Leadership – Odyssey or Journey?
Photo Credit: Simeon Netchev
Today's second topic discusses the changing nature of work.
Word Count: About 1,100 words, with an approximate reading time of 4 to 6 minutes. Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Links to purchase the books discussed in this newsletter can be found on my website's recommended reading page.
In 2022, I published The Leader With A Thousand Faces. The book is a personal study of leadership based on over forty years of experience working with hundreds of leaders in scores of companies. The framework is adapted from Joseph Campbell's study of hero myths in The Hero With A Thousand Faces.
In mid-2023, Harvard Business Review Magazine published The Leadership Odyssey. I was struck by the similar structure of the article, my book, and Campbell's book.
Please note that the phases of the Leader's Journey, as I describe them, are not linear. We are always learning and growing. We may be engaged in multiple leadership actions at any one time. We should always focus on continuous progress and perpetual motion.
If you decide to purchase a copy, thank you. As always, a short Amazon review would be appreciated.
The Changing Nature of Work
Since the end of the pandemic, there have been many articles about returning to the office. None of them focus on a central aspect of the relationship. The employment relationship is one where the employer sets the terms of the agreement. The employer defines the job description, compensation and benefits, and general working conditions in exchange for services performed by the employee. The employee accepts, rejects, or negotiates the offer. Once accepted, the employer can change the agreement in many ways – pay raises, promotions, benefit plan changes, etc.
The pandemic forced everyone to adopt new working arrangements. Employers want people in the office – some full-time, others hybrid. Many employees are resisting calls to work in the office. We are back in the job offer stage – accept, reject, or negotiate. If an agreement is not reached, the employee has the option to find other employment.
This is, and always has been, a hard fact of life
Related Articles
Bring back cubicles! (Business Insider)
'We feel betrayed': SAP workers rebel against forced return to the office (euronews)
Welcome to the era of so-so jobs (Business Insider)
I Need to Say This About Gen Z's Wrong Take on Work/Life Balance (Medium)
What I’m Up To
We attended the 2024 Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. At 127 years, it is the longest running event of its kind.
Chips and Salsa: Snack-sized news and posts
Etiquette is for everyone. Making the effort shows those around you that you care about them. Pride in the discipline to learn proper etiquette reflects on you as well.
There is a two-step answer to this article's question. First, ask yourself how much you care about either the poser or the topic. If the answer is not much, then don't waste your time and effort. If you do care, then start asking them pointed questions. Eventually, they will expose their ignorance, and their opinions won't have significant influence. (This does not seem to be true for politicians these days.)
How to deal with people who pretend to know more than they do (Fast Company)
Embrace our biological reality.
This headline is confusing. If you have to perform a "brainless activity" in a specific way, how can it be brainless?
I am always amazed by these images.
"Extraordinary" Webb telescope images detail 19 spiral galaxies (Axios)
I will never understand small-minded behavior like this.
Stolen Jackie Robinson statue found burned, dismantled in trash can (ABC News)
For me, this is proof that we look at a college education in the wrong way. There is no such thing as the right school. There is only what the graduate makes of it. The second link shares an article that shows career success is not exclusive to the Ivy League.
Inventing the Perfect College Applicant (New York Magazine)
Where the Top Fortune 500 CEOs Attended College (US News & World Report)
It's an interesting demographic shift.
Religious 'Nones' in America: Who They Are and What They Believe (Pew Research)
Last issue, I wrote about fads. This article explores how Stanley helped to create the Big Cup craze.
The Stanley Cup Shows How Underrepresented and Underserved Consumers Drive Sales (Inc)
It would be interesting to see word and page limits placed on corporate documents. It would force people to create concise stories.
Supreme Court word-count limits for lawyers, explained in 1,026 words (The Conversation)
E-commerce is great, but brick-and-mortar is far from dead. It is very different.
The retail apocalypse never happened (Axios)
A historical essay on leadership.
The mythos of leadership (aeon)
Quotes
"If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. It's the hard that makes it great."
- Tom Hanks
"The world will ask you who you are, and if you do not know, the world will tell you."
- Carl Jung
"Leadership is self-knowledge."
- Betsy Myers
You can order The Leader With A Thousand Faces on the Recommended Reading Page of my website.
My goal is to make this newsletter as interesting and valuable as possible. Please share your thoughts and suggestions for improvement. If there are specific topics in leadership you would like me to focus on in future issues, please send them my way.
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