Diplo Learning Corner

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Month: September 2015 (Page 1 of 2)

10 Invaluable Books for Moving Hearts and Minds

30/09/2015 /

The Roman philosopher Epictetus once said, “Books are the training weights of the mind”.

Reading is an exercise that enriches the way we think, feel, and behave. Reading makes it possible to reach a new understanding about ourselves and the world and to expand our knowledge.

In this article, Paul Jun draws up a subjective list of the books he feels are timeless and helpful in both our personal and professional endeavors. Actually reading reflects a willingness to learn and change minds, to be open to new ideas and concepts that may indeed bolster both personal and professional endeavors.

 

Four Biggest Myths About Being a Great Leader

29/09/2015 /

A lot of people who think they understand leadership have fallen for some common myths and misconceptions. According to Lolly Daskal, it would be better to learn what these myths are so one can uncover the truth.

The truth is that ‘leadership is a privilege—maybe even a calling. It’s something that has to be earned and learned over time’.

To be a real leader, make sure you’re not building your own leadership on any of these commonly held myths:

1. The myth of entrepreneurial leadership

It’s easy to assume that all entrepreneurs are leaders, but just because someone has a great and timely idea and can organize and operate a business, the truth is they aren’t necessarily a leader.

2. The myth of management as leadership

Leadership cannot be equated with management, even if it often occurs. If you’re a manager, you’re focused on maintaining systems, processes, and best practices. But if you’re a leader, much of your time is spent working to influence people. They’re both important roles, but they’re not the same thing.

3. The myth of trailblazer as leadership

Just because you’re standing in front of the crowd, you’re not necessarily the leader. The best leaders take their place alongside their people, helping propel them forward to a shared mission and vision. They may even be behind them, watching their backs.

4. The myth of position as leadership

The No. 1 top myth about leadership is the idea that leadership resides in certain positions. If you’re a at the top, you’re a leader. If at the bottom, there’s no room for leadership. In reality, the truth is that leadership has absolutely nothing to do with position.

Every business and work group has a boss, but only some have a leader at the helm. So if you’re in charge, or if you aspire to be, you have a decision to make: are you going to be the boss or are you going to be the leader? If you’re going to choose the second approach, remember that:

1. True leadership is about influence, nothing more and nothing less.
2. True leadership cannot be awarded, appointed or assigned.
3. True leadership can never be mandated, only earned.

And the best proof is not the leader’s personal success but the success of those who follow.

getty_485017745_41133
Image source: Getty Images

Struggling with deadlines? Write down a to-do-list!

24/09/2015 /

A simple but effective solution to flying deadlines could be writing down a to-do list: chunking your daily tasks into easy to digest, bite-size pieces could actually revolutionize your working strategies improving your overall performance. This article by Vanessa Loder provides you with five tips to make your to-do-list even more helpful:

1.Keep it simple.

2.Write your to-do-list the night before.

3.Tackle the first item on your list first thing in the morning when you are fresh.

4. If you have a hard time limiting your to-do-list to a maximum of three items write a mind dump.

5. Sometimes small is big. Be strategic about your energy.

To-Do List

Image source: Flickr, Jayel Aheram CC BY 2.0

 

Jet lag: an unexpected threat for diplomats

17/09/2015 /

What do the Suez Crisis and George H.W. Bush vomiting on the Japanese Prime Minister have in common? They both generated from jet lag. Years after the 1956 Middle-East crisis, John Foster Dulles recognized that cancelling the Aswan agreement with the Egyptian leader Nasser, which opened the way for the Soviet Union to improve its relationship with Egypt, was a significant mistake and was due to the effects of jet lag. Similarly, the gastroenteritis attack that in 1992 caused former President Bush to vomit on him and the Japanese Prime Minister, was brought on by the effects of the trip to Japan.

These are only two examples contained in the article “How jet lag hurts diplomats, without them even realizing it“, in which Dan Caldwell and William Hocking stress that the symptoms of jet lag – fatigue, loss of appetite, headaches and irritability – could crucially impair high-level leaders and diplomats who engage in significant negotiations and discussions. With a view to obviate to these bad effects, the authors suggest that exposure to sunlight and rest can help re-synchronize circadian clock and operate at the height of mental acuity. In this sense, the selective use of pharmacological agents including melatonin may be of benefit. As an alternative, Caldwell and Hocking suggest that policy-makers may return to rely on resident diplomats to represent their country’s interests and positions to foreign governments.

 Jet lag

Image source: Flickr – Hernán Piñera – (CC BY-SA 2.0)

 

Eight Deadly Ways to Kill Employee Motivation

15/09/2015 /

In this article, Lolly Daskal singles out eight ways that can kill employee motivation. In order to avoid this risk and to provide your employees with an environment in which they can thrive, it is important to pay attention to the following aspects:

  • Minimizing the damages caused by toxic people in the workplace. They spread negativity and suffocate the positive;
  • Encouraging the professional development of your employees. They will learn and grow every day;
  • Understanding the “big picture” and sharing it with your employees;
  • Showing people you value them by showing them you value their time;
  • Showing that a clear flow of communication benefits everyone;
  • The more collaboration, the more investment and the more motivation!
  • Rewarding your employees by saying ‘Thank you!’;
  • Starting with developing your own leadership, then hire and grow the best leaders at every level.

Allagash Bee Hive has a new queen!

Image source: Flickr – Allagash (CC BY 2.0)

 

 

What we’re learning from online education

08/09/2015 /

Does eLearning kill creativity and make traditional universities disappear? Or should we start to view online education and its advantages as inevitable?

Stanford professor Daphne Koller is making the college experience available to anyone through her startup, Coursera (cofounded by Andrew Ng), an innovative model for online learning. By doing this, she is enticing top universities to put their courses online for free — not just as a service, but as a way to research how people learn.

She believes that a new model—in which information is given online and classrooms are used for interactive experiential learning rather than for lecturing—could help to improve education.

Discover Lonsdale’s approach in her TED talk.

 

 

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