Take 10 minutes to listen to this HBR interview with 85-year old leadership guru Warren Bennis. You’ll be glad you did. Opening question: What are two or three of the characteristics of really great leaders?
Author: Ken
Dr. Ken Cochrum (DMin, Bethel University) is Vice President of Global Digital Strategies at Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) in Orlando, Florida. An avid cyclist and aspiring guitarist, he also holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas and a Masters of Arts in Biblical Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary. He recently co-founded Indigitous.org, a movement passionate about connecting people to Jesus using digital strategies. He previously served as vice president of Cru’s student-led movements worldwide. He and his wife Ann spent 13 years in East Asia where they raised their two children. Ken blogs regularly at www.onleadingwell.com.
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Rework: The next book I’ll read
I have the unique privilege of serving as an executive in a very cool global organization. We’re doing a global restructuring this month (ok, this year) to stay true to our roots while leaning into the future.
One of our focal points is learning to share leadership through highly effective teams. Unfortunately, some of our old cultural baggage has translated this shift as “we need more meetings, with more people, so that everyone can have a voice in everything.” That’s not really what anyone wants, and it is certainly not what we need. That’s why I’m excited about Michael Hyatt’s review of Rework.
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Becoming a Reflective Leader
Leaders tend to be people of action. Doers. Agents of change. That’s good and necessary because we all know that talk is cheap. Effective leadership is all about turning vision into action, right?
For me, problems arise when my bias toward action becomes a treadmill of ceaseless activity. This tires everyone out and inevitably leads to a loss of focus, loss of presence, personal fatigue and mission drift. This is when I become vulnerable to the temptation of lesser things: quick fix ‘solutions’ (sinful or otherwise) for urgent problems that mask a waning intimacy with my Source of power, life and strength.