Tuesday, 15 May 2012

Step 7 - Honour Your Word

Every time you break your word, you lose power. Successful leaders keep their word and their promises. You can accumulate all the toys and riches in the world, but you only have one reputation in life. Your word is gold so you should honour it

Authentic Leadership builds on the notion of being honest and authentic check out Rene Carayol's presentation to help you reflect on your authenticy as a leader.



R E N E C A R AY O L P R O F I L E
SPEAKER | FACILITATOR | MODERATOR | HOST | CHAIRMAN | PRESENTER

RenĂ©'s focus is on inspirational leadership and culture, bound together with a compelling philosophy founded on his own board level experience. Extraordinary times demand extraordinary leadership and make no mistake about it; we are in unprecedented and turbulent waters.
 
What have you learned from Rene? Are there valuable lessons that he has modeled for you?
Join the conversation and leave a comment! I’d love to hear about it .





10 comments:

  1. Thought for today on the subject of authenticity being a trait of a good leader - and follows on from Rene Caroyla's thoughts:

    From John Adair: Who uses the word 'Integrity' as one quality every leader should have. He gives the example that Adolf Hitler could be argued as a good leader but lacked integrity. This, Adair suggests, is the distinction between 'good leaders' and 'leaders for good'.

    Adair also states that 'leadership that does not rest on the bedrock of integrity does not last: it always collapses, and usually sooner rather than later. Why? Because that is the way of human nature'.

    I believe this is one of those statements that sticks in the mind. Above all qualities that we strive to embody as a leader - Integrity is the foundation. This will ensure the trust your team places in you will never be misplaced.

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    1. Sheila have you articulated your own values yet? this is an important exercise when thinking about your own personal vision. Have a go pick your top 5 values then pick your top 3. Let me know you get on. Mine are humility, passion and fun

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    2. Yes Janette I have indeed articulated my own values having reflected upon my SWOT and Leadership Questionairre (Goleman):

      Integrity
      Passion
      Vision

      You'll read more about all that in my Leadership assignment as its all detailed there about how I came to decide these were the values I need to articulate to my team and within the workplace.

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    3. After much thought Janette, I have came up with 5 key qualities that I am going to explore further and more importantly demonstrate as a leader:

      • Integrity
      • Affiliation
      • Passion
      • Vision
      • Social Skill

      I'm working on them each day at work - you'll read all about my 'plan' in the assignment (happy reading lol).

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  2. i come across this little definition of Success -"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived; this is to have succeeded." Coupled along with Rene Carayol's inspiration speech on being authentic, i take the view that you have to be true to yourself and honest with yourself and i suppose realising that you will not be everybodys friend, maybe means we achieve inner success (peace), which is really what we should be striving for, not some materialistic sales target. He asks the questions why should he be lead by me? In reviewing my own leadership skills, i believe i possess a sensitive attitude to bringing people along and winning the 'argument' in their hearts and mind and encourging them to come up with the solution and collectively decide on the way forward. I know that i am being authentic, and true to myself and i dont change tact to suit personalities, i dont say what people expect me to say and i dont always settle for the status Quo but perhaps others have made wrong assumptions about me and seen this a 'weak' leader, or as some type of fire-brand activist. In reviewing Rene Caroyol's clip i think actually, the working culture hasnt evolved and perhaps there is a learning opportunity for me, in that sometimes i feel like a voice in the wilderness, but really i probably am being successful within my self...which is true and comfortable. So by being honest that i probably will never be a CEO, and neither do i want to, i maybe am achieving success in other ways.

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  3. Really liked your definition Renee :) you are really starting to challenge and critical think more in your posts. Well done

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  4. Loved that clip.It kind of leads me into my assignment;Mark Twains' comment 'If you do what you've always done,you will get what you always got.'
    That's my starting point.
    I enjoy the benefits of working for an organisation that oozes culture,it's very clearly defined if you are part of it,and it's very good at selling that to everyone else.
    But I need to change what I have always done.I don't need to change my organisation...not yet!
    Goleman talks about 'bringing the whole team along',whereas Grout and Fisher in 'What do Leaders really do' identify for me succinctly the difference between managers and leaders.That is the bar I must set for myself.I must 'anticipate change' more proactively,I need to 'create the capacity for people to do something different' more often.
    As a manager I do these things,but I do still make assumptions all too often.
    Empathetic and authentic leadership is certainly an area for structured development.
    I was fortunate to attend a company based learning session yesterday entitled 'Inspire & Energise'. It was great to take the opportunity to open up in a small group of peers about what makes us tick,what inspires us and how do we continue to energise ourselves.No pens,no paper,no notes,no assumptions;just fantastic interaction between people.

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  5. Really looking forward to everyones assignments some fantastic thoughts and reflections inyour posts

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  6. Authenticity. Integrity. Honesty. How often we use word such as these lightly without reflecting on what they really mean. Do we demand high quality friendly customer service from staff, yet bearly mutter "good morning" to our team. The OED defines "lead" as; "to show the way to (an individual or a group) by going with or ahead,..... to give an example for others to follow.". John Adair tells us that the latin word for leader, dux, from which we derive education, implies that leaders are educators (by example) as well as direction -finders. Kouzes and Posner write that: "If a leader behaves in ways consistant with his or her stated values and beliefs, then we believe we can entrust to that person our careers, our security, even our lives". This is not a new concept. St Benedict (6th century) created rules which remain to this day such as the Abbott is the one who leads by example as he will have already made the journey.
    In Good to Great Collins lays side by side issues of professional will and personal humility. I was challenged by his phrase where he talks about leaders looking in the mirror, not out the window to apportion responsibility for poor results, yet looks out the window and not in the mirror to apportion responsibility for the successes of the company.
    So for me the key values I try to adhere to are:-
    -Openess (no sides - what you see is what you get)
    -Caring (people are more important than anything else)
    -Personal Integrity (I have to live with myself more than anyone else)
    -Commitment (if you are half hearted about something you might as well not bother with it)

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  7. "It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it." Benjamin Franklin. If you go back on your word it will detrimental to your reputation. Reputation is everything in life and if you ruin or tarnish it. it will take you a long time to get it back.
    In respect of business, bad reputation immediatly puts you at a disadvantage to your competitors.

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