Leadership Insights
from the Untangle Doctor®
Blog Post Archive
- AIG 1
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- Hush Hush Tangle 1
- Introduction 1
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- VUCA 17
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Recommendations for increasing our capacity to lead in complexity: Start with Self-Leadership
Both of us are keenly aware of leaders' need to dramatically increase their capacity for complexity. We have invested significant time researching, studying, and teaching leading-edge theories and practices that facilitate more strategic thinking. We’ve also coached leaders facing VUCA–volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, and consulted with global organizations facing unprecedented change. We want to share our thoughts and pragmatic recommendations.
You are the Captain of Your Own Ship
Just before Father’s Day, I saw a post on one of my social media accounts asking us to reflect on the best advice or insights we received from our father. I immediately remembered that my father once told me “You are the captain of your own ship.” Then I recalled the situation and why that advice was so profound in my life.
What Does it Mean to Be Accountable?
Several years ago, I worked as a consultant for a Fortune 500 high-tech company. I was part of a team of consultants hired to help this company make significant changes. Specifically, I was hired to assist with the human side of change, which meant building strategies to ensure buy-in and adoption. I was part of a team of other successful consultants. I remember one particular moment when our team gave each other feedback at the end of the project. One colleague commented that I was accountable. I remember being very flattered and validated. Yet what did this mean?
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Power of Emotional Contagion
I have been closely following the news about the invasion of Ukraine with horror, and like so many, have been in awe of President Zelenskyy’s leadership. As an Associate Professor, I oversee a Master's of Leadership program at Golden Gate University and designed most of the courses. Because of my fascination with neuroscience and its application to leadership behavior, I've included that information in many of our courses.
One of the topics that we cover is emotional contagion. We start that discussion by describing mirror neurons. Mirror neurons were discovered quite by accident by Italian researchers. The story goes that they were researching Macaque monkeys. The monkeys' brains responded not only when they picked up food but when they saw a researcher pick up an ice cream cone. The experiment was replicated in humans. Researchers further discovered that the mirror neurons fired even before observing a specific action.