Happy 2010 and happy new decade! You have probably set your goals and plans for the year. Now is the time to strike the balance between keeping your vision clear and … Read more in our January Newsletter
Copyright 2010 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC www.sagelead.com
When I was in 6th grade we watched some of the Watergate Hearings at school. I remember seeing the President breakdown, resign and say he was sorry on TV. I tried to understand why it was necessary to “cheat” – violate the law, ethics and integrity as a leader – to make sure he won. I was in 7th grade when Ford pardoned Nixon 35 years ago this week. I wondered why Nixon wasn’t held more accountable for his actions. Was this fair and just?
Why was there mixed support for our current president, Obama, to address school students this week? My daughter is starting 7th grade and I feel much better about Obama’s messages than Nixon’s.
Forget about political agendas. How powerful is it for a child to receive a message from someone who embodies what they are asking you to do? Blessed with exceptional oratory skills, Obama has a way of sharing his personal story in “kid currency” with examples of Harry Potter, Twitter, Facebook, and Celebrity status to inspire and deliver a balanced message. Here are the cliff notes:
[The story of America is people who don't quit when things get hard...Do not allow the circumstances of your life to be an excuse for not trying your best...your destiny is in your hands...being successful is hard work...you must be disciplined...ask for help, and learn from failures. I'm doing my part in trying to get you what you need for a good education but you must do your part.]
What parents doesn’t want their child to get this message? As we lag behind other developing nations in high school graduations, our children need good roles models who actively demonstrate this kind of encouragement.
We are a world struggling to unite amidst crisis – If not for yourself, then be hopeful and resilient for our next generation of leaders. How do you actively cultivate children – your own or others – to develop their talents and gifts?
Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC www.sagelead.com
Regardless of what you think about Ted Kennedy’s politics or how he managed his personal life, you have to admire his oratory and negotiation skills and how resilient he was.
He held to his causes up to the end of his life. The lion’s last roar was a plea to the governor for immediate replacement of his position so there could be the needed vote to push through his lifelong cause for national healthcare.
Let’s face it, with half the deck of cards he was dealt, many of us would have folded let alone stand up against opposition to our causes every day.
Kennedy had to deal with the unimaginable traumas of witnessing two brothers murdered, carry the family pressure of holding the Kennedy torch in the political arena, amidst other family turmoil and tragedies, burying nephews and sisters along the way. He did embody his family’s moral code - to much that is given, much is expected – spending his whole life lobbying for making the lives of those less fortunate better.
Beyond “working for a fair and just America,” what is truly remarkable is that, he won the respect of his staunchest opponents. Their sentiments are he is, “inspirational… irreplaceable…” As Joe Biden says, he “helped his foes be better people by looking at themselves and each other differently.”
The skill of staying in the game and staying in dialogue with those who see the world very different than you, is one that we need now more than ever. With all the turmoil in the world, it is too easy to shut down and build walls. Our future depends on us all keeping the collective dialogue going.
Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC www.sagelead.com
How can you aspire to be a transformational leader if you spend your day in back/back meetings and every free moment trying to “stay connected” via the social media frenzy?
There is no way for you to change dramatically or be a leader that facilitates transformational change with those around you or in your business, if you do not take time for quiet and reflection. Remember, you can be by yourself – in the car, in the restroom, in the shower – and still have the loudest noises going on in your head.
Deep, sustained change requires time and space to hear beyond the noise to listen to what really needs to be heard. Rumi, a 13th century poet said it so well: “Let the waters settle you will see stars and moon mirrored in your Being.”
To be a transformational leader, you need to create a discipline of quietude that invites the strength, insight and wisdom required for our times. There is no guarantee it will come but if there is no fertile ground, it certainly will not come.
Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC www.sagelead.com
You can’t have organizational resiliency if you aren’t a resilient leader yourself – to model the way and hold the space for others.
I define leadership resiliency as the embodiment of strength, intelligent optimism, flexibility and resourcefulness that gives you the fortitude and buoyancy to bounce back from setbacks or significant challenges while attempting to realize your goals and dreams. Intelligent optimism is not just reciting pie in the sky affirmations but being hopeful and having faith BECAUSE of what you know to be true and DESPITE the facts. It means staying in the space of possibility. This is resilient leadership.
This is how all great innovations were spawned. Thomas Edison tried to create an incandescent light bulb anywhere from 1,000-10,000 times depending upon the source. (It’s amazing how much (mis)information we can find on the internet)!
Edison allegedly said, “I did not fail 1,000 times. I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to NOT make a light bulb.” Whatever the actual number of tries, you get the point.
Persistence.
Where would we be if he gave up after 89 or 889 times? Yes, these are challenging times but if you can’t lead the way holding the space for the seemingly impossible, how can you expect your people to?
How do you hold the space for organizational resiliency – to change employee perspectives or morale, or to work with your team to reposition your value proposition as you look to maintain or grow while the economy tries to jumpstart itself? How do you continue to inspire your customers when their faith is waivering? How do you become the alchemist and transform a negatively charged situation today to hold the space for the possible tomorrow?
Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC, www.sagelead.com.
Developing transformational leaders is the latest buzz term. Companies and leaders want a five or three or two day program that will transform leaders to be change agents – leaders for the “down economy” or “the new economic era.” Better yet, how about a day or a half-day seminar or lunch and learn that will radically alter someone’s perspective or mindset to jump start their team?
Now I am all for challenging assumptions about what can and can’t be done and in what timeframes. And I have tremendous respect for the complexities and possibilities for us as humans to change ourselves and create environments to inspire others to change.
It seems that everyone wants enlightenment and the “blessed state” but few are willing to do what it takes to get there. First, you need willing and eager participants who want to change. Because we are human types – we make change HARD. Some of what it takes is walking through the mud. The road to transformation is typically not an easy one and one frought with fear, uncertainty, perserverance, and guts.
The current climate has many running afraid. I see it as an opportunity to develop a heightened sense of awareness and presence. It is only in the moment can we truly change ourselves and others. In addition, to senior management support that allows a certain amount of realistic time for changes to take, the greatest asset any leader or organization has to enable true change is to plan big and attend to what lies right in front of you in the moment from that perspective. These times are testing those who have the optimism, strength and determination to perserve – to develop a sense of attention that will give you information and insights to form alliances, develop creative solutions that otherwise might not occur to you.
The greatest tool or process to employ is a daily discipline that cultivates your sense of presence and attention. This is counter-cultural to our ADD sound-bite culture. It is as simple and hard as that.
Are you willing?
Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC www.sagelead.com
Todd Shea was a drug addict and a musician living hand to mouth. One would hardly call him a leader. The tragedies of 9/11 in NYC started the shift of his addiction from cocaine to rescue efforts around the world. With no medical training or a college degree, he started a hospital in Chikar, Pakistan. For more information on Todd, you can read about him in last Thursday’s New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/world/asia/25kashmir.html?th&emc=th.
I highlight Todd’s story to make this point: Many people shy away from the word “Leader”… or say, “Leaders are born not made,” “I don’t possess any leadership qualities and skills.” I believe everyone has potential to be a leader and leaders are developed not born or “made.” … And the greatest way leaders are developed is by stepping up to the challenges they experience in their current job or daily lives.
When something hits your core and you have passion about it, when you want something badly enough, you will figure out all sorts of ways to make things happen – and enlist others to help you. When you listen and pay attention to the concerns of those around you and allow yourself to be effected by them, this is leadership – serving others. The next step is figuring out what you need to do to make things happen and getting people to listen and follow you. Sometimes it’s just getting out in front of the crowd. Todd saw a need and filled it. He didn’t get caught up in his head with worries such as: “I am not qualified…who am I to do this?…. what if I don’t have enough money?… what will people say?”
Passion is the cure for inertia, paralysis and disconnection from yourself or others. I invite you to identify your passion and step up to the plate to go after it – despite all the reasons not to: not educated enough, not connected enough, not enough money, not skilled enough. ENOUGH!
Leadership qualities start with GUTS. Grab the courage and you can figure out the skills along the way. Many successful people have worked this way. Oprah didn’t have a business plan.
Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC www.sagelead.com
Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC www.sagelead.com
I am breaking the last (?) taboo of “the corporate world” – to talk about energy, spirit – those intangibles that we all know exist – that really move us, give us meaning, and make a difference in how we are, how we feel, how we think and how we behave. Every leader and organization wants people’s passion and commitment. Who wouldn’t? But guess what? We are messy, complex, contradictory HUMAN beings and sometimes the road to desire – achieving what we want – is a rocky one. Can we have real commitment without people’s emotions, spirit, energy? Emotion is energy in motion. You don’t have this, you are stuck. This is the stuff we need to move, shape and create our world. Sometimes we have to walk through the mud – vent, disagree, etc. – before we get to the clarity and true agreement. This is sustainable growth – working with what is really going on, on all levels.
“Growth” is an interesting word. Growth can be hard work and painful – it doesn’t always feel good. But sometimes we need a kick in the butt to get out of our comfort zone. Boy was my “growth spurt” uncomfortable for me! It felt like a spurt on steroids. I had to be almost hit over the head to get a perspective on what I could and couldn’t control. But growth can also be fun, joyous and energizing. It’s all of life. To get the results you’re after with yourself, your team or your business, you can’t do this just in your head, you also need to be fully present – in your body and engage your emotions. …and to invite and give permission for others to do this.
When you show up for work on Monday morning, guess what? You bring all of you – head, heart and body. And at the end of the day, amidst bosses, colleagues, spouses, kids, friends – you are your starting and ending point. You can only change you.
But you, you can change!
So, hang on and come on an adventure with me! Let’s blow open the doors of our assumptions and mental models of who we are and how our life or our world should be – to get to what all of it is and can be!
Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC www.sagelead.com
