(A) When I think of leadership, I see thoughtful reflection, integration, and innovation. Management, as a term, I find to be more of an accounting for what has already been established, similar to maintenance. As Warren Benning writes in On Becoming a Leader (2009), “[it’s] a difference between one who has mastered the context and one who has surrendered to it” (p. 41). The context is of course the circumstances in which we find ourselves living. As the famous lyrics from The Beatles (1968) states, Hey, Jude. Don’t make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better [-to the leader]. [And], don’t you know that it’s the fool who plays it cool while making his world a little colder [-of the manager]. It’s effectually a difference between how situations are approached. Reacting when one is being challenged instead of thoughtfully responding is what makes a would be leader end up only being a manager. The distinction does matter, because, in life, the quality of the input affects the quantity of the output. That is just basic, responsible productivity. And, an awareness of there being more nobility given in leadership than in management, at least to me, could be conveyed with a quote from renowned speaker and writer, one Jiddu Krishnamurti, saying “It is no measure of good health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” So, I say now, out with the old, and in with the new.
(B) One of the many attributes that really does speak directly to me from the readings is the concept of reflection. Literally. I have always been one to really contemplate where I am and how I came to be there, what I should do about it and so on. Bennis calls it “deploying yourself” (p. 107). Having said that, reflection is akin to what I related to thoughtfulness in part (A), also linked to the wordresolution in the Bennis text. I might also add a third definition to resolution, which is a synonym really, and it is definition; the clarity seen from a projection. Bennis states, “Reflection is a way of making learning conscious” (p. 109). For this expanding of consciousness, not to be confused with consciences, the act of meditation is necessary. To just intentionally appreciate the involuntary acts like breathing and the heart-beat, etc. can truly help to balance our being.
In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists. —ERIC HOFFER QUOTED IN Vanguard Management (Bennins, 2009, p. 185)
Some living today may say that there is no way out of this deficit and political gridlock appearing in and much disseminated from the united states of America, and they would be right. It is mathematically impossible to repay the fictitious debt [which] is far larger than the total amount of money in existence, according to economists. This means that is it imperative “[if] America is to regain its edge, and face and solve its myriad problems, leaders—the real thing, not copies—must show the way” (Bennis, 2009, p. 186). This will of course involve some risk taking, and also a responsible and cooperative managing of the dream (Ibid. p. 188). Risk-taking and cooperation may not seem much like they belong together, but in the calling of forging a better future, the connection absolutely does apply.
For this, I will conclude this with mentioning Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2016 US Presidential campaigns. Many say some of his proposals like universal healthcare and tuition free public colleges are too big of a risk, and, you know, to me it only seems achievable if those entities which have made everyone else subject to their risks were to cooperate.
I am #feelingtheBern, but that old system was just not made for tolerating such utilitarian expectations.
References
(B) One of the many attributes that really does speak directly to me from the readings is the concept of reflection. Literally. I have always been one to really contemplate where I am and how I came to be there, what I should do about it and so on. Bennis calls it “deploying yourself” (p. 107). Having said that, reflection is akin to what I related to thoughtfulness in part (A), also linked to the wordresolution in the Bennis text. I might also add a third definition to resolution, which is a synonym really, and it is definition; the clarity seen from a projection. Bennis states, “Reflection is a way of making learning conscious” (p. 109). For this expanding of consciousness, not to be confused with consciences, the act of meditation is necessary. To just intentionally appreciate the involuntary acts like breathing and the heart-beat, etc. can truly help to balance our being.
In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists. —ERIC HOFFER QUOTED IN Vanguard Management (Bennins, 2009, p. 185)
Some living today may say that there is no way out of this deficit and political gridlock appearing in and much disseminated from the united states of America, and they would be right. It is mathematically impossible to repay the fictitious debt [which] is far larger than the total amount of money in existence, according to economists. This means that is it imperative “[if] America is to regain its edge, and face and solve its myriad problems, leaders—the real thing, not copies—must show the way” (Bennis, 2009, p. 186). This will of course involve some risk taking, and also a responsible and cooperative managing of the dream (Ibid. p. 188). Risk-taking and cooperation may not seem much like they belong together, but in the calling of forging a better future, the connection absolutely does apply.
For this, I will conclude this with mentioning Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2016 US Presidential campaigns. Many say some of his proposals like universal healthcare and tuition free public colleges are too big of a risk, and, you know, to me it only seems achievable if those entities which have made everyone else subject to their risks were to cooperate.
I am #feelingtheBern, but that old system was just not made for tolerating such utilitarian expectations.
References
Bennis, Warren (2009-03-03). On Becoming a Leader. Basic Books. Kindle Edition.
Acquired from AMAZON.COM
Snyder, M. (2015). It is Mathematically Impossible to Pay off All of Our Debt. Retrieved from http://www.activistpost.com/2015/05/it-is-mathematically-impossible-to-pay.html
Acquired from AMAZON.COM
Snyder, M. (2015). It is Mathematically Impossible to Pay off All of Our Debt. Retrieved from http://www.activistpost.com/2015/05/it-is-mathematically-impossible-to-pay.html
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