
> > >
> > > Let's get "back on track" here! We've wasted a lot of typing time,
> > > bandwidth and contemplation, let's try to get something CONCRETE out
> > > of
> > > this discussion!!!
> > >
> > > Shane
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > Mr. Shane Wall
> > > Principal,
> > >
> > > Trans Lingual Express
> > > 120/14 Mai Thi Luu St,
> > > P. Dakao, Q.1, HCMC,
> > > Vietnam
> > >
> > > Mail: shane.wall at translingualexpress.com
> > > Web: www.translingualexpress.com
> > >
> > > Mbl: +84 (090) 9484 753 (Anh) - Tel: +84 (8) 820 9143 (Viet)
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Tran Dinh Hoanh, LLB, JD
> > > Washington DC
> >
> >
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> >
> >
>
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