Sunday, May 27, 2012

Leadership Is Convening

Occasionally I have been fortunate enough to learn from leaders I admire in settings where they model the principles and behaviors they are teaching. One of those times took place nearly 20 years ago at McCormick Place in Chicago where I encountered author Lance Secretan’s inspirational leadership model in a standing-room-only workshop. Another happened this past Wednesday when I heard author Peter Block share his insights about building vibrant communities through conversations that matter as the keynote speaker for a local community summit. It is this latter circumstance that prompted me to write this post.

One of the key points Block made during his engaging presentation was how community transformation requires a different type of leader. Instead of a focus on personality, style, or role modeling this new leadership is about intention, convening, valuing relatedness, and presenting choices. Our current business models often elevate leaders in a way that creates a level of isolation and entitlement. What is needed instead are leaders who know how to encourage citizen engagement in a way that produces accountability and commitment.

Block maintains that leaders who master the art of convening have three tasks:
  • To create a context that nurtures a future based on gifts and generosity.
  • To initiate conversations that shift the way people are brought together and the questions used to engage them.
  • To listen and pay attention.
Under this new approach, the leader convenes, names the questions, and spends most of their time listening. This will be difficult for many leaders whose training has stressed the importance of speaking, perhaps as an expert or authority. Yet, when we are trying to restore social fabric or transform communities, listening become a lynchpin of sorts. Leaders who convene and listen will discover how restorative and energy-producing this process really is.

My first-hand knowledge of convening grows out of a community engagement project I have been part of over the past four years with our local United Way. During a series of community-wide events and hundreds of smaller volunteer-driven gatherings, we have convened, named the key questions, and then listened to participants. The results have been stunning as new ideas and energy have emerged around three distinct community goals that are currently being implemented.

It is likely that not every leader will be willing to give up control or shift their thinking from solving problems to exploring possibilities. We have many centuries of teaching and practice to overcome. But Peter Block’s advice is prescriptive for a world that is desperately seeking solutions to some very pressing problems. Let the convening begin!

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Say What You Mean

A number of months ago CareerBuilder.com released a business survey that identified the most offensive corporate and business buzzwords that plague our workplaces. Perhaps you have used one or more of these yourself or know persons who do. The top five offenders were: 1) Outside the box; 2) Low-hanging fruit; 3) Synergy; 4) Loop me in; and 5) Best of breed, Incentivize, and Mission-critical (tied). Let’s drill down into the data and bring to the table a proactive list of actionable items that could cure leaders and their followers from this language lingo epidemic. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

The workplaces I encounter are already complicated and difficult to navigate. There are often cultural challenges, different levels of willingness and ability, diversity issues, and even family dynamics at work every day. Why would we want to make the situation worse by filling memos and meetings with useless words and phrases that further confuse each other? Besides, these words often carry undue weight, as though only the smartest businesspeople can master their application.

Communication is a complicated process. Few leaders are good listeners and too many toss buzzwords about like clichés. This practice does little to bring clarity or understanding into the workplace. A far better approach would be to ban business jargon altogether and instead use words and phrases that allow us to explore the context of a given situation or simply express what we actually mean.

Instead of imploring others to think “outside the box” we could promote our need to be creative or to simply think differently about a problem. Rather than picking the “low-hanging fruit” when considering options we could invite everyone to focus on the simplest ways to achieve our goals. Leaders who wish to model this change in conversation will probably need a cleansing of sorts so their own vocabulary can become, and remain, “jargon-free.” In serious cases intervention may be required.

I’m pretty sure that leaders and followers alike are tired of corporate buzzwords. With some practice and discipline it might be possible to reinvent how we communicate in the workplace. If we incentivize the right learnings, create synergy around best of breed practices, and circle back with success stories that increase our institutional bandwidth we just might have a chance for success. Sounds like an out of the box idea to me! On second thought...maybe I need to rephrase that.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

What I Learned About Work From Mom

Mother’s Day 2012 seems an appropriate time to offer a few reflections about my mom. I thought about writing a traditional tribute piece detailing her love, support, and encouragement for me over the past 57 years. Then I realized that mom also taught me a good deal about work and, since I spend so much of my time doing just that, it seemed appropriate to offer a few insights I learned (and am still learning) from her.

One of the early lessons gleaned from mom was the joy she found in daily activities. I’m sure she wasn’t always excited about cooking, baking, cleaning, or gardening yet I always sensed a deep inner delight in whatever she was doing. She passed on her felicity by turning everyday chores into fun. I learned to appreciate washing dishes, pulling weeds, and cleaning my room because mom modeled joy as she completed these routine tasks.

Mom was also quick to praise the work I did as a child or youth. While my early attempts to fold laundry or vacuum surely fell far short of her standards, I received a kind word of encouragement anyway (perhaps with a quick lesson on areas to improve the next time). Although my professional work standards are always quite high I have learned how to compliment the work of others and share my mom’s lesson that “praise does wonders” when offered by those we respect.

I also learned that sometimes work isn’t exciting or compelling yet it is generally doing the little things well that results in lasting success. Cleaning the rabbit pens certainly wasn’t very exhilarating, however banking the money raised from selling all their offspring several times a year surely was. Mom had the sense to know that if I could grasp the concept of delayed gratification then I would more likely achieve my personal and professional goals.

One final lesson about work that I learned from mom—clean up the messes you make. Failure is a fact of life. I grew up watching my mom throw away a cake that flopped while baking, laugh about a load of laundry that blew off the clothesline, and gather up the remnants of a broken dish she had dropped. Many of my early attempts at chores resulted in a similar fate. Yet, mom was persistent in trying again and encouraging me to do the same.

Today’s culture has idealized the role of mothers into an impossible blend of career professional, impeccable hostess, devoted housewife, and perfect parent. My mom didn’t have an outside job or do everything well all the time. What she did―besides love me unconditionally―was model joy, dispense praise generously, focus on the small stuff, and clean up the messes of life. These experiences have shaped who I am as a person and a leader. I’m sure many of my readers would have similar examples to share. Of all the things mom taught me over the years, on this Mother’s Day I am most grateful for these life lessons about work. I love you mom!

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Face-to-Face

We live in a connected world. My iPhone and iPad deliver instant access to emails, Facebook friends, Twitter followers, and the latest news or sports. I can text or call anyone, anytime, and from anywhere there is a cellphone or wireless signal. During any given week I attend webinars and participate in conference calls with persons around the corner or across the globe. My weekly blog posts and monthly E-newsletter deliver leadership insights and the latest news about my firm to a variety of readers. Most of you who are reading these words know exactly what I’m talking about.

While I love the convenience and scope of my digital world it also has some drawbacks. Have you ever tried to capture the emotion of a conversation or the passion of an idea in an email? Where does a person learn the art of listening if there is never a direct conversation? Can you really foster creativity using only a computer screen and a webcam? When was the last time you solved a real problem using a Powerpoint slide show?

Steve Jobs, despite being the inhabitant of a very digital environment, knew that spontaneous meetings and random discussions were necessary for breakthrough ideas to emerge. He designed office workspaces that encouraged employees to naturally engage in chance encounters and unforced collaborations. He planned weekly meetings with his executive team that did not have a formal agenda. His vision was to create an atmosphere where real problem-solving and learning could take place without constraints.

Leaders in today’s stressful and uncertain environment should learn a few lessons from Jobs’ success. Instead of emailing endless recommendations and documentation back and forth, gather those involved in a meeting where real brainstorming can occur and solutions emerge through conversation. Limit Powerpoint presentations in favor of interactive discussions. Build relationships over coffee or tea so trust and integrity can emerge among team members. Encourage informal interaction and impromptu meetings between teams that don’t generally work together. Call a customer or client instead of sending the usual letter or email message.

The danger of digital communication is its potential to isolate. We have all been guilty of hiding behind our computer screen. It’s time for leaders at every level to emerge from their corner office or cubicle to engage their teammates and colleagues face-to-face. Rather than emailing negative feedback, learn how to deliver it directly with empathy and grace. Abandon your slide shows for more spontaneous side shows. You may just rediscover the creativity and energy that has been missing in your workplace. And along the way you could also make a few new friends.