visionary leadership

Creating Authentic Engagement for Change

Seth Kahan — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:52:25 -0500

Most of my work is with senior managers and executives, helping them to implement large-scale change using participation and engagement to create buy-in and support.
There are three conditions that require change leaders to shift from mandate (command & control) to authentic enthusiasm (connect & collaborate) to generate the results they are looking for:

The Inner Journey of Leading Change

Seth Kahan — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 12:35:32 -0500

Change leadership starts within, requiring a commitment to self-transformation. Are there conditions that make this kind of inner work especially effective? What activities are most powerful for genuine inner transformation? Is this something that happens alone, isolated in the interior of one’s private world, or is it best done in a community? If so, what kind of community? Is there a template?

Dying for Compassion

Seth Kahan — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 22:54:18 -0500

Dr. Irv Rubin has been leading change in the healthcare industry for 35 years. I spoke with Irv recently to learn more about his approach, and in particular why he chose to write the novel, Dying for Compassion. Here is what he said:

The Power to Convene and Set Context

Seth Kahan — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:30:32 -0400

Personal Empowerment in Difficult Times

Seth Kahan — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:08:15 -0400

Most people would be amazed at how much we can really do ourselves if we only take the opportunities in front of us. You don’t have to know all the answers, but if you keep asking the questions, you will get closer.

This is Ross Wirth speaking, Program Chair of Business Administration at Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio. I had a chance to speak with Ross last week. It got me thinking.

New Rules for Mass Collaboration

Seth Kahan — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:26:12 -0400

Rod Collins is the former Chief Operating Executive of Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program, the largest private health insurance account in the United States, a $20billion business.Today Rod works with organizations that want to transform their management model from traditional directive command-and-control to a more collaborative approach. I spoke to him this week. Here is what he has to say:

Organizational Storytelling

Seth Kahan — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:42:39 -0400

Steve Denning is the world leader in organizational storytelling. He has written five books on the subject. The Financial Times chose his book, The Secret Language of Leadership, as one of the best business books of 2007, and wrote: "If leaders do not immediately implement the findings of this book, both they and their organizations are doomed."

A Sense of Urgency

Seth Kahan — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:08:37 -0400

Harvard Business School Professor John Kotter is a world-class authority on change leadership. He has written 12 books, each making substantive contributions to the field. His exposure to 100s of organizations provides powerful stories to illustrate his findings. He is perhaps best known for his 8-step model for leading successful change.

Who is the better change leader: Obama or McCain?

Seth Kahan — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:00:38 -0400

Harvard prof John Kotter is one of the foremost authorities on change leadership. I thought it would be interesting to apply Kotter’s eight-step process for implementing successful transformation to our two candidates for president, rating their effectiveness as change leaders. Here goes:

The Soft Stuff is the Hard Stuff

Seth Kahan — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 03:03:00 -0400

In 1999 I was Communications Manager for the World Bank's enterprise resource planning (erp) initiative. We were gutting over 100 disconnected systems and replacing them with a single real-time application.

Leading Change

Seth Kahan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:51:26 -0400

Change leadership is about re-inventing the world, bringing people together to co-create the future. Success relies on enthusiastic engagement and committed buy-in. Seth Kahan, designated a Visionary by the Center for Association Leadership, draws on his unique background in improv street theater, storytelling, and rites-of-passage to help leaders succeed in getting traction for revolutionary ideas.

Bio and Interests: jer dunlap

jer dunlap — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:42:17 -0400

Two Leadership Principles that spark a Company

Doug Stremel — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:48:51 -0400

In their book, The Leadership Challenge (Kouzes and Posner, 2002) the authors, through their extensive research, have correlated five fundamental practices that leaders exemplify. The principles include; challenge the process, inspire a shared vision, enable others to act, model the way and encouraging the heart. These principles were arrived at based on data studies of thousands of managers from 1983 through 1997 (Shields, 2001).

Porsche Thinking

Brent Wong — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:06:18 -0400

Thinking in todays world requires lightening fast deduction and quick decision making allowing risks to make it fun and interesting.