This reading was quite interesting.

First I see a small flaw in the concept of authenticity, namely, authenticity does not necessarily mean good things. For example I am reasonably sure Nixon was authentic to his amoral self, and I’m also pretty sure he was self-aware and thought he was doing the right thing. So there is more to leadership than authenticity.

I like that the reading states, “It starts with having at least one person in your life with whom you can be completely yourself… When they can rely on unconditional support, they are more likely to accept themselves for who they really are.” With most people this is their spouse. Being a husband and a father has taught me the most about real leadership, and I completely agree that this fundamental centering is necessary for real authentic leadership to develop. I think part of it that being a husband and a father is extremely challenging at times–I have my toddler hanging on my neck at the moment, for example–it is the crucible, the challenging formative experience described at the beginning of the article.

I like that the concept of authentic leadership is tied to a balanced life: “Think of your life as a house. Can you knock down the walls between the rooms and be the same person in each of them?” This lead me to reflect upon myself as a husband, father, employee, and businessman, and I am just beginning to think about this, but I can see that there is a fundamental leadership style over all these roles. I have been struggling with making a statement of my core values and this has pointed me in that direction.

“All leaders have to deliver bottom-line results” but with authentic leadership you “[create] a virtuous circle in which the results reinforce the effectiveness of their leadership… Superior results over a sustained time period is the ultimate mark of an authentic leader.” I have been thinking a bit about leadership in terms of Machiavelli’s The Prince and Robert Greene’s 33 Strategies of War and 48 Laws of Power. Greene’s primary thesis in 48 Laws of Power is that the contemporary world and its power alignments are reformulations of the medieval court; the CEO is the prince, and his staff are courtiers, and his workers the army (or what have you). It is an interesting way to think about things and often insightful. For one, Greene asserts power, which does not necessarily equate with leadership, comes from deception; “Playing with appearances and mastering the arts of deception are among the aesthetic pleasures in life.” (Kindle location ~270). There are interesting implications for attribution theory here and it also draws back to my initial point that authenticity is not necessarily virtuous, indeed, Greene’s book is an object lesson in this fact. However the conclusion is the same: judge by results. He writes, “you do not judge your opponents by their intentions but by the effect of their actions.” I raise this as an intellectual digression and as I said, Greene’s concept of power and the idea of leadership are not necessarily the same.

The article writes that “Authentic leaders build extraordinary support teams… They not only inspire those around them, they empower those individuals to step up and lead.” This (and many other points in the article) agrees with Robbins and Judge Essentials of Organizational Behavior 11th Ed. where they write, “extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience show strong and consistent relationships to leadership” (Kindle location ~5200). However I find attribution theory an interesting counterpoint: “Attribution theory suggests what’s important is projecting the appearance of being a leader rather than focusing on actual accomplishments” (Kindle loc ~5150). I agree to some extent that leadership is an attribution and I think this ties with my first point, that authenticity is not necessarily good. However this aside, Robbins and Judge cite trust as a a fundamental characteristic of leadership, and there is the interesting discussion of ethics and leadership which ties closely with the concept of authenticity.

The April 2012 Harvard Business Review is extremely interesting for our purposes. There is a discussion of Steve Jobs’ leadership which is essentially a discussion of his authenticity. There is also an article which I recommend to everybody “The New Science of Building Great Teams.” Their primary conclusion was that “the key to high performance lay not in the content of the team’s discussions but in the manner in which it was communicating.” They measure this objectively with a monitoring device worn like an ID badge. Essentially their “scientific” results agree strongly with some of the ideas of authentic leadership. The article writes that “Authentic leaders build extraordinary support teams… They not only inspire those around them, they empower those individuals to step up and lead,” and similarly, the HBR article writes, “Successful teams share several defining characteristics,” one being “engagement, which reflects the distribution of energy among team members.” Successful teams distribute energy and an authentic leader, in the same light, empowers individuals. The HBR article also writes that “Social time time turns out to be deeply critical to team performance, often accounting for more than 50% of positive changes in communication patterns.” This reflects on the authentic leader who builds strong, trusting, mutually-beneficial relationships which, in the end, actually enable him to be an authentic leader.

One of the people here got fired because of his blog. Vanessa got in trouble because of her Facebook and actually created 2 Facebook accounts, one which nobody except friends can see. I don’t really use Facebook except for the most vague and general shout-outs once in a blue moon. And on my blog I stopped writing anything about work or my host country about 10 years ago. Stopped back in Saudi. My family got concerned about my opinions about things. Anyway for one thing I never express my opinion about work or my host country and some day I’d actually ike to blog my real opinions. Furthermore I find the whole concept really fascist and irritating that an employer actually reads your blog or Facebook. I remember the old Wild West days of the internet I suppose. Now the fascists are dipping their hands in. I’d like to know who the guy is at my current work (note search engine avoidance technique) who is going around looking for internet trouble. You have the stones to come talk to me?

Well I am starting my MBA studies in 3 days. As you may recall the university (through my committee, the Professional Development Committee) is partially funding the venture. Basically I awarded myself a tuition grant. I have rather mixed feeling about this. My primary interest actually is making concrete business plans for Teggatz Enterprises. Also I am bolstering my resume for the next logical step in my career, which would be head of department. The thing here is I was de facto head of department in Saudi at various points (ie I made all the decisions and delegated work) and so I know what the job is, and I’ve done it, and it’s a thankless task which I have zero interest in. So skipping the next logical step and moving into administration is the real goal, the MBA being the bostering factor. I am not clear about how much work this MBA will involve, I suppose I’ll find out in 3 days, though the first class is an easy one, and the real work begins later. If I can manage to limit the work to tasks which interest me, such as risk management for Teggatz Enterprises for example, then the MBA will be no problem. I am not terribly excited about accounting but God knows I could use a little information on the subject. My first class starting in 3 days is Organizational Behavior (it’s an English university, the University of Cumbria, so I suppose I should spell it “behaviour”) and I am interested in organizational behavior of a family enterprise, for example how to motivate my wife to contribute, how to avoid the Company being split up and squabbled over when I’m dead (which would defeat the purpose). I am also interested in the behavior of investors as statistical groupings. I wonder if I can put that into the rubric of an organization, for example institutional investors control the bulk of the money on Wall St and their behavior is predictable within certain parameters. If I could write a research paper on institutional investors that would enable Teggatz Enterprises to make more accurate assessments of the market, then we’re in business, and this MBA will be a breeze.

The Teggatz Family has gone into austerity mode. The only premise is to pocket as much money as possible because after this we go home (to the States) and my actual opportunities for quick money will disappear (taxation, competitive job market, increased schooling expenses, etc etc, not to mention the need for a car and house). We’re looking at Texas partly because the cost of living in Texas is very low. Brownsville has the lowest cost of living in the USA, so we may well land in Houston and buy a car and go down and check out Brownsville. Another thing about Texas is there are a lot of job opportunities for me. However we also have California and Hawaii on the mind, the only problem with them being they’re very expensive places to live, and in the case of Hawaii, probably a very difficult job environment for me.

The big news at the moment is Obama made a secret surprise visit yesterday. He was actually within a mile of us at the presidential palace and actually I remember thinking yesterday, when a squadron of helicopters was flying unusually low, that something must be going on. Today we woke up to several bomb blasts going off as the insurgents tried to attack some installation where internationals live.

I should say AUAF is like a fortress and this is probably a lot to do with me. I am sure the president or provost of the university claim credit (and rightly so, I claim credit for the work I delegate on my committees) but the fact is that as a university senator, and as a member of the Quality of life Committee under which issues of security fall, I have been constantly harping for 2 years now about the need to increase security. Results have happened fairly steadily. I’m not tooting my horn, I’m just saying I’ve been on the ball and recognized the urgency and the need. A week ago we visited the new campus which is under construction and I harped about the lack of fortifications, etc, and was actually quite pissed that there was nothing being done. Yesterday in a committee meeting I was pleasantly surprised to see that money and manpower had magically been allocated to fortifying the new campus. Again, just saying I’m on the ball. The thing is, fortifications are a part of doing business in Afghanistan, and that’s just a plain fact, however most academics don’t generally have fortifications jump to mind when they consider institution-building.

The semester is winding down and thank God. I need a break. This whole Fall of Saigon Act Two business can be exhausting. I am on tap for summer courses, which would be very profitable, but this depends on enrollment, so it’s impossible to day what our plans are exactly, and I won’t know until early June. If there is no profitability in the summer then we will go sit on a beach in Thailand, and in many ways I would really prefer this, as I need a break, and the kids could use some beach fun, and it would do my morale a world of good to see Vanessa in a bikini. However my bank account is the reason I’m here (not here for the lifestyle) so we’ll see.

Tristan is sick and vomiting, he got a nurse visit and a shot in the arse.

We thought spring had sprung but then yesterday cold and snow returned.

You probably know about the Koran burning at Bagram air base. Now yesterday some lunatic American soldier went on a killing spree. Lately the Taliban doesn’t have to do anything, the Americans have shown an amazing propensity for shooting themselves in the foot. If I was Afghani I would want the US out also, after this. Really troublesome for those of us on the non-military end of operations. We look like a bunch of idiots, and I wish the military would get its act together, now I have to prepare for more rioting.

Not been blogging so much because of time management issues.

First, this is a really severe winter in Kabul, the worst I’ve seen since I lived in Minneapolis in the early 1990s. And Minneapolis is pretty snowy and cold. This is the worst I’ve seen since then. About 6 or 7 feet in the mountains I imagine, about maybe 4 to 5 feet in the city which makes a compact baselayer of about a foot of solid snow. And it’s chick-a-lickin cold, and university facilities are apparently unable to make us warmer. This is a point of some irritation and I actually brought it up in one committee, pointing out that I’m freezing my butt off and so is everybody else except maybe the president, and what gives. I put it in more diplomatic terms of course but that was the essence. Seems that facilities are hampered by their budget. I can understand this answer and have basically decided to bite the bullet and endure 3 or 4 more cold weeks. However I am somewhat displeased, and am of the opinion that Kabul is trouble enough already, and a priority should be placed on keeping us warm. I did not express this opinion in committee, even though I think it’s a totally valid point, but I did point out that being cold damages morale, and morale is actually a serious issue here. Sometimes we’re too cold to do anything except lay in bed. Very irritating. Tbe bright side is I think we’re over the really bad part of winter. I just have a feeling, having grown up in the snowy north, I can sense it in my bones or something. Think we just rode over the hump.

In addition I am teaching an extra section to make extra money, and so I’m teaching quite a bit, which is mildly irritating, though I have this racket down pretty solid, and also I have an assistant who I give everything to except correcting essays. So while I’m teaching a lot, I manage to keep my energy and activity level manageable. If my assistant is reading this you should come to my office tomorrow, I need you to correct some quizzes and make photocopies. A bit busier than normal though.

Tristan is starting talking a lot. His favorite toy is his shapes from grandpa. He’s a good boy though he’s a bit of a rascal.Stating to yap all day long. His baby accent is a bit thick however and you have to strain a bit to understand him.

The good thing about this fearsome winter is that classes are getting cancelled or ending early, because transportation is a real problem for students in this weather. There is a bit of a lack of good roads here among other things.

Kabul has a foot of snow and sub-arctic temps. Problem is staying warm in the house. For some reason the houses here aren’t insulated and we just have space heaters. It’s really enough to make you a little crazy. The good thing though is that the fighting has ground to a halt. Usually you see NATO helos flying over the mountains surrounding Kabul off on some op. You see and hear them all day long. With the big freeze going on, everything is quiet.

Massive jet lag has turned me into a morning person for the first time in… well, decades… and surprisingly enough I like it. I also don’t use ambien any more which is good. Cure for ambien is to fly into reverse time, ie fly east.

Vanessa the tropical girl walks around the house all day long in legwarmers and a parka. She complains she hates winter. I tell her she better learn to like it because February is coming.

Rest in peace to Mara S., my high school classmate. Only the good die young. Very sad and shocking.

I am only scheduled for one class next semester. This will probably change but I’m keeping my fingers crossed, I might get lucky…

I enjoy Swackett, which is a Mac and iPad app. Might be on Windows but I don’t use Windows any more. Apparently the hottest place on earth is in Mozambique with 121F, and the other end is Siberia with -51F. Here in Kabul, Swackett advises a turtleneck sweater, jeans, and sunglasses. This is actually good advice except for the sunglasses. Swackett is obviously unaware that the Afghanis burn wood to keep warm and there is a smoggy haze which will last until it gets warm again, because we’re in a valley between mountains. Indeed the air quality here in winter is really terrible, and is one of my rationalizations for smoking, because with all the smoke in the air, I might as well at least be enjoying myself.

Despite the fact that we have several boxes of clothes waiting for us in the US at my sister’s house, Van appears to have packed the entire house.

The city does not produce enough electricity in our neighborhood to actually have the heaters produce heat. We have a generator and I may end up telling the guards to just run it continuously this winter. This would irritate the finance department and my ears, because the generator is loud.

Bug is off to his last day of school, and Van is busy packing. I have been exhausted and crabby, because I’m working my ass off, what with exam week etc, plus my various committees and the university senate, plus the necessity of attending provost meetings because we all want the provost to like us (and actually I like her, the only point is it is consuming my time), plus I am suffering from a very nasty cold just like everybody else in the department, plus I have small children who need attention, plus I have a business to run. All this boils down to me being exhausted and crabby. Yesterday at 8PM I came home from the office and just collapsed into bed.

The bright side is vacation starts in about 6 hours.