From Independence to Interdependence

This morning, I keep thinking about the following quote from Brene Brown’s wonderful book,  Braving The Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone (Random House, 2017):

“… we don’t derive strength from our rugged individualism, but rather from our collective ability to plan, communicate, and work together. Our neural, hormonal, and genetic makeup support interdependence over independence.”

For me, this quote is a point of clarity and a challenge. While the word “interdependence” jumps off the page, our challenge as leaders is to create a process which brings together our “collective ability to plan, communicate and work together”. The former is the destination and the later is the pathway to it.

When I think about the process which will result in interdependence, I am reminded of a quote by Margaret Wheatley who wrote, “People only support what they create.” I think the key is to create a process which has significant ownership and understanding. And the first step in creating that process is to create a work environment for ownership where each person wants to be responsible for his or her own performance. 

This is the daily work of leadership. It is not the subject of New York Times best-seller books. Instead, it is the hard work of building collective trust, respect, and dignity into every process and every job. We must remodel it as leaders and not tolerate any behaviors that are disrespectful. In short, we must have the courage to take risks and to speak up in spite of the vulnerability and uncertainty that is taking place all around us.

Furthermore, we must have a level of empathy and compassion, recognizing that in the midst of this global pandemic and economic unrest everyone is doing their best even on their worst days. As Brene Brown reminds us in the aforementioned book, “perspective is a function of experience.” Given none of us have been through a period like this before, we must create perspective and maintain perspective. And that is going to take a great deal of listening and sharing. 

With open hearts and open minds, we can and we will move toward more interdependence. The first step is to create safe and healthy work environments where all involved can be their best selves and continually learn to be even better.

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

A Noble Profession

“It is possible, in this time of profound disruption, for leadership to be a noble profession that contributes to the common good”, writes Margaret Wheatley in her book, Who Do We Choose to Be? Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, Restoring Sanity (Berrett-Koehler, 2017). “It is possible as we face the fearful complexity of life-destroying problems, to experience recurring moments of grace and joy. It is possible, as leaders of organizations, communities, and families, to discover deep and aiding satisfaction in our work if we choose not to flee or withdraw from reality. It is possible to find a path of contribution and meaning if we turn our attention away from issues beyond our control and focus on the people around us who are yearning for good leadership and engage them in work that is within reach. It is possible to use our influence and power to create islands of sanity in the midst of a raging destructive sea.”

Given how 2020 is unfolding, it is time for us to reclaim leadership as a noble profession. We can do this by focusing on the following four specific actions.

First, we need to understand that what is happening today reflects a series of decisions and choices over time. As I often point out to my students, what is happening today within a company reflects the strategic decisions made three to five years ago. The same goes for our lives at home and in the communities where we live. Our challenge now is to figure out what new choices we need to make so we are in better places at work and at home during the coming years.

Second, we need to focus on people and finding the good within them. While judgement keeps us distant from each other, showing unconditional and compassionate, loving kindness can bring us together. We need to remember that each and every person is doing the best they can given what they know and what they have experienced in life. We must remember that we belong to each other.

Third, we need to be people of integrity. We do this by treating each person we meet and the community within which they live with dignity and respect. We must strive to be better people and to remember that community, contribution and connections are “the very things that truly give life meaning and purpose”, as noted by Margaret Wheatley.

Finally, we must ask ourselves an important question: Why did I want to become a leader in the first place? Understanding our motives around leadership are critical to our reclaiming the nobility of leadership. Patrick Lencioni in his excellent book called, The Motive: Why So Many Leaders Abdicate their Most Important Responsibilities (Wiley, 2020), writes that many people in leadership positions “spend time and energy based on what they are going to get, rather than what they need to give the people they’re supposed to be leading.” They have forgotten that leadership is about doing the job, not just having it.

As he continues, “At the most fundamental level, there are only two motives that drive people to become a leader. First, they want to serve others, to do whatever is necessary to bring about something good for the people they serve…. The second basic reason why people choose to be a leader - the all-too-common but invalid one - is that they want to be rewarded. They see leadership as the prize of years of hard work and are drawn by its trappings: attention, status, power, money.”

As he concludes, “I believe it’s long past time that we, as individuals and as a society, reestablish the standard that leadership can never be about the leader more than the led…. leadership is meant to be joyfully difficult and selfless responsibility.”

When we as leaders reclaim and live up to the nobility of leadership, we must make mindful choices, role model integrity and compassion, and serve others with clarity of purpose. Then, we will “create islands of sanity in the midst of a raging destructive sea.” And this will make all the difference in our lives at work, at home and in our communities.

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

Respect The Journey

Recently, I have been thinking again about the following quote by Charles Swindoll:

“Courage is not limited to the battlefield or the Indianapolis 500 or bravely catching a thief in your house. The real tests of courage are much quieter. They are the inner tests, like remaining faithful when nobody's looking, like enduring pain when the room is empty, like standing alone when you're misunderstood.” 

I think one of the greatest challenges for people in leadership and management positions is to realize that every day people all around them are being courageous and no one is noticing their actions. I know this because I have had the gift of listening to people share about their whole lives, not just their work lives. And when an individual chooses to be courageous, I have come to understand that there is always more to the story about what is happening.

For example, I was called in to coach a struggling executive who could not get her goals accomplished on time. Through active listening, I learned that she spent most nights supporting her daughter and her family because their child was recently diagnosed with cancer. She was exhausted, worried and distracted. 

Another time, I worked with an executive who struggled to build and articulate a plan for his department. Again, by creating a safe space for listening and sharing, I learned that he was coping with an older child who had serious addiction challenges. As a result, he was having a hard time focusing at work because he was so worried about what was happening at home.

Day after day, week after week, month after month, people all around us are working through huge life challenges. Some have been created by COVID-19 and others have been happening for quite some time.

I think the challenge is that we have failed to notice these challenges. As R.D. Laing noted, “The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice, there is little we can do to change, until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds.”

Life is a journey and work is part of that journey. When we build healthy organizations, where there is minimal politics and confusion, a high degree of morale and productivity, and very low turnover among employees, then we create the opportunity for continual improvement, competitive advantage, and the foundation for great team work. And from this foundation, people can bring their whole self to work and support each other through life’s challenges, be they at work or at home.

At this time period, we can no longer fail to notice what is happening all around us. We need to support people who are being courageous, and to remember that there is always more to the story about what is happening. When we respect the journey, we build great organizations, filled with great people.

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

Hold The Center, Explore The Edges, Respect The Chair

Recently, I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with someone who was new to senior level leadership. I was there to assist them during their transition to this new position. During our first visit, they asked me what they needed to do during their first one hundred days. While I could have offered numerous insights, I instead focused on just three. 

As I explained that morning, “there are three things that great leaders do whether or not they are in their first one hundred days or their last one hundred days before retirement. 

First, they hold the center. This is not a metaphorical action but a focused understanding that at the center of every great organization is a strategic nexus. This core is the combination of the mission, vision and core values and a strategic plan. The former is a non-negotiable set of parameters which defines what we do, why we do it and how we do it every day. It’s the foundation for everything. The purpose of the mission, vision and core values is to be a line of continuity through endless changes. The purpose of the later, namely the strategic plan, is to constantly stimulate progress. It is to push the organization out of complacency and to create a focused course of action. The unity of the two creates the capacity to rise to any and all challenges, be they adaptive, technical or a crisis.

Second, great leaders explore the edges. They understand that creative thinking begins at the edges of normal day to day operations. It starts with an individual or team who chooses to focus on emerging problems and needs of the customers or clients they serve. Once they understand these new and emerging needs, they then develop new solutions rather than just pushing the same products and services that existing customers are using. They are on the growing edge of successful evolution. And great leaders spend time understanding what they have discovered and figuring out how to scale it up.

Third, great leaders respect the chair. When one becomes a senior leader, we recognize that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. We are not the first person in the position and we will not be the last. We are merely stewards. And therefore we must respect the work of those who came before us and work in a respectful manner so that those who will follow us have the opportunity to do it even better. For when we respect the chair, we understand that the majority of our day to day work is to solve problems and to build capacity. In short, the work of a great leader is to create more great leaders. Because with an expanding pool of talent, any organization can grow operationally and strategically.

Being a leader is an exciting adventure. There will always be something new, different and challenging every day. The goal is to do your best every day. And this begins with holding the center, exploring the edges, and respecting the chair.”

This week, I encourage you to do likewise.

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

What’s Next?

During the last 90 days, I have spent a lot of time discussing strategy and strategic planning with senior executives and their teams. During these in-depth consultations, we have explored the future from multiple angles and possibilities. Over and over the main subject during these conversations has been what will the world be like after COVID. And during the process of listening and participating in these consultations, I have learned a few things.

First, during the early onset of COVID, we approached the future in a binary fashion, namely before COVID and after COVID. Many people thought that the entire problem would be short lived and then we would return to normal operations. However, as COVID has continued to move through society in multiple waves, more and more senior executives and their teams are no longer using the phrase “post-COVID”. They are beginning to realize that we may never fully eradicate COVID. Instead, we will have to learn how to live with it like we do the seasonal flu. Linguistically, this is being communicated by a switch from the phrase “post-COVID” to the phrase “post-pandemic”. This indicates a major switch in strategic thinking and acknowledges the on-going and adaptive nature of this problem.

Second, as the language about COVID has shifted, there is a rising understanding that the health and safety concerns expressed by employees and customers related to COVID will not go away anytime soon. Instead, even in a post-pandemic period where an effective vaccine has been widely distributed, many people will want to continue working and living in a bubble, carefully choosing who they will interact with on an on-going basis. The implications of these choices will be become more profound over time within the work place, our homes and our communities. 

One interesting element related to the continual concerns about living and working in a safe and healthy manner is the growing awareness among senior leaders that COVID is more likely the first of many global pandemics that we will experience during the coming decades. Therefore, as part of their development of strategy and their strategic planning process, many want to capture the lessons learned from this first pandemic because everyone involved knows that we must be better prepared next time and we must react more quickly. 

Third, all involved agree that the pandemic has changed and will continue to change our business models for quite some time. There will be greater use of digital platforms and working remote will become normal during the coming years. However, most executives do not believe that a 100% remote and digital workforce is the key to success. Instead, it will be a hybrid mix of work experiences, i.e. a combination of home office work and in-person meetings. 

The interesting thing for me as an executive coach and facilitator of strategic planning is how many times the subject of team work and teams has entered into these discussion when it comes to discussing the ongoing change in business models. All parties involved believe that teams are mission critical to strategic and operational success, but many privately are not sure if they are well prepared for a mix of analog teams (in-person meetings and office work) and digital teams (remote and digitally connected) to accomplish their goals. They also question if people in management and leadership positions are competent in leading both analog and digital teams. Still, everyone knows that they most create teams that are more resilient and adaptable during the next 1- 3 years.

Fourth, with the above in mind, many leaders are focused on how to do customer sales and service better during this pandemic and in the post pandemic time period. Traditionally, in the world of product sales and customer service, there have been three defining factors, namely time, price and quality. A customer gets to choose two out of the three, and then a company will deliver. For example, if the customer chooses time, i.e. fast, and high quality, then the customer will need to pay a premium price for the product or service. On the other hand, if the customer chooses low price and fast delivery, then more likely they would not be receiving a high quality product or service. 

Given the global pandemic, there is a rising awareness that there is now a fourth variable in the mix, namely ease of use. With the continued changes in business models, people are willing to pay more for ease of use. Having less stress during stressful times does make certain products and services more attractive to consumers. I will be curious to see how this fourth element will change sales and service during the next 1 - 3 years

Fifth, one of the interesting topics being discussed during strategic planning is education, schools, and childcare. All are in agreement that the work place will continue to be a mix of normal and hybrid operations, and now they believe schools will be, too. The impact of this hybrid education model and the resulting long term stress on employees and their families is deeply concerning, strategically and operationally. No one is coming up with simple solutions to this complex and complicated problem but all recognize that it is not going away any time soon.

Finally, there is a growing awareness that a return to normalcy in the post pandemic period will depend entirely on where you live in the country and your level of economic privilege. This, in combination, with the realization that issues related to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion within the work place and within the communities where we serve are also not going away. They have and will continue to change how we work for quite some time.

I am sure during the next 3 - 6 months I will learn a great deal more about what’s next in a post pandemic world. I hope the above is good food for thought for you and your team as you prepare for the future.

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

The Culture Is The Strategy

Over the years, I have spoken in front of many groups and stated that the culture is the strategy and the strategy is the culture in successful companies.

The longer I do this work, the more I am convinced that this is a powerful truth. 

I think the challenge for many leaders this fall is that they are not paying enough attention to culture within their organizations. Given COVID, some are focused on systems and others are focused on structure. Both of which are important given the current business climate. But the one thing that transcends systems and structure is culture.

Now I recognize that culture is the sum of behavioral norms created and accepted by those in leadership and management positions. I also recognize that culture can and should evolve over time as we become more enlightened about changes that need to take place, especially with the rise of consciousness in the areas of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion issues within society and the work place. 

Still, many managers and leaders take a hands off approach to cultural development and cultural maintenance. I am getting tired these days of people telling me “it is what it is” when it comes to their culture. They forget that managers and leaders need to proactively define the culture, i.e. the values and standards of the company, and make sure that it guides peoples’ decisions, be that at the operational or strategic levels. In short, we get so busy with our projects and deadlines that we forget to do the work of cultural definition. Instead, it gets pushed to the back burner and ultimately becomes forgotten. 

 

My hope is that we reclaim the concept that the culture is the strategy and recognize that we are consciously or unconsciously creating culture every day. Our words and our deeds as leaders have a tremendous impact. They can be a catalyst for positive action or a barrier to empowerment. It is time for us to wake up and to be more conscious about this work. It is time for us to be more thoughtful of how we treat each other, and how we speak to each other. We do set the tone as leaders when it comes to culture. And we must do a better job of it as we position our organizations for the next 2-3 years.

My challenge to you for the rest of this calendar year is to do two things. First, be your best self. Set a high standard of personal responsibility and accountability. Then, live the standard whether or not people are watching you. Second, hold yourself and others accountable for living up to the mission and core values, i.e. the cultural DNA of the organization. Over time, the outcome of committing to the culture being the strategy is that you will achieve better individual and collective results. And that is worth the time and effort to do this level of work.

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

Seek Wholeness Instead Of Fragmentation

“While management is problem-oriented, leadership is opportunity-oriented”, wrote the late Stephen Covey. “Instead of seeing a problem as segmented and mechanical - a broken part that needs to be fixed - it is seeing it as a part of a living, synergistic whole. It’s looking at what’s round a problem, what’s connected to it, what can influence it, as well as the problem itself.”

To me, Covey articulates perfectly the notion of seeking wholeness instead of fragmentation. He recognizes that one must define a problem, but also comprehend what is influencing it. By finding that which is connected to a problem one can see the problem and the “living, synergistic whole”.

Sometimes, I encounter leaders, who upon grasping the wholeness of a situation or problem, are overwhelmed. There are too many options before them and they struggle to embrace the complexity of the problem. They do not know where to begin.

At times like this, I remind them of the words of wisdom shared by the late Mother Theresa. As she explained, “I never look at the masses as my responsibility. I look at the individual. I can love only one person at a time. I can feed only one person at a time. Just one, one, one ... So you begin - I begin. I picked up one person, and maybe if I didn’t pick up that one person I wouldn’t have picked up 42,000. The whole work is only a drop in the ocean. But if I didn’t drop in, the ocean would be one drop less. Same thing for you, same thing in your family, same thing in the church where you go.  Just begin .. .  One, one, one.”

And this is what great opportunity-oriented leaders do, They begin with one person, one team, one department. They take it one step at a time. But they always keep the whole in mind. Clarity about a living and synergistic purpose guides them. They move forward and trust the journey.

This week, my challenge to you is to seek wholeness instead of fragmentation and to let inner clarity of purpose guide you along the way.

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