Why is it key to connect with other leaders?

• It’s not key to connect with other leaders, it’s key to connect with people who are not like you.
• You don’t necessarily need to connect with other leaders, but you need to learn from them.
• If you want to find leaders, find the ones who are doing well right now in the recession. They’re the leaders to watch.

What’s the best leadership advice you’ve received?

• Trust people. It’s not what happens when you’re present, but when you’re not that make a difference.
• There’s no one model that fits all – not one solution.
• Listen and observe before you act.
• I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to do my job
• None. I write down quotes, but then forget about them. I tend to watch what people do instead.

What are you most inspired by right now?

• The Recession. It’s the biggest opportunity we’ve had in 20 years to change and re-develop everything (industries, communication, education). People have hidden behind growth because it was easy.
• Different leadership backgrounds and diversity
• We can use business for social change. We’re moving away from grants and handouts and finding ways to solve things creatively.
• Holidays. Taking time away.

One of the questions we brought up that most people had a tough time answering was: Why should anyone be led by you?

If you’re interested in exploring this idea, a discussion centered around this question is already taking place on the Common Purpose LinkedIn group.

Finally, we had a flipchart up for people to share their key leadership reading. Below is a compilation of some of the books listed:

• The Tao of Leadership (John Heider)
• Tribes (Seth Godin)
• The Starfish and the Spider (Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom)
• The Tipping Point (Malcolm Gladwell)
• Who moved my cheese? (Spencer Johnson)
• Beyond Authority (Julia Middleton)
• The courage to lead (R. Brian Stanfield)
• The Black Swan (Nassim Nicholas Taleb)
• Here comes everybody (Clay Shirky)

Common Purpose

Common Purpose gives leaders the inspiration, the knowledge and the connections they need to produce real change. Through our unique leadership development courses, a growing number of people around the world are making a difference in the industries and places where they work, in the communities where they live and in wider society.

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Judgements aside, the ease of making a cup of instant coffee is its greatest benefit. Scoop, pour, and stir – and you have a cup of coffee. But I will say the flavour, the quality, and the enjoyment of that morning cup of coffee is not the same. Think of the difference between fast food and a three-course meal, the level of satisfaction from the fast food rarely equals the level of enjoyment from a great three-course meal.

Our society is too caught up with instant gratification. Yes sometimes things need to be done quickly but in always looking for the fastest or easiest way out of a problem we forget about the importance of trying things. Quick wins minimise the importance and necessity of failure. They narrow the concept of success, causing a cycle where people are expected to succeed quickly and often.

We are not all born leaders. Becoming a good leader can take a lot of time. 

Recently I have started to play with the idea of the Nescafe leader. It is a fascinating concept. It is the “scoop pour and stir style” of leadership, where leaders are more likely to be born than made and if you don’t do it right the first time then it does not work. These are leaders who are off the shelf, ready to go, and super experienced with need for development but no need to be tried and tested prior to an emergency.

I have yet to meet a person who can do these things. Many of the inspiring leaders I speak to have had to take a much longer road with hard knocks. They did not hear someone’s top tips and become. They recognised the fact that we are all different. What works for you may not work for me and vice versa. So the leadership learning process is about transferring another individual’s understanding and making it relevant to me. 

Ultimately I ponder the value of top tips for leadership. Do they help people become better leaders of do they distract them from their goal, leading? Nescafe coffee drinkers could do with sitting and enjoying their coffee – from the process of making it to the flavours it can generate to the social aspect it can bring to one’s life. In the same way we should look at leadership as a process to be enjoyed, with stages and times.

Ethan Ohs