Congratulations to Luke Cameron who completed his 365 days of doing at least one random act of kindness every day, over the course of 2014. If you haven't already read about his exploits I recommend his blog:
On the blog you can find a list of all the things he did. Some of them may seem small or even insignificant. Others you may look at and think, 'Well I do that as a matter of course. It's just good manners'. But to think that way is to miss the point.
Just imagine what it does to your mindset, to go out every day (even the ones where you might be in a less positive mood!) and consciously aim to commit an act of kindness. Take a moment to consider what that might do. Fundamentally, it removes you from the centre of your universe and, for a moment at least, puts someone else in your place. Now imagine repeating that moment for at least another 364 times over the year. Do you think it might have an effect on you and how you perceive the world? Maybe we become a bit more optimistic, generous or simply a bit more tolerant?
Coincidentally, while Luke's story was making national headlines, I was reading a book on the 'altrocentric leader'. I will post up more on this topic soon, but for now, it serves as an example of how a similar mindset to that of Luke is being encouraged as a way of leading in modern organisations. The altrocentric leader is the converse of the ego-centric leader, the alpha-male (or female) who gets things done by stamping their authority, keeping control and themselves at the centre of everything. The basic argument of the book is that in order for organisations to thrive in today's busy complex environment, where workforces are distributed and more individualised, and where the boundaries between customer, supplier, competitor and partner are becoming increasingly blurred, the effective leader has to recognise that leadership is both relational and contextual. I'll post up a summary shortly, but for now, the simple message is that leaders need to start thinking about others.
Can you share the title of the book on the altrocentric leader?
ReplyDeleteThe book on megatrends is called 'Leadership 2030' by Vielmetter and Sel
ReplyDeleteHi Laurie, thanks for the interest. You will find the book by Vielmetter and Sell interesting although if you already work in that field there may be few surprises. It does have some very good case studies but its real strength is its explanation of the implications for leaders. The final chapter has a checklist for assessing your 'altrocentrism'.
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