The traditional English nursery rhyme “Who Killed Cock Robin” (supposedly about Robin Hood, the legendary leader who robbed the rich to pay the poor) provides an apt setting for a story of a leadership misadventure that proved fatal.
When I meet with CEOs I like to kick off our catch up with an open ended question that provides the context for a ‘two-way learning conversation’. After five minutes of reconnecting, I get down to business by asking: “So, what’s the three biggest challenges you’re facing right now?”
The concept of Servant Leadership was developed and espoused by Robert K. Greenleaf in an essay he released and distributed selectively in 1970. His essay, “The Servant as Leader” was based on his 40-years of experience at the US industrial giant, AT&T, where he worked mostly within the recruitment and assessment section.