Leading at the Edge
I've just finished reading the book titled "Leading at the Edge" by Dennis N.T. Perkins, wherein he introduces 10 Strategies for Leading at the Edge. By Edge, the author means highly demanding situations - wherein life's normal challenges, as we see them (or feel them) are felt in much greater impact when survival may be at stake... where one's actions may very well be the basis for continuing... or disappearing on the face of this Earth.
In giving us these 10 strategies, Perkins uses, as an analogy, the adventures of a famed explorer Earnest Shackleton and his Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition. Let me list out these strategies, just for posterity...
1. Vision and Quick Victories - Never loose sight of the ultimate goal and focus energy on short-term objectives.
2. Symbolism and Personal Example - Set a personal example with visible, memorable symbols and behaviors.
3. Optimism and Reality - Instill optimism and confidence, but stay grounded on reality.
4. Stamina - Take care of yourself; Maintain your stamina and let go of guilt.
5. The Team Message - Reinforce the team message constantly: "We are one - we live or die together".
6. Core Team Values - Minimize status differences, and insist on courtesy and mutual respect.
7. Conflict - Master conflict - deal with anger in small doses, and avoid needless power struggles.
8. Lighten Up - Find something to celebrate and something to laugh about.
9. Risk - Be willing to take the Big Risk.
10. Tenacious Creativity - Never give up - there's always another move.
If you wish to know more about these 10 strategies, I strongly suggest purchasing (or borrowing) a copy of this book... in fact, I would advice the earlier option, since the book has self assessments that one can use, and return to at latter dates to see how he, or she, is doing regarding leading at the Edge.
Want to know more? Here's a PDF from www.syncreticsgroup.com showing a 4 page interview with Perkins. It shed more light on the topics - and should be a good enough teaser for anyone wondering if the book is really worth getting. I've provided the link to where I found the file:
http://www.syncreticsgroup.com/pdfs/Interview%20with%20
Dennis%20Perkins%20about%20Leading%20at%20the%20Edge.pdf
I shall be posting my results on said assessments in a separate entry.
Showing posts with label Shackleton expedition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shackleton expedition. Show all posts
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The A-E of having an Optimistic attitude:
'No one can really be an optimist all the time'
'Anyone can be an optimist sometime'
What's the difference with these two statements? Aside from the obvious differences in the sentence usage, is the message any different? Technically, it describes the same thing... that of optimism not always being the case for anyone. Yet (and this is not from the viewpoint of anyone supremely gifted with grammatical rules, mind you) I would think that it bears scrutiny with respect to who might utter such phrase, or use such words.
The latter of the two sentences may be used more often by optimists, while the previous statement would, of course, be used by the more pessimistic-inclined. Its basically the same philosophical debate as having the glass being half full or empty... the pessimist will insist it is half empty, while the optimist will point out it is half full? Difference? Viewpoint.
Why is this important to know? Because people with the right (i.e. optimistically inclined) attitude tend to be more motivated, more inclined to success. The problem is... what if I'm not 'normally' inclined to being an optimist? How does one get out of the rut? Here's one option.
In the book 'Leading at the Edge', Dennis Perkins and company suggest a five step process, as introduced by Martin Seligman, a psychologist. This is as follows...
1) Adversity - identify it, when was this last encountered;
2) Beliefs - be aware of them, question them - specifically, your thoughts or beliefs of the event;
3)Consequences - recognize the actions or effects of your beliefs;
4) Dispute - question, challenge your negative beliefs about the item or action being considered;
5) Energy - generate what is necessary to overcome negative consequences.
This 5-step process is likewise called the Learned Optimist's approach, signifying the fact that anyone can learn this skill, and it will help them focus on what it means to be thinking and talking optimistically.
'No one can really be an optimist all the time'
'Anyone can be an optimist sometime'
What's the difference with these two statements? Aside from the obvious differences in the sentence usage, is the message any different? Technically, it describes the same thing... that of optimism not always being the case for anyone. Yet (and this is not from the viewpoint of anyone supremely gifted with grammatical rules, mind you) I would think that it bears scrutiny with respect to who might utter such phrase, or use such words.
The latter of the two sentences may be used more often by optimists, while the previous statement would, of course, be used by the more pessimistic-inclined. Its basically the same philosophical debate as having the glass being half full or empty... the pessimist will insist it is half empty, while the optimist will point out it is half full? Difference? Viewpoint.
Why is this important to know? Because people with the right (i.e. optimistically inclined) attitude tend to be more motivated, more inclined to success. The problem is... what if I'm not 'normally' inclined to being an optimist? How does one get out of the rut? Here's one option.
In the book 'Leading at the Edge', Dennis Perkins and company suggest a five step process, as introduced by Martin Seligman, a psychologist. This is as follows...
1) Adversity - identify it, when was this last encountered;
2) Beliefs - be aware of them, question them - specifically, your thoughts or beliefs of the event;
3)Consequences - recognize the actions or effects of your beliefs;
4) Dispute - question, challenge your negative beliefs about the item or action being considered;
5) Energy - generate what is necessary to overcome negative consequences.
This 5-step process is likewise called the Learned Optimist's approach, signifying the fact that anyone can learn this skill, and it will help them focus on what it means to be thinking and talking optimistically.
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