| |
| |
|
Leadership Information |
|
|
|
The Code of the Conference Leader
Are your meetings generally a waste of time? Do you have trouble getting commitment on the decisions made? The following information is based on "Conference Leadership", an atypical Marine Corps publication that is no longer available to the public (as it has been incorporated into a sensitive and restricted document.)The publication details a method of achieving results from groups and meetings that was far ahead of its time, originally published in 1947. Veins of "stewardship," "dialogue" and "servant leadership" can be seen throughout, though not by those names. This article details eleven affirmations that create powerful facilitators and make up the "Code of the Conference Leader" as found in "Conference Leadership." The first affirmation is that "I frankly recognize my own limitations and do my utmost to improve my qualifications." As conference leader you should not feel like you need know the answer to everything, nor portray yourself to the group as any kind of oracle. However, understanding and having confidence in the processes of effectively leading and managing the group is extremely important. You should strive to get and act upon feedback that will make you a leader and facilitator that the group respects. The second affirmation in the code is that "I keep confidences under every circumstance." The best way to keep confidential information and discussions to yourself is not to have them in the first place. Explain to the group (and first to the client if appropriate) that you prefer not to have private conversions. You shouldn't take sides and the group should have all the information that you have. A detailed discussion of this principle can be found in the excellent facilitation book "The Skilled Facilitator" by Roger Schwarz. The third and fourth affirmations are "I always consider other people's point of view" and "I will be open-minded about the other's job, view-point and experience." It is very important to recognize and appreciate the fact that your group are adults with varied histories and experiences through which they will filter the entire group experience. Adults learn most by association and we've all heard that "Where you stand is where you sit." Regardless of whether or not you personally agree with all of the points of views and agendas present, you must not ignore this dynamic. The fifth affirmation is "I believe in the duties of conference leader." The job of the conference leader is not an intuitive one for most people. Most people want to be responsible for something, or not, and are not used to being on a real team. Real teams are more like soccer teams versus wrestling "teams" where a real collective effort is required versus a combination of individual efforts. An effective conference is where everyone is helping to pick up one big rock versus everyone breaking it up and picking up their own little piece. Additionally, as leader, you need to lead by example in the front but also be in the background. You're a facilitator, not a savior? The sixth affirmation is that "I give credit where credit is due" which is mainly to the members of your group. Throughout the conference, it is most useful to simply respect and acknowledge contributions from members without agreeing, disagreeing or otherwise judging them. For example, just say "thanks" not "right." Let the group evaluate comments. You cannot afford to be perceived as being in one camp or the other and sacrifice your position as an impartial leader and facilitator. The sixth affirmation is "I remember constantly, that the people in the conference groups are worthy of every consideration and respect, and deal with them as fellow men and women." Similar in intent to some of the previous affirmations, it is very important to truly respect the people in your group. Only through their efforts and commitment to follow through will anything be accomplished. If you don't honestly respect them, then it will be hard to believe that THEY have the answers they need and with your help, will discover them themselves. The seventh affirmation is "I stimulate and develop thinking and expression." Your group needs to discover and experience its own answers AND share and express them. Google both "critical thinking" and "emotional intelligence" to understand the breadth and depth of this deceptively simple statement. The eighth affirmation is "I listen more than talk." Remember, your job is not to "instruct" or to "lecture." You can lead and facilitate best by understanding what's going on with your group. You do this mainly by watching and listening. Even if you could lead them somewhere they didn't want to go by force of your personality and style, this only creates an unhealthy dependency. As soon as you leave, they'll be lost. Some interesting facts about listening can be found at www.listen.org/pages/factoids.html. The ninth affirmation is "I avoid prejudice." This is one of the hardest ones. We all "pre-judge" a lot of stuff in our lives to save valuable time and not re-invent the wheel every time we need to make a decision. I pre-judge most of the my food and do not normally order red-wine. I do not particularly care for lima beans nor pig-brains (though since I've never tried the latter, how would I really know?) Pre-judging people often is a useful practice too. When I see someone I view as a threat, I may decide to lock my car doors or choose not to walk down an alley. Unfortunately we pre-judge people more than is useful, especially if our job is to help them help themselves. Do not let that first impression become concrete. Stay open to the fact that you do not know them, their history nor their motivations and you will learn far, far more that you can use to help them think and express their own solutions. The tenth affirmation is "I minimize my own personal experience and achievement." This overlaps appropriately with several other affirmations. The focus of any meeting or conference should be on the members and not the leader. The best conference leader is in the background or else the group may become dependent on him or her. While your personal experience and achievement may be important in justifying your role as leader, once it is determined to be your responsibility, further advertisement of your own credentials should not be necessary. The group should not be concerned with your credentials since you will not be providing the "answers" but rather themselves (and there may be some work to do to get the group to believe in themselves.) Do not portray yourself as a knight in shining white armor to lead the way, but rather a seasoned stable hand who will work beside them and help shovel the manure to discover their own solutions. The last affirmation is "I remember that the success or failure of the entire training program rests with its leader." This does not contradict the previous affirmation. Left to their own devices, the group will likely continue to get what its been getting. You need to help them raise their thinking (if not even thier "being") to a higher level at which time they can carry on by themselves. But they will need your help or nothing will change. These affirmations have been modified slightly from the original publication in which they were more statements and principles than affirmations however I have found that they are even more powerful if actively used as affirmations - statements consistently made to yourself about how you are and what you believe right now. Not how you will be "in the future" (i.e. "I will...") or else the creative tension is gone and you let yourself off the hook since all you have to believe is that eventually, some time in the future you will change. Instead, decide and change right now! Be the leader you can be and get the results you and your team needs and deserves right now. Stephen Pellegrino is a former Marine officer, operations analyst and consultant. A "plank holder" in the Marine Corps Business Enterprise office, he championed various cost and performance management initiatives for the Marine Corps, including leading the largest activity based costing implementation in the world. He is currently most interested in helping people committed to helping themselves get past the hype of the latest fad and get real results from real people. He can be contacted at stephen@conferenceleadership.com..
MORE RESOURCES:
Leadership - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Weakness, Struggle, Fear, Knowledge, Growth, Courage, Leader Theodore Roosevelt was one of the most remarkable men in the history of the world. As a boy he wanted the boldness of his father. Peek Inside The Heads of Amazingly Successful Leaders Would you like to know what really goes on inside the heads of astoundingly successful leaders? Here is your chance. Part of the research for my book Absolutely Fabulous Organizational Change? involved highly successful executives filling-out my Abilities & Behavior Forecaster? pre-employment test. Ask Yourself Whats In It For WE? "Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. 10 Ways to Develop Your Latent Leader latent (adj.) - Not visible or apparent, but capable of developing or being expressed; dormant. What is Leadership? Leadership is what every organization needs and so few have in adequate supply. Part of leadership is what the first President Bush called "the vision thing". Reinventing Failure: Designing Success I am fascinated by problems. I like to think of myself as a solution oriented individual. E=MC - Is It In Me? How many times have you seen the E = MC2 formula and wondered what it might mean to you?Old Einstein had a lot more up his sleeve than fancy algebraic equations. This particular "thought experiment" still inspires discoveries of various sorts throughout the world today. Tough Times Demand Resilient Leaders The stock market gyrates with unpredictable and heartburning results. Icons of solid companies become straw figures before balance sheets. Using Your Intuition "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. Transformational Leadership "What is leadership?" When this question is asked most of the people answer "leadership is the capacity or an ability of a person to lead". Earlier theories of leadership viz. Leadership and The Dirty Work The airline, Jet Blue, has been featured in many magazines as a new company that has hard great results and success so far. A lot too has been mentioned about the challenges they face ahead and about the culture they created at the start and are working hard to foster now. Supervisor Training: Helpful Tips to Lead Your Pack A new supervisor is hired to anchor a gardening project that has fallen apart. The last supervisor walked out on the job because he was overwhelmed with the high expectations of the project. The Incandescence Of The Human Spirit There lives within every individual a power, an energy, an incandescence of spirit that is being constantly held in check, like a dimmer switch turned way down.A lifetime of being told: "we are nothing special; to stand out is egotistic and wrong; to conform is necessary; to be different is bad; the collective good must be served even to the determent of our own being; we must support; we must never defy; to question authority is inherently evil; the majority is always right; don't rock the boat;" -- creates an habitual thought pattern of lassitude, often leaving us without any sense of our ability to make a substantial difference and therefore with no real sense of urgency. Why Not Lead With Emotions? Studies have shown that companies that have acquired competencies to lead with emotional excellence are far more productive and efficient because of the impact emotional excellence has on employee morale, loyalty, retention and overall performance of the organization to name a few.Since the early 1990's and especially after the internationally renowned author Daniel Goleman's book "Working with Emotional Intelligence" hit the bestseller's list, the business world began to pay close attention to this competency and began to incorporate it in their employee training programs. The Qualities of Skillful Leadership If you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a person of quality yourself. Leadership is the ability to attract someone to the gifts, skills, and opportunities you offer as an owner, as a manager, as a parent. It's Not All About Cheese: The Missing Component in Employee Development (Part 1) Spencer Johnson really hit a nerve when he wrote Who Moved My Cheese? The book, a best seller still, is a wonderful allegory of the things that drive and motivate us. I personally loved the book, perhaps because I read it in one night. Extraordinary People in Mediocre Times My grandfather used to speak of the days when people drove the world. It was a time when people were proud to contribute and move society and industry forward at full steam. How To Party Like Leonardo Da Vinci After studying scores of great thinkers like Leonardo Da Vinci, I think I've stumbled upon what really set them apart from the rest of the folks living (and thinking) at the same time.It's remarkably simple. Leadership Training: The Bit They Didn't Tell You About Changing! A willingness to change first is one of the major pre requisites for leaders!If the situation is deadlocked or blocked, they need to find the best opportunity, shift their personal perspective to accommodate it and take action from there. This is no matter how personally attached they are to their current position!Three sixty degree feedback is a great example. Embracing Adversity for Achievement "Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I'll show you someone who has overcome adversity." -- Lou HoltzSuccess in life depends upon being strong people with clear goals and indomitable spirits.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
Comment by Frank O'Donnell
