Discover the Guiding Principals - part #1

When we seek to unify quality, empowerment and principle-centered leadership, we have to pause and ask ourselves and our team a simple, but powerful question:

- What do we want to be known for by our customers, our community, and our employees?

This is not a question to be answered in a tweet. Nor is this a question to be tossed out there in an operations meeting, and then given superficial time and attention to be answered.  

This is the kind of question one sits down with and ponders over an extended time period. It will require good coffee plus uninterrupted time and space for some deep internal reflection. 

Because once we are serious about answering the question, then we must also address the second most important question which, in reality, could be the true first question:

- What kind of person do I want to be known for at work, in the community and within my family?

When we seek to answer these two important questions, we have the potential to uncover the principles that guide our life, be it at work or at home.

As we walk this path, I also encourage you to remember that a successful organization has four pillars, namely people, structure, systems and culture. Once we begin to discover the answers to the above questions, then we can explore whether or not these four pillars are in full alignment with our guiding principles. 

As we engage in deep reflection and generate this level of personal and organizational clarity, we realize the importance of full alignment. We also discover our guiding principles and the importance of integrating them into all that we do, be that at the individual, team, department or whole company levels.

This week, make time to answer the above two questions. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain from this deep work.

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

Understanding Quality

Every week, I sit in meetings listening to people talk about the future of their company. And every week, someone will share with me that the key to success is that “we must improve quality.” Nine times out of ten, they are right on one level. The difficulty is that most of the people around the table hold a different definition and metric for defining what is quality.

Now for me, every time I hear the word “quality” I think of the following quote: “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” This happens because what I may consider as the driver that results in quality is often seen as the problem by someone else.

Therefore, I always engage with those who are talking about improving quality by referencing the work of Margaret Wheatley. As she explains “When confronted with an unknown, we default to a known.” It is this default that is getting in the way when improving quality. In essence, what I have learned over the decades of doing this work and dealing with the subject of improving quality is that it begins in the eye of the beholder. My personal definition, experiences, and understanding of quality supersedes all other definitions of quality.

With this in mind, we as leaders must understand that organizational quality is a reflection of and the sum of personal choices. In short, it is individual clarity about quality that generates organizational outcomes related to quality.

This week, when you check in with your key people, begin an in-depth exploration into their personal definition of quality. It will be well worth the time and effort as you plan for the future.

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

Finding & Creating Personal Clarity - part #2

So here is my question for you today: What makes you happy? Whole? Healthy? Not satisfied. Not less busy. But truly happy, if not filled with joy.

There is an assumption by many that we have to find happiness. I, on the other hand, believe that we already have it. After years and years of visiting with many different people, I have come to the conclusion that most, if not all of us, have personal clarity, which is the foundation for happiness, about many different issues. This clarity is greater than being busy. The key is to focus on and not to loose touch with this level of inner clarity.

Sure, there will be challenges. There will be difficulties. There will be complexity. There also can be great moments of depth, great moments of selflessness, even great moments of joy, love and health.

Currently, too many of us are living a fragmented life at a furious pace. Though we do not want to admit it, many of us each day are rapidly moving from meeting to meeting, cognitively moving from problem to problem, continually coping with greater degrees of ambiguity and unlimited variables, and constantly giving habitual answers with little thought or consideration.

The first step in this journey to personal clarity is to live an active and healthy lifestyle, and to have a healthy contemplative life. As the Buddha pointed out, “All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” Now is the time to sit back and reflect. Now is the time to rethink how we are living and working.

At the Fall 2012 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable, I reviewed the following key ideas to living a healthy active life that I have learned from others in leadership positions and my own journey:

- know your personal core values, and only work for organizations that align with your personal values.

- your sacrifices should reflect your priorities; therefore know your priorities.

- allocate your resources, i.e. personal time, money, energy and talent, to the things and people that in your life connect you to a greater sense of purpose and meaning.

- proactively seek out mentors who can help you maintain perspective.

With the above in mind, it is time for each of us to choose a life of collaboration over control. All of us are just one person, and every moment we can choose to do something or not choose to do something from a place of control or collaboration. If we begin from the premise that our thoughts and our actions mean something, and that we can impact others around us in a significant way, then we can change the world around us. The first step is to choose to do something from a place of collaboration and kindness instead of control. When we do this, we cast our vote about what is most important by our actions and our thoughts. A vote for collaboration generates possibilities rather than contradictions.

Yet, some will not feel like they can do this. Their work place does not feel safe or trusting. Here are two lessons I have learned about this challenge. First, don’t take things personally. As Ron Heifitz explained in the article “The Leader of the Future” by William C. Taylor, Fast Company magazine - June 1999: “Remember: It's not you they're after. It may look like a personal attack, it may sound like a personal attack -- but it's the issues that you represent that they're after. Distinguishing role from self helps you maintain a diagnostic mind-set during trying times.”

Next, as he continues in the same article, “There's a second point: Because we get so swept up in our professional roles, it's hard to distinguish role from self on our own. That's why we need partners who can help us stay analytical. And we need two different kinds of partners. We need allies inside the organization -- people who share our agenda. And we need confidants inside or outside the organization -- people who can keep us from getting lost in our role.” To find and create personal clarity, we must build relationships with people who can become our allies and confidants . Remember: Allies are people inside the organization who share our agenda and confidants are people who keep us from getting stuck in our role.

This week, remember to build a healthy inner and outer life. The best place to start is to answer this simple question: What is the one thing you are not doing now that if you did on a regular basis would change your life for the better? Once you figure this out, you will be on the right pathway to discovering or rediscovering personal clarity.

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

The Problem With Corporate Success - part #2

When it comes to dealing with the dark side of corporate success, each of us must think carefully about what we want to change in our lives. We need to accept the fact that awareness is not understanding, and as Marshall Goldsmith, in his book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful, Hyperion, 2007, notes “there is an enormous disconnect between understanding and doing.” If we are going to do something, then we have to embrace the process, not just the idea. I learned this in an airport many years ago.

I was flying through the Kansas City airport and I knew I was traveling too much when the person at the check-in counter recognized me and greeted me by first name. It was a Friday afternoon, and I was glad to be headed home on my last flight. Once through security, I found my gate and sat down to write up my final notes of the day.

One thing I like to do in airports is to watch people. It is amazing how diverse we are as a species. On that particular afternoon, I was impressed by a young man who came strutting into the airport with a small entourage of people. Dressed to the nines and tens, and carrying a small, silver colored metal brief case which at best could only carry a couple of sheets of paper, it was like the arrival of royalty. After an extended period of saying good bye, getting his ticket and strolling through security, I was surprised to see him walk over to my gate and sit down.

Once the crowd had left, I looked up and noticed he was crying. These was not a couple of tears rolling down the cheek cry but a full blown release of grief. When I noticed him wiping away his tears on his very expensive suit, I got up and gave him my kleenex pack that I was carrying with me. After I returned back to my seat to wait for the plane, it did not feel like such a good idea to people watch any more. In particular, I wanted to respect this man’s private moment of grief.

Next thing, I knew he was sitting next to me and asking if we could talk. “Been a rough day, has it?,” I asked. “Did you loose a major business deal?”

“No,” he replied. “I broke a promise.” The two of us just sat there quietly for a bit and let his words sink in. There are some promises that we make that should never be broken. When they are, it takes a long time before we can recover, heal and be forgiven.

On that Friday afternoon, he shared his story with me. He realized that he had made a profound error in judgement and with it came deep grief and shame. To this day, I do not know what happened next but his words, “I broke a promise” still travel with me. Corporate success can be blinding, addictive and corruptive unless we have a strong sense of personal mission, core values and perspective. It can lead us into compromising situations.

This week and during this spring into summer time period, reaffirm your promises, maintain your sense of personal clarity, and commit to healthy habits that allow you to stay true to who you are.

Geery Howe, M.A.Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer inLeadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational ChangeMorning Star Associates319 - 643 - 2257