WELCOME TO MY BLOG!

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Lynne Levesque

Welcome to my blog.  Here, I hope you will find posts that will kindle your curiosity, ignite your desire for learning, and sharpen your strategic leadership skills.

In this first post, I will share some thoughts on why I believe that leaders must understand the power and importance of definitions — about leadership, innovation, strategy, and creativity.  In subsequent posts, I will explore other leading edge issues around leadership, strategy and creativity.

Let’s start with creativity.  Figuring out what you mean by “creativity” and “innovation” is not an academic exercise.  It’s an imperative for leaders who want to build more innovative organizations.  There are three reasons why I believe this task is so important. Continue reading →

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Personality Styles and Collaboration

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Lynne Levesque

We’ve been hearing a lot about collaboration lately.  As I read the articles, I am starting to wonder if personality preferences/cognitive styles might play a role in explaining different approaches to collaboration.  Whether you use the MBTI, the Creative Talents, the Five Factor Model, or some other assessment of cognitive preferences, do you see patterns in the way individuals approach collaboration? Continue reading →

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Creative Leader – Role Model

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Lynne Levesque

I am a proud member of a glorious mainline, progressive church in Boston.  Old South Church (www.oldsouth.org) is one of Boston’s oldest churches.  It was started in 1669 by separatist and dissenting Pilgrims, Puritan reformers, and Bay Colony merchant adventurers.  Its second home served as the site where Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty plotted the real Boston Tea Party in 1773.  It was the home church of Benjamin Franklin and Mother Goose, among others.  In 1875 the congregation moved to its present site on Boylston Street, where the Boston Marathon finishes, in a grand Italian Gothic building that is truly a sanctuary in the city.

One of the key reasons why I love my church is its Senior Minister and CEO, who is both a terrific preacher and a truly great leader. She provides an incredible lesson in creative leadership, in her recent handling of what could have been a major disaster for Old South. Continue reading →

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Seven steps to better brainstorming

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Lynne Levesque

Happy New Year!  I hope 2012 promises to be a creative one for you!  Here are some tips to help you and your team get the most out of brainstorming since according to McKinsey researchers, most attempts at brainstorming are doomed. Continue reading →

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Leading with Questions

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Lynne Levesque

You probably already know that the questions you ask drive the answers you receive. Think, for example, about the differences in answers received from questions like “How can we drive shareholder value” as compared to “How can be best serve our customers?” But do you also know that your questions can shape your interactions with others, your feelings, the meaning you make of life, and even your results? Consider the difference in outcomes, for example, from a question, such as “What’s wrong?” as opposed to “What works?” Or “why bother” vs. “What’s possible?”

If questions are so important, how can we learn to ask better ones? Here are three important points to remember: Continue reading →

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Lessons for Leaders from Artists: Chihuly Exhibit

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Lynne Levesque

The highly popular exhibit, “Chihuly: Through the Looking Glass’’ closed not too long ago at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts.  Long lines of visitors waited eagerly to experience the artist’s elaborately theatrical imagination and his multicolored fantasies.  And I of course was one of them.

While absorbing the incredible glass creations of color, shapes and sizes, I realized that the  life and experience of Dale Chihuly provides many important lessons for creative leaders: Continue reading →

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The Dangers of SWOT

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Lynne Levesque

The Dangers of SWOT

In a recent at (www.TheHumanFactor.biz), Holly Green described the dangers of using a SWOT analysis in strategic planning.  In summary she wrote:  “a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats) analysis is an integral part of most strategic planning processes. And it can be very helpful and powerful tool because an accurate identification of SWOTs plays an important role in determining subsequent steps in the planning process.  But a SWOT is not always all that it is cracked up to be! Continue reading →

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Remapping Leadership to Develop Globally-Competent Leaders

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Lynne Levesque

This coming Friday, October 29th, I will be leading a panel discussion on the topic of “Remapping Leadership to Develop Globally-Competent Leaders“ at the International Leadership Association’s Annual Conference in London.  The panel is made up of colleagues from China, Mexico, and the United States.  We are very excited about the potential conversation we will have with the audience.  I thought I would share with you some of the ideas we will be tossing out. Continue reading →

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TIPS FROM TRAVELS: HISTORY TEACHES

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Lynne Levesque

I thought I would share with you some creativity insights from a trip I took with a friend in 2002.

As we drove through the absolutely beautiful countryside of the relatively unknown Dordogne region of France, with its picturesque villages, castles, prehistoric cave paintings, delicious wine and food, I was reminded of the importance of history in creativity.  We tend to dismiss the impact of history and too often associate creativity with coming up with something brand new. Similarly, the notion of “creative destruction” is frequently considered a prerequisite for organizational innovation and creativity. I hold a quite different view. I believe history plays a critical role in innovation for two reasons. Continue reading →

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Creativity from a Bottle?

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Lynne Levesque

Well, it’s not quite that easy, but certainly there were many valuable creative messages from my 2005 trip along the Whisky Trail in Scotland. While originally not a fan of single malt whisky, I found the processes they used to produce the whisky fascinating. These observations generated some insights that are very applicable to leaders planning to enhance the performance of their organizations. Continue reading →

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DO WE REALLY NEED TO BE ADAPTABLE?

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Lynne Levesque

In July, Professor Jim Heskett from Harvard Business School in an article in Working Knowledge, asked the question:  “What’s the Downside of Adapting?”

He wrote, “Adaptability is a current byword in a world filled with uncertainty at all levels, including that of the individual. We adapt by listening to and heeding customers. We adapt by delegating authority, often to teams operating at the lowest levels of the organization. We adapt by tracking, responding to, and even encouraging the development of disruptive technologies.”  He cited an author with a recent book on adapting, who argues that we need to substitute trial and error, experimentation for planning.

Professor Heskett then asked:  “With so much advocacy for flexibility and adaptability, is it time for a contrarian view? In a complex and confusing world, aren’t those who appear to have the answers the ones we follow, for better or worse? Are we really at a tipping point of complexity in our world that it requires following only those willing to adapt? Continue reading →

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