The Big Question

We were gathered in a very large conference room to start strategic planning for the next 3 years. The people in the room were appropriately spaced. Others could be seen on a massive screen from different locations around the country. The room had numerous mics so all could be heard and there was a screen just for sharing related documents.

As the process began, there was active engagement and dialogue by all involved. At times, I  felt like a traffic cop facilitating a rush hour discussion. Subjects and issues were popping up all over the place.

Finally, the CEO paused the discussion and said, “What is the problem or problems we are trying to solve here?” 

There was total silence as everyone paused to reflect. I just smiled because it was one of the best questions I had heard in 2021.

From my vantage point, the main strategic question for the next 3 years is a simple but very challenging one: How do we recover from a global pandemic? When we can answer this question, we can chart a path to the future.

To begin finding the answer, we have to understand that there are 3 stages of recovery when facing adversity. According to Judith Herman, a psychiatrist and a professor of clinical psychiatry at the Harvard University Medical School, the 3 stages of recovery are: 

- Safety and Stabilization

- Remembrance and Mourning

- Reconnection and Integration

This week, pause and reflect on the above question. Then, figure out where you and your organization is within the 3 stages. It is time to think deeply and holistically before we 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

The Miracles That Make Life Meaningful

“Remember “garbage in, garbage out”, writes Austin Kleon in his book, Steal Like an Artist: 10 things Nobody Told You About Being Creative (Workman Publishing Company, Inc., 2012). “You’re only going to be as good as the people you surround yourself with.”

I think we get so busy these days that we forget these two important truths about life. First, if we consume a diet of limited or incomplete information, we create a world view that is limited and incomplete. Instead, we need to read, listen and learn from a diversity of information sources so we are constantly expanding our depth of understanding and clarity.

Second, we need to continue to expand the circle of people who surround us. New friends, new colleagues and new teachers and mentors help us to have a more holistic world view and understanding.

And finally, we need to remember the words of Edward Tufte as we head further and further into this fall: “I have stared long enough at the glowing flat rectangles of computer screens. Let us give more time for doing things in the real world . . . plant a plant, walk the dogs, read a real book, go to the opera.” 

I have yet to meet someone during the later stages of their career or their life who has talked to me about trying to get more e-mail done or finish up a couple of more reports. Most of the time, these important conversations focus on people, lessons learned, and new adventures to be taken.

This week, step away from the glowing flat computer screens at work, and go outside. Marvel at the changes of the season. Celebrate the gift of being alive. Connect with those you love. Count the blessings in your life. These are the miracles that make life meaningful.

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

Choose Your Destiny

“For individuals, character is destiny. For organizations, culture is destiny”, writes the late Tony Hsieh in his book, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose (Business Plus, 2010). As he continues, “Over time, as we focused more and more on our culture, we ultimately came to the realization that a company’s culture and a company’s brand are really two sides of the same coin. The brand is just a lagging indicator of a company’s culture.”

We don’t read or write much about character and destiny these days. It seems like these terms are from long ago. Nevertheless, they still matter and they are still important. 

When we choose to hire someone for a position, we always want to know more about their character, not just their skill sets. Who they are is more important that what they can do. The necessary skills for a position will change over time but character transcends all.

The same goes with organizational culture, which is nothing more than the sum of agreed to behavioral norms. When a healthy culture is the constant through organizational change, people make appropriate choices and rise to their individual and collective challenges.

So, my two, big questions to you this week are direct and simple:

- What are you doing to improve your character?

- What are you doing to improve your organization’s culture?

Your destiny reflects your choices. Choose wisely. 

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

Answer The Big Questions

“All organizing efforts begin with an intent, a belief that something more is possible now that the group is together,” writes Margaret Wheatley in her book, Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time. (Berrett-Koehler, 2005). As she explains, this intent is connected to identity, information, and relationships. She writes that “communities are webs of relationships”. 

With the global pandemic being so dynamic, we understand now that our world is interconnected on so many different levels. For example, my health and your health are connected. My choices and your choices impact our ability to choose and/or respond to the challenges before us.

When we grasp the magnitude of this perspective and reflect on all that has transpired during the last eighteen months, then we need to sit down and answer two big questions which comes from the aforementioned book by Margaret Wheatley:

- Who are we?

- What matters?

While our answers may change over time, the questions remain before us. No matter our age, we must at some point in life address these two questions. This may be difficult but it is still important.

This week, I encourage you to carve out some time and write out an answer to each question. The effort and the process are worth the time and the energy.  

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

Dealing With Status Quo

“More than anything,” wrote the late Warren Bennis in his book, Managing People is Like Herding Cats (Executive Excellence Publishing, 1997), “the difference between a leader and a manager rests on the status quo: Managers are willing to live with it, and leaders are not.” Truer words have not been written in quite some time.

Bennis in the same book builds on this insight. As he wrote, “Almost all organizations are presently caught between two paradigms in how they organize themselves and how they are led.” I think the challenge this coming fall is to determine if we have the courage to deal with status quo and then to change it. 

During the last three months, I have visited with many leaders and nearly all of them are fed up with the current status quo. They understand that “good is the enemy of great”, referencing an old Jim Collins phrase. They do not want to slip into a false sense of security and end up with mediocrity as being just fine.

Instead, they are eager to move themselves and their organization to the next level. The big question is “How do we do this?” In the aforementioned book, Bennis offers a unique first step. As he writes, “express the unspoken dreams of people.”

We know these unspoken dreams. People want to work at a company that respects and trusts them to do the right things for the right reasons at the right time. People want to do work that is meaningful and is making a difference in the world. People want a supervisor who knows them as a person rather than a position being filled. Finally, people want to be a part of a team that trusts each and works together.

These may seem like simplistic answers but they are not. Sometimes that which appears simple actually takes great effort, focus and attention over time. Simple is never easy. Quite a few of us have learned this from experience.

This week, as we all prepare for final quarter of 2021, reflect on whether or not you are willing to deal with status quo. If you are, then start figuring out what are the unspoken dreams of your people and how to turn them into reality.

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

The Person In The Mirror

“Success or failure in this job [as a leader] is essentially a matter of human relationships,” writes Robert Woodruff, former CEO of Coca- Cola Company.

John Maxwell builds on this idea in his book, Winning With People: Discover The People Principles That Work For You Every Time, (Nelson Books, 2004). As he writes, “All of life’s successes come from initiating relationships with the right people and then strengthening those relationships by using good people skills.”

“The most useful person in the world today,” writes Stanley C. Allyn, “is the man or woman who knows how to get along with other people. Human relations is the most important science in living.”

Maxwell notes that the first step to building, maintaining and strengthening relationships is to understand “The Mirror Principle”, namely “The first person we must examine is ourselves.” As he explains: “The first person I must know is myself - self-awareness. The first person I must get along with is myself - self-image. The first person to cause me problems is myself - self-honesty. The first person I must change is myself - self-improvement. The first person that can make a difference is myself - self-responsibility.”

I agree 100% with Maxwell and urge all of us this week to take stock of the person in the mirror. This is the pathway to becoming better people and better leaders.

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

Preparing For Transformation

“The challenge for leaders in every field is to emerge from turbulent times with closer connections to their customers, with more energy and creativity from their people, and with greater distance between them and their rivals”, writes William Taylor in his book, Practically Radical: Not-so-crazy ways to transform your company, shake up your industry, and challenge yourself (William Morrow, 2011). And I agree 100% with him.

As we move through this stage of the global pandemic, many senior leaders and their teams are deep into strategic level thought and planning. Most want to emerge strong, prepared and primed for more growth and profitability. Some are even using the word “transformation” as they prepare for the future.

When I participate in these strategic level dialogues, I am remind of the “Five Truths of Corporate Transformation” that William Taylor wrote about in the aforementioned book. As he explained:

- “Most organizations in most fields suffer from a kind of tunnel vision, which makes it hard to envision a more positive future.

- Most leaders see things the same way everyone else sees them because they look for ideas in the same places everyone else looks for them.

- In troubled organizations rich with tradition and success, history can be a curse - and a blessing. The challenge is to break from the past without disavowing it.

- The job of the change agent is not just to surface high-minded ideas. It is to summon a sense of urgency inside and outside the organization, and to turn that urgency into action.

- In a business environment that never stops changing, change agents can never stop learning.”

At this point, we know there is a lot of pent up demand in the market place and there will be a lot of competition to meet the needs of the market place. We also know there are high expectations for companies to offer outstanding customer service. High performance expectations are part of returning to normalcy.

With this in mind, all managers and leaders need to remember one other key point that Taylor made: “Forget the question, What keeps you up at night? The bigger question is What gets you up in the morning?  What keeps your people more committed than ever, even as the environment gets more demanding than ever?”

This week answer the above two questions for yourself, and then meet with your team to discuss your answers. Invite them to answer these questions, too. If we seek to be transformational in a post global pandemic world, we need all involved to be moving in the same direction and for the same reasons.

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