Summer Fun

I am amazed and amused how much leadership has infiltrated my life. Even during breaks my entertainment seems to evoke a leadership theme. Perhaps because the curriculum focuses on leadership style and thought from experienced leaders my entertainment interests seem to be about nondescript people thrown into situations where they either naturally develop into leaders or fade into the background.

I am not a huge fan of TV but recently I've been watching the reality show Top Shot. I confess, I find group dynamics fascinating. So having 16 contestants live together, be divided up into teams, and each individual ultimately hope to win the title proves mesmerizing. Oddly enough, very little of the marksmanship holds my interest. However I think it takes tremendous discipline and skill to stay cool under fire when tough challenges are put before you and to succeed--that impresses the heck out of me. 

Secondly, my sister-in-law recommended the young adult series starting with The Hunger Games.

 

It's a fascinating fictional look at the future, in impoverished post war living conditions of the majority so an elite group can live lavishly, yet wastefully on the labor of these survivors. And yearly, the elite call for 1 boy and 1 girl from each district to come forward to the Hunger Games where they battle to the death on television (for mandatory viewing).

Sound awful? It is surprising this is a book for young adults. However I think there is a powerful message in this series about humanity, leadership, and escaping a dictatorship.  

Top Shot and The Hunger Games are predominantly about competition and the end result. Yet somehow the human element creeps in and shows us a side about the courage of individual leaders who sacrifice part of themselves to make life a little more bearable for others.  Is that ultimately what leaders do?

I often think about the balance between leaders and people. At what point does the organizational leader press an ideology on the group rather than liberate the people to live with individual free choice? For instance, does everything have to be about winning and competition? Is there any room out there for peaceful coexistence? And here I thought this entertainment stuff was just for fun!

Left, Right. Left-foot, Right.

Earlier this month I went out to the Pacific Northwest to climb a mountain--it was part of the course curriculum. I trained physically and mentally for 3 months. Over a dozen strangers met at the mountain base to attempt the summit and to apply hardiness principles.

I confess: I did not make it to the top. I did, however learn several valuable leadership lessons.

When I was asked to turn back with 3 others, I was not upset--I adapted to the situation. Frustration came, but it centered around the use of my time. As it turned out, this weekend I trained, prepared, and bought a lot of gear for turned out to be me confined to base camp with 3 classmates and a guide.  

My frustration had nothing to do with the company and everything to do with seeking a meaningful cumulative purpose from the trip. It's hard to find worthwhile meaning in an activity from pure observation. 

At work the same questionable activities I left have swollen angrily. The people who condone or turn a blind eye to these activities openly admit they have no interest in anything other than themselves and what their paycheck provides them. Other, sensitive hard-workers recognize and expound on questionable activities but take no action to report or correct them.

Why not? Because, they say, in the past they have reported improper activities and they were targeted with hostile, retaliatory behavior. And besides, they lament, nothing ever comes out of it.

Imagine, your life--not living to your full potential because you let other people run you down. Imagine, not climbing a mountain and never trying it again.

Left, Right. Left-foot, Right.

I came to several realizations over the weekend. First I acknowledged it's not necessary to succeed on the first attempt. Secondly, what a glorious relief to be free from the burden of only being successful (in my mind) when you travel from point A to point B without reveling in detours. Finally, one foot in front of the other is a good plan for climbing a mountain of obstacles.

The work issues are, from my perspective, completely out of control. As an individual by speaking up I, too have become a target. It's a good thing I have been training for 3 months because it is helping me dodge bullets. I can take it. I don't want to, but I can take it--and deflect it. Each day I do not quit, but seek to uncover more questionable issues.  It turns out in the past I have been telling the wrong people the right information. Now, I am actively seeking to find the right people and share the right information.

Left, Right. Left-foot, Right.

Organizational Resilience (Semester Summary)

If you saw my last post you likely recognize life is not fair and as individuals we must embrace life's challenges and teach ourselves to be strong, to persevere, and ultimately come out ahead in psychologically tricky situations. How strong must we be? For many cancer patients and their doctors this means they must not only fight for their lives but they must also fight for their rights against institutional resistance, sabotage, and dominance.

Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski's cure rate of cancer is innovative and exceeds the national rate many times over. It has cured the toughest cancer there is--children's brain cancer. Through 1 hour and 48 minutes of riveting facts, this compelling saga documentary lodged itself into my psyche and it has made me think about cancer in organizations.

(At present this movie is temporarily available for free online, but for further information please visit the official website.)

Resilient individuals make up the majority of any resilient organization. Without fair-minded people who can flow easily with disruptive change an organization can sink into non-resilient behaviors. Continuing with the cancer metaphor (uncontrolled, abnormal growth of behaviors) some non-resilient behaviors include: denying treatment by or because of outdated policies,  thriving in an anaerobic environment, and manipulating data for personal gain.

With so many of today's leaders talking about axing or reorganizing government institutions (see here, here, and here) at the individual level our resilience defines what strength we offer the organization. In turn the organization must be willing to evolve and operate in a way that befits us all.  Is the best solution to bombard the situation with radical and potentially fatal actions or can we find innovative solutions which can diminish the issue?

In the fabulous documentary about the rebirth of an American Indian language "We Still Live Here" a man says "We had asked our elders, spiritual leaders: 'How do we regain our language?' And we were told that 'It's not your language that's lost, it's you.'"

Have We The People lost our way? How can we attract and retain our resilient individuals and allow them to come forward into leadership positions? Big problems need big solutions, so let's all start where we are. As the beautiful African proverb guides us, "Each One Teach One."

Individual Resilience (Semester Summary)

This semester is nearly over and I would like to share a few thoughts on individual resiliency. But first, let me provide an instance of why it is needed:



Have you ever worked for a leader like this? Leslie Nielsen (R.I.P) may be the only leader who can walk the tightrope and be simultaneously oblivious to his constituents yet still be hysterically funny. On the other hand, when thought leaders such as this infiltrate our organizations and our lives, they are not funny, not funny at all. It's comforting to deny reality and think the facts will speak for themselves and vindicate us, but often this is simply not true.

When we first encounter a leader like this we feel bewildered. A No Excuses leader's inclination is to speak up, yet it is likely the leader will meet resistance. Some will shush you and others will agree with you behind closed doors. Soon we may find ourselves running up the slippery solution slope unable to resolve the issue with our old successful and sane mental models.

Facing this challenge we may feel fear. In her powerful book, Pema Chödrön details the mindset to overcome fear--become intimate with it. "If we commit ourselves to staying right where we are, then our experience becomes very vivid. Things become very clear when there is nowhere to escape." Only during times like these do we rediscover ourselves and decide if we want to remake ourselves with the haphazard tools of dysfunction into something greater than we thought possible.

When presented with a brief history of losing the Wampanoag Nation's land Warrior Jessie "Little Doe" Baird said "I don't know that I get heartbroken by it but it just gives me more motivation to fight for my language."

Resilience starts with you. Are you going to run in fear or are you going to learn the new rules, train and think like a warrior, and find the individual way in you to make yourself as sturdy as a weather beaten oak?