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Be Gone Ye Pithy Phrases and Clever Platitudes

Monday, April 30th, 2012

I’m going to rant a bit about leadership platitudes. I search the web from time to time in search of new and exciting information about leadership and life. In the leadership space I am constantly amazed at the repetition of the same old things.. Is it that we just don’t get it—and therefore need to be bombarded with the usual old stuff? Or are platitudes part of the problem?

I find myself wondering about the platitudes I consistently see:

“Be a team player”
“Vision is everything”
“Followers ponder while visionary leaders take action”
“Everyone can be a visionary leader”
“Change is constant”
“Authentic leadership is all about trust and integrity”

While all true, perhaps, I wonder about the efficacy of offering these simple thoughts in a complex world.

So many thinkers and speakers are reducing leadership to a pithy phrase, a clever quote or a well-packaged story. Perhaps this falls on deaf ears because authentic leaders who are struggling with the content of their lives and feeling the weight of responsibility on their shoulders know that leadership is far more complex and change more difficult, such that it cannot be reduced. It is a process, above all else, that requires one to be present in the moment, to find the magical elixir of interventions, offers, requests, guidance, facilitation and force needed to produce a shift. No set of homogenized phrases does justice to the challenge.

I find myself wondering what I offer to leaders and whether it is any different. The only thing I can say at this moment is that I am committed to the inquiry. I’m not so quick to say: “Oh, just be yourself,” or “you need a vision”, or “tell the truth; it always is the best way,” as I used to do in my younger years. I yearn for a deeper exploration within myself and my clients where the question and the exploration of what is needed is richly contoured, and where solutions are born out of deep reflection and discovery. I find it is far more important to seek and find the right places within which to find one’s leadership, than to quickly offer something that seems on the surface to be appealing.

What if we were to throw out everything we know about leadership and wonder anew? Might we find something different, and perhaps might that difference make a difference?

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A New Form of Leadership – No Leadership

Monday, April 23rd, 2012

There’s a new sheriff in town—it’s distributed leadership.

I have been getting glimpses of this form of leadership for a few years, and it appears to be increasing. It is a form of leadership that occurs in a natural, ever evolving manner. Who leads, how and when changes, and the overall effect can be quite messy at times and yet, often, quite beautiful.

In the community of men of which I’m one of the founders, we see this form often. It was illustrated recently as we orchestrated a surprise birthday party for one of our treasured members. It happened like this: one man sent an email to the community suggesting the idea and others supported it. Another suggested we all chip in to purchase a much needed Mac laptop. Others made alternative suggestions, and through a slurry of emails back and forth, we figured it out. There was no vote, no decision making process, and no designated leader. And yet we worked it out. It was primarily through a combination of invitations and suggestions; of some men expressing strong opinions, with enough others supporting them, that the general view became the prevailing decision. Then when it came to implementation, someone offered to take the ball and run with it and orchestrated the execution. We followed that man’s lead because he made a clear assertion and we trusted him. There were many counter suggestions and possibilities seemed endless and yet, through it all, we enacted what became an extraordinary event—all in 48 hours.

I have witnessed and helped teach this form of leadership to many clients and have found that for those organizations that are healthy and relatively evolved, it can be an enormous source of satisfaction when it works well. Everyone has the potential to lead. When they are called to do so, they step up. Some follow because of the person and his or her credibility. Others follow because the person/leader appears inspired to lead in that moment. It requires everyone to act maturely—and to be unattached to the outcome.

This form of leadership truly takes advantage of the wisdom of the crowd. When done well, it is beautiful to behold. When done poorly, it can be quite a mess, which is why most organizations rightly shy away from it, except when it occurs spontaneously and naturally.

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Intervening at the Pattern Level

Monday, April 16th, 2012

One of the CEOs that I coach brought up an issue that I believe is universally crucial for conscious leaders to understand. He shared with me that he was frustrated with the number of people in his organization not acting with a sense of urgency, and that he found himself superseding his executives to deal with issues that they should be addressing. One of his managers for example, who leads in unit in a remote site, was not on the ball when the CEO visited. In spite of this he still presented a lackadaisical front. This manager reports to an executive who in turn reports to the CEO. The CEO got frustrated by the manager’s lack of attention and lack of urgency and spoke to them directly about it. In other words, in his frustration he intervened. This was a recurring pattern for this CEO and he shared with me that he was concerned that he was not handling these issues well. He wasn’t. The problem went much deeper than he realized, and his interventions were designed so as to keep the load on his shoulders and maintain dependency. The root of the problem is that the executives themselves are not intervening, and that there is a general complacency among many people throughout the organization. In other words, the CEO’s policy of addressing the smaller issues individually had sidestepped the cause of the problem. The general malaise and inability to recognize it on the part of the executives denotes a cultural problem rather not an individual behavior problem and needs to be addressed as such. In addressing the cultural problem, the CEO has a number of options, including but not limited to:

Discussing the pattern with the individual executives who tend to avoid raising these issues with their managers.
Exploring the cultural problem as an executive team.
Seeing the identification of a cultural problem in the organization as an opportunity to improve.

CEOs and all leaders who see problems as individual issues are missing the larger pattern, and it is at the pattern level that opportunities for deeper solutions lay. Patterns reveal paradigms and when paradigms shift, so too do cultures. It is the job of the leader to focus on patterns, and conscious leaders see patterns all the time.

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Hawkeye as a Teacher

Monday, April 9th, 2012

“There is no way we can enter this market with our product. The competition will crush us,” said one of the members, with great fervor and certainty.

“This product sets the stage for the next wave,” said another equally as fervently.

“Yes, but we’re not ready,” said a third, fidgeting in his seat.

“When are we every fully ready?” asked a fourth, snickering slightly.

So it went, round and round and round. The argument continued for three hours and ended in a stalemate.

Meetings are often like that. They go round and round, with little resolution, or if there is resolution it is often unstable; a compromise born out of frustration. Of course, we know the ideal is synergy. The reality is often much less cohesive.

I believe at the core is our inability to trust the wisdom of the group and our tendency to believe that our own perceptions, beliefs, and points of view are more valid that the collective. While sometimes that may be true, often it is not. The key to mining the gold in any group is to utilize the perspectives and vantage points of all members in order to come to a conclusion that reflects the whole.

I am reminded of an amazing invention that is used to determine whether a ball is out during professional tennis matches. For years, we’ve had the ability to track a tennis ball using cameras and play it back in slow motion to see where it lands, but unfortunately, it was always suspect due to the vantage point of the camera. Depending on a camera’s angle and position, the ball might appear either in or out. Similar to the lines judge who sees only from his or her angle may be mistaken, the single camera image is incapable of providing certainty.

The breakthrough came with Hawk-eye. Hawk-Eye is a complex computer system used in tennis and other sports to visually track the path of the ball and display a record of its path as a moving three-dimensional image. It was invented and patented by Dr Paul Hawkins and David Sherry. Hawk-Eye is based on the principles of triangulation, using the visual images and timing data provided by at least four high-speed video cameras located at different locations and angles around the area of play. The system rapidly processes the video feeds by a high-speed video processor and ball tracker, each view of the ball from each camera providing a reference point. These images are combined to form an extremely accurate picture of the actual ball’s flight, and most importantly, the ball’s landing position.

We can learn from Hawk-eye’s amazing accuracy. As a metaphor, it suggests that no one person can know the answer, but together if we listen to all views, we have the potential to make better decisions. This simple principle can show the way not just in meetings, but in the way we speak to each other. If we understood this principle, no longer would we speak in a language of “I know best.” We would no longer believe we solely are in touch with the truth. We would “own” our own experience, and welcome that of others, forging a deeper understanding of any circumstance. If we understood this principle, we would be deeply curious of how our peers view an issue and the causes of their position, as well being better evaluators of our own stances and motivations.

To get the most out of meetings, seek multiple perspectives, and then look to find the wisdom that is the intersection of them all. This is not a hard and fast rule. As a principle, however, it invites the prospect that great minds don’t think alike—great minds think unalike.

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Leadership and Forgiveness

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

I have just been to the 13th Annual Forgiveness Conference here in Marin County and it was wonderfully inspiring. Backed by moving gospel music, which focused on the power of love, we heard some people speak who have exhibited extraordinary acts of forgiveness. What stood out for me was the case of two men who crossed paths almost fifty years ago in Alabama. John Lewis (now a member of the U. S. House of Representatives), a young black man and member of the freedom riders, was beaten by Elwin Wilson, a white man, in the early 60s during a demonstration situated in a “white” waiting room of a South Carolina bus station. When the police asked the bloodied and severely beaten Lewis if he wanted to press charges at the time, Lewis declined and said he would rather extend love and compassion toward Wilson. This extraordinary act moved Wilson deeply and he vowed to change his ways. Fifty years later their paths crossed with Good Morning America’s help and Lewis publicly forgave Wilson for what he had done. Wilson apologized deeply by saying with feeling, “I’m so sorry about what happened back then.” In return, Lewis said wholeheartedly, “It’s okay, I forgive you.” Wilson has repented, and at the conference he spoke powerfully about how he “loves people regardless of their color.”

The two hugged each other just as they had done on Good Morning America and I could see in that moment the extraordinary power of redemption and forgiveness. We were all moved to tears, not only by the singularly gracious act on both men’s parts, but by the apparent potential for extending forgiveness to others in our own lives.

For a first hand viewing you can visit:

http://podblanc.com/dementia-elwin-wilson-hugs-apologizes-john-lewis

I could not help but think about how the act of forgiveness lifts an enormous burden of guilt on the part of the perpetrator, and how perhaps more importantly, the state of open mindedness that forgiving requires is even more powerful for the giver. When that much love can flow in spite of pain, the pain and anger dissipates and can even disappear0. Forgiving heals the deliverer of forgiveness as much or perhaps even more than the receiver.

For me, the relationship between forgiveness and leadership is evident. Great leaders are understanding. They see the bigger picture and they understand the nature of systems. They get that war begets war, blame begets blame, hatred breeds more hatred. If you see the larger system at play then you will be more willing to let go automatically of small issues in order to facilitate more important progress

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Leadership in a Down Economy

Saturday, December 17th, 2011

I know we have had a tough ride the past couple of years. I know the economy is down. Everyone can feel it and so can I. I’m here to share some keys to success in a down economy. It just so happens that all the companies that I consult to follow this recipe and are growing even in this difficult time. I don’t believe it is just coincidence. They have done an enormous job in following a small set of crucial principles for success in any economy. While companies all around them are shrinking, these few are growing. Here are the principles that have led to success.

They get that leadership is the most important factor in determining long-term success and so they spend time cultivating leadership. They hire well and they work hard at being both strong leaders individually, but also collectively.
They are committed to creating an engaged workforce. No kidding, it really made a difference having such a workforce, since their workers remain not only dedicated to the success of the company, but also they are resourceful and flexible—two of the most important ingredients to success.
Their strategy is focused and clear and everyone in the company understands it and buys in. They all know the three most important things and can connect their own work with the company’s success.
Straight talk, coupled with open minded and openhearted communication is the key.
These companies have multiple touch points for meaningful dialogue—they figure out what problems to tackle, they figure out the solutions, and they do it together. They adopt a blend of healthy direction setting leadership and inclusivity.
Everyone in the company takes responsibility—there is no room for laying blame.
They execute really fast—faster than their competition. (You know the story of the two friends in the woods who meet a grizzly. One starts putting on his sneakers and the other says, “That’s not going to help. Don’t you know you can’t outrun a grizzly?” The other replies, “I know, I just need to outrun you.”)

So there you have it in a nutshell—the keys to success in a down economy. Actually it’s the keys to success in any economy but is particular true in periods of financial difficulty. Here’s the rub, however. These principles have been developed over time. You can’t just bolt them on to a company. It takes time, effort, and care to operate a company consistent with these principles. Ones that do, and that did their homework a long time ago have poised themselves for at the very least survival, and at best growth in spite of what appear to be insurmountable hurdles.

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