Leading Thoughts for September 12, 2024

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with:

I.

Harvard Professor Paul Lawrence on making morally significant choices:

“It is as much within our power to make choices that lead to the destruction of species as it is to make choices which keep us on the track of continued life and development.

History shows us that humans have always needed gifted leadership to help them recognize and fulfill the universal moral sense we all have (except people-w/o-conscience), to see the opportunities to move forward on track, to see the potential of worldwide bonding.”

Source: Driven to Lead: Good, Bad, and Misguided Leadership

II.

Art Horn on judgmentalism:

“Paradoxically, one of the chief tasks of leaders is to judge without being judgmental.

“We make judgments all the time, and that’s okay. The problem crops up when our factual judgments become generalizations and personal attacks. It’s the difference between finishing the first apple of your life and declaring, ‘I didn’t like that apple,’ and moving on to saying, ‘I don’t like any apples,’ and moving even further to ‘I don’t like your apples.’

“Generalizations and personal attacks are often, but not always, the result of egos becoming engaged. Ego is the part of the individual that sees itself as above, below, or against others. When you are in this mode, you are more likely to generalize and personalize your observations. Doing so helps you to protect yourself in some way. If you feel like you’re up against another department, for example, you’ll likely be tempted to take a fact or two and generalize. ‘See,’ you declare, ‘these guys are all like that.’”

Source: Beyond Ego: Influential Leadership Starts Within

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Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index.

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Posted by Michael McKinney at 12:57 PM
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