Understand Your Systems

I have listened to people working longer hours with greater focus, and still not being able to keep up with the demands of their job and the expectations that are placed on them. Often, even when they get more organized, they still fall behind. As a result, they are stumped on how to proceed. 

Unfortunately, this is a common experience. When hard work, effort and organization are not making the difference, I routinely explain that they are more likely working within a poorly designed, or dysfunctional system. Nine times out of ten, this is not a people problem. It is a system problem. 

Many years, when I was a kid at summer camp, I remember gathering at the dock to go canoeing on the lake. Before we partnered up to go canoeing, the counselor made all of us get into one canoe that was tied to the dock. As each person got into the canoe, it sank lower and lower into the water. Finally, it was below the surface of the water and we all were standing or sitting in it. The canoe did not sink to the bottom of the lake, but it also was completely dysfunctional as a canoe. 

She explained to us that each boat has a carrying capacity. When rescuing people because their canoe flipped over, it was best not to try and pull everyone into the boat. Instead, ask them to hang on to the sides, and then canoe them to shore. 

I think of this often when coaching people who are overwhelmed. Every system has a purpose. For example, a canoe is designed to move through water and the foam blocks at either end are designed to not let it sink. However, each system has a carrying capacity, too. This is the same with a canoe, i.e. the number of people it can carry and still be effective. When you max out a system by overloading it, then, at some point, the system will be functioning, but it will only generate dysfunctional results, i.e. the canoe did not sink to the bottom of the lake, but once the water was over the gunnels it wasn’t functional either.

Currently, more and more people are working within overloaded systems and trying to compensate for the overload. 

The cost of this choice is high for all involved. If this is the case, then it is time to ask the question: Has this system

achieved it’s carrying capacity and does it need to be redesigned? The other question we need to ask is this one:

Why are we tolerating dysfunctional systems that are resulting in a decrease in employee engagement?

This week, I encourage you to understand the systems you work with on a daily basis. Get to know what original problem they were designed to solve. And then, determine if the system is still functional or needs to be redesigned in order to meet today’s problems and challenges. This will make a world of difference on so many levels. 

© Geery Howe 2025

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

Driving With The Four Way Flashers On

When the semester ended during my college years in Indiana, I always left the moment my last exam was finished. I was heading home to the suburbs of Philadelphia. It was a 12 hour drive from college to home and my goal was to only stop for gas.

One time, at the end of a spring semester as a friend and I were driving back to Philly, we were stopped by the state police half through the western mountains of Pa on I-70.  It was the middle of the night, and we were not speeding. 

The officer informed us that the rear lights on my car were not functioning properly. Together, the three of us figured out that a fuse had burned out and needed to be replaced. Knowing it was the middle of the night, he gave me a warning and asked that we drive the rest of the way home with our four way flashers on. Once he left, we turned on the four way flashers and continued onward, knowing that we had 6-7 more hours to go. 

After 20 minutes of this constant blinking on the dashboard, we were going a bit crazy. So, we dug out the car’s first aid kit and put multiple band aids over the blinking lights so we could not see them. We also turned up the music on the radio to drown out the noise. Then, it was smooth sailing all the way home, and within an hour we did not even notice the distraction. In short, the warning lights no longer registered, and we just let the miles fly by. 

Right now, many leaders and organizations are driving with the four flashers on, and they have the band aids in place. They are totally oblivious to the consequences or the impact of this choice. The band-aids that were a short term coping mechanism have ended up becoming long term blinders. The challenge now is to take off the band-aids.

The first step to doing this is to define optimal or best performance at each level of the company even in the midst of these challenging times. The greater the level of clarity and understanding about this level of performance, the greater our ability as leaders to create the right environment for optimal performance to take place. However, when we choose to do this, we must recognize that this level of understanding can only be achieved through common language and a common understanding of the strategic intent of the company. 

The second step is to give yourself and others permission to ask for help. As venture capitalist Eugene Kleiner noted, “in a tornado, even a turkey can fly.” We should not be waiting until the tornado has overtaken us and generated complete and total chaos before people can ask for help. 

Years ago, Norman Vincent Peale and Ken Blanchard wrote that we have two selves, namely our external task-oriented self, and our internal reflective self. Most people are only focused on their task-oriented self. They do not give themselves permission to take time for their internal reflective self, mostly because this is a longer and more deliberate process. Instead, they choose to live in a world of constant interruptions, hoping things will get better. Yet, in reality they are drowning in minutia and often feel broken and alone.  

Years ago, Ken and Margie Blanchard also noted that we need to “gain a balance between success and fulfillment.” Fulfillment is about “connecting your life and work, connecting spirituality, and balancing time at work with your family and friends.” Along a similar line of thought, Rabbi Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People, contends that there are two acts in life. In Act 1, we focus on “Achieve,” and in Act 2 “Connect.” The Achieve act is about setting goals and completing them. For many this is all that matters. The Connect act is about fulfillment, and can be found in relationships, health, and spirituality. 

But in the beginning, we need to have the courage to ask for help. We need to create a network of support that helps us gain perspective and insights about our choices. We need to do this in order that we do not live a life where the four way flashers are blinking out a danger signal, and we are ignoring them in order to achieve a goal or destination that may be detrimental to our health, relationships, and well being over time. 

In the end, my college friend and I did make it home safe and sound. The following day, we removed the bandaids, and replaced the burned out fuse. But from that day forward, I made sure that a collection of spare fuses were tucked away in the glove compartment of that car. Being prepared for the next journey allowed me to be a better driver, and in time a better person. 

© Geery Howe 2025

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

Now What?

After a morning of four meetings in a row, she turned to me and said, “Let’s get out of here. I need pizza and a chance to visit with you alone.” So we walked out to her car, and went for pizza.

In a crowded restaurant, she just unloaded all her frustrations. “I pushed myself through college and got the best grades. I pushed myself to get into the best internships and got them. I pushed myself to get into this organization and got a position. Once in, I pushed myself to become a department head, and ultimately a member of the senior management team. I married the right man. We bought the right house. I got the right car. I gave birth to a beautiful and healthy child. I have sacrificed and worked hard to raise him up right. So, here I am, nearly burned out, almost bitter, and more than a bit cynical. All my goals have been reached before 30. So, now what do I do?”

The question is an important one. The answer is not a simple one. The realization that this has happened is a painful one. 

Her question and our subsequent discussion reminded me of the phrase, obsessive-complusive productivity disorder, coined by Joe Robinson in the March 2007 issue of Fast Company magazine. It is the “I should be doing something all the time” tape that runs in our heads. It also is the feeling of “work guilt” when we are not working. It is based on the belief that our identity as a person is driven and dependent on our productivity, and our position. Therefore, we just keep pushing ourselves. 

I think the same phrase could be applied to our life choices. There are times in our life when we become so focused on meeting the expectations placed on us by others and ourself, and by society as a whole, that we enter into an obsessive-compulsive form of living and working in order that we meet all these self-imposed and society supported goals. Rarely do we stop and reflect on whether or not these are the things we actually wanted to do. Instead, we do them because we feel we should be doing them. As a result, we just keep pushing even if the outcome is feeling burned out, bitter, and cynical as a result. 

Given my personal and professional journey, I have been given the opportunity to visit with a wide diversity of courageous leaders, patients, nurses, parents, doctors, and even children, all whom have taught me important life lessons about living in a healthy manner. Here are two lessons I have learned from them. 

First, it is important to define our priorities. In our rush to get everything done according to other peoples’ definitions of success, and in order to look perfect as we do this, we forget that everything in the world is created twice, once in the mind as a vision, goal or strategy, and second, as a sequence of personal choices. In computer terms, we are the programmer and the program. The challenge for all of us is that we have to let go of others’ expectations and rethink what we actually want to do. We need to reclaim a life based on our priorities. Goals may come and go over time. Goals may change as we move through the different seasons and stages of our life. But priorities can be the line of continuity through all of the ups and downs. For in an overcrowded life, we have adapted so many times that we have often loss a sense of what we really wanted in the first place. In essence, we have lost what makes life meaningful. 

Second, it is important to practice renewal instead of just stress management. The poet Mark Nepo offers two important questions to help in this process: “How do I regain my wonder at being alive? What must I do to keep my heart from sinking?” When we ask the question, “So, now what do I do?”, we have become focused on our doing more than our being. We are running hard and harder to just stay in the same place. But if we embrace renewal rather than just stress management, we return to the place of wonder, and recognize the gift of being alive. We also choose to live more from our heart rather than just from our head. In short, we reclaim the gift of life and find that the gifts inherent in life. 

Over the course of our life journey, there will be days when we will need to ask the question, “So, now what do I do?”. And there will be days when we struggle to move forward. Nevertheless, with time, patience, support, and perspective, we can rebuild the foundation of our life to be greater than just being productive. Then, we can rediscover the miracle within these days and the beauty of the gifts we have before us. For when this happens, we will discover a community of courageous people who are all seeking to create a life of meaning, purpose, and gratitude. And this will make a profound difference in all that we do, and all that we will become. 

© Geery Howe 2025

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

Exploring The Fundamentals

We were sitting in his office, a comfortable place with wood floors, large old fashion double hung windows, and just the right blend of art work and plants to make it a creative and yet relaxing environment. We were visiting about ways to improve the corporation as a whole when he looked up from his performance plan and said: “Can you help me with something? I am not very good at solving this problem.”

“Sure. What’s up?,” I responded.

“All the money is going into the new stuff, which is exciting and fun, but the reality is that the old stuff, which is the foundation of our business, is being forgotten. People are getting sloppy around the edges, and the polish and the  reputation, which this company was built on, is being forgotten in the rush to do new and more exciting things. I’m worried that no one cares about the basics - no one is caring for the foundation.”

I have noticed this too as we rush through the early years of the 21st century. Many people are becoming to addicted to speed, to anything new, and to anything that is being sold to us through the latest national best seller book, or podcast. The foundational routine work of life, and of running a successful company are often pushed by the wayside. In short, the fundamentals are getting lost and forgotten in the rush to be innovative and cutting edge. 

In reality, it takes innovation and discipline around the fundamentals to survive in the current market economy. The question then for leaders is the following: What are three fundamentals to doing strategic change well, and creating operational excellence well on a daily basis?

First, remove people who take power or infect power with non-authentic values, or who are misaligned with the company’s core values. Recognizing the centrality of relationships to building and maintaining a healthy company culture, and recognizing the importance of trust at the team level, any individual, who chooses to corrupt the core of a team, department, or company, and any leader, who tolerates this choice, needs to work someplace else. If coaching and a performance plan are not helping correct this situation, then engage an HR process for removal. 

Second, let that which is dying be dead. There are certain things that are foundational to the on-going success of the company. However, this does not mean that all current systems, programs, and ways of doing business should be maintained no matter what is happening in the external environment. If a way of doing business is no longer viable, then we need to have the strategic and operational clarity and courage to stop doing it. This may be hard, but it also can be liberating. 

Third, choose to get closer to the customer. The late Peter Drucker often asked the question, “Who is the customer?”. He also asked a secondarily important question, “What does the customer value?”. This later question can only be answered thoughtfully and respectively when we choose to meet with the customers and to listen to their wants, needs, dreams, and aspirations. When we understand these things with depth and understanding, we can then engage in effectively promoting innovation while maintaining the fundamentals of success. 

In retrospect, the fundamentals to life and work, are not always flashy and new. Instead, they require consistent discipline and attention. Still, when done well and often, they can make a profound difference in the quality of innovation and operational excellence that needs to take place each and every day. The challenge is to be committed to this work and to make sure the core of the company is always strong and healthy. 

© Geery Howe 2025

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

Be The Vision

We were sitting in her office after an inservice on leadership and change. She shared with me that during the last year, she had worked extensively on the organization’s structure, and had to completely rebuild her team due to dramatic changes in their competitive environment. As a result, she had stopped the organization from loosing money, and had gotten the numbers back into the black. During the last six months, she, her team, and the Board had also created a new mission statement, and had much more clearly defined the organization’s core values statements. 

Now, her days were filled with more problems related to people and systems. And as a result, she was deeply frustrated. “I just don’t want to be consumed with endless minutiae and countless people complaining,” she shared with me. “Everything is at the individual and systems change levels, and because we are ‘profitable,’ people no longer want to move forward. What is going on with me? Is this normal?”

I paused to reflect on what she said and all that she had shared with me. Then, I replied,“You are busy, burned out, and bored. Mostly just busy and burned out.”

She went quiet for a long moment, and then said, “Yes. There is no more passion in me.”

From my experience and observations, this is a common experience. Leaders work so hard to make change happen, and then when they are on the other side on the heavy lifting, they routinely experience burnout and their days are filled with endless piles of stuff. Part of this happens due to positional and peer isolation, namely a lack of community who understands the pressures of being in a senior position and a circle of people who can be supportive. As a result of not having allies and confidants, they feel alone. Furthermore, this feeling is compounded by decision fatigue in the midst of ambiguity and the lack of core information to make thorough and thoughtful decisions. Thus, the feeling of being alone and being deeply frustration generates the loss of passion and purpose, or the trinity of busy, burned out and bored. 

So where and how do we begin to change this common experience?

The answer lies in the reclaiming, and, at times, rediscovering of our purpose, passion, presence, and perspective. First, we need to define what is most important in our life and let this core purpose drive our decision-making processes. This particularly needs to be defined for our work life and our home life. Second, we need to define what gets us excited and focused at a core level, i.e. what are we passionate about at our being and doing levels. Third, we need to accept the grace to not let our ego drive our life journey. Instead, we need to connect with a sense of presence in our life, and to be a presence in the lives of others. Finally, we need to maintain perspective, which is the ability to hold this purpose-driven center, and to grow during our entire life journey. 

As we explored purpose, passion, presence and perspective, I encouraged her to be the vision in her life journey, and to embrace her commitment to purpose, passion, presence, and perspective. I also encouraged her to create a personal development plan, which included improving her ability to lead, and her ability to live into the fullness of her life. Being busy, burned out, and bored does happen. The choices we make as a result, and the clarity of intention that we create because of this can and will generate a whole new way of living and working. It all begins when we create the time and place to share, listen, and reflect. 

© Geery Howe 2025

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

Four Basic Questions

Introduction

One of the joys of being mostly retired is that I get to reread certain articles that were influential in my career, and reflect deeply again on what was shared. Every time I do this, I rediscover some previously known concept and understand it better, or I discover something new and wonder why I missed it the first time. 

The article that I recently reread was called  “Leading the Team You Inherit” by Michael Watkins in the June 2016 issue of the Harvard Business Review. This is an article I have referenced and recommended ever since it was published. In the article, Watkins explains that not everyone gets to build their team from the ground up. More often than not, they inherit a team of people, and are given the task of making them better as it relates to teamwork and overall performance. The challenge is to figure out what are the problems, and then how to remedy these problems.

When Building Alignment

What intrigued me this time around was the following statement: “Sometimes a team’s stated direction needs to be changed. In other cases, it’s more or less right, but people are just not pulling together.” I have seen this happen, where the direction needed to be changed, and where people are just not working well together, i.e. they are not in alignment. 

Watkins then writes: “To get everyone aligned, the team must agree on answers to four basic questions:

- What will we accomplish? You spell this out in your mission, goals, and key metrics. 

- Why should we do it? Here is where your vision statement and incentives come into play.

- How will we do it? This includes defining the team’s strategy in relation to the organization’s, as well as sorting out the plans and activities needed for execution.

- Who will do what? People’s roles and responsibilities must support all of the above.”

What interested me this time around was the simplicity of these four basic questions. They are straight forward and easily usable in a variety of contexts. And because they are so simple and accessible, I think many leaders skip them, and seek out more complex questions related to strategy or project management. Others skip them, and want to do some interpersonal and/or emotional analysis of the team. While all of these options are good areas to explore, sometimes the simple questions, like the above four, can reveal so many insights about what is happening within a team and why it is happening. For me, these four basic questions are gateways into peoples’ thinking about day to day operations and the overall company’s strategic direction or intent. 

When Answering The Why? Question

From my experience and observations, the second question, Why should we do it?, is very important. Often, the answer to the Why? question is weak at best, or completely devoid of basic understanding of critical information. I do not fault the person answering the question. Instead, I frame this up as a classic example of under-communication. 

This is a common problem in the world of leadership. Nine times out of ten, I have to point out to leaders that just because you said something does not mean that anyone was listening, or that they understood what it was you were saying. Furthermore, they also may not understand why you were saying it in the first place. 

Most leaders believe that once they have stated something, namely the answer to the Why? question, that the listener will not only agree with them, and understand them, they will instantly translate this level of clarity into commitment and greater collaboration. But the truth of the matter is that speaking rarely generates clarity and commitment. Most of the time, it just results in “What?”, “Huh?,” or “I have a question.” However, most leaders miss this response, because they are on to question #3, How will we do it?. They just want to focus on how to accomplish what needs to get done. 

If we truly what to find the answer to question #2 and to communicate it clearly, then we need to understand that the answer to the question is based on being clear about three different things. First, one needs to understand the current context or business environment, which ever word you prefer, that the company is operating within. Second, you need to understand the strategy or strategic intent of the company, again choose which word you prefer. And finally you need to understand the company’s definition of operational excellence. For me, the third element is based on the company’s commitment to, and process of continuous improvement given the changing, external business environment, especially the changing needs and expectations of the customer.  It is the holistic clarity of these three things that will result in a greater depth of clarity, and ultimately commitment when it comes to the Why? question. 

The Importance of Two Way Communication

Once this strategic mindset and perspective is in place, we must also create time and space for sharing and dialogue, namely two way communication, rather than the typical form of leadership communication, which is I speak and you listen. The later usual results in a leader having the unrealistic expectation that their answer will generate clarity, if not enlightenment. In reality, the “I speak and you listen” form of communication leaves people confused, frustrated, and many times, angry. 

For true sharing and dialogue to generate understanding, people in leadership positions need to listen to the outer dialogue while simultaneously being able to listen to their own inner dialogue. This is a difficult choice. For we as leader must listen to understand, not just listen to hear the outer dialogue. And we also must be very mindful of how we are translating what we hear on the inside. For example, we must ask ourselves the following two questions: “What is the story I am telling myself when I listen?”, and “What am I feeling in the midst of this sharing?”.  As we seek the answers to these two questions, we will be better able to respond, rather than react to the sharing that is taking place. 

When Experiencing Turbulence 

When we recognize the importance of the aforementioned four basic questions, and then zoom out to sense and understand how the proverbial big picture is changing, we realize that we are moving through an on-going cycle of market turbulence which is also creating an on-going cycle of organizational turbulence. During times of this nature, where it feels like the risk profile is in rapid fluctuation, we have to step back and truly grasp what is happening. 

The standard analysis is that things are just chaotic, but I do not think this fully captures what is actually happening. Given we are experiencing rapid short term changes with long term implications, plus a high degree of uncertainty about what will happen next, and a complete lack of control, or an ability to influence these changes, people usually respond by feeling overwhelmed. Furthermore, this level of turbulence and disruption is causing core systems within their organizations to become dysfunctional, or to function very poorly. 

Now, let’s pause and remember that there are four pillars to a successful organization, namely people, structure, systems, and culture. When three of the four pillars are impacted and/or disrupted by turbulence, i.e. people, structure, and systems, then the organization, and the people within it, are going to struggle. But, when we step back and look at the problem, we discover that the greater impact of this level of turbulence results in the fear of disconnection, which, given current events, has now resulted in the feeling of disconnection. 

What most people do not grasp is that the success of a company is not merely the reflection of great effort and great systems. The ground level truth is that successful companies have a healthy, internal relationship economy. People work well together, because they have built relationships based on trust, respect, and integrity. Furthermore, they have invested the time and energy to create and maintain a healthy operational network so they can manage their current internal responsibilities, a healthy personal network to boost their personal development, and a healthy strategic network so they can achieve greater perspective and insights about what is happening. Yet, when all three networks are damaged by turbulence, and an individual feels disconnected from these networks, the feeling of being alone generates a profound level of fear, frustration, and self-doubt, none of which help the organization to move forward. 

When these kinds of problems happen, we need transformational leadership. Years ago, Warren Benis and Burt Nanus identified four key principles of transformational leadership, namely “attention through vision, meaning through communication, trust through positioning, and the deployment of self.” For during times of turbulence, leaders need to manage meaning, attention, trust, and self. And the organization needs stability in the midst of a turbulent market environment. Therefore, transformational leaders focus on two things, namely communicating what is not changing, i.e. mission and core values, while at the exact same time focusing on resilience. They do this by activating and maintaining healthy relational networks in order to increase understanding and commitment. They also do this by building and maintaining their different networks in order to counter the feeling of being alone and disconnected. At the same time, in order to generate more resilience, they focus the company and their teams on learning from current mistakes and problems in order to gain insight and perspective for future action. Finally, they role model extremely good self -care in order to maintain personal perspective and hope that this too shall pass. 

A Time For Compassion

Teams are struggling right now. People are struggling right now. Finding the answers to the four basic questions is a good way to move forward. Sharing these answers and exploring what they mean with others can generate stability in the midst of turbulent times. 

At the exact same time, the best leaders stay faithful and devoted to their own inner journey and evolution. They recognize that they need to become become better people, not just better leaders. And this always leads them to focus on compassion and integrity. As Brene’ Brown reminds us in her book, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience (Random House, 2021): “Compassion is fueled by understanding and accepting that we’re all made of strength and struggle - no one is immune to pain or suffering. Compassion is not a practice of ‘better than’ or ‘I can fix you’ - it’s a practice based in the beauty and pain of shared humanity.” As we grasp the magnitude of this insight, she further notes, “Compassion … recognizes the suffering of another as a reflection of our own pain: ‘I understand this; I suffer in the same way.’ It is empathetic, a mutual connection with the pain and sorrow of life. Compassion is shared suffering.” 

Right now, as we seek to create better alignment in our teams and in ourselves, we need more compassion in the midst of our “shared suffering.” The path forward will continue to be challenging, but when we thoughtfully answer the four basic questions, focus deeply on creating clarity around the Why? question, and build time and space for sharing and dialogue, we will create resilience in the midst of turbulence. And this will make a huge difference during the coming days, weeks, and months ahead. 

For Further Study:

- Drucker, Peter, Frances Hesselbein, and Joan Snyder Kuhl. Peter Drucker’s Five Most Important Questions: Enduring Wisdom for Today’s Leaders, Wiley, 2015.

- Lafley, A.G. and Roger L. Marten. Playing To Win: How Strategy Really Works, Harvard Business Review Press, 2013.

- Olson, Aaron K., and B. Keith Simerson. Leading With Strategic Thinking: Four Ways Effective Leaders Gain Insight, Drive Change, and Get Results. Wiley, 2015.

- “Leading the Team You Inherit” by Michael Watkins, Harvard Business Review, June 2016. 

© Geery Howe 2025

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