College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences
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"A limitation of many traditional organizations is their tendency to work from the inside-out. There has long been an assumption, often unspoken or unexamined, that a centralized group of experts would come up with the best ideas for products or service. In turn, the enterprise would produce and sell them.
This mindset can be found not only in the private sector, but also in the not-for-profit and government arenas.
From: Lesser, M. (2019). Seven practices of a mindful leader. Novato: CA: New World Library.
"In the twenty-first century, the managers who create the most value are those who best empower others.
As a manager, your ultimate task is to hire, motivate and develop leaders for your enterprise. You serve your enterprise - and your customers - most effectively by empowering your team to unlock their potential, individually and in combination with others.
"One of the key components of the vulnerability decision is the willingness to openly acknowledge and then embrace your flaws. This can be very difficult because, again many leaders perceive this as a kind of weakness. They believe this will make them seem fallible, and thus they will lose their authority and respect. But if done in the right way, being open about one's imperfections has the opposite effect, and the best leaders know how to do this.
"The rule says to give one percent more time, energy, effort, focus, and care today than you did the day before. Obviously, you can't calculate one percent, but you can push yourself more today than you did yesterday. You can improve and get better today. You can strive for excellence and work to become your best. You can tune out distractions and focus even more on what matters most (p. 205)."
From: Gordon, J. (2017). The power of positive leadership: how and why positive leaders transform teams and organizations and change the world. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons.
"The most compelling persuasive communications come from individuals whose personae, life experiences and verbal messages coalesce.
The leader who personified her vision can transform her life into an ongoing narrative. That can be a tangible service, inspiring countless others.
"Self-awareness means knowing what you're good at and what you're not. It means you don't hide your flaws or cover up your mistakes. You don't pretend to know it all. It means you practice humility and embrace learning. Not only do transparency and vulnerability help people like and trust you, they set the right example for other leaders and employees. When everyone is willing to take risks, learn from mistakes, and seek out opportunities to learn and grow, organizations thrive.
From: Mattone, J (2020). The intelligent leader: unlocking the 7 secrets to leading others and leaving your legacy. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
"Not just as leaders but as human beings, fostering empathy is important because it inspires one of the most powerful motivations we have: compassion, or acting with the intention to help reduce the pain of others. Empathy is a potent way to develop inner strength. If we don't see the pain of others, or we refuse to acknowledge it, we won't act to help them. This squanders our power, or our ability to transform the world. With compassion, we can do the opposite. We can use our power for good works.
