Winfried Dressler wrote:
> At my wall in the office, I have a copy of a dialogue with Confuzius (my
> translation, may be one of you know an english source):
>
> (snip)
>
> Therefore, the noble give names such that language becomes possible and
> uses language such that action becomes possible.
Neat! This is the essence of leadership as well as I see it. Leaders
create distinctions and initiate action - all in their language (or
speaking and listening).
> It supports the idea, that giving meaning to terms is a creative act,
> leading to manifestations in the real world.
>
> The only power which the German President (Johannes Rau since short, Roman
> Herzog and Richard von Weizsaecker before) has is the power to raise his
> voice, the power of words. With this he is able to set priorities and
> outline directions. His responsibility is to articulate what needs to be
> said.
Yes, and part of what needs to be said are the declarations that create
the context. Being clear about who we are in a matter is fundamental to
leadership. These kinds of speaking and listening can be seen as distinct
from the domains of action (requests and promises) or knowing
(assessments, judgements, stories, assertions).
Thanks for your note. It gives me more to ponder.
Rick Fullerton
Canadian Centre for Management Development
rwfc@odyssee.net
rickf@ccmd-ccg.gc.ca
--Rick Fullerton <rwfc@odyssee.net>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>