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Callan…Coffee…Contemplation for the Week of February 24th
February 24, 2014 | No Comments »
President’s Day: Individuals of Character can Change History
In honor of President’s Day it’s wise to remind ourselves that great men and women, people of great character, can shape the destinies of nations and the arc of history. George Washington was such a man. Washington’s noble character, not his generalship, was the immovable object against which the British empire finally broke. And it was Washington’s character that rallied his soldiers during their many long retreats, galvanized the infant nation during its darkest hours, and set the standard for a dignified transfer of power for all other presidencies. Washington was the first to model to the world that renown in America would be based on one’s character and behavior, not one’s birthright, rank, or position. Washington was truly indispensable to his nation’s destiny, but in leaving his post willingly and with such honor, he made himself dispensable, his greatest act of significance and heroism.
Success
Leaders want to be successful both for our personal goals and the broader goals we set for our teams. However, we often fail to fully understand the term success. Our modern world often equates success with outer trappings like rank, title, salary, or the size of our house. Our modern world also likes to believe in the myth of instant success, an illusion born of a mania for instant gratification. The truth is real success doesn’t follow a rags-to-riches trajectory. Heroic leaders don’t rise from nothing, nor do they make it alone. True success is neither cheap nor easy, but rather, the by-product of a life-long pattern of successful behavior that results in personal readiness. Success thus comes at the nexus of challenge and readiness. If we are ready when challenge or opportunity emerge, we’ll be successful, and not just for ourselves, but for a greater good. We can’t control the nature or timing of the challenge, but we can control our readiness through practice, preparation, and rehearsal. Understood such, success is a self-disciplined pattern of action—a habit pattern–that great leaders cultivate into their lives.
Significance
The ultimate measure of leadership effectiveness is significance: Did we leave a legacy that is elevating, worthy of following, and enduring? Does our example stand the test of time? Did we make the group better for having led it? I like to think of significance like footprints in the sand. If we are significant as leaders, we leave a trail of trustworthy guideposts for others to follow once we are gone. This residue of example is crucial because we will not always be there to personally shepherd the group. Moreover, enduring organizational excellence is never determined by a single charismatic leader. Greatness has to be cultivated into the group, deep in the groups’ ethos, so the group can thrive even without the presence of the senior leader. Heroic leaders become significant by creating a self-disciplined pattern of behavior based on noble purpose, honorable aspiration, right action, and a commitment to something greater than self. This is the road less taken, but it’s the only path enabling the leader to become the lesson.
The Leader as a Visionary – Part I
One of the core roles of a leader is that of Visionary—clarifying the future for the groups we lead. All groups, regardless of mission, vocation, size, or function want to know this from the leader: Where are we headed, and why? And they want leaders to answer those questions with absolute clarity. The concept of leader’s vision is often misconstrued to mean a soothsayer or prognosticator, which is wrong. A leader’s vision does not predict the future. Rather, a leader’s vision describes what we will be in the future. An effective leadership vision therefore has these key qualities: (1) it provides the necessary context; (2) it is compelling and hard to resist; and (3) it makes the pain of changing worth the effort. In this sense, vision is an ideal end state—a clear point of aim and an azimuth of march. But here’s the really important truth all leaders must embrace with regard to their vision: Initially, the messenger is more important than the message! People must first buy into you, the leader, before they will accept your vision. A leader’s credibility and trustworthiness is crucial. First you, and then the vision.
The Leader as a Visionary – Part II
Aristotle said, “The Soul never thinks without a picture.” This reminds us of the need for mental images in conveying our vision. A leader’s vision must resonate with people’s hearts and souls, more than their heads. Human beings are deeply drawn to meaning as expressed in mental pictures and imagery. Therefore, great leaders often make use of stories, parables, and pictures in delivering their vision. Stories, parables, and pictures help us imagine the vision in both a personal and group context, and more importantly, move us out of our rationalizing minds and into our intuitive souls—the source of all heroic action. That said, once leaders clarify their vision, they should make maximal use of group gatherings and explain their vision through compelling stories and mental images. And in doing so regularly, and consistently, this storytelling helps remind leaders that vision is often more a matter of renovation, than creation. Become a great storyteller, touch people’s souls, and you’ll move people confidently towards your vision and into the future.
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 February 17th
February 17, 2014 | No Comments »
Heroic Leaders Possess Self-Discipline
The central maxim of our Callan Course philosophy is this: Great leadership starts with self-leadership; self-leadership starts with self-mastery, and self-mastery is achieved through self-discipline. Self-discipline is a habit born of an intention–achieved by the daily, purposeful allocation of time and energy to mastering ourselves. And like all successful habits, we must combine the intellectual acceptance of the need for the quality (self-discipline) coupled with the tangible actions that create a pattern of behavior.Think here of the master archer: The most crucial thing the archer will ever do to master his craft, to become an expert marksman, is develop self-discipline to master himself—the shooter. Heroic leaders, like the master archer, are also shooters, and our arrows are made of our leadership influence. We will consistently place our arrows of influence in the center of the target by mastering ourselves through self discipline.
Heroic Paradigm – Part II
Our paradigm, the lens through which we view life and leadership, is the most crucial determinant of great leadership. I often describe three basic paradigms that leaders can adopt. The first is accidental leadership, where one devotes almost no thought, preparation, or practice to the art of leadership. The second paradigm is cafeteria leadership, where one simply picks and chooses the leadership actions that fit one’s mood, whim, or disposition. Neither accidental nor cafeteria style paradigms are noble, elevating, or capable of producing greatness. The third and correct paradigm of leading is Heroic Leadership. A Heroic Leadership paradigm is based on a conviction that leadership is a master craft, requiring great exertion, life-long preparation, and daily devotion to self mastery. A Heroic Leader never separates one’s life from one’s leadership. To remain heroic we must constantly clean the lens, transform our eye, and re-tune our ear.
Leadership As A Journey
We refer to leadership as a journey to reinforce this core truth: Leadership is a master craft requiring lifelong development. That leadership is a journey also reminds us that true mastery will always defy instant gratification. To pursue heroic leadership, we must go through life’s test and trials, not around them. There are no menus, checklists, gimmicks, shortcuts, or killer apps we can download to achieve instant leadership mastery. And, though demanding, the journey to heroic leadership is, in the end, its own reward; it calls forth our best selves, and for the groups we lead, it provides a beacon of noble purpose to guide towards the future. The journey’s path can thus be shown, and the terrain described, but each leader must answer the call to heroic leadership and begin walking. Seen correctly, the journey is not just necessary as a means to excellence, but more importantly, the journey is the handmaiden of our character and our significance.
Transformation
There’s been much written about transformational leadership from the vantage point of how leaders transform others. A far more important viewpoint is self-transformation: How Heroic Leaders transform themselves. Self-transformation, borne of the leader’s journey, produces an authentic, centered, and wise leader. Like a diamond imbedded in coal, our heroic self is initially buried under surface level limitations, namely—our egos. And like a diamond, our heroic self will only emerge through crucible-like conditions that burn away the external layers and reveal the hidden gem. Consider this axiom: to reach the high ground of leadership, we must first endure the desert. We must leave our comfort zone, cross thresholds, endure tests, and be re-renewed in the cauldron of experience. The shaping events in our lives, properly understood, create inner conversions—a continual turning around and a letting go. Paradoxically, we must first to go inward, and then and only then–upward and outward.
Heroic Leaders are Resonant
Leadership at its core is influence, and at the core of influence is resonance. Do we resonate with those we lead or not? Consider an orchestra conductor. A great conductor—a maestro–takes a group of disparate musicians and through his artful influence, creates resonance. Resonance is perfect pitch, tone, tenor, and tempo. Beautiful music. This orchestra appears to operate as a single, seamless entity. They have moved from E Pluribus, to Unum (from many, one). Conversely, a bad conductor takes that same group of musicians and due to his lack of leadership influence, creates dissonance. Dissonance is horrible pitch, tone, tenor, and tempo. Like fingernails across a chalk board! Great leaders are maestros; they take once disparate groups—raw elements—and turn them into gold. The gold they create is reflected as unity, cohesion, and shared intent. Leaders become resonant with those they lead by consistently modeling excellence, trustworthiness, and foremost—authenticity. So…do you resonate with your group? To know, look to the quality of the conductor. Be a maestro!
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 … Contemplations for the Week of February 10th
February 10, 2014 | No Comments »
Heroic Leaders Know Honor is Worth More Than Glory
Heroic Leaders know that when honor is abandoned for personal glory, convenience, instant gratification, or self-gain, that loss of honor becomes a fatal wound, seriously diminishing the leaders trustworthiness. Conversely, Heroic Leaders know that when honor is upheld during trying times, that act is galvanizing and reinforcing of the leader’s trustworthiness. When we abandon honor we descend, when we uphold honor we elevate. Seen this way, honorable behavior relies on moral courage. Moral courage reminds us of this eternal maxim: The more it costs us to defend and uphold, the more it is worth! Honor can be an inconvenient thing, as honor requires leaders to see beyond the moment, to reach beyond personal glory, to refuse the temptation of instant gratification, and avoid the well-worn path of convenience. To remind ourselves of the value of personal honor, and the necessity of moral courage in upholding our honor, we should always remember these facts: (1) You won’t recognize honor if you don’t practice it; and (2) you can’t expect honor from others if you don’t model it yourself. Honor requires the leader to apply judgment, and in doing so, choosing elevating over descending.
Embracing the F-Word: How Leaders Use Failure as a Teacher
No matter how well prepared we are as leaders, we will occasionally fail. What defines a champion is the ability to rise off the mat and respond without losing our integrity and core purpose. We therefore must confront these truths: We learn more from failure than from success; failures will be mostly unexpected; the playing field is never level; and failure is the most direct path to truth. Leaders must embrace failure as a necessary teacher. Failure, if properly understood, can become the handmaiden of our self-mastery and of the evolving excellence of our teams. To develop an ability to bounce back from failure without losing our core purpose, leaders must cultivate resilience, hardiness, and mental toughness in their teams. Leaders cultivate these attributes by intentionally placing themselves and their teams in situations that test the limits of endurance, push past thresholds, and call forth fortitude. When leaders embrace failure in this way, we emerge from the crucible stronger, more confident, and more hardy. Such is the stuff of champions.
Fly the Middle Way: Great Leaders are Simplifiers
In Greek mythology, Icarus is told by his father to resist the urge to fly either too high or too low and instead—to fly the middle way. This myth is a great metaphor for leaders too. Great leaders learn to fly the middle way by not being susceptible to extreme lows (negativity, pessimism, cynicism) or extreme highs (untamed emotion or uncontrolled passion). As such, great leaders take complex issues and simplify them to their core element–the “main thing.” A key way for leaders to fly the middle way is to master quiet time. Leaders must set aside quiet time every day to think and reflect, be that in a designated venue removed from work or going for a walk or run. It is in the solitude of quiet time that deep thoughts emerge…and leaders are able to move beyond the surface-level frenzy of work and clarify the “main things.” Great leaders understand that effective leadership is about focus, awareness, deep knowing, and informed action, and one can only activate these qualities by flying the middle way.
Heroic Leaders Possess Vitality and Energy
One of the foremost qualities of a heroic leader is the ability to point to a better future. In this sense, leaders are like beacons, clarifying where we are headed, why we are going there, and the ultimate end states of our actions. In this beacon-like role, leaders must consistently project vitality and energy; a confident and optimistic attitude that cuts through the fog of uncertainty and orients us toward the future. Vitality and energy are equally a mindset and a way of living. Vitality is a mindset in terms of personal paradigm—how the leader views his role as exemplar of spirited leadership. Vitality is a way of living in the sense that one adheres to a vigorous and strenuous lifestyle. Great leaders understand that an organization without energy and vitality is like a waste land, barren of purpose, spirit, and strength. To combat this waste land experience, great leaders use their personal vitality to infuse vitality in their followers, and by doing so, they bring renewed life and a
contagious optimism to the group.
Heroic Leaders Possess a Deep Wellspring of Decency
Decency is too often shunned as a core leadership virtue because it is viewed, incorrectly, as somehow being “too soft.” That is an unfortunate perception, because it is wrong. Decency is not a tactic or a technique, it is a virtue! Decency reflects our character, and flows from a deep sense of gratitude and respect. Decent leaders project civility, trustworthiness, respect, and honor in all human dealings, even when under extreme pressure or in dire conditions. Decency, like all core virtues, is “non negotiable” and does not change with situations or conditions. Instead, decency serves as a firm anchor point, buttressing us against the ever-changing winds of politics, passion, or convenience. Decency is neither soft nor weak as a leadership virtue; it is made of the most solid and sturdy substance a leader can possess: Character! We are reminded of the importance of decency in this quote attributed to Kass: “We stand most upright when we gladly bow our heads.”
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 February 3rd
February 3, 2014 | No Comments »
Heroic Leaders Focus on Virtues
I find it compelling (and telling) that Aesop’s Fables, written by an ancient Greek who lived in the 6th
century BC, remain so relevant today. I believe Aesop’s Fables endure, even in our modern world, because Aesop wrote principally about virtues, not values. There is nothing wrong with values, per se; however, values tend to be of thinner substance than virtues. Values can be situational, relative, and easily won or abandoned. Think of it: Anyone can have values, even criminals, gangs, and despots. Virtues are sturdier because virtues require personal judgment; often require personal sacrifice and moral courage to uphold; take time to master and turn into habits; and point to timeless wisdom anchored in humanity’s most noble aspirations. By anchoring ourselves on classic virtues
such as honor, courage, service, wisdom, altruism, and merit, these virtues help form a sturdy bulwark against what Lincoln called “the silent artillery of time” and thus help us stand most upright when times get tough.
Why Ethos is the Key to Organizational Excellence
Ethos is a Greek word meaning “the essential character or spirit of a group.” Ethos is the deep perennial knowledge and communal roots that define the spirit of a people. Ethos is what is passed from generation to generation to form a deep sense of common identity, common purpose, and common reference. When alive and thriving, ethos provides to the group answer to these three elementary question: Who are we? What do we do? What do we stand for? Ethos is akin to the underground root system of a tree, in that ethos is the life-blood and wellspring of the organization’s enduring health, vitality, and resilience. When ethos is built and sustained by leaders, ethos protects the organization from living solely in a present-tense culture, allowing the organization to feel its past in the wind while confidently looking forward towards the future. Ethos is a affect image…touching hearts and souls in a deep and powerful way, and as such ethos instructs, informs, galvanizes, and reinforces cultural expectations and aspirations.
Heroic Leaders Embrace Paradox
Leadership is a master craft, and like all master crafts, gaining true excellence in leadership requires embracing paradox. Not everything about leadership is linear or simple. Heroic leaders, in mastering themselves and gaining true inner authority, have to accept and internalize leadership paradoxes such as these:
- To get, you must give
- To excel, you must release power
- To speed up, you must slow down
- To lead others, you must master yourself
- To win, you must occasionally fail
- To detect, you must reflect
- To integrate, you must disintegrate
- To get hard results, you must master soft skills
- The higher you go, the less you need to know (technically)
Heroic Leaders Avoid the Slippery Slope
Like Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey, all leaders will occasionally be lured by the siren’s call to the shores of ignoble behavior. It is tempting to follow the siren’s call and step onto the slippery slope towards our lesser ambitions, and when we do, we end up crashing on the shore and shipwrecking our integrity, our honor, and our trustworthiness. When leaders step on the slippery slope, they fall prey to these toxic mindsets and behaviors:
- Convenience
- Instant Gratification
- Victimization
- Cynicism
- Rights without Responsibility
- Entitlement without Sacrifice
Like Odysseus before us, we must lash ourselves to the mast of moral courage, avoid the slippery slope, and chart a wiser course to uphold our integrity and our honor.
Heroic Leaders Understand the Necessity of “No”
Like the mythic Pandora, leaders often mistake success as saying “yes” to everything. And like Pandora, when leaders lift the lid of the box and say “yes” to everything, they unleash a torrent of unfocused tasks and misguided energy that results in chaos and confusion. Why do leaders often fall prey to this Pandora effect and focus on doing more and more and more? Because of the chimera of activity and business! When leaders perceive busyness, they automatically correlate that busyness to production and effectiveness, which is often the opposite of what is actually achieved. Busyness and unfocused energy creates dissipation, not focus! Heroic leaders therefore understand the necessity of saying “no.” Heroic leaders must discipline themselves, and their organization, to focus on their ethos, their core strategy, and their ultimate end states, and say “no” to things that do not align with these core purposes. Great leaders instill in themselves and their organizations a willingness to ask these crucial questions: What should we stop doing? What should we never do? In this way, leaders foster a discipline for “no” and create healthy mechanisms for removal.
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 January 27, 2014
January 27, 2014 | No Comments »
Every day we share our Leadership Reflections on our social media pages. Our daily reflections are quick thoughts on leadership that you can quickly and easily digest over a cup of morning coffee!
Here is the collection of last week’s reflections:
MLK … Crossing Thresholds
In 1965 Martin Luther King was leading a march from Selma to Montgomery and the Edmund Pettus Bridge was on his route. King needed to cross the bridge to continue onwards to Montgomery. King’s opponents didn’t want him to cross that bridge. As King stood at one end of the bridge and peered across to the other side, he was confronted with the present danger of an angry opposition, but equally, by his own inner fear and self-doubt. This was a decisive threshold moment: Should he cross and pursue his destiny, or turn back and seek safer ground? King chose to cross the bridge, and in doing so, he pulled himself, and our society, across a transformative threshold. The bridge King crossed that day was short in physical distance but immense in terms of defining a heroic life. As leaders, we too will come to threshold decisions in our lives. And like King, we’ll find ourselves standing on the near side of that threshold—the side representing our present condition–and be confronted with the decision to cross over to the far side–a new state and new condition. Will we move forward and pursue our destiny? Will we endure the crucible to achieve growth? Or, will we turn back and seek safer ground? Such is the nature of all threshold decisions: Do we leave our comfort zone and heed the call to heroic purpose, or return home and accept something less?
Heroic Leaders Surround Themselves with Strong Teammates
When reflecting on the mythic image of King Arthur and his famed Knights, the image of the Round Table comes to mind. As its name implies, the Round Table at which Arthur and his Knights met had no designated head, implying that everyone assembled had equal honor, a valued voice, and an obligation to contribute. This obligation to be present, to think and act, and to value strong teammates, was considered the highest order of chivalry at King Arthur’s Court. As modern leaders, we too should possess the strength of character to seek out, and welcome, strong teammates. Attracting strong teammates requires us to have an abundance mindset where we are not afraid of others’ strengths; where we are willing to share credit and good fortune. Additionally, attracting strong teammates helps us hear contrarian voices and not fall prey to group think. Strong teammates, welcomed to our own Round Tables, help us avoid blind spots in our personal thinking.
Heroic Leaders Embrace Intuition
The acme of battlefield generalship, most often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte, is the term coup d’oeil, which means the “power of the glance.” A general with coup d’oeil can arrive at a battle, observe the emerging conditions and situation, and trusting his well-honed instincts, plan his strategy intuitively. It isn’t that facts or intelligence aren’t important, they are. However, the dynamism and fluidity of the battlefield demand agile, integrated, and rapid “deep knowing.” Modern Leaders must learn to hone and trust our intuitions too, because there is no such thing as certainty in leading. The only exact science is retrospect. Our modern world prizes complex analysis, as if complex analysis automatically equates to deep knowing. Too often, complex analysis results only in decision-making paralysis. So what is intuition? It is pattern recognition! Once a leader detects a pattern, he must trust his rapid cognition, and decide intuitively. Heroic Leaders know, and value, the power of the glance.
Heroic Leaders Speak the Language of Leadership
Communicating–deeply connecting to and resonating with others—is the key distinction between great leadership and basic management. Heroic Leaders understand they must first speak to hearts
before they try to appeal to minds, and in connecting with hearts, leaders must provide answers to these three elementary questions: Who? What? and Why? Armed with answers to those three questions, followers will naturally activate their inner motivation, unleash their passion, and rally to noble purposes. The language of leadership has a unique style using basic conversational tones, an
active voice, and a personal and clear delivery. The language of leadership avoids tech-speak and mind-numbing bureaucratic jargon. Heroic leaders make extensive use of metaphors, parables, and stories to paint mental pictures and to portray galvanizing end states. The language of leadership gets us out of our heads and into our hearts—the source of all championship performance.
Manufacturing Wins & Leveraging Success
Great leaders create positive momentum for their teams. Be they in sports, business, or the local community, great leaders create opportunities for “small wins” and, once achieved, the leader publically celebrates these team achievements to create a centrifugal force of positive energy, optimism, and confidence. In this sense, great leaders serve as catalysts—or maestros—orchestrating wins by expertly applying pace, flow, and tempo. When leaders manufacture wins and leverage success in this way, they create an organizational affect we can think of as “patterns of achievement.” This is what in sports is often referred to as “learning how to win.” Once we master a pattern of success, we come to expect it, and we know how to achieve it. Success, like heroic leadership itself, is both a mindset and a habit. By paying attention to small things and small rules, great leaders create a rising tide of success. Why? Because great leaders understand that the accumulation of small things, done well, has big consequences!
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 January 20th
January 21, 2014 | No Comments »
Every day we share our Leadership Reflections on our social media pages. Our daily reflections are quick thoughts on leadership that you can quickly and easily digest over a cup of morning coffee!
Here is the collection of last week’s reflections:
Heroic Leaders are Exemplars – Their Lives Become the Lesson
The ultimate goal of leadership is significance; to leave a residue of elevating example, noble purpose, and excellence that, like footprints in the sand, provide a trusted path for others to follow. Heroic leaders understand that one’s life evokes one’s character; therefore, they place themselves in situations that call forth their higher nature. The ultimate boon of a leader’s journey is Authenticity—the ability to genuinely resonate with others–which is only attained via the cauldron of life’s challenges and the crucible of personal transformation. Heroic Leaders internalize life’s lessons to the point that they themselves become the lesson.
Heroic Leaders Possess a Heroic Paradigm
The most essential component to Heroic Leadership is developing and retaining a Heroic Leadership paradigm. A paradigm is the filter through which one views life and leadership. Like a lens, a leader’s paradigm will refract what one perceives and inform one’s thoughts, actions, emotions, reactions, and ultimately, deeds. As such, a heroic leader must constantly “clean the lens” to ensure his ability to effectively see truth and hear wisdom remains pure. The components of a Heroic Leadership paradigm are these: (1) Great leadership is based on self-leadership; (2) Self-leadership is based on self-mastery; and (3) self-mastery is based on self-discipline. For the Heroic Leader, leadership is a way of life.
Heroic Leaders Seek Self-Mastery
Before a leader can truly exert positive influence over others, he must first master himself. Inner authority, borne via the crucible of personal experience and personal conversion, must first be cultivated within the leader before he can resonate with others. Like a master archer, a Heroic Leader must first center and regulate himself before he can effectively dispatch the arrows from his leadership quiver, and before those arrows of leadership fly straight and true. To gain self-mastery Heroic Leaders must daily allocate both time and energy to these three dimensions: Projection (thinking about the future); Action (practicing and preparing now); and Reflection (contemplating the past to garner lessons and wisdom).
Heroic Leaders are Dedicated Mentors
A hallmark of all great societies and organizations throughout history was the presence of “wise elders” within the group who served as mentors to the young emerging generation. Defined classically, mentorship is more a state of mind, a quality of being, than it is a single act or function. As such, Heroic Leaders operate by this sacred obligation: Attain mastery, and then give it away (freely)! As dedicated mentors we understand the enormous impact of practice and preparation in nurturing our followers, and we measure ourselves as leaders by how well, and to what degree, we have fostered excellence, maturity, accountability, character, and virtue in our followers. Mentorship is
therefore akin to the classic concept of apprenticeship, in which a deep bond–a “braided cord”– is formed between teacher and student.
Heroic Leaders Always Set the Example
As leaders, we are always being watched by those we lead. Our words, attitudes, actions, and deeds are always visible, interpreted, and judged by those around us. As such, leaders should always consider themselves “live, on stage, and on the record.” Our personal example is therefore a powerful beacon to be used for good or ill; for resonance or dissonance; for inspiration or stagnation; for elevation or depression. When our followers look to us, they hope to see a consistent example characterized by self mastery; confidence tempered by humility; a bias for action; vibrancy and optimism; and wisdom. Heroic Leaders strive to be exemplars, champions, and icons of excellence and virtue. Like the mythic Atlas carrying the world on his shoulders, Heroic Leaders must also accept the burden of personal example and willingly carry that obligation on their sturdy shoulders.
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!
Finding Ethos Everywhere (If You Look)
September 17, 2013 | No Comments »
By Paul Callan
My travels recently took me to Asia for business and a bit of leisure. I find during these extended journeys that my mind is more open to seeing the larger picture; to moving beyond the surface level at which I often feel restricted in my work-a-day life at home and to seeing important things that are right there, in plain sight, if I am available to those things.
For example, over the past few days, I’ve engaged in some insightful discussions with a local Singaporean and a Kiwi (a citizen of New Zealand, for those stumped by the nick name).
The Singaporean mentioned that iconic national symbols–such as Singapore Airlines and Changi International Airport–were created with a deep sense of capturing the allure, mystery, gracefulness, and promise of Singapore. These iconic images were created to represent a perennial, deeply-rooted sense of what it meant to be Singaporean.
The Kiwi talked about the adventurous nature of her countrymen. Though geographically isolated, New Zealand nonetheless reflects a soaring spirit of embracing nature and encouraging young Kiwis to leave New Zealand and see the world. My Kiwi friend referred to this adventurous spirit as a truly bedrock element of what it meant to be Kiwi.
In retrospect, I recognized a common theme in these conversations, and it was ethos (ethos is an ancient Greek word meaning “the essential character of a people”). As a student of leadership, I long ago concluded that ethos is the most essential cornerstone of organizational excellence. With ethos, groups remain vibrant and thrive. Without ethos, groups wither and decline.
So, what is the lesson in all this? I believe there are three key lessons:
- First, ethos is the essential cornerstone of excellence in all organizations, be they large or small, profit or non-profit, private or public, start up or legacy, sports teams, or universities. Even families and communities need an ethos;
- Second, all leaders must be accountable for creating a thriving ethos in their organizations. A healthy ethos should provide to its members answers to these “elementary ideas:” Who are we? How do we define ourselves? What do we do that brings value? Why does it matter?
- Third, armed with an ethos that answers those questions, a climate of unity, elevation, passion, commitment, cohesion, and perseverance will be fostered and it is this sturdy foundation that enables long-term excellence.
Once built, ethos must then be sustained, because like all forms of mastery, ethos is a perishable asset if not constantly renewed. Here are a few ways leaders can rejuvenate ethos in their groups to promote a wellspring of vitality and strength:
- Explain symbols, icons, and archetypes. Every flourishing group has symbols, icons, and archetypes that point to deeper truths and enduring wisdom within the organization—what one might call the “collective unconscious” of the group. Leaders should weave symbols and icons into their speeches, stories, and gatherings to cultivate shared identity.
- Teach Traditions. By incorporating rituals, rites, and ceremonies into the organizational fabric, leaders can leverage powerful tools to teach traditions to emerging generations and reinforce traditions with older generations. Healthy rites of passage reinforce expectations and bolster affiliation.
- Celebrate customs and courtesies. By celebrating customs and courtesies, leaders can publically express shared values, promote shared beliefs, galvanize group identity, and create a feeling of positive exceptionalism—a hallmark of championship performance.
Now that I’m home, I am again prone to falling prey to the busy-ness of life, to moving automatically from task to task, mission to mission. When I find myself sliding into such a mode, I recall my recent time overseas and try to recapture my ability to stop, look, and appreciate key elements of leadership in action, where ever they may present themselves. We can all find ethos, and see its powerful unifying effect, if we are willing to look.
The Language of Leadership: Why Knowledge Alone is not Power
September 3, 2013 | 1 Comment »
By Paul Callan
I’m sitting here on Singapore Airlines Flight SQ12, mid-way between Singapore and Tokyo. I’ve just completed the normal chit-chat with the lady sitting next to me in row 24, a discussion ripe with pleasantries normally encountered when settling in for a long flight. At the tail end of our conversation this woman used an axiom so common in our daily lexicon that it almost always goes unnoticed, or un-questioned, and that axiom is “knowledge is power.”
Partly to fill some time on my long flight, and partly because I was naturally inquisitive, I decided to question that axiom. Is knowledge really power? The more I wrestled with this question, the stronger my conviction became that the answer is, no—knowledge (alone) is not power.
Real power is the ability to convey knowledge! Real leadership power is the ability to project what you have gained…to give away that knowledge. Having gained and retained knowledge is a first and vital step, yes; however, if a leader cannot effectively share and project that knowledge to others, then what real value is knowledge gained other than one’s personal benefit?
And if my assertion is correct that conveying knowledge is real power, then this next point is especially critical for all leaders: To effectively convey knowledge, we must learn to speak what I call the language of leadership. Why? Because it is through the language of leadership that leaders best project vision, describe end states, inspire action, strengthen resolve, and galvanize unity of effort.
To speak the language of leadership requires a certain style—a “leadership vocabulary,” which I have distilled into the following six points:
- Be authentic. As leaders, what we say must be fully in accord with who we are. Our words, our aspirations, and our projected vision, when conveyed publically to our followers, must align fully with our core character and core virtues. As leaders, we must always remember that we are at once both the message and the messenger.
- Connect with hearts before minds. Humans are ultra-social beings, and as such, we respond first, and most powerfully, to meaning and purpose (matters of the heart). Matters of the mind– logic and rationale—come second. Therefore, to galvanize top performance, leaders must first inspire the hearts of those they lead, and leaders can do so by publically, and regularly, answering for their followers these three key questions: Who are we? What do we do? Why does it matter?
- Present big ideas…but explain them simply. People respond to noble purposes, worthy causes, bold missions, and honorable aspirations. It is the leader’s job to explain, and clarify, big and compelling ideas to unleash passion and inner motivation from their team. However (and this is important)–though the idea may be big and soaring, the language we use to explain the idea should be simple, concise, brief, and action-oriented. Big idea, simple explanation.
- Use a conversational tone. Let’s be honest; no one ever charged up a hill or rallied to a cause in response to technical or bureaucratic language. Here’s the simple truth: people respond to vigorous speech. Therefore, leaders should speak in simple, concise, and conversational tones. No clutter, no million-dollar words, no flowery vocabulary.
- Use an active voice. Leaders—make your spoken communications count! Why? Because leaders are always live, on stage, and on the record. Therefore, the language of leadership should be built on sturdy nouns, action verbs, and spoken in the active voice.
- Tell stories. I’ve come to believe that stories are a leader’s greatest tool for conveying deep meaning and illustrating high purpose. Stories convey moral and ethical principles in a non-threatening way. Moreover, stories form a close and authentic bond between the storyteller and the listener. Stories thus are the most effective way to get us (both the leader and the led) out of our heads and into our hearts and souls—the source of all great performance and all true teamwork.
Let me use an analogy to summarize the difference between speaking the language of leadership compared to speaking technical or bureaucratic language. The language of leadership is like jazz music: powerful, vigorous, upbeat, penetrating, and elevating. When you hear jazz you naturally tap your feet and come alive. Conversely, technical and bureaucratic language is like supermarket Muzak: subdued, passive, mellow, superficial, and vanilla. When you hear Muzak you want to take a nap.
To lead, one must resonate. To lead, we must project perfect tenor, pitch, tone, and key with the goal of harmonizing peak performance. Our choice as leaders is this: Do we play jazz or play Muzak?
So yes…knowledge is important. It is a first step. But possessing knowledge alone is not enough. Real power comes from conveying that knowledge; real power comes from effectively articulating vision, end states, purposes, goals, and objectives. Real leadership constantly conveys the answer to who, what, and why—connecting with hearts before minds. Real leadership projects big ideas explained in simple terms. Real leadership speaks in vigorous, active, and action-oriented language and uses stories to move followers out of their heads and into their hearts. So turn off the Muzak, and turn on the jazz—and speak the language of leadership!
Why Technology Will Never Replace Leadership
August 19, 2013 | No Comments »
By Paul Callan
There are people who believe that leadership in the future will be dominated by technology. Likewise, these same people question whether a classic philosophy like heroic leadership, with its focus on timeless principles and the cultivation of a rich inner life, still matters in our increasingly technology-centered world. The core reasoning of this belief seems to be this: Why take the time to gain self-mastery when technology can give us instant information and instant knowledge?
Well, I’d like to refute this line of thinking. I do not think technology can ever replace or even dominate leadership. For me to effectively support my position, it is necessary to first distinguish between leadership and management, because what I hope to show is that technology’s impact will be quite different between the former and the latter.
So let’s start with definitions, and let’s keep it simple. Here you go:
- We lead people;
- We manage things.
So, accepting this distinction between leading and managing, here’s what I believe, and why I believe it, distilled into four key points:
Point one: Technology can never replace or dominate leadership because leadership is an art, and in its execution–a “master craft.” And like any master craft, the ultimate output is an affect that must be cultivated throughout life and this affect must be felt, intuitively and personally, by the receiving audience. Consider for a moment other master crafts and craftsmen: A dancer, a concert pianist, a champion athlete, and a master chef. Technology may help them manage their training, speed up administrative details, improve processes, but once they are live and on stage, the performance is now reduced to its most raw and basic level: resonance between performer and audience. This is why a live performance, viewed in person, is always substantially more powerful as an affect than that same performance viewed on a recording. When we are there, in person, we feel and hear what is called “the word behind the words.” We experience deep meaning. We experience true resonance.
Point Two: As a master craft, excellent leadership also results in a resonance affect. As leaders, we are always live and on stage in the same way as the dancer, pianist, or athlete. Therefore, leadership will always be a deeply human interaction, achieved best in a personal, physically present, and communal setting. Human beings are ultra-social beings, responding to a complex and deeply nuanced admixture of social and group dynamics. The interpreting and processing of these dynamics occurs intuitively, and rests to a large degree on reading body language, sensing emotion, and detecting intent. Physically standing in front of the group you are leading and generating affect cannot be fully duplicated or replicated virtually. It is as simple as this: Being there matters!
Point Three: We must always remember this key fact: Leadership at its most fundamental level is resonance—human influence. And human influence rests on discernment; judgment; empathy; emotional intelligence, and wisdom. Leadership’s ultimate end state is human effectiveness, created through resonance between the leader and the led.
Point Four: Management is a different story. Here’s where technology has its role. Recall the definition I provided above: We manage things—such as processes, procedures, policies, equipment, metrics, and measures. These things can be influenced through and even somewhat replaced by, technology. So yes, technology has an expending future role in management because management deals in efficiency and enhancing production. Management is thus a means to an end, and technology can certainly improve that means.
But let me close with a cautionary note. We must always remember that no matter how greatly technology improves management, at some point, we will have to engage personally, in a physically-present manner, to create deep human influence. At some point, we will have to put down our phones, tablets, and laptops, climb on stage, and perform. As leaders, we are the master craftsmen. Our followers are our audience. The affect we seek is resonance…the ability to create the ideal tenor, tempo, pitch, and key to harmonize feelings, convictions, purpose, and passion. This deep resonance can never be replaced by technology.
Paul Discusses Millennial Leadership on Dose of Leadership Podcast
August 9, 2013 | No Comments »
Paul recently recorded the second interview in a two-part podcast series with Dose of Leadership. In the first of the series, Paul discussed Heroic Leadership and as a follow up, in this podcast, Paul discussed heroic leadership in the millennial generation.
The podcast starts off defining the millennial generation and understanding why this generation is so important. Paul discusses some key statistics and facts regarding the millennial generation, including that they are the largest generation EVER in US history.
Paul and Richard then dive further into leadership challenges facing both this generation and the other generations working with the millennials. It’s a great conversation about leadership, management, technology, education, and maturation. We think you’ll really enjoy it!
You can catch the whole podcast here.