The Improving One

"You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end, each of us must work for his own improvement and, at the same time, share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful." - Franz Kafka

Welcome to another edition of The Leadershifts Chronicle, a newsletter where I share ideas and resources for leaders who build better businesses and explore new ways of running an organisation.

Earlier this week, there was a post on Linkedin by Anja Žibert asking to complete the sentence "I am ..."

I answered, "I'm a source of inspiration." I aim to inspire people to improve and grow as leaders, take responsibility, and achieve their goals. To be honest, it also inspires and motivates me to take action and be responsible.

Welcome to this week's Leadershifts Chronicle...

Enjoy...

🔍 Is your business draining the life out of you? Can your business grow, or are you holding it back as founder or CEO? Are you the bottleneck for your business?

Ivan Polic , an expert in growing and selling businesses, created a 5-step process to overcome and change this problem.

If you want to discover what's holding you back, I created a workshop, "What's blocking your business growth?" to explore where your business is stuck. It's about finding your hidden patterns and internal blocks, something we all have as leaders.

🔍 I'm a huge fan of frameworks and models in my work. They inspire me and allow me to be flexible during workshops, which allows me to really align with my clients. Janita van Ginneken from the Flatland Agency compiled a list of reflection models for leaders and created a nice visual for each model. Check the list here.

🔍 Dealing with the future and uncertainties is why many leaders wake up at night and start thinking about how the company might evolve in fast-changing times. Strategic foresight might support leaders on this matter. Strategic foresight, amid rising uncertainties, is a future-thinking approach extending beyond traditional planning to explore long-term scenarios. Check this article by Stijn Vander Plaetse on navigating future uncertainties and strategic foresight.

🔍 Manfred Kets de Vries ts de Vries, a huge source of inspiration, published an article on "How to handle a toxic boss," which we see still too often in companies. The impact of a toxic boss can't be underestimated on the employees and the organisation.

Manfred provides five ways to deal with a toxic boss:

1. Establish boundaries and understand your boss’ pressures

2. Provide upward feedback on leadership style

3. Transfer out of your position with grace

4. Quit and scout out a better boss

5. Reach out for help and reassess your options

For me, it's a shared responsibility. You have the toxic behaviour of the boss, but it's also important to look at how we deal with it. To what extent do we allow this behaviour? Do we look away or take action, knowing it can be very hard?

Things to Read:

At the moment, I'm reading Manfred Kets de Vries ts de Vries's new book, "The Darker Side of Leadership."

This book is a collection of essays on the dark side of leadership, helping us to make sense of the confusing and, some might say, psychotic times in which we now live. Populism, the dangers that come with feelings of perceived injustice, the rise of dictatorships, ... might have a huge impact on our society. This book provides readers with a better understanding of the underlying forces that drive these phenomena to the surface.

What are the psychological dynamics at play?

Why do groups of people behave in this manner?

Beyond merely diagnosing what’s happening, Manfred introduces various coping strategies to counteract the emergence of these regressive forces.

I'm still reading it, but it gives great insights into understanding team and organizational dynamics and mitigating populism and autocratic leadership.

So that's it for this week.

Like always, feedback is very welcome and appreciated. It helps me grow on my path to becoming a better leader.

Have a great weekend and till next week...

Wouter

The Leadershifts Chronicle dives deep into the evolving paradigms of leadership, offering a regular exploration of how visionary leaders are transforming their approach to navigate the complexities of today's world. It's your curated guide to the stories, strategies, and insights that define the next generation of leadership excellence, curated by Wouter Gheysen. Wouter founded Systemic Rebels, and Out of Our Minds provides services to transform your organisation into a future-ready one.

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