mary's profile(¯`·._happy (¯`·._ _.·´¯...PhotosBlogListsMore  |  Tools Help |
(¯`·._happy (¯`·._ _.·´¯)is_.·´¯)imagination with CLASS...a taste of the best |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
September 21 SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIPLEARNING ABOUT EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP
The following is a summary of a study done at University level in Australia. The extracts are from An Exploration of University Leaders' Perceptions of Learnign about Leadership by Glenys Drew, Lisa Ehrich and Brain Hansofrd from QUT Kelvin Grove Campus Brisbane Queensland
Transformative leadership is about motivating and inspiring staff as well as satisfying their higher needs. It is also stimulating and encouraging thinking and bringing out high performance in staff, beyond normal expectations. A key aspect of transofrmational leadership is the idea of 'enabling others to act' which refers to leaders who encourage and empower others to act, take ownership and strengthen their performance. Building an inclusive culture that supports genuine collaboration and effective team work has been identified as an important leadership practice within organisations.
Pounder (2001) argued that transformational leadrship is necessary to bulid interpersoanl relationships, morale and team work while transactional leadership is necessary for planning-goal setting and producitivity-efficiency. London 92002) claims that 'self insight is a prerequisite for understanding others and the foundation for development' for leaders within organisations. An understanding of self is a critical feature of 'authentic leadership', where authenicity refers to discovering the self through relationships with others and has a focus on trustworthiness, genuineness and ethics. Academic leaders play several roles and these include motivating and inspiring staff' bringing about high performance in colleagues; credible leadrship that stimulates and encourages thinking; filtering out bureaucratic demands so that academics are free to get on with their jobs; leading from behind as well as from the front; facilitating the work of others rather than focusing on their own work; and balancing open ended problems while acknowledgin goals, constraints and expected outcomes. Scott, Coates and Anderson (2008) findings highlight the important attributes or capablitilities such as emapthising, self-regulation, self-organisation, decisiveness, commitment to learning and teaching, strategy, diagnosis, influencing, flexibility and responsiveness.
A recent study in Australia of senior level university leaders found that effective leaders were persons who have people skills; who promoted an environement that fostered growth of leadership in others, opened doors for staff and helped create opportunities; were credible and engendered trust; acted as role models; were ethical, inclusive and collaborative in their practices; were strategic and took responsibility for decisions; communicated the goals and vision of the organisation; understood organisational priorotiies; and had adequate resources and connections. "To foster the growth of leadership in others...using delegation to foster a sense of wondership and responsibility in others and hence to "grow" the leadership skills and capablitities...Leaders should provide autonomy and allow others to do the job in their own way; not to micromanage. If they are new to the role..the leader puts the other person in the driver's seat and provides the conversation and back up support needed. It is not enough to have the structure right; the personal dimension needs to be right. You need the capacity to delegate to people; something that is possible in the presence of mutual trust."
"Someone whom you can respect in terms of having a vision, demonstrating intellectual capacity...creating opportunities and helping you take advantage of opportunities. Good leaders force you out of your comfort zone, have confidence in you for a new role and then back you in that role. It is giving people the opportunity to succeed."
"He didn't demand respect, he earned respect. He was a humble person and he had credibility. People follow a person like that. The environment that he created was one of trust...The leader must have the trust and respect, from supervisor, staff and peers in order to have credibility...Unless you have gained people's trust, people are not going to come to you with issues and items which need resolution...One needs to blend sincerity with orgainsiational skills, as one can genuinely mean to do something but if they can't organise themesleves it won't get done despite their sincerity." Credibility was viewed in terms of leaders who followed through, were trustowrthy and 'walked the talk'. Trust was seen as essential in the presence of integrity and a 'hallmark of environments in which people feel respected, valued and appreciated'.
"I expect to be led by example; to be led by someone who is dynamic, intelligent, visionary, and truthful. ..For me leadrs are inclusive, transparent and have a collaborative approach...Integrity is most important...Decision maker-an ability to seek advice appropriately and to weigh up that advice...they have to own the goals and vision for others to own them. Leaders provide guided thinking. They don't solve problems for people but engage people in solving problems; they ask them to come with a possible resolution in mind."
"Crisis situations are those from whcih I have leaned most. One aspect of that is learning to disengage when needed and still to remain in control of your life. Going through difficult times shores up ability to lead."
Leaders are viewed as those people who build and nurture conncections with others. Crisis situations and difficlut times provide opportunities for self-understanding, empathy, self-regulation and self-insight. Leaders are chellenged to reflect upon themselves as leaders, their strengths and capacities come into full view at moments such as the above.
This Australian study has that demonstration of interpersonal, relationship-building, inspiring trust in staff and motivating and enabling attributes lie at he heart of successful leadership. Consequently, transformational leadership got the thumbs up at University level context. May I add that it is critical to all educational enviroments.
.
 February 21 THE SONG OF MEMORY
THE SONG OF MEMORY
When someone we love passes on beyond life in the world that we know and is gone. A beautiful sense of their presence, like music remembered by heart, lingers on... When someone we love finds a wonderful home in a world only faith can reveal, Our memories can be like a song in the heart with the power to comfort and heal. In quiet moemts, I feel your presence and the healing power of memory. In honour of my gentle, peace filled, intelligent and honourable father who went Home , to rest eternally, on 29 January 2009. The beautiful memories I will treasure forever. Dear God, I know you are taking care of a very precious angel for us. January 13 HEALTHY DIETSThe 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating
 Maybe you should be eating more beets, left, or chopped cabbage. (Credit: Evan Sung for The New York Times, left
(This post was originally published on June 30, 2008, and recently appeared on The New York Times’s list of most-viewed stories for 2008.) Nutritionist and author Jonny Bowden has created several lists of healthful foods people should be eating but aren’t. But some of his favorites, like purslane, guava and goji berries, aren’t always available at regular grocery stores. I asked Dr. Bowden, author of “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth,” to update his list with some favorite foods that are easy to find but don’t always find their way into our shopping carts. Here’s his advice.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/the-11-best-foods-you-arent-eating/?em You can find more details and recipes on the Men’s Health Web site, which published the original version of the list last year. Thank goodness I live in Australia and pumpkin forms part of our diet on a regular basis. I ate enough beetroot as a child in Irleand to last me a lifetime. In my own house, I only have two of these items — pumpkin seeds, which we nibble on watching late night movies and put on salads, and frozen blueberries, which I mix with milk, yogurt and other fruits for morning smoothies. Pomegranate juice frequents the fridge when the health binge hits the household. Needless to say the kids think they are about to be poisoned. How about you? Have any of these foods found their way into your shopping cart? January 05 DIFFERENT KIND OF JOURNEYJOURNEY FROM HOME TO HOME
My smooth twenty-one hour flight from Ireland got me into Brisbane on Friday morning with Singapore Airlines. Emirates still rates as number one for hygiene and catering. Celebrated the New Year, two hours into the trip, somewhere over Germany: Mother earth was suddenly sparkling with radiant colour. It was an awesome feeling: viewing fireworks from the other side. My three days and three weeks in Ireland just seemed to melt into oblivion, yet so much got done.
I arrived in Cork city on a cold windy Winter's morning, December 6. Mum, my sister in law Maria and my soon to be wonderful companion, three year old niece, Alya, met me at the Airport. Raced off to see Dad in hospital. Yes, I cried when I saw him. I met a fragile and frail yet chatty old man. Dad was suddenly transformed from the strong man I knew to a very unhealthy shadow. Our four hour daily trip to the hospital would last for five days: a day after the visit from the Oncology Consultant. Dad very bravely and acceptingly confirmed with the Consultant that he knew he had cancer.
A biopsy was not necessary at this stage and Dad didn't want it anyway. Neither did Dad want an operation or chemo. The Consultant assured him that these were not an option either. Steriods were the suggested course to make Dad comfortable. Pain is something that Dad has a very high threshold with. The manner in which the doctor spoke to Dad about the pain associated with pancreatic cancer made us all realise how lucky our father was so far. He doesn't have any pain, yet has other nasties to remind him of his terminal illness. One of the side effects of the steriods is fluid retention in the feet.I massaged his legs and feet once a day to ease this. My younger brother continues with this. Dad massaged them himself at other times when they were really swollen.
"I don't believe that life is supposed to make you feel good, or make you feel miserable either. Life is just supposed to make you feel."
- Gloria Naylor Dad's sense of independence, politeness and privacy added a beautiful touch to our constant exchanges. His sense of humour shone quietly. He assured us he would do the napping for us whilst we added the finishing touches to the spring clean that had taken hold of the household.
His sense of self awareness enabled him to ask for quiet time in the afternoon when the drugs hit hardest. He remarked that he felt like he was eating tablets. I thought to myself; "I guess if you're swallowing twenty seven tablets a day, your already disintegrating digestive system was working hard. Even though Dad has cancer of the pancreas, lungs and liver, he still has alot of spark left. And yes the two month lifespan that he is left with was further confirmed by the doctor before I left.
"Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives."
- A. Sachs This time around we talked and talked, better than ever before. Visitors just poured through the door from 11.00am to 11.30pm: that was at the peak of things. For two weeks people traffic through the house made it impossible to find a quiet corner. Pots of tea and cake were a constant. This was not helping la figure, one bit, and resisting temptation of this sort is not one of my fortes. And I adore the strong aromatic mug of Irish tea that comes from a bottomless pot. Our visitors cheerfully remarked on what an interesting, intelligent, strong and positive man Dad is. This reassurance made our peaceful acceptance of this shocking and tragic event a little smoother. Dad's outlook in conjunction with nightly family prayer gave everyone a sense of relief and resilience.
"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."
- Abraham Lincoln Yes, we had our moments when we cried together. Our tears were shed often times for the suffering cup that our father was holding bravely. We also had our moments of hilarity and fun. Nine of us slept at home for a week. My brother and sister from New York and London arrived three days after me. My other brother, from Brisbane, arrived on Christmas Eve. Michael, my brother who lives nearby and is married to Maria, came down most mornings. He later returned at night time to sit with Dad. One of us was almost always comfortably perched in the sitting room chatting by the peat fire with Dad.
The quiet little country home was soon the hub of activity from 7.00 in the morning when Dad awoke to 3.00am when my two brothers, sister and myself would decide it was time to grab a rest. Oh, my two nephews could sometimes continue watching satellite TV or playing the PS3 for another hour. Irish teenagers sleep in until 12.00pm. What a luxury! The chats we shared around the place enabled us to unmask the real self. We were truly living in the NOW and surrendering to what is, in a graciously strong kind of way unbeknown to oursleves. We take with us moments that we will cherish forever.
"Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up our enthusiasm wrinkles the soul."
- Samuel Ullman For me, the swinging concepts of immortality and mortality interplay in a perspecitve coloured with a further affirmation that we die the way we live. We call upon our true values and virtues as we perceptively attempt to tackle our solitary fate. "I have no regrets...always tell the truth...hyporcisy doesn't pay...drive safely, avoid the ditches...get there on time...such is life...there is no point in being bored...that is how it is...," were some of my Dad's famous last words to me as I sat by his side holding his paper thin hand as I uttered my final Good Bye.
December 05 tribute to my fatherTRIBUTE TO MY FATHER
At 5.20am this morning (Tuesday 2 December) the phone rang. It was my brother and mother in Ireland, ringing me to confirm the dreaded news. Dad has been diagnosed with bowel cancer and will hopefully go into hospital tomorrow. My beautiful big strong brother left the phone on that note: wailing. My dear mother would take over from him, saying that we need to stay strong; “ No point being down in the dumps,” were her words of wisdom. She did say that she thinks he hasn’t got long to go.
I was sort of prepared for this as Dad has not been well for the past three months. My mother and brother rang on Sunday night to wish Claire a happy 11 Birthday and they warned me that things were not good. Dad had lost interest in eating most things (except the potato and fish) due to his inability to hold it down. He had lost lots of weight and had gone blue and white in the face. That was enough for me.
I have taken the day off work to book flight to Ireland and say my farewells before the dreaded morphine takes hold. In the meantime I cry and cry at the reality and think what it must be like to be Mum and Dad right at this moment.
I am blessed to have a father like the one I was given. I remember looking at photos of my Mum and Dad’s wedding, when I was very little. I was often left thinking; “What a great choice Mum made in Dad, as a life long partner!”
He was handsome, had a beautiful melting smile and so gentle. He always seemed to hold his head about him when the world around him seemed out of control. He had an inner strength and peace that left me in awe.
“Wait, until your father finds out!” were Mum’s famous last words. Yet Dad’s gentle firm nature was enough to let us know that was not how we did things in our house.
“Clean up the house, in the name of God!” were some of Dad’s recurring tips to his three buzzing teenage daughters. Our quiet respect for our father was to be heard ringing through the house every Friday afternoon. The big clean out was yet again launched. Not even Mum was allowed to thread across the newly mopped tiles. Mr Sheen loved that home as did the cake company.
Whipping up an assortment of dishes were one of his teenage daughters favourite pastimes. However Dad drew the line when it came to curry and the accompaniments. He had one spoonful and called for a “proper” dinner. Luckily Mum had the insight to have the potato, cabbage, white sauce and bacon at the ready! Dad always encouraged us to eat well. He often brought home treats from the shops that other families may not have had the privilege of indulging in. Fresh ham off the bone, mayonnaise, beetroot, tomato, lettuce and potato salad formed part of the summer lunch. Followed by blocks of vanilla or Neapolitan ice cream with wafers. Followed by fresh pears, apples and bananas. “Dad, I wonder where we all got that great love of fine food from!”
Dad is a man of integrity. He was never seen to tolerate gossip in the floor of his home. I was often a little miffed with him because I thought that he could have so much more fun with the juicy tit bits that were to be chewed. However, Dad wasn’t one to have fun at other people’s expense. He was able to have fun without that. Entertaining the people that he chose to befriend was what made his day. Chatting about the latest farming techniques, global trends and football was what gave Dad a buzz. Not to mention the winter card games or the Guinness that he could manage, when he went into town. My father was moderate in everything he did.
Extravagance was never to be entertained. Mind you, I do remember when I was a child, I was privy to a conversation himself and my mother had regarding the purchase of Small Jer’s farm. It seemed like we were going to live on a potato diet for the rest of our lives. I obviously was hearing Mum’s side of things. Dad, you were often so patient with Mum. Mum was perhaps more of an Italian mother than an Irish one. Emotion was the catchcry of the day. Yet Dad, you balanced that so well with the constant thinking hat that you never really took off.
Pride in yourself was perhaps one of your greatest hallmarks. From the car you drove to the clothes you wore to the house you built, you shone in our eyes. You gave up smoking so that we could have the house of our dreams. Dad, you are a champion. You taught us to dress with a sense of style and self respect. Your pride in us was to be found in the time you set aside for us when we went to the local discos. You would drop us off and wait for us, for hours, in the freezing cold Winter nights, until the fun was over.
Your dedication to our education spoke loud and clear when our reports arrived home. You paid for our tertiary education, without a whim. You kept two jobs in tow. The farm by day and the river by night was not an easy juggle. Not to mention fulfilling your duty as husband and father of six children. Sleep during summer was rationed. Your life often was at risk, with your river job. Having being shot at on the hand and only loosing your watch made us realise the intensity of your job. Yet, you went back to risk your life again, just to keep food on the table for us.
You are an awesome human being. You have taught us so much about the real important things in life. I couldn’t have picked a better role model father and human being. Hope you can rest comfortably knowing that you did a five star job. Know that you are admired and loved unconditionally by all of us.
Your response to the doctor's news regarding your terminal illness is what keeps us all focused. Your reply; 'That's life.'
Today, is Friday and I am ready to fly from Brisbane to Cork via Singaporean airlines to go see my father for the last time. It will be comforting to be with all of the family. My brother is flying in from New York tomorrow also. My sister arrives from London on Monday.
Not sure what lies ahead…the great unknown is to be encountered.
|
One of my very fab favourites at the moment
A journey in the NOW and out of the NOW
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Send a private message
Subscribe to RSS feed
Tell a friend
Add to Live.com
Add to your network
Sign up for alerts
|
|
is_.%c2%b7%c2%b4%c2%af)+-+Windows+Live&referrer=){kind=small}
