Bits and Bytes from my Life

Discovering Your Authentic Leadership is a great read for people who want to improve their Leadership skills. I have read many articles on leadership and everyone of them focuses on different aspects of leadership.

Best part about this article is it tells you to focus internally to look at your own history and learn from that. Authors focus on following key aspects of your life to learn from

• Learn from your own life story
• Know your authentic self
• Practice your values and principles
• Balance your extrinsic and intrinsic motivations
• Build a support team to learn and get guidance from
• Integrate your life by staying grounded

Original Article: http://hbr.org/2007/02/discovering-your-authentic-leadership/ar/1

Authors: Bill George, Peter Sims, Andrew N. McLean and Diana Mayer

Synopsis:

During the past 50 years, leadership scholars have conducted more than 1,000 studies in an attempt to determine the definitive styles, characteristics, or personality traits of great leaders. None of these studies has produced a clear profile of the ideal leader. Thank goodness. If scholars had produced a cookie-cutter leadership style, individuals would be forever trying to imitate it. They would make themselves into personae, not people, and others would see through them immediately.

No one can be authentic by trying to imitate someone else. You can learn from others’ experiences, but there is no way you can be successful when you are trying to be like them. People trust you when you are genuine and authentic, not a replica of someone else. Amgen CEO and president Kevin Sharer, who gained priceless experience working as Jack Welch’s assistant in the 1980s, saw the downside of GE’s cult of personality in those days. “Everyone wanted to be like Jack,” he explains. “Leadership has many voices. You need to be who you are, not try to emulate somebody else.”

This Article by Daniel Goleman is a great read on different leadership styles and how leaders can use them in different scenarios to get results. In this article Goleman explores which precise leadership behaviors yield positive results. He outlines six distinct leadership styles, each one springing from different components of emotional intelligence. Each style has a distinct effect on the working atmosphere of a company, division, or team, and, in turn, on its financial performance.

You have to read the article to get the full picture. You can access it at http://hbr.org/product/leadership-that-gets-results/an/R00204-PDF-ENG . Below is a preview…

1. Coercive leaders demand immediate compliance.
2. Authoritative leaders mobilize people toward a vision.
3. Affiliative leaders create emotional bonds and harmony.
4. Democratic leaders build consensus through participation.
5. Pacesetting leaders expect excellence and self-direction.
6. Coaching leaders develop people for the future.

Leadership Styles at a glance

The research indicates that leaders who get the best results don’t rely on just one leadership style; they use most of the styles in any given week.

We were expecting snow all day yesterday and today. Finally got tired of waiting and just went for a run. There were some snow flakes while running but nothing big. Hope we get some snow today…

Today was the worst day of the season to bike and then run. It was cold and rainy. Today we met at Marymoor park in Redmond and then roughly biked for 12 miles and ran for 3-4 miles. At end of the practice was soaked… Andy share his experience today and that was very touching. Cancer Sucks!!!

As part of 2012 resolutions I had said I will Participate in 1 outdoor activity(walk, run etc.) with Swati every week. We started that today.. We went for a good 1 hour walk and did some 3miles(5k) walk. That is great start, goal is for us to do a half marathon together this year… That would be fun and I think we can do it…

Don’t worry abt the timing below.. Forgot to switch off the watch this time.  

This Saturday was our first bike ride of 2012. Time is flying by and I don’t feel I am improving fast enough for the main event. Anyway was able to get 15miles on bike. Forgot to start the watch on time hence missed first 4 miles.

2012 is already here and had a great start to the year with a 5k resolution run. Today I finalized my 7 resolutions for the year… Yes I always have 7 of everything… The theme in 2012 will continue to be Living Healthy Lifestyle but will expand the health angle from physical health to mental and financial health.

My 2012 resolution list:

1. Maintain weight under 185lbs by exercising at least 5 days a week and eating healthy foods
2. Participate in 12 events(endurance running, triathlon etc.) in 2012, at least 4 of them with Swati.
3. Get financial health in order and reduce recurring credit card debt to $0.
4. Read everyday for 15-30minutes before sleeping
5. Participate in 1 outdoor activity(walk, run etc.) with Swati every week.
6. Volunteer time(at least 25hrs) for a charitable cause
7. Start a business(maybe small or tiny or something… )… Start something…

Things that did not make the list but am surely going to try…

1. Write 6 apps across different platforms
2. Start a walking/running club with friends…
3. Post at least 1 blog a week
4. Many more like x number of vacations, y activities with kids etc.…

We had a great start to 2012 with movie night with friends yesterday way past midnight and then a resolution 5k run in Seattle. Some pictures…

When I started this year I would never have imagined this will be the year that will bring sooo many changes in my life. 2010 was huge as it brought 2 angels in our lives but 2011 changed my perspective to life…

Health: I started this year with 7 resolutions and Theme: Adopt healthy life style. You can read the original post here. At the end of the year I can say I did pretty well. Lost 40lbs, my diabetes is gone and am fittest ever in my life.

Work: I also changed my job and took a big step by moving to a new division still in Microsoft but it is like a new company and new job so I start from scratch again. Should be a fun ride in 2012.

Giving: 2011 was the year I got involved in the community and started giving. I should correct that, my first donation ever was to Obama campaign in 2008. But I got involved with Team and Training and started raising money for cancer cure supporting LLS. I raised around 4-5k this year with more than 1k from me. Which is huge for me. I hope I can continue this and grow it in 2012.

Overall was a great year… Now review of my 2011 resolutions…

1. Hit the Gym at least 3 times a week – PASS
2. Read at least 1 book every 2 months – FAIL
3. Write at least one blog post every week – PASS
4. Write some code every week – FAIL
5. Get credit card debt to 0 and payoff one more debt – FAIL
6. Either run the Seattle marathon or bike from Seattle to Portland – PASS(Did run 2 half’s maybe I can count them as one)
7. Start one weekly external activity with Swati – FAIL

Time to write my 2012 resolutions…