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Archive for September, 2014

Callan…Coffee…Contemplation for the Week of September 29th

September 29, 2014 | No Comments »

The Virtue of Vigor

Vitality is a rare but oh-so-essential quality for leaders and groups alike. Vitality is one of those attributes hard to precisely define, but like other forms of excellence, you know it when you see it. And I believe vitality, as both a personal and organizational characteristic, is born of a vigorous lifestyle. By vigorous I mean heartily optimistic and physically active. I have long believed in the virtue of exercise and physical exertion because I believe a vigorous lifestyle and a vigorous body helps create and maintain a vigorous mind. I find physical activity to be the furnace producing health, hardiness, energy, zeal, enthusiasm, and endurance. And let’s be honest; what leader or group does not prize, and need, these qualities? A vital leader, modeling a vigorous lifestyle, vitalizes all. The dynamism of a vigorous leader is contagious, bolstering all in good times and in bad. In our modern world, growing increasingly sedentary and brittle, it is wise to reawaken the virtue of vigor and the necessity of a vigorous life.

Bending the Arc of History

There’s a tendency to catalogue leaders into two basic groups–either visionaries and pragmatists. That there are such basic dichotomies is true, however, great leaders, the truly significant ones, are neither just dreamers nor just doers. Great leaders are able to see a necessary future, articulate a grand aspiration, yet still summon the internal will to move the levers of influence and remain resolute in execution. Great leaders understand the criticality of balancing inspiration and perspiration; of dreaming big but executing in small, disciplined steps. This agile capability is what enables great leaders to navigate the tension between the ideal and the real, and while honoring both, they resist being dogmatic to either. Great leaders understand the power of an elevating vision—a clear sense of where we are going and why it is worth our collective sacrifice to get there. But they also understand dreams become real only when they are courageous enough, in execution, to dare bend the arc of history towards their end state.

Perennial Significance

A common question I’m asked is, “How do you define great leaders?” My answer is, perennial significance. Today, we mistakenly equate leadership excellence to success; things like rank, position, salary, perks, acclaim, etc. A truer metric for leadership greatness is perennial significance. Think of this distinction using a gardening analogy. A merely successful leader is like an annual plant–blooming and exerting influence once and during a single, tactical lifecycle. Good, yes; but no enduring impact. A significant leader is like a perennial plant–blooming year after year and influencing multiple generations in an enduring lifecycle. Examples of perennially significant leaders would be Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Gandhi, to name just a few. Each was able to think globally, to understand the crucial need of their time, and yet act locally. Their residue, however, continues to bloom even to this day. The question we must therefore ask ourselves is this: What seeds of perennial excellence am I sowing for the enduring benefit of others?

Regulate

In past reflections I’ve commented on the need for leaders to regulate their own behavior through self-awareness and executive control. I believe the same is also true of groups, be they societies, companies, or teams. The degree to which a group can achieve and maintain excellence is very much a reflection on the character and quality of the group as a collective entity. The American founders understood this clearly; the ability to govern and aspire towards democratic ideals was, for better or worse, largely determined by the character, temperance, resilience and fortitude, and responsibility of the masses. This crucial point is important for us to remember today, because, as classic wisdom revealed long ago–we cannot truly legislate group behavior, we can only strive to regulate it. And how do we best regulate our groups’ behavior? Through setting and modeling high standards; establishing healthy expectations, and nurturing a deep respect for virtue and honor. And then, and most importantly—holding ourselves accountable.

Character and Conviction

Two questions I am most often asked are, “What makes a great leader?” and “Who are examples of great leaders?” These are natural questions in the study of leadership; however, the answers we often see are  superficial examinations resulting in crude checklists of traits and attributes. Great leaders, I find, are often like classic Greek heroes–a paradoxical admixture of strength and weakness; genius and pragmatism; success and failure; ups and downs. But in managing these strengths and weaknesses, in navigating the labyrinth and enduring the crucible, their greatness is slowly cultivated and revealed. Therefore, I find a better approach to studying great leadership is to reflect on historical examples and do so from this prism: character and convictions. I believe we see most clearly a leader’s excellence reflected in their character and convictions born of their struggle and ultimate triumph. Who they became (inner authority and self-mastery) and to what high purposes they aspired (heroic ambition) came via the crucible, not by avoiding it. We cannot copy them, but we can understand the journey.

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 September 22nd

September 22, 2014 | No Comments »

Adapting and Transforming

I recently traveled to Asia visiting a few countries. Whenever operating my electronic devices I used power adapters and transformers to handle the varying voltages. This image of power adapters and transformers is an excellent metaphor for leadership and how leaders channel energy because we all receive energy from our surroundings, from other people, and from the climate and atmosphere of our work place. The voltage of this energy is of two primary types: negative or positive. And recall this fact: all energy is imperialistic; it will pull us in the direction of its nature (negative energy diminishes, positive energy elevates). Poor leaders, who lack self awareness, self regulation, and self control, simply pass on the energy they receive. They become a kind of energy repeater; they pass negative energy like a toxin into the atmosphere. Conversely, great leaders transform energy via self mastery and self control. They transform raw energy into something more useful, helpful, purposeful, and intentional. We need to cultivate wise leaders who transform and convert energy.

A Third Way

Watching the Sunday morning round tables recently, I was reminded how much of our public discourse is built around negative energy and focusing mostly on what people are against. I was hard pressed to find any pundit or leader offering solutions borne of positive energy or visions reflecting what they were for. This may sound trivial, but I think this lens of “for” or “against” reveals a fundamental truth about great leadership: Nothing significant is ever produced from negative energy or from a viewpoint of what we are against. Today, I believe we are mired in this field of negative energy and opposition because we have accepted an infantile leadership paradigm built solely on fight or flight parameters. Whenever leaders are locked in fight or flight thinking, they remain captive to the noise of the problem and lack the internal clarity to see a way through, and then break through, to a new and necessary solution. Fight or flight are two ways of responding, but there is a third way. The third way requires enormous self mastery, self awareness, self regulation, and a deep reservoir of morale courage to seek truth. This is called wisdom.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

A fallacy of modern leadership teaching is the tendency to project leadership development as a straight and constantly upward trajectory. This is false. The truth about leadership development is that it’s an uneven trajectory characterized by successes and failures; wins and losses; triumphs and defeats. My own experience attests to this as my leadership arc has been a series of two steps forward and one step back. And interestingly–the one step back has always been the most important because it has been in failure, loss, and defeat that I have learned and grown the most. Why is this so important to acknowledge? Because if we teach leadership as a simple upward trajectory (all wins), we create a perception of leadership as a tactic capable of reducing to simple menus and, worse yet–capable of being mimicked and parroted. However, if we properly teach leadership as a uneven and rocky path, with ups and downs and twists and turns, we’ll create a truer paradigm built around self mastery, resilience, and inner authority. The crucible of development is not an inconvenience; it’s the handmaiden of our destiny.

Group Resilience

In the past I’ve reflected on the virtue of resilience from the perspective of the individual leader. But groups also need to be resilient to remain excellent over time. Group resilience is a form of what we might call social capital–a kind of collective toughness, hardiness, and fortitude enabling the group to take an occasional hit, even a major blow, and still bounce back and regain its core purpose. At the heart of personal resilience are qualities like mental toughness, focus, habits, and the inner fortitude borne from having entered into, and moved through, crucibles of experience. What is at the core of group resilience? I believe it’s these three qualities: trustworthiness, companionship, and cooperation. Groups possessing these three qualities will have a bone-deep toughness that may bend but never breaks. These highly resilient groups can absorb the temblors and shocks of disruption and adversity yet quickly rebound—all without losing their cornerstone principles. Like personal resilience, group resilience is cultivated by leaders through intentional actions and great self discipline.

Stagnate or Generate

If we correctly understand leadership development as a life-long pursuit, then we have to acknowledge there will be times we may find ourselves on or off course, moving forward or backwards, or even yet—moving sideways. At each stage of development we are confronted with a simple but profound choice as  leaders: To stagnate or generate. At the heart of this choice is our personal paradigm and our willingness to stay faithful, or not, to heroic ambition and right action. Leaders stagnate when they fail to see themselves as responsible and accountable agents of change, regardless of the size or scope of their office. Leaders stagnate when self-interest eclipses a commitment to something greater than self, and when they lose the ability to constantly learn, grow, and remain vital. Conversely, leaders become generative when they stay true to the hero’s path, which always leads to increasing levels of self mastery, vitality, transformation, and energy. Stagnation is an ever tightening focus on self. Generative leadership is an every expanding focus on others, greater purposes, and enduring significance.

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 September 15th

September 15, 2014 | No Comments »

Soul Work

When I contemplate championship performance I discover ethos to be at the heart of peak achievement. Think of it–whether a sports dynasty, an enduring Fortune 500 company, or a world-class University—at the center of enduring excellence is a galvanizing ethos creating deep meaning, elevating purpose, unity, resilience, and perennial knowledge bridging generation to generation. Why is this true? Because our souls are drawn to meaning! Sure, our minds crave logic and reason; but enduring excellence does not emerge from logic and reason. Peak performance comes from soul work; when leaders create an ethos built on deep meaning, noble purpose, honorable aspiration, and right action. When leaders do this soul work within their groups, they pull their followers out of their heads and into their souls—the source of lasting excellence. It is only when individuals learn to commit to something greater than themselves that magic happens. And it’s the leader’s obligation to create the conditions for such magic.

Balancing Ambiguity and Action

We like to think of leadership in black and white terms; see a problem, fix it. Certainly, yes–leadership involves action. However, the greater truth about leadership is this: We have to become comfortable with balancing ambiguity and action. The most important word there is “and.” There exists in every decision process a period where we just don’t yet know. So, we have to learn to develop a tolerance for ambiguity and a willingness to live in, and with, the tension of not yet knowing. This ambiguity generates internal anxiety, and the natural impulse when we feel anxious is to just decide—do something. Impulsive reactions usually don’t solve problems; they make them worse. Great leaders learn to live with ambiguity and they learn the habit of leading in tension. They retain self control, self regulation, and self awareness even in a state of anxiety. It is only when we learn to live and lead in ambiguity, and learn to go deeper into the problem or crisis while holding the tension, that we can break through into deeper knowing. Then, and only then, can leaders act and lead with clarity.

Expansion or Contraction

As we age we’ll all reach a crucial threshold that will fundamentally define who we will become in the second half of our lives as leaders. I call this “the leadership crossroads.” We usually reach this crossroads about mid-life, in our forties or fifties. At this crossroads, not unlike the literal juncture of two major paths, we will have to choose our way—our defining paradigm–to guide us into the second stage of life. One path is the course of contraction. This is the lens of diminishment and small mindedness characterized by increasing negative energy, ideology, grievance, victimization, and polarization. Contraction is a leadership death spiral in which the person gradually loses all capability to inspire, elevate, and transcend. Luckily, there is another path–the course of expansion. This is the lens of broadening horizons and wisdom characterized by positive energy and vitality. Expansion is the beginning of an internal leadership renaissance—the explosion of masterful leadership, wise stewardship and expert mentorship. The crossroads await us all with this crucial question: Which path will you take?

Rapport

Rapport is a word I used a lot as an athlete and throughout my career as a US Marine. Rapport, however, is another classic quality losing its meaning and relevance in our modern world. Before we can reverse that unfortunate trend, we first need to reawaken our understanding of rapport and rekindle our respect for its value. So, what is rapport? It’s deep harmony and accord among people who are joined in a common endeavor. Rapport must be nurtured and developed by leaders, as it is based on a foundation of empathy. Moreover, rapport requires deep mutual focus, what we might call “group attention,” on those things we share in common. And how do leaders do this? By celebrating through customs, courtesies, and  traditions the bonds creating affinity! When people are in accord with their ethos, and with one another, the resulting affinity becomes natural, resilient, and galvanizing. Rapport is not something you do; it is something you feel. Rapport is not something you give to others, it is something you call forth from others. Rapport is not the wall; it is the mortar binding the bricks in a strong wall.

Peak Work

An essential question for leaders to reflect on is, “What produces in people the conditions to perform at their peak?” This is what I like to call peak work…a place where you feel in the zone and in total flow. This state of peak work, or flow, doesn’t happen often, however, which reflects how hard it is to produce and sustain peak performance. In my opinion, these are the key elements that, if intentionally created by leaders, set the conditions for peak work. First, identify the meaning and purpose of the enterprise. This purpose must be real, but it must also be elevating and inspiring. Second, align people with what they are excellent at—the things that fully engage and motivate them. This is where passion comes from. Third, connect their ethics with your ethos—those things in which they deeply believe and are worth fighting for. When leaders create these things (meaning, purpose, engagement, ethos), they create perennial knowledge, shared intentionality, and full absorption into the wellspring of the organization’s soul. This is the source of peak work, elevated achievement, and championship performance.

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 September 8th

September 8, 2014 | No Comments »

The Hero’s Stance

I have always liked the quote attributed to the Greek philosopher and mathematician, Archimedes, who said, “Give me a place to stand and a lever, and I will move the world.” This image is a great metaphor for heroic leadership because it reminds us that great leadership always balances two vital components: reflection (a place to stand) and action (a lever). The hero’s stance, as I call it, is the self discipline to create the reflective space to master oneself. Before we can exert the lever of leadership on others or the outer world, we must first master ourselves and develop inner authority. When we create time for reflection, and do the hard work of self mastery, we create a solid ground on which to stand, and a trusted fulcrum upon which to lay our lever of influence. This is what creates trustworthiness, dependability, self regulation, and consistency. Once we have developed the hero’s stance we can then move more confidently into outer action. In the end, great leadership, truly heroic leadership, will always be the admixture of reflection and action. This is how great leaders move the world.

A Unified Field

I was recently asked, “what is it that allows Marines to cohere around common purpose and common intentionality—to become as one?” My answer was this: Marines operate in a unified field. What did I mean? Through deep, almost DNA-level grounding in ethos and cornerstone principles, Marines are gradually transformed from small private worlds into a kind of grand parade fusing past, present, and future. This unified field is like discovering a solid wholeness—the perennial foundation—underneath otherwise passing and superficial phenomena. Look around society today and it is hard to find many organizations or companies operating in such a unified field. Instead, we see a lot of folks operating in fractured fields characterized by episodic meaning, trivial experiences, and passing phenomena. When people operate in a unified field they become sure, confident, and focused on elevated meaning. When people operate in a fracture field they become unsure, lack confidence, and remain focused on selfish purposes. Heroic leaders must lead us across the threshold from fractured to unified fields of existence.

Expectations

One of the most important things leaders do is set an expectation for leadership. By this I mean: Create clear expectations from the moment a person joins the group that we prize leadership above all other qualities; we expect individuals to lead; and we are, at our core, a culture of “leaders creating leaders.” When I think of my own vocation as a US Marine, I see how the Corps does a superior job of creating this expectation for leadership. Within the first 24-hours of my arrival at Officers Candidate School, I knew, without doubt, leadership was the sin qua non, the alpha and omega, of life as a Marine. Past accomplishments, current specialties, or future ranks did not matter; all that mattered was leadership. Leaders must therefore assess these key questions in their current organizations: Do we create an expectation for leadership in our culture? Does a person joining our ranks understand our expectations for leadership, our core leadership behaviors, and our demand for all leaders to develop other leaders? If not, go back to square one and build these expectations.

Shadow Boxing

When I was young I spent a lot of time at the Boys Club and YMCA in our city. Our area had a rich boxing legacy–home to champs like Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler. I recall some of the old trainers in these gyms teaching us to shadow box; to learn first to master our stance, our balance, and our movements before we ever tried to engage another in the ring. This image of shadow boxing is a great metaphor for leadership development. Before we can effectively lead others, we must first master ourselves. We must shadow box as we grow as leaders, carving out the necessary time and devoting the required energy to see our shadow on the wall as we move and act, reflect on our state of mastery, and continue to work on the basics of our craft. Yes, we will have to get into the ring—to lead and gain experience—but we must never stop honing our craft away from the ring. We must never stop shadow boxing and assessing the state of our character, our inner authority, and our inner mastery. This is how champions are built–far from the ring and before the fight ever occurs.

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 September 2nd

September 2, 2014 | No Comments »

Grit

Today I am reflecting on words ripe with meaning for leaders, but whose use and reference seems to be waning in our modern society. Grit is one such word. If we reflect on long-term excellence, true significance both as individuals and as groups, it is hard not to find grit to be among the small handful of qualities enabling such enduring excellence. For me, grit is at once an expectation, a mindset, and a habit in that leaders need to create a demand for inner fortitude in themselves; form a deep-seated belief in the criticality of fortitude as a guiding principle, and then, through self-discipline, cultivate the habits to call forth mental toughness and hardiness. Grit, a kind of DNA-level resilience, is conditioned over time by withstanding the searing pressure of tests, trials, challenges, and the rigor of pursuing high standards. Grit is like weathered skin, only internal; it reflects a kind of toughness and durability reflective of having been exposed to, and transformed by, the cauldron of experience. Grit is a quality we all should re-acquaint ourselves with, and a characteristic we should expect and develop in our groups.

The Myth of Multi-Tasking

Many leaders and managers believe that the path to expanded capability comes through increased multi-tasking. The theory goes like this: Because of technology, I can do multiple things at one time, and do them all well; therefore, I am more productive. In reality, and as supported by lots of research and testing, the opposite is actually true. When we try to multi-task, what we actually do is “switch-task;” we unwittingly jump from task to task in an arbitrary manner. Great leadership and management require focus and purposeful attention. Great leadership also requires discerning choices on what to work on, and when to work on it, and yes…even what to say no to. And when engaged in that effort—to be fully and totally focused. Great leaders focus attention. Like glass refracting light, effective leaders capture the full spectrum and then, with intentionality and discernment, they reduce the broadband to only the most critical, high pay-off issues and then make concerted, intentional investments of time and energy.

The Paradox of Solitude

In our society, we generally don’t value quiet time. Actually, we think of quiet time as somehow wasteful, unproductive, and lazy. For leaders, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Great leadership is about deep knowing. Deep knowing, such as wisdom, judgment, discernment, empathy, and detecting, comes only from a place of quiet and solitude, when deep thoughts can emerge, and better questions and answers can arise. Leaders must therefore intentionally, and with great self-discipline, allocate time every day for solitude to call forth the following qualities of expert leadership:

• Deep Thoughts
• Discernment
• Sensing & Detecting
• Deep Knowing
• Wisdom

Peak Performance

To achieve and maintain peak performance, truly championship-level execution, we must adopt a better model for defining peak achievement. Leaders cannot legislate or mandate peak performance from others via a menu of carrots and sticks; rather, peak performance must be invited from others by an organizational ethos built around purpose, performance, and heroic leadership. Moreover, to create a truly generational effect—an enduring culture of “leaders creating leaders”—we must break free from the tyranny of now and develop a broader arc of perspective that links generation-to-generation and creates broader patterns of excellence.

The Danger of a Present-Tense Culture

As our society becomes increasingly dominated by technology and information systems, leaders are confronted with a conundrum. On the one hand, technology provides tremendous improvements in the speed and volume of information, while on the other hand, this exploding volume of information can lead to constant distraction, living in sound bites, and a growing tendency for people to live solely in a “present-tense” dimension. It is becoming normal for “now” to be important, but only until the next email or tweet arrives. We run the risk, as a society and as groups, to become distracted to death and lose sight of a broad arc of perspective essential to wisdom. If we devolve into this present-tense only culture, these are some of the deficiencies that will emerge: No context; a mania for instant gratification; imprisoning people to small selfish worlds; and creating lots of “white noise” resulting in a loss of focus, attention, and balance. It is leaders who must break through this present-tense culture and lead outwards to a broader arc of meaning.

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!