Article: People are interested in what you do, not what you say

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People are interested in what you do, not what you say

John Ryan, President, Center for Creative Leadership, talks about polarity management, matching actions with words and more
People are interested in what you do, not what you say
 

I think many of us are fortunate to have parents as role models and we shouldn’t forget that. They are not the people who are on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, but they are the people who make life better

 

Great leaders are the ones who have a diagnostic ability, a large leadership repertoire and are very clear and unambiguous in their communication. They just need to get people judgment right

 
Q. You’ve had a very interesting career as you’ve worked in very different fields. So if you have to pick up one key leadership learning in each one of those stages, what would they be? A. In my first job, I spent three decades as a US Navy pilot. I learnt early on that the most important thing was to be authentic because in the military if you are a pilot, you are not going to have a wingman unless they trust you. I let the men and the women know that I was privileged to lead them and that I was interested in their personal & professional development and welfare. That was fundamental. In my second career, which was in higher education, I learnt the value of listening. It was very different in context and culture than the military and it was about showing respect to men and women, particularly faculty members who spent 30 years in a business school or a medical school. The most important thing I did there was I considered myself to be the Chief Listening Officer. In my...
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Topics: Leadership, #ExpertViews

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