On My Watch: Post #1- Overview

Overview: At last, a leader who has led a complex government agency (GSA), and also served in the private sector, who can write! Martha’s mastery of leadership principles is equally matched by her fresh, funny, intelligent style. This is the story of the rise, fall (due to politics), and rebirth of an authentic leader.  She was the captain of a ship that hit an iceberg—responsible but not culpable by any measure. She had to fall on her sword. She did. And now almost two years later she emerges with some powerful messages for leaders. I would highly recommend it for every leader, and especially every government leader.
On My Watch: Leadership, Innovation & Personal Resilience by Martha Johnson (Dudley Court Press, Sonoita, AZ) reviewed by Steve Gladis.

Culture: Post #9--Cultural ssessment (FINAL)

How to Start Cultural Assessment   Schein favors a group interview process (over a sweeping cultural survey) that gets to the heart of culture faster by discussing artifacts, values, and shared assumptions. He outlines a number of steps: 1. Obtain Leadership Commitment: Select group for self-assessment;          2. Select an appropriate setting for group assessment; 3. Explain group purpose; 4. Define culture’s key factors: Artifacts, Values and Basic Assumptions;              5. Identify aids and hindrances; 6. Decide on next steps.

Culture: Post #8--Key Principles

Key Leadership Principles of Culture Change   #1 “Survival anxiety or guilt must be greater than learning anxiety.” #2 “Learning anxiety must be reduced rather than increasing survival anxiety.” #3 “The change goal must be defined concretely in terms of the specific problem you are trying to fix, not as ‘culture change.’” #4 “Old cultural elements can be destroyed by eliminating the people who ‘carry’ those elements, but new cultural elements can only be learned if the new behavior succeeds.” #5 “Culture change is always transformative change that requires a period of unlearning that is psychologically painful.”