The skills theory grew from the obvious flaw in the trait approach; traits are relatively fixed. This meant that trait theory was not particularly useful for developing new leaders who lack those traits. Skills theorists sought to discover the skills and abilities that made leaders effective. Similar to trait theory, skills theories are leader-centric, focused [...]
I’ve been featured in the February issue of the Leadership Development Blog Carnival. My post is one of many discussing leadership, management and coaching. You can find the full list of featured blog posts here.
The skills theory grew from the obvious flaw in the trait approach; traits are relatively fixed. This meant that trait theory was not particularly useful for developing new leaders who lack those traits. Skills theorists sought to discover the skills and abilities that made leaders effective. Similar to trait theory, skills theories are leader-centric, focused [...]
Odds are you work in a factory. Not a traditional factory, with an assembly line and a cartoon-like whistle blowing at each shift change (although you might). Seth Godin’s new book, Linchpin, sets forth the idea that the majority of us do factory work: we do routine, average anonymous tasks for routine, average, anonymous wages. [...]
I recently had a bittersweet lunch with a friend of mine. It was exciting to catch up with him, but sad to hear his story. He’s unhappy in his current job, but unsure what to do about it. His family is too accustomed to the quality of life his income provides and he is unsure [...]
The search for the characteristics or traits of leaders has existed for centuries. History’s greatest philosophical writings from Plato’s Republic to Plutarch’s Lives have explored the question of “What qualities distinguish an individual as a leader?” Underlying this search was the early recognition of the importance of leadership and the assumption that leadership is rooted [...]
I’m going to stretch my rule on reviewing solid, researched books on leadership or organizational theory. The Peter Principle is in, fact theory. However, it hasn’t been researched because it’s also satire. The Peter Principle is both a book by Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull and an organization principle similar to Parkinson’s Law.
The [...]
Last week I had the opportunity to give a talk at the inaugural IgniteOKC event in Oklahoma City. I chose three essays in the “How to Fail” series and compiled them into the talk you see below. For those of you unfamiliar with Ignite, it is a style of presentation where speakers are given 5 [...]
Conventional wisdom tells us that we ought to live for the moment. Experts tout that the past is history, the future a mystery and so today is our present. Sounds wonderful and appealing to book marketers, even though it is deeply flawed.
Consider for a moment, the story of Norman Bourlag. In 1970 Norman Bourlag was [...]
Two Actually: useful lies.
All theories are useful lies. Theories are attempts to simplify what is happening in a set of observations. They are attempts to describe reality that typically fall short (otherwise they wouldn’t be so simple). Consider the opposing theories of the earth’s shape: flat or round. At first, mankind thought the earth of [...]
David Beckham knows something you don’t.
Sure, Beckham knows how to curl a soccer ball 35-yards over a wall of opposing players and have the ball dip into the bottom corner of the goal at just the right moment. But he also knows a bigger secret: as long as he can bend a soccer ball like [...]
About
David Burkus is an executive coach and leadership consultant.