On Leadership, Corruption, and The Empire of the Heart

Posted on October 30, 2010 by Timothy R. Clark

The United States is more corrupt than Japan, Britain, Australia, Germany, and the Scandinavian nations. According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, the US ranks 22 out of 181 countries. You might take consolation in the fact that America is not endemically corrupt, not a broken society, not an un-drainable swamp, as are many nations [...]

Filed under: Future Leadership Issues, Leadership Lessons Learned, Leadership vs. Management, Servant Leadership | Tagged: , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

Brainy and Brittle

Posted on September 28, 2010 by Timothy R. Clark

I recently re-read the classic Harvard Business Review article by Chris Argyris, entitled: “Teaching Smart People How to Learn,” first published in 1991. His most insightful finding is contained in the following statement: “People who rarely experience failure end up not knowing how to deal with it effectively. And this serves to reinforce the normal [...]

Filed under: Coaching Corner, Leadership vs. Management, Professional Development, Servant Leadership | Tagged: | 4 Comments »

Leadership Strengths vs. Weaknesses: The Silly Debate

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Timothy R. Clark

Which one do you choose to do: Focus on Strengths, or Focus on Weaknesses? …And while you’re at it, answer this: Does the curious and ongoing debate about strengths and weaknesses in the field of leadership puzzle you? Crazy Debate The debate asks whether it is better to increase your strengths or better to reduce [...]

Filed under: Future Leadership Issues, Organizational Health, Professional Development, Servant Leadership | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

Are You a Reader Leader?

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Timothy R. Clark

With rare exception, leaders are readers. Here’s the problem: The overwhelming majority of that which is printed is not worth reading on any subject. In particular, this assertion couldn’t be more true than on the subject of leadership. Some people say it is the topic most written about and least understood. I disagree. What plagues the study and practice of leadership [...]

Filed under: Leadership Lessons Learned | 1 Comment »

Why Do Executives Fail?

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Timothy R. Clark

Executives fail for many reasons, but based on my executive coaching practice, it is clear that leaders fail more often out of self-limiting behavioral patterns than on technical competence. Here are four common patterns: 1. Inability to think and scale contribution to the enterprise level to optimize the whole. This really is a skill. Some people [...]

Filed under: Coaching Corner, Leadership Lessons Learned | 1 Comment »

Tolstoy on the Common Instinct of Leaders

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Timothy R. Clark

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on Leo Tolstoy‘s assessment of Napoleon: “And the genius Napoleon was defeated and taken to the island of St Helena, having suddenly been discovered to be an outlaw. Whereupon the exile, parted from his dear ones and his beloved France, died a slow death on a rock, and bequeathed his great deeds to posterity. As [...]

Filed under: Servant Leadership | 1 Comment »

Leadership Integrity and the Broken Society

Posted on January 29, 2010 by Timothy R. Clark

One of the things I talk about in my new book, The Leadership Test, is the fact that many, if not most, societies in the world are endemically corrupt. Corruption has spread like cancer throughout the system. It influences, alters, or stops basic processes such as commerce, capital flows, the distribution of goods and services, the expansion [...]

Filed under: Leadership Assessments, Leadership Lessons Learned, Practical Steps to Influence, Servant Leadership | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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