Archive for the ‘Leadership’ Category

I’ll bet you’ve been in the role of a Creator many times and didn’t even know it. As Creators, we create our reality by what we believe and assume. See if you recognize yourself in the five following themes.

Creators focus on what they want. I know I’m being a Creator when I am exploring what I want to contribute to my work, family and friends, community, and even the world. Creators direct their thoughts and actions toward what they want for their lives and what emerges is passion for their heart’s desire.

Creators question beliefs and assumptions. I recently learned about a tool called the “Ladder of Inference,” created by Chris Argyris, organizational psychologist and Harvard Business School professor. We draw conclusions and subscribe meaning about things, people, and situations all day long. Creators create space for reflection, observation, and inquiry. They invite alternative perspectives to create new, broader knowledge and understanding – a bigger version of the truth.

Creators take responsibility. When I see someone take responsibility for their actions and behaviors, I know I’m in the presence of a Creator. Creators don’t look for someone to blame for their situation; they see their role in the situation and learn from it.  Creators don’t abdicate their power to others; they set boundaries and clearly communicate those boundaries with respect and honor for everyone.

Creators choose their responses to everything that happens. Today’s society seems frantic – everything has to move fast. Fast isn’t always bad. There’s nothing I love more than prompt customer service! But in the case of a Creator, fast is not always the best choice. Taking a pause and thinking through your response is an excellent way to stay in the role of a Creator. Creators give themselves permission to take a pause and respond rather than react.

Creators have courage in the face of fear. A Creator has hope for a better outcome. Creators are parents who aren’t willing to accept a fatal diagnosis for their child and won’t rest until they find a cure. Creators are athletes, knowing their limitations, and using their strengths to their advantage. Creators are teachers who inspire their students to generate more knowledge than they ever could on their own. Creators are trustworthy CEOs who take a stand for integrity, even if it’s not a competitive advantage.

How can you create more opportunities for your Creator role to shine?

April 2009: Creating Everything

Meritocracy and 100% Responsibility. Thanks to Michele Martin’s blog, the Bamboo Project, and her post on Matt Miller’s new book, The Tyranny of Dead Ideas, I’ve been thinking a lot about these two ideas.

Meritocracy: success based on talent, ability or merit. Jeff Jarvis (What Would Google Do) describes how the internet allows ‘good ideas’ to bubble to the top, and how companies should be meritocracies where customers benefit from your best ideas.

100% Responsibility: claiming the power we have over our own thoughts, attitudes, beliefs and assumptions to influence our experiences (me).

Michele Martin: “much of what passes for merit is really privilege–the privilege of a life that allows you to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to earn a good living.”

How do we discuss 100% Responsibility, a core concept in personal empowerment, and merit or being your best, while also addressing compelling issues of privilege and class?

I address these questions where I can – in my own life and work…

I’ve been using the phrase ‘white dude’ to describe the western European male influenced patriarchy that has created so many of the ideas and structures that have both liberated and oppressed. Ironic given that I’m married to and gave birth to two ‘white dudes’. I love white dudes!

And how can we take the best of the white dude culture, leave the rest, and weave in the best of what the rest of us have to offer?

Some examples:

• Jan (my husband) and I are exploring how he can be freed from the onerous white dude responsibility of holding down the 9-5 job, and being ‘the rock’ for everyone else.

By creating success in my business, I open opportunities for my husband to be his best.

• We met with a white dude to explore collaborating on career development projects. He had some cool tools, we had new approaches, but this guy ultimately wasn’t open to our kind-of new.

By choosing to work with white dudes who want to be stretched, we’re shifting the dominant culture to include the merits of all.

• We are passionate about coaching being accessible to people of all income levels.

By working to create affordable online learning and coaching, we’re breaking down the boundaries of privilege.

Taking 100% responsibility for creating everything happens on a continuum. We start where we can, we create what we can, we encourage others to be responsible, and we do everything to level the playing field so that everyone can be at their best. Before we know it, we’ll be consciously creating everything.

What do you think? To what extent is conscious creation really possible?

April 2009: Creating Everything

As I work with the theme for the April newsletter, I keep focusing on the creating part of that theme. Given that I’m living in the woods, surrounded by nature, I can’t help but think of CREATION. The amazing universe (created by God) that we live in.

So, in reflecting on CREATION, I offer 4 perspectives on Creation as Inspiration.

REASON #1: CREATION cures loneliness

Some of my loneliest times are when I’m with people, especially when a misunderstanding or miscommunication happens. The effort to connect with our fellow human beings is greatly rewarding, often frustrating and potentially isolating. So whether you are lonely with people around you or not, Creation can remind you are not alone. Living, breathing Creation is right there, outside your door to be your companion. Try stepping outside next time you feel lonely.

REASON #2: Creativity comes from CREATION

Just today I saw: a brilliant red cardinal, a wild male turkey pluming its feathers to lure a female, several intricate veins captured in one small leaf, snow blanketing a pine branch, the meandering flow of water in a stream, a startling loud cracking noise of ice breaking up in a flooded pond, and a red and a gray squirrel duking it out for the scattered bird seed.

Each one of these observations offers an opportunity to riff on it for a life meaning, or inspires a work of art or a poem, or a sermon topic. The artistic possibilities are endless. The metaphors are endless. All found in observing Creation.

REASON #3: CREATION reminds you, you are not in control

Spend one winter in Minnesota with a career that includes a lot of flying and you learn this quickly. The weather will do what it wants no matter how much planning one engages in. Or consider the folks of Eastern North Dakota and Northwest Minnesota who are holding their breath as the Red River crests far above flood level. The forces of nature conspired and then eased, offering a concrete reminder of how little humans are in control.

REASON #4: CREATION grounds you

Pun aside – walking on real ground, feeling the solid earth holding you up creates a sense of well being and provides clarity. Last week I spent a few days in a giant high rise hotel with large windowless convention rooms in the middle of an urban center. I missed the earth beneath my feet. Working out on a treadmill on the 40th floor gave me exercise but it did not ground me.

How does Creation inspire you? What do you think of as Creation?

I remember taking a survey at the career center in college that assessed several factors and then predicted that being a Podiatrist was an appropriate career choice for me. It was such a ridiculous suggestion that from then on I shunned any career assessment as absurd!

It’s taken several years and career shifts to determine a really useful alternative to the classic career assessment. Several ideas emerged as key:

• I know better than someone else what is right for me.
• Career choices are not an event that can be packaged in an assessment or even a collection of assessments.
• Everyday I can become more clear about what’s right for me and more clear about what enhances the value I can create for others.
• I need to be really clear about who I am at my best, to make solid career choices.
• Ultimately, a solid career path requires that I am a strong leader of myself and my life.

The IAM Career Leadership lesson explores these ideas and how we are the everyday leaders of our work, in the context of a whole  and healthy life. We’re interested knowing, “What would it take for you to be the leader of your career?”

I love thinking about career strategies, but that wasn’t always the case. I made some poor choices early in my career. I remember the day my manager told me that he would love to promote me but his hands were tied because I didn’t have a bachelor’s degree. I was so angry. It seemed so unfair; I had gotten excellent performance reviews for 6 years in a row. I thought about what I really wanted for my career and decided I could complain about it or do something about it, so the next week I enrolled in night school to get my bachelor’s degree. I worked really hard. I had a full-time job during the day, school at night, homework on the weekends, and going through infertility treatments. My husband must be a saint!

After I got my degree I moved into a better position at a new company, or so I thought. At first I loved my work, but after a few years I began to get restless. I wondered what was wrong with me. When I told my boss I wanted to do something different, she said, “Why can’t you just stay where you are?” If you read the Career Concepts article in this lesson, you’ll see that I favor the spiral career concept, so there’s nothing wrong with me.

I couldn’t just quit my job due to financial obligations and had no idea what I even wanted to do, so I hired a coach (the lovely Karen Tax) to help me figure it out. We created a strategy so I would have enough money in the bank to take off a year from work and begin a coaching program. I also found a great part-time job. Interestingly enough, that year was my husband’s highest salary ever due to the bonuses he received (this was post 9/11).

Now I’m completing a master’s program in May, have my own business, and am partnering with Karen in this venture of IAM Learning initiatives.  What I’ve learned is that in our world today, it isn’t likely that we can plan out our whole careers in this linear, static fashion. However, it is essential to be strategic about our careers. If I had not been strategic about my career, I would be have likely been laid off as the company I work for is now in bankruptcy, and my career choices would have been very limited.

In the Sight Your Destination lesson, we asked you to think about what you really, really want for your life and career. As you think about strategies you have employed in your life and career, which ones have worked best for you?

It’s hard to believe that in a little over 4 weeks I’ll be graduating from my Master’s program. The time has flown, and yet I am ready to move on. I love learning (it’s my number 2 strength), but I am tired of writing papers and studying. I’m ready for a break!

Something I have had to get very good at is being strategic and tactical throughout grad school. One of the wonderful components of our program is that I get design my course of study. One the other side, I have had little to no help from the university. To be strategic, I had determine what I wanted the program to do for me personally and professionally which means I have to pick 2 concentrations that will be used to support my Master’s project (created by me). To be tactical I had to set goals for when I wanted to complete the program, my grades, and my course requirements. I also had to be very organized with scheduling so that all my work was completed on time and met the requirements.

Getting my master’s degree was a part of an overall strategy for my career. It has been frustrating at times, but I have always been motivated to stay focused because it’s what I want for myself and my career.

In this lesson, we mention that most failures in action are due to poorly thought-out strategy. How do you use strategy to drive your actions and increase your chances of success?