The Unorganized State Of Primordial Matter

I love a good speech that brings the crowd to their feet, energized, engaged and committed to moving forward to the next level. Over the decades, I have witnessed many a senior leader stand and deliver. Routinely, I hear leaders quote Winston Churchill and state that “every change is a challenge to become who we are.” And what many leaders forget is that one person's challenge may be another person’s total chaos.

In particular, leaders often forget that something is a challenge only when those who have to face it have clarity about why, how, what, and when. Regularly, leaders skip these details in their rush to begin. They have been thinking about this situation for quite a long time. Meanwhile, the listener has been quietly focused on doing the day to day operations of the company. The follower is focused on the now while the leader is focused on the future. 

This all reminds me of that famous quote by Yogi Berra: “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace.” The challenge that most leaders are talking about is not a someplace thing. It is a specific thing with a specific outcome or result. However, the new place, i.e. the place on the other side of the challenge, is not an every day thought for most people in non-leadership positions. They just want to do what has got to be done.

Furthermore, leaders forget that what they are calling a challenge for most non-leaders feels like total chaos. A challenge by definition is a stimulating task or problem that needs to be solved. Chaos, on the other hand, feels like utter confusion. The dictionary defines chaos as “the confused unorganized state of primordial matter before the creation of distinct forms.” For the follower who is doing their daily job, a challenge means there is a high probability for things and people to be unpredictable, problematic, and difficult. And frankly, most non-leaders are not seeking out experiences where utter confusion might take place. 

Therefore, I routinely coach leaders that before they start talking about challenges, they need to get their ducks in a row and figure out the whys, the whats, the hows and the when. Starting from a firm foundation of clarity, I encourage them to sell the problem before they starting quoting Winston Churchill. Then, they and their people can avoid getting lost in the unorganized state of primordial matter, i.e. chaos. They instead can start from a common ground of clarity and commitment.

This week, do your homework as a leader before you starting speaking about challenges. It will make a world of difference for all involved.

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

How Successful Managers Reconcile Cognitive Dissonance

One unique way successful managers help people achieve their goals is to help them reconcile cognitive dissonance, i.e. the disconnect between what they believe and what they experience or see in reality. Right now, many people in the work place are experiencing cognitive dissonance. This is especially true, notes Marshall Goldsmith in his book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful, Hyperion, 2007, because the more we are committed to believing that something is true, the less likely we are to believe that the opposite is true, even in the face of clear evidence that shows we are wrong. As he explains, “people will do something - including changing their behaviors - only if it can be demonstrated that doing so is in their own best interests as defined by their own values.”

One way successful managers deal with the above is to help people close the gap between understanding and doing. From my vantage point, I have seen this happen when managers do not tell you what to do or think, but instead help you to learn how to think through your own challenges and problems. As we all recognize, people and organizations have very specific needs when they are outside their comfort zone, especially when working on stretch goals. We, as leaders and managers, can help them by making sure that the following things are in place, i.e the support of a team, a clear strategic perspective, and a psychological safety zone for strategic dialogue. When this is consistently generated over time, then people do a better job of achieving their goals.

However, there are days when we as leaders and manager have to work with extremely challenging people. Years ago, in the middle of an executive coaching session over the phone, a young woman told me her boss was drunk on power. Every day, there were multiple missed communication opportunities with her boss, and many work-arounds given her boss’s behavior. Her boss often was a micro manager and got “way down into the weeds.” Furthermore, she reported that every one was trying to get on the boss’s good side. When she visited with an outside consultant, he told her that her boss just churns and burns people out. As he explained to her, “learn to live with it or move on.” 

As she shared about working with such a challenging person, I thought of the following line from Jim Collin’s book,  How The Mighty Fall and Why Some Companies Never Give In, HarperCollins, 2009, where he shared the first line of Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” 

Everyday, we meet challenging people. In the beginning we need to remember that people at work need to cooperate with each other, be reliable,  accountable, honest and effective. What successful people realize is that in order to be all of these elements at work we must have healthy levels of collaboration, respect and understanding with each other. We also need to remember that we are not going to change our basic personality structure or that of the person who is challenging. Awareness of this can make a world of difference.

First, after significant amount of reflection, I have come to the conclusion that successful people understand how others learn. While no one has a better learning style than anyone else, there are three basic types of learning, namely analyzing learners, doing learners and watching learners. Knowing this basic information helps tremendously when dealing with difficult people. Often they are difficult because they are just different than our preferred manner of learning. As one young supervisor shared with me recently, “I realized that I am a doer leading a group of analyzers. No wonder they have been so difficult to work with.” Another supervisor in this same training event shared with me that “I realized that I am a watcher leading a batch of doers.”

For those struggling with their boss, Peter Drucker reminded us to divide bosses into “listeners” and “readers.” The later likes to read before they discuss. The former likes to discuss and ask questions before they read the full report. In short, knowing how people learn and process information is critical to dealing with them effectively.

Second, successful people understand the difference between what others need to know, and what they do know. Successful people understand that their boss or any other challenging person is constantly dealing with stakeholders who have differing agendas and opinions. We, at times, forget that politics are normal in the work place. However, successful people recognize that their boss and others who are difficult to deal with are often managing at the edge of chaos. Successful people know that challenging people can only tolerate so much chaos before they try to shut it or someone down.

The key is to understand the context of the challenging person’s work experience. They may just be coping with things that are not on your radar screen. Furthermore, your assumptions often are the one source of why the person you are working with is challenging. In a world of such economic and political turbulence, we must understand that the boss does not just represent themselves in the community but often are an integral part of the brand identity for many stakeholders. With this in mind, I have come to the conclusion that when dealing with challenging people we need to see the world through their eyes in order to better understand why they are speaking and acting in the manner they are.  As Stephen Covey taught us so many years ago, seek first to understand, second to be understood. It is still applicable today when dealing with difficult people.

This week, remember that cognitive dissonance happens and that challenging people are often challenging because they do not learn and work like you. Therefore, work on the one person you can change, namely yourself. The rest will follow.

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

Manage Endings and New Beginnings

I was surprised when they called and asked me to come and teach a workshop called "Coping With Chaos."

Being a small urban hospital in the central part of the United States, they had been achieving moderate success by expanding their services with new clinics to meet the needs of their aging community. They also had focused on becoming more user friendly with a higher level of patient/customer service.

"What happened?" I inquired.

"We are going through a very rough time," the head of HR replied. "We experienced a time period of low census, and some people in executive positions panicked due to the numbers. So we closed one wing of the hospital and merged the medical and surgery floors for a more efficient use of our resources. I hope you can come soon.”

Fortunately, my schedule had an opening, and I agreed to come.

The morning I arrived to teach, I was surprised to find only 18 floor nurses at the workshop. I was told that I would be seeing 20-30 supervisors and part of the management team, along with only a couple of floor staff. As the day progressed, however, management never showed up, and only one supervisor dropped in for 35 minutes over lunch.

About an hour or so into the workshop, the root of the problem surfaced. Many of the floor nurses had not been against closing the wing; they simply wished it had been done in a respectful manner. As one veteran nurse of 19 years put it, "I came on shift at 11:00 p.m. at night to find a sign posted on the door of the wing of the hospital. It read: ‘Closed. Report to Third South. If you have any questions, put them in writing to the Nursing Executive before 7 am.’ We knew that the census was low. We just wish we had been included in the decision-making process and treated with respect.

"It was obvious once it had happened, that management had been thinking about this change for quite some time before they did it. Around here, nothing moves particularly fast. Why couldn't they have provided us with advance warning, or asked us for our insights into formulating these changes? We would have helped, but this method of decision making doesn't exactly encourage trust and participation.”

As we progressed, many feelings came out that needed to be expressed. So I pushed my teaching notes aside, and we dove in. But it was during lunch that the real healing began.

"We know what is most important," one floor nurse began, "Our patients and their care. We are willing to work hard. We just ask for a little more support and kindness. I guess we will have to start by supporting each other." Through hugs, tears, and open sharing, they worked through the changes and moved on.

At the end of the day, I reported what had taken place during the workshop to the HR Director. Her response was: "I know that these are valid insights, but they won't change how we do things. We have to run a lean ship now that change is coming so fast."

While I could recognize the external factors that led to the decision, it was also clear to me that employees were giving their all to do the right thing for the patients. At the same time, they were being denied meaningful strategic level dialogue and input into decisions that had a direct effect on their work lives.

Remember: Leadership without strategic dialogue is demoralizing and will not transform challenges into achievements. When faced with significant challenges, leaders need to manage endings as well as new beginnings.

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

The Moment of Commitment

Right now, many people have been pushed outside their comfort zone. There is no more ease, familiarity, or predictability in their world. Change is not the constant now. Transformation is the constant. And as a result, more and more people are experiencing massive amounts of uncomfortable chaos.

When we go to the dictionary and look up the definition of the word “chaos,” we discover a great answer. Chaos is defined as “the unorganized state of primordial matter before the creation of distinct forms.” But as one reads further, there is another definition, namely “the state of utter confusion.” This is the challenge right now for so many leaders. There is a high degree of ambiguity plus a phenomenal lack of clarity. It feels like everything is confusing and unorganized on too many levels.

So, the first step in situations of this nature is to create clarity. This starts when we as leaders define what is and is not over. We need to show that there is a line of continuity through the unorganized state of primordial matter. Effective leaders turn to the mission, vision and core values of their organization to find this line of clarity through the current and emerging challenges.

Second, we as leaders need to build commitment. This happens when we explain what are the internal and external drivers of change and transformation in our industry and our organization. Creating this depth of understanding takes time and consistent communication but the return of this investment is solid and helpful.

Third, we as leaders have to commit to moving forward in spite of all that is happening. As the German writer and statesmen Goethe wrote: “Until one is committed there is always hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.  Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising to one’s favor all manner of unforeseen accidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come his way.  

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.  Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. “

This week I hope you can rediscover the moment of commitment and then move forward with clarity and confidence.

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

Finding Confidence In Chaos

Being overwhelmed by all that needs to get done is not a fun place to be. Furthermore when everything and everyone wants your time and attention, you begin to wonder if you will ever get anything actually done. Interruptions start to feel like the foundation of all you do.  

When this happens to people in leadership positions, their confidence in themselves and their ability to make change happen successfully plummets. They burn out quickly and struggle professionally and personally. 

Yet, some leaders in situations of this nature seem to pull themselves up by their boot straps and move forward again. They regain their confidence and work themselves out of their struggles.

How do they do this?

I think the best answer can be found in the following book: Collins, Jim. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap. . . and Others Don't. HarperBusiness, 2001.  Here, the author introduces the concept called “Level 5 Leadership.” As he writes, “Level 5" refers to a five-level hierarchy of executive capabilities, with Level 5 at the top. Level 5 leaders embody a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will. They are ambitious, to be sure, but ambitious first and foremost for the company, not themselves.” 

As he continues about this in-depth research study on organizational transformation, “Level 5 leaders look out the window to attribute success to factors other than themselves. When things go poorly, however, they look in the mirror and blame themselves, taking full responsibility. The comparison CEOs often did just the opposite - they looked in the mirror to take credit for success, but out the window to assign blame for disappointing results.”

The key for me, when reading the above, is to cultivate people who help me look out the window to better understand what caused success. And to have people in my life who can help me when I look in the mirror to better understand what needs to change about me. Whether these are colleagues, allies or confidants, the key is to have a strong circle of people, a kitchen table cabinet, who will support, educate and assist me in becoming a better leader. Having these individuals in my circle helps me to build and maintain my confidence during challenging times.

This week, review your core circle of support and make sure you have people who can assist you whether you are looking out the window or into the mirror.

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

Chaos: Learn to live with uncertainties

Over twenty-seven years ago, I was speaking in Iowa City, Iowa before a group of women business owners when one of the participants came up to me at the end of the evening seminar and said, “When you are ready, I want to publish your first book.” I was completely stunned and really did not know what to say other than “thank-you.” I had never even considered the idea before.

About eight weeks later, I showed her a manuscript for a book called Listen to The Heart: The Transformational Pathway to Health and Wellness. After a period of editing, the book was published in 1988 and I began to share it with people attending my different seminars. Soon, the initial run was completely sold out, much to my surprise and to the delight of the publisher.

So, I sat down and completely rewrote the book. I finished the revised and expanded second edition in October 1990.  I realized recently that 2015 is the 25th anniversary of the second edition. So, in celebration of this milestone, I decided to share a series of essays from the book with all of you during January. Here is the first one called “Chaos: Learn to live with uncertainties.”

I believe that most of us struggle with inner and outer changes, and that this is a natural process. For many, it is not easy to give up the old and to wholly welcome the new. The old way of thinking and acting has been a pattern of survival that has helped us out in many ways and through many uncomfortable or difficult situations. Nevertheless, as we begin to walk a new pathway to clearer levels of health and wellness, we often struggle with large amounts of uncertainty and what appear to be inner and outer levels of chaos. We all would like the pathway to be a four-lane highway with clear signs about upcoming events and appropriate choices of when to exit or how fast to travel onward. Still, more often than not it is a very thin trail and one must take each step carefully.

I remember such a hiking trail in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Called the “Eclectic Trail,” it paralleled a rolling and bubbling stream. I do not think the trail was or had ever been formally blazed through the woods. There are a few simple points of reference when walking this trail and they are these: 1) Going up hill, keep the stream on your left. 2) going downhill, keep the stream on your right. 3) Most important, do not walk too close to the stream’s edge because of unstable, very dangerous, cliffs. Parts of the Eclectic Trail are very obvious by the well-worn pathway, but there are sections at the beginning and near the end where it is more like a consensus exploration for a common thread with everyone heading downhill or uphill. I have specific memories of leading groups down this trail, wandering amongst the pine trees and hardwoods in search of the pathway. We knew the correct direction, but heaven only knew if we were on the correct path. 

In learning to live with chaos, I came across a scientific law called “Prigogine’s law of dissipative structures.” Simply stated, the law says that the world evolves through change - stability is not balance but change. When we come to small and large transitions where we must blend our values and actions in new ways, we need to recognize that chaos is not the enemy but the friend of this process. The more we want everything to be balanced and in harmony, the less ready we are going to be to flow to the next level of understanding and growth. While I like to have stability in my life, I am not completely thrown off balance by times of transition that feel like chaos. My life experiences tend to be in accord with the fact that world evolves through change, and that change is a form of stability. As we come to accept this idea, our pathway to greater levels of health and wellness, though not always clear, is nevertheless educational. 

During the first, and only, fall I lived in Vermont, everyone talked about the hardships of winter, especially for those in isolated valleys like the one where I was living and working. At the time, I was part of a team of people teaching and learning homesteading skills, and the change of the seasons was very important because we needed to be prepared for all kinds of weather and all kinds of situations. As the days got colder and the leaves on the sugar maples turned red and fell, I began to worry about the impending “bad Vermont winter.” The old-timers in the area said that the caterpillars had thicker bands on them than normal so this was going to be the “worst winter in years.” I began dreading the arrival of winter. I looked at the sky every morning as I trudged out to the barns to care for the animals and milk the cows. Every day I inspected the local flora for signs of winter. Waiting and waiting, I became more and more worried about when winter would arrive because I was sure the homesteading crew would be caught unprepared. Like a good Boy Scout, I ranted and raved to the other team members that we must “be prepared,” and the sooner the better. My inner chaos, my worries, were based upon fear and the dread of winter.

Finally, one cold blue morning in late November as I hiked up the hill from my cabin to the barns, I saw the first clear sign of winter. On the high ridge, behind the farmhouse were we had community meals, was a large grove of pine trees. During the night a hoarfrost had covered the entire top half of the ridge with a glaze of ice. Each tree appeared to have been dipped in frosting. As I returned from the barn with two buckets of steaming milk, the sun came out and the ridge top was a sparkle of ice. All my inner, crazy worry was gone in an instant and I was at peace; winter had come to the valley. That day was no different from the previous ones and no different from the coming ones; we always had work to do. Yes, that was a cold winter and I did see more snow and ice than I had before in my life, but the outer world was not in chaos. I had created the inner chaos, and the outer world reflected this inner world. The transition from one season to the next was gradual and the arrival of winter that I feared was going to be a big problem was not really bad at all.

We need to learn to understand how inner feelings can become centered upon a fear of chaos, and we need to be open and receptive to change. We need to remember that we will not always know the correct pathway, but that we often have to trust we are headed in the right direction. The Eclectic Trail, with its clear and unclear parts, was not an easy trail. But it was a constant source of beauty and change. At the bottom of the trail where it merged with a local gravel road, there was a clear-cut pathway through hip high ferns. This was a very calm and still place in the woods. It always felt like we had entered a church, and everyone’s voice dropped. We have to cultivate the peaceful spirit that resides in this kind of place in our inner hearts when we are moving along our pathway to health and wellness. Chaos may scare us but it does not have to overwhelm us. All we need to do is continue our present direction and trust the pathway will open up before us. Chaos is the natural process of change. 

For more information about the book, Listen to the Heart, please click on the following link:  http://www.chartyourpath.com/Listen-to-the-Heart.html

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

Staying Centered in the Midst of Constant Interruptions

We were sitting together over lunch when he shared that he was exhausted, and that he had lost his passion for the work. He was overwhelmed by new endless projects plus doing his regular job. From my perspective, he had reached the end of his rope, and it was a sad, frustrating and difficult situation.

As I reflected on what he was saying, I remembered the following quote by Carl Jung: “Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart... Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.” Looking inside is hard work and important work. Listening to one’s heart is complex and yet important.

Norman Vincent Peale and Ken Blanchard noted that we have two selves, namely our external task-oriented self and our internal reflective self. Most people are only living with their external focused, task-oriented self. They do not take time or give themselves permission to take time for the internal reflective self, mostly because it is a longer and more deliberate process 

In a world of hyper action and constant interruptions, Ken and Margie Blanchard in the book, The Best of Personal Excellence - Volume 1, Executive Excellence Publishing, 1998, noted 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.” Rabbi Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People contends that there are two acts in life. Act 1 is “Achieve” and Act 2 is “Connect.” Achieve is about setting goals and completing them. For many this is all that matters. Connect is about fulfillment in relationships, health and spirituality

I think one major challenge this summer for leaders is to rediscover what it means to stay centered, i.e. how to find calmness in the midst of chaos. I have learned from others and from my own experience as an executive coach that when there is chaos on the outside it often reflects chaos on the inside. Linda Rosh and Lynn Offermann in their article, “Be Yourself, But Carefully.” Harvard Business Review, October 2013, note that “Authenticity begins with self-awareness: Knowing who you are - your values, emotions and competencies - and how you are perceived by others.” This helps tremendously when seeking to stay centered.

Another element of staying centered happens when we are willing to co-evolve. I find too many people today who are living as a community of me. They are widely connected and completely isolated. While this may help in coping with change, we need to evolve in a collective, rather than individual manner because the support from co-evolution is vital to process all of the difficulties associated with change. This can take place when we build shared purpose rather than individual purpose into our lives. Start this process in your life by asking the following questions:

- Why do we come together to do this work?

- Who are we?

- What matters to us?

It is time this summer to reteach people about how to live and work in a community, not just on teams. When people have valued roles in the community, then we take care of each other with compassion and respect.

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

Living and Working In Prolonged Uncertainty

We live, work and lead now in a world of hyper speed, connectivity and vigilance, which often results in constant interruptions, reactive leadership, and even organizational paralysis. 

Every week now I hear leaders tell me during executive coaching sessions that “the whole world is just a mess.” And privately, they haven’t a clue of what to do next or where to go in order to fix it.

I remind them that when people, teams and even organizations are outside their comfort zone and feeling like the world around them is in chaos, they need three things, namely support, perspective and a safety zone to dialogue

While being a senior leader can be lonely, one does not have to choose to be alone.  This is why many leaders come to the From Vision to Action Executive Roundtables.  Twice a year, leaders from a wide variety of organizations come together to share their challenges, their solutions and lessons learned. It is a place for in-depth listening and dialogue, a time to step back from daily operational pressures and to comprehend the large and more strategic implications of all that is happening around us. As previous participants have shared with me, “the Roundtable is a place where I can pause, and catch my breath given the pace of change.”

The Spring 2014 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable is on on April 9-10, 2014 at the Courtyard By Marriott in Des Moines/Clive, Iowa

Here is the agenda for your review:

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

8:30 am - Registration

9:00 am - 10:15 am - Feeling Lost In Prolonged Uncertainty

10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break

10:30 am - 12:00 pm - Rethinking The Maps We Use

12:00 pm - 1:30 pm - Lunch and Networking 

1:30 pm - 2:45 pm - Navigating the World of Excellence

2:45 pm - 3:00 pm - Break

3:00 pm - 4:30 pm - Building Bridges In the Midst of Complexity

4:30 pm - Adjourn

Thursday, April 10, 2014

9:00 am - 10:15 am - Staying Centered in the Midst of Constant Interruptions 

10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break 

10:30 am - 12:00 pm - Integration and Application

12:00 pm - Adjourn

If you are interested in coming, here is the link for more information and the registration form:

http://www.chartyourpath.com/pdf/2014-From-Vision-To-Action-Exec-Roundtable-Regist.pdf

For all who are coming, I recommend you read the following article: “Lost And Found In A Brave New World” by Margaret Wheatley from Leader to Leader magazine, No. 68, Spring 2013. Here is the link:

http://media.wix.com/ugd/a7b5e7_1980e72c748b408f9dac5ccadb4687ec.pdf

It may be a messy world with a tremendous amount of chaos, but with support, perspective and a safety zone to dialogue, we can move forward. 

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

When Change is the Only Constant - part #1

More and more leaders are starting to realize that their past strategic decisions are now impacting, if not creating, their current challenges. They have come to understand that these decisions and the subsequent implementation of them have created the current strategic infrastructure and current culture within their organizations.

Given change is the only constant now and that we are experiencing the 5 year anniversary of the start of the recession, many leaders and organizations have realized that they must learn to work effectively and efficiently. However, they are encountering a unique problem, namely that followers just want to keep things manageable and under control. Furthermore, most do not comprehend the difference between effective and efficient work. The best way way to explain the differences is to review the following two short questions:

- Efficiency = Are we doing things right? 

- Effectiveness = Are we doing the right things?

The former focuses on creating clarity about work related standards while the later focuses on mission clarity. Both are important and both are interconnected.

Nevertheless, the core challenge of working with constant change is that we, as leaders, may have to protect and unprotect the people and the organization from change. Most leaders protect people from change because it will cause too much disruption within the organization to deliver upon it’s core mission, or create too much disequilibrium within mission critical systems or processes. However, the best leaders know they need to unprotect their people and the organization from change, too. The challenge is that they need to do it at a rate which does not create too much disequilibrium and so that people can absorb it, i.e. what Ron Heifetz calls the creation of the “productive discomfort zone.” The difficulty is that unprotecting people will challenge their priorities, goals, and habits. And they will in turn react in a dynamic manner.

When I note that people will act in a dynamic manner, I am pointing out that at times we as leaders forget what is “normal” when change is the constant. First, we must recognize that people feel self-conscious and uncomfortable during constant change. They are embarrassed by not knowing exactly what to do. They seek out familiarity and/or past reference points in order to manage the “chaos.” They want to create order, plus some degree of predictability, when change is happening in their world. They also experience a loss of confidence and competence. They feel alone even if everyone else is going through the same change with them. Next, they get easily overwhelmed by the pace, and then shut down, deferring to people in leadership positions to make all of the decisions. Finally, they focus on coping and regularly loose sight of the bigger picture and the current context. 

Working and leading in a constantly changing environment is the new normal now. Therefore, it is time for us as leaders to make sure standards and expectations are clear, the mission is primary to our actions, and that we all create a productive discomfort zone rather than a chaotic one. As Ilya Prigogene, Belgian physical chemist and Nobel Laureate noted for his work on dissipative structures, complex systems and irreversibility, wrote: “The world evolves through change; stability is not balance but change.” Remember this week to help people be better prepared for this new reality.

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

The Need for Bold & Wise Leadership

Julius Caesar described how he handled an unexpected, simultaneous attack by the Nervii, a Celtic-German tribe living in the north of Gaul/Belgium at the time of the Roman empire, at three different points on his flanks, while part of his troops were crossing a river and another part was setting up camp, with the following statement: Omnia uno tempore agenda  - “everything had to be done at once.”

Every day now, I hear from executives and managers who are struggling with the endless levels of change that are place in their industry and in their work place. They feel like everything is happening at once and that everything has to be solved at once.

These same leaders also feel like they are constantly working at the edge of chaos. Most days they can barely keep things manageable and under control. More often than not, they also feel very alone.

Bernadine Healy, former Director of the National Institutes of Health, wrote: “Whenever you face a steepening slope of change, that’s when you need bold leadership. When premises are being challenged, that’s when you need wise leadership.”

Right now we need bold and wise leadership to guide us through these difficult times.  We also need to be surrounded by people who comprehend the magnitude of the challenges before us and also understand the personal and professional difficulties of being an executive and a leader.

This is where the From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable fits into the puzzle. Twice a year, leaders from a wide variety of organizations come together to explore their challenges, their solutions and the insights of others.  It is a place for in-depth listening and sharing, a time to step back from daily operational pressures and to comprehend the large and more strategic implications of all that is happening around us. As previous participants have shared with me, the Roundtable is a place where I can pause, and catch my breath given the pace of change and think.

The next From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable is on September 19 - 20, 2013 at

the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, Coralville, Iowa. Here is the agena for your review:

Thursday: September 19, 2013

8:30 am - Registration

9:00 am - 10:15 am - When Change is the Only Constant

10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break

10:30 am - 12:00 pm - Focusing on Collaboration Rather than Heroics

12:00 pm - 1:30 pm - Lunch and Networking 

1:30 pm - 2:45 pm - Building and Maintaining Healthy Work Relationships

2:45 pm - 3:00 pm - Break

3:00 pm - 4:30 pm - Finding the Right Match Between Talent & Outcomes

4:30 pm - Adjourn

Friday: September 20, 2013

9:00 am - 10:15 am - Adapting to Complexity

10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break 

10:30 am - 12:00 pm - Integration and Application

12:00 pm - Adjourn

If you would like to sign-up and participate in the Fall 2013 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable, please click on the following link:

http://www.chartyourpath.com/pdf/2013-From-Vision-To-Action-Exec-Roundtable-Regist.pdf

Once you have filled out the registration form, you can fax it to me at # 319 - 643 - 2185 or mail it to me.

For those of you who are wanting to read something in advance of the Fall 2013 Roundtable, I suggest the following resources:

- Howe, Geery. Developing a New Organizational Culture - second edition, (From Vision to Action booklet, 2013).

 - Katzenbach, by Jon R. and, Ilona Steffen and Caroline Kronley,“Cultural Change That Sticks”, Harvard Business Review, July-August 2012.

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

- Simons, Robert. “Stress-Test Your Strategy: The 7 Questions to Ask,” Harvard Business Review, November 2010.

- Tichy, Noel M., and Warren Bennis. “Making Judgment Calls: The Ultimate Act of Leadership”, Harvard Business Review, October 2007. 

Happy reading, and I look forward to seeing in September!

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

How Successful People Manage Challenging People - part #1

It was in the middle of an executive coaching session over the phone when she  told me her boss was drunk on power. Every day, there were multiple missed communication opportunities with her boss, and many work-arounds given her boss’s behavior. Her boss often was a micro manger and got “way down into the weeds.” Furthermore, she reported that every one was trying to get on the boss’s good side. When she visited with an outside consultant, he told her that her boss just churns and burns people out. As he explained to her, “learn to live with it or move on.” 

As she shared about working with such a challenging person, I thought of the following line from Jim Collin’s book,  How The Mighty Fall and Why Some Companies Never Give In, HarperCollins, 2009, where he shared the first line of Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” 

Everyday, we meet challenging people. In the beginning we need to remember that people at work need to cooperate with each other, be reliable, accountable, honest and effective. What successful people realize is that in order to be all of these elements at work we must have healthy levels of collaboration, respect and understanding with each other. We also need to remember that we are not going to change our basic personality structure or that of the person who is challenging. Awareness of this can make a world of difference.

First, after significant amount of reflection, I have come to the conclusion that successful people understand how others learn. While no one has a better learning style than anyone else, there are three basic types of learning, namely analyzing learners, doing learners and watching learners. Knowing this basic information helps tremendously when dealing with difficult people. Often they are difficult because they are just different than our preferred manner of learning. As one young supervisor shared with me this past summer, “I realized that I am a doer leading a group of analyzers. No wonder they have been so difficult to work with.” Another supervisor in this same training event shared with me that “I realized that I am a watcher leading a batch of doers.”

For those struggling with their boss, Peter Drucker reminded us to divide bosses into “listeners” and “readers.” The later likes to read before they discuss. The former likes to discuss and ask questions before they read the full report. In short, knowing how people learn and process information is critical to dealing with them effectively.

Second, successful people understand the difference between what others need to know, and what they do know. Successful people understand that their boss or any other challenging person is constantly dealing with stakeholders who have differing agendas and opinions. We, at times, forget that politics are normal in the work place. However, successful people recognize that their boss and others who are difficult to deal with are often managing at the edge of chaos. Successful people know that challenging people can only tolerate so much chaos before they try to shut it or someone down.

The key is to understand the context of the challenging person’s work experience. They may just be coping with things that are not on your radar screen. Furthermore, your assumptions often are the one source of why the person you are working with is challenging. In a world of such economic and political turbulence, we must understand that the boss does not just represent themselves in the community but often are an integral part of the brand identity for many stakeholders. With this in mind, I have come to the conclusion that when dealing with challenging people we need to see the world through their eyes in order to better understand why they are speaking and acting in the manner they are.  As Stephen Covey taught us so many years ago, seek first to understand, second to be understood. It is still applicable today when dealing with difficult people.

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

How Successful Managers Help People Achieve Their Goals - part #2

One unique way successful managers help people achieve their goals is to help them reconcile cognitive dissonance, i.e. the disconnect between what they believe and what they experience or see in reality. Right now, many people in the work place are experiencing cognitive dissonance. This is especially true, notes Marshall Goldsmith in his book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful, Hyperion, 2007, because the more we are committed to believing that something is true, the less likely we are to believe that the opposite is true, even in the face of clear evidence that shows we are wrong. As he explains, “people will do something - including changing their behaviors - only if it can be demonstrated that doing so is in their own best interests as defined by their own values.”

One way successful managers do the above is to help people close the gap between understanding and doing. From my vantage point, I have seen this happen when managers do not tell you what to do or think, but instead help you to learn how to think through your own challenges and problems. As has been noted many times in this blog, people and organizations have very specific needs when they are outside their comfort zone, especially when working on stretch goals. We, as leaders and managers, can help them by making sure the following things are in place, i.e the support of a team, a clear strategic perspective, and a psychological safety zone for strategic dialogue. When this is consistently generated over time, then people do a better job of achieving their goals.

For those of you who are seeking a big picture perspective on how to manage through chaos, you may find the following article helpful: “Secrets of the Flux Leader: How brilliantly managed chaos sparks success inside Nike, Cisco, Foursquare, Intuit and more” by Robert Safian in the November 2012 issue of Fast Company Magazine. Here is the link: http://www.fastcompany.com/3001734/secrets-generation-flux It is an article that will make you think given it explores some of the core ideas of Margaret Wheatly, a person whose work we have explored in the From Vision to Action Leadership Trainings and in numerous From Vision to Action Executive Roundtables. This article may not be one that leads you to taking specific leadership actions at the end of reading it, but opening your mind to new perspectives is always worth the time and energy. In particular, I did enjoy the section of the article called “The End of Coddling” which focuses on the leadership of Angela Blanchard, CEO of Neighborhood Centers, a large non-profit based in Huston that delivers $ 280 million of services each year to 340,000 needy people along the Gulf Coast. I just loved her explanation of “FIO jobs”, i.e “Figure it out. That is the job.” Overall, a good article which will make you reflect and think. Happy reading!

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

Chaos, Complexity and Change

There are days as leaders when we are surrounded with complexity. Events happen that do not have any clear pattern. They seem like random occurrences. But, when complexity starts to feel chaotic, I know from experience, lots of strategic dialogues with very smart and talented people, plus a ton of reading that more likely we have encountered a complex adaptive situation.

Richard T. Pascale, Mark Millemann and Linda Gioja, in their superb book,. Surfing The Edge of Chaos: The Laws of Nature and the New Laws of Business, Three Rivers Press, 2000, note that humans tend to regard chaotic situations as those which they can not control. However, based on their study, “Nature is at its innovative best near the edge of chaos.” As they explain, “the edge of chaos is a condition, not a location.” It creates upheaval but not dissolution. It is not the abyss, but instead a sweet spot for productive change. As they point out, “innovations rarely emerge from systems high in order and stability.”

Andy Grove, retired chairman of the board at Intel explains it this way: “First, you must experiment and let chaos reign. That’s important because you’re not likely to successfully stumble on the answer at the first sign of trouble. Rather, you have to let the business units struggle and watch the dissonance grow in the company. As this unfolds, you enter the second phase of change, which I describe as the Valley of Death. Doing away with established practice and established people - tearing apart before you can put together something new - is not fun. Talking prematurely about changes that disrupt people’s lives and are not truly believed can undermine efforts before you really know what you’re doing. But once they are in place, it is essential for leadership to speak clearly about what to do. At this point, you are on the other side of of the Valley of Death and you can describe the future that lies ahead.”

As the aforementioned authors note and my own experience with clients confirms, “the trick is to navigate close to the edge of chaos without falling into it.” But to do this, we have to understand chaos better. The best place to start is to explore chaos theory.

Chaos theory is a field of study in applied mathematics with applications in several disciplines including physics, economics, biology and philosophy. Chaos theory studies the behavior of dynamic systems that are apparently disordered or unpredictable. But chaos theory is really about finding the underlying order in the apparently random elements of a system.

This came clear to me many years ago. When our children were younger and just getting into middle school band, we took them to a performance of the University of Iowa jazz band, concert band and marching band at Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City, Iowa. The place was packed and the jazz bands and concert bands were nice. But we were all focused on the marching band performance given both sons were into drums and drumming.

Finally after the intermission, the drum line of the University of Iowa’s marching band came into the back of the auditorium and set the initial rhythm, the cadence. Then different groups of instruments came streaming in from all different parts of the stage. In the end, the place was filled with sound, rhythm and music. Over the course of their performance, different groups like the trombones or the tubas would spontaneously get up and do little dances of some sort of hand gestures while maintaining the song they were performing. One never knew who was going to do what next. I don’t think they even knew when they were going to do it. It just happened, often appearing randomly and not planned. The music was fantastic and for two young sons who were beginning drummers it was awe inspiring.

As we walked outside the auditorium, the UI marching band showed up again, and started an informal pep rally with the students and parents who had come to see them perform. After listening for a bit, we headed to our car to start the drive home. I turned to my oldest son during the walk and commented that it was a great concert, “total chaos but very delightful.”

He stopped in his tracks, turned to me and said, “It wasn’t total chaos, Dad. Just organized pandaemonium.” I smiled because he was completely right.

With experience and careful discernment, we as leaders can discover that there is order in chaos. Goals, a mission statement, core values and vision can create continuity in the midst of chaos. They can focus all involved in the bigger picture and the end goal. Culture, key people and clarity about expectations and roles can also help. In essence, chaos can be transformed into organized pandaemonium with the right elements in place.

Geery Howe, M.A.Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer inLeadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational ChangeMorning Star Associates319 - 643 - 2257