The Growth of Inner Leadership - Part #2

Living By Wandering Around

In the 1980’s, management guru Tom Peters  and his partner Bob Waterman coined a phrase called “management by walking around,” or MBWA after visiting Hewlett Packard as part of their research for the book, In Search of Excellence. By the late 80’s and early 90’s, it was a hot management trend and everyone was trying to do MBWA. 

In it’s most basic form, MBWA was a style of business management that involved managers wandering around the office in an unstructured and random manner to check on the status of day to day work. The benefit of this choice was that managers would stay in better touch with their staff, identify problems more quickly, and provide necessary feedback in a productive manner. The sum of these action were to generate an improved organizational performance and an increase in employee morale. The disadvantages of MBWA was that it was time-consuming and placed many managers under extreme pressure to focus on communication and relationship building rather than performing their own duties and priorities. As a result, many managers felt like they were caught between a rock and hard place. However, some managers were successful in MBWA when they grasped that by talking and sharing with employees on a regular basis, they were creating and strengthening the operational networks within the company, which, over time, could help them and many others better handle their internal responsibilities. 

While management by wandering around does seem a bit old-fashion given the current digital world within which we live, the idea of building better work relationships in order to gain greater understanding does not seem out of alignment with the current complexities within the work place. However, I believe the first step these days is to do more living by internal wandering around than managing by wandering around. When we choose to do the former, we recognize that the success of the later is based on us engaging with others from a place of internal clarity, i.e. an awareness of our own values, beliefs, and history in order to make more thoughtful choices rather than triggered reactions. By choosing to wander around our internal life, we have the opportunity to become aware of our own singularity and our own definition of self. The better we understand who we are and what we believe, the better we will be in leading and managing others. From a place of internal clarity, our external actions will be based on clear intention and healthy choices. Yet, in the beginning, we have to choose to live our life by wandering around our whole life, not just our work life. 

Attention Is Everything

Shortly after moving to Iowa, I learned the following phrase from a third generation farmer: “What you feed, grows.” I have shared this magnificent insight far and wide over the course of my career. It has also been foundational to my own personal journey, because in one short statement, I am reminded that the presence of one person who gives you their undivided attention, and shares with you the lessons they have learned during their life journey, can transform your life journey and your perspective on life. 

When I reflect on the farmer who shared this with me, and the many other people, who have impacted my life and my understanding about life, there is one powerful, yet simple insight that transcends and sums up all these interactions. When they are with you, they are with you and only with you at that moment of sharing. They are not distracted or multi-tasking. Instead, they are present and because of this, their presence makes a profound difference. In that moment, you are the focus of all they are doing. And you feel it and realize the magnitude and honor of this choice. Their attention is everything. 

Michael Useem in his article, “Four Lessons in Adaptive Leadership” in the November 2010 issue of the Harvard Business Review, writes that he studied military leadership principles through direct contact with the members of the U..S. Army, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the Department of Defense. In this excellent article, he notes four key lessons in adaptive leadership. The one that jumps out to me today when it comes to growing inner leadership is the following: “Creating a personal link is crucial to leading people through challenging times.” In the article, he describes military leaders who “worked the room,” be it a classroom or the gathering of thousands of soldiers in an airport hanger. They strived to make a personal connection with as many people as possible. As Useem explains, “these small actions make an indelible impression, serving to focus attention and ensure retention of the mission and message that a leader seeks to convey.” For these military leaders, a personal link is the foundation for leading people. It is the realization that people commit to people before they commit to a plan or a mission. 

But for us here today, we must recognize that the capacity to connect on the outside is a reflection of the capacity to have connected on the inside. Inner discipline and the ability to focus outwardly to make a connection with others reflects someone who has done the in-depth work of figuring out what they need to pay attention to inside themselves, and the understanding that they need to create and maintain this inner clarity and humble confidence over time. They grasp that “what you feed, grows” happens on the inside before it can happen on the outside. And giving yourself the time and space to do this inner work gives you the capacity to do it with others. In short, your inner attention is a force multiplier in your outer attention and actions. 

Have You Seen The Rainbow?

It was a quiet dinner amongst old friends. Stories were told. Life’s challenges were explored. Updates on family were shared.  

In the middle of the meal, a rain storm rolled on through and then moments after it passed, the host said, “Wow. Look! It’s a rainbow.” We stepped out on to their second floor balcony, and there was a massive rainbow. All the colors were present: red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, blue, and violet. 

We just stood there, captivated by the beauty. Words were not needed. Just being present to this moment was a gift. Then it faded as all rainbows do, and we went back to the dinner table for more conversation and sharing. 

As my wife and I drove home that night, I thought to myself, “miracles are happening all around us. It is time for me to pay more attention to them.” The challenge is to be present to them and not to be so distracted by my own thoughts or my tendency to be absorbed by so many minor details that are not important or urgent. Instead, I need to shift my awareness to being open to seeing and experiencing more miracle moments. 

And when I do this, I notice that I am surrounded by miracles all day long. The seasons are changing and the natural world is responding. The birds sing at dawn and the morning chorus is amazing. The flowers that bloom bring forth joy. The trees dance in the afternoon breeze. Whether it is the miracle of our bodies functioning well or the sparkling joy when a young child sees a butterfly, we are surrounded by the conditions for inspiration and enlightenment. 

With growth of inner leadership, where we focus less on irrelevant work related tasks and more on our priorities, there are also miracles taking place. There is the single mom who is raising her son and doing an excellent job at work. There is the divorced dad who is co-parenting in the midst of complexity and still able to lead his team in a thoughtful and kind manner. There are people caught between aging parents and teenage children, who feel stretched to the breaking point, and yet they still show up at work and collaborate well in the midst of adaptive problems. When we choose to open our eyes to these miracles at work and at home, there is a subtle shift in our consciousness that creates the capacity within us to be compassionate with ourselves and others. And this generates an ability to see wholeness in a world that can, at times, feel fragmented and broken. 

The Root of Wisdom

The root of wisdom comes from inner growth, and that begins with an understanding about the idea of inner excellence. In the business world, Tom Peters defined excellence as a workplace philosophy where problem solving, teamwork, and leadership result in on-going improvements or continuous improvements in the organization. These improvements are focused on meeting the ever-changing needs of the customer. When it comes to inner growth, the idea of excellence is built on an understanding that continued learning, on-going reflection, and creating new connections gives us the capacity to better adapt to changes in the world around us. In simple terms, inner growth gives us the ability to make better outer choices.

Nevertheless, we must accept the fact that inner growth comes with the continual shedding of old beliefs and old points of view. However, many people focus on maintaining inner order and outer control. Their definition of good leadership is based on being dominant, controlling, and forceful. They are not open to the outcome of learning, reflection, and connection to be a transformation of consciousness. Instead, they hold on to the belief that for change to take place, everyone else needs to change, and they need to stay the same. This mythology embraces a definition of healthy living based on personality more than character. It focuses on outer charm and image more than inner virtues and clarity. 

Yet, there are people who role model wisdom. These individuals live a life based on honor, duty, respect, dignity, and integrity. They do not seek ego expansion. Instead, they choose quiet inner strength and compassionate service to others. They grasp that the growth of inner leadership is based on continual revelation and a willingness to build a life which supports on-going growth and development. And while this pathway to inner excellence and transformation is neither quick or easy, it is still worthwhile and important. This pathway generates a lifetime of new insights, and understanding. This pathway guides us to new and better ways of living and leading. 

© Geery Howe 2024

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

The Growth of Inner Leadership - Part #1

Introduction

We are all gloriously, complex individuals. Why? Because each of us starts life in different places, at different time periods, and with different perspectives based on different life experiences. And yet, given this diversity, we all want our life to be meaningful and productive. We also want to know that our work and our lives matter. We even want to make progress on a daily basis. 

Yet, some days, we are stumped about how to proceed and what to do next. Some days, we struggle. Some days, we get frustrated. Some days, our inner and outer challenges converge, and we end up defaulting to old choices. 

This is a normal, and we do not like it. When it does happen, we want to control everything around us.  Still, on our better days, we remember that life is gloriously complex and as a result, we are gloriously complex people.

The Default Network Problem

A while back, two people called me because they were stumped about how to proceed with a particular group. They were wanting to institute a variety of system changes and their group was resisting plus not taking ownership of the process. During our time together, it became clear that the team leader was focused on what needed to get done, and on how things ought to get done They also were not building a collective understanding of why change needed to take place. 

Furthermore, upon examination, it was clear that the team leader was not building the primary relationships with individual team members, only participating in the group level work. While the normal solution to this situation was to focus on explaining why change needed to take place, and to engage in proactive relationship building, I believed the root of the problem was that the team leader needed to grow their inner leadership rather than just expand their outer actions.

A long time ago, Margaret Wheatley wrote, “When confronted with the unknown, we default to the known.” I believe that nine times out of ten we do this unconsciously. We have a knee-jerk reaction rather than make a thoughtful and mindful choice. And we do this repeatedly over time. 

Furthermore, these unconscious responses are supported and confirmed by our  default network of connections. Let me explain this in more depth. When we struggle, we routinely turn to others for perspective and insight. This network of people, be they operational or strategic, often confirm what we are thinking and feeling, and our resulting actions and choices. In short, our network routinely reinforces our defaulting to the known, referencing Wheatley’s earlier quote. 

Therefore, leaders need to build and maintain a very diverse network of people. This kind of network is made up of people who will challenge our thinking and our choices in a safe and productive manner. This kind of network expands our perspective and counters our default responses. This kind of network includes coaches and mentors, who give us connective advantage, referencing the work of Herminia Ibarra in her book, Act Like A Leader, Think Like A Leader (Harvard Business Review Press, 2015), i.e. “the ability to marshal information, support, or other resources from one of your networks to obtain results in another [network].”

After visiting with the team leader who needed to work on her inner leadership, it became clear to both of us that her default network was part of the problem. People, who she was regularly visiting with, did not ask questions about her default choices. Instead, they only confirmed them. Over time, she realized that she needed to expand her network to include a broader set of people. She also realized that she needed to transform herself first rather than thinking the others involved in this situation needed to change first. 

A New Beginning Starts With An Ending

Years ago, Kevin Cashman wrote, “If you want to become a better leader, you first have to become a better person.” It seems to me that many people missed this quote in their rush to get to the next meeting or to complete the next item on their daily checklist. And it seems to me that many people, who did read this quote, thought it was all about them changing themselves on the outside rather than them beginning to change themselves on the inside. 

When I reflect on the many successful leaders who I met over the course of my career, those who sought to become a better person, they knew that this meant taking stock of their beliefs, values, and choices. And upon evaluating these elements of their life, they determined which parts to keep and which parts no longer served a productive purpose in their life journey. In essence, the first step to becoming a better person and ultimately a better leader was to stop doing some things rather than to start doing something new. In short, their new beginning started with an ending.

As we take stock of our inner beliefs, we are choosing to end our old definition of self. For those in leadership positions, this typically means ending a form of leadership based on control, intimidation, and dominance over others. Instead, we seek to lead through clarity and respect more than fear and blame. The hard part is that many leaders do not realize they routinely default to control and command. It is their unconscious default choice learned over years of working through hard times. The difficulty is that this form of leadership works. It moves people, but not in the same direction as respect, integrity, and clarity. 

A long time ago, Patrick Lencioni wrote a book called The Five Temptations of a CEO: A Leadership Fable (Jossey-Bass, 1998).  In it, he outlines the following five temptations: choosing status over results, choosing popularity over accountability, choosing certainty over clarity, choosing harmony over productive conflict, and choosing invulnerability over trust. Each of these temptations work on one level, but over time they significantly damage the relationships that are critical to problem solving and continual improvement. Still, many people default to them because of the internal belief that by pleasing everyone around them, they will be a better leader, and generate amazing outcomes at work and at home. 

Yet this commitment to being liked by everyone comes at a cost. Over time, trust at the personal level, the team level, and the company level will decline. And this results in disrespect, feelings of constantly being overwhelmed, a lack of clarity, and very poor communication throughout the company. This can even spill over to the home front with fractured personal relationships. 

Nevertheless, not all is lost if we seek to become better people. The endings are not quick or easy, but over time, and with the right amount of support from a diverse network of key people, and a commitment to do the inner work alongside the outer work, there is hope. As James Kouzes and Barry Posner in their book, A Leader’s Legacy (Jossey-Bass, 2006), write, “The wisest advice we can give is never to expect someone else to change…. leadership development is first and foremost self-development.”

Seeing Old Things With New Eyes

“Change is not about understanding new things or having new eyes,” writes Dee Hock, Founder & CEO Emeritus, Visa International. “It’s about seeing old things with new eyes - from different perspectives.” The growth of inner leadership starts with the capacity to see life from multiple perspectives. 

When I coach people who will want to become better leaders, I routinely ask them what other people on their team think about the current problems before the team or the company. I started doing this because one day while visiting with a world class specialist about a healthcare challenge that my local healthcare team could not solve, the doctor asked me the following question: “What does your mother think is the problem?” 

After taking my full history, doing a physical examination plus reviewing all my test results, I was surprised by his question. I paused and said, “Well, she and I discussed it before my coming here to see you. My mom think I have Lyme’s disease.”

He pulled out my paperwork, scanned some test results, and then said: “Interesting. I had not considered this option, but you do spend a lot of time outside gardening, and some of your symptoms overlap with that potential diagnosis. Good for your mom to be open minded. We can test for that pretty quickly to get a clear and definitive answer.” 

Within a short time period, we learned that I did not have Lyme disease. Still, the willingness of the doctor to look at my health situation from various perspectives, including how my mom viewed the whole situation, was impressive. And I have not forgotten the courage he had to suspend his diagnostic skill set and look at “old things with new eyes - from different perspectives.”

To date, I have never asked a client the question, “So, what does your mother think is the problem?” Instead, I have regularly expanded our discussion on how to be a better leader by asking people to consider various points and perspectives held by other people, and then to sort out what old ideas, beliefs, and paradigms should be maintained and which should be jettisoned for a more holistic and healthy way of living and working.

To be continued on Tuesday. 

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

A New Vision

During times of personal or professional change, many of us feel lost and unsure. We struggle with issues of self-confidence. We forget that real change is a step outside our comfort zone and in to our challenge zone.  And when we try to impose control and order, we often lose trust, clarity, and courage. What we often need is a new vision, a new outlook on the world. 

I remember well how I wished for a clear view out our bedroom window when we first moved into our home in Iowa. I loved to look out this bedroom window at sunrise. Living in a small rural town, we have fields of grazing animals and rolling hills behind our home. The view is lovely, and restful for the soul. 

But when we bought the house from the people who built it in 1919, our view was blocked by a massive clothesline. After many months of being bothered by the line, I decided to dig up the obstacle and move it.  

So one afternoon, with our sons cheering me on, I began to dig. After 20 minutes of strenuous work, I realized that the clothesline pole was a former telephone pole! Twenty more minutes and a couple of feet later, I figured out the pole was stuck in a large block of cement. By now, the children had wandered off, brought me a glass of water, and asked “mommy” to take a picture of the five-foot “crater with the clothesline pole in the middle.” It finally dawned on me that I could just cut off the pole about two feet below the ground and fill in the hole. 

The second pole was a breeze after the first. I only dug down deep enough to clear the way for the saw. With a mighty “Timber” from our boys, the pole crashed to the lawn and was removed. Our youngest asked me: “Why didn’t you do that the first time?” 

“I had something to learn,” was my reply. 

When removing obstacles and creating a new vision, remember:

Getting to the bottom of a problem is not required before something new can be created. When pressure mounts, work diligently, but remember to take care of yourself. Exhausting oneself in a useless struggle does not yield significant results. Make the best use of your energy by focusing your goals. Allow yourself to be a beginner. Cultivate the attitude of courage. Success takes time and effort.

The future does not have to be an extension of the past. A vision is never the return to a former time period. It is the development of new skills, perceptions and understandings. Learn, and be creative. Put the past behind you. It you need to grieve over old wounds and pain, find a safe place and allow the healing to occur. Remember: “This too shall pass.”

Many external obstacles are related to internal perceptions. When feeling stuck, pause and reevaluate your course of action. Change is a great opportunity for introspection and illumination. It is common for an entire paradigm and/or belief system to come into question. Internal clarity is the blending of revelation and reflection. Be persistent and take pride in who you are.

Ask other for help and perspective. Being humble rather than egotistical will yield results.

(First published in the August 1996 issue of Personal Excellence magazine).

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

Birds and Ornithologists, Companies and Consultants

Not too long ago, I read the following by the poet Mark Nepo: “Birds don’t need ornithologists to fly.” I paused after reading this, and realized that he had made an important point about birds, ornithologists, and flight. I also realized that he had made an important point about companies and consultants. 

Companies don’t need consultants in order to create change, serve the customer better, or to be successful. I know this is a shocking statement from someone who spent his career as a consultant. Still, the point is valid. 

In simple terms, birds fly because they are born to fly. Similarly, successful companies are successful, because they are hardwired to constantly evolve in order to meet the changing needs of their customers. They also evolve in order to meet the changing needs of their employees. Metaphorically speaking, these companies, and the people who work there, fly because they are born to fly. 

Still, ornithologists can help us understand why birds do what birds do. And consultants can help leaders and companies understand why certain things work and don’t work. Consultants can also help leaders understand why people behave in certain ways in the midst of change. 

But, in the end, consultants do not make change happen any more than ornithologists make birds fly. They can be helpful, but are not necessary. 

This week, I encourage you to sit outside and watch the birds fly. They are born to do this, and they love to do this. Then, ask yourself the following two questions: 

- Am I doing what I love to do? 

- Am I flying? 

The answers will be revealing and helpful as you plan out the rest of this year. 

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

Building Commitment - part #2

Have An Adaptive Mindset

The second key factor related to building and maintaining cooperative relationships is to have an adaptive mindset. These leader understand the differences in the problems they confront every day. They recognize that there are technical problems and adaptive challenges. With the former, the problem is clearly defined and the solution falls within the range of current problem solving expertise. With the later, an adaptive challenge, the problem requires a new perspective, expertise, and/or solutions. Furthermore, an adaptive challenge calls into questions fundamental assumptions and beliefs.  Therefore, these leaders are open to reorganizing their thoughts and their actions, a critical element to having an adaptive mindset. 

They also understand that defining the problem may require learning and dialogue. They even understand that adaptive challenges require ownership of the solution, and the process of creating the actual solution. Thus, they seek alignment without control, and progress through perseverance rather than the use of positional authority and power. 

Furthermore, these same leaders grasp the depth and magnitude of this insight by  the late William Bridges, namely “The picture in people’s head is the reality they live in…”. Recognizing that the picture inside people’s head matters, these leaders are open to the picture inside their own heads being the problem. Therefore, they are willing to change themselves first before asking others to explore the picture inside their head. 

Still, the leaders who struggle with this insight often paint a picture for others of “here is you doing the work.” This choice does not generate commitment. On the other hand, the leaders with an adaptive mindset focus on painting a picture for others of “here are the outcomes of you doing the work.” They grasp that once the social relationship is healthy, i.e. the bond between leader and follower is built on respect, dignity and integrity, then all involved want to make progress on a daily basis. They also want to do something that makes a difference. Understanding that our work matters and that the outcomes from the work are making a difference is critical to creating commitment over time. 

With the Genius of the AND in mind, leaders who build commitment by building and maintaining cooperative relationships also do one other thing. They create and maintain a healthy work culture. One part of this is to provide structure related to goals, expectations, and accountability, which, over time, will result in focus, understanding, and ownership. This act alone generates confidence, because no one has to guess what is expected of them. When relationships are healthy and when tasks, functions, roles, and positions are clarified, we have a winning combination. 

People Commit To People Before The Plan 

The third key factor to building commitment and the capacity to adapt within the current work environment is to remember that people commit to people before a plan or, for that matter, a system. On the surface, this seems elementary and a “blinding flash of the obvious,” referencing an old Tom Peters’ statement. Still, when people commit to people, they are, in essence, committing to the “tribe,” referencing my earlier comments about tribal relationships and tribal knowledge. And once the tribal bond has been formed, most people support these tribal alliances for some very important reasons. 

Most leaders forget why people join teams. Diane Tracy in her book, The First Book of Common-Sense Management (William Morrow and Company, 1989) wrote that there are five reasons why people join teams. The first is security because “the team is a place where members feel safe, and cared for.” The second is belonging because “the team provides identification.” The third is individuality because “the team can recognize and support the valuable differences of its members.” The fourth is pride because “team members share in group achievements.” And finally, the fifth is recognition because “the outside world respects the group as a more powerful entity than it would an individual.”

During my decades of teaching about leadership and organizational change, I shared this information with many leaders, and they were stunned by these five reasons. First, they just didn’t know this information. Second, they could not believe the implications of these reasons. Third, they realized that most front line supervisors and their respective team leaders did not have a clue about why people joined teams. They just assumed that putting people in a room and calling them a “team” would generate team work. But if the goal is teamwork and healthy team relationships plus the resulting commitment to the team, then team leaders need to understand these five reasons and support these five elements within their team building and team maintenance efforts. 

As team leaders do that level of work, these same team leaders need to recognize that the foundation for successful execution at the team level has been well researched and documented. One of the best articles I have read on this subject was written by Martine Haas and Mark Mortensen called “The Secrets of Great Teamwork” in the June 2016 issue of the Harvard Business Review. As they note, there are four critical elements to success as a team. The first is to have a compelling direction, because “People have to care about achieving a goal.” The second is to have a strong structure, because “Every individual doesn’t have to possess superlative technical and social skills, but the team overall needs a healthy dose of both.” The third is to have a supportive context, namely the resources, information and training to do the job well. The fourth is to have a shared mindset. As Haas and Morten explain, “Distance and diversity, as well as digital communication and changing membership, make them [teams] especially prone to the problems of “us versus them” thinking and incomplete information…. The solution to both is developing a shared mindset among team members - something team leaders can do by fostering a common identity and common understanding.” And I would add to this list common language and shared experiences. For in the end, team members will commit to the tribe first before they will ever commit to a system or company. 

Furthermore, the best leaders, who embrace the Genius of the AND, recognize that they need to understand the history that created these tribes and tribal alliances. They also, at the exact same time, build systems that are owned and understood by those who will have to execute them over time. This dynamic set of actions is complex but manageable when leaders grasp that people need to participate in the creation of change, not just be told to change. This subtle but important shift starts the movement of all involved to feel like there is a we involved in the process rather than and us vs them feeling and/or mentality. And this will result with a deep level of commitment even in the midst of complexity and volatility. 

People And Commitments

In the convergence of leadership, teamwork and commitment, I think we need to remember the words of John Adams: “There are 2 kinds of people, those who make commitments and those who keep commitments.” It is the later group that is successful over time. As an old Quaker phase notes, “Their word is their bond.” And these kinds of people choose to live their commitments and keep their commitments. They are bonded to the people they work with and their commitment is a bond that people can count on over time. 

For if we seek to answer the following two questions, “How do we create a work environment where people want to join the company and stay with the company through the metaphorical ‘thick and thin’?”, and “How do we build commitment?”, then we need understand the foundations of commitment. This begins by examining the history of work and the way new employees gained clarity and commitment, namely though passing on of key information by older employees through an oral communication and role modeling rather than through systems and systems management. Next, new employees learned that maintaining tribal relationships was more important than maintaining a systems approach to operational success or any level of organizational change. From their perspective, alignment was with the team or tribe more than to a system or form of system management.  

Commitment was also built by leaders who embraced the Genius of the AND rather than the Tyranny of the OR. They translated this choice into building and maintaining cooperative relationships, and choosing to hold an adaptive mindset. This meant that they recognized that they could be the problem and the one who might need to change their mind first rather than to ask others to do it first. 

Finally, those leaders, who kept their commitments, respected the perspective that people commit to people before they commit to a plan or system. Therefore, leaders focused on the five reasons people joined teams and stayed with teams. They grasped that people need to participate in the creation of change, not just be told to change. This subtle but important shift built a we level of unity and resulted in a deeper and more holistic level of commitment. 

Many years ago, Robert Rosen in his book, Leading People (Viking Pengiun, 1997), wrote: "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.” 

In order to create “partners who are as committed as they are to the success of the enterprise,” leaders must build a shared commitment to each other, and a shared commitment to continual improvement. What follows is enterprise level success in the midst of volatility and complexity. It may not happen quickly or easily, but it is nevertheless important and worth our time and effort. And what separates the best from others are people who live their commitments and keep their commitments. For this is the pathway to creating a work environment where people want to join the company and stay with the company through the metaphorical “thick and thin. This is the pathway to building commitment over time.

© Geery Howe 2024

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