Create an Environment for Excellence in 2020

A long time ago, Robert Rosen wrote the following in his book, Leading People, Viking Penguin, 1997: 

"People want to be led. They don't want the old authoritarian leadership style.  Nor do they want some clever new management technique. Instead, they want leaders with deeply held human values who respect people's unique talents and contributions. They want leaders who will create an environment that nurtures excellence, risk taking, and creativity. They reject intimidation or manipulation, but they positively yearn for inspiration.

Similarly, in the misguided efforts of leaders is hidden another message: leaders need followers. Leaders don't want docile, do only-as-ordered employees.  Instead, they want responsible, mature, forward-looking associates. They want partners who are as committed as they are to the success of the enterprise."

As we celebrate the end of 2019, let us focus on creating an environment for excellence in 2020. We all yearn for inspiration, meaningful work and meaningful lives.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

The Gift of Elders

One of my favorite things about the holidays is listening to the stories that our elder’s share about their childhood experiences. For example, I always enjoy hearing my mother-in-law, who grew up in the southwest Kansas dustbowl, talk about the Christmas she received an orange and a brand new pencil. It was a gift for the ages. 

I enjoy hearing farm stories about Christmas morning breakfast after the cows were all milked and the cattle had been fed. I enjoy hearing stories about sleigh rides to visit friends in town across the snow covered gravel roads. I enjoy hearing stories of people sitting around the dinning room table cracking nuts and picking out the meat while sharing news of family and friends from across the country. 

I also enjoy hearing stories about families that would go caroling from house to house, the baking of special foods that were only served once a year, or the home made gifts that people took months to make. All of these stories make us wiser, more hopeful, and more understanding of the true meaning of the holidays.

This holiday season I am looking forward to hearing more stories. But I also look forward to creating new experiences with our elders and our younger people that years from now will become one of those stories that gets shared over a good meal.

This holiday season may you and your entire family gather, share and celebrate with your elders. They will bring a rich and meaningful perspective to life’s journey.

Happy Holidays!

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

How do leaders conquer adversity and emerge stronger and more committed? - part #3

To conquer adversity successfully, we as leaders need to build and maintain regenerative systems in our lives. I learned this recently over a long lunch meeting with a senior executive. We had gathered to discuss a major organizational transformation. Most of what was happening was based on disruptive goals instead of incremental goals. The impact of these new goals was being felt at the people level, the structure level, the systems level, and the culture level. People were overwhelmed and all of the problems that were surfacing as a result were adaptive in nature.

At home, this same individual was dealing with a husband who had a new job. She shared with me that she often felt like she was on the verge of complete burnout or a total nuclear melt down. 

“What am I suppose to do? The goals are Board endorsed. Our industry is changing fast. And I have to keep moving forward.”

I listened carefully to her concerns and then said, “In situations of this nature, you have to manage your energy, not just your time and commitments. How do you recharge, rebuild or regenerate your energy? Is this an event or a system?”

I have learned personally and professionally that each of us needs to recharge, rebuild or regenerate our energy on many levels. Some of us will do this through exercise at the individual or group level. Others of us will gain energy and perspective through structured or institutional settings like a church or a support group. And finally some of us will do this personally by meeting regularly with a select group of friends. The key I have found is that it needs to be systematic. We need to not just be doing it because it needs to “get done” but instead we need to do it because we understand that this choice over time makes a big difference. It results in on-going improvements and insights.

Second, when it comes to regeneration, we need to step back and recognize that measuring something does not always need to be numerical in nature. The party line in the world of business is that“We inspect what we expect” and “If we can not measure it, it can not be improved.”

My perspective on all of this measurement stuff has evolved over time. I understand the importance and role that measurement plays in helping people get better at something. But when it comes to regenerative level work, I believe there is a time and a place for qualitative measures, too. I have not met a leader in all my years who will quote me a statistic related to personal or professional change. Most tell me a story about an event or experience that shifted their perspective and their choices. I have come to understand that if a person remembers something like this over time, then it has made a difference. Our memories and the feelings around these memories are just as important as the quantitative measures. 

I also have learned that the telling of stories related to those events is important, too. It bonds people and makes people feel like they are making a difference. It also inspires people. A number can not always do this. The sharing of a story or a memory can.

Finally, we need to understand that stewardship of regenerative systems is our responsibility. People who conquer adversity and emerge stronger and more committed do not “outsource” the care of institutional regenerative systems or personal regenerative systems. They engage by being committed to active participation. As one elder told me years ago, “you get out of it what you put into it.” This means going regularly to church or a support group. This means making time for friends and family. 

There have only been a few times in my life when time was not a defining characteristic of what was happening. At these moments, I was not aware of what day of the week it was. Nor was I focused on the clock and what was coming up next. These were what I like to call “100% now moments”.

For example, the days after our first child was born I did not know what day of the week it was. The only time I noticed was sun rises and sun sets. To this day, I specifically remember the time I spent laying on the couch with a newborn son on my chest, watching the sun slowly rise. It was so peaceful and so now.

The biggest and long periods in my life where “time stopped” happened over four summers. During my college years, I went to the same place every summer to be a camp counselor. It was way more than a job. It was a community where I could do “deep battery” recharge after another year of higher education. This particular camp taught simple outdoor living with a focus on wood craft skills, camping skills, crafts, music, trips and adventure.

What made the work of the summer camp experience so powerful for me was that I had found myself, and my team i.e. the other counselors, and my community. We actively supported each other by encouraging each other to try out new activities. When difficult issues surfaced related camper behavior and when challenging differences of perspective happened between counselors, we made the time to deal with them in a thoughtful and respectful manner. In short, there was an “I” but there was an even stronger “we”.

This sense of community was based on an understanding that the work we were doing was changing the lives of all involved. Our goal was make each day a meaningful day. Therefore, we made time to build a meaningful and supportive community. It was dynamic, organic and personal, i.e. a “thick system of relationships” referencing the work of David Brooks in his new book, The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life. As he explains, “When a community begins to build together, they don’t just create new stuff; they create new norms.” 

When I look at the bigger picture, the road ahead is complex. Big issues and complex challenges abound. Our work as leaders will be very important. Therefore, we need to support people to have a meaningful day at work, to have a meaningful day at home, and to do it within the context of a caring community.

This week, begin to build and routinely maintain meaningful regenerative systems in your life. It will make a big difference at work and at home.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

How do leaders conquer adversity and emerge stronger and more committed? - part #2

In order to grasp context and hardiness, I have come to the conclusion that you need a mirror and a window.

Back in 2001, Jim Collins wrote a book called Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap. . . and Others Don’t, HarperBusiness, 2001. Two of the famous phrases from the book that we still hear today are “Good is the enemy of great” and “First who… then what.” The not so famous phrase is “Level 5 Leadership.”

As Collins wrote: “Level 5 leaders display a compelling modesty, are self-effacing and understated. In contrast, two thirds of the comparison companies had leaders with gargantuan personal egos that contributed to the demise or continued mediocrity of the company…. Level 5 leaders are fanatically driven, infected with an incurable need to produce sustained results. They are resolved to do whatever it takes to make the company great, no matter how big or hard the decisions.”

And then Collins wrote the following, powerful two sentences: “Level 5 leaders look out the window to attribute success to factors other than themselves.  When things go poorly, however, they look in the mirror and blame themselves, taking full responsibility.”

For us gathered here today, let’s dive deeper into the concept of the mirror and the window. First, the mirror is to reflect on what I could have done better. No blaming other people, external factors, or bad luck. The goal is humble self improvement. The window, on the other hand, is to give credit for the success of the company to other people, external factors or good luck.

When I think of all the leaders I have met in my 30+ year career who would fall into the Level 5 Leadership category, I realize that these individual have people in their lives who are executive coaches, allies, and confidants. This network of people help them to look in the mirror and out the window on a routine basis.

Furthermore, these same Level 5 Leaders are always seeking to expand their network of people. As Hermina Ibarra wrote in her book, Act Like A Leader, Think Like A Leader (Harvard Business Review Press, 2015), effective leaders have operational, personal, and strategic networks. The first helps them to manage current internal responsibilities. The second boosts personal development, and the third focuses on new business directions and the stakeholders you must get on board to pursue these directions. In particular, a good strategic network can give a person a connective advantage: the ability to marshal information, support, or other resources from one of your networks to obtain results in another.

But here is where I think Collins grasps something unique. Some people use their networks to get some place, but from my experience I have observed that Level 5 Leaders are not solely destination focused. Yes, they want to “produce sustained results” but they know that the first step is to become a more disciplined person through disciplined thought and disciplined action. The work is as much internal as it is external.

As we know, there are four stages to adult learning: unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence, and finally unconscious competence. From my experience, Level 5 Leaders are constantly seeking in the mirror and through the window ways to not get caught in reactive, unconscious incompetence. They want to get better and they know that the only way to do it is with the help of others and ample time for deep self-reflection.

This week, build and maintain a network of people who will help you look into the mirror and out the window better. And at the exact same time, give yourself permission to schedule more time for reflection. Our challenges in the coming year will be bigger and we must have the courage and the capacity to conquer them and emerge stronger and more committed.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

How do leaders conquer adversity and emerge stronger and more committed? - part #1

We met in a small town cafe, each having driven a fair bit to get there on time for lunch.  As per the norm, we talked about numerous problems and challenges before him and the organization. Just as we were finishing the meal, he turned to me and asked the following question: “How do we come through it all better?”

I paused and thought for a minute or two. I like a good question and this one deserved more than a fast response. Finally, I turned to him and said, “I think there are four parts to this answer.

First, keep monitoring and studying the trends within the bigger picture. Do this by going to many different sources and different people. Recognize that by building a strong network of resources and people, you will grasp the big picture in a more holistic manner.

Second, understand that it is not so much about seeing the big picture as understanding how we got to this point. We forget that everything we see around us in the bigger picture is a reflection of people and organizations making choices and decisions. Focus on why they thought that choice was the right one. When you understand this part, then the bigger picture becomes a series of patterns and trends rather than simple a snap shot in time.

Third, understand how the decisions we make today as leaders will create or influence the big picture of the future. While this may be a ‘blinding flash of the obvious,’ to quote Tom Peters from many years ago, you will be surprised that most people do not see that what they are doing today will create or significantly impact what will be happening in the future.

Finally, learn to conquer adversity and emerge stronger from it.”

He pondered all of these thoughts and responded, “Thanks. I knew you could help me with this.”

Quite a few years ago, Warren G. Bennis and Robert J. Thomas wrote an article in the Summer 2007 Executive Edition of Leader as Motivator published by the Harvard Business Review called “Crucibles of Leadership”. As they noted, “the skills required to conquer adversity and emerge stronger and more committed than ever are the same ones that make for extraordinary leaders…. We came to call the experiences that shape leaders “crucibles,” after the vessels medieval alchemists used in their attempts to turn base metals into gold.”

As they explained, “the crucible experience was a trial and a test, a point of deep self-reflection that forced them to question who they were and what mattered to them. It required them to examine their values, question their assumptions, hone their judgement.”

As they noted, “… great leaders possess four essential skills. First is the ability to engage others in shared meaning. Second is a distinctive and compelling voice. Third is a sense of integrity (including a strong set values.) But by far the most critical skills of the four is what we call “adaptive capacity.” 

Bennis and Thomas explain that “adaptive capacity” is “composed of two primary qualities: the ability to grasp context and hardiness…. the ability to grasp context implies an ability to weigh a variety of factors, ranging from how very different groups of people will interpret a gesture to being able to put a situation into perspective. Without this leaders are utterly lost, because they cannot connect with their constituents. Hardiness is just what it sounds like - the perseverance and toughness that enable people to emerge from devastating circumstances without loosing hope.”

This week, reflect on your crucible experiences as a leader and think deeply about your ability to grasp context and hardiness.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257