Emotional Work

The last posting urged getting to know and accept oneself. I've come across a study of over 3000 leaders conducted by IBM in 2008, which intimates out why this is so important. 

Astonishingly, almost 60% of respondents reported that change projects partially failed or failed completely and that the main reasons related to people. Moreover, "most CEOs consider themselves and their organizations to be executing change poorly."(1)

Why does the human dimension cause so many leaders to retreat into tangibles - technology, systems, strategy and hope for the best?

I suspect it is because to do otherwise would involve more than assuming the role of leader: it would require becoming a leader. And therein lies the rub. My friend Brian Krushel touches upon the heart of the matter when he speaks of a personal journey from:

"fear to faith [in oneself]...[it] does not come instantaneously, it comes after much deliberation and meditation, it comes after conversations of doubt and maybe even despair. It comes only after body, mind and spirit have been engaged, after intellect and experience have had a chance to dialogue".

Only then, can the task of leadership begin, namely: embracing humanity, aligning aptitude to  performance and establishing a compliment of leaders; only then, can we hope to manage the pace and complexity of change.

So Gen Y, depend not upon leaders to guide you. Begin your journey from fear to faith. Look not for those who offer to teach you. Rather, find those who will facilitate you and trust you will arrive.  Along the way you will gather those insights by to nurture another human being to move from 'fear to faith'.

(1) Making Change Work, IBM, Continuing the Enterprise of the Future Conversation (2008), p.1

Know Yourself

Strong leadership demands awareness and acceptance of one's humanity, first and foremost.


Without accepting your strengths and weaknesses, you can never be authentic.


For instance, how do you respond to aberrant behavior? Worth knowing because in periods change, when groups are forming or storming - such behavior will be an expression of inner turmoil.


Furthermore, good leadership understands why such behavior is occurring and finds a way to allow inner turmoil to dissipate. Only then do human beings bond, trust established and exercise mutual respect. 


I suspect the reason most organizations only use 30% of their people's talent is because leaders have disengaged with what it means to be human.

Clarity of Purpose

I think it is time to start writing about the things I wish I'd known at the start of my career. So from now on I want to pass on insights gained along the way;  I hope these will help you forge ahead purposefully,  more so than I ever did in my youth.


So, my top insight is, be clear what:

•  your purpose is within a project
• organizational goal your project contributes to
• aspect of your organization's mission is being advanced by your project 

In so doing, you will be able to evaluate whether what you are doing is purposeful. The skill I want you to develop is strategic thinking.

Naheed Nenshi - a new kind of leader

It was good to listen to Naheed Nenshi shortly after his victory in the Calgary Mayoral election.

Most striking was his open acknowledgement of the huge contribution made by his young team of volunteers. It was clear from the tone of the interview that here is a man with an enormous passion for his city, its people and its potential. 

Equally striking was a sense of a man whose life experiences have profoundly shaped they way in which he works with people and how he views people. 

Not of 'traditional leadership stock', for Nenshi is a Muslim of immigrant parents, his journey obviously provided the life lessons by which he how harnesses potential amidst diversity and creates openings for others to realize their potential. 

It is a remarkable story in so many ways, not least because it proves what is possible when a leader creates  the right conditions by which people can do their best - even if the odds are against them. 

But, at its heart, it is a story of man whose leadership is infused with an acceptance of his own humanity; and which has allowed many to trust and work tirelessly in pursuit of his vision for his city.

Satisfaction or Convention: Which is the Path for You?

Brian Krushel is a friend who shares a passion for people and their potential. I found his musings on Robert Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken (and especially the last few lines), "Two roads diverged in a wood and I / I took the one less traveled by / and that has made all the difference", most insightful.


For him: "[i]t speaks a great truth, a truth that we know in our heart of hearts - that well worn paths do not always lead to the finest places; sometimes one must travel another path, an alternate route, the roads less traveled, to find the things that truly satisfy.”

“What would this world be without those people who ‘looked down one as far as [they] could...then took the other’? It’s what drives innovation and creativity, it is what makes good people great people. Most of the great inventors of our world, I dare say, were people who sought out an alternate way to do something. Artists, especially the truly great ones, are usually people who view the world from a different vantage point. Some of the greatest minds of our generation and generations previous belong to people who take the winding overgrown paths just off to the side of the path most take. The road less traveled will not get you to destinations known, but sometimes it gets you somewhere better.”

I think Brian reaches to the heart of the matter. We ask of leaders to be visionaries but gingerly side step the personal cost to them: of separation or maybe isolation or exclusion to some degree. It is the elephant in the room. A true vision must insinuate criticism of what is. Therefore, leaders must expect to raise the ire of those who guard the status quo.

For those that have no choice but to follow a singular path, such knowing is liberating if a little grinding. But it does transform the angst of lonliness into aloneness. It is an important step in a true leader's journey, along with a "recognition that we all share this human experience together". 

Only then, do leaders have the capacity to inspire others to follow, initially - one at a time. The first followers are the champions who will make it safe for others to follow by making "Me to We" possible. It is deep work upon which the foundations of the future rest. 

Alas, true innovation cannot occur without capturing the imagination of those who posses the many kinds of leadership required to turn a vision into a reality. Instead, we've accepted leaders who haven't really ventured off the "well worn path" and forgiven them for never going in search of "the things that truly satisfy”, because they gave us the balm of convention and it did, until now.

Armed with such clarity, my many moments of struggle and even despair would have been accepted as part of the journey, rather than indicators of weakness.  I wish I'd known this in my youth.

Daring to Run Against the Storm

I received an lovely email from one of my young leaders which shed light on the task of growing leadership. She said:

"I don't think there is anything particularly remarkable about those of us in BCLS, we were just given the opportunity, resources and support we needed to deliver. I'm very proud of what we achieved but we certainly couldn't have done it without your groundwork and you setting up those conditions and I'm truly grateful for the experience. I agree with you, given the same opportunities, resources and support young people anywhere could replicate exactly what we did and even take it further and in their own directions. BCLS taught me a great deal about what I'm capable of and more people should have those benefits and that empowerment".

The rest of her email reminded me why I feel so alive in their company. It calls to mind the lyrics of Ella's Song:

To me young people come first, they have the courage where we fail 

And if I can but shed some light as they carry us through the gale

The older I get the better I know that the secret of my going on

Is when the reins are in the hands of the young, who dare to run against the storm 

Now I am left feeling that the judgement of Gen Y as "having a loud voice...and are very forceful" is so negating of their desire  "to build partnerships based on key values, and...mak[e] a difference in the world.” 

As many Boomer leaders ponder "how to handle these upstarts" (1) I am coming to realize their attitude is symptomatic of an anxiety of what is to come. It is the stuff of life: an unfolding drama of waning power confronted by vitality.

So the task for Gen Y is to find kindred spirits across the generations. Who will find it thrilling as you 'dare to run against the storm'?

Like Lindsay-Kay, what impact will you make knowing that:

 ‎"Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means " Albert Einstien 

(1) See Carolin Rekar_Munro

Out With the Old and In With the New

I've received a marvelous email from someone in the UK helping leaders develop a new approach to leadership. He said: "the old formulas of heroic and silo-based leadership do not suffice anymore". Increasingly vexed emails from friends in the UK suggest they are counterproductive, creating division and anxiety in a time of uncertainty.  

And so, his summation of the ensuing dynamic is startling: "If you are a leader and save someone you make them a victim"; and, I would argue, infantilized social relations.


The corollary is plain to see in the BBC's excellent Prison Study. Peppered with raw video clips, it can be viewed as an allegory of organisational life, laying bear our visceral response to poorly executed leadership. While 'civilian' life dictates equanimity, beneath a similar storm does rage. Moreover, this study of exclusion underscores the ultimate power of followers: to judge, to question and ultimately, to rebel. Maybe the under use of people's talents that is so evident in organisation's performance is an act of resistance?

Therefore, what if we were to take these lessons and use them to shape a new leadership model? In my experience, it allows leaders to tap into the deep desires of 'followers' to be something more than bystanders in the face of tough decisions, allowing those wanting to commit to step forward.

Therefore, in a time of retrenchment, rather than scrambling to tackle pressing problems without cognisance of the wider impact -  why not pause, step back from finding 'the solution' and seek the perspective of team members in identifying the right issue to tackle? 

In other words, invite people to participate in finding a way out of this crisis. Immediately anxiety levels will dissipate, allowing individuals to commit to a vision knowing it is tempered by reality.

Gen Y understand this well: they are used to inviting varying perspectives and seeking a common ground. Yet it is the very thing that is lacking in much of today's leadership behavior; along with an ability to re-craft vision in the light of changing circumstances. 

For boomer leaders willing to change, the reward will be teams confident in their ability to generate critical thinking and sustain and reinvent their organizations in the light of changes to come.

So the question is: how well do the old formulas of leadership serving you and what's stopping you from breaking out?

Finding the Courage to Listen

Judy Chartrand and Bonnie Hagemann's article: Next Generation of Leaders: competency deficits and the bridge to success continues to give food for thought.

Specifically, their comment that "successful strategic leadership will include both critical thinking skills, a keen social intelligence and level of empathy that empowers and energizes healthy momentum and change".

I think these attributes are inextricably linked. It requires leaders to become a subtle listener, creating a quiet presence which allows powerful leaps of the imagination to occur. 


But first, leaders must explore their own limiting assumption and why they feel the urge to control the level and direction of thinking in others.  Unless this is understood, leaders will continue to gag ideas and queries - with no possibility for energizing a "healthy momentum and change"; or critical thinking.

Perhaps, we experience Gen Y as 'loud' and 'brash' because they react openly to not being listened to with full attention?


When was the last time you were listened to without interruption and with full attention; what impact did it have on your ability to critically think or be creative?


Alternatively, think back to an incident where you were interrupted when talking through a problem; what impact did it have on your ability to think, let alone critically?

Satin Lined Boxes

I learned a lot from the Gen Y leaders I worked with in the UK. As we set about reviving a failing organisation, their flair and talent turned adversity into adventure, peppered with many moments of fun.

It causes me to wonder why so many leaders and organisations fall short of using people to their full potential? Why have so many institutions been brought to their knees in recent years as a result? The more I read, the more I feel that we are skirting around the issue.

Is it because we are confused as to purpose of leaders? Convention dictates that the role of 'leader' can only be ascribed to the few who exhibit defined competencies.  So we demand of the few an exhausting combination of qualities and competencies that must impose a hollow quality on life.

I suspect that this is the nub of the problem. For both leader and follower find themselves in satin lined boxes, the former fearful of being found wanting and the latter resentful of being denied opportunities to realise their potential.

What fear compels us to guard our box so jealously and ensure others remain in their box too? Is it this instinct for self-preservation that allowed for unbridled risk in our banking system and for leaders to eschew responsibility as the effects continue to ripple out?

Or, is it because it is tabu for leaders to be followers, so denying any possibility of understanding complexity from below as well as above? Most likely it is a combination of both. Also, memories of being ridiculed make guarded relations preferable to risking oneself in pursuit of genuine relations. 

I suspect it is a failure to confront the ensuing compressed quality of organisation life that is at the heart of Gen Y's impatience for change; as is a profound scepticism that only grindingly high levels of unquestioning activity can deliver performance.

How are these issues being played out in your organisation?

"Tell me, I forget; Show me, I remember; Involve me, I understand" Confucius

I've recently reconnected with someone whom I admire for her unceasing quest for solutions to social problems.

At the end of her email she added the oft quoted saying of Confucius: 

"Tell me - I forget,

Show me - I remember,

Involve me - I understand."

It prompts me to think about how we achieve a higher level of consciousness? Then it struck me - as generations, we are shaped by different experiences and therefore, see and experience the world in different ways.

What if in involving Gen Y in the task of leading, we were to explore these different perspectives  and combine it with thoughtful questioning, designed to facilitate self-examination and self-discovery as leaders? Perhaps together, Boomer and Gen Y leaders could illuminate what is known, what can be, and how it can be achieved. 

Moreover, the level of consciousness gained is more likely to go beyond the accumulation of information toward knowledge.


If this were to happen, what level of creativity would be unleashed?

"No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it" Albert Einstein

I am aware that hindsight affords 20:20 vision and that each generation's actions are a critique of what has gone before. I am also aware that in this period of uncertainty, Gen Y is highly critical of the Boomer generation for being profligate.

I hope, however, Gen Y leaders will look beyond the last 40 years and remember that the illusions of certainty in recent years is a very modern phenomenon. I hope too that they will seek to understand the experiences that shaped the attitudes and expectations of the last 40 years, rather than simply judging them as wanting.


And so  it was that Boomers were born into a world convulsed by tragedy and fatigued by want arising from two world wars and a Great Depression.

Therefore, I ask Gen Y to look beyond and to  find an understanding of their place in history. For me Vera Brittain's A Testament of Youth,  is an eulogy to a doomed generation that gives me clarity about my role in history: as beneficiary of sacrifices of previous generations and in turn, benefactor to future generations. 


So, find a way past being angry about the failings of recent years and find a way to raise your level of consciousness but; do it with compassion and humility in the knowledge that you too will make your share of mistakes. 


Now is a huge opportunity because there is no space of hubris. Find those with whom to critically reflect upon what has gone before and seize valuable lessons that are to be had.

What Is Leadership?

Is it a bit late to stop and ponder what is meant by 'leadership'?


It appears there is "no widely accepted definition of leadership... and remarkably little evidence of the impact of leadership or leadership development on performance and productivity; [furthermore] most initiatives appear to actively avoid addressing these issues [opting] for doing something about it… whatever ‘it’ may be!".(1)


Maybe an audit of leadership performance in using more than 30% of talent is a good place to start? How about clarifying leadership styles most beneficial in optimizing performance and understanding why, through critical reflection? Only then will it be possible to create a template of traits and skills upon which to create a meaningful leadership development framework.


Or, maybe it should start with envisioning what 'impact' all this effort might have in the world. Maybe then, leadership will come to be an alignment of values with talents in pursuit of goals that are meaningful and worthwhile. What mosaic of possibilities could we recreate?


In knowing what 'impact' means, growing Gen Y leaders at a service and team level will have a focus and provide a filter by which they can work out where and how they are most effective. 


In time the 'growing' may take them to a place of  operational or strategic oversight or it may mean extending their purview to maximise their contribution and impact upon performance. At all levels the process demands an educative relationship based on trust and mutual respect. Only then, will we get away from "doing something... whatever 'it' may be!"

Richard Bolden (p.4), What is Leadership? Research Report, Centre for Leadership Studies, University of Exeter and The Windsor Leadership Trust (2004)

Releasing Energy A Step At A Time

Talking to leaders here  in Canada, I find the same level of fatigue as in the UK. 

There is a profound awareness of the need to sustain their work but the years have ground down their capacity to initiate a liberating leadership development process.

On the other hand, I witness as much of a yearning here, as in the UK, among the Gen Y to be given an opportunity to discover their potential. 

And so, I am lifted by an email from a young person, apologizing on behalf on his Executive Director for a late reply. It positively fizzed with excitement and joy at being part of something big and ambitious and despite the effort involved, it was clear there was no other place to be.

I can't recall a more uplifting encounter - which makes lament how rarely people's talents fully explored, let alone used.  Why are so many people kept boxed in their role? There is a cornucopia of talents and abilities to be found and people waiting to be asked.

If only exhausted leaders can find the energy to look at problems anew and work with Gen Y to pilot one solution at a time. How much energy will be released if their talents were to be recognized, used and celebrated?

Taking Stock

I continue to be shocked by my discovery that "organizations are running on a fraction of their human potential....less than one-third".(1) Should we not re-examine received wisdom?

For instance, why is recruitment so heavily reliant on competence to perform? Also, why the blind spot in seeing the impact of putting the role before the person on social relations?

Surely, without a foreknowledge of what kind of a person is most successful in a role, the likelihood of a good fit between an individual and a role is a matter of luck - get it wrong and the agony of micro-managing begins. Do we ever count the cost in terms of potential performance or a reduction in trust and generosity of spirit played out in the name of self preservation?


As parents, teachers, coaches etc. we search for and nurture latent talent, knowing that performance, self-esteem and confidence will grow. Yet, job adverts never communicate what talents will suit best. Likewise, training is less concerned with developing talent than ensuring competence.


I remember once running a emergency scenario and being deeply impressed by a participant who calmly and firmly took control of the scene by managing the anxiety of bystanders and responders alike. The debrief revealed a complex analysis of the situation and a highly intentional response. Yet there was no means by which the organisation could embrace his potential.


What if we were to go in search for those with latent abilities and develop their talents? The resources are there, if we care to look. How often do we help exceptional people understand why they are really good and template their skills and qualities to help us define  success? Why don't we throw unlikely people into scenarios and discover their talents?


How often do we ask: "What are you good at?" and go from there. It may go towards explaining why in the US, for instance, between 1950 and 2000, nonfinancial company profits fell from around 20% of GDP to just over 5%.(2) And so, what of the non profit sectors?

(1) Curt Coffman and Gabriel Gonzales-Molina, PhD (p. 19), Follow This Path: how the world's greatest organizations drive growth by unleashing human potential (2002)

(2) The Economist, December 8, 2001, p. 65 - cited by Coffman and Gonzalez-Molina

Rediscovering the Art of Conversation

Why it is so challenging to engage with the Gen Y?

One element is that we have lost the art of conversation. How often do we ask: "How are you?", not expecting a honest answer.

It is a pity, because it is a lost opportunity to connect and begin to discover talents waiting to be mined. Shockingly, it is believed that "organizations are running on a fraction of their human potential....less than one-third".(1) 


How can this make business sense?

Moreover, when we ask "What do you think?" but fail listen intently - why should we expect an honest and thoughtful answer?

Good conversation is like an exchange of goods - finely balanced and of equivalent worth. Yet, how often do we leave a conversation feeling a little cheated by the exchange? And what is the cost in terms of relations and future transactions of effort?

Now more than ever, it is beholden upon us to make time to converse with Gen Y; revisit our deeply held beliefs and expand our thinking through an engagement with their perspective.


Why did exchanging of perspectives become absent from organizational  culture?






(1) Curt Coffman and Gabriel Gonzales-Molina, PhD (p. 19), Follow This Path: how the world's greatest organizations drive growth by unleashing human potential (2002)

Taking a Leaf from William Cox

In their report, The Next Generation Leaders: competency deficits and the bridge to success, Judy Chartrand and Bonnie Hagemann conclude that the fundamental gaps in future leadership are: critical thinking skills and an ability to motivate and influence others. Moreover, they found that the "real issue is that we can't find enough people PREPARED to fill the seats". It prompts me to ask why not? 

Perhaps it is because we are in an age of great uncertainty that require these competencies be infused with a courageous quality.

I am reminded of William Cox, an extraordinary engineer who in 1814 pulled together a team of 30 convicts and 8 guards to build a road across the Blue Mountains and access fertile lands beyond. In so doing, Cox and his men enabled the expansion of the colony of New South Wales and so began the process of nation building. His was a story of endurance with his men and solving seemingly insurmountable difficulties together; and it is one that heartens me immensely because he was an authentic leader. 

For my part, the relationship with Gen Y leaders meant that together we engaged in critical thinking, cut through mind boggling complexity and motivated others through veils of fear. 

So why as a culture, do we have a need to turn our leaders into what Johann Hari calls "cuddly eunuchs", devoid of human failings? What scope is there today for a William Cox to emerge? How is it possible to motivate and inspire any other way?

Maybe the first step is for incumbent leaders to let go of their certainties, relinquish the security blanket of 'expert' and allow critical thinking to occur, from whatever quarter.

If not, how will we inspire anyone to step forward and "fill the seats"?

"The Way We See a Problem is the Problem" Stephen Covey

I was enlightened by the findings of Professor Carolin Reka Munro of Royal Roads University into attitudes toward Gen Y leadership. 

She found that Boomer leaders across Canada experience Gen Y as  "having a loud voice...[are] confident and are very forceful,” In turn, Gen Y is “clear that it wants to move into leadership position and it wants to make changes...[T]hey want to build partnerships based on key values, and...mak[e] a difference in the world.” All this leaves Boomer leaders not "quite sure how to handle these upstarts, but there is as sense of profound, inevitable change in the workplace"


Profound indeed; for their world will be one of monumental change. According to Julian Cribbs it will be a world requiring a doubling of "food production using half the water, far less land, with no fossil fuels, scarce fertilisers amid drought and changing climate."  Consequently, it will be a world requiring the best of leaders to deal with the social, political and economic fall out; and one where an entrepreneurial, collegiate style of leadership will optimize performance.

So, rather than trying to work out how to handle Gen Y, why not  allow a process of co-enquiry, a discovering of synergy between leadership styles and prepare the ground for a smooth transition? Better still, lay the foundations by which they test their mettle and acquire the tools for their future.


The conversation must begin with key values and a reimagining of the culture they underwrite. Also, from my experience, it must be conducted with a progressive attitude because they'll know if you're not being real with them.


In turn you will be rewarded if you hang out with them and experience life through them. My outlook is changing, I behave differently and I have begun to live more myself. All this has come about because it is so enjoyable to talk 'with' them and not 'at' them and to learn alongside them, freed from the tyranny of the expert. 

Drilling Beyond the Surface

I suppose the challenge of Gen-Y leadership development is, where to start?


For me, the starting point was borne of necessity. I had found I'd inherited of a failing organization and confronted by an apathetic incumbent team, I looked to students from Gen-Y to help me turn things around.


Originally, we began by drilling beyond the surface of our core values to re-conceive what Quality would look and feel like. It soon led us to an understanding how these values must be expressed through the behaviors and traits of everyone in the organization and eventually to how all systems and processes should support and facilitate them too. It was a eureka moment!


Armed with  this insight, our ability to recruit the 'right' people transformed; and we quickly found ourselves moving from being a 'cornered' leadership into an engaged leadership - confident in our team's ability to overcome any obstacle.

It leads me to ask, how often do we take the time to audit the vibrancy of core values in the life of our organizations?


And, what is the consequence to performance and effectiveness?

From Challenge to Triumph

I am always intrigued by those organizations/companies that exhibit a certain flair - Apple, Pixar and Google come to mind. All seem at ease with being unique. However, drill below the surface and it is alway a story of struggle.


And always, at the heart, is a group of people who worked hard to create an environment where people could make an emotional investment in the success of their company. To achieve this, I believe that these leaders have led with authenticity and consistency - creating a sense of security and a bedrock for their people to perform to the best of their abilities.


So, how do we enable Gen-Y leaders to arrive at a place where they too can inspire commitment and an energetic pursuit of ambitious goals? For me, the starting point was a peeling away of the illusions of certainty. By going below the surface of conditioned assumptions of oneself, the world and others, young leaders engaged with the substance of their beliefs.


Consequently, mentoring involved facilitating an engagement with core values and aptitudes to develop patterns of behavior in a conscious way. Very soon, they became critical thinkers, reflecting on what authentic leadership meant for them; and in time, they fashioned their own approach.


In so doing, they were better placed to arrive at an integrated understanding of leadership and one which was accommodating of uncertainty. More than ever, it will become a defining trait of leadership in an era of monumental social, cultural and economic shifts. 


All this remind me of encounters with good and great teachers. The former strive to ensure students meet current standards; the latter create stepping stones towards each student's potential.


Embedded in the latter's approach is a knowledge that the future is an unknown land. Therefore, it is beholden upon us to facilitate the next generation of leaders by creating stepping stones for them.

In Pursuit of Authenticity

I continue to think about why the Gen-Y are perceived as challenging.


Maybe it's because they don't take anything for granted and continually test the boundaries.


What if those same qualities were harnessed to establish strong foundations for the future? If only we would engage with their questions, maybe we would begin to see intractable problems in a new light.


Now is the time: in an era of cutbacks, it is precisely the moment to embrace new ideas rather than dismissing them as having been tried. The world has changed and much is up for reinvention.


Gen-Y have a hunger to learn, to puzzle out and to use all their skills. They will not settle for being under utilized in the name of loyalty. After all, they were raised to expect respect and for their loyalty to be earned. 


If we continue to judge their baseline expectations as fickle, they in turn will judge us as unaccountable power and will go in search of authenticity.


So what does authenticity mean? In my experience, it is a genuine connection between core values, behavior and culture. In other words, say what you mean, mean what you say and do as you say.

Catching the First Followers

The demand for Gen-Y skills are set to outstrip supply in the next 15 years. The organizations that learn to work with the Gen-Y will have a market lead in attracting the brightest and the best.


In 2007, Fortune characterized Gen-Y as: "self-absorbed, gregarious, multitasking, loud [and] optimistic....exactly what the boomers raised them to be." 


If this is so, being perceived as upstarts won't inspire commitment among this generation who, more than any other in history, feels that the world really is their oyster?  


More fruitful would be to deem them as self-assured rather than 'self-absorbed'; or vocal instead of 'loud'?


Of course, it will mean standing outside of the prevailing view but what impact will such a shift in thinking have to the  quality of relationships between Gen-Y and the Boomer generation of leaders?


No doubt it will feel awkward to begin with but get it right with the first Gen-Y leaders and the others will want to follow.

Reimagining Engagement

I recently met someone who, as a one time marine ecologist, uses his training to analyze the challenges of an organization or sector. For him, it is a question of looking for stress in parts of an 'ecosystem' and identifying areas of damage.

It is a powerful way of thinking about  any sector and its capacity to deliver. If we can identify the areas of weakness and find ways to address failings, will we not be more able to  engage with complexity and the interconnectedness of issues? 

And so, I wonder, what other disciplines have to offer us.

For instance, in the UK, medical specialisms such as oncology increasingly rely on a cross-discipline approach to to arrive at an optimal care package.

Is there not scope for greater collaboration between those engaged with communities facing complex challenges or for that matter within organizations?

Does is make sense for us to continue to work in silos?


Or, in reimagining engagement and transformation, should we not be continually looking to other spheres  and what they have to teach us?


Will it not ensure organizations' ability to maintain performance in today's changing environment?

Demi-Gods Have Clay Feet

My thanks to a good friend who asked me, why does leadership development of Gen-Y matter to you? 


I've thought about it all day and conclude that it relates to the early experiences that shaped me. The most significant being the twin of displacement and exclusion.


As a child of Indian immigrants struggling to settle in 1960s London (UK), the assassination of Martin Luther King Jnr. ripped a hole in our lives. 


Assailed by petty acts of prejudice and exclusion, we too yearned for a time when we would "not be judged by the color of [our] skin, but by the content of [our] character." For a time, it felt as if hope died with him, because as young person in 1970s Britain, I couldn't see how to "lift...from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood."


Yet, his articulation of such high aspirations and my experience of injustice were the lightening rod to my values; as is Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: 

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

Therein lies the essence of my frustration with wasted opportunities as a sector - would an audit of our activity register credit or deficit? Yet, it could be the focus for hope, if we were to reimagine our sector as Organization Unbound asks us to. 


So, as I 'reimagine', the next question is: who should lead this process. And here, the Article's use of the word 'reason',  inspires me. 


I ask myself, what if:

• Activities impacting on communities were to be delivered through coherent and consistent processes, offering a layered response to human need and aspiration
• Those at the heart of the experience were to emerge as leaders,  shaping a dialogue with 'power' at mezzo and macro levels on the issues impacting upon them and their community?

What impacts would result?

Of course, I am aware that terms such as 'brotherhood' will inevitably arouse the cynics. 


However, confronted with the crisis of an aging population and a shift in economic primacy towards the orient; moving to a 'solid rock of brotherhood' strikes me as an economic, as well as social imperative. The wastage of human talent is no-longer sustainable.

None the less, such a shift demands that 'power' stand down and become accountable. How often in recent years have we pointed a finger of accusation at  unaccountable power: banks, trans-nationals, auto-manufacturers and governments.


Yet, should we not also look to ourselves and the way we exert 'power' at the micro-level. As providers and gatekeepers to resources, we knowingly or unknowingly are engaged in a power dynamic. 


My question is: overall, to what extent do we as a sector, organizations, and individuals, maintain the status quo by our behaviors and expectations of the people we serve?

I believe innovative, inspiring organizations continually grapple with this challenge. Their leaders seem to intuitively recruit people who are sensitive to the ambiguities of the situation and are mindful in their behavior.

So, if we are to reimagine the sector, we must ask whether the status quo makes economic or business sense? Or, do we equip the next generation to influence change and utilize their globalized perspectives to create a more savvy approach to social change?

Of course, for those with power, it will demand as a given an acceptance that demi-gods have clay feet and require an allowance for difficult questions to be asked of them, such as: 

• What did you get right and what did you get wrong?
• Were you, as an organization, competent to perform at all levels? 

However, imagine how rapid change will be, once they, Gen-Y, have a platform from which to exert influence. How liberating will it be to have a shared leadership operating at all levels.