Feb. 26 Discussion

Book: Boyatzis, Richard and McKee, Annie. Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and Connecting With Others Through Mindfulness, Hope, and Compassion. 2005. 286 pages.

Preliminaries: Thanks to the core group of participants who continue to participate with this exploration of leadership. We welcomed a new member this month, Dereth, and appreciated her insights and participation. Snacks were tortilla chips and dips – not very inspirational, as we’d already used up the Mexican food theme for lunch with some out-of-town guests earlier in the day.

Book Discussion: Everyone who had read even a little in this book reported that it resonated with them, and we were able to quickly bring the few non-readers up to speed. (We should remember this: even among librarians, we are sometimes non-readers.)

After reviewing the books highlights (emotional intelligences, sacrifice syndrome, CEO disease, and how to combat it: mindfulness, hope and compassion), we discussed whether these strategies worked for those of us who are not “the” leader, but do have professional jobs requiring both creativity and responsiveness. Strategies included exercising; eating meals regularly with significant others; church attendance and other worshipful practices; family events; attendance at cultural events; and hobbies.

Everyone took some time to complete one of the exercises, “Insight into Your Operating Philosophy” (p. 215). The book divides people into three types of operating philosophies: pragmatic, intellectual and humanistic. Just the effort it took some group members to complete and score the exercise said something about their operating philosophy. Our results were mixed, although almost everyone showed up at least somewhat strong in the humanistic area. A few of us learned we’re pretty intensely entrenched in one philosophy. Using that information, we could begin to understand how two people might have the same intentions, but select very different courses of action. And, we realized, an understanding of your operating philosophy also helps develop mindfulness, and toward personal activities that might complement the work life.

Something to Think About: Would you hire someone who had a reputation of always being in the office more than 60 hours a week, and never taking vacations?