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.

"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?

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)

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.

Finding the DNA of Transformation

Upon meeting an inspiring leader, I am always intrigued by how their personal history informs their ability to nurture the potential of others.  Such transformative power comes from a deep understanding of what it means to be human. 

Clarity for me was achieved early in my career. Thanks to a series of eye opening encounters with successful, powerful people who, finding themselves in unfamiliar territory, revealed the same vulnerability I felt so intensely.

I realized that vulnerability defines us all, because:

·We are born of trauma and struggle to heal; yet we expend a huge amount   of energy masking this fact

·We fear our loss of dignity, so we cling to conformity; yet we long to be recognized for our uniqueness

·We yearn to belong, to be celebrated for our individuality; yet we live in fear of being judged for the very qualities that set us apart

Therefore, I've come to realize that for those engaged in transforming communities, the first task is to embrace these vulnerabilities. Next is to free ourselves of the impulse to differentiate ourselves into 'boxes': mainstream/ marginalized, clever/stupid, educated/uneducated, successful/unsuccessful, rich/poor etc. Only then, can we embrace what fundamentally connects us and forge new ways of working together.

I demonstrated this point to some students recently: I asked them to introduce themselves by name and tell me one thing  that they liked about themselves. The anxiety was palpable as each scrambled to think of the most anodyne but safe thing to say about themselves. 

The point was taken: we are all in need of greater self-esteem and self-confidence to be ourselves. Inspiring leaders know this, most by intuition. 


Consequently, it leads me to ask:

·What if, through a deliberative dialogue, they were enabled to crystalize their understanding and how it informs the core values of their organization?

·What transformative power would it unleash - to spell out the DNA of their approach and share it with kindred spirits in Gen-Y?

A 'Shaping Leadership'

I have been thinking a lot about the idea of a 'shaping leadership' as the foundation for transforming communities. It seems to me that in any community, you will find inspiring individuals, doing astonishing work. However, they may be working in diverse fields and not be known to each other.

What if they were to come together, share their perspectives and arrive at a unified vision for their community?

What if they saw themselves as a hub for transformation, combining their networks to achieve agreed goals and devise new solutions to seemingly intractable problems?

What if these leaders were to engage in a process to understand what made them effective - beginning with their core values and working towards an understanding of the building blocks to their approach?

Armed with such clarity and an agreed approach to mentoring, what impact will these inspiring leaders have on the Gen-Y and the community they serve?

Of course, it will require courage, conviction and generosity of spirit to make it possible:

• Courage, to stand down as an 'expert' in order to participate in the task of genuine enquiry

• Conviction that success is possible and that individuals and communities can achieve great things

• Generosity of spirit towards everyone involved, providing a cornerstone for capacity building at all levels

So, how will we judge the success of a 'shaping leadership'...?

By their ability to develop a generation of new leaders who, when the "work is done, the people say, 'We did it ourselves!' "

Lao Tzu, Taoist Philosopher

A New Kind of Leadership

The global crisis of leadership of recent years is an opportunity to rethink what kind of leaders we want to see in the second decade of the 21st century.

So I want to ask you, the young generation, to envision yourself as a leader. I want to know:

"If you knew you were going to be successful as a leader in the next ten years, what kind of help and advice would you ask of today's inspirational leaders?"

I want to know because there is much talk about mentoring or coaching as an effective approach in leadership development. However, there doesn't seem to be any clarity as to the purpose of either.

I think it should be about anticipating future challenges and working together to take what is useful from the past and combining it with new and innovative ideas to create something new.

What do you think?

Welcome to Gen-Y Leaders

This is the first post of the Gen-Y Leaders blog.

Now, what is Gen-Y Leaders?

Well, it is my way of thinking about the next generation of leaders who will inherit the opportunities, and problems created by my generation.

So, as I turn 50, I can't help but think about the people from my childhood who shaped me with their wisdom. I realize now that as the generation that faced 2 World Wars, their acts of kindness were also a testament to hope for a better future.

It leaves me thinking about my responsibility to the next generation. What problems will they be facing as my generation begins its journey into history?

What is possible if the wisdom of experience is fused with the audacity of youth?