Coaching from Leadership Turn
by Miki SaxonI’ve been writing a lot about leaders in the instance and that as leaders you need to DO, rather than studying, talking and thinking for years, and that you’ll be termed a leader after the fact by whatever public is involved—or not.
Based on these and other comments I’ve gotten I think that I’d better clarify what I’m trying to do here at Leadership Turn.
First, I don’t believe that the goal of people studying and reading about leadership is to become the next King Jr., Ghandi, Jesus, or Hitler.
I do believe that
- the majority of people spending time and spend energy (very valuable commodities and not ones to spend lightly) on learning/improving leadership skills do so for their professional well-being and to improve career opportunities—many either are, or want to become, managers and I want to focus on their needs. Of the thousands of managers I’ve known over the years, only a few really believed they had it down pat, while the vast majority wanted to improve their management/leadership skills as well as add to them.
- there’s an enormous amount of strategic leadership information available online, in books, through academia and corporate training (in-house or outsourced) and I don’t feel the need to compete with that.
- there’s a need for quality information on DOING—what to do, a certain amount of how to do it and a lot of discussion regarding the role MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy)™ plays.
- the information needs to be presented in a clear, compact form that fits with busy schedules. I prefer to give my readers the benefit of the doubt that they will ask questions, or for additional information if they require it, so I try to keep my posts short, break the material up for easier digestion, and, one would hope, more cogitation.
- it’s up to each individual to find the right information, at the right time and, most importantly, in a format that works for the way they learn.
I don’t say any of this to downplay other blogs, papers, training, etc., but to explain where I’m coming from.
I’d like subject suggestions from readers who are DOING and to hear about your successes, those things that didn’t work (at least not to your satisfaction) and those that you consider failures.
My goal for Leadership Turn is to become highly interactive—more of an active coaching function that you can turn to in real time—while serving up plenty of food for thought and examples of what other people have done.