Attunement

In the September 1997 issue of Executive Excellence magazine, the late Warren Bennis, a distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the University of Southern California, wrote an article called “Leaders of Leaders.” In it, he states: “Leaders today must develop their social architecture so that it generates intellectual capital and encourages incredibly bright people, most of whom have big egos, to work together successfully and to deploy their own creativity. Most employees today are not just well-educated but also highly individualistic. Individualism that makes the work environment exciting, but also very challenging. The challenge is how to release the brainpower of people in organizations that are confusing, chaotic places to work. Executives must try to generate intellectual capital and foster creative collaboration.” 

It is now twenty-seven years later and his words still ring true. The challenges before us are many. They also are confusing and chaotic. And in the midst of it all, we must encourage people to work together successfully and foster creative collaboration. The difficulty is to know where to begin. 

Bennis answers this question, and explains, “In this period of ‘creative destruction,’ leaders will have to reinvent themselves, redesign their leadership roles, and reinvent their organizations. Rather than just downsize, leaders must deploy the creativity of the workforce to recreate the company.” 

I love his term “creative destruction.” I think it captures what will be the emerging strategy for many companies over the next 3-5 years. For if we seek to be successful in the midst of a VUCA environment, then we must take many things apart, including ourselves and our way of leading others, in order to generate creative and effective business strategies and a new business model in order to meet the rapidly changing expectations and needs of current and future customers. And the outcome and convergence of these many levels of work will be to recreate the company. 

However, in the beginning, leaders of leaders will need to work on themselves and their way of leading while also working with and on their team. Now, a great deal has been written about leaders needing to reinvent themselves. I also know there are many good resources about how to work with and on a team. For example, Patrick Lencioni writes that leaders need to “build and maintain a cohesive leadership team.” I believe this is a solid beginning, but it is not the sum of the work that needs to be done over the next 3-5 years. 

When I have observed leadership teams who have worked through a time period of “creative destruction,” I have noted something unique, namely that these leaders have figured out how to be there for their team. Now, on the surface this seems like a trivial statement. Of course, leaders are there for their team. They are a leader. 

But the subtle difference is significant. Successful leaders, who are or have reinvented themselves and their leadership role, know one thing. They need to switch off their problem solving mode of leadership, and to connect with the team and the team members. They understand that being there for the team is actually being present to and with the team. They remember that all relationships are complex, i.e. dynamic and ever-changing, which by the way is a good thing. Given this understanding, they know they need to address their own issues, and to help others do this as well. And, of course, they do that publicly and privately in appropriate ways. In essence, by choosing to be present with the team, they are able to attune to the team. 

Now, the dictionary definition of attunement is “the ability to be aware of and responsive to another person’s emotions and needs.” And within this short definition are some keys to exceptional leadership. First, one needs to learn how to be aware of another person’s emotions and needs. Again, this seems elementary. It is basic leadership 101 level stuff. But after decades of doing this work, I have met very few leaders who are good at this. And the ones who are can do this because they are able to tune into their own emotions and needs, not at a surface level, but at a depth where they have the language to do it well (think Brene Brown’s Atlas of the Heart). These same leaders understand that emotional intelligence is as important or even more important that just intellectual intelligence. 

When diving deeply into the concept of attunement, the dictionary notes that there are at least two main levels. The first is emotional attunement, which is “the process of recognizing and responding to the emotions of another person in a way that validates and supports their experience.” And the second is mental attunement, which is “the ability to tune in to oneself [and] to understand and respond to one’s emotional states, needs and perspective.” It is the combination of the two, which is at the heart and soul of someone being able to reinvent themselves at the personal and the professional levels. For when we can be completely present in the moment to ourself and to others, and when we can completely listen to ourself and to others, we engage and are present so that productive, and creative destruction can take place. In short, when we choose to show up with presence and inner clarity, we role model caring for people from a healthy interdependence rather than an unhealthy codependence.

As part of developing the social architecture that Bennis described in the aforementioned article, he writes: “Leaders create not just a vision, but a vision with meaning - one with significance, one which puts the players at the center of things rather than at the periphery. If companies have a vision that is meaningful to people, nothing will stop them from being successful. Not just any old vision will do; it must be a shared vision with meaning and significances.”

On the surface, this seems logical and important. Ten years later, Patrick Lencioni in his book, The Truth About Employee Engagement: A Fable About Addressing the Three Root Causes of Job Misery, formerly called The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (and their employees) (Jossey-Bass 2007), writes “Everyone needs to know that their job matters, to someone.” And he continues, “if a manager has any responsibility in the world, it’s to help people understand why their work matters.” Once employees understand that they matter and that the work they are doing matters, and if this work has line of sight to a “shared vision with meaning and significance,” then the capacity to generate creative collaboration is accelerated. 

However, for this level of clarity and social architecture to be effective, Bennis points out that something else has to take place. As he explains, “Leaders have a bias toward action. Not just reflection, but action. A combination of both of them, of course, is what we all want. And then you need to get feedback on how you are doing. You have to cultivate sources of reflective backtalk by getting people around you whose counsel you treasure - people who are capable of telling the truth, people you can depend on, people who have the future in their bones. You need these people. You can’t do it alone. You need people who can take the vision and run with it.”

This trinity of reflection, action, and feedback are the way to be attuned and to stay attuned during times of creative destruction. For when we do this on a regular basis, and when we create a “shared vision with meaning and significance,” we then generate intellectual capital and foster creative collaboration, all of which is needed at this time period. Although the article was written twenty-seven years ago, it still offers valuable and an important insights for those people who are leaders of leaders. 

Our challenge is to take his insights to heart and to do the inner work along with the outer work. Then, we can flip the current VUCA environment into a time period of vision, understanding, clarity and agility. And with this action, we will generate new possibilities for betters connections, creativity, and collaboration, all of which will help people work more effectively in the midst of these unique times. 

Geery Howe, M.A. Executive Coach in Leadership, Strategic Planning, and Organizational Change

Pictures And Connections

In the world of strategic planning, there are two common phrases. The first phrase is “leaders need to paint the big picture.” The second phrase is “leaders need to help people connect the dots, not just collect the dots.” Both phrases reflect a mindset about planning that is common. I also think both phrases need significant unpacking in order to be useful. 

The first phrase, “leaders need to paint the big picture”, often refers to the idea that a leader and a group of people involved in planning need to step back from day to day operations in order to understand the world in which they are delivering their goods and services. Once they have stepped back, it is the role of the leader to describe “the picture” of what is happening in the world. 

The difficulty of this phrase is that most leaders describe “the picture” like it is a framed painting. They tell the group all that they see in the picture. Rarely do they ask others what they see in the big picture. There is the assumption within the phrase that the leader is all-seeing and all-knowing when in reality a leader often only sees part of the picture due to their own biases and normal blindspots. 

At the same time, the world in which goods and services are being offered is not a big framed picture. Instead, it is in constant motion. It is more like a movie that is continually evolving.

Therefore, the best way to understand what is happening in the world is to understand the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. This principle states that we cannot know the position and speed of a particle, such as a photon or electron, with perfect accuracy. The more we nail down the particle’s position, the less we know about its speed and vice versa. 

For me, painting the big picture comes with an inherent uncertainty because most leaders paint it in a static form, i.e. we nail down the particle’s position. However, we do not know it’s speed or direction. Therefore, I think a better way “to paint the big picture” is to illustrate the emerging trends that are taking place within the world in which goods and services are offered. Within these trends, we can see the speed of change and the possible direction of change, e.g. think of the changing demographics within the USA. 

Furthermore, we need a diversity of leaders to share the trends that they believe are significant. This is why I advocate for a PESTEL analysis which stands for political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal trends analysis. The aggregate of these trend lines give a more holistic understanding of what is happening in the world, and what is happening over time. I also encourage leaders to read the following article: “Your Strategy Needs A Strategy” by Martin Reeves, Claire Love, and Philipp Tillmanns, Harvard Business Review, September 2012. It will be good food for thought and generate important sharing amongst a group that is engaged in strategic planning. 

The second phrase, “leaders need to help people connect the dots, not just collect the dots,” is an interesting one. While I have referenced it myself many times, I think the phrase also needs to be unpacked in order to access the truth within it. 

First, the phrase assumes that those who are involved in the planning and the subsequent execution are aware of the “dots” and the need for them to be connected. The problem that many leaders miss is two fold. One, the integration of the dots assumes the process of separation has already taken place. Two, that there is an awareness that the dots need to be reconnected. I think the challenge is that most people have not consciously separated the dots. Instead, I believe most people are completely unaware that there are dots. And if they are aware of the dots, they had no idea how they are connected, or why they would need to be reconnected. Therefore, connection and integration wouldn’t be possible or warranted. 

The missing clarity within this phrase revolves around two leadership skill sets, namely the ability to synthesize and the ability to integrate. For our purposes here today, synthesis is defined as the combining of multiple sources of information in order to form a new and unique perspective or comprehensive understanding of a concept or topic. Synthesis involves critical analysis and interpretation of information to develop this new understanding of something. Integration, on the other hand, focuses on merging different elements into a cohesive whole, often without generating a new insight or perspective. Integration means bringing parts together to function as one unit.

What most leaders do in planning, and why many of the problems occur during execution of the plan, starts with a lack of synthesis. Few leaders want to spend the time combining multiple sources, i.e. think trends, to form a new and unique perspective or comprehensive understanding of what is happening in the world. Furthermore, few leaders know how to do critical analysis and interpretation of information that has been synthesized in order to develop a new understanding based on the trends. 

One big reason leaders struggle with this part of planning is that they want to create a document that lowers the level of disequilibrium within the organization, i.e. think the feeling of things being chaotic, out of control, or not predictable, in order to create or maintain a level of SOP.  However, the desire for predictability does not take into account the potentially disruptive elements surfacing within the PESTAL analysis. These adaptive challenges, which are normally found when studying the emerging trend lines, are typically complicated, complex, or both complicated and complex. Thus, a singular goal, objective, or strategy can not solve them

Furthermore, with these kinds of adaptive challenges, defining the actual problem is part of the problem. Plus, these kinds of problems call into question fundamental assumptions and beliefs about the business. They also can call into question past strategic choices and current systems. In short, connecting the dots and integrating the dots may only represent a maintaining of status quo in a world that has, or is continually evolving away from the company’s core business strategy, e.g. think of the evolution away from cable TV to someone choosing a variety of customized streaming platforms. 

Therefore, I think leaders need to spend more time helping people to synthesize and integrate the idea of strategy. By lengthening the planning process to more than the normal 1-2 day strategic planning retreat, and instead encouraging regular and in-depth strategic dialogues over a 90 - 120 day planning cycle before document creation begins, we will then have the time and space to think about the proverbial “old” dots and consider the possibility of “new” dots. The sum of these two actions has the potential to create more clarity and new ways of thinking about the core mission of the company. The outcome will be two fold, namely more ownership and more thoughtful execution. 

When one unpacks the previous two phrases with their team and does the subsequent work connected to them, they will discover the profound and important insight: strategy is a part of everything we do on a day to day basis and that everything is connected back to strategy. As leaders realize this level of interconnection, they can then show how strategy is a part of everything and that everything is connected to it. In short, they can paint the picture of the interconnected networks throughout the company. And along the way, they can paint the picture of the relational networks, too. Because in the end, the successful execution of strategy, which is the desired goal of all strategic planning, is always more relational than analytical. 

© Geery Howe 2025

Geery Howe, M.A. Executive Coach in Leadership, Strategic Planning, and Organizational Change

Even If Just For A Moment

Over the last couple of months, I have returned again and again to the following lines in Louise Penny’s most recent book, The Grey Wolf (Minotaur Books, 2024): “In lives so unpredictable, they found sanctuary in certainty. Even if just for a moment.” I love the phrase “they found sanctuary in certainty.” For me, the power and importance of daily rituals, and the certainty that comes from these daily rituals gives me solace in the midst of life’s challenges. 

For example, I love making coffee in the morning. I like filling the pot with water and pouring it into the coffee maker, and then inserting the paper coffee filter. Next, I delight in the measuring of the roasted beans and putting them in the grinder. Then, I enjoy pouring the freshly ground coffee into the filter, closing the lid, and pushing the start button. I know there are faster ways to do this and fancier machines that will make it easier, but I like the slow rhythm of making a fresh pot of coffee in the early morning. 

I also like the daily ritual of sitting down in my favorite chair with that first cup of coffee, and a stack of inspirational books and my daily devotional material. Our youngest son and wife call this “slow coffee” time, and I treasure it because the hustle and bustle of the day has not kicked into full gear. With the first light of the sun rising in the east, a warm cup of coffee by my side, and a good book, I pause and take stock of myself and the day, remembering that in the midst of all this unpredictability, I can, “even if for just a moment,” find sanctuary. 

I think the challenge of this time is that we are not creating enough space in our lives to find sanctuary in certainty. Every day, we are swamped with lists, e-mails, and text messages. All which need responding. So, our lives have become nothing more than one long reaction to everything and everyone. 

Therefore, I suggest we pause this morning, and find the answers to the following three questions:

- Where is the place that you find sanctuary in certainty?

- Where is the place that you find peace?

- Where is the place where you feel home and safe?

Given current events, we need to create and/or find the places in our lives which offer comfort and restoration in an ever-changing and turbulent world. We also need to create and maintain a sense of community, a place that offers love, acceptance, and support during the challenges of life’s journey. 

As Louise Penny continues, “Life was, after all, made up of tiny choices. Like a pointillist painting, no one dot, no one choice, defined it. But together? There emerged a picture. A life.” Thus, we need to find places where the pain and the sorrow, the stress and the grief can be released and healed. We need to find places where peace can be found and experienced. We need to find places that are a balm to our hearts, minds, and souls. We need to find places where we rediscover the sacred in the ordinary, and revel in it. 

For me, one other, powerful place to discover the sacred in the ordinary and sanctuary in certainty is to witness the sunrise each morning. In this simple action, I am reminded that each new day is a gift, and that each new day has the potential to be filled with many blessings. With this in mind, I can be present to the day, and experience the sacredness of a new beginning at dawn. 

This week, I hope you can create some slow coffee time in your life. I also hope you can find sanctuary in certainty, and the sacred in the ordinary. 

Geery Howe, M.A. Executive Coach in Leadership, Strategic Planning, and Organizational Change

Chart Your Path - part # 3

Three Critical Choices

Next, we need to grasp the following statement: In order to lead the change, we must participate in the change. This is much easier said then done, because most leaders want everyone else to change. They believe they are just fine as they are and that their leadership style works perfectly, if not elegantly. However, in reality, if one seeks to chart a path, then one must commit to the path. And this level of commitment always involves personal and professional change. For in the beginning, there are three critical choices that need to be made, and they will significantly impact planning and executing a plan. 

The first choice is to understand the difference between the following two concepts: individual competences and organizational capabilities. Individual competencies refer to a specific person’s knowledge and skills required to fulfill specific role requirements. Organizational capabilities are collective abilities of the firm required to execute the business strategy. During planning, we sometimes work at the competency level and other times we work at the capabilities level. Given current events, I suspect we will work at both levels.

During the preparing to plan stage, we need to reflect on our own individual competences and on our own organizational capabilities. I remember one day sitting with a hospital CEO, discussing this very idea, when he said to me: “I cant get there from here. I don’t have the capacity to plan and the capacity to execute the plan we create. My team is dysfunctional. Our middle managers can not take on any more change, and I don’t have the stamina to keep pushing myself. I’m afraid I will break.”

I sat quietly with him as he paused and reflected. I think he surprised himself. He just sat there and let it all sink in. Then, he looked at me and said, “I think I need to do my own work before I am ready to engage the whole group process.” I nodded in agreement and then we discussed what he needed to do in order to chart his own path. 

The second choice relates to the planning process. Many leaders want a well defined and well-structured planning process. They want everything to be preset before engaging in the work of planning. Other leaders want a process that is not all planned out. Instead, they are seeking a process that is more emergent, i.e. one that is unfolding and evolving through dynamic and less structured processes. These leaders are typically guided by their firsthand, day-to-day experiences, and their gut for lack of a better term. The former focuses on structure and the later focuses on dynamic interactions and the feeling of flow. 

During the time of reflection when one prepares to plan, understanding our own level of comfort with the choice between structure and more unstructured planning is critical. I have sat with many leaders of all different ages who are not clear about this element. And when this happens, I know that once planning starts they will quickly move in one direction or another, causing massive trust and communication issues amongst all the participants. By reflecting and clarifying this in advance, particularly if they grasp that leading a planning process means they have to participate in it rather than oversee it, and if they recognize that they will need to change, not just that others and the organization needs to change, then the process will be more effective. And then people will own the plan not just execute the plan. 

The third choice relates to execution and a leader’s style of leading. Many leaders, upon experiencing the normal chaos that comes with executing a new plan, will default to a a top-down and unidirectional style of leadership. This is best summarized by the “I lead/You follow” mentality. Others will choose a more participatory form of leadership which involves a wide diversity of people and a process that is multidirectional in nature. Rather than focus on control and order, these leaders choose to focus on alignment, ownership and empowerment, which by the way can appear, at first glance, to be very chaotic. While each path has it’s pros and cons, the key is to choose which way you are going to lead before you engage in formal planning. And that is why preparing to plan is mission critical to planning. 

How Do I Begin?

Ryan Holiday in the aforementioned book on Monday’s blog post states that we need to do the following things: “be fully present, empty our mind of preconceptions, take our time, sit quietly and reflect, reject distractions, weigh advice against the counsel of our convictions, [and] deliberate without being paralyzed.” I like these key points as a starting place for creating time and space as one prepares to plan for change. 

At the same time, I’ve had many leaders ask me privately, “But what do I actually do when I sit quietly and reflect? I am not someone who is just going to sit there and do nothing.”

“I agree,” I respond. “In the beginning, I want you to write or type out the answers to the following two sets of questions. Here is the first set: What do you do at work? I want you to define your role. Next, what are the priorities in your life and work? This will help define your focus over time. Finally, what do you do that matters most at work and at home? This will clarify your sense of purpose or mission. 

Here is the second set of questions: Why is this important work to do? Is this work meaningful? Is it worth doing? All three of these questions are designed to make you think deeply and broadly about your life, your role, and your work.

Once you have written out these answers, it is time to share them with an ally, confidant, mentor, or executive coach who you trust and know will offer insights and perspective. The subsequent dialogue will be very helpful.” 

Creating time for reflection is important. When doing this, I am reminded of something that Kevin Cashman wrote: “As you believe, so shall you lead.” What we are doing during this stage of pre-planning is clarifying what we believe. 

At the exact same time, we need to remember one other point, namely as they believe, so they shall follow. Doing your prep work first helps you lead the team and the organization. It also helps you role model and communicate better too.

And when people take time to sit quietly and reflect, and when they make time to answer the above questions, they generate insights into how to move forward as a person, and a leader. In short, they feel better prepared for the work and journey of strategic planning. 

The Curious Paradox

Carl Rogers, one of the founders of humanistic psychology and one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century, once wrote: “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I change.” And this is why preparing to plan is so critical to short and long term success. It helps us to accept ourselves when we seek to chart a new path. 

At the same time, meditation instructor and journalist, Jeff Warren notes: “The reality of where you are, is always more important than the ideal of where you imagine you should be.” When we choose to prepare for planning through in-depth reflection, we sort out the difference between the should-be expectations, typically placed on us by others, and the could-be potential that is generated from our own, internal clarity and alignment.  Then, with this level of clarity, alignment, and acceptance, we have already started to change, and we have already started to chart a new path.

 As Brene’Brown so clearly stated, “You either walk into your story and own your truth, or you live outside your story, hustling for your worthiness.” When we prepare to plan in a thoughtful manner, we not only walk into our own story and own it, we also create and role model a process that others can follow. For the curious paradox of charting your path is that when you do this and you change, then others can do this and they can change, too. 

© Geery Howe 2025

Geery Howe, M.A. Executive Coach in Leadership, Strategic Planning, and Organizational Change

Chart Your Path - part # 2

A Good First Step

I remember a day when the CEO of a large company and I were sitting in his office after a full day of training on strategic planning. We had about forty-five minutes before the team met for a group dinner. This was to be followed by a discussion about lessons learned after a day of training. He was sitting in his chair and looking out the window. I sat quietly with him. When the time was right, I asked him a question: “Are you ready for strategic planning?”

He responded, “I know we need to do this and everyone is expecting it to happen. My board wants to know where we are going, and my team is eager to have a plan too.”

“I get this,” I replied. “A lot of people have expectations of you as the CEO. But my question was focused on you, not the company. Are you ready for this level of work?”

There was a long period of silence and then he quietly said, “No. I am exhausted. With the pressure to perform, and the hard work of raising a couple of teenagers at home, my tank is empty. My battery is drained. Some days I just want to step away and do something else. Some days I wonder if I am no longer the right guy for the position. Some days I don’t know what to do next.”

I just sat there with this deeply personal statement and realization. This was not a moment to speak. Instead, it was a moment to be present, and to acknowledge the pain that led to this moment. 

After a bit, I shared. “That’s a hard place to be. I know it both personally and professionally. It hurts on so many levels. It’s beyond stress management level techniques. It’s the feeling of being overwhelmed and not knowing where to start.”

He nodded his head. 

“So,” I asked, “what is one thing you can do this evening that will slowly refill your empty tank?”

He pondered this for a moment, and then said: “I think it is time to share with the team that I don’t have all the answers about what to do next. That I need them to work with me to co-create the plan rather than just follow me and do what ever I think up. I need them to know that I am struggling and that I am not Superman. I am just a guy who wants to do good in the world and wants to make a difference.”

He paused, and then asked me a question, “Is this asking too much?”

“No,” I replied. “Your team cares deeply about you and about this organization. Many of them are struggling too. How about creating a plan that does not try to solve all of the world’s problems, but instead gets you and the team back on solid ground? How about creating a plan that does not result in any more burn-out at work or at home?”

‘“I’d like that very much.”

“Good. Then let’s begin this evening by creating a safe space for in-depth sharing and dialogue. Being a leader and planning for the future should not result in complete burn-out.” 

So, that evening after dinner, we made time and space for sharing. It was a good first step.  

Afterwards, as he and I walked back to our respective cars, he to home and I to the hotel before the next day’s meetings, he stopped and said, “Thanks. That was very important and very special. It helped.”

“My pleasure to be of support.”

“So, I have one more question. What do I need to do in the morning before heading to work?”

I smiled, and said, “Turn off the computer, Luke. Trust the Force.” 

He chuckled, and I continued. “Really. Don’t start your day doing e-mail. Instead, pause and do the following. First, find a quiet place in the house and read something that inspires you or helps you put things in perspective. I suggest a passage from the Bible or some other book related to your faith tradition. Second, write down three to four things that you are grateful for in your life. Counting our blessings is important. Third, think of someone who has made a positive difference in your life. Take a moment in prayer to thank them, or write them a brief note of thanks. Finally, eat a good breakfast. Ideally with your spouse and family. The e-mail can wait. Now is the time to slowly refill your empty tank, or recharge your battery. You choose which metaphor is best for you.”

“I can do that, Geery.”

“Good. See you in the morning at 8:00 am.” And each of us headed out for the night. 

Creating time and space for reflection and healing is hard work. We need to be patient with ourself and with others. We need to remember and to understand that the path we take to the destination we seek is the future we will experience. We also must recognize that charting our path is an on-going personal growth and development process. Still, the first step is to reconnect with ourself before the actual planning begins. 

To be continued on Wednesday. 

Geery Howe, M.A. Executive Coach in Leadership, Strategic Planning, and Organizational Change