Building Awareness ~ Lessons from a Dancing Bear

It was James Thurber who said, “Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness”  This started me thinking about  how important awareness is in leadership and in life.  And, it reminded me of a post I wrote a couple of years ago about building awareness in organizations.  So, as a refresher, here it is  again.

==================================================

The other day I came across this little film clip that was, I gather, designed to draw our attention to the need for vigilance on the road.  It made me think about how easy it is to miss what’s going on, even when it’s right in front of us. Please watch the film.  It takes less than a minute. Honest.

How’d you do?  Did you get the number of passes right?  I did.  In fact, I felt quite   proud of myself until I realized what I had missed.  I was too busy concentrating on getting the numbers right to notice.  It happens.

This concentration on one thing to the exclusion of everything else happens to leaders too and yet I think we know that a leader’s job is never about just one thing.  It’s about a whole whack of things that go on around them all of the time and often at the same time.  Consequently, building awareness about themselves, their environment and those around them is a pretty big deal.  And, it’s a big deal that often makes the difference between success and failure.

The truth is, that while a few people may be particularly gifted with a keen sense of awareness, most of us need help.  Blind spots abound.  So what to do?

Well, whether you are working on improving your self, cultural or social awareness, it seems to me that just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a whole company to build awareness and to use what comes from it for the benefit of everyone involved.

Practically speaking, leaders who know the value of building awareness tend to do these four things to encourage and grow it in their organizations:

Invite: We are each provided with one pair of eyes, one pair of ears and one voice.  It only makes sense to invite more eyes, ears and voices to participate in achieving clarity of purpose and a common understanding of what’s important and why.  Multiple observations contribute to the formation of a shared picture and the awareness of the organization as a dynamic body, always changing and moving toward the accomplishment of shared goals.

Inquire:  Sometimes it is simply a matter of admitting when we don’t know something and asking others to help fill in the blanks.  This is particularly true when it comes to building self-awareness.  Enlightenment in these areas admittedly can be painful at times but also self-affirming. And, the truth is, the more we know about ourselves the better able we are to navigate the rough and the smooth without having to spend inordinate amounts of time thinking about ourselves.

Include: Often, it is tempting to gather around us only those who think like we do.  We like it because well, it just feels more comfortable.  But, building awareness in organizations is not about comfort or even being agreeable all the time.  It’s about getting a grip on what’s real and about creating depth of understanding that not only strengthens the organization but also the people it serves.

Intuit: Ah yes, the third eye…okay maybe not… but intuition often plays a part in building awareness.  It is sometimes not what is said but what is not said that seems the most obvious.  While operating from intuition alone can be a dangerous thing, there are times when those gut feelings serve a very useful purpose.  In fact, combined with inquiry and inclusion, it is a very powerful tool.

===================================================

The bottom line is this:  One person cannot see everything.  Building awareness in organizations must be a collective effort with participation from many and diverse people. Leaders who value the eyes, ears and voices of those around them will be unlikely to miss the moon walking bear too often.

That’s what I think anyway. What do you think?

Change and the Credibility Factor

This is a refreshed version of a post I wrote just over three years ago.  I’m giving it another airing because, at its core, leadership is about change and exploring new territory.  No leader can do that successfully without having earned the confidence of those s/he leads.  It’s as simple and as complicated as that.

=======================================================

I’ve been thinking about what it is that separates a person who seems to be able to influence change in a positive direction, from a person who might have the authority and the technical skill to do the work, but seems unable to pull it off.

The word credibility comes to mind.  The Thesaurus suggests that credibility is synonymous with trustworthiness, integrity and sincerity. I think that if these basic values are present, the chances of arousing the interest and respect of other people are pretty good. And, I believe too, that change agents come in many forms, manifest themselves in a variety of ways and at a variety of levels.

Thinking about that reinforces for me, the notion that it is credibility not title, position, role or authority that makes the difference between an effective leader and an ineffective one.

So, if you are with me so far, the big question seems to be ” How do I prove my credibility to others?”

Here’s what I think it takes to earn credibility:

I do what I say I’m going to do… and I do it, when I say I’m going to do it.

Reliability is an important ingredient in establishing credibility.

There’s nothing more infuriating or counter-productive, than when someone makes a commitment to do something and then fails to follow through.

I represent myself honestly and do my best to be candid and open with my colleagues and bosses.

I think that to gain credibility with others we must simply find the courage and confidence to be ourselves and make our contributions without pretense or bravado.

I show that I’m open to learning and trying new things

Nothing puts holes in our credibility as a leader more than conveying the impression that we have all the answers. And, it is arrogant to think that we can influence change in others without feeling the need to change something ourselves.

Change is a learning experience in itself. If we believe that it is for everyone but us, we are likely not asking the right questions, enough questions, or paying attention to what is going on around us.

I demonstrate respect for the experiences and knowledge of others.

One of the best ways to build credibility is to observe those who have gone before us and learn from their experiences.  If we want to be heard we must first listen.

When I challenge the status quo, I offer feasible and thoughtful alternatives.

To me, presenting a problem without considering a solution is not supporting change.  It is simply complaining.  This doesn’t mean that we have to have a solution for every problem.  But if we want to earn credibility, we have to consider not only the problem, but also the possibilities and questions that will stimulate further exploration.

I own up to being human and making mistakes. And, when I make mistakes, I apologize and then do my best to make amends.

Making excuses for the mistakes we make is simply unproductive and, well, not very attractive either. In general, we do not adversely affect our credibility when we make mistakes. We adversely affect our credibility when we try to cover them up, rationalize them away, or otherwise pretend they didn’t happen.

That’s what I think anyway. What do you think?

Ambiguity and Contradiction… Leadership Certainties

Anyone who has been in a leadership role for longer than, oh, five minutes, knows that it is not a prescriptive thing.  As simple as we try to make it with lists of the ten top things to do here or the best five things to do there, it remains complex, ambiguous and often contradictory.

Roles that seem incompatible with one another are all necessary parts of the leader’s repertoire. They ebb and flow with the demands of the day and require us to roll with the tide they create.

So what roles am I talking about?  Well, here are just a few that come to mind :

Visionary and Tactician: ~ Having a vision and developing ideas that give purpose to the work are critical leadership functions.

However, there has to be a limit on the amount of time a leader spends at thirty thousand feet.  At some point s/he has to come down to the ground and work with people to ensure that plans are developed in line with the vision and specific actions are taken to bring it to life.

Visionaries who dwell in the land of ideas too long tend to accomplish very little. On the other hand, Tacticians who keep their noses to the grindstone and never get off the ground might accomplish a lot but chances are it will be a lot of the wrong thing.

Leader and Manager: ~ Some people believe that leadership and management are interchangeable. They’re not.  Both are very much a part of a leader’s role but they each require a different focus and set of skills. The key is in deciding when to do what.

A simple rule of thumb is that leaders manage things and lead people. However, to add complexity to the mix, leaders also manage events and happenings that involve people and that means they must be prepared to manage conflicts that arise and other situations that could potentially get in the way of accomplishing the work.

 Leader and Follower: ~ Opportunities for people to show leadership, regardless of their formal status in the organization, are everywhere.  It is a wise leader who will recognize this and make room for it when it serves the organization and supports its goals.  The trick is to recognize when it is appropriate to stand down and become a supportive follower. This does not mean abdication of responsibility.  It does mean leading, for a time, by following and supporting someone who can accomplish the goal better, faster or more efficiently than you can.

Controller and Liberator: ~ There is a fine line between being too autocratic and too liberal.  But, it is a line that every effective leader must learn to walk if s/he is going to make optimal use of the talent and skills available in the workforce.

Too much control stifles creativity, disengages people and limits potential.  On the other hand, boundless unfocused freedom can create a kind of chaos that produces more chaos and little else.

Boundaries are important and they can be drawn using a clear, well-understood set of organizational values and a well-articulated vision that, unlike sets of rules, allow for freedom of expression within a pretty wide framework.

There are other situations where leaders are required to make choices between seemingly contradictory roles.  For instance, when would you encourage individual effort over team development? Under what circumstances might you favour an arbitrary decision over a democratic one? And what about the less measurable leadership behaviours?  As a leader is it possible to be humble and still be bold? Anne Perschel thinks so… and so do I.

Simply put, leadership is rife with ambiguity and contradiction. It requires us to be flexible, open-minded, constantly aware of our surroundings and well equipped to respond to the diverse demands that are placed on it.  It is challenging, empowering, satisfying and frightening work.  But, it is never boring.

What do you think?

 

 

Change…And Six Ways To Reinforce It.

I think it was Alphonse Karr who first said, “The more things change, the more they stay the same” And, if we look back in history we will no doubt find a myriad of examples that bear this out.  The thing about change though, is that while it’s happening, it feels new, raw, foreign and unfamiliar. So, making a planned change successful is probably one of the most challenging things a leader can undertake.

A few weeks ago Anne Perschel wrote a post called “Leading Change: The Playbook Chapter 1, Principles 1 & 2”, those principles being, Empathize and Involve.

After reading Anne’s post, I began to think about what might follow after everyone has come to appreciate the need and urgency for change and signed on.

The word that kept coming up for me was Reinforce.

For instance, I remember the year I stopped smoking.

I had been thinking of doing it for a while, not for any noble reason, but because my office building was about to be declared a smoke-free zone and I didn’t fancy smoking on the street.  And too, smoking, I was told, would give me wrinkles.  (I am nothing if not vain).

In spite of my initial enthusiasm, as I moved through the process of changing from a smoker to a non-smoker, my commitment to it began to wane.  The new vision I held of myself as a non-smoker started to blur and the temptation to revert to my old ways grew stronger. That’s pretty typical, even when we choose to change.  That’s why reinforcement is vitally important.

So what must we do to provide this reinforcement?  Well, here’s what I think.

Watch and Listen ~ Over the course of the change process, people will suffer in a variety of ways.  For example, when I stopped smoking, I gained weight; I contracted shingles; and I experienced inexplicable emotional meltdowns. While this may not be a consequence of organizational change, you can bet there will be other kinds of suffering and stress in the air.  Watching carefully and listening for the signs will allow us the opportunity to anticipate the negative effects of change and mitigate them to avoid the potential for derailment.

Keep the empathy coming~ I believe people are more willing to stay the course of change when their leaders genuinely strive to understand and share their feelings during each stage of the process.  That means travelling down the road with them and bringing our own emotions with us.

Keep everyone’s eyes on the prize ~ Just as I had to be reminded, and continually imagine, life as a non-smoker, in change initiatives, so must we, as leaders, keep the new vision alive in the hearts and minds of people who follow us. I needed someone to tell me that my suffering would, in the end, be worthwhile. So will they.

Burn the bridges that Lead back to the old world~ I think, if we want people to move away from the old world, we have to render that world unattainable. For example, I was no longer going to be able to enjoy smoking at my desk or even in the cafeteria at work.  That world had changed.  And so, even if I wanted to go back to the way things were, I couldn’t.  The bridge had been burned.  So, a question to ask ourselves might be, to what extent have I dismantled the trappings of our old world?

Model what we want to see ~ No matter how much encouragement my colleagues who smoked gave me in my quest to stop, it was hard for me to believe them as they offered me their best advice between cigarette breaks. Being mindful of our own actions as we move through change keeps things real for everyone. Simply put, if we want others to change, we have to change too…and go first.

Recognize and acknowledge behaviour and actions that align with the new ~ Real change comes about when we begin to notice new behaviour and actions in others. When this occurs, it is crucial to acknowledge those who are both consciously and unconsciously bringing the change to fruition.  It is a prime opportunity for reinforcement, especially for those people who continue to struggle with the prospect of embracing the new world.

What do you think? What have I missed?  What other principles besides empathize, involve and reinforce come to mind for you when you contemplate the challenge of change?

Encouraging Innovation & The Story of the 5 Monkeys

I think we’ve all heard someone say it at one time or another.  Or, we may even have said it ourselves.  It goes something like this.  Someone asks the question, “why?” and the response is “Because that’s just the way it’s done.  We’ve always done it that way”

A statement like that can put the lid on things pretty quickly can’t it?  And often, those who are brave enough to explore further by asking, “Yes, but why has it always been done that way?” never receive a satisfactory answer because the truth is that nobody really knows why.

You’re nodding your head aren’t you?  I’m not surprised.  It is, after all, a fairly common occurrence especially in long established organizations.

It reminds me of the Story of the 5 monkeys.  If you aren’t familiar with the story here it is.

Of course, as human beings we like to think that we have evolved a little more than the monkeys in the story; that we are not so easily manipulated.  But, the story illustrates how we can fall into patterns of behaviour without really understanding why.  In organizations, we can also become so deeply entrenched in our way of doing things, attempts to effect change are often greeted with a metaphorical dousing of cold water almost every time.

I think we all know that in today’s economy, our ability to be flexible, creative and innovative is key to our present and future success. The question is, as leaders, how do we invite innovation and creative thinking into our workplaces?  Well, I’ve been having a bit of a think about that and I have some suggestions for your consideration, just to get you started.

Conduct a review of what you value

We tend to talk a lot about organizational values, sometimes without a second thought.  Taking the time to consider what we value and why we value it provides an opportunity to re-affirm organizational beliefs and also to challenge some that may no longer fit with our current reality.  Sometimes too, our actions and attitudes can get out of sync with what we say we value so looking in the mirror once in a while is not a bad idea.

Invite Challenge

This seems like a simple thing to do but sometimes we can allow our egos to get in the way.  For example, if you are a new leader it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you must have all of the answers. You don’t.  And you won’t.

Allowing others to challenge our thinking does not demean the role of the leader.  Instead, it enhances the possibility of a fresher, more creative and progressive outcome and that kind of leadership places emphasis where it belongs, on the work and the people who do it.

Look at failure as part of the process

Nobody likes to fail.  The thing is there are lessons to be learned from it and while we don’t try new things with the idea of failing, sometimes we have to try, and fail, until we discover what works.  Whether we like it or not, clinging to the familiar or doing things the way we have always done them will eventually lead us to failure anyway.

Acknowledge and Reward Creative thinking

Organizations that value stability over innovation will tend to discourage what they consider to be interference with the way things are and discount the ideas of those who think outside the scope of conventional wisdom.

Finding ways to bring out fresh ideas, no matter how bizarre they may sound, and acknowledging those eager to put them forward, demonstrates a willingness to accept the necessity for ongoing change in a time when change is the only thing we can count on.

In today’s world those of us who value stability must learn to live in environments where the apple cart is constantly being upset. To me, this means we will not always be able to know the “why” of everything but we can also no longer afford to accept things because that’s the way we’ve always done them.

What do you think?  How do you invite innovation and creative thinking into your workplace?  What else can we do to break habits that no longer work for us?

Leadership and The Influence Factor

John C Maxwell once said, “Leadership is Influence”.  It’s a very simple statement and one that has oft been repeated.  It is also a statement that, while short on words, is long on implication, deep on meaning and wide on interpretation.  So I thought I would have a look at it and maybe noodle around with it a bit… hopefully with you.

To be clear, Leadership through influence is not a topic that can be discussed or “put to bed” to anyone’s satisfaction through one blog post, or even a thousand.  It is an ongoing leadership preoccupation to understand the role leaders play in guiding the thought processes and actions of others in a way that will support organizational goals.  But, we have to start somewhere right?

If you are a new boss, you may, or may not have discovered by now that while people may do what you tell them to do, they are more likely to do it willingly, (and well), if you have done a good job of helping them believe it’s a good idea.  That’s the influence factor.

I’m thinking though, that in order for influence to germinate and grow in a healthy way, the conditions have to be right. In my experience, right conditions are usually present when those who follow, experience their leader as competent, trustworthy and brave enough to be their advocate when circumstances warrant it.  In short, it’s about earning credibility.  You can read more on that topic here.

For now, let’s carry on and assume that conditions are right and the necessary credibility has been earned.  What are some things you can actually do to increase the influence factor in your working environment?  Here are a few suggestions to consider:

• Encourage conversation and debate

Influencing is not about having all of the answers or having things go our way every time.  It’s about becoming known and engaging others in conversation about things that matter. In order to gain influence we must also at times be willing to be influenced and that means listening, sometimes debating and sometimes finding ways to see things from a variety of perspectives.   When we become known for our ability to include others in decision-making we also earn their confidence.

• Be Consistent

The work environment is often in a state of flux.  People will welcome your influence if your actions are consistent with your words

• Ask Simple Questions

Simple questions cause us to focus, re-focus or think more deeply about a topic under discussion.  It usually contains few words but those words are powerful enough to make a noteworthy impact on the direction a conversation takes or the conclusions that come out of it.

For example, imagine a room of people gathered to talk about how best to reach and serve customers.  The participants begin to talk about their marketing strategy ideas and become embroiled in a debate about the most effective “roll out” strategy, each participant becoming more and more wed to his or her own idea. In the excitement, the customer somehow is lost from the discussion. A simple question might go something like, “So, if you were the customer, how would this strategy serve you?”

• Learn when to intervene and when to back off.

Once, a leader asked me to take the lead at a business meeting.   It was really a meeting that he needed to lead himself but because the subject matter was not one with which he was comfortable (and it was an area in which I was well practiced), he asked me to do it.   He’s a very smart guy and I knew him to be fully capable of conducting this particular meeting and getting some good results. But, we began the meeting according to his wishes… with me as facilitator and he, as a participant.

About an hour into the meeting, I made an excuse, asked him to carry on without me and left the room.  I went to the ladies room for a few minutes. I picked up a magazine for a few more and then I listened at the door of the meeting room to hear what was going on.  Of course, he was doing a fine job of facilitating and I slipped back into the back of the room and took my place, as a participant. Admittedly, it was a bit of a gamble. But, sometimes influence requires a measure of risk.

The point is, leading through influence is often a subtle activity.  It requires us to be aware enough of what people are capable of to sometimes leave the room and let them get on with it.

So, how do you influence others?  What do you think it takes? How does it differ from manipulation? Or does it?  What do you think?

 

 

Leaders and the Learning Organization

It is a testament to our naïveté about culture that we think that we can change it by simply declaring new values. Such declarations usually produce only cynicism. ~ Peter Senge

Peter Senge is one of my favourite Thought Leaders. You will probably know that he has been around for a while but his message, at least for me, is as relevant to our current time as it was when he first introduced his book, The Fifth Discipline, about twenty years ago.

So far, in my experience anyway, we have not been great students of his philosophies…or we have been great students but just, well, crappy at the execution part, proof perhaps that naïveté also lives in our belief that any of this stuff is easy.

There was a time when everyone was jumping onto The Learning Organization bandwagon.  This usually happened when times were good, when organizations felt a little more ebullient about their prospects and generous toward their employees.  And then when things started to look a little gloomy, heads turned back to the way things were.  Budgets were cut and the Learning part of the organization dried up while the focus snapped back in line with the notion that wisdom and decisions could only come from the few and learning for the many was a luxury no one could afford.

I’m thinking though that it is in the difficult times that leaders need to embrace the concepts of the Learning Organization and to build a culture of shared leadership.

I must confess that not being particularly academic in my own learning process, I found The Fifth Discipline a little dry. Having said that, I also think the five main components of a Learning Organization continue to make great sense and are actionable, to greater or lesser degrees, by everyone regardless of whether we lead in large organizations, small ones, or are simply striving to lead a meaningful life.

Each of the Learning Organization components, personal mastery, mental models, team learning, shared vision and systems thinking allow for the opportunity to create lives and organizations that are resilient, flexible, inclusive and dynamic. The question often is though, how do we to start?

Here are some of my thoughts about that:

Personal Mastery: is, for me, the place where everything really begins. Taking the time to study and understand our reality, and our purpose, serves not only ourselves but also everyone with whom we come in contact.

Practically speaking, there are a lot of instruments available on the Internet that will help us confirm what we might already inherently know about ourselves or uncover some things we didn’t know. However we do it, the key to successful personal mastery, I think, is to trust in the information we receive; to be curious and ask questions either formally or informally; to observe the impact we have on others when we interact with them; and to act on any new knowledge we get about ourselves.

Mental Models: are, simply put, about assumptions and biases in our thinking. There is a proverb that says, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail”.

This speaks to the dangers of clinging to, and operating from, narrow perspectives.   I believe the goal for leaders in this century is to widen the lens of their thinking by challenging not only their own assumptions but also the beliefs and biases on which their organizations operate.  I hazard to say that if we were each to bring heightened awareness to our assumptions, our ability to be receptive to change would be that much greater.

Team Learning: There are many books written on the topic of teams, and an amazing array of teams within organizations too. It can get pretty complex.  But suffice it to say that in an age where shared leadership is, or will become, critical, the need to understand the dynamics and functional operation of teams is pretty great.  Here, I think it starts with gaining an understanding of what a truly successful and highly functional team looks like.  In my observation, it always seems to come down to how team members communicate with each other. How they manage conflict. And, how they examine their successes and more particularly, their failures.  Here’s more about team learning in case you want it.

Shared Vision: I expect this one is pretty familiar to most people.  And yet its usefulness is so often diminished because the vision is developed “at the top” of the organization and seldom shared by those who are expected to work toward its achievement.  To me, a Shared Vision is just that…shared.  It may start with one person but if it is going to come alive and guide the company’s activities, it must be embraced and shared by all.  It doesn’t have to be a sweeping statement with big words either. For example, Zappos, the online department store’s vision is Delivering Happiness.  It is clear, simple and provides great direction to anyone who works there.   To me, the message is, if what you do delivers happiness, it’s probably the right thing.

Systems Thinking: When most people talk about Senge’s model of a Learning Organization, they usually start with Systems Thinking.  I keep it to the end because really this is about paying attention to the connections between and among a variety of elements that make up the whole.  In organizations, we have this tendency to create silos of operation where people make decisions based only on their own needs.  When this happens, others are affected, (often negatively) and that creates unnecessary and unproductive tension within the organization.

So, I suppose a place to start with respect to systems thinking is to ask, Who will be affected by what we are about to do? How do we involve them? Why should we care?

To me, it’s kind of like the plumbing in an old apartment complex.  If there is a breakdown in one person’s apartment, it can affect the water supply to all of the others.  That might be a bit simplistic but I think you get what I mean.

Some people may think the concepts put forth in The Fifth Discipline are old too.  But, I think that they are timeless.  If more organizations were to embrace and enact these philosophies, they would find ways to remain pliable and resilient in even the most treacherous of time.

What do you think?

 

A Reflection on the Hardness of Change

Now and then, I feel the need to have a little rant.  Luckily, for us all, it doesn’t happen that often. Today’s little rant is about change.

Whenever I think of the challenge of change, I think of Sally Field, well, not Sally Field exactly, her character, Norma Rae. I picture Norma, all five feet of her, standing on a table with her arms held high, holding a sign that simply says “Union”.  She stands on that table in defiance of her bosses, and on behalf of her often frightened and reluctant co-workers.  She does it because deep inside herself she knows it to be right.  It’s worth fighting for. It’s worth the risk. It will make life better in the end.  I notice her face as she’s standing there.  I see rebellion, fear and desperation.  And yet she stands there until the local police come and drag her away kicking and screaming. Take a little time to watch this and you’ll see what I mean.

That’s the thing about change, the revolutionary kind anyway.  It’s hard and scary and sometimes involves some kicking and screaming. That sort of change is rarely the kind we eagerly put our hands up for.  That’s when leadership and those who practice it are truly tested.

Today, there are those of us who long for a time when our world could be like it was before our global economy took a frightening plunge.  There are people without jobs who have lost their houses and the way of life they have become accustomed to.  To so many, it feels, and is, catastrophic and terrifying.   There are others who are less affected directly and see no reason to change their habits or their perspectives, those who fail to see that they are part of the problem…and part of the solution.

The job of leadership in times such as these requires the kind of grit that Norma Rae showed as she climbed upon her table and stood her ground.  In these times, change means hard work, hard heads, hard times and tender hearts.   And it’s not about one or two people leading everyone else out of the wilderness either.  We are all responsible.  We must all find a new way of being in the world.  Those who lead  will have a vision of the future.  They will put themselves forward to be followed; to be challenged; to be criticized; and sometimes to be scorned but they will each stand on their respective tables with their vision of better times held firmly in their hands.

The good ones will not make promises to bring back the past.  They will not waste their time, or ours, denigrating each other.  Instead, they will hold a firm vision of how things could be should we choose to act differently.  They will find ways to work together and to include us all by demanding our participation in building something else, something better…just like Norma Rae did.

Breaking the Rules

I think we can agree that one of the key attributes for successful leaders today is the ability to adapt quickly to new situations.   We may also agree that in order for society to function in a reasonably harmonious way, there must be rules.

And there are all kinds of them.

In general, rules are put in place to ensure personal safety and to keep things in balance.  They are also imposed to provide structure in organizational settings that support the work and build a broad framework within which individuals are free to operate and contribute.

Some people are of the opinion that rules are made to be broken.  In fact, they are so convinced of this, they see no point in learning them in the first place.  The resulting behaviour from this laissez-faire approach is a kind of chaos that tends to serve no one in the end.  It lacks maturity and I hazard to say, increases, rather than diminishes, the need for more rules.

But sometimes rules really do only serve to get in the way.

In a world where improvisation is key to success, yesterday’s rules can be today’s impediment.  Old rules often slow the flow of progress, sometimes down to a trickle.  They stifle creativity and innovation.  And they create roadblocks to the implementation of needed change.  From this perspective, I think it safe to say that the work of leadership includes breaking rules.

But before we go off and begin declaring war on rules, I think we need a few, um, rules, to ensure that the breaking process provides as great an opportunity for a positive result as possible.

To start with, I can think of two rules that work for me:

First, before eliminating or dismissing existing rules, seek to understand why they were made in the first place.

It is pretty easy to make assumptions about why rules were made but before completely eliminating them, I think it wise to question their initial purpose.  If that purpose is no longer relevant, then throwing them out is probably a good thing.

And second, be prepared to accept the consequences that may come from circumventing or defying rules

There is always the chance that circumventing a rule can cause grief for someone else, somewhere else in the organization or outside it.  Breaking an established rule usually comes with a measure of risk.  As they often say in retail stores about handling merchandise, “ If you break it you own it”. Owning our choice to break rules in service of facilitating change is, I think, part of being a responsible leader

So, having said all of that, I have a confession to make.  I am an inveterate rule follower.  It was ingrained in me as a child to be good… to follow the rules.  And yet, in my growing, (ahem), maturity I really see the need to continually question rules that make no sense to me.  After all, most rules are conceived and administered by people. And most will come to a place where they are no longer useful or relevant to our lives or businesses.

If we are to encourage the innovators of our time we must also accept that rules should be subject to rigorous question and challenge. Settling for something because that’s the rule or that’s the way it is, is simply not good enough.   If we doubt it, we just have to reflect on the accomplishments of people like Nelson Mandela, Dr Emily Stowe, Rosa Parks and people like Richard Branson and Anita Roddick, each of whom defied convention, broke rules and challenged the status quo, sometimes at great personal cost.

I believe rules are meant to serve us, not the other way around. And so, if we are to adapt to new and changing circumstances quickly we must also have the courage to break a few rules along the way.  What do you think?

The Language of Leadership in the 21st Century.

I’ve always loved language.  Admittedly, my facility in it is sadly limited to English, a few French words and phrases, body language (on a good day) and oh yes, a little pig Latin. But, what I love about language is its power to shape ideas, create images, evoke emotion and give birth to new habits and traditions.

In organizations, language also has the power to determine what matters.  For instance, the language of the 20^th Century stressed, among other things, the importance of control, competition, individual targets, winning, losing and results. And while many of these words allude to activities that continue to be important, there is other language creeping into the 21^st Century landscape that will affect our behaviour and change the way we go about things.

To some, this language is associated with the softer side of life.  In the past, It has often been derided and dismissed as being too ethereal or without merit in the workplace.  But, as this new century unfolds, language like this will re-shape what matters and reveal its harder edge as we put it into practice.

So, what specifically am I talking about?  Well, no doubt you will have heard and used the words. But because I often think it’s easy to use words without really understanding what they mean or how they might be used in any sort of practical way, I thought I’d have a go at bringing them into the light if only for the sake of provoking your own thoughts about their applicability in these highly challenging times.  Words, after all, have a way of being open to interpretation and I’m sure you will have yours.  But, for what it’s worth here are mine:

The first word is Empathy. To me, empathy in action looks like this.  You and I are sharing our viewpoints over a particular issue.  It is a difficult conversation.  What I’m hearing from you sounds foreign and unlikely and yet I want to make sense of what you are saying.  So I stop.  I let my ego and my belief that I am right go, and I step into your shoes.  I do that by asking questions and exploring the issue from your perspective.  I seek to see what you see.  In so doing I search for what you might be feeling and when I find it, I begin to understand what it’s like to be there.  In short, empathy is about understanding.   But just to be clear, it is not necessarily about agreeing.

Here are some other key words that come to mind:

Inclusion is about creating an environment where people feel they belong; are valued and respected.   Including people means asking their opinions frequently; trusting them to take the lead in situations where their strengths will better serve the purpose; acknowledging their contributions sincerely and often.

Self-awareness is about knowing our own strengths, weaknesses, behaviours and attitudes well enough to understand our impact on those around us and how effective, or perhaps ineffective, it is in certain situations.

Cultural awareness is about the values, beliefs and perceptions that are part of the organization and the people who work in it. Organizations with an enduring culture will be ones that align their activities and practices with their values and beliefs.  These values and beliefs are brought alive through action and thought; in their approach to the customer; in their hiring practices and in the kind of business they choose to conduct.

Diversity is about achieving a real appreciation for the heterogeneous nature of the world and it’s people.  To me, embracing diversity means appreciating, understanding, valuing and using our differences to enhance the work and create something greater than we might otherwise do by behaving divisively and out of ignorance or fear.

Openness is about being truthful and giving people the information and resources they need to do their jobs. It also reminds me of the critical need to be receptive to new ideas from a variety of sources and people. In the last century, information was often used as a power tool by a few against the many. Today, I think that power is at its most effective when it is collectively held and willingly shared.

Adaptability in this century will be key to not only successful organizations but ones that simply seek survival as well.  This is about learning to accept change as an every day occurrence as opposed to an event that must be planned and carefully managed.  It speaks to the necessity to be continually reading, questioning and challenging the current environment.  Today becomes yesterday in the blink of an eye.  I think that those who learn fast and change faster will do better in these times than those who don’t.

Collaboration speaks to the need to work together for a common purpose.  The 20^th Century organization was rife with silos and walls that provoked, or perhaps encouraged, internal competition and rivalries.  Now it’s time to build bridges between people and lines of business; to eschew hoarding behaviour and learn to share ideas and resources for a purpose that will be of service to everyone involved

These are just eight words that I think, when put into action, will define leadership, and organizational life, in the years to come.  There are, of course, others.  But, my point is that the more we use this language, and seek to understand its meaning and application, the better equipped we will be to meet the challenges that this century presents.

What do you think?  What words come to mind for you when you think about leadership today? What do they mean to you?  How will they affect the way we work?