Notes #5 Basics of Parliamentary Procedure

(First of the parliamentary procedure sub-series)

 

For leaders, there are many skills that can serve them well.  In addition to developing a better understanding of leadership, for instance, being able to communicate their vision thru spoken and written word is important.  Being about to plan things is good.  And a working knowledge of parliamentary procedure can also be useful.  But what is “parliamentary procedure”?  Too often many, especially young people, have a poor understanding of what it is.  And this is not helped by others who have misinformed them.
 

It’s important to realize that when people come together to make decisions, they need a method of doing so.  Our ancestors understood this, in their gatherings in villages and small communities.  How do you put forth your idea or proposal?  How do you handle the discussion or debate about it?  How do you handle any changes to the proposal?  How do you handle making a decision?   Over time an agreed upon set of rules were developed, which came to be referred to as “parliamentary procedure”.  And over time, parliamentary procedure has come to mean more regarding the running of meetings and organizations (such as agendas, meeting minutes, and even basic officer duties).  Not surprising that term is used.  A parliament is a legislative body, one which makes laws.  It comes from the word ‘parley’, to speak or discuss.

Notes #4 The Servant Leadership writings of Robert Greenleaf

As the modern creator of the servant leadership concept, the works of Robert Greenleaf are important to anyone wanting a better understanding of this concept.  Greenleaf first enunciated the concept in a series of essays, which focused on different uses of the concept.  Some of these essays are still available as stand along works, as well as part of several collections.  All of these can be obtained from the Greenleaf Center.

The initial essays are “Servant as Leader” (1977), “The Institution as Servant”, “Trustees as Servants”, “Teacher as Servant” (1979), along with “Seminary as Servant”, “Spirituality as Leadership”, “The Leadership Crisis” and others.

There are 2 collections of essential essays readers should consider.  The first is the classic Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness, published in a 25^th anniversary edition in 2002.  This collection includes: “Servant as Leader”, “The Institution as Servant”, “Trustees as Servants”, essays on servant leadership in business, education, foundations and churches, “Servant-Leaders” and more.
 

The second collection is The Servant-Leader Within: A Transformative Path, a more recent and shorter work, and includes: “The Servant as Leader” (original 1970 edition), “Teacher as Servant”, and “Life’s Choices and Makers”, along with introductory and supplemental materials.  This work is useful for those wanted just a basic introduction to Greenleaf’s concept, otherwise I would recommend the first collection instead.
 

In 1996, two collections of his private (and previously unpublished) writings were published: On Becoming a Servant Leader and Seeker and Servant: Reflections on Religious Leadership.   Of these two, I think the first collection would be of more interest to most readers.  In 1998, The Power of Servant-Leadership came out.  This is considered the final collection of his writings, and includes works such as “Old Age: The Ultimate Test of Spirit”, “Have You a Dream Deferred?”, “My Debt to E. B. White”, “Servant: Retrospect and Prospect”, “Seminary as Servant”, “The Leadership Crisis”, “Education and Maturity” and more.

If you are considering just one work, Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness would be the one I’d recommend.  If you want to go further, getting The Power of Servant-Leadership should be next, then On Becoming a Servant Leader.

Most recently, a biography of Greenleaf, Robert K. Greenleaf: A Life of Servant Leadership has been written.  I have not read it, but hope its good.

Notes #3 An Introduction to Servant Leadership

Servant Leadership.  What is it?  Do you know?  A lot of people may have heard the term in recent years, but do they really understand what it means?  Or is it just the latest leadership buzz word? 

While the basic concept of servant leadership has been around for a long time, the modern usage of it started in 1970 with the publication of an essay entitled “The Servant as Leader” by Robert Greenleaf, who is considered the modern originator of the concept.  From that concept he further developed it and others have also come along, including Larry Spears, Stephen Covey, Ken Blanchard, Max De Pree and others who have added and expanded on it.

Simply Lead- Report on the 2013 Chick-fil-A Leadercast

This past Friday, May 10th, I attended the 2013 Chick-fil-A Leadercast.  This was my first time attending this event, and I hope it won't be my last.  I attended one of the local simulcast location.

This event was started over 10 years ago by John C. Maxwell, as the Maximum Impact Leadercast.  Later on, GiANT Impact started running the event, and more recently Chick-fil-A became the major sponsor, hence its current name.  I only learned about the event last year.

Notes #2: The Vision

Having a vision is an important tool for any leader, and any organization.  Too often the vision is overlooked, and sadly, they are often misused.

 

But what IS a vision, and why is it important?   What may help is to look at some vision and mission statement from several organizations.  I picked several from groups I’m involved in.

Chick-fil-A Leadercast

This Friday, May 10th, I will be attending for the first time the Chick-fil-A Leadercast.

I first heard about this event last year (2012), but wasn't able to attend.  This event has been going on since about 2000 under the leadership of John C. Maxwell, I think under the name Maximum Impact Simulcast.  A group called GiANT Impact got involved later, and now the event is sponsored by Chick-fil-A, hence its current name.

The event is an all-day event where various leaders give insights on leadership itself.  The event is done in Atlanta, then simulcast to locations around the world.  So you signup to attend one of those events.  Check the website for more on this.

For 2013, the following people will be involved:

• Jack Welch
• Andy Standley
• John C. Maxwell
• Mike Krzyzewski
• Dr. Henry Cloud
• LCDR Rorke Denver
• Sanya Richards-Ross
• David Allen
• Condoleezza Rice

Some of these people I have heard of, others I haven't.  Regardless, I look forward to the event.

I'll report back next week on my impressions of the event.

Notes #1: What is Leadership? Leadership & Management

For our first posting, let’s tackle a basic question: "what IS leadership?"   

It may be a simple question, but not so.    

Let’s look at some leadership quotes:

“Leadership is the process of influencing the activities of an individual or a group in efforts toward a goal achievement in a given situation”—Hersey & Blanchard

“Leadership is the art of influencing others to their maximum performance to accomplish any task, objective or project” --- Cohen.

“Leadership is influencing people — by providing purpose, direction, and motivation — while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization.”--- US Army

There is a common thread in all these quotes:  leadership is INFLUENCE.  (which is how John C. Maxwell puts it)

Begining of Leaders Notes

Greetings all and welcome to this new blog.

Some background and introduction.

For many years I have been a student of leadership, as well as a presenter of leadership training in several of the organizations I am involved in.  And yes, I have been a leader in some of the organizations I am involved in.

With one of the groups I am in, I got a little frustrated not just by the lack of knowledge in leadership and leadership concepts, but a general attitude of the members to even go out and learn more about leadership in general beyond what was presented within the organization.

With that in mind, I started a series of articles on the topic of leadership that was emailed out to an informaion national email list of members within the organization, in the hopes of helping people learn more of leadership.  I felt the work I had done was good, but wanted to reach a larger audience.

Hence, this blog.

My general goal is to have a posting every Friday.  These posting will be taken from my original articles, with some re-writing as needed, maybe some updating.  Many of them will be book reviews, others will focus on leadership concepts (tho will include resources to learn more).  Topics that will covered include servant leadership, situational leadership, high performing teams, and others.  I have a whole sub-series on meeting management and parliamentary procedure.

In-between those posting will be others on leadership matters.  Maybe alerts about leadership events and other news items.

I encourage people to link to this blog, forward the link to articles to friends, post comments, and the like.

Look for the first formal posting this Friday.

Michael Brown