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Newsletter 6, 2007:
Leadership, Power and Politics
But first,
for those who have said that they really appreciate stories with
powerful messages, here is a little story to inspire:
"Don't
Quit. Keep Playing"
Wishing to
encourage her young son's progress on the piano, a mother took her boy
to a Paderewski concert. After they were seated, the mother spotted a
friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her.
Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the
little boy rose and eventually explored his way through a door marked
"NO ADMITTANCE." When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about
to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child
was missing.
Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive
Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at
the keyboard, innocently picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."
At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved
to the piano, and whispered in the boy's ear, "Don't quit. Keep
playing."
Then leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began
filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other
side of the child and he added a running obligato. Together, the old
master and the young novice transformed a frightening situation into a
wonderfully creative experience. The audience was mesmerized.
That's the way it is in life. What we can accomplish on our own is
hardly noteworthy. We try our best, but the results aren't exactly
graceful flowing music. But when we trust in the hands of a Greater
Power, our life's work truly can be beautiful.
Next time you set out to accomplish great feats, listen carefully. You
can hear the voice of the Master, whispering in your ear, "Don't quit.
Keep playing."
In this newsletter I am sharing an article
very much related to how powerful our positions are as leaders.
We aspire to lead schools, rarely thinking that with leadership comes
power. But it does!
The article I refer to is from
Don Clark, a leading trainer for the US Government and well known for
his whimsical style. I have adapted his material and titled the
article "Leadership, Power and Politics".
Don starts off by quoting the
gangster, Al Capone,
"You can get much farther with a
kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone."
In the article,
Don refers to the five points of power where one person may influence
another.
-
Coercive power
- based on fear.
-
Reward power -
ability to distribute favours.
-
Legitimate
power - power based on hierarchical position
-
Expert power -
based on respect for knowledge and skills
-
Referent power
- based on possession of desirable resources or personal traits
The section on
Politics and Power is related to job satisfaction for employees,
"Powerless" labels, "Politically Astute" labels and points on Power Vs
Leadership. I have added 12 inspirational quotations about
leadership at the end of the file.
Click
HERE to
download the complete article.
Available now: Workshop booklet and PowerPoint
"Leadership and Influence" for you
to conduct your own PD. (See below).
TRAINING
MATERIALS:
Our materials take the effort out of quality
professional development, allowing you to deliver the goods at a realistic
cost.
Leadership & Influence:
Discover how you can
influence individuals and groups through leadership to achieve
organisational objectives.
This leadership and
influence Learning package is designed to prepare individual learners
interested in broadening their knowledge/skills base or for those
seeking to instruct others on how to influence others. It provides a
strong foundation in leadership and management, influence techniques,
and how to build relationships. Completion of this program will provide
participants with effective strategies for influencing others long after
it has been completed.
Program Description
At the end of this module
participants will be able to:
Outline the relationship
between leadership and influence.
Understand the main approaches to Leadership.
·
Traits Perspective
·
Behavioural Perspective
·
Leadership Styles
·
Contingency Perspective
·
Transactional &
Transformational
·
Charismatic Leadership
Understand how to build relationships.
Appreciate different methods and zones of influence.
Effectively employ nine influence tactics.
Program materials:
42 page workbook (MS Word) and 78 slide PowerPoint.
Cost: $55.00 incl GST.
Email Mel
to order, providing school order number and address details. |
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