Fugitive Knowledge

Kantor on Conversation

Peter Stoyko — Mon, 07 May 2012 20:15:57 +0000

My thinking about dialogue dynamics is strongly influenced by David Kantor's model, as described in William Isaac's seminal book Dialogue (1999). Strangely, Kantor himself hasn't published anything about the model ... until last week. The book Reading The Room (2012) talks about noticing and interpreting conversational dynamics. This introductory chapter discusses Kantor's basic framework.
Chapter: Reading The Room (PDF)

Workplace Gossip

Peter Stoyko — Sun, 06 May 2012 15:20:58 +0000

Kathryn Waddington's book Gossip and Organizations (2012) comes out at the end of the month. While you're waiting, you can read this article.
Gossip in Organisations (PDF)

The Valve Handbook

Peter Stoyko — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 17:03:49 +0000

Behold: the employee-orientation manual of the future; except, I hasten to add, this manual is for an extremely successful company from the here and now, the video-game maker Valve. Take particular notice of the forthright language ... the lack of finger-wagging "thou shalts" ... and the networked, fluid, collaborative model of organisation, including the emphasis on mobile workspaces (a subject I've been thinking a lot about in the last few years).
The Valve Handbook (PDF)

Executives Without Intelligence

Peter Stoyko — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:12:42 +0000

In this commentary, disgruntled consultant Eric Garland laments the dismal reception that sober analysis gets from bureaucratic executives: "The problem is, the market for intelligence is now largely about providing information that makes decision makers feel better, rather than bringing true insights about risk and opportunity. Our future is now being planned by people who seem to put their emotional comfort ahead of making decisions based on real—and often uncomfortable—information." When speaking truth to power, the response from power is far from rational: "Confusion, anger, and psychological transference are common responses to unwelcome analysis." That is why I develop teaching tools to help executives cope with biases, blind-spots, and mental traps. That's also why I offer advice on a take-it-or-leave-it basis and remain stoical when execs choose to leave it. That said, the "analytical amateurism" of charismatic leaders and overconfident bosses has become a serious decision-making problem in large organisations.
Commentary: Peak Intel

Failure & Learning

Peter Stoyko — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 02:13:11 +0000

Some of the best learning comes from failure. Moreover, if you're not failing from time to time, then you're probably not taking big enough risks. But failure can be a bummer. Emotional fallout can prevent you from drawing the right lessons. What's the best coping attitude? These two articles provide some answers.
Negative Emotional Reactions ... (PDF)
Moving Forward ... (PDF)

Relational Trust

Peter Stoyko — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:44:22 +0000

RELATIONAL TRUST

When two people trust each other, they can cooperate more efficiently. Teams of trusting people outperform teams of mutually suspicious people. Organisations full of trusting relations are nimbler than organisations that rely on meddlesome oversight and procedural red-tape. So trust is good. But how do you get it? And what causes it to go away? What makes someone trustworthy? What makes someone more inclined to trust? This information graphic attempts to answer these questions. Read more

Neuroleadership

Peter Stoyko — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 18:30:32 +0000

Dystopian thought: will leadership eventually be about hacking the brains of followers? Prosaic observation: developments in brain science have attracted the attention of leadership wonks; moreover, the field of social neuroscience is revealing interesting things the how brains act (and react) in certain social settings. Here is a collection of recent articles from the Neuroleadership Journal.
Introduction 1: Overview (PDF)
Introduction 2: Justification (PDF)
Attention, Generation, Emotion (PDF)
Engagement (PDF)
Self-control (PDF)
Collaboration & Influence (PDF)
Executive Team Coaching (PDF)
Mindsight (PDF)
Cultural Difference (PDF)
Wellness & Performance (PDF)

Mapping Leadership Theory

Peter Stoyko — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:11:46 +0000

In this journal article, a group of scholars map out the universe of leadership theories along two tidy dimensions. Dimension one: leadership "mechanism"; that is, whether leadership means "to be", "to do", "to think", or "to feel". Dimension two: the locus of analysis; that is, whether the theory focuses on the leader, follower, relation between the two, relations between the leader and the group, or the broader context. The resulting visual and summaries are a very handy guide.
The Loci & Mechanisms of Leadership (PDF)
Update:
Another review of the theories (PDF)

Governing Behaviour Change

Peter Stoyko — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:22:34 +0000

In this report, Ipsos MORI discusses findings from an international survey on attitudes towards government intervention. Does the pubic in your country accept government attempts to change peoples' behaviour? To what extent does the policy area matter, such as healthy eating or environmental sustainability? What about the approach to behaviour change? And how do the countries compare?
Behaviour Change? (PDF)

Leadership As Fusion Cooking

Peter Stoyko — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:21:41 +0000

This book chapter comes from Robertson & Temperley's Leadership & Learning (2011). The author claims that future leaders will need to be like fusion-cuisine chefs. The core idea comes form Daft & Lengel's decent Fusion Leadership (1998). Hargreaves adds some interesting commentary about the leadership literature and a case study about education.
Fusion and the Future of Leadership (PDF)

Misunderstanding Memes

Peter Stoyko — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:17:36 +0000

I don't use the term "meme" to describe an idea that spreads quickly. The social scientist in me has always regarded the concept as a bit of a fudge: an idea transplanted from the natural sciences that obscures more than it clarifies; a vague analogy instead of a reference to actual social dynamics. In this article, Burman chronicles the history of the "meme" notion, from metaphorical flourish to science-sounding jargon that the digerati now take for granted.
The Misunderstanding of Memes (PDF)

Leadership & Dialogue

Peter Stoyko — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:22:18 +0000

In a new conference paper, Megan Reitz charts the evolution of dialogue theory back to Martin Buber. She then looks at the implications of Buber's egalitarian ideas for leadership. My take on dialogue is strongly influenced by David Bohm (as described in this info-graphic). Nonetheless, I do think that leaders should move from an impersonal, objectifying "I-It" mindset to a humane, regarding "I-Thou" mindset.
Paper: Dialogue (PDF)

Verbal Dominance

Peter Stoyko — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:45:49 +0000

Feelings of power tend to cause a leader to dominate conversations with underlings. The underlings talk less and suspect the leader of being less open to their opinions. That's a problem because teams increasingly rely on open communication in order to perform effectively. A new paper out of Harvard explores the implications.
When Power Makes Others Speechless (PDF)

Internet Intellectuals

Peter Stoyko — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:12:14 +0000

I draw your attention to an intellectual saloon-brawl. Boosters of social-media technologies, notably Clay Shirky (Here Comes Everybody) and Jeff Jarvis (Public Parts), are on one side of the punch-up. Their gang has occupied the saloon for some time and become very rowdy. A posse of veteran tech-gurus and upstart critics have decided to bust up the party: Sherry Turkle (Alone Together), Nicholas Carr (The Shallows), Evgeny Morozov (The Net Delusion), and Jaron Lanier (You Are Not A Gadget, which I highly recommend). I've linked to Morozov's attack on Jarvis. You can decide who's wearing the white and black hats.
Morozov: The Internet Intellectual
Jarvis: Rebuttal (Google Docs)
Morozov: Rejoinder

Economists Vs. Empiricists

Peter Stoyko — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:33:41 +0000

With every recession comes lots of finger wagging at economists. And rightly so. Mainstream economists don't seem too troubled by the fact their their theories and models don't conform to empirical reality. Those of us who do care, mostly experimental (behavioural) economists, remain on the margins of the discipline. Here's John Kay summing up the situation.
The Map Is Not The Territory
The Map Is Not The Territory (PDF Version)

Creativity Paradox(es)

Peter Stoyko — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:25:25 +0000

We all like creative ideas. Or do we? We say we like creativity and innovation in principle. But when novel ideas are actually proposed, we shy away from them. Why? Perhaps bold leadership is required. We like our leaders to be creative. Top executives even say that creativity is the most important leadership trait. Yet those who actually propose creative ideas are viewed as having less leadership potential. How can that perception be overcome? And what do these paradoxes mean for organisational creativity? Here are two forthcoming journal articles (and a background piece) to help you answer these questions.
The Bias Against Creativity (PDF)
Why No One Really Wants Creativity (PDF)
Recognizing Creative Leadership (PDF)

Emotional Intelligence

Peter Stoyko — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 01:56:10 +0000

Emotions matter a great deal in explaining the messiness of behaviour and relations in the workplace. I'm rather doubtful, however, about using the catch-all term "emotional intelligence" to describe how a savvy leader ought to think about it all. It's a good time to take stock. Here is a newly published article and a forthcoming one by Frank Walter and friends.
Emotional Intelligence 1 (PDF)
Emotional Intelligence 2 (PDF)

Daly on Advocacy

Peter Stoyko — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 15:14:19 +0000

John A. Daly's book Advocacy is on my shortlist for leadership book of the year. It's a serious and thorough study of persuasion and organisational politics. This video doesn't do the book justice. Nonetheless, Daly delivers a sizeable payload of insights with a fun, bombastic style. (Note: the sound gets better after the first minute.)
Advocacy (Video)

The Effective Liar

Peter Stoyko — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:45:10 +0000

Following up on an earlier post about power and lying, here's an article about what makes someone an effective liar. That's good to know to avoid being suckered. Those interested in the "impression management" literature will notice some familiar themes.
Good Liars (PDF)

Future Work

Peter Stoyko — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 02:19:45 +0000

What's the future of the workplace? And work skills? A couple of new reports offer some speculation. They're worth a browse, to make sure you're keeping up with the jargon if nothing else. Just keep in mind: when automobiles were starting to become popular a hundred years ago, trend-spotters thought that chauffeuring would be the big career of the future. Sometimes predictions are too caught up in the preoccupations of now (a tendency known as the Zeitgeist bias).
Arup Foresight's Living Workplace (PDF)
IFTF's Future Work Skills 2020 (PDF)