New Zealand Leadership

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Comment by Manu Caddie on September 25, 2009 at 8:58am

what if it was a freight train?

I think most of us know that on balance decisions made in hast or under pressure are not as robust as ones made after careful consideration and full information is provided - but we also know that we don't always have that luxury.

Comment by Georgina Morrison on September 24, 2009 at 6:52pm

Interesting thought on decision making... not sure what i make of it... but it's good.

A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused.
Only one child played on the disused track, the rest on the operational track.

The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange.
You can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the kids.
However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed.
Or would you rather let the train go its way?

Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make........ .......


Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child. You might think the same way, I guess. Exactly, to save most of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most people would make, morally and emotionally. But, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?

Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was.
This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.

The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story said he would not try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens.. If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because it was not safe.
If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake!
And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.

While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made, we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right one.

'Remember that what's right isn't always popular... and what's popular isn't always right.'

Everybody makes mistakes; that's why they put erasers on pencils!!

Comment by Kali Madden on September 20, 2009 at 3:05pm

if anybody happens to be in Melbourne or Sydney in October they may be interested in this symposium on Authentic Leadership.

I don't know any of the speakers myself but appreciated their leading comment that links leadership to our ability to transform our own thoughts and be personally aware:

"By transforming the landscape of our thoughts and really understanding what drives our leadership patterns, we can revolutionise ourselves and the teams we lead."

I will be attending so hope to hear more along these lines :)

Comment by Kali Madden on September 20, 2009 at 1:56pm

Manu, I really appreciate the reference to Wheatley's article thank you!

(I have found her writing in this area - see her books - quite superior in terms of her understanding of the *organic* possibilities already present in each moment - increased awareness/sensing of the underlying system(s) seems to increase the ability to act from a more potent and sustainable place).

The sentence that you quote from below "A leader is anyone willing to help, anyone who sees something that needs to change and takes the first steps to influence that situation." has led me to reflect on something that I played with for years in terms of understanding how best to recognise where our own leadership lies#...

Before I talk about that though... i really believe that understanding leadership is a key requirement for a sustainable future. People need to begin to see and experience themselves as having a leadership role in their own spheres of influence. We are each oriented in the world in a particular way, and nobody else has access to our exact position. This makes each of us an expert at the point that all of these influences converge - inside us! Once we each recognise our own inner authority in the space(s) we reside, we may feel more empowered to act - i experience this as acting from an authentic impulse - and begin to positively influence the world around us in ways that stem from our unique access to information, our own point of view.

...hmmm. i feel i have so much to say here that i am in danger of writing a boringly long post...

For now then i might just add that much of the work that i do with others seems to involve the simple act of "permissioning"*. Permissioning others to have their own point of view, to share their own point of view and to have that heard and accepted even when different, and to act from that point of view in ways that they think would benefit the whole (team, organisation, planet, other). This allowance/encouragement/support for others to step in to their own internally empowered action appears to generate remarkable results for the individuals concerned (including their experience of belonging, of making a difference, of living a meaningful life and hence being motivated to do more as and when they recognise an opportunity to do so) along with a really coherent team/group culture. A number of visitors to our team have remarked on it and asked "how do we get our team to be like that?"

I have not yet taken the time to sit down and write it so I appreciate this discussion which seems to have called forth an authentic impulse to contribute something here :) Thank you!

# maybe in another post... how to use our own anger to identify our personal and professional causes and transform that into meaningful, creative action...

* I know, it is not a real word... it just seems to describe the matter i am attempting to describe more accurately than 'permitting' which implies authority over - not true. When i talk of 'permissioning' it is rather an allowance or space created for each individual to step fully into themselves rather than asking them to leave some parts at the door before participating. *All* of the individual is invited and required in order to have this work most effectively.

Comment by lee0007 on July 22, 2009 at 4:58pm

The best leaders I know, lead by example and inspire others to do the same.

Comment by Manu Caddie on July 16, 2009 at 11:27pm

In terms of the original question... there is a good line in this paper that suggests a leader is "anyone willing to help"...

http://www.margaretwheatley.com/articles/Wheatley-WhatIsOurRole.pdf

Comment by Nigel Williams on July 11, 2009 at 8:26pm

I think one of the significant issues for 'leaders' today is the rate at which things are changing. For example the Govt is currently changing the Resource Management Act, but now in the midst of those changes the G8 has committed to 2 degrees K max by 2050.

That target will not be reachable with the present RMA, as we will have to do lots of things that do not fit with the RMA's basis. There are laws and there are ways we do things as a nation that must be changed and moved ahead very quickly.

Nick Smith is trying to run the Climate Change on a coalition basis. which is fantastic, and hopefully a sign of the way we approach our entire national future.

Somehow a leader in NZ has to reach some measure of consensus if we are to change the way we do things. That will require concerted efforts at telling us what is going to happen if we don't act, and clear guides as to what and why we must do what needs to be done.

Human beings are not mentally designed to dodge slow-moving spears, but somehow a leader has to get the nation's adrenalin flowing, or we are lost.

Nigel
http://the100metreline.blogspot.com/

Comment by Georgina Morrison on July 7, 2009 at 7:20pm

I'm trying to learn a lot about leadership at the moment in one of my roles... I think increasingly it means having to be aware. This is a huge job and I don't know how much I'm succeeding.... I'm talking about awareness of events, organisations, people - the who's who, internet sites... all of this seems pretty necessary to be a leader in a particular field and technology seems to almost make it more difficult as well as more easy.
I'm also interested in encouraging leadership - I know some amazing young people and I've tried a few things to encourage some mentoring in our political (Greens) arena....
Something else that I'd like to make people more aware of is free leadership training... i.e. Rotary have a wonderful week they run call Rotary Youth Leadership Award where 17-24yr olds are selected by their local club and sent on a week which is probably worth $3000 in training and meeting NZ leaders and at no cost to the participant. If anyone is interested message me or contact your local Rotary club!

Comment by Glen Lauder on June 30, 2009 at 7:08pm

These feel like good questions Chris. Lets "make up" that there is a new kind of leadership needed for these times. What might it feel like to be in the presence of a such a leader (or, if plural, to be in the presence of such leadership)? I've felt a bit of it about lately.

Its felt like two things - something is possible, now is maybe the time, and - maybe I have something to contribute here. A leadership that leaves everyone present with the experience of - maybe I'm part of this - maybe its time for "me" to be a leader too?

And second - that its more about taking a stand for something - than a position on something (or against something).

What has it been like for you to be in the presence of leadership that moved you?

Comment by Chris Howe on June 30, 2009 at 3:09pm

Can I kick off with some questions? What does leadership really mean? I know it does not mean telling people what to do. Does it mean setting an example? Does it mean setting out a vision and hoping people agree with it? What if they don't?