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Glenn Brooke

Glenn Brooke

Glenn considers leadership a craft which requires dedicated pursuit. The apprentice model (instruction + practice + associating with other craftsmen) is the time-tested way to foster the next generation of leaders. Real leaders never stop working on their craft; there are only new levels of mastery ahead. Learn more at leadershipcraft.com.

Alternative Case

Glenn Brooke | December 28, 2018 | Leave a Comment

Can You Make the Alternative Case?

Leadership drives intelligent, wise change. Change is about people and behaviors. Therefore, leaders must be skilled in influence and persuasion.  Influence and persuasion are often centered on status quo vs. possible future state discussions. 

Weak and manipulative leaders try persuasion through straw man arguments. A straw man approach calls attention to something you covertly substituted into your opponent’s argument, which he didn’t say. You knock down that straw man, giving the impression you defeated the argument, when in fact you didn’t address the original argument at all. This is frequently observed when the value of the appearance of vanquishing an opponent is far greater than critical thinking about complex issues.  

Strong, confident leaders know this truth: “We are not sure we are right until we have made the best case possible for those who are wrong.” (Lord Acton) The most persuasive leaders will articulate the “other side” arguments even better than they do – and then explain point by point why an alternative approach is better. This is called the steel man approach. 

The steel man approach is especially helpful for major changes with significant consequences. You want to bring people along with you when your organization faces a “no going back” irreversible decision. Therefore, you must be articulate about all options. One of the best outcomes of the steel man approach is that people will respect you even if they don’t always agree with your decisions. 

Some historical examples: 

  • Martin Luther launched the Protestant Reformation by articulating the Pope’s arguments for indulgences and other practices, then demonstrating why they were illogical and inconsistent with the Bible.  
  • Charles Darwin’s book “On the Origin of Species” broke through historic dogmas because he used the steel man approach. He laid out the case for alternative explanations of different species far better than others had done, and then systematically showed why those explanations were inferior to evolution.  
  • Karl Marx brilliantly documented the inherent consequences of capitalism in “Das Kapital” by partially using a steel man approach – though 100+ million dead demonstrate his recommended alternative proved disastrous. 
  • Law schools in England and the US (until the mid-20th century) used the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans as the archetypical ancient legal brief. Paul effectively used the steel man approach to make the case for Christianity rather than the pantheon of Roman gods and traditional understanding of how “the divine” interacted with men. 

Develop your leadership capability by making the case for both “sides” or “next actions.” Discipline yourself to articulate ideas and strategies (especially if you think they’re dumb). You can practice this even in situations where you aren’t making the decision.  

This practice work will be truly helpful when you are put to the leadership test. Straw man arguments go down badly in history.  

Leading as Education

Glenn Brooke | December 21, 2018 | Leave a Comment

Leading as Education

Leaders are in the education business, because leaders need to pull people – team members, bosses, customers, partners — along with them. Pushing people is partially effective, but requires positional power. Educating people is a key part of persuasion and influence.  

The word ‘educate’ comes to English from Latin: ducere, meaning to draw or lead, with the prefix e to indicate “out of.” Education is not pouring into, but drawing out. It’s not cracking open the skull and stuffing in facts. Education requires that we use information, questions, dialogue, and experience plus feedback to shape the way a person thinks and behaves. 

Therefore, education will never be an efficient process. There are efficient ways to give people information. There are efficient ways to begin dialogue. Yet education is about a whole person, requires their participation and cooperation, and touches the mystery of how the mind works. 

Sometimes people have created a loose connection between education and indoctrination. Working from formal definitions: 

Education: imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.

Indoctrination: teaching or inculcating a doctrine, principle, or ideology, especially one with a specific point of view. 

Observation: If we approve of the curriculum and worldview, then we call it education. If we don’t, we condemn it as indoctrination. 

Education is an open mindset; indoctrination is a fixed mindset. A test to consider: An educated person may develop a separate worldview from his teachers, disagree on many matters, and still be friendly and learn from one another. An intense focus on indoctrination yields a situation where departure from the doctrine is labeled heresy and destroys fellowship.  Indoctrination as a strategy does not create mature individuals who continue learning and growing. People hell-bent (I use that word purposefully) on indoctrination do not tolerate a student exceeding the teacher. The only cooperative part of the indoctrination process is obedience and rote learning. 

Education must be a mix of information and experiences. Sharing stories is crucial.  Few will remember your seven brilliant bullet points, but they will remember the well-told story that touched their heart or made them smile.  Better yet, share a story which made them see differently! Inspiring, transforming leaders weave stories and information together. They give people context where they can fit in the facts and information.  

Your leadership will go to new levels when you see yourself as an educator. 

Listening to Learn and Discern

Glenn Brooke | December 14, 2018 | Leave a Comment

Listening to Learn and Discern

Listening is key to wisdom. People who will not listen are stuck, cannot grow, and are likely a hazard to others. It’s not enough to listen to understand–we must listen to learn, and to discern. Here are the practices and mindsets of great listeners on the path to wisdom. 

Let’s first imagine that you’re listening to a recorded speaker, or an interview via a podcast. You can’t ask questions in real-time, but you can listen to learn.  [Read more…] about Listening to Learn and Discern

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Hi, my name is Adam Smith and welcome to asmithblog.com. I am the author of the new book, The Bravest You. Because of my work as an entrepreneur, consultant, writer, and speaker, I have been named a top industry influencer by American Genius. I live with my wife, Jasmine, and three children in Shenandoah, IA.

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