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Learn to Lead

Over the last few weeks several incidents have occurred and caused me to reflect on the pain of learning. I believe this is why so many people do not truly embrace the desire to LEARN to lead. It requires conscious thought and effort each day and with this greater consciousness comes pain. So much easier to just keep doing what you've always done or tinker on the edges.

Learning to lead is so much more than participating in a program, completing some self awareness tools......it about wanting to LEARN. It is about truly being prepared to dive deep inside and check out your limiting mental models....and we all have them! Challenge your assumptions and check out your judgements - and that is tough stuff.

Busy Lifestyle Syndrome

Reading the Sunday papers I loved reading Wendy Harmer's column called "The Future Looks Stupid" where she explores the new syndrome identified by researchers in Scotland - "Busy Lifestyle Syndrome". This syndrome is caused by our busy lifestyles where we are bombarded with information overload. I don't think we needed researchers in Scotland to confirm this for us.

However they went on to tell us something far more interesting - that our attention spans and concentration levels are going down and memory loss is getting common and affecting younger people. And as Wendy comments - we are more efficient but what use is that to us if we can't remember what we're being efficient at exactly?

So what do we take from this research - we need to create greater self discipline around cutting out the noise; finding ways to be present; creating energy recovery rituals and having the courage to stay true to be the kind of person and leader you really want to be.

It can feel like it is easier said than done - and is only possible if you are prepared to be conscious of all your choices! Turn off your mobile phone so it cannot distract you from being present with the people you are physically present with; stop looking at your emails so you are not bombarded with yet more and more information.

Would love to hear some of your stories - let's start a conversation.

Breaking through Gravity

"A human being trying to catalyse the emergence of a higher level of consciousness is like a rocket ship trying to break through the gravity of the Earth's atmosphere. The gravity that we are endeavouring to release ourselves from is the historical weight of our conditioning, both personal and cultural. If we can generate enough vertical momentum to propel us beyond the boundaries of who we have been, we will find ourselves in uncharted territory." ~ Andrew Cohen.

Our conditioning has created our defence mechanisms and our fear and this is what we need to break through. This uncharted territory is incredibly frightening because we have stretched ourselves into a new place and our old ways won’t work anymore – we see things differently, we feel differently, we think differently and we start acting differently. The safer thing is not to bring this higher level of consciousness in the first place – and for many this is where they stay – almost not knowing what they don’t know. 

For others the mere sniff of it sends them running – I have just started working with a new client and we have participants who have refused to come along and even “taste” the program. They prefer to stick with their existing conditioning. For others they embrace the emergence of a higher level of consciousness and want to learn more about leading themselves and others – for them it's a bit like releasing a Genie – once it is let out of the bottle there is no going back.

Our programs inspire people to be courageous leaders and therefore participants are encouraged to catalyse this higher level of consciousness and it is truly amazing to watch and hear – and along the way comes clumsiness and awkwardness. Our conditioning does not leave us easily and continues to weigh us down as we try to change. 

For many this gets them down and they allow gravity to take its course and “weigh” them back down to where they were – their historical conditioning. For others they persist and the long term results are feelings of peace, happiness, even elation and total authenticity – well worth the struggle I say. 

I encourage everyone to release themselves from this gravity! Would love to engage in conversations with others who have experienced these kinds of changes.

Fear of Change

So many things inspire us here at Courageous Leaders, and this manifesto, Practically Radical, about leading change and making a difference is right up there.

Leaders, now more than ever, face ever-increasing tension as they strive to absorb information, lead effectively and meet the increasing expectations of all their stakeholders. It’s so easy to just take a traditional route – essentially doing things the same with a little bit of tweaking here and there to stamp their own impression on the process.

So in this era of high competition, to take a new way of viewing what we’re used to seems to be necessary in order to succeed. Apart from it being a difficult thing to do, why else don’t more organisations try to step outside the box?

Fear.

Fear of change, fear of failure, fear of losing control, fear of being blamed.

How does a leader harness their fear? How does a leader use it to strengthen their resolve and transform their organisation and their people to great things?

We believe it’s with courage, with trust and with empowerment – from the top level existing leaders, right down to the foundations of emerging leaders. Courage to make decisions around the changes that need to be made, trust that leaders and their teams will continue the journey of change that has been started and empowerment of people – trusting and honouring the intuition of colleagues and peers as they adapt to the changes that have been made.

What do you do to overcome fear of change?

The Changing Face of Leadership Models

After reading this article on Google’s innovative management structure, I started thinking about additional ways a bi-generational leadership team could help businesses to grow.

Underlying much of what we do at Courageous Leaders are such things as looking at the future sustainability of the business we’re working in, believing in and working towards behaviour change that contribute to that future sustainability and courage in leadership – all of those daily acts leaders are required to do that need a little bit of courage to approach, confront and overcome.

Future sustainability of the business for us means integrating the people and the organisation – having an alignment of goals and purpose within the company’s culture. A mixture of characteristics attributed to Generation X, Y and Baby Boomer leaders could help achieve just that;

-          the drive and dedication that characterise Baby Boomers coupled with the self-worth they derive from their work,

-          the balance of work and life that Generation X strive to achieve and their adaptability to change,

-          the global, technologically savvy outlook that Generation Y possess in addition to their propensity to enjoy being mentored by older generations.

It sounds like a dream combination!

The behaviour changes that would need to occur from an old-style vertical hierarchy would be huge – the entrenched systems, processes and ways of working that have been carried out for decades would need to be recalibrated.

Baby Boomer idealists who believe they can change the world and question the status quo should have no trouble changing processes that no longer make sense, Gen X we have already mentioned adapt well to change and Gen Y are seen as cooperative team players.

Although the general characteristics of these three generations appear to point to the logical - and seemingly smooth - conclusion that multiple generations at the helm do make a stronger company, there is a courage required to make it actually work.

Courage to share leadership where previously there has been none.

Courage to give and receive feedback where misinterpretation and indignation is likely.

Courage to embrace personal responsibility in ensuring the behaviour changes that have been identified as necessary to succeed are continued, despite the easier option of returning to the status quo lurking.

Do you think bi-generational leadership works? Why or why not?