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Common Leadership and Management Mistakes

16/04/2013 /

We learn from our mistakes. This is generally true.

However, there are common pitfalls managers and leaders should avoid:
  • not giving good feedback
  • not making time for their team
  • being too “hands-off”
  • being too friendly
  • failing to define goals
  • misunderstanding motivation
  • hurrying recruitment
  • not “walking the walk”, that is, not leading by example
  • not delegating effectively
  • misunderstanding their role.
The article “10 Common Leadership and Management Mistakes”
(http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/leadership-mistakes.htm), available on the Mindtools website, analyzes these mistakes and provides some suggestions on how to recognize and avoid them.
Leaderimage source: http://bit.ly/10N6mQG

A Users manual for your Brain?

15/04/2013 /

The theme of Diplocalendar 2013 was inspired by Mark Twain’s quotation that: “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them”.

Brain Rules

Diplomats, like many other professionals, must read, understand, synthesise and make sense of newspapers, magazines, emails, official reports and so many other things related to their daily work. But there is so much else to read both for pleasure and to deepen our knowledge.

The selected book suggested for the month of April that supports professional development and is relevant to management in diplomacy is John Medina’s Brain Rules

How Shakespeare would run a business

11/04/2013 /

What leadership lessons may we learn from the great English playwright and poet?

In her article, published in a monthly series focusing on business and leadership lessons from prominent figures in history, Laurie Kulikowski describes the inspirational process that changed the way people looked at literature.

Here are some of the key points:

  1. be not afraid of greatness: “some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them” (Twelfth Night)
  2. maximise exposure: take an active role in your local community and pitch your business story to local media;
  3. learn from failure: no one wants to befriend failure, but if we do, we certainly don’t forget its visit anytime soon!
  4. get to know your employees, as King Henry V, disguised as a commoner, wandering among his troops to understand their readiness and their morale.

Read more on http://goo.gl/A3CWj

Firstfolio

Image Source: http://goo.gl/VtwvM

Ken Robinson: schools kill creativity

09/04/2013 /

Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson, speaking for TED talks, makes an interesting case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.

Creativity is, according to him, the process of having original ideas that have value and it is possible only if we are not afraid of being wrong!
Children are not afraid and for this all children are creative. But schools teach them not to make mistakes and so they begin to stigmatize mistakes…

Problem solving

02/04/2013 /

Being a confident problem solver is really important to your success.

There are four basic steps in problem solving:

  • Defining the problem
  • Generating alternatives
  • Evaluating and selecting alternatives
  • implementing solutions

The Problem Solving menu, available at Mindtools.com, will help you to improve your approach to solving the problems that you and your team have to face.Image source http://goo.gl/xLdDX

Networking

28/03/2013 /

You might be around people who could be ideal for your life, or who know someone who could be important.

This book, Networking, free downloadable at Bookboon.com, is filled with good advice and tools that will rapidly give you a professional networking mind.

Bookboon provides a collection of valuable free ebooks for professionals.

Seven leader archetypes

26/03/2013 /

The Diplomatic Courier in 2011 launched the “Top 99 Under 33 Foreign Policy Leaders,” a project that captures the impact of 99 leaders under the age of 33. The selection committee makes its evaluation on the basis of the following leader archetypes:

  • A Catalyst is from a field not typically associated with foreign policy who has had an impact on international affairs.
  • A Convener brings people together in creative ways to address a pressing international issue or enhance the foreign policy community.
  • An Influencer mobilizes people in the foreign policy community with bold new ideas.
  • An Innovator designs a new solution to a critical global challenge.
  • A Practitioner changes foreign policy from the inside through extraordinary professionalism and skill.
  • A Risk-taker takes a chance and sees it pay off.
  • A Shaper changes the public discourse on an aspect of foreign policy or raises awareness on a critical issue.

For further details:  http://www.diplomaticourier.com/special-features/top-99-under-33

youngleaders2Image source: http://www.nccp.org/youngleaders_ny.html

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