“If experience was so important, we’d never have anyone walk on the moon.” (By Doug Rader)

Sometimes you just have to trust your intuition. We are living in times where old structures, identities – what we have known to be true - are falling away or dying – because they don’t work. You can’t lie to yourself anymore about who you are or what your purpose is. Companies can’t cut corners on integrity anymore.

The times are calling for new vision, courage and the bold audacity to reinvent yourself or your business.

It’s time to clean out and reboot.

…And lean into the wind of possibility.

Copyright 2010 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC   All rights reserved.   www.sagelead.com

I love the principles this country was founded on: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – However, I may not always agree with how we exercise democracy around the world.

I see this country as the greatest experiment of modern times. There is power and challenge of truly living in community as people have different ideas about what freedom and happiness are for them… so it requires mutual respect, dialogue, and the willingness to compromise.

This was really apparent to me when, two nights ago, my family was having dinner on our deck in the beautiful summer night. My neighbor’s large dog ran over and went after my small dog. This happened the previous night and I didn’t say anything. This night, I asked my neighbor if he could keep his dog tied up so he didn’t keep coming in our yard.

I was taken aback by what ensued. He yelled, screamed and berated me using explicatives. The anger and hostility that emanated from him was palpable and scary. This is the second conversation I have had with him in six years, because the first wasn’t that pleasant. When I asked, if I ever did anything to offend him to cause this reaction – he listed the two requests my husband ever made (pick up their tree that fell in our yard and we would help them do it, if he could pick up the fallen leaves in December as they were blowing in our yard). Both reasonable.

Does freedom mean do whatever I want, whenever I want, regardless of the impact on others? I think not.

If we can’t co-exist with our neighbors, how can we solve world peace? Freedom does not mean I do what I want and bully others to comply. If we can’t change this on a neighborhood level, how can we, as a country, change it with neighboring countries?

Copyright 2010 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC   All rights reserved.   www.sagelead.com

So, it’s been two months since the spill. Some reports actually minimize the spill and its effects putting it in “a bigger perspective.” The reality is no one really knows what the ultimate long-term effects will be. The bigger perspective would be to consider how our actions impact the environment, not always placing profit first.

Yet, we do know that thousands of wildlife have, and will continue to die. And the spill isn’t anywhere near getting cleaned up or “fixed.” I know so many people who want to help but relief efforts are blocked.

Many of us are outraged that the clean up efforts seem so slow, complicated and ineffective. Where IS the leadership in all of this mess? Clearly no one was “steering the boat” before the spill. And I’m not sure what’s really been happening since except that different parties want to place blame or are concerned about who is paying for what.

You have to hand it to these guys who came up with a seemingly simple solution and socialized it on the internet. The best of using social media to solve world problems. Is this too simple and cheap to work? Why not try it?

It seems that the relief efforts have become a political hot potato which seems to be slowing down real progress.

What do you think?

Copyright 2010 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC   All rights reserved.   www.sagelead.com

Frankly, the best leadership I am seeing in the food industry is in the likes of Jamie Oliver. He introduces a tragic 16 year old who is diagnosed with 6 years to live due to obesity which is effecting her liver among other ailments. We are killing our children – or allowing them to kill themselves. Jamie is passionate and practical… and on a mission to transform the obesity epidemic in this country. 

Yes, we can blame parents or the school system. And clearly responsibility lies there. But, the missing players are the giants in the food companies. Their processed products are laced with fat and sugar, addicting and incredibly misleading to the uneducated consumer. One need only see Morgan Spurlock’s Supersize Me to realize that much of this food is not only addicting, but causes obesity and disease. Morgan himself went from being in stellar health to his major organs starting to shut down in a mere 20+ days on an all MacDonald’s diet.

It is a sad fact that the current generation may be the first one in many generations that have a shorter life expectancy than their parents – all due to factors that are controllable – diet and lifestyle. And, we need food companies to make decisions based on other criteria other than profit.

Where is leadership in the food industry? Who will be the brave giant to stop these toxic fillers in prepared foods? What can you do today to boycott or demand the changes? What can you do to educate yourself or the children in your life on better nutrition?

The answers to these questions are truly a matter of life or death for almost an entire generation.

Copyright Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC   All rights reserved.    www.sagelead.com

Yesterday, The New York Times ran an article that talked about workplace stress. It is not new news to say that the biggest source of stress on the job can be your immediate supervisor. Nor is it new news to say, as Dr. Sutton is quoted as saying, “The pile of evidence coming out shows that if you want to be an effective organization or an effective boss, you’ve got to strike a balance between humanity and performance.”

We have known this for years – whether we admitted it or not. What IS new is that maybe, just maybe we are ready to practice what they know: To understand that sustained high performance is intimately connected to working with our humanity. We cannot continuously perform well if we are not happy, healthy, respected and trusted.

It just doesn’t work.

We cannot expect sustained high performance from our employees when we work them 24/7, don’t give them the respect, freedom, and/or ability to make decisions within their perview or expertise. We cannot expect ourselves to perform well if we don’t set healthy limits and take care of our minds and bodies.

I am seeing many companies operating out of fear – piling on more work. It’s not the companies – it’s the leaders and managers colluding to do this and others allowing it. The employees are afraid they will lose their jobs if they speak up – so they continue to toil away… Until:

They get sick.

They lose their job.

They find another job.

What is holding employees at these companies? They feel they have no place to go…until “the economy picks up.” Then you have a potential brain drain.

So, embracing the people element of performance is not just a moral imperative, it makes good business sense.

What is your longer-term strategy? The question is, are you willing to take a stand and set limits about what is acceptable or not – whether you are an employee or a leader?

© Copyright Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC     All rights Reserved.   www.sagelead.com

“You do what you have to do…” I heard it again this morning.

Says who? Who says you HAVE to do something? What DO you Have to do? Who decides?

I find that this is a pervasive paradigm that I hear multiple times a day from:

• An executive who is working globally taking calls at 5 am, 10 am, 1 pm, 6 pm and 11 pm AND managing meetings and emails inbetween.
• A working Mom who says she doesn’t have more quality time with her kids.
• A mid-career professional who “can’t get a job” in their field and takes something way below skill level to “get by.”

The language is limiting, not-strategic, and defeatist and energy-draining. It negates the notion of choice and control. I haven’t been living in a cave the last couple of years – I am aware of the economic downturn, the global political climate, the environmental crisis – should I go on?

The key question that a sage leader asks is – what do I REALLY NEED to do to achieve my goals? Where do I have choices? What are the choices? What kind of focus and discipline do I need to stick to my choices?

The sage leader stays in the space of proactivity versus reactitivity – especially in times of uncertainty and crisis. Often a shift really comes down to going back to basics: delegate, being willing to let go and not trying to do everything – and all at once. What is the one thing that will reset your view – What DO you WANT to do?

Why? What will it get you?

© Copyright 2010 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC  All rights reserved.  www.sagelead.com

The question I pose to you today is – what is your calling? How are you uniquely positioned, given your life experience and background, personally and professionally to answer a question that the world is asking NOW? This translates to, how do you fill a need that the world has now – at this point in history?

The mediums of social networking and the internet are potentially very powerful and transforming communication highways and tools to bring people together in service of a collective good.

These times are about connection and integration… and about clearing the name of capitalism – making it okay to make money. It’s about conscious capitalism – it’s about HOW you make money and WHAT you do with the money you make. Are you contributing back to the collective good or is it all about you – as an individual or as a company? How do you BE the strong warrior with a compassionate heart?

© Copyright Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC     All rights reserved.   www.sagelead.com

I don’t think we can give enough weight to how our beliefs shape what we manifest in our day-day lives. The Sage Leader is one who understands the power of his or her mind and the power of the words he or she uses.

We become what we think about and what we talk about. The problem is, we are not always aware of what our mind is thinking below the surface. “The devil is in the details!” Below the surface is what we have absorbed or what has been conditioned into us. It is amazing how, a phrase or look someone gave us 10, 20, or 30 years ago can have such a profound effect on how we perceive ourselves and how we navigate through our lives and our work.

Maybe someone said you were brillliant – and you believed it – rightly or wrongly – in “absolute” terms. Maybe someone said you were not too bright – and you believed them.

The Sage Leader is one who excavates and mines her mind - she explores and looks at her underlying beliefs. Which beliefs serve you to be as great as you can be? Which ones serve you to help others be their best selves? Which ones don’t serve you?

How committed are you REALLY to maximizing your life and your contribution as a leader? How CONVICTED are you? Catch yourself – just for today – doing or saying something that is empowering and expansive.

Let the rest fall away.

© Copyright Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC    All Rights Reserved.

I don’t understand why The Golf Writers Association of America boycotted Woods’s reading of his statement, saying the news conference should have been opened to all accredited media and the golfer should have taken questions. It was most honorable that he made such a deep and heartfelt public apology asking for forgiveness from his family, friends, fans and sponsors.

Let’s be honest with ourselves, it is very difficult and painful to admit our mistakes and transgressions to ourselves let alone broadcast it to the world. Is this about understanding and healing or making a buck? How much does the public really have “rights to” the details of a public figure’s private life especially at a sensitive time of healing when they have retreated from their public obligations? 

Yes, a lot of people have a financial and emotional investment in Tiger Woods – so he should be accountable to them for that, given he is a public figure. Beyond this, I don’t think it is necessary or “right” for them to dictate HOW he apologizes.

© Copyright Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC             www.sagelead.com

There are a number of significant differences with Tiger’s situation. He has taken time out to reassess his life through intensive therapy. He apologized and acknowledged that he thought he was entitled – he doesn’t get to play by different rules than everyone else. I have never heard such sentiments from a powerful public figure. He apologized to the children for whom he is a role model. He appears genuine.

The road to true transformation is messy and chaotic with no quick fixes. He acknowledged he is at just the very beginning of this process. The challenge of any great leader who is at the top of their field is to not to allow their ego to run their life. When their success comes with a lot of money and a lot of people riding on this money, the stakes and temptations are even higher.

My biggest hope for Tiger’s reform is in his approach – taking full accountability for his actions and trying to protect his family from further damage and exposure – and above all else where he rests his ultimate solution – to rebalance his spiritual life with his professional life. He is looking to reclaim his spiritual foundation and values – and recognizes he can’t do it alone. He needs the support and help of the very same people he has disappointed. This humility is the way of the sage leader.

Ultimately, I am with Elin – true atonement comes over time seeing a real change in behavior. Tiger has made the necessary first step – asking for forgiveness. This requires something on all our parts – understanding and giving him and his family privacy to journey through this difficult process.

For the judges in the audience, please remember the great adage: all saints were once sinners and all sinners can be saints.

© Copyright Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC                 www.sagelead.com