What is leadership?

If you were ever looking for a 23 minute fun, exciting and engaging leadership training - look no further.

This TED talk ranks among the best I have seen:

Next Step in AIESEC

So, as many other VPs on different levels in AIESEC right now, and as many other VPs before us I am having a look at job upstairs.

You know. The VP without the V. The P. I am considering applying for MCP 2010/11 of AIESEC Norway

I have less than 1,5 months to decide on the following questions, among others.

1. How badly do I want it?

2. Is it the right development opportunity for me, now?

3. Do I have the capacity, energy and competency to lead this country?

4. Am I the right person at the right time for AIESEC Norway?

5. Are my strategies the right ones to achieve the right impact?

I need some decision making criterias, for Heaven's sake. Some criterias. Have any inputs? Email me - I'd be happy to listen.

The right people

Learning is a process that never ends, but sometimes you get your learning in huuuuuuuuge chunks.

The right people at the right place in an organization is an obvious platitude, which any half-awake individual will tell you. However, I believe that in a voluntary organization like AIESEC this becomes even clearer than in a regular company.

A volunteer organization only "pays" it's members through the experiences these members have. This experience is directly related to the work they do. Hence if you don't have the right person for the right work, there will be no "pay" for that person, which means the organization will not perform and the experience will not be relevant for the members. Quite obvious.

What does this mean? Selection, selection, selection.

There is no place where the selection process is more important than here. In other places you can, at least in theory, look at aspects such as qualifications as highly relevant even though some other criteria are not perfectly aligned. In AIESEC this is not so. It does not matter how "good" people are, how "qualified" they are, what "experience" they have - if they are not the right person for the work.

This simply means the person needs to be 200% motivated by the work they are doing in the organization, because that is the only thing they get out of it.

What is often happening in NGO's is that selection is considered less important, as the idea that the "voluntary" part makes most "good people" good for the organization. No way. Only the best are good enough, because everyone else will do nothing (by definition) and you will fail.

Selection Criteria made easy?

1. Motivation (Working for the NGO should be one of the top priorities in the life of the person [even important things such as work, school etc.])

2. Motivation over time (They need to want to start at high pace, work alot, and want to do it for some years)

Sound crazy? Through this, surely you are excluding alot of good people who simply see other things as just as important or more important. Right. That's the point. An NGO where the experience is the most important factor, cannot survive this.

This means the positioning among potential members has to be very strong, so that the very, very few people who fall into this bracket actually understand the organization and are attracted by this "craziness". In cases where this positioning is not yet strong enough, such as AIESEC Norway, this means alot. In order to actually achieve this quality the selection process would cut away at least 70-80% of applicants, because with the weak positioning, this attitude will not be reflected in applicants.

More difficult still, 50-70% of the organizations current members are probably also not within this bracket, and hence ongoing deselection of these members is crucial in order for the organization not to rot within.

How to get this right from the start?

The leadership team (even if only 1 person) needs to see the organization like this, and set this standard - from themselves and all the way down. All in the leadership team need to prioritize like this, if not the idea is only a pipe dream.

What learning though, in AIESEC Norway.

When I start my own first company, at the beginning, I will struggle so much to find just 1 or 2 other people who will dedicate to the company as required by me. If you are one of them, and I know you, I will probably call you. If not, you wouldn't want to anyways!

:-)

Process versus Outcome

Does the end justify the means?

Does the outcome matter more than the process?

What do our Measures measure?

What's the difference between being flexible and not standing up for what you believe in?

How to sleep at night when your principles are shattered during the day?

Where does passion go when the people inside hide?

Who wins as a team even when they lose?

And who dies as an individual even when they win?

How effective is worrying?

How worrying is that effectiveness is at the top of every list?

Right is Right. Wrong is Wrong. My principles form an integral part of me, including all my strengths. Without them I lose my strength. I will not let them be smashed anymore.