Leadership: It's a Marathon Not a Sprint

Leadership is a quality that people need to learn. Whether you are aspiring to a business or management career, or want to be a leader in other aspects of your life, you will want to read this interview with Gordon Tredgold, the author of a new book called Leadership It’s a Marathon Not a Sprint.

Q: How does one move from being a manager to being a leader?

A: To me leadership is all about creating and having influence, so you can actually do this whilst you're in a management position, and then you can use this influence to inspire your teams and motive them to achieve their goals wrath than through command and control structures. There is also the view that management is about getting your teams to do things right, whereas leadership is about getting your teams to do the right things.

Again, as managers we can take the double view of checking first that we are dong the right thing, and then checking that we are doing it right. With this approach we will definitely help to improve the results.

In many companies people who are good managers are often promoted to leadership positions even though these are ostensibly different roles, so being a good manager is definitely one way of becoming a leader.

I would say that an even better way would be to start leading whilst in your management position, these roles are not mutually exclusive and many of the best leaders i have worked with combined both skill at the management level before becoming leaders.

This also gives us the added bond of being able to practise our leadership skills prior to being in a formal leadership position.


Q: What other topics does your book cover?

A: My book covers many different aspects about leadership such as goal setting and inspiring people, the interrelationships between aspiration, inspiration and motivation, team building, reward and recognition and about achieving sustainable results.

You can read the book from start to finish, or you can pick a chapter at random to get a better understanding of a particular leadership topic.


Q: What made you decide to write this book?

A: I've had a lot of positive feedback over the years on my leadership style, people seem to have liked the way i have led them and the successes that we have achieved, so i thought it might be a good idea to talk about my approach and to put it down in words to share it. I don't necessarily think my approach is unique, but it has been effective and its not one that i often see written from a practitioner perspective so i thought this might be an interesting angle.

Also, my approach is very simple and straight forward, as is my writing style, so i thought that might be a refreshing change from of the more technical or theoretical books on leadership.  Dealing more with the how, than the what or why. I do believe the what and why are important, but i haven't seen many how to guides.

Also I wanted to write a book to help aspiring leaders, given them approaches and then examples of how those approaches could be implemented, to make leadership more accessible. 


Q: Tell us a little about yourself.

I'm from the north of England, which I think is what helps  makes me a pragmatic, no nonsense, straight talking leader, as these are definitely traits of people from that area. I also have a great sense of humour, which i often use to try and  reduce the stress in tense situation. I like to have fun, especially at work, i think if we can make it a more fun environment people then this will help us increase our chances of success and levels of success.

I'm a very determined character, I used to play a lot of rugby, and being fairly short and playing right in the trenches, I was always a fully committed, lead from the front type player, and this is definitely reflected in my leadership style.

(Visit Gordon Tredgold’s blog - http://www.leadership-principles.com/en/
Leadership It’s a Marathon Not a Spirnt - http://amzn.to/1fW2lmX)

Creative Thinking - Interview with Sandy Sims

Sandy Sims, an ex Navy Officer and a business school graduate, is the author of the fascinating book, Creative Thinking For The 21^st Century, An Experiential Guidebook.

Yvonne: Welcome, Sandy. What is your definition of Creative Thinking?

Sandy: First of all there are probably over a hundred different models for creativity and my statements are based upon trying out a non-linear manifestation model and reporting on the results. The primary reason I have referred to these as thinking patterns for the 21^st century is that we are being forced to seek new ways to exist. Technology increases the number of experiences available at a blinding pace, and seems to steal time in the same breath. For me creative thinking is:

A process of continuously petitioning the unconscious field to obtain the new.

This model suggests that new knowledge emerges through the unconscious mind and that aspects of this mind may be shared via intuition and synchronicities. It does not detract from our linear brain functions involved in reasoning and previous knowledge, nor does it negate other creative techniques, but sets the stage for those activities.

Yvonne: How do you employ creative thinking to solve problems?

I ask intently and continuously to know the core question regarding any situation, trusting that the answer will appear whether definitively or intuitively; and using that core question as the contextual basis for all investigation to either a next step or a final solution.

This sets the contextual stage for the next step. It may even solve the problem. You may then engage with others using rationale analysis, brainstorming, and  other techniques.

For example let us say you are a manager in a company and you have a chronic conflict between two employees to resolve. Your first inclination might be to think, “How can I help patch up a difference between these two people?” If however you ask yourself to know the core question, upon reflection it might be, “What is the best outcome for all concerned?”  With this question as the basis then a broader stage is set: it not only involves the two employees but the welfare of the company as well. Maybe instead of trying to patch things up it becomes clear in the ensuing process that the best outcome is for one of the people to leave. The loss of that person might cause a certain immediate burden, but his or her replacement could turn out to be a huge improvement and the person leaving may have actually wanted a change but lacked the initiative.

Frequently a problem involves how to create something new which is going to involve brainstorming with others. In this case when you do meet your unconscious mind has already been long at work. Then you are prepared for either a solution or the next step.

Yvonne: Can you incorporate creative thinking in decision making?

Absolutely. I actually went back to think about what factors were involved in my decision making process and produced a model to describe this. Most of our decisions are around situations requiring us to decide whether to go one direction or another or whether to act or not act.

You might then proceed by setting a goal of “achieving the best outcome for all involved” as it relates to the action contemplated. I like to think of having invisible partners on the other end of my goal setting and this being a foundation order to them. As a further filter I like to evaluate the contemplated action through a values screen. Is it ethical? Is it purposeful? Is it harmful? Is it in line with my core values?

If the answer is yes, then I am willing to proceed. If the answer is no, then stop and consider a new action.

As I move up the risk continuum I want to evaluate the nature of the desire. Is it for a pure experience or is it masking a fear? If it is masking a fear then reconsider. The fear may be replacing the original desire.

Finally I check my intuition.  If I get a “yes,” I proceed until I get a positive outcome or a negative outcome. A negative outcome may not necessarily be bad. For example there is the story of the Chinese peasant who loses his prize horse. His neighbor says, “Oh what a tragedy.” The peasant replies, “Maybe, Maybe not.” The next day the peasant’s son goes out on a mule to find the horse. In so doing he brings back the horse but falls off the mule and breaks his leg. The neighbor says, “Oh what a tragedy.” The peasant replies, “Maybe, maybe not.” The next day the Chinese Army sweeps through conscripting every able bodied youth. The son is spared.

Before having an outcome you may experience synchronicities. These are meetings between inner desires and outer world occurrences. If positive, continue on. If negative , then either stop and consider a new course of action or continue on until you receive a confirming negative synchronicity. In that case stop and consider a new action.

I have this diagramed in a model: http://creativethinkingbook.com/intuitive-decision-making-model/

Yvonne: De Bono's 6 Thinking Hats have been introduced successfully in primary schools. What's the age limit on your methodology - can children benefit from using a simplified version?

The one thing that makes the De Bono a success is that the hats introduce an element of fun while keeping the children focused on the hat’s topic.

I feel that the most valuable quality children exhibit is their questioning and curious mind, especially with regard to the “Why” and “How.”

I think that exercises with children need to be fun. My take is that my model per se might be a bit too intellectual. However any exercise that would lead children to discuss the value of a question, what makes a question good or better and why would be extremely valuable.  I believe that learning to live life as a question is the portal to creativity.

Yvonne: Tell us more about your book and workbook, particularly how they spark creative thinking.

I wrote this book as an introspective journey seeing my life as being lived through a linear thinking lens, and then being made aware of an entirely new way of manifesting, and seeing life through that lens. I wanted to test this manifestation model in my daily life, being willing to raise the bar as the results seemed to confirm it was working. The book is the story of this journey. My feeling is that many people are on similar journeys and younger people can gain by knowing what is possible.  Perhaps the essence of this book is that if we live in a state of curiosity that will open up an expanding creative landscape. If we can realize our own personal power, and can learn to trust then we can have an extraordinary life.

The guidebook came about as a desire to pass on the essence of what I had learned, especially to young people who are starting out in life. I had the good fortune of being exposed to a number of cutting edge thinkers, and fascinating people all of whom made a profound impact upon me. I tried  out much of what they suggested.  I felt that a short guidebook which suggests not only how to think but what to think about could be very beneficial. Dr. Kerry Monick, the psychiatrist who was my catalyst in the book, was my collaborator for the guidebook.

For more information about Sandy Sims and How Frank Lloyd Wright Got Into My Head, Under My Skin And Changed The Way I Think About Thinking, A Creative Thinking Blue Print For the 21st Century, visit http://creativethinkingbook.com/ and visit this page to get the Amazon links http://creativethinkingbook.com/buy-your-copy/.