Leaders rule - differently, though
Keith Sawyer has an interesting post about the role of leadership and lessons learned from the impact of internet ‘democratisation’ and the emergence of ‘open source communities’.
Keith suggests that the internet has enabled ‘participatory democracy’ evidenced by Wikipaedia and Linux. The question remains however if there is a different form of leadership required in such communities.
What is becoming clear is that ”no new technology…changes the fundamentals of human social dynamics”. Citing a study by Siobhan O’Mahony and Fabrizio Ferraro of leadership structures that emerged over 13 years on the Debian distribution of Linux - with 100 developers in more than 40 countries, Keith concludes that a leadership style is needed that enables innovation to flourish. “It’s the kind of leadership that focuses on enabling the best innovation to emerge from the bottom up.”
And:
Another interesting finding from this important paper: developers who met more other developers face to face were more likely to get elected. Even in geographically dispersed virtual communities like Debian, face-to-face interaction predicts community leadership.
What does this mean for those of us working with leaders, or exploring the role of leadership?
Apart from the obvious need for all of us to maintain that real-world face-to-face contact as well as social networking, I think it underlines the importance of generalist skills for leaders, as well as empathy, intuition, and, dare I suggest, spontaneity? For leaders to enable innovation to flourish they will need to be comfortable with messiness, uncertainty and whacky ideas. They will need to know how to accept offers, to keep the organisation moving, recognising that the direction and where it moves to is ultimately unknowable until they arrive. This puts processes like strategic planning exactly where they belong - in the meaningless time wasting basket. And puts improv skills front and centre. But then, I’m biased!
Improv, Innovation, Leadership | Comment (0)What I do
So I’ve been doing some exploring; reflection, I guess. Trying to figure out what on earth I actually do and if it adds any value. Most of the time I’m quite happy with the ambiguity and the adventures that that brings. Some days, like today, I’d like to be able to say something concrete, like “I’m a builder” or “I’m a writer” or “I’m a pastrycook” - anything that’s concrete, and obvious.
I’m a facilitator. What does that really mean? I don’t think I’m alone either. There’s so many new roles emerging all the time, many of them are hard to describe. Blogger, social media expert, digital (anything). Roles I don’t even know how to describe.
It’s not so much a label as clarity that I’m searching for. I think I’m getting close. I started with what I love - improv theatre, ideas, creativity, play…
Then I thought about those times when I could bring them all together. Where was I? What was happening? What did I see and experience? Well, people working together, excitement, playfulness, self-reflection, learning and surprise. This is what I want to be able to bring more of to work. To my work and to the work of others. Whether that work is paid employment, working with the community, or in not-for-profits. There are many faces to work.
And, as usual, my friend Johnnie Moore says it so much better than I can!
I’m currently reading Everything’s an Offer, by Rob Poynton. He is probably the most articulate thinker about the value of improvisation in organisations. His book is a real treat.
I’m also reading Everything’s An Offer at the moment and I completely concur with these comments.
(Johnnie again) When I met Rob a few years ago, he said something that lodged deeply in my mind. He repeats in in his book (my emphasis):People laugh at improvisation not because it is funny, per se, but because it is joyful. If you go to an improv show and watch the audience rather than the players, what you will see is that they aren’t laughing at jokes.
Even though Rob told me this a long time ago, I still feel excited by this observation. Organisations are absolutely rife with demands for deliverables, for measurable and concrete results but take this too far and you easily miss the gigantic fuel that really keeps the whole operation alive - the interplay between participants.
That word joyful has sat with me for a while. For now, what I plan to do is ‘bring joy and enthusiasm to work” - to my own and to others’. I’m happy with that.
Facilitation, Improv | Comment (0)More stuff to learn
This post was started here.
(Hat tip to Patti Digh)
15. Learn how to navigate Facebook - it’s still a mystery and mostly damned annoying. Maybe I should learn how to cancel Facebook?
16. Learn how to switch off - totally and completely.
17. Learn how to cook Moroccan food properly.
18. Learn how to use onepassword.
19. Learn how to create a grid for slides on Keynote.
20. Learn how to finish writing a book (I have starting nailed!)
And with 20 down and another 30 something to go, I’ve run out of ideas. Any suggestions?
General | Comment (0)Create your own fonts
Is there no end to cool stuff on the web!!!!
I’ve just discovered via Nancy Duarte’s slide:ology blog (written by Mark Heaps) this great free font generator at yourfonts.com
What have you discovered on the web lately?
Creativity, Just Stuff | Comment (0)
New Year links
Lake Superior University Banished Words List 2009
Web tools for qualitative data analysis from Michael Wesch at Kansas State University
2008 The Year in Review from the folk at JibJab
Les Posen on 2009 being the year when presenting well comes of age. I hope he’s right!
A short video that explains Net-Map, a networking and power mapping tool for communities developed by Eva Schiffer
Culture, Evaluation, General | Comment (0)Noise
A lot of posts at this time of year seem to be concerned with noise. Not the loud type of noise at New Year Eve parties, but the noise that gets in the way of clarity. The noise that distracts us from our true purpose - the noise that prevents us from even knowing our true purpose.
Clarity is hard to find.
It comes from doing less, from taking away, stripping back to the bare bones.
Thiagi has an activity called Essence. It goes something like this. Write down the description or purpose of your business in exactly 16 words, no more, no less. Then cut it to exactly 8 words. Then when you’re happy with that, cut it again to exactly four words.
Guy Kawasaki, in his book, Reality Check, talks about mantras - “three or four words that explain why your product, service, or company should exist.”
Harrison Owen has a mantra for Open Space Technology: do one less thing.
And here’s the paradox. To strip back you have to first explore. See what’s possible, expand your potential, and try lots of stuff. Only then is it possible to cut, splice, know what’s the essence of who you are and what you do, to write your own mantra. This is true if you are designing a slideshow, writing a film script, building a business or even writing a blog!
General | Comment (1)Learn new stuff
Over there at 37 Days, Patti Digh has announced her Learn 50 @ 50. Her intention is to learn 50 new things as a lead-in to celebrating her 50th birthday. I’m, ahem, a few years past 50 (still doesn’t seem believable really, as I’m sure I still think, and some would say, act, like a 32 year old!) And what I really love about this idea is that the older we get the MORE we can challenge ourselves to learn. I can’t wait to learn 80@80!
So here’s some of the things I’d like to learn in my 5%&#th year:
1. Learn to surf
2. Learn to ride 550 km along the Great Ocean Road in the Great Victorian Bike Ride
3. Learn to make bread
4. Learn to be more open
5. Learn to love book-keeping
6. Re-learn how to use typography effectivey
7 Learn how to deliver on-line learning
8. Learn more vegetarian recipes
9. Learn to juggle four (even five) balls
10. Learn juggling tricks
11. Learn new improv games
12. Learn something I didn’t know I needed to learn
13. Learn to read the night sky
14. Learn to make laksa
And as this is a ‘work in progress’ I’ll add more in coming posts. Like Patti, I’d love to hear what you are planning to learn this year, what else you would add to my list, and what you could help me learn?
General, Learning | Comments (3)
One Year On
This time last year I wrote:
I’ve taken Steve Shapiro’s advice and have come up with two intentions for 2008 - be adventurous and let go. They are very closely related. Being adventurous is about jumping in, having a go, doing something and letting go of my need to know - in advance - that it will be successful and that I’ll be competent. I want to live by the improvisational maxims to ‘be average’ and ‘celebrate failure’. I want to let go of expectations - mine and others’. And if something’s not working, I’ll stop it.
So now it’s 2009. How well did I do? I’m quite happy with my progress. I started a new business, worked in Cambodia and Zambia, and tried to live more spontaneously. I’ve blogged more, hoping that what I write for myself may be of interest to others; embraced twitter (the big surprise for me in 2008) and tried out lots of other web-based tools (some more successfully than others).
And for 2009 my intention is to make, and accept, more offers - to be bolder and more generous. In improvised theatre, making and accepting offers is fundamental. This helps move the action forward, and provides a platform on which to build. Blocking, or not accepting an offer, usually stops the action dead in its tracks.
An important understanding about accepting offers is that acceptance doesn’t presuppose agreement. I can accept your offer without agreeing with it. By accepting I acknowledge the offer and build on it, taking you with me. Together we might build something amazing, or at least have fun finding out.
While I’ve worked on accepting offers, I’ve not been so good at making offers. Implicit in making offers is that some, even many, may be rejected, as not everyone subscribes to, is even aware of, the improvisational power of accepting offers. So in making more offers I have to be prepared for the ‘yes, but…’ response, or the even more direct ‘no, that won’t work’. My response will be to make even more offers.
Will you join me on the journey?
General | Comment (1)
The gift of conversation
I love this message from Roger Schwarz. I’m publishing it here in full. If you’re stuck for a gift, this is THE one.
|
The gifts I’m talking about aren’t tangible – no iPods, gift cards, or chocolates. These are gifts of understanding, learning, and connection. Unfortunately, some of the most valuable gifts you are offered in conversation come horribly wrapped. They look bad, sound bad, and can even feel bad to open. Because we judge the gift by its wrapping, we don’t like to open these gifts - and we are poorer for it. Imagine you’re having a conversation with a direct report about her performance and she says, “I would have achieved all my goals this year if I had support from you.” If you ignore the comment, simply disagree, or say, “We’re here to talk about your performance, not mine,” you’ve just rejected the gift you’ve been offered. If you want to open the gift, try saying something like, “I thought I was supporting you. Tell me more; what are you thinking I was doing or not doing that didn’t support you?” If you want to get better at recognizing and open gifts, look for times in a conversation where the person says something that bothers you, confuses you, or that you disagree with. These are powerful opportunities for learning. As you get together with family and friends in the coming days, be generous in your conversations. Look for gifts you can receive and ways to respond that deepen your relationships. Best wishes for the new year, Roger Schwarz
|
|
Reprinted from Fundamental Change: “Written and edited by Roger Schwarz, Copyright © Roger Schwarz & Associates, 2008. All rights reserved.” |
A Xmas gift from Presentation Zen
OK - so I haven’t gone completely cold turkey!
It’s no secret that Garr Reynolds over there at Presentation Zen is one of my favourite people. His site would be a ‘desert island site’ for me (apart from, if I was on a deserted island, I’m not sure how I would get access to the web, and then if I did, I could just skype someone to come and rescue me. OK - I should have gone cold turkey.)
You just have to go and have a look at his three Xmas videos - get to know your emotions again by feeling outrage, hope, sadness and joy. Go on. Go now!
Oh, and Happy Christmas if that’s your thing.
General | Comment (0)