Weekly News Brief : Leadership, Collaboration, Communication, Diversity

• Powerlessness Corrupts

       Author:  Rosabeth Moss Kanter         

        Date:  July / August 2010 edition

        Source:  Harvard Business Review

        URL:  http://hbr.org/2010/07/column-powerlessness-corrupts/ar/1

In the Harvard Business Review column, Powerlessness Corrupts, Rosabeth Kanter examines the negative impact on organizational effectiveness of strictly limiting the contributions of employees of an organization, concentrating power in the hands of a few.  By spreading the power, growing the "power pie," through deep and wide involvement, organizations can avoid the pitfalls of internal rivalries and intergroup conflicts that undermine their progress and succeed even in difficult economic times.

• We Invented Social Technologies, Now Let's Invent Social Organizations

        Author:  Marina Gorbis
        Date:  June 29, 2010
        Source: Odessa to the Future
        URL:  http://odessatothefuture.com/?p=231
   
Commons-based platforms like Twitter and Chatroulette rely on voluntary contributions from their members for content.  The reward for contributions is non-monetary, relying on "intrinsic human motivations to contribute in order to be noticed, to share opinions, to be a part of something greater than ourselves." Current business models, on the other hand, are based chiefly on monetary rewards. The hierarchy inherent in these business models and the non-participatory nature of the decision-making process, is according to Gorbis, not in alignment with the values underpinning these commons-based platforms.  In order to address this issue and realize the full potential of these new technologies, new organizational models and governance models must be developed.

• Put Employees First

        Author:  John Baldoni                                                                                                       
        Date:  June 29, 2010
        Source: FastCompany
        URL:  http://www.fastcompany.com/1665117/put-employees-first-a-conversation-wi...

Vineet Nayar became CEO of HCL Technologies five years ago, at a time when the company was struggling for relevance.  Today, the firm is one of the fastest-growing IT service firms globally. Nayar credits the turnaround to collaboration amongst employees at all levels.  Though the practice of company-wide collaboration was initially a response to crisis, Nayar continues to subscribe to the philosophy that the "role of the CEO is to enable people to excel, help them discover their own wisdom, engage themselves entirely in their work, and accept responsibility for making change.”

• Shifting the Conversation 

        Author: Venessa Miemis                                                                                              
        Date:  June 24, 2010
        Source:  Edelman Digital
        URL:  http://edelmandigital.com/2010/06/24/shifting-the-conversation/

Venessa Miemis reflects on the best way to use the internet as an effective communication platform through which we can re-establish trust in each other and work collaboratively toward creating a better world.  According to Miemis, we will fully harness the power of online platforms by first establishing a common ground of shared meaning and understanding.  From there, we can create online environments to facilitate the emergence of behavior and actions we wish to see.

• What Difference Does Race Make?

        Author:  Tawanna Black
        Date:  June 24, 2010
        Source:  Philanthropy Potluck (blog)
        URL:  http://blog.mcf.org/2010/06/24/difference-2/

In her article, What Difference Does Race Make? Tawanna Black looks at diversity and how it has been perceived and reacted to historically.  In the past, a color-blind, gender-blind society was deemed best; differences were seen as undesirable.  Today, we are beginning to realize the value of diversity and its capacity for building stronger organizations.  The challenge is to be inclusive of all of these differences - differences in everything from race to gender to class - and to allow diversity to thrive.

• Overcoming the Cult of Leadership   

        Authors:  Billy Parish & Dev Aujla                                                                      
        Date:  April 21, 2010
        Source: GOOD
        URL:  http://www.good.is/post/overcoming-the-cult-of-leadership/

Collaboration, though it has long been recognized as important to any organization, has become dysfunctional across all sectors - private, public, and nonprofit.  Too much emphasis has been placed on the cult of leadership, resulting in feelings of isolation and fueling competition, stifling collaboration and mutual learning.  The answer to overcoming this cult of leadership, according to the authors is collaboration between a diverse team of people, resulting in a more efficient workforce with a higher morale, as well rendering the organization more resilient and innovative.