Welcome to our latest issue of Leader Points — Centerpoint for Leaders and The Points of Light Foundation's newest e-publication to give you relevant and concise information on leadership and organizational development.

By Sandra Trice Gray

The Wisdom of Good Leadership

I've attached a pdf version of Chapter One of Influence Without Authority, which discusses, in a new, second edition: How to Lead People Who Don't Report to You, How to Build Effective Relationships and Create Allies, and How to Influence Your Boss, Peers, Clients and other Partners.

Among other items in the book:

— Influencing a team, task force, or committee
— Influencing departments and divisions
— Initiating or leading major change
— Using Indirect influence
— Overcoming organizational politics
— Playing hardball—when you can no longer catch flies with honey

The first chapter can be downloaded here in PDF format. The book is available for purchase online.

by Katherine Beatty and Richard Hughes

1. Think Strategically: Strategic thinking is understanding the complex relationship between the organization and its environment and utilizing that understanding to make decisions that facilitate the organization's enduring success. It involves:

• Scanning and gathering information;
• Making connections between the information gathered; and
• Filtering this information into ideas that are focused.

2. Act Strategically: Strategic acting is taking decisive action consistent with the strategic direction of the organization, despite the ambiguity, complexity and chaos inherent in organizational life. It involves:

• Balancing tactics and strategy;
• Creating alignment; and
• Making decisions in the face of uncertainty.

3. Influence Strategically: Strategic Influencing is engendering commitment to the organization's strategic direction by inviting others into the strategic process, forging relationships inside and outside the organization and utilizing organizational culture and systems of influence. It involves:

• Creating a common understanding
• Enrolling others and creating excitement
• Building synergy with the organizational structures and culture

(Organizations and individuals who would like more information about Developing the Strategic Leader can visit the CCL Web site, or call Client Services at 336-545-2810. Becoming a Strategic Leader: Your Role in Your Organization's Enduring Success is published by Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Imprint. For more information, click here

If there is a topic on leadership or organizational development that you would like to share or see us address, please send us an e-mail at info@centerpointforleaders.org.

by David O. Renz

When we distill the organization research concepts that are most germane to the world of nonprofit boards, the result is a core typology that emphasizes two dimensions: strategic focus and stakeholder engagement. This is because, when designing a nonprofit board, there are two central questions to address: What is the work this board needs to accomplish to meet the needs of this organization? How do we best connect this organization to the community and its most important constituencies?

The article covers Strategic Focus: The degree to which the board's work emphasizes leadership, strategy, and policy, versus the implementation of operations and activities and includes Strategy, Policy, Management, Operations, Activities and Stakeholder Influence and Engagement. Secondary Dimensions include Board Autonomy, Mission Accountability and Decision Centrality.

To read the whole article, with more detail, click here.

by Larry Spears

"In his works, [Robert K.] Greenleaf discusses the need for a better approach to leadership, one that puts serving others — including employees, customers, and community — as the number one priority. Servant-leadership emphasizes increased service to others, a holistic approach to work, promoting a sense of community, and the sharing of power in decision making. The words servant and leader are usually thought of as being opposites. When two opposites are brought together in a creative and meaningful way, a paradox emerges. So the words servant and leader have been brought together to create the paradoxical idea of servant-leadership.

Who is a servant-leader? Greenleaf said that the servant-leader is one who is a servant first. In "The Servant as Leader" he wrote, "It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant to make sure that other people's highest-priority needs are being served.

At its core, servant-leadership is an approach to life and work that has the potential for creating positive change throughout our society."

For more information or to read the entire article, click here.

Randy Kesterson, founder of the Society for Leadership of Change (SLC), has dedicated his career to helping business leaders learn how to manage change more effectively. While serving as VP and COO of Curtiss-Wright Controls Inc., Kesterson helped turn the company around from an initial loss to leading its industry in profitability in 2003. Now the 500-member SLC, Kesterson's most recent project, which launched in August, serves as an open forum for discussion among leaders heading similar efforts, as well as the exchange of leadership development resources.

While the SLC's work is interesting and promising, even more interesting is that of the SLC's nemesis: the Society for the Status Quo (SSQ). Trumpeting slogans like "No change is good change," and "Why change? We've always done it this way," the SSQ directly challenges the SLC. The SSQ's literature lauds the value of tools like "Four Sigma," which could lead to 20,000 lost articles of mail every hour and 5,000 incorrect surgical operations each week. The SSQ singles out the SLC and links to the SLC's Web site.

Are the people behind the SSQ's "plenty good" approach to quality serious? Do other leaders really disagree with Kesterson's work that strongly? No. The SSQ's Web site was designed and written by Kesterson and his brother to create hype for the SLC — and to look at the lighter side of change and quality improvement. Fast Company checked in with Kesterson to learn more about why creating your own competition is a smart marketing move.

To read the entire article, click here. Further clicks are available at this web site to reach the Society for Leadership of Change.


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