Our Beliefs
Everyone is a leader. When we say “Nourish the Leader Within You,” we truly mean that all you need do is acknowledge what your capabilities are and find ways to develop them. We focus on three keys: Leaders are Made, not born, The Youngest Generation (Millennials today, Boomers 40-50 years ago) is filled with Leaders, and the power of knowing Who You Are can never be diminished.
Ike and JFK: What made them Giants?
Nature or Nurture?
Are leaders born or made? Are people natural leaders? Can you teach leadership? Do we change over time?
For every John Kennedy or Dwight Eisenhower, there are countless unsung heroes who have developed their leadership capabilities over time. In fact, these two presidents are widely known to have developed their skills while in office; Kennedy did this in a relatively short period of time, while Eienhower began in the first World War and developed more skills at a somewhat advanced age, at a time that we say "you can't teach an old dog new tricks."
Leadership is a teachable, trainable skill. We lead from the front, from the middle, and from behind. A century of leadership research has made clear one point: there is no one best style of leadership.
Generations of Balinese Long Tailed Monkeys in the Ubud Monkey Forest, 2009
Age and Youth
Throughout history, humankind has thought less of the eldest and youngest generations. With some exceptions (Benjamin Franklin for one) the western world has tossed out our elders, ignoring wisdom they could share.
More emphatically, the world has thought less of the youngest generation for millennia. Aristophanes is purported to have said, 2400 years ago, that “children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority, show disrespect for elders, and love chatter in place of exercise.”
We presented “The New Lifestyle Worker” in 1981, our initial effort to guide senior leaders to become more effective with their youthful workforce. We recently found notes from that presentation, discovering that criticisms made of the youthful Baby Boomers in 1981 were nearly identical to what Boomers said of the youth in the 21st century.
Human nature is to challenge the youngest generation, then resist when they show leadership. At the Portland Leadership Institute we reject the nearly universal criticism of the youngest members of our workforce, and focus on improving working relationships across generations.
The Greek Temple at Delphi, 2005
Who Are You?
The Who got it right with their great 1978 song and album. At the Portland Leadership Institute we firmly believe that you must understand yourself before you can lead others effectively. The ancient Greeks knew this; prior to entering the Temple at Delphi to listen to the wisdom of the Oracle, citizens were admonished to "Know Thyself." We take this to heart. We have found the DiSC to be the most effective assessment of one's behavioral style, and use that with our clients. We provide extensive feedback to them, and encourage teammates to discuss individual behavior and perceptions among themselves.
