"The American Dream Embodied in a Journalism Professor"

"Award-winning educator Saltzman embodies "the American Dream" - Alex Boekelheide

Joe Saltzman (Chapter 3 in Leaders: Their Stories, Their Words), faculty member at USC for over 44 years, accepted the Scripps Howard Foundation's award for Journalism and Mass Communication last night. Scripps Howard's National Journalism Awards are considered among the most prestigious awards in American journalism. "Saltzman is the American dream embodied in a journalism professor," the Scripps Howard judges wrote in their citation. Read on....

Once I decided to dive in and write my book, I immediately contacted Joe Saltzman and asked if he would agree to be interviewed, and he accepted. When we first met, through his wife Barbara, one of the things I noticed about Joe was how humble he is. Ironically, our first in-person meeting happened when he came to Toronto to receive one of his many awards. And here he is being honored yet again for his extraordinary work. He defines Human-Based Leadership.

There is so much learning in his piece. One comment he made that really stays with me and serves as a guide when I'm speaking is "I tell my students, “We can teach you how to do things. We can give you the techniques and the knowledge to create good journalism, but it is up to you to bring the passion, the concern, the caring to the job. We can’t teach you that.”" 

The same applies for leaders. They can give you the training, the tools, the resources to do things but it's up to you to bring the passion, drive, caring and human values to the job.

The Courage To Lead from a Human-Based Perspective

This morning in John Spence's blog he says "Although I am a great fan of heroic courage and know that in many situations that is exactly what is called for, what I believe we need from our leaders right now is the ability to show an even more powerful level of courage… the courage of vulnerability."  (Click here to read on).

In Leaders: Their Stories, Their Words, Chapter 1, John and I discuss the virtues of a Human-Based Leader and how it has nothing whatsoever to do with circumstances. It's who they are and how they live by their values. 

He says "High-achieving self-actualizers are not a slave to the good or bad opinions of other people. They’ve got a deeply held set of values. They have a clear vision of the life they want to lead, the legacy they want to leave, are really clear about the kind of person they want to be. They’re open to feedback and input, but not really swayed by what other people think about them."

"Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down."

— Eleanor Roosevelt
You Learn By Living (1960)

You Become What You Focus On

""You become what you focus on" and "You become like the people you surround yourself with." Whatever you think about, whatever you study, whatever your brain is filled with — TV, books, CDs, DVDs, audio books, networking, and those you surround yourself with — are what determines what your life will turn out like. "" — John Spence.

"Driven by an insatiable curiosity to understand the fundamental aspects of what it takes to achieve and sustain excellence in business and life, John Spence has earned a reputation as a leading authority in the areas of Strategic Thinking, High-Performance Teams, Advanced Leadership Development, and Delivering Consistently Superior Customer Service, making him one of the most highly sought after executive educators and professional speakers in America." (JohnSpence.com)
 

John Spence is an extraordinary man, leader, teacher and speaker and I am honored to have him grace the pages of my book (Chapter 1, Leaders: Their Stories, Their Words).

"Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand." — General Colin Powell. Or as John says, ...."making the complex awesomely simple."

I Will Never...

This morning Seth Godin writes about "Delivering on Never" such as I will never miss a deadline, I will never fail to warn you about a possible pitfall.

Human-Based Leaders add a few more to the equation...

HB Leaders will never treat you as a second class citizen. They recognize they have power with people, not over them.
HB Leaders will never lead by fear. They lead by humanness.
HB Leaders will never demolish you. They'll evolve you.

Seth continues to say "There are lots of sorts of never you can deliver to a customer." I'd like to add there are all sorts of nevers you can deliver to people at home, at work, to strangers, to everyone. They can become your mantra, your way of being. That will definitely set you above the rest. 

Lee Iacocca and His 9Cs of Leadership

A few years ago, Lee Iacocca wrote about the 9 C's of Leadership and asked "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?"

To that end he created a 9C's scorecard  asking us all to spread the word. We'll I'm spreading as this is a perfect illustration of a Human-Based Leader.

What are the 9 Cs? They're Common Sense, Communication, Creativity, Conviction, Competence, Courage, Character, Charisma, and Curiosity. They're a road map for people to choose leaders. Use them for all areas of your life. Share them with you friends, family, peers, bosses....and let us know what you've come up with.

Lee Iacocca had a rich life and shares it beautifully in his blog. One day I would be honored to have a conversation with him to hear more about how he evolved into his leadership. But for now, click here to read more about this amazing and powerful man.

Productive Ripple Effects

One of the questions I've been asking my clients is "What is the by-product or productive ripple effect of what you're doing?" If you're working on a project, what is happening on the periphery that might be of benefit to someone else's project? To a colleague or peer?

If you're looking for funding to get something off the ground, how much easier would it be if you could tell potential investors that not only would they be investing in your project or program but in another project indirectly? Double bang for their bucks.

HB Leaders take this into consideration. They not only grow the leaders of the future but help them see beyond their own story. There are implications upon implications. If you pay attention and work with them in a generative way, a little money can go a whole lot further.

Wisdom vs. Knowledge Revisited

Since my original post about wisdom vs. knowledge, I continue to discover that learning really is more than just gathering information. Learning is integrating that knowledge in some way to grow, shift, evolve and respond. We can memorize everything we read and store it for future reference, however if it sits there and isn't used, did we learn or just memorize? Are we wise if we share what we memorized or are we if we synthesize and contextualize it?

Who do I consider wise? One who continually looks at the status quo and sees whether or not things can be better. People who know they don't know everything about any one thing. And one who continually asks the important questions around what can be better and how can we be the best for the world rather than the best in the world?

In these filled up days where so much information is readily available, the world is fast become an even playing field. There is way too much information bombarding us at the speed of light.We can look for guidance from those who have a wealth of wisdom because they see context, relevance and impact. Wisdom is priceless.

Do you consider yourself wise or knowledgeable?

I know many people with post graduate degrees who can’t find a job. Why? Because they’re scholastically overqualified but don’t have the savvy, the perception and perspectives needed in a fast paced, competitive world. They get lost in their knowledge and get stuck on research but don’t integrate it and use it as needed to move themselves and organizations forward. They consider facts and forget people.

When I chose my research and development team I didn’t look at their degrees as much as experience, impact, awareness factor and openness to grow, learn and create. Knowledge can hold you back in the realm of what was already studied and documented. My team looks at possibility. I'm seeing the same trends occur in the corporate world. Who do you think would serve your organization better?