Coaching for Leadership: Writings on Leadership from the World’s Greatest Coaches

by Marshall Goldsmith, Ph.D., Laurence S. Lyons, Ph.D., and Sarah McArthur

“Leadership really comes into its own the moment you discover that something significant isn’t as it should be and you’ve become inspired, having identified your special role in building a better future.”

Coaching, consulting, and acting as a change agent is hard work! The ability to reflect, define behaviors, identify behavior changes, and assist others sustain these changes means providing a candor and openness that many find hard to face.

Coaching for Leadership offers techniques, principles, and relevant case studies—from a traditional overview of the foundations of coaching, to distinct examples of influencing decision makers, coaching high-potential women and writing like a leader—showing how and why mentoring is a circular experience.

Contributors including John Baldoni, Sally Helgesen, Frances Hesselbein, Jessica K. Johnson, Linda D. Sharkey, Bonita S. Buell-Thompson, Mark C. Thompson, and David Ulrich offer distinct point of view about what it means to be an effective leader including:

• Focus on the future, not the past

• Recognize, discover, and build on the passion, meaning, and desires of the Coachee

• Find the right physical setting to coach

• Build sustainability into the coaching engagement by follow up and accountability

In addition to Coaching for Leadership, we also recommend the Case Study Workbook, which is a practitioner’s resource, unique in that its lessons are told in narrative form with illustrations, exercises, and highly entertaining stories that engrain in readers theories of management and leadership.

 Kenneth E. Clark Student Research Award 

Deadline for submission: June 15, 2012

The International Leadership Association (ILA) and the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) are pleased to partner to sponsor the annual Kenneth E. Clark Student Research Award to recognize outstanding unpublished papers by undergraduate and graduate students. The award is named in honor of the distinguished scholar and former Chief Executive Officer of the Center.

The winner of this year’s award will receive:

Submissions may be either empirically or conceptually based. Multi-disciplinary approaches to research are welcomed. The paper should focus on some aspect of leadership or leadership development.

Uplifting Service: The Proven Path to Delighting Your Customers, Colleagues and Everyone Else You Meet by Ron Kaufman

"The challenge we face today is global in scale and scope: to bring a passion for uplifting service to every culture and corner of the world."

You are probably familiar with out motto at the Institute: To serve is to live. But how exactly, do YOU define service? As Ron Kaufman notes, service is present in every aspect of our lives from the moment we are born. “We enter this world completely dependent on other people to serve us with food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education, and affection. As we grow, we go to work, become professionals, and get jobs, earning money and building our careers in successful service to others.”

Our world is completely infused with service: customer service, roadside service, self-service, public service…

“With service all around us, and so much a part of our daily lives, why aren’t we doing it better?” Kaufman asks. According to Uplifting Service, we must transform the outdated view that service to others makes us subservient, subordinate, or servile.

With the technological ability to connect globally—beyond barriers and across sectors—some of the world’s best performing companies have changed the game in their industries through service.

Kaufman outlines these dynamic case studies, focusing on the rationale, strategy, and actions necessary to build powerful service culture within five key areas: Why, Lead, Build, Learn, and Drive.

Institute Board member, author and executive coach Marshall Goldsmith said Uplifting Service has the ability “to transform your organization’s culture and your perspective on service forever.”

With a column at Bloomberg Businessweek and 14 other books on service, business, and inspiration, Kaufman concludes that “providing uplifting service to others naturally enriches your relationships, improves your network of support, and contributes to your own success.”

Business people are an information-hungry segment of the population. In response to this population, five years ago, the Axiom Business Book Awards were created to honor the year's best business books, their authors, and publishers. Intended to profile exemplary business books and their creators, the Axiom Book Awards highlight the books that will improve and inspire your career and business.

This year, the 2012 Axiom Business Book Awards honored 72 books with gold, silver or bronze medals for categories including economics, sales, leadership, career, business ethics, entrepreneurship and many others. 

Frances Hesselbein's second book and autobiography, My Life in Leadership: The Journey and Lessons Learned Along the Way  (Jossey-Bass), received the Gold medal in Memoir and Biograhy. 

Have you read any of the 72 books on that received medals? What are your favorites?

Snail Mail or via Paperless Post

Peace Through Business

Girls Inc.

Girls in the Game

Girls Scouts of the USA

Download PDF

 

Online, Global Dialogue Center

Expert Roundtable, Open and free to the public, the program will draw participants from every sector and field of expertise. 

Making a Difference for Women Awards Dinner

Oliver attended the 2011 Hesselbein Global Academy and is currenty attending law school. Recently, we caught up with Oliver to see what he has been up to. We'd like to share our Q&A with you! 

Q. Who influenced your involvement in leadership and service?

A. My parents are one of the reasons I decided to become involved in leadership and service. From a young age, they taught me that it is not always right “to flow with the masses.” They encouraged me to think for myself and to advocate for causes I believe in—to never forget the values I cherish. I had always been very curious and eager for knowledge.

Q. Tell us about your international experiences.

A. I spent one school year abroad in New Zealand when I was 15, followed by civil service in Bolivia after secondary school. 

In Bolivia, I discovered why my generation has a mission to serve: When I saw mothers with their five children begging on the streets, I noticed the disparity between Bolivia and the protected world in which I had grown up. My interaction with underprivileged children and orphans completely challenged my perceptions about our way of life. This experience strengthened my desire to develop as a leader in order to help those in need.

A. I joined a group called “International 16” within the International Society of my university in Manchester. This group is made up of 16 students, each from a different county. We help raise cultural awareness and promote diversity among the student body through presentations or exploring different countries through dance or music. By promoting different cultures, students become more conscious of the importance of respecting other nations and ethnicities, and our activities have largely contributed to fostering the value of mutual understanding. I realized that our world is a global platform and there is a need for countries to work together. We can no longer be “self-interested competitors.”

Q. What cause are you advocating for today?

A. 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water. 

In 2011, I attended the Peace Conference of Youth (PCY) and was part of a group—chosen based on our motivation to take actions within our own communities—to draft an action plan to tackle water problems in developing countries. 

Since we don’t have the expertise (yet) to found our own NGO, supporting a well-known organization is currently the most feasible option. In addition to finishing my law degree this summer, I am fundraising as part of PCY. Our goal is to fundraise $5000 by World Water Day. That’s 22 days from today. We have already fundraised more than $1000.

$5000 will affect 250 people, 50 families, one entire village in a developing country. A $20 donation means access to clean water for 1 person. 100% of your donation would go towards this project. Learn more

Q. Do you have advice to other young leaders?

Our mission is to see ourselves as global citizens.

Today, on Seth Godin's daily blog he mentions that "the economy is now rewarding art and innovation and guts."

In the past, he says, productivity was measured as output per dollar spent. "But people have discovered that after hour 24, there are no more hours left. Suddenly, you can't get ahead by outworking the other guy, because both of you are already working as hard as Newtonian physics will permit."

He offers some advice: "Instead of sneaking around the edges, it might pay to cut your hours in half but take the intellectual risks and do the emotional labor you're capable of."

In the past five years, we have noticed that the number of platforms and services aimed to streamline procedures have increased (thinking social media-mindedly: Hootsuite, Threadsy, Tweetdeck, etc.) and also that the number of organizations dedicated to helping other organizations manage a niche area have increased. 

Microsoft for Nonprofits Whether you are a small organization serving a single community or a global nonprofit serving millions of people, we can help through software donations, training and monetary grants.

Google Grants Google Grants is a unique in-kind donation program awarding free AdWords advertising to select charitable organizations. We support organizations sharing our philosophy of community service to help the world in areas such as science and technology, education, global public health, the environment, youth advocacy, and the arts.

Causes Wish Causes Wish is the fun and social way to raise money for your favorite cause. Use the events of your life—like a birthday, wedding, or a 10k run—to make a difference. Discover more than 500,000 various causes.

Media Cause Do you work for a nonprofit? Media Cause provides free services that are designed to help organizations that are new to search marketing and social media as well as the ones that have been using these marketing tools for years. Are you a volunteer? Do you know a little something about using search marketing and social media to grow a business or personal brand? You can share your knowledge as a volunteer for Media Cause.

Do you have any resources to add to this list? 

On Monday, I had the opportunity to attend Social Media for Nonprofits, the last in a series of nation-wide conferences providing nonprofit leaders with tools, resources, inspiration and tips to create, manage and maximize their media presence.

With the institute’s rebranding efforts, and a sea of updating and maintenance in terms of transitioning our social presence: website, blog, and social networking sites, this was a perfect opportunity to discover new tools.

The latest statistics presented an ever-growing shift toward enhanced social engagement: if Facebook were a country, it would be the 3rd largest in the world…50% of Fortune 100 brands already subscribed to Google plus…70% of brand content is created by consumers…90% of people trust recommendations from others and a recent study showed that 47% of people were okay with donation-solicitation through social media.

This will be a three-day blog series of Resources from Social Media for Nonprofits. Today, we will list a few RULES for sharing and storytelling on social media. 

 As presented by Anna Doherty, marketing manager, engagement and social media for DonorsChoose:  

Six Rules for sharing on social media:

1. Join the conversation around your cause

2. Share content and collateral that’s unique to your organization

3. Celebrate big news

4. Share staff culture

    5. Think big picture

    6. Frequency should be driven by quality

 As presented by by Paull Young, Director of Digital Engagement, charity:water:

Five RULES for storytelling on social media:

1. Go route of positivity

2. Don’t ask for money, tell stories

3. Do it wrong quickly

4. Be personal

5. Help others see the impact

In future blog posts, we will talk about online resources for nonprofits, and highlight examples of successful online campaigns using social media.

“When I started Idealist.org in 1995 I wish I could have had this amazing group of people whispering in my ear, and stopping me from making some of the bigger mistakes I’ve made over the years,” says Ami Dar, founder and executive director of Idealist.org/Action without Borders, in the foreword of Nonprofit Management 101. 

Edited by Darian Rodriguez, whom I just had the pleasure of meeting at the Social Media for Nonprofits event in NYC, (which he produced with his soon-to-be wife Ritu Sharma) is as informative in speech as he is in print—he is an eloquent and comprehensive distiller of leadership information, inspiration and wisdom. (More to come on the blog regarding ideas and benefits from the conference.)

Nonprofit Management 101 is one of those books—like The Chicago Manual of Style or Letitia Baldrige’s  Complete Guide to Executive Manners—that become a “desktop go-to.” It is a resource to turn to for problem-solving, guidance or precedents and examples of topics ranging from The Importance of Diversity and Cause Related Marketing to Board Fundraising and Web Design.

Contributors including Paul Hawken, Lynne Twist, Ami Dar, Beth Kanter, Kay Sprinkel Grace, and 45 other experts share their wisdom in chapters that detail case studies, dos and don’ts and resource reviews including websites, support organizations, blogs, reports and FAQs.

What are your “go-to” desktop resources?

Recently, I met Kanika Gupta, who told me: “I am passionate about social entrepreneurship because I am a social entrepreneur.” According the Stanford Social Innovation Review, “Growing numbers of young people are making an about face—turning their backs on working for “the man” and creating their own ventures.

Firsthand, Kanika has been through the struggles of launching multiple social ventures, and she knows how daunting and difficult it can be. While in her second year of building Nukoko, a Canadian nonprofit which sends over 600 girls to school in west Africa annually, she became frustrated by the lack of resources at her disposal. So she reached out to 50 social entrepreneurs for guidance. All lamented the lack of practical, resource-based support they found when starting their ventures. In hearing their experiences echo her own, the need for a comprehensive resource became immediately apparent, the potential to build it immediately inspiring. Kanika decided she would dedicate herself to encouraging and supporting young people who may be afraid to launch their own social venture.

Read our PROFILE in Innovation on the interactive online resource SoJo.