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
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