supporting people in the vital work of changing their minds
"In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up."
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Good afternoon from a sunny Vancouver afternoon! I hope that this edition of Leadership Notes finds you well!
I had an all too brief conversation with my friend Olivia McIvor http://www.oliviamcivor.com/ this morning. We were touching base on some compassion in communities work we’re involved in together, and she raised a very interesting question about the role of business in communities. A huge subject, inspired by the Walk for Reconciliation yesterday here in Vancouver. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/thousands-walk-for-reconciliation-in-vancouver-1.1864051 This amazing event was driven by Reconciliation Canada http://reconciliationcanada.ca/welcome/ , an amazing association of people bringing peace and reconciliation to Canadians in the wake of the tragedy of the Residential Schools here. Olivia’s comments were in part raised by the number of speakers from the podium yesterday who were thanking businesses and organizations without whom the event would not have been successful. This lead us into a very cool conversation about the place of the competencies found in leadership in businesses and how often associations and community groups are starved for those competencies. Another way of exploring this question might be, what is my role as a leader in my organization and in my community? Do they merge? Are they discrete?
So, how is my role as a leader in an organization to engage with my role as a citizen in a community? Of course, that will largely be a subjective question, and I think that the skills we develop about how to manage and organize people and resources towards a particular goal are absolutely vital for most community groups. Planning, organizing, leading and influencing, and evaluation are tools of the manager’s trade, and we’re often well practiced. These tools can be as important as funding for community groups. If there is a community group that can use your management skills, go for it! However, remember that it is in the fluidity, the chaos even of a community of people that creativity and possibility are conceived, born and initially nurtured. Very little will stifle creativity faster than assigning a GL code to it! Consider a rock band in relation to a record company, back in the day. Out of the chaos of practicing in garages and basements and playing in bars, a group of musicians build an album’s worth of songs; that’s kind of like a community group with a great idea. The record company are the managers who come in and produce marketing plans, organize the tour, ensure that the buses get to the gigs on time, and that everyone gets paid, ideally. The problems however kick in when the album sells really well and the record company want the band to produce another record that sounds like the first one! We know that might sell, but it loses its creative edge, and the brains behind the original ideas, so fueled by their association and working together for the fun of it, start to leave in frustration. The moral of the story is serve your community and community groups with your competencies, but do not make the mistake of assuming that a business model is the only effective one. In fact, it can stifle and drown creativity; the very thinking a community often needs the most.
And this discussion raises the important observation that creativity and possibility in your organization will not be found in a policy manual. Businesses need to learn from community groups, and associations of people about service, about ideas and creativity that come from the margins, or from outside the norm. Create space for people to collaborate and have fun together, without worrying about whether the idea will make money and who‘s going to manage it. Those questions do need to come, but later on, after the idea has been given some life by a small group of people who are working together for the fun of it, like a garage band.
Let’s see what garage bands we might enable this week!
Good afternoon from Vancouver International Airport, where it is obviously Fall, there are no kids in the airport! School is in session!
I attended the People Solutions Conference hosted by Central1 Credit Union in Vancouver, and based on my experience, I look forward to returning next year. The closing speaker, always a scary place to find oneself as a speaker was held brilliantly by Drew Dudley http://www.ted.com/talks/drew_dudley_everyday_leadership.html Drew’s work is largely with young people, and he appears to be growing a following in the business world as well. He is a great story teller, and regular readers will know how important I believe narrative to be in our roles as leaders. And, very importantly, Drew seems to have worked out the power of a great question. He asked some very provocative questions, that actually reminded me of some of the questions we’ve been exploring. Such questions are much more about the one person I can influence the most, me.
Consider only one of Drew’s questions; ‘how would the person you want to be, behave?’ I was immediately reminded of the Leadership Notes from June of this year, http://www.alisdairsmith.com/index.php/leadership-notes/35-lnotes/264-conflict-and-getting-over-ourselves In that issue, we spoke of my colleague Michelle Manary’s comment about conflict and “getting over yourself”. What struck me was that Drew’s question was another way of “getting over yourself.” If I’m challenged by someone else’s behaviour, my ego, my anger might be triggered. And a great question is is my ego, my anger the driver I want it to be? Or is there a deeper, calmer, more understanding and stronger person deep down inside of me?
I was actually then wondering to myself last night about my suggested 4 questions for before we go to bed that I’ve alluded to a number of times in Leadership Notes:
1. What went well today?
2. Where did I mess up?
3. How might I make amends (recognizing that amends may not be possible yet)
4. What am I thankful for today?
I wonder if Drew’s great question might be added somewhere, say as 1 (a)
What went well today/Where was I the person I want to be?
I wonder what you think?
May this week be one that allows each and every one of us to be the leaders we know we can be
Good afternoon from Vancouver, where summer lingers, at least for the time being. I did hear the ‘F’ word, “Fall” on a conference call this morning!
Reading last week I came upon a most interesting acronym FUD, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,_uncertainty_and_doubt While Wikipedia describes it standing for ‘fear, uncertainty and doubt’, I’ve also learned it can mean, “fear, uncertainty, dread” or “fear, uncertainty, disinformation.” FUDs are a term used in the public relations world where someone, or some group want to create an environment of fear, uncertainty and doubt about someone else or about another group. One specific example has to do with film maker Michael Moore, after he released his film “Sicko” exploring the American health care system, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386032/ It appears that a group of health care insurance companies hired a PR firm to launch a FUD against Moore and his film, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Potter, trying to discredit Moore and the documentary film.
A couple of thoughts come to my mind about FUDs. First, what are the FUDs that appear as ‘gossip’ in our workplaces. Gossip is a way of feeling included, in the know as it were, but it is also often harmful. And when we as leaders find ourselves involved in gossip, especially gossip that is FUD like about another person, we are in effect condoning it. Variously attributed, there is an ancient wisdom that says, ‘before you speak ask yourself three questions, is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?” If the answer to any of those three is ‘no’, you might be even inadvertently, delivering a FUD.
Secondly, we might well be living in a world that is FUD filled. Since the sad events of September 11, 2001, we have been filled with fear, uncertainty and even dread about dangers lurking on planes, in cars, at borders, and in the hearts and minds of people who do not look, speak, believe or even love like ‘us’. We have in our lives and experiences over the last decade or so, spent a great deal of time FUDing about ‘the other’, whomever they might be. It might even appear to be quite normal to be fearful about other people. In fact, while there are those people who are specifically bad, and dangerous. The vast majority of people are far too concerned with their families, their lives, their work; being good parents, partners and friends to spend any amount of time plotting how to interfere with my life or anyone else’s for that matter! Another ancient piece of wisdom, again, variously attributed, are the words, “Fear not!”
What might our workplaces and teams look like if we courageously acted against local FUDs and the FUDy world we inhabit right now? What might we be able to do if we saw the world through a lens of abundance, rather than scarcity? What might we be able to do collectively and individually if we were to act creatively from a place of courage and strength, rather than a place of fear and weakness?
May this week be one that fights against the FUD machine for each and everyone of us!
Alisdair
Good afternoon fellow leaders and influencers. I’m back from my amazing journey to India and actually circumnavigating the world. I hope that the past month has been one of renewal for each and every one of you.
While in Panjim, in Goa, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panaji I stopped into a bookstore, as is my habit. I found a paperback copy of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book; yes the collection of short stories that Disney made into an animated movie in 1967. Kipling’s collection of stories is much broader than the Disney film, and includes stories about a Mongoose and even a White Seal off the west coast of Canada! I must admit though, I was humming “The simple bare necessities” quite often over the couple of days I read the original collection of stories.
Now, the three stories of Mowgli’s are wonderful morality stories, and it is not surprising that ‘Cubs’, the part of the scouting movement were so inextricably linked with this collection of stories. In fact, the adult leader of a Cub Pack is called the Akela, from the name of the leader of the wolf pack into which Mowgli is adopted after his first encounter with Shere Khan the tiger. Fundamental to the teaching Mowgli receives is the Law of the Jungle:
The Law of the Jungle
(From The Jungle Book)
by Rudyard Kipling
Now this is the Law of the Jungle --
as old and as true as the sky;
And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper,
but the Wolf that shall break it must die.
As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk
the Law runneth forward and back --
For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf,
and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
Wash daily from nose-tip to tail-tip;
drink deeply, but never too deep;
And remember the night is for hunting,
and forget not the day is for sleep.
The Jackal may follow the Tiger,
but, Cub, when thy whiskers are grown,
Remember the Wolf is a Hunter --
go forth and get food of thine own.
Keep peace withe Lords of the Jungle --
the Tiger, the Panther, and Bear.
And trouble not Hathi the Silent,
and mock not the Boar in his lair.
When Pack meets with Pack in the Jungle,
and neither will go from the trail,
Lie down till the leaders have spoken --
it may be fair words shall prevail.
When ye fight with a Wolf of the Pack,
ye must fight him alone and afar,
Lest others take part in the quarrel,
and the Pack be diminished by war.
The Lair of the Wolf is his refuge,
and where he has made him his home,
Not even the Head Wolf may enter,
not even the Council may come.
The Lair of the Wolf is his refuge,
but where he has digged it too plain,
The Council shall send him a message,
and so he shall change it again.
If ye kill before midnight, be silent,
and wake not the woods with your bay,
Lest ye frighten the deer from the crop,
and your brothers go empty away.
Ye may kill for yourselves, and your mates,
and your cubs as they need, and ye can;
But kill not for pleasure of killing,
and seven times never kill Man!
If ye plunder his Kill from a weaker,
devour not all in thy pride;
Pack-Right is the right of the meanest;
so leave him the head and the hide.
The Kill of the Pack is the meat of the Pack.
Ye must eat where it lies;
And no one may carry away of that meat to his lair,
or he dies.
The Kill of the Wolf is the meat of the Wolf.
He may do what he will;
But, till he has given permission,
the Pack may not eat of that Kill.
Cub-Right is the right of the Yearling.
From all of his Pack he may claim
Full-gorge when the killer has eaten;
and none may refuse him the same.
Lair-Right is the right of the Mother.
From all of her year she may claim
One haunch of each kill for her litter,
and none may deny her the same.
Cave-Right is the right of the Father --
to hunt by himself for his own:
He is freed of all calls to the Pack;
he is judged by the Council alone.
Because of his age and his cunning,
because of his gripe and his paw,
In all that the Law leaveth open,
the word of your Head Wolf is Law.
Now these are the Laws of the Jungle,
and many and mighty are they;
But the head and the hoof of the Law
and the haunch and the hump is -- Obey!
As I reflected on this poem in the book, I thought, there is some great wisdom for leaders here:
We are only leaders when we are with our people, our strength is our people
We need a balance of work and rest
As leaders, we must be able to fend for ourselves
Honour your collaborators and competitors
If you find yourself head to head with the competition, ere on the side of collaboration first
Always deliver negative feedback privately
Respect each person’s physical space
There are always rules of behaviour and when behaviour is inappropriate, it must be dealt with
We do what we need to do, but not at the expense of our colleagues
Greed is bad
Respect wisdom
I’d be most interested to hear from others how they interpret Kimpling’s stanzas.
May this week be a week of adventure and curiosity for us all.
Alisdair
A hearty hello from a rainy morning in Vancouver. The first days of school are filled with excitement and a nervous anticipation. The start of the school year is also a "change"; with all of both the good and the bad that comes from our responses to change. One of the most important elements of our leadership journey is coming to terms with changing ourselves. There was a wonderful Canadian comedy show called the Red Green show that ended each episode with the Man's Prayer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I3pSZGCuHA" I’m a man, I can change, if I have to, I guess."
Now, while appreciating the joke jab at my gender, I always thought that this actually had more to do with humans generally, than just about men. In fact, we are pretty set in our ways, more often than not.
We can change although it is often only when we are presented with catastrophe, the so called 'burning platform' , that we are moved to change. Frankly for all of my work in Change Management and Leadership Development, the one thing I was always aware of was that "change" was mostly seen as something we did to other people as leaders. In fact, any successful change initiative always requires the leaders to change themselves as well. And sadly, we rarely do, because we rarely see the need to make the change. As leaders we might recognize within our own lives that 'I can change, if I have to, I guess.' Consider that we can fool ourselves into thinking all sorts of things; I can handle my drinking, my partner knows I love them they don't need to hear it, the impact will be only on the staff serving customers, if I work harder, my boss will notice me and give me credit. We know, though at a cellular level, that we can change, we can re-author our lives, towards a healthier, saner and more careful life for ourselves and our communities. And we know that it is only after we have lost almost everything, that we begin the all important re-authoring, the remaking of ourselves.
If that is where you are finding yourself, know that you are not alone. You have the strength to grow, to change, to enable and to re-author our life, to be the person, you can be. You can change, if you have to, no doubt about it!
Good morning fellow leaders and influencers. It is a stunning morning here in Vancouver, and I hope it is for you, wherever you are.
There is something about Vancouver, at this time of year, by the water. The cool ocean breeze with the aroma of adventure, and the warm sun bringing the tourists out of their hotels to wander, shop and record everything they can on their iPhone. The tourists are the ones with light sweaters handy, the locals are the ones wearing t shirts and shorts, and crossing the street to walk on the sunny side! I think this particular neighbourhood, the West End, may be the only neighbourhood in Canada where the municipal authorities have planted palm trees.
I’ve been very interested in neighbourhoods this year; thinking that it is the neighbourhood where we have the most influence and to some degree the most responsibility. I was quite shocked to read last week about Detroit ‘declaring bankruptcy’. http://business.financialpost.com/2013/07/22/detroit-bankruptcy-cities/ And one of the contributing factors to the economic decline of Detroit is of course the movement of more affluent people out of the city into neighbouring municipalities; the often mentioned “white flight”. Add to the mix the precipitous drop in employment with the dramatic changes in the automotive industry and “Mo-Town” becomes “No-Town”.
As I look into the mists of the future I see an interesting development, inspired in part by a neighbourhood just south of where I sit right now. Yaletown is the sea of high rises you see in most pictures of ‘downtown’ Vancouver looking north from the city hall area: http://www.hellobc.com/vancouver.aspx When I first moved here in the mid ’80’s, that neighbourhood was old warehouses, and old apartment buildings, most of which were torn down for Expo ’86. The huge parking lot left over was developed over the next 20 years into high rise condos, imagined by the planners to be an extension of the West End, a largely gay neighbourhood with lots of people with double incomes and no kids. Much to their surprise it was young families who moved in. Many moved there because they would rather walk for 20 minutes to and from work, rather than wasting 2 hours a day commuting. The school in Yaletown is bursting, and the community centre is packed to the rafters. And very importantly it is a neighbourhood where it doesn’t matter what the colour of your skin is, whether you’re gay or straight, or how you express your spirituality. It is an amazing neighbourhood. (I should say that it does have its share of issues, one way to get the neighbours out for a town hall meeting for example is to hint that there could be ‘social housing’ or ‘mixed income’ housing coming in a new plan!)
It may be a Canadian thing, but I’ve seen similar neighbourhoods in Melbourne, Darwin and Sydney in Australia, and to a lesser extent in San Francisco in the US. I’m sure there are others. In short, when we are able to find ways of being neighbours with each other, regardless of ancestral background and sexual orientation we will find that our neighbourhoods and then cities are stronger and safer economically for all of us. For some interesting academic work, look at Richard Florida’s work lately at the University of Toronto; http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/richard-florida/canadas-most-creative-cit_b_1608460.html I am personally intrigued by the work of Amartya Sen, who says, quoting Adam Smith, the healthiest communities are where “everyone can appear in public without shame,” http://www.iep.utm.edu/sen-cap/ with the caveats of how we measure and understand ‘shame’ being a required vital dialogue.
As interesting as this might be, what is the role here for leaders and influencers inside of organizations? As much as being environmentally conscious is important, what about our neighbourhood consciousness? I’ve started an interesting experiment involving two elements. The first is that each time I see people with a map in Vancouver, I stop and offer assistance. (Now I must admit there is one lady I think who I inadvertently sent to wrong subway stop, realizing my mistake only two blocks later!) That aside, I think there are people from all over the world who have a better feeling about their visit to my city because I helped out. The second is that I pick up litter. I don’t go out of my way, but if I see a plastic bottle or a discarded cigarette package, I pick it up, knowing that there will be a receptacle in the next couple of blocks. If I do that, and inspire 3 others to do the same, there will be that much less garbage on the streets in my neighbourhood. And that will be good for business as well, as more people want to be in my neighbourhood and the neighbourhoods I visit.
This is the final Leadership Notes for a month. I’ll be on vacation until the 25th of August. I hope that the month gives us all a chance to be better neighbours for ourselves and our communities and to live and work together to make our cities and towns places where everyone can appear in public without shame!