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November 10, 2010It’s not the size of your LinkedIn network that counts it’s what you do with it that matters
November 15, 2010
About a week ago I got involved in a discussion in the comments of a Scott Gould post about leadership.
NOTE: If you haven’t checked Scott out then you should. He along with Andrew Ellis organises the Likeminds conferences and community, which is making big waves in the social media space.
In Scott’s original post he explained that he was struggling to understand how much of leadership is in the details. A really interesting conversation with many contributors followed.
Thinking about the question and the comments, I pitched in with my two pennies. Here’s a summary of the exchange that Scott and I had:
On the question: Leaders: Is It In The Detail? I think it is and it isn’t. Why? Most great leaders have a vision of what they want to achieve and a real feel for what that will look like. However, many will see the vision through a slightly blurry screen as they may not have the technical ability or knowledge to see all of the details but will ‘know’ when something is right.
Further, if we split the discussion into two broad parts: the destination and the journey. Many great leaders have a detailed vision of what the destination looks like and have ideas about how to get there but they employ people ‘better than they are’ to help with the journey in the understanding that we all need to be flexible, work and learn together to achieve our destination.
So, yes, there will be detail in the focus on the destination but, I believe, only on elements of the journey and how we get there.
For me, thinking about this some more, I think it’s a bit like the being a film director where he has to be obsessive about the end product but surrounds himself with experts to be able to deliver his vision.
What do you think? I’d be interested to get your perspective on this.
Thanks to torres21 for the image.
11 Comments
Is the heart of leadership in the details? http://bit.ly/c0ze0k
Like just about everything, the answer to a question like this is about reduction. What do I mean?: the World carries on whether we describe it or not – our words and ideas are irrelevant to the universe. Humans have to slice little bits off the world in order to try and identify them, understand them, analysis them and, possibly, improve them (this is reduction). So we talk of Leadership – and the issue of whether it is in the big stuff or in the little details. And both must be right – great leaders have to be brilliant in the detail of the moment and brilliant in stitching the moments together into a brilliant longer-term. Sometimes rolling back out of reduction the best we can (and we can’t get right out because that is the way we make sense) can yield interesting results. Try Leadeship – brilliance now, in the next thing and in all things stitched together into a brilliant future.
Hi Malcolm,
Thanks for your comment and perspective. I like the idea that great leadership is about being brilliant in a series of moments and being able to stitch these together to make a journey. Do you have someone in mind that typifies this type of approach for you?
Adrian
RT @adrianswinscoe: Is the heart of leadership in the details? http://bit.ly/c0ze0k ~ I think so, how about you?
I like your film director perspective and I think it’s the way forward – you have a vision, but you need others to accomplish it
Hi Scott,
Thank you for your comment and for dropping by. I’m chuffed about that.
I’m glad that you like the film director analogy. Only occurred to me as I was finishing, or rather looking for a finish to, the post. Sums up my thinking well.
But surely that’s only one model and example that fits well. Is it a one-size fits all?
Adrian
RT @adrianswinscoe: Is the heart of leadership in the details? http://bit.ly/d1bKJs
Adrian,
Leadership appears when there is a crisis/need for change, outside of that, it’s just management. Yes, details always matter, and to your point around “the journey” the detail weather your chasing a “goal” or pursuing a “vision” is the detail that matters..
My .02
Bill,
Thank you for your .02 always appreciated and thank you for adding to the conversation.
I like the idea that leadership shows up when there is a crisis or need for change. However, how about the idea that change is constant or that the only constant in the world that we live in is change? Does that not imply that leadership is always here and always needs to show up?
Adrian
Is the heart of leadership in the details?
http://ow.ly/39xnv
What do you think? Is the heart of leadership in the detail? http://ow.ly/3c0QX #business