Leadership

I have to say it was slightly disconcerting to find myself sat in front of an audience of exec MBA students at CASS Business School last night being asked questions on my views on leadership by Jemima Gibbons of Interactive Know How. There were one of two vaguely disconcerted looks as I opened up and got into the flow on life the universe and anything but hopefully they all got something out of it - even if that was thinking "I hope I don't end up like that old nutter"!

I have reproduced the questions after the link.

1. You recently published a blog post saying that the argument of Richard Dawkins’ “The God Delusion” could easily apply to bosses – you criticise managers in general for “making it easier for people not to think for themselves”. How should a true leader lead, and how can people with “manager” in their job title avoid conforming to type?

2. You’ve made it clear you’re not a fan of the term “knowledge management”; what do you think of the term “leadership”?

3. Business leaders/managers frequently obstruct change/ progress/ knowledge dissipation if it doesn’t agree with their own personal goals. Have you come across examples of leaders like this and, in your experience, what is the best way to deal with them?

4. When you were in charge of KM at the BBC, how did you like to guide and motivate (or command and control!) your team? What sort of boss were you?

5. Did you introduce any systems and cultures to improve the working environment (eg, encourage innovation, enhance knowledge, enable decision-making)?

6. You were at the BBC for 20 years – as an independent advisor, you now ‘lead’ or seek to influence in a different sense. How has your life changed since leaving the BBC? What are the main differences between being your own boss and managing for a large, public organisation?

7. Later we’ll look at how three very different director generals (Birt, Dyke and Thompson) reflected different times at the BBC – what impact, if any, did those different DGs have on you?

8. Re career strategy, what tools would you recommend for self-development? (if any!)

9. Would you agree that self-awareness is necessary for effective leadership and have you worked with managers – naming no names – who have had a low level of self awareness?

10. What advice would you give to anyone wanting to be a ‘leader’ in IT?

11. Does leadership in this sector differ in any way from that in other sectors?

12. What’s the biggest challenge facing leading IT professionals today?

Comments

[Vincent]

Not giving the answers is a nice trick to make your readers want to know more... Any answer you will share with us ?

[Euan]

Not so much a trick and more that I was knackered when I got in!

[Clive]

I thought that the last 3 questions were trickier in some ways than others, in that they assume you are in some way au fait with the thoughts and feelings of IT leaders (which you may be I'm sure) Actually, all the questions are very incisive and made me feel quite tired just reading them!

I recently finished reading primal leadership by Goleman and am convinced that I used to work for what he calls a toxic leadership (no comment on the current one!). Leadership is such a vital part of what drives any organisation and I don't just mean the people right at the top. Too often, those with vision, inspiration and the ability to enthuse others are at middle level, but are overlooked in the hierarchical structures that still prevail in today's business environment. I'm beginning to ramble now, so time to close I think!

[Jon Husband]

Leaders set the tone for sure in almost all organizations, Clive, but the toxicity often extends throughout the organization, methinks.

Chris Corrigan's father-in-law Peter Frost (an org behaviour professor at Canada's UBC in Vancouver), wrote a marvelous book a few years ago titled Toxic Emotions At Work and What To Do About Them .. which has many ties to Goleman's work on emotional intelligence (and no doubt his more recent social intelligence and primal leadership).

[Richard S]

But now you've had a little sleep....what WERE the answers?!