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Archive for July, 2014
Callan…Coffee…Contemplation for the Week of July 28th
July 28, 2014 | No Comments »
Peak Experience
There’s been much commentary about the Millennial Generation’s work style, most suggesting the Millennials don’t value things like meaning, purpose, loyalty, and tradition. I think this is wrong. Every generation has a unique lens through which they view their world. For the Millennials their lens is technology. Moreover, youth, as a basic formative period in life, has always been characterized by a degree of immaturity, narcissism, being adrift, and wrestling with convention. Though Millennials have a technological lens shaping their paradigm, I do not believe that lens diminishes in them these timeless facts of all humans in all times: (1) We are “ultra social” creatures craving group identity and belonging; (2) Everyone yearns for something beyond themselves; (3) We want vocations providing deep meaning, purpose, and peak experiences; and (4) we all seek elevation above mediocrity and the daily grind. So let’s be honest: there has been no golden age or greatest generation. Each generation has had, as the Millenials do now, the capability to be great. Our obligation? Help them be ready.
Boomerang
Leadership, like classic virtue, is its own reward. When we lead honorably, attuned to noble purposes, the reward is inherent in the aspiration and the action. The reward is not given to us like a medal or trophy, rather, it is earned through fidelity to the vocation. And, in the end, the reward is done to us. I like to think of heroic leadership like a boomerang: What we originally release is the giving away of the best of ourselves, and in time, that leadership gift comes back to us in the form of gratitude, deep satisfaction, and the development of those we lead and mentor. The reward for having led well, and lived a life devoted to heroic ambition, is the soulful satisfaction of fidelity; faithfulness to a calling and faithfulness to a purpose beyond our self. But with this boomerang, we have to trust in the release…in the giving away of our best leadership and our best self. Because the return of the boomerang will not be immediate nor will it be on our terms. Leadership, like any master craft, will always defy instant gratification. So throw yourself into life and leading; give your best. The rest will take care of itself.
Growth
I read a very insightful quote recently, which said, “Problems aren’t solved, they are outgrown.” What I believe the author is referring to are inner problems; deficiencies of character, ego, pettiness, and small mindedness. In our youth, we are all servants of our egos. Much of our “lesser selves” emerge in the first half of life —anger, lack of self control, lack of empathy, mistrust, bitterness—all due to the inflation and protection of our egos. As we mature, and if we are courageous and develop the discipline to be reflective—to see ourselves as we truly are—we are given a chance to re-write our script. These inner problems in the first half of life can be out grown. We don’t so much solve these ego-centric problems; rather, we learn to recognize them, understand their root cause, and maturely outgrow their limiting and diminishing impact. This conversion must happen internally, and willingly, because inner conversion is borne of deep moral courage and a commitment to evolve as a person and as a leader. Some leaders never outgrow their problems. Great ones always do. This is the path to significance.
Obedience and Reverence
I’m reflecting on two terms that seem out of vogue in our modern world. The first is obedience. Classically, obedience was seen as a prized quality to be pursued in the service of a vocation or heroic ambition. Willing obedience reflects wisdom—in that we all need to have something eternal, timeless, and beyond ourselves to submit to. I learned the virtue of willing obedience in the Marine Corps; to be “always faithful” not because of a material gain, but because of the inherent value of fidelity. Reverence is another classic attribute worth remembering. To revere something—such as a truth, a maxim, a hero, or a model of excellence—is to align ourselves to a worthy ideal the pursuit of which teaches us humility and respect. What we revere, what we willingly bow down to, is the clearest reflection of who we are and what we stand for. Genuflecting is not very popular today; instead, we seem to prefer to bow to nothing except ourselves. As leaders, it’s healthy to relearn the value of healthy boundaries and the necessity of obedience and reverence to things greater than ourselves.
How to See
When I reflect on heroic leaders, past and present, I see in them a key distinguishing quality. Instead of focusing initially and primarily on “what to see” about leadership as many people do, they instead focus intently on “how to see.” This is a crucial difference. We must begin with “how to see” because this lens will define, and over time, refine our leadership paradigm. The lens through which we view life and leading is the single biggest determinant of leadership excellence. Why? Because our lens will refract and determine, for either good or ill, every decision and behavior. If we start with “what to see” about leadership, such as what do leaders do, then we neglect the biggest component of excellence, which is ourselves. We must master ourselves before we can exert positive influence over others. Self mastery and inner experience must come first. How to see as a leader, and how to see the world as a leader sees it, is the key ingredient to significant leadership. Focus first on how to see; then, what to see.
Check back next Monday for a round up of this week’s social media shares. Or check us out on Facebook,Twitter, Google+, or Pinterest to see our posts every day!
Callan…Coffee…Contemplation for the Week of July 21st
July 21, 2014 | No Comments »
The Leader as the Lesson – Part I
I believe the highest form of mastery in leadership is significance. Significance, more than any other barometer, measures one’s impact after we’ve gone, not simply while we are present. Too often, when we think about leadership or teach leadership, the tendency is to reduce it to a situational tactic, and at best, talk about leaders in terms of situational success. When we perceive leadership through the lens of situational success, which is important but not fully sufficient, we succumb to a too-narrow lens on leading in which we try to distill leadership into tidy checklists and then try to package leadership success into “top 5 qualities of…” blog posts. A better approach is to expand our paradigm and move beyond situational success as our leadership aiming point and instead, target significance. When we do, we will create an expectation for leaders to generate an enduring affect, not just a situational solution. Significance is like indelible footprints; trusted guideposts for generations to follow long after the leader has gone. What’s the leader’s ultimate test? Become the lesson. You will leave, your example remains.
The Leader as the Lesson – Part II
Pope Paul VI said, “The world will believe teachers only if they have first been witnesses.” This insightful quote has much to teach about leaders too, who are, after all, and if done right–teachers. This powerful quote also reveals two maxims on which we should reflect often: (1) We must experience (witness) leadership as a personal crucible before we can honestly pass along its lessons to others; and (2) all that we can ever teach to others is, in the final analysis, what we have become. And what we have become is essentially our character, virtue, honor, courage, and fidelity. What we model daily as leaders, in the smallest things and especially when no one is looking, becomes a lesson we teach to others at a very deep level. The questions we must ask ourselves regularly are these: What do I model to others? Have I allowed the cauldron of leadership experience to convert me into a trusted teacher, and thus, into a trustworthy model of excellence worth following? Who we have become is our greatest lesson.
Vision and Right Energy
There are many problems leaders face guiding their groups, ranging from technical, to strategic, and even cultural issues. The way through these problems requires vision. However, vision alone is not enough. Leaders must also combine the right energy to propel their vision. Too often, unfortunately, leaders may provide the vision but tap into negative energy as the catalyst for movement and momentum. Always remember this: energy is highly imperialistic and will pull us in different directions depending on its nature. Healthy energy pulls us towards right action, while negative energy pulls us towards destructive action. So we must heed this timeless truth: Nothing great ever comes from negative energy born of grievance, victimization, bruised egos, partisanship, or entitlement. Yes, we need vision—a clear azimuth and end state for our group’s future. But the wind we harness to move towards that distant shore, the energy we select, must be positive lest we run aground by doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.
Attention
There’s a building next to our office staffed by young IT professionals. Each day at lunch many of them gather outside at a picnic table under a shade tree. This ritual at first blush seems to be healthy camaraderie but in reality, it’s the opposite. When they gather, none of them actually engages with the others. Instead of heads up, locked in attentive personal communications, they all are heads down, buried in their personal phones and tablets. They seem to lack full attention, and are oblivious to the present moment or present surroundings. I think this “heads down” image is a good reminder for all leaders about the difference between information and attention. Information is just distracting noise unless it is wisely filtered into intelligence, and then, deep knowing. When all we have is lots of unfiltered information that traps individuals in “heads down” posture, we get a decrease in focus and attention. Focused attention is at the heart of expert leadership and deep knowing. We need to teach young leaders about self regulation and the vital need to focus and be in full attention. A good start? Heads up and be present!
Inner Fire
When I think of leaders, great ones or bad ones, I envision within them different types of inner fire. Great leaders have a positive fire characterized by self-mastery, self-awareness, and self control. They are highly integrated people. Bad leaders have a negative fire because they have failed to master themselves; they have little-to-no executive control, are ego-centered, and thus are highly disintegrated people. That is a key difference between great and bad leaders: integration versus disintegration. If we are heroic, we funnel our inner fire into eros—positive and uplifting energy. If we are weak, we channel our inner fire into thanatos—Greek for destructive energy. Personal disciplines and habits will lead either to integration or disintegration within ourselves. And if we are leading others, we will, as a function of either our positive or negative inner energy, create either unity or division, respectively, within our groups. So we must always ask ourselves: What is my inner fire?
Check back next Monday for a round up of this week’s social media shares. Or check us out on Facebook,Twitter, Google+, or Pinterest to see our posts every day!
Leadership Reflections for the Week of July 14th
July 14, 2014 | No Comments »
Wisdom
Is wisdom dead in our society? Try this experiment. Watch the nightly news for a week or two focusing on stories dealing with major challenges or grand opportunities. Pay attention to the dialogue and try to find a single mention of the word wisdom as an essential prerequisite to success. Likely you’ll detect barely a whiff of the word wisdom. Why is that so? Because we’ve become accustomed to easy answers, afraid of tough questions, conditioned to instant gratification, and therefore, we’ve developed an inability to live in tension and temporary suffering long enough to break through to wisdom. We readily embrace information and intelligence because we see these as factual and empirical; but these are not the true realms of leadership wisdom. Wisdom is the next level of knowing—which comes from intuition, a kind of “wisdom seeing,” where leaders break through the limits of a single field of knowing into a unified field of knowing. So, how do we reawaken an expectation for wisdom in our leaders?
A Vital Balance
There’s much written about the need for leaders to achieve “work-life balance.” I think this goal is misdirected. Why? Because I don’t think there really is such a thing. We are given time, and time is unchangeable. The issue, therefore, is what we do with ourselves, and our energy, in time. In other words: we have to make hard choices. Thinking of work and life as two detachable elements is flawed and leads us into a false paradigm in which we wrongly believe we can carve out equal amounts of time for all the many things we’d like to do. This does not lead to balance, but to a steady dissipation of energy and mental fatigue. Leaders must be brutally honest about priorities and make discerning choices about the few things that really matter. I call this Vital Balance. Find those things in life, which when done mindfully and consistently, bring you vitality and generative energy. I do not believe we become tired from too much mindful exertion, but rather, from too much mindless work. Leaders must make choices and invest energy in those few things producing vitality and renewal.
Pot Luck Progress
A consistent challenge I encounter with companies dealing with progress is simply the need to begin. People can feel the need to change but despite this feeling, remain paralyzed. Consider this paradox: Planned change is more frightening than unplanned changed. I believe the biggest cause of progress paralysis is one of appetite and portion control. When companies deal with change their tendency is to envision change in its full, complex, and enormous manifestation—like a holiday meal—in which only those few senior leaders at the very top partake. Everyone else in the organization feels they have no seat at the table and no role to play. Result? Paralysis! A better approach, one that will break the paralysis and create action is to treat change as a pot luck affair. Everyone, regardless of role or experience, has a seat at the table and has an expectation to contribute—to bring their best dish. Remember this: Big problems are solved most effectively by many people doing many small things well. Pot luck progress leads to powerful first steps. There’s a magic in momentum called unity of purpose.
Be The Change
My favorite Gandhi quote is, “Be the change you want to see.” Unfortunately, often in our lives and work, when confronted with external shortcomings, it’s easy to bemoan the problems and look for someone “out there” to create the change. Result? Lots of finger pointing, blaming, and angst. Venting may feel good, but the reality is, positive change does not happen this way nor does it necessarily start at the top. More likely, positive change happens at the edges and from the bottom. Or said simply: Individuals change themselves, then they change their worlds. Regardless of our position or our level of authority, we must be accountable for ourselves; namely–our leadership, our behavior, and our attitude. If you want others to be better leaders, then commit to being a better leader yourself. If you want a better culture, then create a healthy climate in your own space. If you want more positive energy “out there,” then create more of the same “in here.” The best thing we can ever do to keep our groups growing and improving, is to grow and improve ourselves. Be the change you want to see.
Leading in Front of a Mirror
I equate leadership to a master craft because leadership is a way of life requiring pursuit of self mastery. As an example of a master craftsman, consider a master dancer, who hones her craft by the 90-10 rule: They spend 90% of their time practicing only to perform 10% of the time. Think of that–a master dancer spends most of their development dancing in front of a mirror. And the mirror does not lie; it tells the dancer exactly where strengths and weaknesses reside, where blind spots lurk, and where perfection still awaits. The mirror reflects back to the dancer, honestly and candidly, her affect. Now, what if we leaders had to perform in front of a mirror, reflecting back to us in real-time candor how we were influencing other people? Actually, we do have such mirrors. Our leadership is mirrored in those we lead. Our followers’ growth and development mirrors back to us the quality of our character and the virtue of our leadership. How they grow, or don’t grow, is a direct reflection on us. Therefore, reflect on this question: Is the person you see in the mirror the same person others see when they look at you?
Check back next Monday for a round up of this week’s social media shares. Or check us out on Facebook,Twitter, Google+, or Pinterest to see our posts every day!
Callan…Coffee…Contemplation for the Week of July 7th
July 7, 2014 | No Comments »
Vitality
For youth today there is a growing tendency to devote large portions of the day tethered to electronic gadgets, which among other things, means less time doing physical things like play, sports, camping, hiking, etc. The question is, from a leadership and life paradigm standpoint, does this matter? I prefer to avoid dramatic predictions of doom and gloom as I believe things are never as good or bad as we initially believe them to be (remember the prediction that TV was going to destroy us?). However, I think classic wisdom has something to offer here. When I think of great leaders past, I am hard pressed to find one who did not possess vigor and vitality. I don’t mean they were all athletes, I mean they all had a positive energy, a tangible physical dynamism, even if bound to a wheel chair like Roosevelt. And I believe those attributes—being hardy, resolute, resilient, mentally tough, optimistic, enthusiastic–were born of a vigorous disposition and a rigorous life. Vitality, I believe, comes from rigor and exertion, not from being sedentary. So…how can we reawaken vigor in our modern society so we produce vital leaders?
Master Your Space
I am often asked, “If I am not a senior leader in my organization, what can I really do to make a difference?” The answer I always give is, master your space! We often mistakenly think of leadership as something we will do “some day” when we have achieved enough rank or authority. This faulty concept violates a foundational truth of leadership, which is this: We are always leading. Consider this reality: The moment one engages with other people, one is creating influence, and influence is leadership. If we understand leadership this way then we will rightly place accountability upon ourselves to act like, and see the world as, leaders. No matter how large or small our position, rank, or scope of responsibilities, the space we influence is a world needing positive leadership. Therefore, it is a leader’s ultimate responsibility to master that space, create a positive atmosphere and healthy culture, and cultivate meaning and purpose. Wherever you land, master your space.
Climbing Down the Ladder
Early in our leadership development we are all naturally involved with climbing up the career ladder. The first half of life is involved with defining ourselves, doing things, and mostly, getting things. This is the time I call “B&B”—badges and bravado—when we seek promotions, awards, certifications, and qualifications. But about midway through life, we reach a vital threshold where, once we reach the top of the ladder, we start to ask ourselves— is this all there is? We start to see all the “B&B” is not only unsatisfying, but more worrisome, this early ego identity we’ve built for ourselves as leaders can become a quicksand in the second stage of life if we don’t change. Think of it: Have you ever seen an older person, well into their 50s and 60s, who is still prisoner to their ego? This is a person who has reached the top of the ladder and refused to change. Wise leaders, conversely, begin to climb down the ladder, convert their gaze from themselves to others, and strive to give away their wisdom. Great leaders do their best work coming down the ladder and giving away the best of themselves.
The Path
Like all forms of master craft, leadership is a life-long journey. As in Odysseus’ unyielding quest to reach his home in Ithaca, heroic leaders are likewise constantly journeying home, with home understood to be self mastery. We will always find ourselves back on the path, moving again towards some higher plane of knowledge and growth. In this way, the journey’s path is our necessary crucible. And understood correctly, the life-long path we take as leaders becomes the handmaiden of our destiny. Walking the leader’s path, therefore, is not really something we do; it is something that is being done to us. The leader’s path isn’t something we do, it is something we endure. And in enduring the path, we come out different. If we stay true to heroic ambition and the leader’s path, we gradually move from the circumference of life to the center…the place of meaning, purpose, conviction, and yes…wisdom. And, like Odysseus, we find that though Ithaca may have been our destination, the journey was our real destiny. It is the crucible—the path–that makes us and shapes us, if we let it.
Check back next Monday for a round up of this week’s social media shares. Or check us out on Facebook,Twitter, Google+, or Pinterest to see our posts every day!