First of all, I will be the first to admit that creative, free flow writing is not my area of expertise but as I prepare to start yet another school year after some time to reflect, a few thoughts come to mind. This is my first blog post so it will likely be very random at this point.
Why is it that if you are good at what you do, you have to do more..while others get to sit back and do very little (for usually the same pay). After time, the person with the most talent, skill and work ethic burns out only to move to another position/company and inevitably the poorly motivated, low skilled employee is rewarded with a promotion (you know...to motivate them). The Dilbert Principle at its finest.
What would happen if politics did not exist in an organization and the person who could do the job the best was actually given the position? How much time do organizations waste by not following this practice? How much faster could change initiatives be implemented? How many instances have you seen where this occurs?
Can you be a leader and truly be authentic? It has often occurred to me, as I held different leadership positions, how often I actually was not authentic using leadership strategies that are common place. For example, you have a team of individuals who were responsible for a project. One member of the team does absolutely nothing yet at a staff meeting or in an email to the entire staff you thank the ENTIRE team for their hard work. Is that really authentic? Hard to say but trust and authenticity are cited as two of the pillars of effective leadership in almost every book you can read on the topic.
I often imagine what it would be like to send an email that stated the truth (I know scandalous)........" I would like to thank the following members of the production team, Jim, Lisa and Amanda for their hard work and dedication on the recent project. Unfortunately, Tom did not follow through with his commitment on this project." I laugh just thinking about it but that is what I call accountability! What possible outcomes would there be for stating the truth?
Would Tom work harder next time?
Would Jim, Lisa, and Amanda feel appreciated for their contributions?
Would other staff members be more likely to meet their work commitments?
To be continued............
Why is it that if you are good at what you do, you have to do more..while others get to sit back and do very little (for usually the same pay). After time, the person with the most talent, skill and work ethic burns out only to move to another position/company and inevitably the poorly motivated, low skilled employee is rewarded with a promotion (you know...to motivate them). The Dilbert Principle at its finest.
What would happen if politics did not exist in an organization and the person who could do the job the best was actually given the position? How much time do organizations waste by not following this practice? How much faster could change initiatives be implemented? How many instances have you seen where this occurs?
Can you be a leader and truly be authentic? It has often occurred to me, as I held different leadership positions, how often I actually was not authentic using leadership strategies that are common place. For example, you have a team of individuals who were responsible for a project. One member of the team does absolutely nothing yet at a staff meeting or in an email to the entire staff you thank the ENTIRE team for their hard work. Is that really authentic? Hard to say but trust and authenticity are cited as two of the pillars of effective leadership in almost every book you can read on the topic.
I often imagine what it would be like to send an email that stated the truth (I know scandalous)........" I would like to thank the following members of the production team, Jim, Lisa and Amanda for their hard work and dedication on the recent project. Unfortunately, Tom did not follow through with his commitment on this project." I laugh just thinking about it but that is what I call accountability! What possible outcomes would there be for stating the truth?
Would Tom work harder next time?
Would Jim, Lisa, and Amanda feel appreciated for their contributions?
Would other staff members be more likely to meet their work commitments?
To be continued............