I received an e-mail alert from The Economist magazine this week that caught my attention. Apparently, the "Periodic Table of Elements" turns 150 years old this week. I am not sure that there are too many of my friends, family, or colleagues that knew that fact, except of course for my father, a retired chemist and notable "Periodic Table" enthusiast! I suspect that the Periodic Table brings up bad memories of high school and/or college chemistry for many individuals. If I were being totally honest, chemistry and I just didn't have any chemistry together. I never really quite grasped the concept of atomic orbitals or electron shells, and if it wasn't for "LEO the lion goes GER" I would have never mastered oxidation-reduction reactions. But even if my dislike of college chemistry bordered on hatred at times, I can honestly say that I always appreciated the exquisite order and symmetry of the Periodic Table. It really is a beautiful thing how ordered our universe really is, and in many respects, it all starts with the Periodic Table.
Reading about the history of the Periodic Table brought back a lot of memories. Some bad, of course, but many good ones too. For one, I always enjoyed watching my father get so passionately excited about talking about it (we even bought him a t-shirt with the Periodic Table on it one year for Christmas). I only wish that everyone could get as excited about their profession the way that he did (and still does to this day, just ask any of his grandchildren) about chemistry. So, today I decided to write in honor of the almighty Periodic Table and the individual who is generally credited with its original description, the French chemist, Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier.
I know what you are thinking. And you are right. It's a bit of a stretch to connect the dots on the Periodic Table of the Elements and leadership. However, I am going to try. For example, did you know that there is a Periodic Table of the Elements of Leadership and Management"? It's true! There is a certain order to the leadership and management elements, though perhaps not quite as ordered as the actual chemical elements. It's a bit artificial, I will give that to you. I can appreciate how much work that was involved in creating this version, but I think the key concept is perhaps lost in the details. The important point to keep in mind is that there are certain leadership behaviors, or elements, that are foundational to good leadership.
What is an element anyway? At least in the world of chemistry, elements are the simplest substances that can't be broken down in any kind of chemical reaction. Elements can only be changed into other elements. Every substance in the world is based upon these chemical elements. Of course, some elements are more important than others. For example, there are 92 elements found in the Earth's crust - nearly 98% of the Earth's crust is made up of 8 important elements (oxygen itself makes up nearly half).
In a similar way, Scott Edinger wrote an online article for Forbes magazine in which he suggested that there are 8 key leadership elements too (there are many, many more leadership elements, but Edinger believes that there are the most crucial):
1. Character (Edinger believes that "character" is the oxygen of leadership)
2. Inspiring/Motivating
3. Results orientation
4. Communication skills
5. Strategic focus
6. Professional and functional expertise
7. Interpersonal skills
8. Leading change
That's a pretty good list, I think. What would be on your key list of leadership elements?
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