Paper Planes, Inc. provides awareness of the problems in compartmentalized work and just how effective a team can become. The simulation helps participants experience the powerful effects of systems reengineering and process improvement.
Get certified now to use this powerful business simulation. Certification for product use will be required in 2012. Benefits of certification include: listing on DLI website, access to experienced simulation user group, receiving DLI referrals.
February 16, 2012
431 Spring Garden St, Greensboro, NC 27401
The Simple Truths website has lots of great inspirational content, but when I saw the title of the short (3-1/2 minute) video below, I laughed out loud, because it reminded me of the game my brothers used to try to play, “Let’s see who can hit the softest…you go first!” Of course you know how that went. I touched them just as softly as I possibly could, and they hit me hard and shouted, “You win!” It was a game I only played one time.
On the serious side, however, the message of this movie cuts to the heart of one of our basic fears…Change. Intellectually, we know that lots of change is good, but emotionally, there is always some angst, some discomfort, some worry. Yes, even some fear! This movie was made for organization teams, so it addresses many of the situations AvoLead clients face. Its powerful and inspiring messages, however, can be applied not only to organizational change, but also to life change of any kind.
Is there change going on in your life or work that you find unsettling? How are you dealing with it?
Do any of this movie’s messages help you see change from a different perspective?
Do you have any words of wisdom for others who are going through change in their organizations that is causing them fear or anxiety…or even functional paralysis?
The movie content is also available in book form, and these books make great gifts or tools for a team-building event at your company, church, or nonprofit. Each book includes a free DVD of the movie.
Enjoy!
Guest post by Elizabeth H. Cottrell, RiverwoodWriter and Heartspoken.com. It was adapted from a post which originally appeared on her blog.
The full title “What men can learn from women about leadership in the 21st century” (by Carol Kinsey Goman in the Washington Post) caught my eye when I was perusing the American Association of University Women’s LinkedIn group site. I posted it to the Friends of Avolead LinkedIn group, and Charles Eakes asked if I’d post it here as well.
It’s a fascinating recognition of male and female stereotypes reflected in the language of leadership and a call for the adoption of new ways of evaluating and talking about leadership. “These new business realities usher in the need for a new leadership model, one that replaces command and control with transparency and inclusion. This will increasingly highlight the value of a more feminine approach. Where in the past communal behaviors naturally favored by women may have been obstacles to leadership success, in a collaborative future they may well become an edge.” The author mentions several research findings showing specific traits typically associated with females that are often lacking in males. These include their participatory style, their reaction to stress in the form of increased empathy rather than decreased in males, their tendency to be interactive, and their sensitivity to body language.
This is the author’s compelling conclusion:
The most successful leaders of the future will take the time and effort necessary to make people feel safe and valued. They’ll emphasize team cohesiveness while encouraging candid and constructive conflict, they’ll set clear expectations while recognizing what each team member contributes, they’ll share the credit and the rewards. And, most of all, they’ll foster true networked collaboration through a leadership style that projects openness, inclusiveness and respect.
Any leader can do that. Female leaders just already do it more naturally.
What a mind-bending thought this was when I read a book review by Rohit Bhargava of Dr. Jane McGonigal’s book Reality is Broken: How Games Make Us Happy and How They Can Save the World. Bhargava writes, “The basic premise of this book is that game mechanics are an intrinsic motivator for behaviour change simply because of how humans are wired. All people love games.” I wasn’t convinced, but I was intrigued and kept reading…here’s some of what I learned:
McGonigal directs games R&D at the Institute for the Future and is devoting her life’s work to harnessing the enormous time, energy and skills now devoted to gaming (which at its core is problem-solving) and applying them to solving real-world problems. As I clicked one link after another to learn more about this, I found her website, Gameful, and her definition of the word gameful: “It means to have the spirit, or mindset, of a gamer: someone who is optimistic, curious, motivated, and always up for a tough challenge. It’s like the word “playful” — but gamier! Gameful games are games that have a positive impact on our real lives, or on the real world.”
Then I was astounded to find the following video of her compelling presentation to the prestigious TED audience (an organization devoted to spreading good ideas). We’ve included it below because it’s so thought provoking. Here is McGonigal’s goal in her own words: “Instead of providing gamers with better and more immersive alternatives to reality, I want all of us to be become responsible for providing the world with a better and more immersive reality.”
AvoLead professionals are trained to bring transformational change to organizations of all sizes, domestic and global. Call us to discuss ways that we might bring the power principles of gaming into your organization, so the world can be made better by what you offer.
Do you think this is crazy…fascinating…pie in the sky? We’d love to know.
I want to thank Rich Grenhart who sent me an interesting article by Dr. Brett L. Simmons called, “Leadership Traits and Behaviors: Four Evidence Based Suggestions.” It summarizes a meta-analysis of 79 previously published studies all aimed at trying to answer the question of whether leader traits or leader behaviors are the best predictors of leadership effectiveness. The original study is over 40 pages long [1. Derue, D.S. et al. (2011). Trait and behavioral theories of leadership: An integration and meta-analytic test of their relative validity.Personnel Psychology, 64: 7-52.], but Simmons offers four suggestions based on the study’s conclusions and discusses their significance. The bottom line is that evidence points to behavior being the more important predictor of leadership effectiveness, though the traits of conscientiousness and agreeableness often improve performance of groups being led. Transformational leadership is consistently predictive of effectiveness, and “Effective leaders must plan and schedule work, support and help their followers, and encourage and facilitate change (p. 41).”
As one commenter to the article suggested, the conclusions boil down to two things our grandparents taught us:
Lead by example
Don’t tell me, show me
Besides confirming these common sense conclusions, Dr. Simmons feels that the analysis offers this take-away: “Because the evidence shows that behaviors are the strongest predictors of leader effectiveness, we can and should train folks to be more effective leaders. Hire the most conscientious people you can find, but when you get ready to promote people into positions of leadership, make sure they have a proven record of mastering tasks, relating well with others, and responding to mandates for change.”
Do you find this holds true in your organization? We’d love to hear your thoughts.
