Lydia on Leadership

Listening Takes Practice

 

What we practice we get good at. Have you practiced really listening to yourself? Are you really listening to your words, to your body, to your intuition to hear what is most true for you now.  Have you listened in between your own words to hear what the silence is telling you?  How often do you hear your breath and listen to hear what is true.?  How convinced are you that where you are spending your time and what you are paying attention to is the best and truest expression of what wants to happen through you now.  What we practice we get good at .  Here are some strategies to transform how you pay attention to what is in between your words and thoughts to find the truth:

 

Ask yourself what do you really want to achieve?

Go there for a moment and see, feel, taste, touch and smell it.

Breathe deeply and move into an expanded, connected, energetic state

Ask yourself again What is it that I really want now?

Speak the words outloud or take notes on what you hear

Ask yourself how does that feel, how true is what you are receiving?

Next ask yourself: What is the biggest potential coming through for you?

Call all others in the collective world who want to do that with you

Ask what is the next step to move forward

Speak insights and possibilities and ideas

Expand again energetically as in the beginning

Move forward holding yourself in the most magnificent and biggest self

Set the intention that you will align with your potential throughout the day

 

3 morals of the story

1. Our truth is often heard in the silence between our words. 
2. What we practice we get good at.
3. Renewed love and appreciation of ourselves is leadership

The Value of Integrity (Pt. 2)

Stephen L. Carter provided a solid definition of integrity in an Atlantic Monthly essay a few years ago. His three steps to determining real integrity are:

1. Use principles to discern what is right and wrong: there must be a set of core values that fit the organization and culture, and that people understand and accept. Leadership means ensuring these values are in place and modeling and teaching them.

2. Act on what has been discerned to be right, even at personal or business cost.

3. Say openly that you are acting on what you understand to be right versus wrong: values and ethics issues need to become part of the regular communications that leadership has with the troops.

Let me leave you with a great example of leading with integrity. This story about Ghandi shows us what it means to lead by example.

A mother once brought her child to Ghandi, asking him to tell the young boy not to eat sugar, because it was not good for his diet or his developing teeth. Gandhi replied, "I cannot tell him that. But you may bring him back in a month." The mother was angry as Gandhi moved on, brushing her aside. One month later she returned, not knowing what to expect. The great Gandhi took the small child's hands into his own, knelt before him, and tenderly communicated, "Do not eat sugar, my child. It is not good for you." Then he embraced him and returned the boy to his mother. The mother, grateful but perplexed, queried, "Why didn't you say that a month ago?" "Well," said Gandhi, "a month ago, I was still eating sugar."

Suggestions for Building Leadership Integrity

• Organizational integrity starts with a Board of Directors which develops a statement of ethical practices and demands adherence. Anyone guilty of violating these practices must be publicly “beheaded".

• Senior leaders insure that these practices flow easily throughout the culture and are embedded in the formal and informal company practices.

• When hiring people for leadership positions, use new approaches, reviews and assessments that are designed to bring integrity issues to the surface.

• Put Integrity components in your compensation and incentives programs for all.

• Communication between leaders and people in the organization has deteriorated. Tell stories about authentic leaders at company meetings; publish these stories in company newsletters.

• Make sure the first course or seminar includes Integrity in Leadership development programs.

• Be seen by the people in your company. Let them see you and talk with you in a relaxed place.

• Show how to delegate and let people in your group really show their stuff.

• Establish a “safe haven” approach that permits employees to report integrity problems without fearing retribution.

• Tough decisions will always be a challenge to Integrity. At such times, it takes courage to do the right thing. Leadership with integrity acknowledges accountability and responsibility.

• Get rid of the “Yes" men and women around you. Instead, surround yourself with a trusted team of people with diverse viewpoints who will tell you what they really think about your ideas.

The Value of Integrity (Pt. 1)

What does it mean to have integrity? In short, it means that everything one does is based on the same core set of values. Although these values may change, what matters is their consistency with each other and with your actions. In other words, to have integrity means that all you are and everything you do springs from your core values. Richard Buckminster Fuller once said, “Integrity is the essence of everything successful.” Integrity provides a starting place for organizations to establish their own set of guiding principles. It creates a foundation of trust which is important in an effective organization. People are reluctant to share innovative ideas in an environment filled with criticism and lack of support, and so developing the integrity of your employees can help them feel more comfortable sharing their own beliefs and ideas.

George Ludwig writes in his article “Leadership Demands Integrity by Example” that it is essential to become a VP of Reputation, and that’s not just for leaders, but for all employees. He encourages investing in your identity, citing the popular quote “Who you are speaks so loudly, I cannot hear a word you’re saying.” “Reputation, Ludwig says, “is the new profit center for the 21st century,[especially] in an age of corporate scandals, suspicious customers, and budgets.”

An article entitled “Profile of the 21st Century Leader” found online states that effective leaders with integrity are crucial to successfully navigating the New Economy of the 21st Century. “Command and control is out, organizations are getting flatter, the competitive landscape is chaotic, people are looking for meaningful work, [and] customers are in control,” it states in a summary of what this New Economy looks like. What this means for leaders is that they now have the job of inspiring and creating meaning and direction in the middle of this chaos. New leaders must be an authentic and inspirational force so they can develop effective relationships with people in the company, partners, customers, competitors and other stakeholders. A leader with integrity must have a clear vision of who they are and what they stand for and be able to deliver this message clearly.

Ludwig asks a couple of important questions in his article in terms of what the world would be like if all present day leaders had integrity. What if we could depend of their word in any situation? What if trust and confidence were the foundation of every business relationship? A study done by Walker Information in July of 2001 shows how important the answers to these questions are becoming. Almost 3,000 American workers in organizations from all industry sectors (including government and non-profit) with at least 50 employees were surveyed on ethics in the workplace. Only 49% believed their senior executives were people of high integrity. A separate U.S. study that tracked employees who changed employers from mid-1999 to mid-2001 found that one of the top five reasons for leaving was they would no longer tolerate unethical practices.

Going back to the Walker Information survey, when study participants were asked if they had seen specific ethical or policy violations, 54% cited at least one act of misconduct. Although more than half are witnessing wrongdoings, two out of three (65%) of them do not file reports. Based on the answers found by the survey, reports are not being made either because people are cynical about management ever responding or because they are afraid of repercussions. When this fear or cynicism is allowed to undermine the reporting and handling of ethical breaches, there are many ways the original problem can be multiplied. These ethical problems can fester and lead to more serious and widespread problems or employees will resort to turning outside of the organization for help from authorities or the media. There is a strong need for leadership action and change.

Intuition in Leadership (Part 2)

Intuitive leadership demands the courage to go ahead with what you feel is right and not let fear of making a mistake stop your progress of innovation. Yeoman suggests learning how to celebrate mistakes publicly. In his organization, groups of ten are gathered and videotaped. Mistakes are announced and explained by the people who made them, and then a discussion takes place based on they learned and what the rest can learn. Once a month the best mistake is chosen and that person and their spouse are taken to dinner at a restaurant of their choice.

Director Sidney Pollack says of intuition, “Intuitive leadership is free association. It’s the ability to be in touch. It’s where you get your ideas. And it is the ability to trust the ideas once you have them, even though they may break some rules. And it’s the competence to trust those ideas once you’ve identified them. Then, you cannot be afraid to fail.”

Yeoman links this idea of free association to a jazz quartet. This is an example of a real team, he says. “The critical nature of the music depends on how well the musicians listen to each other, build on each other’s musical ideas, pass the lead around to each other, and support the soloist innovation.” Herein lies the difference between managing and leading.

Intuitive leaders have the ability to listen to other people’s ideas, take time to see things from their points of view, and see their needs and interests as important and valuable. After doing this, they will then be able to make well-considered decisions and come to what they believe are the correct conclusions, all things considered.

If you don’t think you’re an intuitive leader, don’t worry. Although it is a natural mental ability that some have more than others, it can be sharpened and made more reliable through consistent practice.

Ways to increase intuition:

• Lie down, get calm and at the just-before-entering-sleep time when your hypogogic alpha brainwave period is occurring, explain to your subconscious mind what you already know about a situation and what help you need. Then, when your conscious mind is resting, your subconscious will have time to explore its rich sources.
• Set aside relaxation time each day. Find twenty minutes and allow you mind to go totally and completely blank, allowing your inner voice a chance to talk to you.
• Remember there’s no such thing as a bad idea. Have fun brainstorming. Generate as many ideas as you possibly can without evaluating them. Intuitive leadership is about creating options.
• Avoid making a decision for the sake of making a decision: allow yourself the time to come to a conclusion that feels right.
• Write down anything your inner voice says to you and keep track of it. Ask yourself, “How did my intuition do this day? How did it do this week?” You will begin to appreciate what a powerful tool your intuition can be.
• Use John Rollwagen’s practice of flipping a coin when faced with a tough choice. Don’t go by what choice the coin makes, but rather how you feel about the choice the coin has made. Your reaction to which side the coin lands on will tell you which choice is best for you.

Ron Schultz is the author of the book Unconventional Wisdom. In it, he interviews twelve “remarkable innovators” and asks them to explain how intuition can revolutionize decision-making. Below are the important points he found through this process.

When is the use of intuition most helpful to leaders?

• when there are insufficient data, or not enough time to gather the data
• when there is too much information, or the data are conflicting
• when data seem to support several options equally
• when decisions have to be made on the spur of the moment, without time for data-gathering
• when a group’s vision has grown cloudy and/or its mission seems inappropriate or obsolete

True leaders also find intuition of invaluable assistance in

• determining new an inspiring visions and the overall direction of a group or organization
• recognizing and employing, to the highest effectiveness, the abilities of all individuals in that group or organization

Intuition in Leadership (Part 1)

What is intuition and what does it mean to use it in leadership? When many people think of intuition, they think of a hunch, a gut feeling, or an instinct, none of which are based on fact. Brian K. Yeoman, author of Intuitive Leadership, however, believes that intuition is more of a subconscious voice. “We gather data,” he says, “through multi-sensual communication, unconsciously process it deep in our brains and it manifests itself to us through our inner voice according to the context of the situation.” The need for intuition in leadership is strong in today’s business world because society is quickly shifting from traditional to original. Innovation is necessary and intuition can take us there. The difference between “management” and “leadership” is growing and it’s important to recognize their distinctions, according to Yeoman. Below is a chart that illustrates the differences between the two.

The Manager	The Leader
Administers	Innovates
Is a Copy	Is an Original
Maintains	Develops
Focuses on Systems and Structure	Focuses on People
Relies on Control	Inspires Trust
Has a Short-Range View	Has a Long-Term Perspective
Asks How and When	Asks What and Why
Has Eyes On the Bottom Line	Has Eyes On the Horizon
Imitates	Originates
Accepts the Status Quo	Challenges the Status Quo
Is the Classic Good Soldier	Is His/Her Own Person
Does Things Right	Does the Right Thing

Management -- the way we’re used to it -- limits us to applying rational methods to practical problems, or deductive thinking. This hierarchical, multi-level organizational structure causes problems when the principles today are becoming “fairness, sensibility, equitability, and what works.” In today’s unpredictable environment, we cannot continue to apply rational methods to an irrational world. Intuitive leadership is especially important when faced with the challenge of a high rate of change that is not only non-linear and constant, but also generates a need to provide “instantaneous gratification in the form of immediate problem resolution,” says Yeoman. It is becoming increasingly necessary to move away from the idea that there is one answer for every customer and that each customer is the same, and intuition can help us do that.

Yeoman then goes on to describe a philosophy followed by those who listen to their intuitive voices: make a choice. “When you make a choice,” he says, “it’s just one route of many. If you find out later it was a mistaken choice, you can fix it any time you want to.” There are no right answers and no wrong answers, only opportunities. A fear of failure can seriously stop you from taking a chance and following your intuition.

This is Part 1 of a two-part article.

Integrity

What is this thing we call “integrity”, and why is it so important for a leader to have it?

Most people, when asked, will say that integrity is being honest. The dictionary defines integrity as “uprightness of character, honesty, soundness, an undivided state”.

I think that integrity goes beyond simple honesty. It is acting, talking and behaving in ways that tell others who you are, ways that honor you and others. When you are living in integrity, you follow your beliefs and values; your actions are not in conflict with what matters most to you. Integrity is when who and what you are on the INSIDE matches what you show the world on the OUTSIDE. Your words, behaviors, actions, and even how you look and what you wear are in complete alignment with YOU.

As Sanya Roman says: “Integrity is living the Truth You Know”.

Living in integrity will bring clarity into your life. You will be able to look at your decisions and opportunities, and easily recognize those that are in alignment with who you are and what you believe in, versus those that may simply be interesting or even glamorous but not necessarily in alignment with your Highest self. Integrity is a key component of earning trust and building life long relationships. Have you ever compromised your own integrity in your relationships with those closest to you for fear of what may happen, instead of being comfortable with who you are and honestly speaking what is true for you?

To lead from a place of integrity, you will need to learn your truth and be able to step into someone else’s shoes, so that you can understand what is true for them. Take time to explore your truth through understanding your deeper values. To do this, you can use tools such as Marcus Buckingham’s Now, Discover Your Strengths along with some trusted feedback from people whom know you can help you distill what being in integrity looks and feels like for you.

Coming from your integrity does take courage. It does require you to see and recognize what is truth and what is illusion, and to remember your true higher purpose. As you are able to operate more often from your own truth, you will receive internal and personal rewards that come from seeing things with clarity.

Questions to Ask Yourself:

1. What do people most often say about you?
2. What do people most often count on you for?
3. If someone made a referral of another leader to you, what would they say ABOUT YOU as a LEADER, and why you?

Creating Your Personal Integrity

Put together a collage where you find key words, pictures, quotes, or other concrete physical representations of YOU that define your personal “brand” of integrity.

"Leaders ooze integrity." Tom Peters

 

Inspirational Leadership

What really makes a leader, a leader? Think about it: is it a just about the job title or having seniority? Is it about having other people to supervise or direct? Or… is there something more to leadership?

I think we can all agree that there is a big difference between being “The Boss” and being a LEADER. A “boss” (a manager, supervisor, director or executive) is someone who has management or supervisory authority and duties. The boss manages other people and is responsible for getting results from those people in the workplace. The boss may develop strategies, hire and fire, do performance reviews and give raises. The boss is mainly responsible for seeing that the organization’s objectives are being carried out in his or her part of that organization.

None of this automatically makes the “boss” into a “leader”. Someone who is technically in charge may or may not be a leader, depending upon whether he or she exhibits certain leadership qualities. We’ve all known people who are in positions of authority who couldn’t lead their way out of a paper bag.

So what really makes a leader? I think the best leaders –- the ones who certainly have inspired ME -- are those with the ability to inspire themselves so that they can inspire others. They are people who -– whether or not they are officially “in charge” -– are so fired up by the vision of what they want to accomplish that they inspire the rest of us to want to come along for the ride!

Inspirational leaders have qualities that go above and beyond the usual “ability to motivate others” and “ability to communicate effectively” that we often see on a job description. A leader who can inspire us also has or is:

• Integrity: they’re real. They inspire through their authenticity and ability to be genuine.
• Vision and a Mission: they have clear intentions and transmit clarity, both personally and professionally. They know where they’re going. They create powerful action, march to their vision and passionately hold to their mission in spite of obstacles.
• Gratitude: inspiring leaders walk in gratitude. They’re grateful for what they already have and for how far they’ve already come, even when they are focused on where they want to go next.
• Intuition: they call forth all parts of themselves, using their heart and intuition as well as logic and practical experience.
• A Trailblazer: willing to go where no one has gone before.
• Commitment: they are committed to their vision, to their goals, and to what is important to them.
• Super-Communicator: they have extraordinary communication skills. They use both head and heart. They are able to connect with others in ways that others can best receive, and they will do whatever it takes to get through to others effectively.
• Confidence: the confidence in themselves and in their ability to lead others.

Inspiring leaders can be found in all situations and walks of life – not just in the corporate boardroom. They can be people in non-management roles on a team, an involved parent in your child’s school, a neighbor in your community who organizes a charity fundraiser. A great example of someone I think has outstanding leadership qualities is my husband’s mother. She says what is true for her, and she knows how to get things done.

In the end, inspirational leadership is about trusting yourself and fully expressing yourself out there in the world, in whatever you’re doing – whether you’re The Boss or not. Only YOU can figure out what that looks like for you, and how to do that, your way.

Leading Yourself

When we think of "leadership", we typically think of how we must behave or actions we must take to lead others to achieve a certain result. But what about how we lead ourselves? Do we apply the same leadership qualities and standards to ourselves as we do for others?

From my perspective, I believe that to be an extraordinary leader of others, you must first master self-leadership. As we enter a new year, why not make 2008 the year you make self-leadership a priority -- and watch how the "ripple effect" works in your favor as a leader in the workplace or in your community!

Here are some ways in which you might focus on better self-leadership in the year ahead:

• Hold yourself as whole. Stop seeing yourself as "needing fixing". See yourself as already whole and complete, and act accordingly.
• Trust yourself. Many times, we put the opinion of others ahead of our own instincts. Learn to trust yourself first, then solicit outside feedback.
• Keep going. Often, when working toward a goal, we get very close to achieving it but then lose momentum just when we're near the finish line. Persevere -- don't quit! You'll thank yourself later.
• Exercise extreme physical self-care. You can't attain the results you want if you're exhausted, overweight, physically ill or emotionally burned out. Put self-care at the top of your priority list so you have the energy you need to achieve what you want.
• Express faith and belief in your goals. If you don't believe in them, who will?
• Define ideal conditions to allow your goals to emerge. Don't wait for things to happen; do what you can to create the perfect conditions by which you can succeed.
• Redefine yourself. Who says you always have to stay the same? If you aren't happy with the life you're leading, what needs to happen in order for that to change?
• Be in the world to offer your contribution. Instead of asking what others can do for you, why not make this the year you focus on what you have to give? You have an abundance of something -- time, expertise, humor, compassion, ability, money; now all you need to do is find someone who can benefit, and share it. You'll be amazed at how it will come back to you in some other way.
• Find the unknown. Be open to the opportunities showing up in unusual places or when least expected. Embrace the unknown. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
• Accept the next phase. Wherever you are now, there is a "next" ahead of you. The next phase may not be the final destination, but it might be an important step in the right direction, so embrace it!

Take some time today to determine how YOU will focus on leading yourself with confidence in the coming year.
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I wish you a prosperous and abundant year ahead in 2008 and invite you to return regularly to my new blog, "Lydia on Leadership", which will post new perspectives on Leadership approximately twice a week.