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The art and practice of leadership is one of today’s most talked about, important and controversial topics. Fully one third of all management textbooks published during the past decade have been about some aspect of leadership. Most of these are identical in their underlying assumptions, contentions and philosophies. Based either on charismatic or contingency theories, most of these models are inconsistent, flawed and ultimately irrelevant in today's changed context.
Every year vast sums of money are spent on leadership development based upon the dogma these books promulgate. Yet for all the words, all the talk, and all the resources allocated to the nurturing of leaders and the practice of leadership, very little actually changes. Truly great leaders are still in the minority. Great leadership, it seems, is a vanishing art. Meanwhile the cry for more leaders and better leadership grows stronger. Why is this?
Few people are able to grasp the intrinsic nature of leadership as a social phenomenon in a world that is changing faster than at any other time in our history. Dr Richard Hames, a world-leading corporate philosopher and a mentor to many successful individuals, can claim to be one of only a handful of international practitioners who really understand the art of leading in the global knowledge economy.
Over the past decade Richard has made it his business to work alongside and observe some of the world’s most remarkable and uncommonly successful leaders – from all walks of life and in every part of the world. The findings from his research reveal not that conventional wisdom is necessarily wrong; just that it doesn’t go far enough! In analysing the exceptional performance, passion, unbounded energy, creativity and longevity of human beings at the peak of their powers, Richard and his team have unravelled a code that still remains a mystery to most of us – hidden even to those who aspire to leadership and even less visible, it would seem, to those who actually write about it.
Richard discovered that people who are as loved and content in their private lives as they are successful in their business or government positions instinctively apply a set of principles that go far beyond the orthodoxies of current leadership practice. The Five Literacies of Global Leadership exposes this canon. It describes an uncommon cognitive and behavioural alchemy in which wisdom, skills and know-how come together to create powerful change. This is the source code for an entirely new philosophy of leadership based upon ecority, constituent collaboration and ecological empathy. These tenets can be learned and practised and are indispensable to anyone assuming a leadership role today.
The canon of literacies identified by Richard comprise Networked Intelligence [the ability to connect with others & express the complexity of the ecosystem]; Futuring [the ability to visualize & imagine future possibilities]; Strategic Navigation [the ability to learn to adapt as fast as change itself]; Deep Design [the ability to create wisdom through dialogue]; and Brand Resonance [the ability to create attention that awakens your unique value in others].
In themselves, these principles are not mind-blowingly different. The frame-breaking nature of Richard's work is in the manner in which these literacies must be put into practise. In this regard, Richard and his team have identified a total of 30 orthodoxies, six within each of the five literacies, that must be overturned and replaced by alternatives. These alternatives are spelled out in practical terms in Escape Velocity - the accompanying Five Literacies Code Book which can be accessed and downloaded here.
For further information about The Five Literacies of Global Leadership please visit Richard's website: http://www.richardhames.com . Here you can access additional materials in addition to purchasing your copy of the book.
Alternatively you can contact Samantha Fernando at Mieza Consulting - telephone +61 418 336 796. Five Literacies public workshops and one day Masterclasses are available now. Materials that will help you 'awaken' your people to the power of The Five Literacies will be available next year. A series of regular webcasts, conducted personally by Richard, will also be available in 2009. These are intended for corporate members of the Five Literacies online community as a way of providing low-cost, on-the-job coaching for leaders as they put the Five Literacies into practice.