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Stefaan De Rynck

~ Public policy, leadership, EU politics

Stefaan De Rynck

Monthly Archives: September 2013

Divided leadership in the biggest world economies?

26 Thursday Sep 2013

Posted by Stefaan De Rynck in EU Politics, Leadership

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debt ceiling, Euro crisis, Leadership, US politics

Lack of leadership is how many have characterised the European Union over the past years. Europeans reacted too slowly to the Euro crisis, it is argued, and kicked the can down the road as their divisions prevented them from defining a sound economic policy. But the current polarization in Washington and the vitriolic rhetoric against political opponents beats what I have witnessed in Brussels.

The episode over a possible government shutdown next Tuesday by the House Republicans, and a Treasury alarm note over a mid-October default continue an American saga that started two years ago. In 2011 a first round of haggling over the debt ceiling occurred, with Standard and Poor decreasing by a notch its US credit rating. To end the saga, political leadership in today’s Washington requires not so much finding common ground, Continue reading →

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The Boston Red Sox turnaround and lessons for leadership

22 Sunday Sep 2013

Posted by Stefaan De Rynck in Leadership

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baseball, boston, coach, John Farrell, Leadership, red sox

As a newcomer to the Boston area I rejoiced on Friday night when the Red Sox clinched the division championship in the Eastern baseball league. I started reading about how the Red Sox evolved from worst to first in just a year. With many players upping their game this season, this turnaround could teach us lessons on organizations and leadership.

This team is without superstars, sports commentator Glenn Stout said. It exported its star players to the LA Dodgers last year. And without too much pressure at the season’s beginning, remaining players started improving. They became a cohesive team, partly also due to the marathon bombings in April. That Boston tragedy gave the Red Sox the extra purpose to support the city’s recovery. “We all love each other, and we play for each other”, said first baseman Mike Napoli during Friday night’s celebration. And the players grow beards together, which they tug in a sign of camaraderie.

One lesson from this is that taking some dominant personalities away can raise the effectiveness of a team in certain situations. Continue reading →

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Angela Merkel, political leadership and the Euro crisis

18 Wednesday Sep 2013

Posted by Stefaan De Rynck in EU Politics, Leadership

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Angela Merkel, Euro crisis, German elections, Leadership

Many observers expect the German elections on Sunday to result in a third mandate for Angela Merkel but with a switch in government coalition partner from the more free market liberals of the FDP to the Social-Democrats. Jack Ewing in yesterday’s New York Times writes that Merkel’s hand may be “forced” into a so called grand coalition between Germany’s two biggest parties.

The German elections matter for the more than 300 million people in the Euro area as they will shape the leadership for resolving the crisis. Angela Merkel has received heavy criticisms for her record: Joschka Fischer deplores a lack of vision, courage and strength of purpose. The columnist Wolfgang Munchau claims that the Euro cannot work with a German macro-economic policy. And Jürgen Habermas writes about a Germany dozing on a social volcano and shirking its responsibility. But could Merkel have adopted a radically different approach over recent years?

Exercising leadership is about disappointing your people at a rate that they can absorb, Marty Linsky says. Clearly, disappointment in Germany with the Euro has increased over recent years, Continue reading →

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Leadership: believe in your “self”?

15 Sunday Sep 2013

Posted by Stefaan De Rynck in Leadership

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harvard, identity, Leadership, work life balance

The Harvard Kennedy course on leadership, built around the book of Marty Linsky and Ron Heifetz, offered counterintuitive material. Leadership courses would often tell you that you have to really believe in what you do, or put differently that your passion should become your job, or vice versa. That thought always caused me some discomfort. While there should be overlap between your “self” and your organizational role and while exercising leadership entails a high level of commitment, one also should make sure to keep them separate, is what the course proposes.

If there is no distinction between your role at the workplace and your identity, there is no space where you are protected. Any workplace attack on you for what you said or did becomes a personal attack. Continue reading →

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Leadership needs conflict

12 Thursday Sep 2013

Posted by Stefaan De Rynck in Leadership

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Exercising leadership needs conflict and courage

I am currently attending a one week course on “leadership” at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, which is one of the academic temples for policy wonks like me. Luckily there are none of the usual clichés on “Are you born a leader, or can you learn to become one?” The central premise of the course is that all of us, no matter what position we have in our organizations or communities, can exercise leadership by defying the established ways of doing things.

Exercising leadership, the course contends, means stepping outside of the comfort zone of meeting the expectations that others have of you and your role. Leadership courses spend usually a lot of time on distinguishing leadership from management. Continue reading →

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Most recent posts

  • Crimea and Kosovo, one stands where one sits
  • What kind of EU democracy is emerging?
  • The German Judge and the Italian Banker

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