Leadership Is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say and What You Don't

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Thinking work, benefits from variability (VS doing work that benefits from reduced variability). When you brainstorm, for example, you want as many ideas as possible to emerge. And when you make decisions, you like to have options. That’s why good leaders reject the old division between deciders and doers and instead include all team members in the decision-making process. They know what Galton knew: that the wisdom of many is almost always superior to the wisdom of one. This approach also increases people's motivation, people given autonomy over their work are happier and less prone to burnout. The story is compelling today because of the disastrous consequences of continuing to use industrial age language (red work) when now, we need to focus on innovating and thinking (blue work) differently Balance redwork and bluework. More bluework might be necessary at the beginning of the project; whereas more extended periods of redwork are acceptable toward the end. Improve, don't prove: Ask your people to improve on plans and processes, rather than prove that they can meet fixed goals or deadlines. You'll face fewer cut corners and better long-term results.

Leadership Is Language: The Hidden Power of What - AbeBooks Leadership Is Language: The Hidden Power of What - AbeBooks

David is the bestselling author of Turn the Ship Around!, the Turn the Ship Around Workbook, and the #1 new release Leadership is Language. Fortune magazine called Turn the Ship Around! the “best how-to manual anywhere for managers on delegating, training, and driving flawless execution.” Leaving Bluework Behind: Commit. Commitment is fostered when collaboration has occurred. Commitment is implemented best when both learning and action are valued and tasks are performed in manageable “chunks.”

The book has some solid concepts around how people use language and how that affects people around them. A lot of it is centered around the idea of moving away from Industrial-euro ways of operating where doing the work is separate from thinking about the work. Marquet defines seven areas of work that need to shift, both on the doing and thinking side. And he provides plenty of examples to help picture the range of possibilities.

Leadership is Language David Marquet on Leadership is Language

The Improve Play “links the mental activity we do during bluework to the desired outcome – improving redwork” (p. 189). The Improve Play requires an attitude geared toward learning and growth. Marquet lists four principles of The Improve Play: The situation steadily worsened, but El Faro had committed to the exposed Atlantic side of the Bahamas eighteen hours earlier. It would have only one more chance to seek shelter on the other side of the Bahamas, at 1:00 Thursday morning. This was fast approaching. About two hours prior to reaching this point, the third mate, on watch, called the captain with a report of the storm’s location and a suggestion: turn south. Here are the words from the third mate to the captain over the internal phone at 11:05 p.m.:The book layes out some fundamental language principles for leaders by presenting both academic studies and case studies. Discipline sustains momentum, over a long period of time, laying the foundations for lasting endurance. Here is the key difference: Thinking benefits from embracing variability. Doing benefits from reducing variability.

Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say

Nature is nothing if not efficient, so the fact that the human brain uses an astonishing 20 to 25 percent of our daily calories speaks to the survival value of this decision-making power. While most animals possess approximately proportional brains for their size, the human brain is an outlier, three times larger than it should be.In the traditional approach to management, people are divided into two categories – deciders and doers. You probably don’t realize it, but the language most of us use in our twenty-first century workplace is a relic of the Industrial Age. It’s designed to maximize efficiency, reinforce hierarchy, and encourage conformity. But the world has changed a lot in the past century. These days, adaptability, teamwork, and diversity are more important to a company’s success. So why are we still using a playbook developed for a different era? Commit actions, not beliefs – because not everyone needs to agree with the decision, but everyone must support it through their actions (p. 145). The notion of quality is in fact defined by a manufacturers ability to repeat a process with as close to zero variability as possible.

Leadership in the Workplace | Factsheets | CIPD Leadership in the Workplace | Factsheets | CIPD

Common wisdom about leadership often favors leading by example, so you might not think too much about how your team interprets what you say. But the truth is, your words and phrases enormously impact your team’s morale and productivity. To build an enduring great organization, requires disciplined people, disciplined thought, disciplined action, to produce superior results, and make a distinctive impact in the world. Early studies on leadership focused on the traits and behaviours of individuals in senior positions. As a result, leadership is often perceived as an individual competence or role. Yet, in more modern and agile organisations, all employees need leadership qualities. The specific aims and focus of leadership may vary depending on a person's role and their organisation. What is an effective leadership style? In this conversation with LBC Presenter Matthew Stadlen, Marquet shows managers and leaders how to enable their team through communication.Chunk work for frequent completes early, few completes late – because the beginning of a project involves more significant uncertainty and requires more time for bluework. As the project becomes more defined, longer periods of redwork will increase production (p. 169). In a fast-paced age of innovation, we need new leadership strategies, starting with language. “After all, what is leadership but language?”