Category Archives: leadership

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The passing of Nelson Mandela
December 6, 2013

authenticity, John's reflections, leadership, Leading by autobiography, Storytelling Leave a comment

This week, I had prepared a sequel to last week’s blog. However when I learned last night of Nelson Mandela’s death, I decided to put down a few somewhat random and spontaneous thoughts about him, as an adjunct to my post of July 5, when his condition had been declared “critical”. He was a different kind of African leader. Without being a specialist on Africa, I have often felt as an observer that one of the great curses that has afflicted most of the continent in the past century is the failure of leadership. In general, the “independence leaders” who came to power in the second half of the 20th … Continue reading →

Pope Francis’ story for the future of the Catholic Church
November 29, 2013

authenticity, leadership, Leading by autobiography Leave a comment

  Once again this week, news from the Vatican drew me back to writing about Pope Francis. I continue to feel that we are witnessing, at least potentially, a truly broad and transformational leadership story of historic proportions. From the stories that Pope Francis has told since the beginning of his time in office, listeners and observers can draw clear conclusions about the future he sees for the Church. He would like the work of Catholicism to be less about doctrine and dogmatic teaching, more about optimism and radiance. His “future stories” portray a Church of openness, forgiveness, togetherness, optimism, and inclusion. In one of his first speeches to the … Continue reading →

Back to South America
November 22, 2013

Events, John's events, leadership, Leadership training Leave a comment

  This week, I have returned to the southern hemisphere for some fascinating events in Peru and Argentina. In Lima last Thursday (November 14), I gave an in-company seminar for 50 managers at Visa, on how to use personal storytelling in management. It was a great crowd, and we had a lot of fun along with the learning. Then, on Friday, I did one of my full-day conferences that have become frequent events in Latin America, on developing leadership potential in oneself and in others. It was organized by my Uruguayan friends, the Alta Gerencia group. On Saturday, I arrived in Buenos Aires. I must admit that the voyage from … Continue reading →

Stay in touch with ourselves
November 15, 2013

John's events, John's reflections, leadership Leave a comment

  Earlier this week, on the long journey from Amsterdam to Buenos Aires, one of the flight attendants was reading a book by Anne Wilson Schaef, Meditations for women who do too much. She told me that she was having a lot of fun with it, and I was intrigued by the title, so I accepted when she offered to let me borrow it for part of the flight.  The book is organized as a series of quotations, one for each day of the year. The themes center around a variety of issues in women’s lives, followed by the author’s thoughts on the matter at hand. Perhaps it was just … Continue reading →

Two additional symbols from Pope Francis’ early days
November 8, 2013

John's reflections, leadership, Leadership in the news, Leading by autobiography Leave a comment

In a previous post, we reflected on the symbolic importance of Cardinal Bergoglio’s choice of the name Francis. This decision was the first of a number emblematic measures that have sent messages of change to the Church and to the world. During the first days and months of his time in office, Pope Francis’ behavior was full of symbolism that reinforced the story of the type of pope he would strive to become.  Today, we consider two further examples of this symbolic behavior.  The symbol of his initial contact with the people: The first time he faced his followers, Pope Francis walked out timidly, dressed in plain white, wearing a … Continue reading →

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