Inventory of Strengths

A mark of a good leader is a knowledge of personal strengths and a willingness to  to cultivate the strengths of others so as to balance out the weaknesses. 

The knowing the full extent of our strengths is a difficult insight to achieve. And so I am grateful to David Lidster for pointing me in the direction of the VIA Survey of Character Strengths. 

To have a full appreciation one's leadership predisposition is a rare and good thing.

http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/default.aspx

Where will this knowledge take you?

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?