Social Intelligence and the Biology of Leadership (Daniel Goleman and Richard Boyatzis)

Fascinating stuff! Research in the emerging field of social neuroscience—the study of what happens in the brain while people interact—is beginning to reveal subtle new truths about what makes a good leader. Certain things leaders do—specifically, exhibit empathy and become attuned to others’ moods—literally affect both their own brain chemistry and that of their followers. The authors contend that leading effectively is less about mastering situations—or even mastering social skill sets—than about developing a genuine interest in and talent for fostering positive feelings in the people whose cooperation and support you need.

Next Generation Leaders (Talent Management)

Is your organization wondering whether or not investing in leadership development is the right place to spend your money? If so, you’ll benefit from reading this well-written and researched piece (that does take several minutes to load so do be patient, the wait is worth it). The list of 10 expectations for evaluating the success of a leadership development program is quite interesting.

Can You Lead With Pictures (Center for Creative Leadership March 2011)

This post introduces “visual thinking.” “Visual thinking uses pictures and images to evoke ideas, thoughts and feelings and to foster powerful conversations,” says CCL’s Chuck Palus. “People use pictures as the starting point for talking about complex or difficult things.” The post contains a list of very provoking “framing” questions to spur creativity…techniques appropriate for every leader’s repertoire.

The Making of a Corporate Athlete  (Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, Harvard Business Review)

We used this piece in a workshop we facilitated this week to underscore the importance of self-care. Short-staffed organizations expect their leaders to continually do more with less. Thinking of oneself as a corporate athlete – and training mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually – can be a great boon in replenishing one’s leadership reserves so the well doesn’t run dry someday.

The Myth of the Ideal Worker (Nancy M. Carter and Christine Silva for Catalyst)

In this recent report, Catalyst continues researching gender myths, this time focusing on the question of whether the gender gap persists because women and men adopt different strategies to advance their careers. Their discovery? That doing “all the right things” helped men – but not women – advance further and faster.

Quote of the week: “There is another more subtle way in which the innocence of childhood is lost: when the child is infected with the desire to become somebody. Contemplate the crowds of people who are striving might and main to become, not what Nature intended them to be - musicians, cooks, mechanics, carpenters, gardeners, inventors - but somebody: to become successful, famous, powerful; to become something that will bring, not quiet and self-fulfillment, but self-glorification and self-expansion.” ~Tony deMello SJ, Indian spiritual leader and writer