Big Relationship Event

On the 12th of oktober is the Big Relationship Day in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Book 'Het makke schaap en andere fabels voor managers'

In oktober my first book will be published, it is titled: The Meak Sheap and other tales for managers'
It gives new versions some of the tales that are on this blog to inspire managers to look at their own behaviour and learn from the behaviour of animals.

The elephant cow and New Leadership

Elephants live in a social hierarchy dominated by older females.
Scientist found out that the age of the matriarch to be a significant predictor of the number of calves produced by the family per 'female reproductive year'. That is because she is better able to recognize the approaching of a real threathening other elephant.
The older she is, the less more likely it is that she puts her group through unneccesary stress. Stress means defensiveness and is bad for reproduction.

New leaders do the same: they are not only led by fianancial goals, but are more focused on reaching an equilibrium. They know that stressed workers are less productive, so one of their goals is to reduce stress.
To distinguish a real thread from a presumed thread, it takes experience. The elephants show a direct connection between experience and result (more calves). That's why -at least in the Netherlands- on conferences on New Leadership you will find many 'eminences grises' and few young leaders. The experienced leaders might have started of as hard result-oriented leaders, but their experience made them realize that being only goal-driven, creates too much stress.
It is -ofcourse- a challenge to reduce stress for people in this money-driven and full society. But when we don't do so, more and more people will break under the stress and production will be even more under pressure.

Instinctive leadership

In preparation of a congress on leadership and nature, I am preparing a workshop: Tap into the powers of nature, charge up your leadership.
Most animals have in their species an instictive way of leading. With humans, leadershipbehaviour has enourmous variations. Some leaders are in power because they are simply the most agressive and dominant person. Others seem to carry their group to a higher level with love and encouragement of individual talent and earn their leadership to that quality.
Is this the difference between feminine and masclunine leadership ? The next period of time I will wander about theme's like
- The elephant-cow and New Leadership
- Am I a worker or an alpha(fe)male
- modern mothers between lioness and hedgesparrow

Please join in on this inspiring search to tap into our leadershipinstincts.

Brave