If you have read my first book (You’re in Charge…What Now?), and then read Lead with Love, you will realize that the mnemonic I used in the two books was different. Well, there is no doubt that I added three “essential steps.” I also changed the meaning of a fourth.
The new book created the four new elements: Systems, Humor, Integrity and Passion. These elements were always critical to me, but in my focus on making the mnemonic LEADERS work, I simply failed to add these key concepts. Ironically, I contemplated the Lead with Love book, I decide to add these concepts, and although I may have used different words than I might have, I believe these additions were important.
Humor, Integrity and Passion were gifts, because in describing these core concepts, those words worked for me and for the mnemonic. The S was a stretch, because I really was taking about processes. The reason I ended up with systems is obvious, I need it to be an S. The good news about that was that Systems is actually a bit more generic in this day and age of technology. Further I am a true believer in the Systems Theory expounded by Peter Senge, so it was easy to use the word.
The key message in these changes was that I was adding three “soft” elements, and one very “hard” element. Humor, Integrity and Passion are states of mind; System is a discipline of logical behavior. The first, psychological; the second more like hard science.
It is really important for me to acknowledge that there are no real, absolute lists of Key factors for Leadership excellence. My books have tried to highlight those that I think are the most critical in making a leader’s impact effective in achieving peak performance. All in all, these principles are statements of key behaviors for leaders. One, and only one, might seem to be a more “mechanical” focus. It is the systems component, and I would argue that it too reflects a behavior component on the part f the leader. This is where Peter Senge comes in. In his book the “Fifth Discipline,” he make the point that systems thinking is essential to a successful organization. And, that is how I conclude that systems thinking is a way of life on the part of the leader…A Behavior.
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