Tag Archives: leadership

Herman Van Rompuy about leadership: “We do not live in the age of mediocrity.”

President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy started hesitantly, with general musings about the necessary balance between social, ecological, political, ethical and economical concerns. Van Rompuy is not the most emotional or pompous speaker. He clearly appeals more the … Continue reading

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Leadership thought 18: “Leadership is all about having your own story and being true to it.”

All through history, stories have been a powerful way to build communities, to give meaning to the often tragic ‘nonsense’ of life and to inspire for action. As the beautiful quote, attributed to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry goes: “If you want … Continue reading

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Leadership thought 17: “Talk the walk.”

“Walk the talk” is one of the most used clichés on leadership. And the importance of role modeling is undoubted. Transformational leadership theorists [i] call it ‘idealized influence’ and it is a core element in all positive leadership theories [ii]: giving the example … Continue reading

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How to foster leadership and leader development from early childhood on.

Recent theories put identity & self-regulation development at the heart of leader and leadership development. The table below summarizes which leadership tasks can enhance leadership development from early childhood on….   Any comment?

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Leading from the middle part II: “Ik vrees dat het zeer kunstmatig is.”

In eerdere blogs beschreef ik de start van een nieuw leiderschapsprogramma voor middle managers en een eerste reflectiemoment over de effectiviteit ervan. Tijdens de tweede van vier modules kregen de deelnemers de opdracht om een experiment aan te gaan en daarvan verslag … Continue reading

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Leadership thought 16: “Not being the best of the world, but for the world.” (Kurt April)

This multi-stakeholder or ‘people-planet-profit’ perspective is what leadership makes sustainable. “Aligning self-interest to social responsibility is the most powerful way to sustaining a company’s success,” quotes Austin (2006) Starbucks’ CEO Orin Smith. Or as Professor Kurt April formulated it: “We need leaders … Continue reading

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Leadership thought 15: “Imagine your actions on the front page of a newspaper.”

Perception is key in leadership. It’s not only having the right intention or doing the right things. It’s not only personal leadership. It’s also meeting the expectations of all kinds of stakeholders. These stakeholders have become much more intrusive than … Continue reading

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Leadership thought 14: “Are you honest or just pulling the strings?”

Values play an important role in leadership in two ways. First of all, because leadership is a personal choice, the strength of the personal convictions and values will decide how far the leadership will reach. Values are the main stronghold … Continue reading

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Leading from the middle: “Leiderschap heeft geen functiebeschrijving.”

In eerdere blogs beschreef ik het belang van het creëren van spanning om te kunnen ontwikkelen en over de start van een nieuw leiderschapsprogramma voor middle managers. Vandaag kunnen we een tussenstand maken. De 24 deelnemers hadden als opdracht meegekregen om een reflectieverslag … Continue reading

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Leadership thought 13: first & foremost, know yourself

Leadership is personal and contextual. Leadership is a personal choice in a certain situation to take up an uneasy challenge. This explains why ‘awareness’ is at the heart of leadership. Awareness of the reality, also the reality of own’s own self. … Continue reading

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