Sunday, June 26, 2011

What's Next?

This past week I attended graduation celebrations for two community leadership classes recognizing the accomplishments of 17 persons who successfully completed the program requirements. One of these classes held a special place in my heart as it represents the culmination of a dream I had to collaborate with a local chamber of commerce and create a truly unique learning experience for emerging community and business leaders. At a breakfast reception honoring the inaugural Leadership Upper Bucks participants, several of the class members shared their perspectives about the program and how it has prepared them for more effective leadership. Later that morning, as we held our final class, they realized their journey was only beginning.


We often associate graduation with the end of a particular era in our life. While it is true that a high school or college commencement marks an educational milestone, it also means launching into a new phase of one’s life. Leadership education and personal growth includes answering the question, “Now that I have these new skills and this additional knowledge, what’s next?” For the class I facilitated this past week that question was framed in a very specific way, “What will be your leadership legacy?”

A legacy is more than the physical and financial assets we generally associate with personal and professional success. Effective leaders recognize that their primary task is to train and produce future leaders. This important task is accomplished through modeling and mentoring those who follow us to become truly inspirational leaders. The graduating class was challenged to consider how they will be more courageous, authentic, serving, truthful, loving, and effective in the years ahead as they apply what they learned and experienced.

During a planned group activity, everyone was invited to share in a small group setting a story of a time when they were particularly courageous in their life. Then that same level of courage was applied to a current situation they were facing. Finally, each participant made a commitment to act courageously so they would implement the changes necessary to achieve a different outcome. This powerful exercise served to highlight why leaders should always be considering the “what’s next” question for themselves, their teams, and their organizations.

Resting on our laurels or basking in the warm glow of accomplishment is never the purpose of educational endeavors or coaching sessions. Effective leaders don’t stop learning, achieving, or doing. They see destinations as launch sites for their next big adventure and courageously apply what they know from previous experiences to the current and future challenges they are sure to face. If complacency is your current leadership modus operandi, ponder the “what’s next” question in your life. You may just find yourself renewed and rejuvenated for the task at hand. In fact, your leadership legacy depends on it.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

New Beginnings

One often hears about the theme of beginnings at the launch of a new year but I was reminded this past week about the importance of living each day, perhaps every minute as an opportunity to embrace something new. For someone who has lived for more than 57 years my past is now likely longer than any future I may have left. You may share my perspective with even greater intensity. But that shouldn’t prevent any of us from seeing each day or week as a new beginning filled with opportunity and promise.

Three personal experiences highlighted this reality for me in recent days. Early in the week someone I know lost their job (a trend that continues throughout our communities). I wonder if they will mourn this experience as a loss or embrace the chance to begin anew. Personally I have experienced several major job transitions in my career and always found new energy and purpose during those times. Leaders should pay closer attention to the needs of employees during these often stressful moments.

Later in the week I was assisting a client with interviews for a new position in their organization and found myself intrigued by the candidates responses to some of our questions about transitions in their lives. Obviously everyone views change in different ways and we each tend to highlight those aspects of new beginnings that are important to us. For some it is the challenge of the role or responsibilities. For others it is the excitement of meeting new people and working in a new community. Some struggle to articulate just what it is that stands out for them when an opportunity emerges. Leaders would do well to ask better questions during the screening of job candidates and to listen more carefully to learn how those persons view new beginnings.

Finally, this weekend my wife and I helped our only son move from rural western Pennsylvania to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. It was a time filled with beginnings as we had our first look at his new apartment, met some of his new co-workers, and sampled the cuisine at one of the restaurants in Harrisonburg, where he will be living and working. There is obviously less stress and anxiety for us than for him, but it was affirming to see his positive attitude and approach to the many new beginnings that await his discovery in the days and weeks ahead. Leaders (and parents) can play a supportive and encouraging role during times like this.

These separate but related incidents reminded me that life is filled with daily choices about how we will embrace life when it meets us head on every morning. We can imagine that we are victims of circumstance, subject to the whims and wills of others, or destined to yet another boring week. On the other had, we can open our hearts to the still small voice of a Creator who says, “I have a new beginning in mind for you today; a new purpose for being and living just waiting for you to discover.” It is time we all listened to that voice, regardless of age or station in life. Each day there is a promise unfulfilled, an opportunity unrealized, a moment waiting to be lived. Are you ready to fully experience that new beginning?

Sunday, June 12, 2011

When Leaders Disappoint

While I have previously written on this theme, the stories of leaders in public positions and in private enterprises who behave badly continue to emerge. Whether it is a recalcitrant Congressman Weiner or a boss who fails to keep a promise, leaders too often betray our trust or disappoint. Every sector of public life, business or industry, and professional or amateur sports has numerous examples of leaders abusing power, engaging in fraud, operating unethically, succumbing to on-field temper tantrums, and yielding to off-field indiscretions.

If we are to rebuild the public’s confidence in civic and corporate leadership a new type of leader must emerge. It is not enough to reintroduce ethics teaching into university classrooms or establish harsher penalties for those who step over the line. We need a fundamental shift in personal morality and a recognition that meaning and fulfillment in life aren’t derived from intellectual brilliance or the endless pursuit of power and wealth. What most leaders are missing is an internal compass that is firmly pointed in the direction of their destiny on this earth.

Canadian author and consultant, Dr. Lance Secretan, describes this destiny as “our North Star,” the passion within us that others will find inspiring. If you have ever encountered a truly passionate individual you can sense their excitement in everything they do. They tend to view the world in broad terms with a sense for how their work is making a difference around a specific issue that is near and dear to their hearts. They draw joy from their vocation and don’t measure success solely in terms of money, possessions, or positions of power.

Yet these same leaders inspire us in ways we may find difficult to explain. We are often drawn to their clear vision of a better world, their optimism in the face of adversity, their ability to create loving relationships, and their clarity about themselves and their strengths. We are surprised by how humble they often are, by their servant attitude, and their dedication and persistence. Many times these leaders don’t have an executive title or a corner office. Instead they walk the factory floors or quietly infiltrate the office cubicles.

My personal destiny as a leader and person is well-known to my colleagues and clients—to create a sustainable community of inspirational leaders. To achieve this destiny requires that I aspire to live a certain way, to acknowledge that the quality of my character will influence how inspiring I am to others. So I am committed to discovering, nurturing, and affirming a life-long love for learning in myself and others. Finally I must turn my passion into a calling, a vocation that uses my talents and gifts in an inspiring way. For me that emerges as I serve and inspire others through my teaching, writing, and coaching.

I’m optimistic that we can create a generation of inspiring leaders to replace the tired models that regularly disappoint us. It is what my business is all about and why I do what I do every day. Instead of lamenting the recent reminders of leaders who have fallen from grace, let’s commit ourselves to discovering the destiny within us, cultivating greater quality in our character, and choosing a livelihood that embodies our calling. Will you join me in this movement? I would love to hear your own stories of Destiny, Character, and Calling.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Practicing Silence - Revisited

This weekend was spent with my wife's family at a cabin in scenic central Pennsylvania. There was no cellphone service, television, or even a radio to disturb the natural beauty around us. Instead I found myself enjoying early morning walks on a quiet country road, catching up on some reading, playing Scrabble with family, and cradling the tiny frame of Harper (our 4 month old great-niece) when I could wrest her away from my wife's arms. With no time to write my blog I decided to revisit one of my earliest posts from March 2007. The topic seems an appropriate reflection for my personal experience the past few days and speaks to every leader's need for quiet time. I hope you will enjoy it.

I doubt if anyone would argue with me that we are inundated daily with more information than we can handle. Most of us struggle to deal with the multiple demands on our time - voice mail, email, meetings, cell phone calls, text messages - enough already! Does knowing more and getting it faster make us better leaders? Who among us has the capacity or stamina to keep up? Does one have to be Superman or Superwoman to be truly effective?

Leaders have a special responsibility to inspire those we serve and it is difficult to be inspiring when our heads are exploding. How many of us have a daily routine that includes pausing to listen and reflect? One of my favorite Bible verses is Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God." Regardless of your faith perspective this is prescriptive advice for today's "do everything" mentality of leadership. It is in the silence that we can listen - to our hearts, to our family, to our employees, and to our customers. Taking a deep breath, clearing our minds, and waiting for a word from God is the only way we can recharge our mental and emotional batteries. Meditating and reflecting heightens our awareness of what really matters, allows us to sort through the clutter, and rebuilds our capacity to serve. Silence heals, renews, and cleanses us so we can absorb new ideas, connect more closely with what and whom we love, and experience the presence of God in a personal way.

I confess that practicing silence isn't easy for me. My brain tends to race in a dozen directions at first but, if I am disciplined to wait and listen, eventually my spirit succumbs to the sweet music of the Soul - to the sound of silence. It is at these moments that God can speak (even shout at times) and I am finally ready to hear the message. There is energy in this place of quiet reflection. Silence is the place where faith flows freely, where wisdom has a voice, where dreams are birthed, and possibilities are imagined. Revisiting this special sanctuary every day can transform how we as leaders perform. More importantly it can change who we are.

Robert Greenleaf offered this key question for us to ponder: "In saying what we have in mind, will I really improve on the silence?" How would the persons you love and serve assess your leadership if they were asked this question? What would my own clients, colleagues, family, and friends say about me? Perhaps we all need to turn off our cell phones and abdicate our email in-boxes. Let's reconnect with the human spirit by meeting with and listening to each other. Could practicing silence actually improve the silence when our message is finally delivered?