There is much to learn from sport. Whether you play or support or do both, we have the luxury of peering into the leadership habits of athletes, managers and teams with an arms length magnifying glass to gain a great deal of insight. You don’t have to like football (soccer) but what has transpired this past year at Manchester United Football Club is a fascinating case study when it comes to leadership. You may know of Manchester United due to its brand ubiquity. Indeed, Forbes values the club at $3.2 billion, second only to Spanish club Real Madrid United earns almost a billion dollars in merchandise per annum so it’s likely you’ve seen the Red Devils logo adorned to somebody somewhere on the planet. You may know of Manchester United due to its actual sporting success over the past quarter century. Under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson — the team manager between 1986 and 2013 — as well as key chief executives Peter Kenyon and David Gill, the club amassed 38 trophies including thirteen league titles and two European championships. Of course you may have heard about Manchester United because one David Beckham used to effortlessly swirl free kicks and crosses at the home grounds — Old Trafford — for a period of time. However you have come into contact with the club, your impression is likely one of success. Since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson and the departure of David Gill in 2013, the club has fallen into a tailspin of epic proportions. In fact, it is on the verge of becoming a Harvard Business case study, and not one of the good ones. A new manager to replace Sir Alex was chosen, but not much has gone right for David Moyes to date. The club sits seventh in Barclay Premier League, a shocking 18 points behind front runners Chelsea. This from the same team that won the league just a few months prior by 11 points over its nearest competitor. Wayne Rooney — their star striker — was embroiled in a debate for much of the season on whether he should remain at the club or move on, causing unnecessary distractions. Critics and analysts suggest Moyes has suffered first year jitters — managing such a prolific club for the first time — but so too those same individuals have stated he has made calamitous tactical mistakes, misguided judgments of the player transfer market, and naïvety in handling (might I suggest leading) the squad. A new chief executive to replace David Gill was promoted (Ed Woodward) but there isn’t much to report going well on the business side either. The club is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MANU On May 2, 2013, the stock traded at $19.04 but by February 19, 2014, the stock had dipped to $14.47, a loss of 24 per cent. It has recently gained back a small fraction of those losses but you can be assured many observers (and investors) are looking at the on-field and off-field leadership actions and its implications to United’s market capitalization and shareholder value growth. The most incredulous aspect of the situation at Manchester United is what I believe is the culmination of a rapid leadership collapse. Take for instance the most recent match where the club entertained their most hated rival — Liverpool Football Club — at their home stadium. Manchester United player Ryan Giggs once stated the Liverpool versus Manchester United fixture is "probably the most famous fixture in English football." The final result was 3-0 in favour of Liverpool, as humiliating a defeat if there ever was if you’re in the United camp. If you watched the match — and I did — there were signs of the overarching leadership collapse everywhere. United players were rolling their eyes at one another. Others were giving halfhearted efforts on the pitch. Some were publicly yelling (and blaming) one another. The manager — David Moyes — displayed the body language of defeatism. As the camera panned the crowd and caught ex-manager Sir Alex Ferguson in his seat, the hottest of candles could not have thawed the ice transfixed to his facial expression. The fans themselves looked flummoxed. This was only one match but the leadership collapse at Manchester United Football Club has been in motion and more than obvious since last summer. What’s the verdict? What might we learn? Never rest on your laurels; competitors are always trying to nip at your heels. Be ferocious with the status quo; don’t accept it … ever. Leadership ought to be collaborative; the forced divide between management & employee is antiquated. Transparency is key; excuses and stories get you nowhere. You’re only as good as an engaged team; apathy & disengagement lead to bad results. Leadership requires vision, strategy and execution; you can’t have one without the other. Full disclosure: my Grand-Mum gave me a Manchester United Umbro jersey kit when I was five years old. I’ve been supporting the club ever since … even through this jarring leadership crisis. Dan's Related Posts:The Moronic Leader: Stage 1 of 5 in the Leadership Tonic ScaleClowning Around - An Important Leadership AttributeCan Humanism Replace Capitalism?How to ‘Take One for the Team’What If We Rented Tablets?

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"You are way too verbose," said my Grade 11 English teacher back in 1987. "Don’t ever pick a career as a writer," he added as the follow-up to that crushing blow to childhood ability. I never actually thought I’d become an author. I enjoyed writing, but didn’t seriously consider it as a vocation, as a job, or as a purpose. I used to write poetry and even songs when I was a wee lad. I grew up thinking I was going to be either a doctor or a physiotherapist. As far as I could tell, both professions had the penmanship of a cave dweller. My chicken scribe technique was on par and - according to my English teacher - so were my skills at writing. "No need to think about a life in journalism," I said to myself one day. Over the years, I found myself writing more and more. I even partook in several "What is your ideal career" surveys and assessments. Writing would always be in the top three. So, I began addressing this gravitational pull. First, I was writing to myself. Then, I began writing a few public pieces. Eventually I started up www.danpontefract.com and by the time New Year’s Day 2012 rolled around, I had committed to myself to write a trio of books. The first of those books, Flat Army, was published roughly one year ago in North America. And yes, it probably is "way too verbose". It is, after all, more than 90,000 words. According to UNESCO, there were approximately 2,200,000 books published in 2013 across the globe. Flat Army makes up 0.00045% of the titles in 2013. Not great odds for success. What have I learned over the past year? I love writing If you want to be an author - and I’ve talked to dozens of authors over the past two years - you better enjoy writing, otherwise you’re going to end up miserable. I love authors Those aforementioned conversations have been riveting, uniting and at times cathartic. There are so many people willing to share ideas and help. It’s very inspiring. Your publisher team is critical I signed with Wiley, however one month after the publication of Flat Army, the entire Canadian office was terminated due to ‘downsizing’ activities. I miss them dearly. PR Firm and Agency might help I wanted to believe a book would sell on its own merit, on its own accord. It doesn’t. I was wrong. I suspect this pigheadedness cost me heaps of potential sales. Amazon Author Central is depressing Amazon itself is the book industry agora or mecca. That point is irrefutable. If you visit your Author Central page too frequently however, it’s likely you will take greater pleasure downing shots of turpentine. Royalty statements are even more depressing If you want to make a difference in the world (hence, Flat Army) the bi-annual royalty statement is not for the faint of heart. 6,332 units sold as of Dec 31, 2013 not including Audible, EBSCO or Books 24×7. I really wish it had done better, not for the sake of profit, but for the sake of purposeful change in today’s organizations. I hope it still has a chance. Wow, I sold books? Despite my wish for greater sales, it is somewhat unbelievable to me that so many people bought the book. A year ago I didn’t have a book, and a year later … I have (I hope) touched more than 6,000 people. Thank you to those that did purchase the book. I’m grateful. Being Canadian I love my citizenship, but at times I have felt it to be a hindrance when it comes to the contents of the book. "How could this come from a Canadian?" "Why should we believe you?" "Don’t they only play hockey and eat doughnuts?" Signing books is cool When people ask to have the book signed, I go into a slight moment of panic. "Did she just ask ‘me’ to sign a book?" It is a humbling experience. For those that asked for a book to be signed, you have my sincere appreciation and gratitude. Book signings can be humiliating If you’re at a conference, and no one shows up for your ‘book signing’ … it may be a sign. Book reviews Some people actually took the time to write a review of Flat Army. There are ones found on Forbes, The Globe and Mail and individual ones found on Amazon. Thanks to those that did. What’s puzzling, however is that many individuals said they would write a review, and then didn’t. Perhaps the book wasn’t good enough to do so? Does speaking and other external writing help? I’m not sure. I would never give up speaking as it’s a natural extension of what I love to do. (for me, it’s a lot like teaching, oh … and eating Pecan Pie) And writing … well, that’s what I enjoy doing alongside my day job. But I can’t tell whatsoever if it has made a discernible difference in terms of the number of units sold, or more importantly, the changes I want to see in organizations across the globe. Proud beyond belief I am so proud. I love that there is a book out there, with my name on it. (what a coincidence) My grandfather wouldn’t allow my father to become an author or journalist. Instead, he became an electrical engineer. I was so proud to give a copy of Flat Army to my Dad so he could see his last name on a book. What an awesome moment. What’s next for the rookie author? I’m writing the next book and having a fun time doing so. Did I mention I love writing? I suppose I am no longer a rookie author. I’m discussing possibilities with book agents and PR firms. My relationship with Wiley is all but severed due to what happened to the Canadian office and I’m now in the process of seeking a new publisher for my next project, "It’s Work Not Jail: The Difference Between a Job and a Career with Purpose". I can’t say enough about how incredible Don Loney, Jennifer Smith and Terry Palmer have been to me with various pieces of advice and contacts while also providing a shoulder to lean on. If you’re interested - or know of someone who might be interested - this no-longer-rookie-author is all ears. Although I still might be verbose … but you knew that if you made it to the end of this post. Dan's Related Posts:Flat Army on the Back of a (Digital) NapkinAnnouncing the Full Book Cover Jacket of Flat ArmyInstead of Inbox Zero, How About Outbox ZeroOur Three Young Children Blog … Here’s WhyI Wrote a 90,000 Word Book Entirely in Evernote

Author Dan Pontefract with his much better half Denise Lamarche Flat Army was published about a year ago. It’s been an absolute honour to receive emails, tweets, phone calls, texts and (can you believe it) face-to-face notices of congratulations, thanks and kudos about the book. To those that have reached out in whatever form - you have my utmost respect and gratitude. To those that are implementing the concepts (in whole or in part) I am equally grateful. If you’re not yet on the Flat Army bandwagon — I’m not one to judge — this is your chance to win a free, signed copy. How to win? Enter a comment in the space below answering the following question: How do you define the word work? I’ve got six (signed) copies to give away. I am the sole judge. Contest closes Friday, March 25, 2014 at Midnight PT. I’ll announce the winners on Sunday March 27, 2014. It’s open to anyone, so long as you live on Earth. (although if Colonel Hadfield was still on the ISS, I might ship it to him) Dan's Related Posts:10 Free Copies of Flat Army … Participate to WinThe 10 Winners of Flat Army Copies Are …Lessons Learned From a First Time AuthorDid I Just Spam My Entire LinkedIn Network?Download Chapter 1 for Free - Flat Army: Creating a Connected and Engaged…

I had a wonderful, powerful get-together the other day with a friend of mine. Like me, he’s a dreamer. It was a chat long overdue. We hadn’t shared a latte for well over twelve months. "Aaron" and I met about six years ago and from that first moment I felt a sense of connected kinship. Our discussions are futuristic, fun and absolutely freeing. For me they are soul food exchanges. When we chat, we seek ways to better our respective organizations and society in general. They often revolve around the use of technology to create experiences that enhance the human spirit. During our time together last week we delved into topics such as ‘drones for good’, robotics, wearable technologies and health bars. Not the kind you eat but the kind that should be found in company buildings as a way to promote openness, collaboration and healthy eating. You get the point. We’re dreamers. Disney calls it ‘Imagineering‘. I asked how things were going in his role. (He works for a rather large organization.) That’s the precise moment his ear-to-ear smile shifted to a glum, forlorn frown. "Dan," my friend questioned me with a palpable display of meekness. "Why is it I get penalized for dreaming on my performance review?" It was at this moment I wished our lattes might have been mistaken for Irish Coffees. "I’ve got ideas and thoughts for the future of this company — and for our customers — and yet my performance review stinks," he explained further. "I’m told to focus on my presentations and my deliverables, but I never get rewarded for my ideas." He then added: "I’m punished for dreaming." My heart sank. Aaron is gifted. He’s a dreamer. He’s an innovator. He’s a thinker. It was clear to me his role if not career growth is being stunted and his ideas are being ignored. I can’t begin to fathom what fantastic and positive contributions he would make to his company if only he were permitted to dream; if only a portion of his performance development plan (ie. his objectives) were re-engineered to dream. Which brings me to my ultimate point if you are a leader of people. Are you penalizing the dreamers in your organization? Or, are you somehow enabling the dreamers such that their ideas and thoughts are — at a minimum — being considered or better yet, being incorporated into future plans? Yes, boundaries and expectations need to be set. But crushing the dreamer is heartless. It might even be gutless. If you can enable the dreamer, you and your organization are bound to benefit. I liken dreaming to doodling, made famous of course by Sunni Brown. By using common sense, experience and neuroscience, Sunni is proving that to doodle is to ignite your whole mind. For me, it’s a form of dreaming. (And you should rush to your favourite bookstore or online site to pick up her book "The Doodle Revolution") Every organization needs builders, doers and practitioners. That goes without saying. But every thriving organization needs the doodlers; it needs the dreamers. Let’s stop penalizing the dreamers. Let’s park the ego. Let’s empower the dreamers to dream the dream. Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere. Carl Sagan Dan's Related Posts:trainingwreck is no more … introducing ‘brave new org’My Next Role Is …Q&A on the Future of Social, Mobile and eLearningWho Am I? Who I Am.Rethinking the Work of Leadership

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How does the current state of leadership affect employee engagement? What is the effect of both good and bad leadership as it pertains to organizational health and engagement? From a leadership perspective, who actually is responsible for employee engagement? Who is responsible for the act of leadership? According to Hay Group, a global management consulting firm, 63 per cent of CEOs and other members of the top team reckon it’s the top leaders in the company who are "chiefly responsible for staff engagement and leadership," but only 38 per cent of those outside the C-Suite agree that the top tier is responsible. Now that is a disturbing leadership and engagement paradox. Is job satisfaction correlated to employee engagement? Or is job satisfaction more correlated to life satisfaction as per the research conducted by Rain, Lane and Steiner? And if it is — if job satisfaction is akin to life satisfaction — are leaders paying enough attention to their employees such that they are in fact caring about their lives, connecting in ways that allow them to enact life-work balance and a sense of community, and a sense of belonging with their colleagues? Do today’s leaders actually care about the person that is doing the work? Do they even know their name let alone what provides them with job satisfaction? Between 1985 and 2005, the number of Americans who stated they felt satisfied with the way life was treating them decreased by roughly 30 per cent. Even more shocking was the number of dissatisfied people; this increased by nearly 50 per cent. The reasons appear to be related to Americans’ declining attachments to friends and family, lower participation in social and civic activities, and diminished trust in political institutions. Rather than life imitating art, is life imitating the organization instead? As levels of employee engagement have dropped and subsequently stagnated over the past thirty years, it’s no wonder the perceived quality of life has decreased as well. This begs the question whether today’s leaders know if members of their direct report teams have children or not? It’s cheeky, I know, but it’s a valid question. Does leadership equate to cardboard cut-out relationships or is it an engaging and personal liaison opportunity? If employees are enthusiastic, committed, passionate, and generally into their work, isn’t it time leaders of any stripe, at any step in the hierarchy chain, acted with more humility and were less parochial? Does the health of an organization and its overall engagement correlate to productivity and in return financial results? Does it correlate to customer loyalty, employee turnover and retention? While the questions may sound rhetorical, why do command-and-control tactics dominate the workspace versus "cultivate and coordinate" as per MIT Sloan School of Management professor Tom Malone’s suggestion from his book The Future of Work? Have we not reached, therefore, a professional paradox in the workplace? Shouldn’t we be advocating for and developing a more engaged leader? Has the organization become so blind that, within the underbelly of the top leadership ranks, a professional mutiny is in the works? Perhaps it’s already in motion. A mutiny that manifests in human capital contradiction where employees are either punching in their time to simply get through the day or they are in eternal job searches hunting for the Holy Grail organization that actually cares about their well-being. And leaders, who sit ignorant to the brewing storm, continue to commit crimes of managerial misdemeanor. The job that people perform is central, or at least a large part of their personal identity. Picture yourself meeting someone for the first time at a cocktail party or a community gathering or your child’s first soccer practice. What do you inevitably ask within the first two minutes of your initial conversation? "So, what do you do? Where do you work? How long have you been there?" When your new acquaintance looks sheepish or worse nosedives into an apoplectic rant about their place of work, you might do one of three things: Wince, smile and nod, and affirm that their place of work is awful; Agree to never buy the company’s product or service due to this diabolical repudiation; and/or Hold your breath, wait for the conversation to end, and find the nearest safe harbor as soon as you can. Employees in today’s organization are expecting more from leaders than what is currently being offered. Sadly and paradoxically, 69 per cent of executives agree they too feel engagement and leadership is a problem in their organization. It is time to connect the dots between leadership, engagement, learning, technology and collaboration. It is time for the act of leadership to be carried out by everyone in the organization. In my opinion, it is time for a Flat Army in our organizations. Dan's Related Posts:WHY I Wrote Flat Army: The Flat Army Golden CircleCan Employee Engagement Improve Customer Satisfaction?Flexible Working Worksthe FLAT ARMY cheat sheetEmployee Engagement is Still Poor but it Does Drive Bottom Line Results

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If you weren’t aware, I enjoy reading and writing poetry. On the odd occasion, I’ll post poems I’ve written to this space and share poems by others that shake my bones to the core. As I’ve been reflecting on many things recently — personally and professionally — the following piece written by William Henry Davies is a poem that stops me dead in my tracks each time I read it. "Leisure" What is this life if,  full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. No time to stand beneath the boughs And stare as long as sheep or cows. No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass. No time to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like skies at night. No time to turn at Beauty’s glance, And watch her feet, how they can dance. No time to wait till her mouth can Enrich that smile her eyes began. A poor life this if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. William Henry Davies, 1911 Dan's Related Posts:Clowning Around - An Important Leadership AttributeFlat Army on the Back of a (Digital) NapkinInstead of Inbox Zero, How About Outbox ZeroWhen Life Flashes Before Your EyesMy Views on Learnist, the latest ‘social learning’ venture

Topic: How to Choose the best eLearning Authoring Tool Description: In this live webinar join Dr. Pooja Jaisingh, Sr. eLearning evangelist at Adobe as she shares some helpful and time saving insights that will enable you to take a better decision if you are in the process to select an eLearning or mLearning authoring tool for yourself […]