Reading Club 8: Self-leadership and the one minute manager (Ken Blanchard)

What I've learned from this book:

Empowerment is something someone gives you. Self-leadership is what you
do to make it work. Sounds good but this is exactly what's missing. People give me work but they don't give me the empowerment to see it through. Somehow control and power are two things closely related. If you are so used to having power ('position power' according to Ken), I suppose it's difficult to let go. How can I develop professionally  if I have self-leadership but no empowerment and trust to make decisions? Yes I can use my 'knowledge power', 'personal power','relationship power'  and 'task power' as suggested in the book but unfortunately in schools, EVERYTHING is  'position power' and long live the system!. Power is what people want and enjoy but I'm the dreamy one who still hopes for empowerment and flexibility :) Having said all that, I'm thankful am a Gc without position power because it can lead to abuse if you are not careful.

Diagnose Yourself - love this one! I learned to diagnose myself using the 'development continuum'.  There are four levels

    D1: Enthusiastic beginner (low competence, high commitment)
    D2: Disillusioned Learner (low to some competence, low commitment)
    D3: Capable but Cautions Performer (moderate to high competence
           variable commitment)
    D4: High Achiever (high competence, high commitment)
    
I don't have to be a D4 in all situations. It can be a mix but  what it teaches me is to evaluate my strengths and weaknesses and to do something about them. To quote Ken, "When your competence is low, you need direction: when your commitment is low, you need support.'

Assumed Constraints and Elephant Thinking     
I never thought of this one! An assumed constraint is a believe you have, based on past experience,    that limits you current and future experiences. Hmmm... I have too many of these I think. What  I need to do is challenge assumed constraints. I need to convince myself that 'position power' is not the only power that works.

I will share what I learn from the next book am reading now later...ta

English for pakcik?

I was working out at the gym from 8-9.45 a.m. this morning. As I was having a drink, I saw the Australian guy (whom I've met twice ) talking casually with an Indian man. They obviously do not know each other, like most of us who frequent the gym.We normally get on with our business and then leave as soon as we think we've reached our target for the day. It's amazing how we live our lives sometimes...we are always rushing and there isn't time to have a casual conversation apart from the smiles. Anyway, as I was watching  the two of them talking, (I had nothing better to do while waiting for the stepper to be free) I imagined a pakcik actually having a conversation with the Mat Salleh, a picture I don't see often. Language is a barrier for a pakcik to speak to a foreigner in English. Will there be a time when there are many pakciks who can speak English and converse with foreigners at the market, supermarket, stores etc.? In Singapore this is a common sight. I look forward to the day when many pakciks can hold a conversation in English with visitors from outside. I'm sure they have a lot to tell! 

It feels good to sweat out the toxins and I sleep better after exercising. Some older women were there to try all kinds of machines and were pumping away. They are the regulars and how they put me to shame hehe...They look good!!! Well, that's motivation for me to keep going..to go regularly and to watch my food.

There's Been a Death in the Opposite House-SPM 2010

Finally, 'There's Been a Death in the Opposite House' was tested in the English SPM paper after 10 years despite the subject matter it deals with- death. SPM2010 has created history! The view that because it deals with such a dark and gloomy subject therefore it should not be tested for fear of  putting certain students at a disadvantage is nonsensical. It passed the selection process remember? Well, a point sorely missed is that literature deals with universal themes such as life and death. Literature IS about life and death! Hence, it's rather myopic to say a text can or cannot be tested simply because a text deals with death. I'm glad someone up there has decided to test this poem albeit the final year of this cycle of texts. What is literature if not to tickle the minds of our young? Let them discuss death as a natural phenomenon and let them see how every day people deal with this subject. TV images fool us everyday- we only view those touched by death- the bereaved, undertakers, morticians...not the images of death. We remove these images to insulate ourselves from the discomfort. 

So let the text live even if it deals with death so our young may be wiser!

Time to catch up with my reading...

Popular is having a sale so I got myself quite a few books to read today. I hope I can read them all this hols!