hutchblog

delegation, control or balance?

thehutch — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:41:08 +0000

Leaders claim to be good delegators, followers claim that leaders are too controlling but, in truth, what is the place of balance?

I believe that the best leaders provide boundaries yet allow complete freedom within those boundaries. The point of control is the boundary line, the place of delegation lies within the boundary line. If people work at the appropriate place, there should be balance.

what are you thinking?

thehutch — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:27:58 +0000

“You know you will be ok, look he is wearing a hoodie so he is cool and so the group will be fine.“

This statement was made in front of me and I was not sure whether to be happy or upset that such a comment was made. Initially, I was quite pleased that a parent was encouraging their child to the youth group that I lead on a voluntary basis, but as the statement sunk in, I realised how poor a statement that it was.

1) wearing a hoodie does not determine the value of anything. All it says is that the individual is wearing a hoodie.

2) being ‘cool’ was an expression from the 80′s, I am in my 40s’, being ‘cool’ is not even close. Makes me want to puke!

3) the value of the group is nothing to do with the clothing choices of the members/leaders – it is based on the quality of the relationships that the group develops

The list could go on – the utterances of this parent make me shudder – the good news is that the member settled in well, contributes to the group and has strong relationships with others. On the other hand, my hoodie tops do not get worn as often!

words and actions

thehutch — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:32:33 +0000

If we are to be truthful, is it necessary for our words and actions to match up? Is it ever acceptable for them to be different?

Don’t take your immediate response, think about it and carefully consider – you may surprise yourself!

odd one out

thehutch — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:23:33 +0000

Do you remember those childhood games, such as ‘piggy in the middle’ or ‘odd one out’? There was always one child who was marked as different, being singled out and having a different experience to everyone else. In these games, it is difficult to keep a balance in order that nobody feels separated or treated badly, yet the whole point of the game demands that someone is isolated.

As adults, we can play this type of game where we isolate others – yet as adults it is called something different, we call it ‘life’ or excuse the behaviour as acceptable ‘business practice’. As adults, the potential for fun is removed and as a result we can see that individuals can be hurt, discouraged and knocked down.

In truth, we should always seek to be inclusive, something that, in theory, we would all agree with – in practice though, things can appear very different.

Leadership Quotes

thehutch — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:53:49 +0000

“Extraordinary achievements never bloom in barren unappreciative settings.” Kouze and Posner

“Authentic leaders are not necessarily transformational, visionary or charismatic leaders. They don’t stand out every day. But these are the leaders who, when called upon by the hand of fate, will be the ones who take a stand that changes the course of history for others, be they organisations, departments or just other individuals.” Dr. D.May

“If you think about strategy too early, it will inhibit your vision” (Unknown)

updated links

thehutch — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:17:16 +0000

have updated some of the old links on the blog sidebar – it is amazing how many were outdated and am also surprised that there are a few blogs that have not been updated in a long time. May add some new links.

If you would like a link then please let me know via email.

cracking leadership quote

thehutch — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:48:40 +0000

Apologies that I have forgotten my source for this quote.

“Authentic leaders are not necessarily transformational, visionary or charismatic leaders. They don’t stand out every day. But these leaders who, when called upon by the hand of fate, will be the ones who take a stand that changes the course of history for others, be they organisations, departments or just other individuals.” Dr.D.May

best meeting times

thehutch — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:40:50 +0000

Have you ever wondered when the most productive moments are in meetings? What if the most productive points are the coffee breaks in the middle or the 15minutes as the meeting ends?

It seems to me, the best business, decisions, challenges are addressed most productively, in increasing measure, in the ‘non-formal’ parts of meetings. It is a little like the ‘door-post’ conversations in offices or the coffee machine conversation. Looking back on the most productive meetings, this seems to be the place where the most encouraging things happen and often the times that yield the most fruitfulness.

At what points in and around meetings do you feel that you are most productive?

the need for dress to impress

thehutch — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:55:04 +0000

The cultural norm is that we have a dress code for certain events or activities. The older generations would usually point to a decline in ‘standards’ for the way people dress, what they really mean is that people dress in a different way.

In one office, the staff normally dress ‘smart but casual’, so it is shirts and open collars. However, one day many staff members came in with ties and jackets leaving just one person in the usual attire. He was feeling put out when he recognised that he was the only one who had not dressed up for a senior management meeting but that changed when one of the staff said;

“you can think of it another way, you have no need to dress to impress, you are confident in your own skin and more certain of who you are.“

What wise and powerful words. Whilst I do not advocate scruffy dressing (whatever that may be!), hearing this story helped me realise that it is not my dress code that will help me to impress others, it is the confidence in who I am, in my words and actions.

the curse of ‘busy’

thehutch — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:22:44 +0000

If, as leaders, we ever use the excuse that ‘we are too busy’ or apologise and then add a refrain that qualifies the apology because of ‘busy’ issues then we need to be aware of what that says to those that we lead.

‘I found other things more important’, ‘I have different priorities’, ‘your issues are not valuable enough to me’…… these things may be true and if they are, we need to admit them and be straight with people, rather than issuing a curse by saying that we were just ‘too busy’.