Special 12th Anniversary Guest Column JOEL GARFINKLE: Great Leaders Use Influence, Not Power Many leaders confuse influence with power. However, there is a vast difference between the two and the simple act of learning that difference and how to use it can move your career ahead in unexpected ways. To illustrate–a story. Jody was a senior VP at a … Continued
Friends, My stomach has announced: the election is nearly here. My first memorable campaign was 1969, when I was in 5th grade. I could hardly sleep leading up to my dad’s mayoral election. He lost. And those stomach pains gave way to the peculiar physiological process we call crying – whatever tightness was held in … Continued
Friends, Let’s start quickly with TV, then to school, and on to work. Tell me why these were GREAT shows? M.A.S.H., All in the Family, Happy Days, Mary Tyler Moore. If I’m dating myself terribly, throw in The Office, How I Met Your Mother, and Modern Family. Why so good? What do they have in … Continued
Friends, Here’s my favorite line from my favorite book on leadership: “Credible leaders accept and act upon the paradox of power: We become most powerful when we give our power away.” – Kouzes and Posner, The Leadership Challenge. Some never get this. They are threatened by staff. Their ego needs to be in control. They fear … Continued
Friends, Here’s my Happy New Year’s wish, which is perhaps better seen as an invitation, or a taunt: LEAD YOURSELF to your best year ever. Absurd? Audacious? Well, leadership always has an element of audacity to it. President Kennedy said: we’ll put an American on the moon. Dr. King saw: the children of slaves and … Continued
Friends, Maybe because all four of my grandparents came to this country as young adults, I have always had a bias in favor of the gifts that newcomers bring to a culture. I am stoked at the experience I have begun in this regard. Might it have relevance for you? I have 30-some students in … Continued
Friends, I heard from two Romanians, a Hungarian, Venezuelan, Pakistani, and one American. I ran an experiment that shed an eerie light on the book that Jennifer and I have coming out in three weeks, and it also reinforced my thinking about the importance of this “Everyday Leadership” I keep writing about. The story: I wanted … Continued
Friends, So, we’re out here in far away California. Our house feels like a summer cottage – lots of wood and windows-to-nature and walls that don’t require northern insulation – and we feel like we’re on vacation. Classes don’t start until late August. Jack’s cool with summer. Jennifer and I are a bit too Type-A. … Continued
Friends, Leadership lessons often leap from the world of sports. And so often, NOT! Today, a big NOT. I opened a news site’s sports page, it was about playoffs, and typically, it was all about stars: Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City and the showdown between Joe Thornton of the Sharks (boo!) and Ryan Kessler of … Continued
Recently on “Everyday Leadership” Dan talked with three leading women about the work family debate. Dan discussed the differences in the ways men and women lead on both the work and home front, and how we view both. Joan Williams Director of the Center for Work Life Law at the University of California, and Professor … Continued