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The Pride Paradox

Michael Lee Stallard and Jason Pankau

In a recent post, I (Michael) wrote about a leader who imparted his values to the people he was responsible for leading at work and to his children.  In this post, we’ll address the “pride paradox” that relates to values.

Imparting one’s values to others and judging them based on their values has the potential to create a culture of self-righteousness and legalism. Mark Twain alluded to this when he described some people as “good in the worst sense of the word.”

Don’t get us wrong, great leaders impart their values to others and judge others by their values.  Herein lies the paradox.  Some leaders who do this fail to develop what is arguably the most important character value: humility.

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Our Book Now in Korean + New Video Interview

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A couple news items to report.

Our publisher, Thomas Nelson, just informed me that the Korean language version of Fired Up or Burned Out is now available (see cover above). Author, speaker Mark Thompson recently emailed me a video of an interview I did with Mark and his wife Bonita for the Leader to Leader Institute’s Leadership Dialogues series. You can view the video on Facebook at this link.

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Leadership, Employee Engagement and Innovation at BIF-6 Summit

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Last week I attended the 2010 Business Innovation Factory Collaborative Innovation Summit in Providence, Rhode Island (referred to as BIF-6).  There were so many thoughtful presentations that I hesitate to merely highlight a few.   After taking a couple days to mull it over I’ve decided to select a few presentations that will be most relevant to the themes I typically write and speak about i.e. leadership, connection, employee engagement, productivity and innovation.  Below are brief descriptions of several presentations from the conference.  For those who want to hear these or other presentations, you can access them at this link.

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People, Planet, Profit – Triple Bottom Line Radio

On September 29 at 7:00 PM Eastern I’ll be joining hosts Angelo Fernando and Derrick Mains on their Triple Bottom Line radio program that addresses issues related to people, planet and profit. Check out their website at this link.  You can listen to the program in the Phoenix area on KFNX 1100 AM, listen to it streaming live, and even participate by calling in at (866)536-1100 or tweeting @your3bl.

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BIF-6: Stunning Sights, Interesting People, Innovative Ideas

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Life is good!  Today began with a drive East from my home in Connecticut to Saul Kaplan’s wonderful Business Innovation Factory Conference (called “BIF-6”) in Providence, Rhode Island.  Driving into the sunrise on this sunny, clear day with a hint of Fall in the air was simply stunning.  It’s hard to sustain the momentum from an inspiring start like that but the day just kept getting better as I arrived in this historic city, dropped my bags off at a marvelous old hotel, entered the beautiful Trinity Rep Theater where the conference is being held, saw old friends, made new friends, interviewed Zappo’s CEO Tony Hsieh (for an article I’m writing), and heard interesting speakers with innovative ideas. To sum it up, it was a day of connecting with stunning sights, interesting people and innovative ideas.

IMG_1050I’m a big fan of attending conferences like BIF-6 because it refreshes by helping me step back from the day-to-day rhythm to consider the big picture, think strategically, and connect with people and ideas.  (Just to mention it, you can enjoy the presentations tomorrow that will be streaming live at this link. I understand that some of the BIF-6 sessions will be available online so if and when they are posted I’ll blog the links to some of my favorites.)

On another topic, stay tuned for details on new public engagements Jason Pankau and I recently committed to including for the Singapore HR Summit, TCU’s Tandy Executive Leadership Series, The New Talent Management Network and the Corporate Executive Board’s Toolbox for HR.   Also, later this month we’ll be posting a link to the article I wrote for India’s Outlook Business magazine.

(Pictures: Top – In front of the Trinity Rep theater this AM was the Delivering Happiness Bus that promotes Tony Hsieh’s book of the same name. Below – Sayantani DasGupta, a physician and expert on narrative medicine, telling a story at BIF-6 inside the Trinity Rep Theater.)

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Two is the Magic Number: A New Science of Creativity

A thought leader whose work I follow closely is my friend Joshua Wolf Shenk. Josh wrote a remarkable book entitled Lincoln’s Melancholy and he has written many thoughtful articles. Check our Josh’s new series on creative pairs for Slate. The first article in this series is entitled “Two is the Magic Number: A New Science of Creativity.”  I would also encourage you to check out a brilliant essay Josh wrote for Belifenet entitled “Comes Wisdom to Us.”

For those

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Best Posts on Leadership from Top Bloggers

Dan McCarthy at Great Leadership hosted this month’s leadership carnival that features best blog posts of top bloggers on leadership. Here’s what Dan wrote about it:

Welcome to the September 5th, 2010 Leadership Development Carnival Back to Football edition! Yes, Fall is in the air, and the NFL kicks off it’s season this Thursday with a rematch of last year’s NFC championship game – the Saints and the Vikings.

To get in the spirit of the season, this month’s Carnival is set up as if you’re watching the big game, from tailgating to post game highlights. So grab your favorite snack and beverage and get ready for some championship caliber leadership development advice and opinions from some of the best bloggers in the league.

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To Impart Your Values

How do you impart values to the people you are responsible for leading, including your children? Recently I had the opportunity to watch a leader who does this well. I’d like to share three critical actions that I believe are necessary to impart your values and I think you will be inspired by and learn from his example.

1. Communicate Your Values, Upfront and Often

Leaders need to lead courageously by telling people what they believe. Ted (not his real name) has developed a small, pocket-sized, laminated card that describes his values and has given the card to all of the employees of his company.  The contents on the card define what behavior Ted expects of himself and of the people he is responsible for leading. Each morning a one-page sheet entitled “Connect” is circulated throughout Ted’s company that includes a story about employees living out one of the values.  Work groups meet briefly each morning to review the Connect sheet.

One morning I attended a session that Ted holds each week with his leadership team and a select number of potential leaders.  There were about 30 people in attendance. Ted stood upfront where he spoke and facilitated the session.  During the time the group discussed one chapter in a leadership book they were reading together. About one-third of the 60-90 minutes session is set aside for small group deliberations.  The material they covered the day of my visit was on the value that is most important to Ted: caring about people.  Studying great books is an ideal way to learn and grow, and to bring the team together.  This shared practice also helps maintain awareness of and reinforce the importance of Ted’s values.

2. Live Your Values Daily

It is said that values are caught not taught.  I don’t agree.  Values are taught and caught.  Both are critical.

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Human Capital Institute’s Employee Engagement Conference

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On October 6, I’ll be speaking about leadership, employee motivation, productivity and innovation at the Human Capital Institute’s Employee Engagement and Retention Conference in Boston.  The conference has scheduled a book signing for Fired Up or Burned Out.  You can learn more about the employee engagement conference at this link.

We recently committed to other public speaking engagements.  In January I will be speaking at Texas Christian University as part of its Tandy Executive Leadership Series.  In May, Jason Pankau will be speaking at the HR Summit in Singapore.  The summit is Asia’s largest leadership and HR conference with more than three thousand attendees.