John's Blog

<< Leadership << 21 Laws to Leadership Reliability is as Leader Does Gone are the days of blind leaders ahead of blind followers. Modern teams have a greater consciousness and are seeking reliable and authentic leaders of integrity that are worthy of trust. Leaders can no longer treat people’s trust and respect with reckless attitudes and behavior. A leader must recognize that the position is one of accountability and responsibility.

<< Leadership << 21 Laws to Leadership 6 Things Others Respect in a True Leader In the orders society of dogs, there is always a leader for the team. Should the existing leader lose the favour of the pack through injury, illness or age; another dog with leadership capacity will step into the role and assume authority. Dogs don’t care who the leader is, as long as there is a leader. Chance are, the successor will be a dog that has proven worth earlier and demonstrated his or her capabilities for which he or she won the packs respect and admiration. Similarly, people recognize the capacity for leadership in others too, drawn in by admiration and respect. Many desire the position of leadership, but it is not a role for which one can crown yourself. Rather, leadership is a result of people recognizing your capacity and respecting your abilities - and then decide to follow you! This process often occurs by evolution, rather than revolution.

<< Leadership << 21 Laws to Leadership Leaders are Directional Alice arrived at a fork in the road. Confused as to which road to select, she asked the Cheshire cat “Which road should I choose?” The grinning cat asked: “Where do you want to go?” “Anywhere” replied the bright eye girl. “Then it really doesn’t matter which road you choose” said the cat.

<< 21 Laws of Leadership 5 Areas of Growth a Leader should Continually Develop Let’s be clear on this: just because you hash tag leader in your bio, does not mean you are a leader! You no more select the title of leader than you select the title of being an “influencer” in your industry. These two title are awarded when the evidence of the traits have been identified and verified. One thing, however, is synonymous with leadership – and that is – growth! If your desire is to influence others with your leadership, or even if you are the leader of an organisation, perhaps a manager or supervisor – that fact is, your followers, your team, or your organisation will only grow to your level.

<< 21 Laws of Leadership The Myths and Magic of Influence in Leadership Leadership cannot be assigned, delegated or awarded, but rather it is recognised within someone by their ability to influence people, organisations, situations and paradigms.  The basic form of true leadership is influence. A leader is measured on his or her ability to influence, and this cannot be “passed on” to someone, but rather leadership and influence tags must be earned. All the skills and strategies one learns as a leader, is to influence effectively.

<< 21 Laws of Leadership Add Value as a Leader in these 4 Areas One of the most elusive callings on this planet is that of a leader. General misgivings about leaders result in managers and entrepreneurs labeling themselves as leaders, robbing the concept of its single greatest asset – the ability to serve! Leadership is synonymous, and one cannot talk about leadership without talking about servanthood.  If you still reading this after the dreaded word (servanthood) appeared in the article – congratulations! The potential for you to be a true leader is great, but don’t sign up to be a waiter for mankind just yet. Leadership is about adding value to others.

4 Processes Leaders must Master “Overnight Success Stories” are often filled with details of years of complex process requiring years of hard work, influence and painfully slow growth. Perhaps the story of leadership in your life follows a similar story line? Of one thing we can be certain, is that becoming a leader is marked by showing a working understanding of processes. 

8 Universal Life Skills (everyone should have) There is no doubt that the world we live and its inhabitants are changing. Professional communication, access to information, more contact with diverse groups of people; are just three ways over the last decade in which the demands on each person personally has changed. Adaptability was an ability that was favoured, but has become an essential life skill to ensure personal survival in this ever changing world.

https://www.facebook.com/anamcarraleadership/ << Leadership The Space in Leadership 3 Skills of Listening and Timing Music is not in the notes, but in the silence between. Wolfgang Mozart Music is in the space between the notes. Claude Debussy The attribute of Space in Leadership can be compared to the space between notes in music. Whatever you preference of style, it seems that music appeals to people from all walks of life. It is true that each of us has our own choice as to our favourite groups or even style of music. It is also true, you would have to agree, that music is made up of notes and timing.

<< Leadership Quantum Theory Leadership A Definition Quantum Mechanics is the science that studies the particles that make up every day objects including you and me. Experiments have discovered that these particles, viewed at a sub atomic level, behave very strangely indeed. Einstein called this science – Spooky! (Read the Quantum Theory Leadership - An Introduction - here) Reading material on Quantum Mechanics, I began to draw parallels to the area of Leadership. After a comment a reader made on the seemingly opposing attributes of leadership (some say lead from the front, some say lead from behind) on an article posted on this blog, I began wondering if there was a definitive description of leadership with a logical and measurable manner to offer training and development.

<< Leadership The 3 K's of Leadership Devlopment John C. Maxwell’s Law of the Lid in Leadership is a profound lesson, and forms the basis of the company I own – Anam Cara – Equipping tomorrow’s leaders today. The Law of the Lid details how an organisation, company or project can be limited in growth by the growth (or lack thereof) of the leader.  The development and progress of the company or team is directly related to the development of the leader. It comes as no surprise then that the top leaders in the world are learners and readers. The entire personal and leadership development industry is built on the premise that the leader must grow.

<< Leadership The Absurdity of Leadership   5 Spooky Principles for Quantum Theory Leadership R esearching the concept of leadership and seeking a definitive description for a leader, the results show that leadership could start simply being described as “personal responsibility for leading and directing one’s own life”, to the complexity in defining the roles and functions of a Multimillion Dollar Organisation’s CEO. The scripts on leadership are as opposing as they are many, describing how leadership should be handled from the front to the concept of leading from the back, with a little “lead from the middle” injected into the mix for added absurdity. Nowhere in nature nor science are the laws for any single concept as conflicting and random as for leadership! Oh, wait a minute! There is a science that is as absurd and as spooky, and studying it may offer some keys to understanding leadership.

Leader by Name 5 Areas of Responsibility of A Leader To answer the question - “what is a leader?” - we must look at what a leader does. In order to understand what a leader does, we must examine the environment in which a leader functions. To understand the leader’s environment we need two essential embedded bits of knowledge. First we need to know that a leader works within a team. Secondly, we must understand that a team is a group of people that are united by a common need or passion, and share a common vision. (Read " The Absurdity Of Leadership ")