The GB Women's Olympic Volleyball squad had their funding withdrawn for their 'home' Olympics next year because they were not considered a strong enough medal prospect. Funding is currently concentrated on those teams most likely to perform well.
At first sight this seems logical - why waste money on teams unlikely to win?
But that is falling for the trap of solving a problem before really thinking through what the objectives are. That leads to 'solutions' very unlikely to result in what you really want to achieve.
What are the Olympic Games all about? Should it be 'win at all cost'? Is it worth spending £1million per Gold? Is a Silver worth half that, and Bronze a quarter?
Should they be dominated by sponsorship of powerful global brands, many of which have unhealthy products and are using the OG to achieve apparent support of and endorsement by top athletes who wouldn't win if they actually used the products.
What messages are we giving to our children? Unless you are the best in the world, you are a failure, and don't expect encouragement or support?
By giving all the money to the most successful teams, are we stifling new sports or development of sports currently unpopular in our country? Volleyball may be a minority sport in GB but it is in the top 5 worldwide - the men's volleyball final at the Beijing Olympics having bigger global TV viewing than the football World Cup final!
Is it a self-fulfilling approach? Give money to likely winners and not to less likely ones, then justify it by saying 'see, they won'
Fundamentally, what is the purpose of sport in the modern world?
The team have responded to having their funds withdrawn by becoming even more determined to live their Olympic dream. They have been using various univeristy's facilities for traing and carrying out a range of fund raising activites. Watching them train one can see their dedication and determination, ironically reinforced by their poor treatment. Let's hope they are successful and achieve the objective the Olympic movement should have at it heart.
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Thursday, 7 July 2011
10. Media
Revelations about The News of the World phone hacking add to a history of misleadership by newspapers and other media, when we need them to perform a key role in keeping us informed, and politicians and other leaders honest.
As editors, owners and top politicians duck and dive, denying knowledge and bleating about how evil the culprits were, they exhibit all four aspects of MisLeadership: Missing, Misguided, Misinformed and Machiavellian.
To change them (editors, owners and top politicians) from an often negative into a positive force will take all eight of the steps suggested in our book 'MisLeadership: Prevalence, Causes and Consequences': 1. Wake up! 2. Take responsibility, 3. Have transparency in all that you do, 4. Prepare a force field analysis, 5. Adopt effective problem-solving approaches, 6. Take a global perspective, 7. Work towards anew paradigm of thought, 8. Develop a contemporary mission
As with so many current issues, this is urgent and global, but experience tells us that little will be done. It is the first two steps that are crucial: 1. wake up to what has been going on, its prevalence, causes and consequences, and how it links to such aspects as MP's expense claims and domination of access to and quality of information by a very few powerful individuals. 2. Take responsibility for failure to act in the past and for taking the necessary globally fit leadership decisions and actions required.
As editors, owners and top politicians duck and dive, denying knowledge and bleating about how evil the culprits were, they exhibit all four aspects of MisLeadership: Missing, Misguided, Misinformed and Machiavellian.
To change them (editors, owners and top politicians) from an often negative into a positive force will take all eight of the steps suggested in our book 'MisLeadership: Prevalence, Causes and Consequences': 1. Wake up! 2. Take responsibility, 3. Have transparency in all that you do, 4. Prepare a force field analysis, 5. Adopt effective problem-solving approaches, 6. Take a global perspective, 7. Work towards anew paradigm of thought, 8. Develop a contemporary mission
As with so many current issues, this is urgent and global, but experience tells us that little will be done. It is the first two steps that are crucial: 1. wake up to what has been going on, its prevalence, causes and consequences, and how it links to such aspects as MP's expense claims and domination of access to and quality of information by a very few powerful individuals. 2. Take responsibility for failure to act in the past and for taking the necessary globally fit leadership decisions and actions required.
Saturday, 9 October 2010
9. Chilean Miners
65 days after the collapse of the original mineshaft, a rescue shaft has been drilled down to the cavern in which 33 miners have been trapped in the San Jose mine near the town of Copiapo.
The men were discovered when they tapped a message on a probe drill, and soon after that rescuers were able to meet their basic physical needs by sending food and water down a small pipe. It was clear that drilling a rescue shaft would take very much longer, so the major concern became maintaining the mental and spiritual fitness of the miners and their families.
Communication was recognised as extremely important so radio and video contacts were established to enable the miners to communicate with their families and the 'above ground ' world - giving them reassurance that people were aware of their plight and striving to help, but also giving a sense of belonging and being in touch with their ultimate goal of freedom.
Physically and mentally, the rescuers and miners were well equipped to deal with the situation. The rescuers had access to the right tools and machinery and were highly experienced in the mining environment so aware of likely risks but also had the right drilling, construction, project management and logistical skills to tackle the physical tasks confronting them and establish likely successful approaches. The miners were physically fit and experienced in the environment so more likely than most people to be able to survive the physical aspects of their plight relatively unharmed.
Thus, the main concern was maintenance of the miners' morale, confidence, faith and emotional well-being - what we term their spiritual fitness. This has been achieved in a number of ways including close involvement of their families, attention to all their physical needs including medicines, constant reassurance and keeping them informed of progress. Of particular importance, and handled extremely effectively, was managing the expectations of the miners.
Initial statements as to the likely rescue date were 'not until Christmas'. This must have been a hard blow for those trapped but became part of the initial situation and thus built into the scenario their mental and spiritual elements recognised as having to be faced. As the rescue has progressed, all news has been good news - in addition to establishing and constantly improving food, drink and communication chains, the predicted rescue date has been slowly brought forward, providing a constant boost to morale.
Imagine if this had been handled the other way round, with rescue initially promised within a week, then gradually pushed back. Confidence would have been shattered and the miners and their families would have started to fear that they would never get out.
Now that the rescue shaft is within close contact, it must be tempting for the rescuers to claim success and go for a quick release but again they have used extremely good psychology and exhibited spiritual strength by maintaining a rational, long-term view with safety, security and risk minimisation their foremost priorities. Thus they have taken precautions such as slowing the rate of drilling to avoid jamming the drill head as it breaks through into thin air. They have also pre-warned the miners and families that they will need to send a video camera through the shaft to determine whether it must be cased with steel to prevent rockfalls before rescue is initiated, and that this could take up to a week. Making this clear before the breakthrough is psychologically beneficial as it will not overshadow the delight at seeing the tunnel completed, but if left until after breakthrough, it could be a serious set-back for people who feel their ordeal is about to end to then be told 'another week'.
Even the order of rescue has been considered, starting with some strong characters who will be able to handle being first up what may be a precarious ride to the surface, then those suffering physically and mentally so in need of assistance, and finally the ones felt best able to wait until last to be rescued. To further boost morale, several rescuers will be travelling down the shaft to demonstrate their faith in its security, solidarity with the miners and to give them a further immediate link with the above ground world.
This rescue mission has been a first-rate illustration of Global Leadership.
Communication was recognised as extremely important so radio and video contacts were established to enable the miners to communicate with their families and the 'above ground ' world - giving them reassurance that people were aware of their plight and striving to help, but also giving a sense of belonging and being in touch with their ultimate goal of freedom.
Physically and mentally, the rescuers and miners were well equipped to deal with the situation. The rescuers had access to the right tools and machinery and were highly experienced in the mining environment so aware of likely risks but also had the right drilling, construction, project management and logistical skills to tackle the physical tasks confronting them and establish likely successful approaches. The miners were physically fit and experienced in the environment so more likely than most people to be able to survive the physical aspects of their plight relatively unharmed.
Thus, the main concern was maintenance of the miners' morale, confidence, faith and emotional well-being - what we term their spiritual fitness. This has been achieved in a number of ways including close involvement of their families, attention to all their physical needs including medicines, constant reassurance and keeping them informed of progress. Of particular importance, and handled extremely effectively, was managing the expectations of the miners.
Initial statements as to the likely rescue date were 'not until Christmas'. This must have been a hard blow for those trapped but became part of the initial situation and thus built into the scenario their mental and spiritual elements recognised as having to be faced. As the rescue has progressed, all news has been good news - in addition to establishing and constantly improving food, drink and communication chains, the predicted rescue date has been slowly brought forward, providing a constant boost to morale.
Imagine if this had been handled the other way round, with rescue initially promised within a week, then gradually pushed back. Confidence would have been shattered and the miners and their families would have started to fear that they would never get out.
Now that the rescue shaft is within close contact, it must be tempting for the rescuers to claim success and go for a quick release but again they have used extremely good psychology and exhibited spiritual strength by maintaining a rational, long-term view with safety, security and risk minimisation their foremost priorities. Thus they have taken precautions such as slowing the rate of drilling to avoid jamming the drill head as it breaks through into thin air. They have also pre-warned the miners and families that they will need to send a video camera through the shaft to determine whether it must be cased with steel to prevent rockfalls before rescue is initiated, and that this could take up to a week. Making this clear before the breakthrough is psychologically beneficial as it will not overshadow the delight at seeing the tunnel completed, but if left until after breakthrough, it could be a serious set-back for people who feel their ordeal is about to end to then be told 'another week'.
Even the order of rescue has been considered, starting with some strong characters who will be able to handle being first up what may be a precarious ride to the surface, then those suffering physically and mentally so in need of assistance, and finally the ones felt best able to wait until last to be rescued. To further boost morale, several rescuers will be travelling down the shaft to demonstrate their faith in its security, solidarity with the miners and to give them a further immediate link with the above ground world.
This rescue mission has been a first-rate illustration of Global Leadership.
8. Bishop Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu had his 79th birthday this week and decided time was right to retire from the world stage. Bishop Tutu chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa which followed the fall of the White apartheid-based government and facilitated the move to a truly democratic system.
The brilliance of this peaceful transition is rarely recognised but comparison with Zimbabwe may be pertinent - Rhodesia was as strong as South Africa at the time of its independence.
Truth and Reconciliation recognised the spiritual needs of both sides of the old regime - the oppressed and the oppressor - to recognise the wrongs - individual and collective - perpetrated under that system. These needs included confession of their roles and actions, expression of regret, and requesting and bestowing of forgiveness.
Getting the truth in the open removed the desire in those who had been maltreated to confront their abusers, and gave the abusers the opportunity to confess their dark secret at a time and in an environment of acceptance and forgiveness. This laid the foundation for reconciliation and moving forward into a fairer world. Had this not been achieved, feelings of frustration and a desire to blame and achieve retribution would have been likely, with negative physical, mental and spiritual consequences for all.
Was South Africa incredibly fortunate in having a number of Globally Fit leaders at the time, or is it the case that such leadership is only fostered by the kind of backgrounds these leaders experienced? Was it living under apartheid that actually helped South Africa's new leaders achieve what Zimbabwe has failed to do?
Nelson Mandela suffered many years of abuse and imprisonment but emerged as a great leader with brilliant ideas, the passion to follow them through and the humility and compassion to bring both sides with him, but to me it was the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, led by Desmond Tutu with his infectious laugh, twinkling eyes, sharp mind and global spirituality that paved the way for peaceful change.
The brilliance of this peaceful transition is rarely recognised but comparison with Zimbabwe may be pertinent - Rhodesia was as strong as South Africa at the time of its independence.
Truth and Reconciliation recognised the spiritual needs of both sides of the old regime - the oppressed and the oppressor - to recognise the wrongs - individual and collective - perpetrated under that system. These needs included confession of their roles and actions, expression of regret, and requesting and bestowing of forgiveness.
Getting the truth in the open removed the desire in those who had been maltreated to confront their abusers, and gave the abusers the opportunity to confess their dark secret at a time and in an environment of acceptance and forgiveness. This laid the foundation for reconciliation and moving forward into a fairer world. Had this not been achieved, feelings of frustration and a desire to blame and achieve retribution would have been likely, with negative physical, mental and spiritual consequences for all.
Was South Africa incredibly fortunate in having a number of Globally Fit leaders at the time, or is it the case that such leadership is only fostered by the kind of backgrounds these leaders experienced? Was it living under apartheid that actually helped South Africa's new leaders achieve what Zimbabwe has failed to do?
Nelson Mandela suffered many years of abuse and imprisonment but emerged as a great leader with brilliant ideas, the passion to follow them through and the humility and compassion to bring both sides with him, but to me it was the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, led by Desmond Tutu with his infectious laugh, twinkling eyes, sharp mind and global spirituality that paved the way for peaceful change.
Saturday, 25 September 2010
7. Commonwealth Games
In the next few weeks, the Commonwealth Games take place in New Delhi, India amid mounting fears of building collapse and other disasters following claims of shoddy workmanship and corruption.
If you were 'in charge' what would you do? Going ahead could lead to major loss of life but cancellation would definitely lead to extreme loss of face for all involved. It is easy to say those in charge should not take risks with other peoples' lives and to do so is at least Misguided and possibly Machiavellian Leadership but it would require a fantastic amount of mental and spiritual courage to cancel at this stage.
'Groupthink' tells us the likely decision will be 'no decision' i.e. no-one will be strong enough to bite the bullet. Missing Leadership. As individuals, those involved may see and take the right decision / action but in a group no-one wants to be the one who breaks ranks and may be held as scapegoat. It is also possible to hide personal responsibilty behind collective responsibility, possibly even claiming ignorance - Misinformed Leadership. Without a very strong decision to cancel, the Games will go ahead due to passage of time - Missing Leadership.
If you were a participant, would you go? Similar thoughts may apply but here it is more personal - you would be putting your own life on the line - is the possible glory worth that? Only your personal spirituality could decide that.
What about your friends and relations? Would they want you to go, or risk being labelled a coward if you drop out? Do you know theiir true feelings - have you asked them? If not, there is a danger of Misinformed Leadership if you take the decision without relevant facts to hand.
It may be possible to fudge it by feigning injury. That protects your own future while not taking a strong stance for or against the Games taking place.
Psychology is such that some participants may genuinely believe they are injured and have the physical symptoms when in fact it is their mind trying to protect itself from danger.
Leadership is not a game - and neither are these Games!
If you were 'in charge' what would you do? Going ahead could lead to major loss of life but cancellation would definitely lead to extreme loss of face for all involved. It is easy to say those in charge should not take risks with other peoples' lives and to do so is at least Misguided and possibly Machiavellian Leadership but it would require a fantastic amount of mental and spiritual courage to cancel at this stage.
'Groupthink' tells us the likely decision will be 'no decision' i.e. no-one will be strong enough to bite the bullet. Missing Leadership. As individuals, those involved may see and take the right decision / action but in a group no-one wants to be the one who breaks ranks and may be held as scapegoat. It is also possible to hide personal responsibilty behind collective responsibility, possibly even claiming ignorance - Misinformed Leadership. Without a very strong decision to cancel, the Games will go ahead due to passage of time - Missing Leadership.
If you were a participant, would you go? Similar thoughts may apply but here it is more personal - you would be putting your own life on the line - is the possible glory worth that? Only your personal spirituality could decide that.
What about your friends and relations? Would they want you to go, or risk being labelled a coward if you drop out? Do you know theiir true feelings - have you asked them? If not, there is a danger of Misinformed Leadership if you take the decision without relevant facts to hand.
It may be possible to fudge it by feigning injury. That protects your own future while not taking a strong stance for or against the Games taking place.
Psychology is such that some participants may genuinely believe they are injured and have the physical symptoms when in fact it is their mind trying to protect itself from danger.
Leadership is not a game - and neither are these Games!
6. Thoughts of The Pope
Last week The Pope visited the United Kingdom.
Millions of people world-wide expect strong and clear leadership from him. If that is not forthcoming, it is surely a case of MisLeadership.
What must he have been thinking?
Knowing how many of his priests have been involved in paedophilia and the strong feelings regarding the way he dealt with it over a very long period and continues to deal with it.
Knowing how many people in Africa die from AIDS and other STDs, that the world's population is out of control and rising rapidly, yet insisting on Catholics not using contraceptives because The Bible tells us to 'go forth and multiplty'.
Knowing the poverty and starvation faced by billions - yet living himself in absolute luxury surrounded by all manner of riches.
Knowing homosexuality is natural and many of his followers are gay, yet having to maintain The Bible line.
If he does not know all the above facts, it is Miinformed Leadership.
If he does know the facts yet fails to act in a way to help solve the issues, it is Misguided Leadership.
If he fails to act, it is Missing Leadership.
And if any of the above are due to the desire to keep himself and / or his organisation in power at the expense of humanity, it is Machiavellian Leadership.
Is this the leadership his God wants from him?
What else could he do while remaining true to the faith?
A very similar situation as that faced by his predecessors when Galileo revealed the fact that the earth goes round the sun and is thus not the centre of everything with hell below and heaven above - his predecessors forced Gallileo to recant, on threat of torture.
Would you apply for his job?
Millions of people world-wide expect strong and clear leadership from him. If that is not forthcoming, it is surely a case of MisLeadership.
What must he have been thinking?
Knowing how many of his priests have been involved in paedophilia and the strong feelings regarding the way he dealt with it over a very long period and continues to deal with it.
Knowing how many people in Africa die from AIDS and other STDs, that the world's population is out of control and rising rapidly, yet insisting on Catholics not using contraceptives because The Bible tells us to 'go forth and multiplty'.
Knowing the poverty and starvation faced by billions - yet living himself in absolute luxury surrounded by all manner of riches.
Knowing homosexuality is natural and many of his followers are gay, yet having to maintain The Bible line.
If he does not know all the above facts, it is Miinformed Leadership.
If he does know the facts yet fails to act in a way to help solve the issues, it is Misguided Leadership.
If he fails to act, it is Missing Leadership.
And if any of the above are due to the desire to keep himself and / or his organisation in power at the expense of humanity, it is Machiavellian Leadership.
Is this the leadership his God wants from him?
What else could he do while remaining true to the faith?
A very similar situation as that faced by his predecessors when Galileo revealed the fact that the earth goes round the sun and is thus not the centre of everything with hell below and heaven above - his predecessors forced Gallileo to recant, on threat of torture.
Would you apply for his job?
Tuesday, 14 September 2010
4. BP Oil Leak in the Gulf of Mexico
BP engineers noticed high pressure readings on guages and other warnings of trouble yet continued drilling. This was Misinformed in that they should have been aware of the potential consequences of ignoring such warnings. It was also Misguided in that their failure to stop drilling and take some form of preventive action ultimately led to loss of life, pollution of a large area of the Gulf and massive losses for BP. If they were deliberately taking risks with other people's lives in the hope of personal gain, they were also being Machiavellian.
President Obama was also MisGuided when he washed his hands of finding a solution, instead leaving it to BP. This was presumably done in an attempt to ensure the organisation responsible for the mess cleared it up but he should have adopted a wider viewpoint, looking for the approach that would achieve the best outcome for humanity. If his actions were done for political reasons such as to shore up his own popularity, that would be Machiavellian.
President Obama was also MisGuided when he washed his hands of finding a solution, instead leaving it to BP. This was presumably done in an attempt to ensure the organisation responsible for the mess cleared it up but he should have adopted a wider viewpoint, looking for the approach that would achieve the best outcome for humanity. If his actions were done for political reasons such as to shore up his own popularity, that would be Machiavellian.
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