We all have bosses. Our bosses have bosses. And their bosses have bosses too. It is easy to forget that the most important boss in our lives is the one that looks out at us from the mirror in the morning. That is the boss that makes our ultimate choices for us. That is the boss that guides our responses, our behaviours and our actions. And that is the boss that I will speak to in this blog.
I decided to launch this new blog because, while I am by no means an expert (in anything), I think there is something I can contribute in the ongoing search for the holy grail of leadership. Of course, I’m not sure if there is a holy grail of leadership but, as they say, it’s usually the journey that counts.
There are a lot of words out there about this topic and maybe this new blog will not tell you anything you haven’t already learned. Then again, maybe it will. Participating in it will perhaps be the only way to find out.
The goal of You’re Not the Boss of Me is to approach the notion of leadership in a simple and practical way. I hope to provide some interesting information about leadership without cluttering it up with a lot of academia; provide some links meant to enrich your own exploration; and perhaps even challenge you to try some things that you may not have considered. It is also my goal to deliver this with something of a light-hearted, sometimes even irreverent, demeanor. After all, leadership, while a serious subject is not a religion.
If you have recently been promoted from being an individual contributor to having responsibility for the performance of a group of others, this might be the place for you. If you are well practiced in the art of leadership, (as well as in the science of it), I welcome any contribution you may wish to make and will be grateful for the richness your experiences will no doubt add to this site. Either way, if learning happens, (yours and mine), it will have fulfilled its purpose.
You're Not the Boss of Me 
Love your blog. Thaks for sharing your thoughts and insights.
Thank you Chris…especially for taking the time to tell me. 🙂
Hi, nice to meet you !
Hi Gwyn. Good blog.
I appreciate your writing on the subject of leadership. One area that I am particularly interested in, and involved, is the leadership of whole markets. For example, my site is focused on the leadership of consultants, coaches, trainers and experts in gaining more clients. It’s at:
http://Clientonomy.com
Many of the same subject matters are relevant, whether it’s the leadership of individuals, teams, companies or whole markets.
Keep up the good work.
Mac.
Thanks Mac, I appreciate your taking the time to comment here and to point me to your website. I like the premise of your site. Consultancy can be a lonely occupation, especially when it comes to building a practice. Thanks again.
Gwyn
Dear Gwyn,
My name is James and I’m promoting one of the newest titles for Career Press Publications and would like to send you a copy for review or discussion. I feel it would be a great resource for your blog “You’re Not the Boss of Me”. Below is some information about the book as well as my contact information. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.
Real Leaders Don’t Boss
Inspire, Motivate, and Earn Respect from Employees
and Watch Your Organization Soar
by Ritch K. Eich, PhD
Bosses certainly are not in short supply – we all have one. But real leaders are the elusive commodity. With job satisfaction at its lowest level in two decades and middle managers complaining about lack of leadership from above, it seems motivation and direction have become victims of the economic recession.
Or are these merely conditions indicating a much greater problem: an overall lack of real leadership in today’s workplace and beyond?
“Ritch Eich understands leadership from many perspectives, military and civilian. He knows what matters and how to separate the practical from the theoretical.” – Mike McCurry, White House Press Secretary for President Clinton, and Principal, Public Strategies Washington, Inc.
Real leaders inspire, teach, and mentor others to achieve their professional and personal goals -while achieving the organization’s goals as well. Real leaders are made; they learn through trial and error, and are nurtured and developed through time. In most cases, leadership skills are honed in the battlefield of life, where leaders discover their drive, passion, and wisdom.
Each chapter of Real Leaders Don’t Boss offers examples of real leaders in action as well as concrete steps that you can take to enhance your own real leadership positioning, such as:
– Underscore your team’s importance to the overall success of the organization by appropriately conveying their contributions.
– Solicit feedback from team regularly. The workplace is hardly a statistic; therefore continuous learning and leading go hand and hand.
– Believe in the greater good and cause above self, along with the willingness to sacrifice personal gains for a greater cause.
– Surround yourself with people who excel in areas that you do not, and do not hire “yes” men or “yes” women.
– Before hiring someone, ask yourself, “Is this the kind of person I would want to be in a foxhole with?”
– Set specific standards for interaction/communication between employees, staff and leaders.
We hope that you will consider this new book as a resource for your site and are happy to provide you with a review copy if you so desire. Opportunities exist for you to take an excerpt from the book for use on your site (with pre-approval) or for you to review for your audience. If you are interested in a review copy please get back to us with a full mailing address and contact.
Many thanks for your consideration.
James Thompson
Promotions Department
(201)-848-0310 ext: 510
Career Press and New Page Books
Promo@CareerPress.com
http://www.careerpress.com / http://www.newpagebooks.com
http://www.newpagebooks.blogspot.com
Available 8-4 EST
Hi James ~ Thank you for thinking of this blog as a potential ‘fit’ for Dr Eich’s book. At the moment, it is not my practice to do book reviews on my blog. I do see how Dr Eich’s ideas and the tenor of my blog may be well aligned though. Regrettably, the time I have available to devote to my blog is very limited. One thing that has crossed my mind, for future consideration, is to devote one post a week on reading recommendations, books or articles that will help support those who want to become better at this leadership thing. When I get to that place, I hope I can contact you again for your recommendations.
Thanks again.
Gwyn
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I appreciate the vast ideas from individuals on this blog. As a lecturer at a university I see myself as someone who not only guides but hope to leader the nursing management students I interact with. This does not make me a “Boss” as learning within this environment should be reciprocal. I found the real action of leaders quite useful.
Hi Oumiki ~ I’m so glad you are finding the blog useful. Thank you for that and for taking the time to say so here.