Give of Your Time; Respect the Time of Others

Time is an interesting commodity. It is used in different ways all around the world. In our so-called “time poor” countries we consider ourselves so busy that our responsibilities outweigh the time available. We eek out every minute, carefully scheduling and booking appointments weeks and months ahead. We lose a real sense of spontaneity and flexibility. I have also noticed a trend over the past decade in organisations that places such a high value on one’s own time, and that this outweighs the appreciation of the value of time to others.

Once again, it is a balance between managing one’s productivity (which is often but not always a direct outcome of the amount of time that we put into activities), appreciating the use of the time of others, and giving your time freely and generously to others who need or will benefit from it.

Leadership: Exploring Workplace Vulnerability

Here in the offices of Indra Process and Performance Consulting, we are continually extending and updating our Deep Leadership modules and supporting material. It’s a great and dynamic atmosphere as we sort out in our own minds the relevance of material and how we can deliver it in the most meaningful way. For us that means in a way that will change lives and accelerate business results.

Our programs cover both Personal Awareness and Business Awareness.  In the Personal Awareness components, we present and explore numerous traits that are or will become important for leaders intent on building great leadership ability that is applicable in a business world that is rapidly changing.

Recently we have been exploring the place of Leadership Vulnerability in

More on Humility as a Leadership Trait

Long ago, as I started my consulting career, I was assisting a colleague in running a Leadership Development Course. Over a period of several days, I watched this group of 15 individuals, young, confident, cocky and somewhat arrogant. I asked my colleague if I could run a session on Humility. And so began my interest in the traits that, when cultivated and attained, manifest in deep leadership ability.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been revisiting Humility in these posts as we explored some of the concepts behind Good to Great, and in a more abstract way, through Empathy and Business Assertiveness. But humility is difficult to define. Worn as a cloak, something just thrown on,

Great Companies, Humble Leaders, One Pointed Business Determination

It is interesting to be re-reading an article on Level 5 Leadership by Jim Collins, summarising the results of a five year project on companies that went from good to great and then sustained that greatness. He wrote a best selling book about this work — you have probably read it.

I have seen companies develop and mature, but it is that sustainability that is critical. Companies not capable of sustaining greatness falter and then flip-flop through periods of ordinary performance, good performance and occasional great performance.

Although Jim wrote this article some years ago, his summary findings continue to resonate today. At the beginning of his research

Management: Can You be Too Empathetic?

Empathy is a good trait to have. It allows us to understand the feelings of others, to predict the responses others might have to situations, and to engage with people on an emotional level. In management and leadership positions, it’s a very valuable trait, as staff respond positively to the feeling that they are understood and cared about. It makes the workplace feel as though it is a secure and comfortable environment when empathetic people are in charge.

We feel good when people understand us, when they “get us”, when they understand enough about us to provide the environment and the work that best suits us.  We feel like we can achieve anything when we are appreciated and understood.

I have worked with people in coaching situations and in Leadership Development Programs who have very low empathy. While these people are good leaders

Performance Focused Organisations: Extreme Leadership

In Performance Focused Organisations, diversity in style is welcomed. PFOs are not “cloned” organisations where a mono-culture exists. Rather the ideal is an active culture built around strong and deployed values where diversity is welcomed, honoured and respected.

Leadership styles vary. Some are strongly driven, some are strongly people-oriented. Others are detailed, thorough and exact, cautious or forever seeking opportunities. Some leadership styles work best in small groups, some are best in very large teams. As long as there is a central respect of People, Results, Profits, Customers and Process, each style has a part to play.

Do the Leaders in your Business Demonstrate Social Intelligence? Do you?

Written by Dr John Viljoen, Associate Consultant

For those of us who are in leadership roles, there is good reason to monitor our social skills – they could be key determinants of our leadership success.

The role of Social Intelligence in leadership performance

We all know that Emotional Quotient (EQ) is as important as Intelligence Quotient (IQ) in the make-up of a good leader.  Recent research indicates that EQ has three components, two “self” related and one “other” related: