A Summary List...

"Servant Leadership - ON Purpose!"

SERVant Leadership...ON Purpose!
Authentic Listening...ON Purpose!
Empathy...ON Purpose!
Healing...ON Purpose!
Self-Awareness...ON Purpose!
Persuasion...ON Purpose!
​Conceptualization...ON Purpose!
​Foresight...ON Purpose!
Stewardship...ON Purpose!
Developing Others...ON Purpose!
Building Community...ON Purpose!
SERVant Leadership2...ON Purpose!
Character...ON Purpose!
People First...ON Purpose!
SKILLED Communication...ON Purpose!
Compassionate Collaboration...ON Purpose!
Foresight2...ON Purpose!
Systems Thinking...ON Purpose!
Moral Authority...ON Purpose!
​
Other "...ON Purpose"

Fill-In-The-Blank...ON Purpose!
Life...ON Purpose!
80K Hour Career Clock...ON Purpose!
Career...ON Purpose!
Work...ON Purpose!
Mindset...ON Purpose!
Conflict...ON Purpose!
30 Ways to Attend a Conference...ON Purpose!
Training Intervention...ON Purpose!
Smarter Choices...ON Purpose!​
Time & Energy...ON Purpose!
Weakness...ON Purpose!
Purge...ON Purpose!
Independence...ON Purpose!
Purge2...ON Purpose!
LEADership....ON Purpose!

Other
​
​Torn Between Two Conferences...How to Decide
The TWO Sides of Gifts...
Gladwell's 10K-Hour Rule & Our 80K Hour Career...
5 Steps to Make Work...Not Work!
From Setback to Success...
Pressing the Reset Button...
Questions to Uncover YOUR Calling / Purpose / Why...
Your Route to Empowerment...
The Power of a Coach...
Making a Case for Career Polygamy...
Want to Transform? You'll Need This One Thing...
Wicked SMAAAAART Goal Setting...
The Greatest Gift Revisited...
Career Clock Management According to Belichick...
Maslow & the 80000 Hour Career Journey...
The MOST Important Value?
Wantrepreneur: Do You Have What it Takes?
Pre "Extreme Vetting" - the FIRST Immigrants...
A Calling -VS- A Job...
Why Diversity Matters...
How Not to Suck @ Fill-in-the-Blank...
Assessment Summary - Picking Your Scissors
How to Ensure Workplace Assessments DON'T Fall Short...
Why Workplace Assessments Fall Short...
8 Ways to Make Everyday a Gift...
Passion Is OK But It's Not All of It! Just Ask Tim Tebow...
Name! Claim! & Aim!
How did I get here?
​Why This Website?

Last year I wrote a blog - 30 Ways to Attend a Conference...On Purpose! - this blog is assuming you have decided to attend a conference and now you’re in the process of making your arrangements…

Here’s another real world quandary…what if two conferences in your wheelhouse happen in the same city on the same day? Today, I'd like to add to that and discuss in a bit more detail how do you decide which conference is best for you…That’s what’s going on this year between SHRM– Atlanta and ATD Atlanta this year! (Same city. Same day!)

Both have compelling offerings… and only you can answer the questions below that will help you sort through which option is best suited for you and your professional objectives/goals…read on…

Attendee

• Which conference offers CEUs – continuing education credits - for attending?
• Which conference will allow me to rub elbows with people whom need to know me…?
• Which conference seems to be offering breakouts/keynote speakers that will help me in my own professional journey?
• Which conference offers topics that will put me in a "stretch zone" for my own professional development?
• Which conference has pre-post events that will allow me to extend my investment? 
• Which conference is most aligned with my budget?
• Which conference will be easier to get to? (When you live in a city like Atlanta traffic considerations are relevant!)
• Catch-all - If I fast forward 6 months from the conference, WHICH will have the biggest impact on my goals / objectives?

Volunteers

• Which conference has the best "deal" / payback? (Discounts? Free Day(s)?)
• Which conference will my gifts be best applied? (Standing in a hall with a big question mark on your vest might be great for those whom have questions, or, could you be a room monitor and soak in the speakers' insights WHILE being a resource to the hosts, or, working in the Exhibitor hall and get to know the exhibitors, or...)
• Which conference will allow me to give back AND help me achieve my goals / objectives?

Exhibitors

• Which conference will have the attendees aligned with my "ideal client" profile?
• Which conference will have the most foot traffic?
• Which conference seems to get "why" I'll be there?
• Which conference markets my sponsorship leading up, during and after?

Fin

If you're honest with yourself and answer each, you should be able to identify a preference as to which conference will be best suited for achieving your goals/objectives.

Regardless of which conference you decide, DO attend one of them!

My best to your quest!

Mark
I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum ​performance.

​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

​SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

We conclude our journey through SEVEN PILLARS of SERVANT LEADERSHIP. This week we discuss the seventh pillar - identified by Robert Greenleaf - MORAL AUTHORITY - and covered in detail by Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership: Practicing the Wisdom of Leading by Serving - by James W. Sipe and Don M. Frick.  In light of numerous recent examples of leaders taking advantage of their authority in excessive self-serving ways - this pillar is the hope - the aspiration - that better judgement and leadership prevails.  

The negative headlines...without naming names...

- Numerous people in power - executives, leaders, politicians - taking liberties with staffers...
- A car manufacturer cheating emission testing through software manipulation...
- A "trusted" financial institution signing up tens of thousands of customers with BOGUS accounts in order to hit unrealistic sales targets and pad the pockets of unscrupulous employees doing so to receive a bonus...
- Companies NOT disclosing data breaches for MILLIONS of people and the extent of data breaches until MONTHS or YEARS later...
- Medical device / pharmaceutical companies raising prices 500%+ for the "privilege" of using the drug / device...
- An American city NOT disclosing dangerously high levels of lead in the drinking water...
- 7 out 10 employees not engaged at work...

At the core of each of these headlines is POOR leadership...Robert Greenleaf would contend a common thread most likely missing is MORAL AUTHORITY...

What is Moral Authority?

In Greenleaf's Servant Leadership essay he introduced Moral Authority this way, "A new moral principle is emerging which holds that the only authority deserving one’s allegiance is that which is freely and knowingly granted by the led to the leader in response to, and in proportion to, the clearly evident servant stature of the leader. Those who choose to follow this principle will not casually accept the authority of existing institutions. Rather, they will freely respond only to individuals who are chosen as leaders because they are proven and trusted as servants. To the extent that this principle prevails in the future, the only truly viable institutions will be those that are predominantly servant led."

People grant others moral authority when they see the following consistently demonstrated:

Being A Person of Character - (i.e. maintains integrity and humility)
Putting People First - (someone who is there to serve and cares for people)
Skillful Communication – (i.e. show empathy and encourage feedback)
Compassionate Collaboration – (i.e. give congratulations when due, negotiate conflict well)
Foresight – (i.e. being able to predict future developments and problems)
Systems Thinking – (i.e. being comfortable working with complicated systems with many facets)

Sipe and Frick identified 3 core competencies to effectively practice moral authority: 1. Accepting and Delegating Responsibility; 2. Sharing Power and Control; and 3. Creating a Culture of Accountability. 

1. Accepting and Delegating Responsibility 

According to Sipe and Frick "The skills of delegating responsibility are easy to learn—be clear with expectations, provide the necessary resources, agree on a deadline, and be available to help. The biggest hurdle is the decision to delegate, in trust and without micromanaging. For a Servant-Leader, no magic formulas can make the acceptance and delegation of responsibility risk-free; no bullet-point mantras will assure you are doing things right, or even doing the right things. There is only this: the gentle but persistent guidance of love."

As a leader - YOU have a responsibility to others by identifying opportunities where YOUR gifts can be applied. DON'T wait to be asked...

The other aspect is "letting go" and seeing others as a conduit toward progress. Granted, they may not do it the same way. Chances are those who are delegated responsibility feel empowered and engaged!

If you want others to give and support your moral authority...

ASK YOURSELF

- Is there anything I can "suit up" for and raise my hand to do? (In other words - DON'T wait to be asked to do something - volunteer your expertise.)
- Do I really trust others to be responsible, or do I only trust myself? 
- How can I accept AND delegate within appropriate boundaries? 
- Will I delegate tasks I prefer to do myself? 

2. Sharing Power and Control

In "Reflections on Robert K. Greenleaf" it was written "Greenleaf considered himself most successful when no one realized he was the originator of an idea!" 

There are examples where leaders forged a path on their own and continued down that road until it ran into a dead-end. When the end of the road is met, some of the same leaders raised a hand to let others know they needed help...they became vulnerable...it was then they learned that sharing power and control was in the interest of all. As a result, more people won. For more on vulnerability SEE: SELF-Awareness...ON Purpose!

Greenleaf, however, was not oblivious to the ego needs of the leader. He believed a servant leader is able to "keep them in check" and finds alternative ways to satisfy them.

ASK YOURSELF

- What is one thing I can do differently to share power with others? 
- Where can I allow others to assume more public visibility as leaders? 
- Where and how can I enlist broad support from the beginning of an issue rather than struggle for “buy in” after a decision has been made? 
- How can I transform the ego needs that cause me to seek power over others into a different kind of satisfaction that comes from having power with others?

3. Creating a Culture of Accountability

Greenleaf believed an organization should begin with solid, enduring moral principles rather than rules. No accident the organizations / teams that practice a healthy approach toward accountability have a culture of EMPOWERMENT. In other words it's less about following rules and more about following a set core of values / guiding principles and letting everyone "lean in" on the moral principles.  

To support the previous point, the following 20 organizations from Fortune Magazine‘s annual list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For are also considered companies practicing servant leadership:

SAS (#1 on the list of Best Companies to Work For)
Wegmans Food Market (3)
Zappos.com (6)
Nugget Market (8)
Recreational Equipment (REI) (9)
Container Store (21)
Whole Foods Market (24)
QuikTrip (34)
Balfour Beatty Construction (40)
TD Industries (45)
Aflac (57)
Marriott International (71)
Nordstrom (74)
Men’s Wearhouse (87)
CH2M Hill (90)
Darden Restaurants (97)
Starbucks (98)
TD Industries (45)
Aflac (57)
Marriott International (71)
Nordstrom (74)
Men's Wearhouse (87)
CH2M Hill (90)
Darden Restaurants (97)
Starbucks (98)
Southwest Airlines
Toro
Publix
Chick-fil-A 

How they manage the culture of accountability...

- "Hire slow and fire fast..." (Chick-fil-A)
- Identify and establish the core values / guiding principles that allows team members to be empowered.
- Set standards for performance based on the core values / guiding principles.
- DO NOT "handcuff" employees with rules (SEE previous point).
- Treat people like adults...

For more on accountability SEE: Compassionate Collaboration...ON Purpose!

ASK YOURSELF

- Does the culture in my workplace nurture and reward accountability? 
- What is my role in fostering accountability, not only for projects, but for people? 
- What are three things I can do to hold myself accountable for the growth of others? SEE: People First...ON Purpose!

Why Moral Authority Trumps Positional Authority...

Positional authority is fleeting. It's exceedingly fragile.  Leaders who believe they will be followed "JUST BECAUSE" of their title have a real shock coming...people don't follow titles or positions they follow leaders who possess the traits noted above:  

Being A Person of Character - (i.e. maintains integrity and humility)
Putting People First - (someone who is there to serve and cares for people)
Skillful Communication – (i.e. show empathy and encourage feedback)
Compassionate Collaboration – (i.e. give congratulations when due, negotiate conflict well)
Foresight – (i.e. being able to predict future developments and problems)
Systems Thinking – (i.e. being comfortable working with complicated systems with many facets)

If you're a leader and DON'T believe that OR can't demonstrate that, watch your back.

Conclusion

The coming months and years ahead could be a turning point in leadership models. It is the hope that the servant leadership model prevails! 

My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation

​SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

We continue our journey through SEVEN PILLARS of SERVANT LEADERSHIP. This week we discuss the sixth pillar - defined by Robert Greenleaf - SYSTEMS THINKING - and covered in detail by Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership: Practicing the Wisdom of Leading by Serving - by James W. Sipe and Don M. Frick. As with the last blog topic - Foresight - Systems Thinking was referred by Greenleaf as "Conceptualization" and reviewed in Conceptualization...ON Purpose!  

The highlights from that blog that lend itself to this blog:

- Conceptualization - "Servant leaders seek to conceptualize challenges, thinking from a holistic and broad perspective. They dream big and use systemic thinking to approach day-to-day operations. Servant-Leaders are forward thinkers, seeking balance in the dream and daily life."
- Conceptualization does not occur in a vacuum. Servant leaders invite ownership FROM THE GROUP to help shape vision. 
- Conceptualizing servant leaders have a constant eye on the horizon and the "future-state".
- Conceptualizing servant leaders nurture conceptualization IN self and others.
- Conceptualizers remain calm, even in crisis.
- Conceptualizers also need to "Testing the Team's Dream(s)..."

For more, SEE: Conceptualization...ON Purpose!

Which brings us to this blog - Systems Thinking...ON Purpose!

Greenleaf said "When you look at anything or consider anything, look at it as “a whole” as much as you can before you swing on it."

Sipe and Frick identified 3 Core Competencies to effectively practice systems thinking: 1. Comfortable with Complexity; 2. Demonstrates Adaptability; and 3. Considers the “Greater Good”. 

1. Comfortable with Complexity

When a problem arises in an organization, the natural tendency is to zoom in to analyze and fix. When an event occurs that poses a challenge / opportunity, all the analytical resources of an organization swoop in to fix things. However, if there is no systemic thinking going on, the fix could make things worse. 

In your experience consider a scenario when this occurred - some entity / some group / someone "swooped in". What should the company do? Create new strategies that directly address the event? Warn, or remove  the barrier to success, or, take any number of other actions. 

Although this can be a useful strategy followed by management and scientific processes, systems thinkers in the servant leadership context take the next step - they zoom out in order to see the challenge / opportunity in the context of underlying patterns and structures of the whole, and the whole’s relationship to its community, environment, and city, state, region, country and world. 

Systems thinking appreciates the relationships between people, nature, and spirituality.

A deeper “strategy” response would be to take a deep breath and try to understand trends over time that have either not been measured or have been ignored. 

Peter Senge - the author of The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization - offers “Laws of Systems Thinking”. 

• Today’s problems come from yesterday’s “solutions.” 
• The harder you push, the harder the system pushes back. 
• Behavior grows better before it grows worse. 
• The easy way out usually leads back in. 
• The cure can be worse than the disease. 
• Faster is slower. 
• Cause and effect are not closely related in time and space. 
• Small changes can produce big results, but the areas of highest leverage are often the least obvious. 

Can you think of examples where these laws played out? 

According to Greenleaf in his essay "My Debt to E. B. White", "Servant leaders use insights from systems disciplines in their quest to build healthier, wiser, freer, and more effective organizations." He was influenced toward seeing things whole by studying the writings of E. B. White. and, as a result, he listed four requirements for servant leaders to think with a "systems" filter.

1. Moving in the right direction - “One often does not know the precise goal,” wrote Greenleaf, “but one must always be certain of one’s direction. The goal will reveal itself in due course.”

2. OK with the "mess" - The servant leader is determined to see life in all its glorious messiness without all the loose ends tied up in neat, simplistic bows. “As one attains maturity,” wrote Greenleaf, “one learns to live peacefully and sleep well with a submerged awareness of constant danger.” 

3. Seeing the "whole" - By seeing things whole, a servant leader loves the sheer beauty of this world and nurtures heightened awareness, appreciation to see connections between history, people, events, possibilities, and deep intuition. The “big picture” is grand and beautiful, even in its complexity. 

4. Ethical conduct is central to seeing things whole - A servant leader who “zooms out” to clearly understand causes and effects, profound relationships, and outcomes of actions does not say, “It’s not my fault,” or “Let someone else fix it.” A servant leader takes personal responsibility and acts ethically.

Systems thinking is more about appreciating / understanding relationships between belief systems, people, processes, structures, and other factors that might influence someone's perceptions (e.g. behavior, media, social media etc.)

A servant leader is not comfortable with complexity because she / he have figured out all the answers, but because she / he can live with the remaining questions and trusts that it is possible to lean into new answers as long as she / he is following the right direction.

ASK YOURSELF

- How comfortable are you with complexity?
- What challenge can you "zoom out" from?
- Have you reacted with "zoomed in" or "zoomed out" perspective?
- WHERE can I apply Greenleaf's systems thinking framework?

2. Demonstrates Adaptability

This is why communicating a shared vision is so important. People will accept a lot of mid-course corrections if they understand that each correction  contributes to movement in the right direction, toward the destination (i.e. vision) on the horizon.

Being adaptable may be as simple as using the "gifts" / talents / strengths YOU possess and directing them toward adaptability. Think of them as "clubs in the bag" - golf analogy - you "pick a club" based on where the "ball has landed". If you recall, some of the servant leader clubs:

Authentic Listening
Being A Person of Character
Building Community
Commitment to the Growth of the People
Compassionate Collaboration
Conceptualization 
Empathy
Foresight
Foresight2
Healing 
Leading with Moral Authority
Persuasion
Putting People First
Self-Awareness 
Skilled Communication 
Stewardship
Systems Thinking

As we have noted, what makes human interaction, leadership, and servant leadership so intriguing is NO two humans are exactly alike! Even identical twins are different! Understanding what's natural to you - your "super power" - as well as your "kryptonite" - i.e. your Achilles heel...your weakness - is important. This self-awareness allows to "lean in" and accept help for the other powers not in your wheelhouse! 

ASK YOURSELF

- Which "gifts" / talents / strengths - can help me with systems thinking?
- Which "gifts" / talents / strengths - are NOT?
- Is there a super-combination of "gifts" / talents / strengths I can lean in on?
- Who can we "lean in" on to achieve the objective(s)?

3. Considers the “Greater Good” 

In the age of self-interest...

We see oh too many examples of decisions, leadership, and even well-intended behaviors driven by self-interest…the servant leader does not have self-interest in mind as she/he approaches a complex situation…their true intention is focused on the "greater good"...

I think back to a time when I was making my own career transition and landed on what I’m doing now…meeting people where they are and helping them to further refine or define how they too could transition, or, as I like to say "evolve". So, after I achieved my own clarity I reached out to like-minded groups supporting those in need. 

I was struck by the reactions...generally, there were two: 1. Open / welcoming – although cautious until they got to know me and then completely trusting as time went on since they confirmed my only interest was in being a resource...2. Closed / not welcoming - the other group was usually embedded with folks who had self-interest embedded in their efforts…I was viewed not as a resource but as a competitor.

During one occasion I was directed to someone who facilitated a topic that regularly occurred at this group's and meetings. I sat through the session and had suggestions as to how the session could be enhanced in a way to “meet people where they are…“ Although the director of volunteers was open to my suggestions he asked me to reach out directly to the individual who ran that session… I reached out to the volunteer to offer my services and was told point-blank “these are my leads“ needless to say…I never got involved nor provided support to that group…

It's About Trust...

I’m sure all of us have examples where decisions / directives / leadership were being driven by self-interest…not a good thing…and it won't be until self-interest is "checked at the door" and having others TRUST your self-interest is NOT the motive,  can progress can be made. 

Cases in point...if we look at the groups / institutions with the lowest trust levels - banks, elected officials, governments, political parties or religions to name several - you may notice they also appear to LACK a "systems thinking" approach. After all, its LESS what one person or one group thinks!!!!! Systems thinkers look outside of themselves and  their own self-interest(s).

ASK YOURSELF

- What is best for my company and the community and the environment?
- How are my actions / behaviors supporting the "greater good"?
- What is my self-interest?
- How is my self-interest being served?

Conclusion

• ​Be OK with ambiguity, "the mess", "the chaos"...
• Pause
• Zoom out
• Draw in others - the more different than you the better.
• Ask questions to understand - SEE Your Route to Empowerment...for discussion about APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY
• Dialogue
• DON'T offer solutions - authentically listen
• Maintain ethics
• Check self-interest at the door...

Additional resources for systems thinking:

• Donella Meadows - Thinking in Systems: A Primer
• Gerald M. Weinberg - An Introduction to General Systems Thinking
• John Kotter - Leading Change
• Michael C. Jackson - Systems Thinking: Creative Holism for Managers
• Peter M. Senge - The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization
• Russell L. Ackoff - Re-Creating the Corporation: A Design of Organizations for the 21st Century

My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

​SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

​
We continue our journey through the seven pillars of servant Leadership. This week we discuss the fifth pillar - defined by Robert Greenleaf - FORESIGHT and covered in detail by Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership: Practicing the Wisdom of Leading by Serving - by James W. Sipe and Don M. Frick. Ironically, Foresight is also the seventh principle in the SERVant Leadership...ON Purpose! series.  SEE FORESIGHT...ON PRURPOSE!

The highlights from the FORESIGHT...ON PRURPOSE! blog that will lend itself to this blog:

- Defined in the servant leadership context: strategic intuition in thinking and behaviors. It is intuition based in the past, present, and future decision-making process. Robert Greenleaf observed "Foresight is seen as a holy rational process, the product of a constantly running internal computer that deals with intersecting series in random inputs and is vastly more complicated than anything technology has yet produced. Foresight means regarding the events of the instant moment and constantly comparing them with a series of projections made in the past and at the same time projecting future events – with diminishing certainty has projected time runs out into the indefinite future."

- According to Larry Spears -  president and CEO of The Larry C. Spears Center for ServantLeadership - "One knows foresight when one experiences it. Foresight is a characteristic that enables the servant leader to understand the lessons from the past, the realities of the present, and the likely consequence of a decision for the future. It is also deeply rooted within the intuitive mind."

- Servant Leaders are Intuitive.

- Servant Leaders Identify Current Trends and Make Wise Decisions.

- Servant Leaders Practice The Foresight DO Loop: 1. Learn; 2. See; 3. Do; and 4. Review.

Foresight as One of Pillars...

Sipe and Frick identified 3 additional competencies that make foresight robust: vision, creativity, and courage.

Some of the highlights:

1. Vision

"A Servant-Leader sees where to go (through foresight), paints a compelling picture of the destination (with a vision), and invites others to “come, follow me.” Scores of books have been written about the differences between vision statements, mission statements, goals, strategic objectives, enabling objectives, and performance objectives."

On September 12, 1962, one of the most memorable VISIONING speeches was delivered by Robert F. Kennedy...speaking at Rice University...

"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too...Well, space is there, and we're going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God's blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked." (Speech)

This visioning speech set the focus of NASA and thousands of engineers, mathematicians, politicians, scientists, suppliers and private citizens. It also set the tone and ALL the world's fascination with the quest to reach the moon by the end of the decade...Kennedy's words were prophetic...and despite the challenges...NASA achieved Kennedy's goal by landing on the moon on July 20, 1969.

What a Great Vision Does...

• Invites us into a great and worthy shared enterprise;
• Paints a picture of a brighter future that connects to our deepest identity;
• Excites with unlimited possibilities: and, 
• Lures us forward to action with its compelling power. 

Foresight is only possible if an institution and the people within it have the vision to know who they are and where they want to go. So, when you sit down with colleagues to create, express or revise a vision, understand this is not an exercise in semantics - it's the words of your very identity.

In a nutshell, VISION is a statement - even a breathtaking statement - about the difference the organization will make in the world and in peoples’ lives.

​Vision should answer the following questions:

• “Who are we?”
• “Whom do we serve?”
• “How will we serve them?”

Answering these questions takes time. Once the vision is in place, a servant leader will refer to it frequently, using it to paint a compelling picture of what it means to work towards these ends. A servant leader will constantly reinterpret the vision and not be afraid of refining it, afterall, this is all part of being a “visionary leader.” 

ASK YOURSELF 

• Am I open to influencing / revisiting our vision statement? 
• How would I act differently if I lived by a personal vision statement I believe in? 
• Instead of beginning with words, can I begin to formulate a personal vision by noticing the passions that consistently lure and excite me? 
• Who is a trusted friend who will help me be accountable to my personal vision? 

2. Creativity

Sipe and Frick contend, "To compete in a global economy with rapid-fire innovations and razor-sharp competition, an organization must not only permit but nurture creativity." Today, this is expressed in popular sayings like “Think out of the box,” “Get outside your own silo,” and “Look for the third right answer.”

This approach to creativity is adapted from the teachings of various creativity mentors:

• State the problem to point everyone in the same direction; 
• Suggest possible solutions; 
• Suspend judgment; 
• Go for quantity of ideas;
• Change perspective;
• Play with metaphors. (i.e. What is this problem like?)
• Evaluate and choose possible solutions; 
• Test the creative solution. 

Tips for Inspiring and Managing Creativity

• Use creativity in approaching challenges and problems and welcome it in others. 
• Set general boundaries for each step of the process. (e.g. “Okay folks, we’re going to brainstorm for fifteen minutes. We can listen to a few crazy ideas later, but let’s try to get most of them on the table right now.” )
• Identify and reduce barriers to creativity and the creative process. 
• Recognize / expect tension between creativity and control - they tend to be incompatible. 

Greenleaf said that “conceptual skills allow us to see the big picture, the where we want to go. Foresight allows us to map out how we are going to get there by anticipating the various consequences of our actions and then picking the actions that will serve us best.”

Bottom line: if creativity is not rewarded or practiced by a leader, it will not get done. 

ASK YOURSELF 

• Do I see myself as creative even though I am not an artist,  musician, or poet? 
• What analogy can be applied to my most vexing challenge? 
• How can I change the negative metaphor I associate with to a positive one? 
• Am I too quick to judge “crazy ideas” in myself and others without looking at their creative possibilities? 
• What are ways I can be creative? 

3. Courage

Exercising courage, being decisive, or demonstrating productive problem-solving abilities rests upon a solid foundation of insight and intuition, combined with a practical set of problem-solving skills.  Servant leaders will be faced with opportunities to "do the right thing" even though it won't be popular. As Bill Treasurer - Leadership consultant and the “chief encouragement officer” at Giant Leap Consulting, and the author of Courageous Leadership Profile, would say..."Be Courageous!"

• A servant leader who has gone through the process of creatively accessing foresight and developing a vision is less likely to jump on the first idea offered. He or she has a picture of the larger forces that must be considered and waits for the second, third, and fourth idea, but then is free to act with more solid assurance that all the bases have been covered. 
• A leader with foresight is more likely to heed the Native American guideline - "to consider the impact of every decision seven generations into the future." With those stakes, an action needs to be decisive.
• By working creatively and collaboratively, a servant leader guards against ego. Critics and colleagues act as a check on one’s ego. There's less likelihood that a decisive action will originate in ego, or be seen that way by others. 
• A community of servants is collectively smarter than any one person. 

ASK YOURSELF 

• What makes me act boldly even when I am not sure of the decision? 
• What keeps me from acting boldly, even after I am as sure as I can be? 
• How can I be bold and humble, assertive and collaborative, reflective and proactive? 

In Closure...

First consider all aspects of the situation - history, current data, and probable impact on the future - and you too can move ahead with no regrets, regardless of consequences. Foresight NOT acted upon is a wasted opportunity! In truth, anything that requires the doing of something is an opportunity to put foresight, vision, creativity and courage into action - they become more than tools - they become integrated as part of the deep identity of a servant leader.  A servant leader is creative and visionary, and is one who sees the world every day with heightened awareness and foresight. A great way to live and work! 

My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

Quick: Think of a time when you demonstrated compassion. 

Next: Think of a time when you demonstrated collaboration.

What did it look like? 

As we immerse ourselves into another holiday season, reviewing the pillar COMPASSIONATE COLLABORATION - the fourth of 7 pillars defined by Robert Greenleaf - is appropriate! The holidays should be about and the celebration of  COMPASSIONATE COLLABORATION!

Case in point, when the Pilgrims arrived in the new world in 1620, they were welcomed by the native inhabitants, of the area had already been there 10000 years BEFORE they arrived - the Wampanoag Indians. They taught the Pilgrims how to plant corn, as well as where to fish and hunt. They learned from the "locals" who shared their gifts...in the Fall of 1621 the Pilgrims famously shared one of their first harvests during a THREE day celebration come to be known as Thanksgiving! 

Now, as we approach the holidays full force, we have an opportunity to similarly extend the gratitude through the end of the year and perhaps beyond! In the workplace this demonstration can nurture a desire to practice compassionate collaboration!

And before you jump to the conclusion that this blog is a "namby-pamby" approach toward a "corporate trust fall"...keep reading because it's more! Practicing and consistently demonstrating compassionate collaboration to co-workers, teammates, or colleagues (hard) and customers (harder) is REALLY REALLY hard. 

As we have learned, being Compassionate is all about empathy and demonstrating care for others. Collaboration, from the Latin roots "com" and "laborare", means to “co-labor” is all about “working together.” 

In my last blog I noted my 95-year-old Uncle Robert's strong influence to me…currently he's in a rehabilitation facility due to a fall…the facility is impressive…and seems to promote a very strong culture of positivity and "patient first" values… posters line every wall with examples of these values…where it gets hard is when an employee is tired…stressed…or, perhaps, overworked. When I check-in and ask "Robert, how are things going?" he'll sometimes relay a story that brings the posters to life! On a subsequent call, he may relay a story about how values on the posters remain just that - a poster…an aspiration - like I said, it’s REALLY REALLY hard to do consistently.

Compassion and ways to show it: 

• Be an advocate.
• Communicate empathetically verbally and non-verbally.
• Encourage others.
• Express yourself.
• Respect privacy.
• Show kindness.
• Touch (if appropriate).

Collaboration and ways to show it:

• Actively learn and listen.
• All members take initiative. 
• Be open about everything.
• Commit to the success of other members, rather than just one’s own success.
• Demonstrate personal responsibility.
• Expertise is more important than position.
• Get everyone on the same page.
• Hold effective team meetings.
• Invite ideas / inputs from everyone - the more diverse the better.
• Look for ways to continuously improve the WHOLE.
• Manage disagreements respectfully, fairly, and constructively.
• Pay attention to the quality of work life.
• Recognize the contributions.
• Relate well to others - the more diverse the better.
• Set expectations.
• Trust.
• Value individual differences.
• Value truth / truth telling.

In the book, Collaborative Leadership, the author, Peter DeWitt, describes collaboration as "A mutually beneficial relationship between two or more parties who work toward common goals by sharing responsibility, authority, and accountability for achieving results. Collaboration is more than simply sharing knowledge and information (communication) and more than a relationship that helps each party achieve its own goals (cooperation and coordination). The purpose of collaboration is to create a shared vision and joint strategies to address concerns that go beyond the purview of any particular party."

ASK YOURSELF

• Do I really believe collaboration can be more effective than individual action? 
• What would I need to change in my thinking to begin considering collaboration as a first option? 
• Specifically, what have I lost by not collaborating when I could have? 
• Am I open / willing to learn how to better practice collaboration?

As defined by Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership: Practicing the Wisdom of Leading by Serving - by James W. Sipe and Don M. Frick, Compassionate Collaboration boils down to three competencies:  1. Expresses Appreciation 2. Builds Teams and Communities and 3. Negotiates Conflict. 

So, let's delve using the book!

1. Expresses Appreciation

Expressing appreciation is one way a servant leader acts on his commitment to the growth of others. It's also good business!

When a company’s corporate culture values enterprise-wide employee recognition and praise (a “positive culture”), it translates directly to the bottom line in an impressive way. Kotter and Heskett conducted an eleven-year research study summarized in their book Corporate Culture and Performance. They found companies that maintained a positive and collaborative cultural not only positively influenced customers, stockholders, and employees, they performed better economically than companies that did not maintain similar positive cultural traits. This translated into an increase in revenues by an average of 682 percent, an expansion of the workforce by an average of 282 percent, and growth in company stock prices by an average of 901 percent.

So with this supporting data it's appropriate to share tips on how you can help your employees feel valued include the following: 

• Develop a peer-recognition program
• Give recognition consistently
• Identify what is meaningful to your employees
• Keep recognition programs fresh  
• Offer employee reward options
• Recognize all levels of employees  
• Train managers on recognition best practices  

Sipe and Frick recommend following a simple five step process to demonstrate appreciation:

1. Praise with a Purpose
2. Be Specific
3. Consider the Receiver
4. Be Sincere
5. Do it Often

ASK YOURSELF

• How did I feel the last time someone expressed heartfelt appreciation to me? 
• If I want to pass that feeling on, who are three people I can honestly express appreciation to today?

2. Build Teams and Communities

Robert Greenleaf believed servant leaders should understand that any given group will have multiple leaders who serve different roles. As such, he identified 10 competencies important to be an effective servant leader...all of which we have spent 10 previous blogs discovering (stack ranked based on reader popularity):

1. Empathy
2. Developing Others AKA Commitment to the Growth of the People
3. Conceptualization
4. Healing
5. Self-Awareness
6. Building Community
7. Authentic Listening
8. Foresight
9. Stewardship 
10. Persuasion

The challenge AND opportunity is we CANNOT be 100% effective in ALL of them...that's why having a DIVERSE team is critical and why Greenleaf  identified important leadership roles: 

• Mediator - Intervenes in disputes and forms a basis for resolution so the work of the group can go on. Greenleaf saw this as “usually a subtle and inconspicuous role, but one of inestimable value.” 
• Consensus finder - The rare person who is patient enough to try a different “language” to state the consensus idea with which all can agree. 
• Critic - One who finds logical flaws or sometimes states what others do not want to admit, like, “Hey, this isn’t working!” A destructive critic can hurt more than help, but one should still see the critic as a leader with gifts to contribute to the group. 
• Shameless cheerleader - The person who is willing to allow his or her love for others to show, and who seeks good feelings. “With as many abrasive people as there are around,” said Greenleaf, “nothing would move without the meliorators.” 
• Keeper of the conscience - Those who “hold the work of the group solidly within a context of values and belief that all accept as necessary for the work they want to do.” 
• Process watcher - One who observes the overall group process and leadership roles and takes quiet action to address any malfunctions or deficiencies. 
• "Chief" - The appointed chairperson or "bottle washer #1", necessary because team members need to understand who decides routine matters, who holds group members to agreed protocols, and who speaks for the group to the wider world. 

Greenleaf’s analysis of team leadership roles is more radical than it may appear. Notice several of the leadership roles he considers important, i.e. critic and process watcher, are the "avoided roles" of most traditional-minded leaders. 

As noted in a Greenleaf's essay "Seeker and Servant: Reflections on Religious Leadership" (1996), this view of team leadership invites each member to take on a leadership role consistent with her/his experiences, skills, temperaments, and interests. If all of the roles are carried out well, Greenleaf says the group “may seem to be leaderless. But, in fact, such a group or team may be the most intensely led of all.” 

Seven Standards of High-Performing Teams

Using Greenleaf's philosophy, Sipe and Frick consider measuring a team's performance against a set of "leadership operating standards" below: 

1. Goal Setting - To increase the level of commitment toward the successful accomplishment of group goals, the goals should be cooperatively developed, relevant to the needs of the team (and the organization), and clearly understood. 
2. Communication - Respectful, direct, clear, and accurate two-way communication is the basis of all group functioning and interaction. Open expression of thoughts, feelings, and needs is expected and rewarded. Communication is not clear and accurate if the group avoids conflict. 
3. Participation - Participation and leadership are equally distributed among all group members. Everyone accepts the responsibility to meet goals, respect each other, and perform. The leader makes sure that the talents and resources of each group member are being optimally utilized. 
4. Decision Making - Consensus is the most valuable approach to making decisions in a group, especially decisions with great import. However, decision-making procedures need to be flexible, and must be matched with the situation. Different methods may be used at different times. Regardless, each group member is allowed ample opportunity to weigh in on every decision. 
5. Problem Solving - Controversy, tension, and conflict are inevitable in all groups and should therefore be expected, even encouraged. This is a lesson Quakers learned during nearly four hundred years of evolving and practicing the rules for consensus decision making. Conflicts must be aired and addressed in a way that encourages a solution everyone can live with. 
6. Interpersonal Effectiveness - Group members value emotional intelligence, self-confidence, emotional maturity, and authenticity. 
7. Cohesiveness - Members enjoy being in the group and feeling safe. Because of mutual positive regard, inclusiveness, high morale, and esprit de corps,  they are willing to take risks. They feel free to fail. 

ASK YOURSELF 

• Which of Greenleaf’s group roles do I normally take? 
• Which roles should I try more? 
• Would I feel secure in a group with seamless, shared leadership, or do I prefer a group with a strong leader? 
• How often do I try to impose my preference for group leadership style on others who may not agree? 
• What would a servant leader do? 
• How does my current team stack up against the seven standards for a high-performing team? 
• If I am not currently on a team, how did my last team measure up? 
• Am I willing to teach the seven standards to other members of my team at our next meeting?

3. Negotiates Conflict

Positive approaches to conflict can help you protect your interests, freeing you to take action and solve problems. On the other hand, conflict can be mishandled. It can storm out of control and cause harm to you and others. Compassionate collaboration will not happen if you hold on to the old ways of handling conflict based on “I win, you lose!” 

At one extreme, children are taught that anger and conflict are not okay. They may end up stuffing their anger and avoiding confrontation. At the other extreme, kids see anger and conflict handled aggressively and violently. They may have been encouraged to use force to solve their problems. Other children fall somewhere in between these extremes. They have been shown healthier and more productive outlets for their anger and frustration. 

The refusal to admit to disagreements can be as destructive as aggressive confrontation. Yet even the Quakers (of which Greenleaf was a devout Quaker), who practically invented consensus decision making, stress that consensus will not work unless every person surfaces disagreements so they can be dealt with honestly. 

Sipe and Frick review TWO techniques that are helpful with this competency:

• THE CHILL DRILL® - a technique for controlling anger. 
• Peace R.U.L.E.S!™ Negotiation Rules - techniques to negotiate conflict (source: James Sipe, Your Conflict Resolution Tool - Detroit Performance Resource Press)

For more SEE: Conflict...ON Purpose!

ASK YOURSELF 

• How do you act in conflict? 
• What were you taught about anger and confrontation? 
• Do you try to win an argument at any cost, even if it means straining a relationship or losing a friend? 
• Or, do you easily give in, afraid that if you stand up for yourself, the other person might not like you? 
• Do you see a conflict as a shared situation and search for solutions that both of you can accept? 
• Or, do you pretend that the problem does not exist? 
• Do I like my conflict “roost,” especially when I realize this is also how I probably face conflicts with family and significant others? 
• Do I want to make some changes? 
• While I think of something that makes me really angry, I’ll try THE CHILL DRILL® - What is the difference in my body sensation and attitude after THE CHILL DRILL®? 
• Am I willing to try the Peace R.U.L.E.S!™ Negotiation Rules and Peace Plan at my next opportunity to negotiate? 
• Will these ideas work with my family? And if so, am I willing to try them out? 
• Is it worth my effort to see negotiation as a tool for collaboration?
• Or, do I enjoy the power-play game of traditional negotiation too much to give it up?

Conclusion

A servant leader nurtures a climate of appreciation, is a team builder by helping group members develop the skills to identify and eliminate any barriers to group’s success and helps them solve any interpersonal problems that may prevent the group from maintaining high-quality interactions or diminish cohesiveness. This view of team leadership - COMPASSIONATE COLLABORATION - is not for those who want to use a group role to satisfy ego. Rather, it's for servant leaders who value BEST OUTCOMES over PERSONAL GAIN: in short, leaders with moral authority (stay tuned!).

My best to your quest!

​Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

If you've been following these blogs and are like me you have preconceptions about the meaning of certain words, competencies and traits. For me, I've been surprised by the meaning - from a servant leader perspective - of a some competencies and traits...SEE Persuasion...ON Purpose! AND Stewardship...ON Purpose!...now there's a third - SKILLED Communication...ON Purpose! 

According to the book Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership: Practicing the Wisdom of Leading by Serving in order to be a SKILLED communicator "The servant leader listens earnestly and speaks effectively. Seeks first to understand, then to be understood. Listens receptively to others, demonstrating genuine interest, warmth, and respect. Listens honestly and deeply to oneself and invites feedback from others. Influences others with assertiveness and persuasion rather than power and position." 

The book goes onto describe three competencies required to be a skilled communicator: 1. Empathy; 2. Seeks Feedback; and 3. Communicates Persuasively. We will review each from the book.

Every day we send and receive thousands of verbal and nonverbal messages filled with ideas, emotions, and desires. Communication is how we connect and influence others. Our relationships at work, at home, and in the community are dependent on it. So, why should we spend time on something we seem to already know how to do? Well, here's the rub...in order to be a servant leader, you must be able to change your point of reference about this competency. 

Experts say that SKILLFUL communication is the foundation of effective leadership - notice the word here is skillful. The basis of this skill STARTS with active listening - which means to listen to understand and expressing one’s thoughts, feelings, and needs with genuineness, respect, and clarity. 

Pause, Reflect, Ask...

Recently I was visiting with a dear Uncle, Robert, referred as "Boba" by my son, daughter, nieces and nephews. At the time, he was approaching his 95th birthday. He was sharing how one of his caregivers "Was not cheap!" My ears perked up...I heard was "My caregiver is ripping me off!"...I paused and asked, "What do you mean Robert?" He said, "She's not shy to spend money on me or others...matter of fact, she bought me two pounds of really good coffee after I mentioned Matthew (my twin brother) liked it." The simple pause, reflection, and the asking for clarification avoided a potentially embarrassing turn in the conversation brought on by misunderstanding...how often can misunderstanding be prevented by simply pausing, reflecting and asking for clarification...?

As leaders we sometimes get so caught up in the day-to-day "To Do's" we sometimes bring on misunderstanding by not pausing, reflecting and asking BEFORE responding or, worse, just TELL what we believe - without listening - needs to be told...

We're not bad people or lousy bosses. Instead, we're sometimes guilty of being distracted or inactive listeners. We occasionally take our bright, well-meaning employees, co-workers, associates too much for granted. As a result, we miss opportunities to strengthen a bond, affirm a job well done, and reinforce initiative and creativity. We fail to notice facial expressions - i.e. the non-verbals. We do not hear the subtly expressed need for something...be it coaching, help, recognition, or simply, quality time. 

Or worse, we demonstrate absolutely no curiosity...to learn more about a fill-in-the-blank... 

Behaviors / Benefits / Outcomes

Some of the behaviors / benefits / outcomes of being a skillful communicator:

• Communicates respect, warmth, and unconditional positive regard; 
• Sees positive results from clear, realistic expectations;
• Effectively delegates responsibility;
• Provides adequate encouragement and support;
• Offers firm, fair reminders of accountability; 
• Since servant leaders rationally detach from their own internal emotional turbulence and focus on the energy of others, the workplace will enjoy more "positive" conflict resolution; 
• Teams enjoy healthier emotional give and take where they can share a full range of feelings — anger, fear, guilt, joy, and perhaps, sadness; 
• Co-workers stay more oriented to their shared mission when skilled communicators make sense of work and life’s experiences by using symbols, metaphors, and stories;
• Inspire others to stretch thinking, clarify values, and take constructive action.
Ultimately, the positive outcomes of a skilled communicator allow her/him to use PERSUASION, the servant leader’s preferred mode of employing influence - SEE Persuasion...ON Purpose!

Gerard Egan, author of The Skilled Helper - one of the most widely used counseling textbooks in the world — refers to the skilled communicator as demonstrating the following: Empathy (deep, accurate understanding); Warmth (kindness, respect); Genuineness (openness, authenticity); Concreteness (specific, direct); Initiative (solution oriented, risk taking); Immediacy (mutual, intimate, “here-and-now” sharing); Self-disclosure (appropriate sharing of self); Confrontation (challenging others to grow); and Self-exploration (self-reflection, inviting feedback).

These communication skills support three core competencies mentioned previously: 1. Empathy; 2. Seeks Feedback; and 3. Communicates Persuasively. So, let's delve deeper into the three!

1. Empathy

Simply put, empathy is feeling with other people. People who practice empathy can sense other people's feelings by imagining themselves in others' lives and circumstances. It's a "sixth sense" of how other people feel and it can perceive and understand complex emotions.  Empathy is NOT a cerebral understanding of others' emotions, rather a gut level relationship to other's emotions. People with strong empathy can build and form relationships with emotional depth. 

No surprise, empathetic people are sought since they induce comfort, stability AND emotional connectedness with others. 

Empathy is a natural, higher-order biological process. As long as we dedicate ourselves to understanding and serving others, we will succeed as empathetic listeners. Consider a line from the peace prayer “O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand.”

The best way to connect in empathy is to listen, to listen with full presence and attention. Robert Greenleaf said listening is the premier skill of a servant leader. “Don’t assume, because you are intelligent, able, and well-motivated, that you are open to communication, that you know how to listen,” he said. He went onto say, “Openness to communication is the tendency to view everything heard or seen (or sensed in any way) with unqualified wonder and interest - this is interesting. I wonder what the meaning is — what is being said to me?"

Active listeners not only listen to the speaker’s words, but also watch for and listen to the speaker’s important nonverbal cues—body language, gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice. Their body language demonstrates that they are paying careful attention to the speaker, choosing to be intimately involved with the speaker’s experience at that very moment. (For more SEE: Authentic Listening...ON Purpose!)  

ASK YOURSELF 

• Do I feel empathy for others? 
• How do I show it? 
• How could empathy improve a specific, difficult situation in my workplace? 
• Am I willing to center myself to bring my full presence to a conversation? 
• How do I do that? 
• How do I feel when no one is speaking? 
• How can I improve my comfort with silence?
For more SEE: Empathy...ON Purpose!

2. Seeks Feedback

According to Fred Nickols, he believed there was a way to receive and provide feedback. In his work, "Feedback about Feedback", he provided guideposts and aspirational characteristics:

1. Explicit - make it clear what kind of feedback you seek, why it's important and offer a structure for the feedback. 
2. Open - listen without interruption, objections, or defensiveness. 
3. Responsive - willing to hear the speaker out without turning the table and asking questions for clarification. 
4. Thoughtful - seek to understand the effects and consequences of your behavior.
5. Clarifying - make sure you are clear about what they are seeing, saying, and recommending. 
6. Calm - be relaxed, breathe, assume a comfortable body posture and be aware of your own emotional reactions. 
7. Quiet - refrain from making or preparing to make a response. In other words do not be distracted by the need to explain, defend, or fix. 
8. Accepting - be open to assuming the feedback's good will.
9. Clear - with your commitment and describe how you have benefited from the feedback and what specific steps you will take toward improvement. 

ASK YOURSELF 

• Am I comfortable naming and framing feelings? 
• What are my strengths in giving and receiving feedback? 
• Am I open to hearing from colleagues about the areas where I can improve? 
• Do I have the courage to do an informal 360 degree evaluation of my competency in this area? 
• Do I feel comfortable being assertive in communication? 
• Can I find a learning partner who will help me track my accountability in improving servant leader communications?

3. Communicates Persuasively

Aristotle’s Rhetoric one of the most widely regarded works on influence and persuasion - detailed three strategies to persuade others to accept the speaker’s point of view: Ethos - ethical appeal;  Pathos - emotional appeal; and Logos - logical appeal.

Of the three, Aristotle said that ethos is "the most important factor in persuasion." Anthropologists have a saying: “Whoever tells the stories defines the culture.” In other words, if you want to shape a culture, begin by telling stories that inform, entertain, and, most of all, inspire.

The Power of Story

Last February I Tweeted "Hard to hate when you learn someone's story. What's yours?" EVERYONE has a story. And it's through story we connect!

According to Anthony Tjan, CEO, Managing Partner and Founder of the venture capital firm Cue Ball, "Making your words understandable and inspirational isn’t about dumbing them down. Instead, it requires bringing in elements such as anecdote, mnemonic, metaphor, storytelling, and analogy in ways that connect the essence of a message with both logic and emotion. Almost everyone leading or creating has a vision, but the challenge is often expressing it in ways that relate and connect." 

As servant leaders we have a huge opportunity to connect through the power of story! Not only does story humanize you as a person who people can relate,  story also has a psychological affect on our brains! 

Story Facts For the Brain

• A story activate parts in the brain that allows the listener to turn the story into their own ideas and experience thanks to a process called neural coupling. 
• Listeners will not only experienced a similar brain activity to each other, but also to the speaker. Also known as "mirroring"  - a form of empathy!
• The brain releases dopamine into the system when it experiences an emotionally – charged event, making it easier to remember and with greater accuracy.
• When processing facts, numerous areas of the brain are activated. A well – told story can engage additional areas of the brain, including the motor cortex, sensory cortex and frontal cortex.

ASK YOURSELF 

• Can I tell stories that demonstrate my personal values? 
• Am I able to tell them with openness, humor, and self-deprecation? 
• Do I have stories that back up my organization’s professed vision and values? 
• Could I begin to accumulate and share stories of serving?

​Conclusion

Servant leaders know skilled communication is not something we learn once. It takes conscious effort to improve listening skills, to remove barriers to communication and let our natural empathy do its magic. Learning the techniques of listening, responsible assertiveness, giving and receiving feedback, and telling great stories will improve your life at home, at work, and in the community. It is all part of the package of choosing to lead by serving first.

My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

I anticipate this will resonate as another "Amen" PEOPLE-FOCUSED blog post. What a compelling way to start this blog...with actual supporting data of what we have here! Do you smell opportunity? I do! When we have 6 in 10 employees NOT strongly agreeing that their supervisor, or someone - that's ANYONE - at work, "seem" to care about them as a person is quite telling.

I'm not surprised. I have come to realization that these "SOFT" skills are REALLY HARD to consistently practice "in real life". “Our company is our people!” “Our people are our biggest assets!” “We put people first!” Some organizations act on these words. Others simply spout them as slogans.  And it IS harder IF you do not have a true SERVANT LEADER'S heart.

It was and is Theodore Roosevelt to John C. Maxwell who said "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." That, in essence, becomes the crux of the PEOPLE FIRST pillar.

"When we act as servant to others, we are concerned with the full range of their knowledge, skills, emotional and behavioral dynamics. We often “help” best by talking but “serve” best by listening; “help” by actions but “serve” by actions and simple presence." Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership: Practicing the Wisdom of Leading by Serving

The book continues...by posing thought-provoking questions to help someone or and organization assess to what extent they are putting "People First"...broken down by THREE layers of "PEOPLE FIRST" competencies: 1. Displaying a Servant’s Heart; 2. Being Mentor Minded; and 3. Showing Care and Concern.

ASK YOURSELF

• Do I feel the natural desire to serve in my body as well as in my mind?
• Where is the desire located?
• Can I access it in times of stress when I need to touch this part of my deepest self? 
• How do I find, claim, and cultivate my servant’s heart?
• Am I passing on the legacy of servant-hood to my family, my friends, and co-workers?
• Is my mentoring about me or the person I am mentoring?
• Do I get ego “goodies” out of being the expert?
• Am I evolved enough to allow others to find their own ways, even when they are different from my ways?
• What are three new and specific actions I could take tomorrow to show care and concern?
• How would I analyze my “return on investment” if the investment was love rather than money?

If you might recall the top two servant leadership competencies from a previous informal poll were EMPATHY and DEVELOPING OTHERS...to some extent they support and perhaps DRIVE the PEOPLE FIRST pillar.

Some of the tips from the EMPATHY...ON PURPOSE! blog apply here:

Authentically Listen More Than You Speak
Express Your Perspective
Be Vulnerable
Don’t Make Assumptions
Use Your Imagination 

And, some of other steps outlined in the DEVELOPING OTHERS...ON PURPOSE! blog also apply here: 

Hire Slow 
Embrace Diversity
Expect, Demonstrate and Encourage Teamwork
Focus on Relationships
Help the Team Create a Vision
Committed to Team Success and Others
Coach
Be Available While Letting Team Grow Independently
Delegate
Celebrate

So, adding a new dimension to the mix - PEOPLE FIRST - is not only relevant for a leader it's also good for business! Ironically, the practice of putting people before profits makes an organization even more profitable. Research conducted by In Search of Excellence co-author Robert Waterman, Jeffrey Pfeffer, and others, also show that “people first” companies outperform all competitors. Organizations that say “people are our most important asset” and mean it, have significant competitive advantage. 

People Create Value

In How Google Works, Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg contend that people are essential for creating value.  Specifically, they focus on hiring, developing and empowering “smart creatives” - professionals with the technical skills to solve problems as well as the imagination to dream up new ideas.

MIT’s Zeynep Ton, author of The Good Jobs Strategy, has found that well-trained employees are not a cost driver, but a sales driver.  A higher paid workforce results in less turnover, better customer service and greater efficiency.  So even in declining industries, investing in people can lead to more profitability.

Southwest Airlines regularly tops lists of best companies to work for and has maintained healthy profits for decades.  A study comparing Costco and Sam’s Club found that by investing more in front line personnel, Costco was able to gain an edge in productivity.

Consumers Are People Too!

A focus on people also tends to spill over into how a company treats its customers.  It’s no accident that Google, Southwest and Costco are not only great places to work, but also rank high in Net Promoter Score, which is probably the best measure of customer satisfaction.  Employees that feel cared about tend to care about others.

People First Essential, Not Optional

According to the Association for Talent Development (ATD) this "people first" approach to employee training is essential - not optional - in ensuring knowledge gaps are filled, and a workforce remains up to date on the newest and best practices for conducting business. 

ATD’s 2016 State of the Industry report found that organizations spent an average of $1,252 per employee on training and development initiatives in 2015, a $23 increase from 2014. Developing the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the workforce continues to be a priority for organizations. The use of technology is increasing in the delivery of training, but about half of all learning is still delivered live in a traditional classroom.

No surprise, the companies that don't make training much of a priority experience less positive results. The key benefits to a PEOPLE FIRST training program:

1. Increased productivity, employee satisfaction and retention.
2. Employees feel more connected, valued, accountable, and focused. 
3. Equips employees with new ideas, best practices, and skills that increase a workforce’s abilities and confidence. 
4. Net positive measurable return on investment when training and development are made a strategic priority at an organization. 

Conclusion

Put PEOPLE FIRST...really!

My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​​​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

​Robert Greenleaf wove an intricate / thoughtful mosaic of leadership competencies and traits that has given us a leadership model that - slowly but surely - gathers momentum - Servant Leadership. And now we take a deeper dive into the "Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership" as we begin with Greenleaf's first pillar - "Being A Person of Character".

Don't take Greenleaf's word for it...

Through the centuries, CHARACTER continues to be a "hinge" - connecting our being with how we "show up". Cases in point:

Above a door to a classroom building the following words were engraved:

Be careful of your thoughts,
for your thoughts become your words.
Be careful of your words,
for your words become your deeds.
Be careful of your deeds.
for your deeds become your habits.
Be careful of your habits,
for your habits become your character.
Be careful of your character,
for your character becomes your destiny.

The dictionary describes character as “the qualities that define who we are.” The word comes from the Greek word charak,  meaning “engraved” or “inscribed.”

Reflections of Character Through the Years:

"Character is destiny." Heraclitus - Greek philosopher

"Within the character of the citizen lies the welfare of the nation." Cicero - Greek philosopher

"A glance at history reminds us that civilizations do not flourish forever. They rise, and they fall. They fall when the moral core deteriorates – when a society fails to pass on its core virtues, its strengths of character, to the next generation." Lance Morrow - Essayist

"Out of 21 notable civilizations, 19 perished not by conquest from without but by moral decay from within." Arnold Toynbee - Historian 

"Character is higher than intellect." Ralph Waldo Emerson - Philosopher

"The stability of our lives depends on our character. It is character, not passion, that keeps marriages together long enough to do their work of raising children into mature, responsible, productive citizens. In this imperfect world, it is character that enables people to survive, to endure, and to transcend their misfortunes." Frank Pittman - Psychiatrist

"To do well you must do good. And to do good, you must first be good. All of us who are parents naturally want our children to be successful. But we know in our bones that it's their character – their honesty, sense of responsibility, kindness, perseverance in the face of difficulty, courage in the face of danger or social pressure – that makes them human. If they lack these, brains and success don't count for much." Stephen Covey - Author

"Some people get all A's but flunk life." Walker Percy  - Author

"An ounce of character is worth a pound of intelligence." A proverb

“Character is a compatible mix of all those virtues identified by religious traditions, literary stories, the sages, and persons of common sense down through history.” Michael Novak - Historian

"ALL Americans will be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Martin Luther King, Jr. 

It's no surprise, the concept of character is prominent in best-selling books such as Emotional Intelligence, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The Book of Virtues and Greenleaf's essays. These and many others are reflections on character and its importance in our individual and collective lives. Life, as these writings remind us, is a moral and spiritual journey for which we need a reliable inner compass.

Being a Leader of Character

According to Frederick Reichheld "Leaders who are seen as persons of character are more likely to generate loyalty, creativity, and productivity among company employees." Research at Harvard University indicates that 85 percent of a leader’s performance depends upon personal character. (Warren Bennis "The Leadership Advantage") Bottom-line, servant-led companies with a strong corporate culture based on a foundation of shared values and principles outperform other companies by a huge margin. (John P. Kotter and James L. Heskett, Corporate Culture and Performance)

THE Three Character Traits... 

When Greenleaf reflected on the pillar of character, he identified three specific character traits that define a leader's character: 1. Integrity; 2.  Humility; and 3. Higher Purpose.

1. Integrity

Integrity is being anchored to moral principle, adhering to a moral conscience, keeping our word, and standing up for what we believe.

"A Servant-Leader lives, loves, and leads by conscience the inward moral sense of what is right and what is wrong. According to Stephen Covey, that one quality is what sets Servant-Leaders apart from all others. It is the difference between leadership that works and leadership—like Servant Leadership—that endures . Other leadership writers have also suggested that a person of character is one whose inner compass stays oriented to “True North,” where enduring, universal values and virtues can guide behavior. Listen to Bill George, former CEO of medical device giant Medtronic. He and his colleagues interviewed 125 ethically grounded leaders with diverse backgrounds, from multiple arenas. True North is the internal compass that guides you successfully through life. It represents who you are as a human being at your deepest level. It is your orienting point—your fixed point in a spinning world—that helps you stay on track as a leader. Your True North is based on what is most important to you, your most cherished values, your passions and motivations, the sources of satisfaction in your life." Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership: Practicing the Wisdom of Leading by Serving 

Things servant leaders do to maintain integrity: 

- Serves others without self-interest;
- Return phone calls, emails, conversations;
- Follow up on details;
- Do what they say they will do;
- Tells the truth to themselves and others (even when it's hard);
- Admit mistakes;
- Apologizes.

2. Humility

CS Lewis once said "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less."

Standing in front of people and says "I'm humble." challenges the definition of what it "looks like". "People who embody humility do not over-evaluate themselves—that would be grandiosity—or under-evaluate themselves—that would be false humility. They keep their talents and accomplishments in perspective,  remain other-focused and moderate, and allow themselves to be influenced by the input and feedback of others. They are self-confident but unassuming, always accountable to followers." Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership: Practicing the Wisdom of Leading by Serving ​ 

Things servant leaders do to maintain humility:

- Are humble;
- Don't over-estimate their own ability;
- Puts someone's needs ahead of their own;
- Demonstrate awe of others, not themselves;
- Admit they don't have all the answers;
- Do NOT seek the spot light;
- Demonstrate gratitude.

3. Higher Purpose

Servant leaders latch onto something bigger than themselves. They understand it is NOT about them but the greater good. 

They have answered these questions:

- Where do I find joy? 
- What am I passionate about? 
- What am I really good at? 
- What have my failures taught me about my proper calling? 
- What surprising feedback have I had from others about what I could be doing to make a difference? 
- What will be my epitaph?

For more questions SEE: Questions to Uncover YOUR Calling / Purpose / Why...

A servant leader whose has identified their's and their company's purpose can answer Greenleaf's "Best Test" to the positive:

- Do those served, grow as persons? 
- Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?  
- What is the effect on the least privileged in society? 
- Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?

A self-serving leader would be unable to answer the above questions in a positive way. So, a servant leader needs to identify a calling. Which is why a servant leader views their role as "A Calling -VS- A Job..."

Things servant leaders do to focus on a higher purpose:

- Constantly verify their purpose is still serving the higher good (SEE "Best Test" above);
- Nurture / encourage others to seek / embrace their calling;
- Place any key decisions through the "Best Test" filter.

Conclusion

Character matters.

My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​​​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

What a gift Robert Greenleaf left us. In some ways when you speak of servant leadership and what it means, it's simple enough. Yet, like life, things that seem simple - are complex, deep, misunderstood, or downright just hard to execute! For example, servant leadership is questioned as a viable leadership model in corporate America...

So, no surprise, we've spent the last 11 blogs going deep into servant leadership by starting with the competencies Robert Greenleaf identified. And that's just the beginning! We will be spending the next 9 delving even deeper into Greenleaf's vision! That will be be 20+ blogs on a "simple" leadership model! Yikes!

That said, it's been a wonderfully fulfilling investment of time to explore and understand servant leadership. This journey is impacting me. My thirst and interest for knowledge in this topic is not subsiding…if anything, something has been activated. Perhaps the series of "aha moments" explains my "WHY-ering" has been confirmed /  explained / reinforced. Note: my #1 Clifton StrengthsFinder Theme is "Connectedness".

I'm Not the Only One...

No surprise, this series seems to be impacting others too! Below is a stack-rank list of the servant leader competencies that seemed to resonate with readers who stumbled across my writings or were led to them via one of the social media outlets and felt compelled to "Like" or comment...

The Ranking…By "likes"...

Note: It's only been a week since Building Community was published, so the numbers will evolve...overall though, the stack ranking is telling:

1. Empathy
2. Developing Others AKA Commitment to the Growth of the People
3. Conceptualization
4. Healing
5. Self-Awareness
6. Building Community
7. Authentic Listening
8. Foresight
9. Stewardship 
10. Persuasion

The order is telling and it's order begs some "Why" questions...

• Why is "empathy" and "developing others" so high?
• Why is stewardship and persuasion so low?
• Why should we care?

Why is empathy and developing others so high? Think about the combination of empathy and developing others…as a leader, if you're able to demonstrate or, better yet, practice these two competencies with alacrity and regularity no telling the effectiveness you could have…the snowball effects would be exponential.

Why is stewardship and persuasion so low? Before delving into both topics I had some misconceptions about what stewardship and persuasion were in relationship to servant leadership…perhaps that's why it's low in the rankings...readers saw the title and moved on without opening the door...

Why should we care? As I look at the order. It is telling that there's a need. The quest for knowledge. A void that needs to be filled.

Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership

So through the gifts of Robert Greenleaf, we continue our journey deeper into the "simple" concept of servant leadership. Greenleaf had the insight, the depth of thought, and the intentionality to outline – in-depth – what servant leadership really is…by adding the seven pillars Greenleaf helps us answer “How do I begin implementing Servant Leadership in my workplace?” Don't be fooled though - it does not stop with the 7! Embedded in each Pillar are numerous core leadership traits or competencies - which may explain the complexity, deepness, or misunderstanding.

Why Seven?

Proverbs 9:1 - “Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars.”

Numerology - "The number 7 is the seeker, the thinker, the searcher of Truth (notice the capital "T"). The 7 doesn't take anything at face value -- it is always trying to understand the underlying, hidden truths. The 7 knows that nothing is exactly as it seems and that reality is often hidden behind illusions." 

Scholars say "Seven is the number of completeness and perfection (both physical and spiritual)." 

Here's more sevens...

Seven deadly sins
Seven Classical Planets
Seven Metals of antiquity
Seven Heavens
Seven days in the week
Seven colors in the rainbow
Seven Seas
Seven Continents
Seven against Thebes
Seven Kings of Rome
Seven Emperors (and period; Rome, history)
Seven hills of Istanbul
Seven hills of Rome
Seven Liberal Arts
Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove in China
Seven Sages of Greece
Saptarishi – Seven Sages concept in Ancient India
Seven Wise Masters, a cycle of medieval stories
Seven Wonders of the ancient world

And, let's now add Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership's!

The Seven...

1. Being A Person of Character – who maintains integrity and humility.
2. Putting People First – someone who is there to serve and cares for people.
3. Skilled Communication – showing empathy and encouraging feedback.
4. Compassionate Collaboration – giving congratulations when they are due, negotiating conflict well.
5. Foresight – being able to predict future developments and problems.
6. Systems Thinking – being comfortable working with complicated systems with many facets.
7. Leading with Moral Authority – moral authority is something that can only be given by others, and this is a reflection of how well a leader encompasses the previous six pillars.

In our next blog, we begin our dive into servant leadership's Seven Pillars...!

Additional source into the seven pillars:

Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership: Practicing the Wisdom of Leading by Serving; Revised & Expanded Edition - by James W. Sipe and Don M. Frick 

My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

​We conclude our dive into each of the ten competencies of servant leadership as defined by Robert Greenleaf. Appropriately, this servant leadership competency - Building Community - is a logical / positive conclusive outcome to a driven servant leader and organization he/she leads. 

Greenleaf said, "...to (re)build community as a viable life form for large numbers of people is for enough servant-leaders to show the way, not by mass movements, but by each servant-leader demonstrating his or her unlimited liability for a quite specific community-related group.”

According to Larry Spears of The Spears Center "The servant leader senses that much has been lost in recent human history as a result of the shift from local communities to large institutions as the primary shaper of human lives. This awareness causes the servant leader to seek to identify some means for building community among those who work within a given institution. Servant leadership suggests that true community can be created among those who work in businesses and other institutions." 

Perhaps it's NOT accidental Greenleaf reserved the Building Community competency last as a way to indicate, IF servant leaders and their organizations focus on the first nine competencies - 

1. Authentic Listening
2. Empathy
3. Healing
4. Self-Awareness
5. Persuasion
6. Conceptualization
7. Foresight
8. Stewardship
9. Commitment to the Growth of the People

- it's only natural for one of the most telling outcomes will be the (re)establishment of a community but not just any community - a STRONG | tightly woven community. 

Which bears repeating from the previous post - which is why Greenleaf identified a simple "Best Test" to validate a servant leader and the organization's servant leadership:

• Do those served, grow as persons? 
• Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?  What is the effect on the least privileged in society? 
• Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?

Community INSIDE the Workplace

Recent survey data related to Americans and job satisfaction or often referred to as "engagement" - the connection and commitment employees exhibit toward an organization - indicates that community is lacking. According to Gallup's 2017 State of the American Workplace Report 7 out of 10 are not engaged at work - which by the way is not much different than 2016...matter of fact, since 2000 the average of "actively engaged" employees has hovered between 26% and 33%.

In a previous blog - LEADership...ON Purpose! - the work of Dr. Vince Molinaro and his book The Leadership Contract: The Fine Print to Becoming an Accountable Leader was highlighted - in it he identified COMMUNITY as one of the four tenets of leadership.  "If you can create a strong community of leaders in your organization, it will become your ultimate differentiator." he says. 

So, until community is established INSIDE - it will be challenging to make an impact OUTSIDE. 

Lack of Community INSIDE the Workplace Has a Dollar Cost...

Employee engagement indicates productive work behaviors AND financial outcomes. Gallup found that disengaged employees in the United States cost the country between $450 and $550 billion each year. Gallup’s research compared companies from the highest and lowest quartiles of engagement levels. The 2017 study showed companies in the highest quartile experience 17% higher productivity, 20% higher sales, and 21% higher profitability among many other positive metrics resulting from higher engagement levels.

Community OUTSIDE the Workplace

A natural extension of servant leadership will be the establishment of community OUTSIDE the workplace because - at the core - servant leaders and servant led companies have an external view of the world and look to impact the outside world in a positive way. Yet, servant leaders and their organizations MUST work hard to establish a COLLABORATIVE building community approach. In other words, they can't do it in a silo or in parallel.

As Peter Block, referenced above who opened up this post, American author, consultant, and speaker in the areas of organization development, community building, and civic engagement, noted in his book Community: The Structure of Belonging “One aspect of our fragmentation is the gaps between sectors of our cities and neighborhoods; businesses, schools, social service organizations, churches, government operate mostly in their own worlds. Each piece is working hard on its own purpose, but parallel effort added together does not make a community. Our communities are separated into silos; they are a collection of institutions and programs operating near one another but not overlapping or touching. This is important to understand because it is this "dividedness" that makes it so difficult to create a more positive or alternative future—especially in a culture that is much more interested in individuality and independence than in interdependence. The work is to overcome this fragmentation.” 

What Community Looks Like...

In the simplest form community boils down to shared purpose, vision, mission, values, and authentic respect for others. Think of the golden rule...“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” 

​In a DIVERSE community is this possible where people may not have shared purpose and values? YES if the shared purpose, vision, mission, and values are rooted in an EXTERNAL view and NOT an INTERNAL view - in other words, there is no self-interest.

Some examples of how Building Community is applied within the company:

• Leadership participates in collaborative community engagement events or activities at least 12 times per year.
• Leadership encourages employee participation in community engagement.
• Leadership presents on community engagement to the company’s board at least 12 times per year.
• Everyone participates in company-sponsored volunteerism.
• Paid time off to volunteer.
• Volunteer “Dollars for Doers” grants. 
• Company cash contributions are matched to employee giving. 
• Provides grants to the local community in the form of volunteerism or in-kind donations.
• Grant-matching.
• The company has leadership positions on national public education and policy advocacy efforts.
• Has a formal structure to seek input from community leaders, such as a survey, focus group or community meeting.
• Include community engagement as a formal written component of employees’ performance reviews.
• Monitor / evaluate community engagement on division/department/business unit scorecards.
• Award and recognize (both internal and external).
• Provide online portals to support community engagement.

Building Community Outcomes For Servant Leader Organizations...

There appears to be a correlation between servant leadership / community building! At the the highest level - ENGAGEMENT, IMPROVED PERFORMANCE  and POSITIVE OUTCOMES.  At the more granular level:

1. Elevated employee engagement - Companies have data showing that employees who volunteer score higher in morale, engagement, pride and/or productivity than employees who don’t.  Source: Points of Light 

2. Added financial value - A Corporate Executive Board Company study showed that, on average, every employee who participates in corporate community engagement activities adds $2,400 of value to the company as a result of decreased turnover and increased employee engagement.  Similarly, a Deloitte survey revealed "millennials are twice as likely to be very satisfied with their career progression when they have the opportunity to volunteer through their employer."

3. Value in skills-based volunteering - According to True Impact and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "specialized support" AKA "skills-based" volunteering "can provide five times greater value than traditional "extra hands" volunteering."  Skills-based volunteering not only taps into existing skills but also helps employee strengthen and develop new skills.  That could be why skills-based volunteering is taking off. Note: research from HP, found that "employees who participate in skills-based volunteering are even more satisfied and experience an even greater bounce in morale from volunteering than those who only do "extra-hands" volunteering."

4. Positive Social Change - Companies raise their voice to advance social change.  Experts like Harvard Business School corporate strategy guru Michael Porter now advocate for community engagement as a strategic means of generating financial returns. 

5. Purpose Aligned with Profit - Increasingly, companies are folding community engagement into their core business and supporting social change via their own business success by connecting their community engagement work to key business functions, including marketing/PR, sales, skill-development, recruiting or diversity and inclusion. 

6. Deeper Connections - Companies with this external viewpoint have forged deeper connections with their shareholders, customers and employees; and as a result their social impact efforts have strengthened not only their communities but their businesses as well. 

Sources: 50 Companies That Crush Giving Back - ​Forbes | Dare to Serve - Book by Cheryl Bachelder

Oh Yeah, Be Sure to Celebrate!

Building Community - a STRONG | tightly woven community - takes blood, sweat, tears...it is NOT easy so this practice of celebration is critical! Depending on the challenges of establishing community - ANY PROGRESS should be celebrated. Any setback should be learned from. 

​Acknowledge others - their gifts, talents, strengths - the accomplishments. AND yes, the failures! Sara Blakely once said, "My dad encouraged us to fail growing up. He would ask us what we failed at that week. If we didn't have something, he would be disappointed. It changed my mindset at an early age that failure is not the outcome--failure is not trying. Don't be afraid to fail."

If there's failure, learn from it and move on!  (Celebrate!)

Closing

Execute the other nine servant leadership competencies well and witness the positive outcomes of BUILDING COMMUNITY! 

My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

​Thus continues our quest through servant leadership as defined by Robert Greenleaf. Our journey - SERVant Leadership...ON Purpose! - takes us to the most impactful servant leadership competencies - Developing Others - or as Greenleaf put it a "Commitment to the growth of people."

Greenleaf describes this competency as, "The secret of institution building is to be able to weld a team of such people by lifting them up to grow taller than they would otherwise be.”

Larry C. Spears (2000), in his article, Character and Servant Leadership: Ten Characteristics of Effective, Caring Leaders, takes a look at Greenleaf's concept of developing others. He states, "Servant leaders believe that people have an intrinsic value beyond their tangible contributions as workers. As such, the servant leader is deeply committed to the growth of each and every individual within his or her organization."

Which is why Greenleaf identified a simple "Best Test" to validate a servant leader and the organization's servant leadership:

Do those served, grow as persons? 
Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?  What is the effect on the least privileged in society? 
Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?”

Do employees believe you are committed to helping them develop and grow? 

Servant leaders have a strong commitment to the growth of people. They believe that all employees have something to offer beyond their tangible contributions. Servant leaders work hard to help employees develop in a number of ways. Servant leaders need to connect to others’ developmental needs and actively find ways to help them reach their true potential as employees. 

Ways Servant Leaders Nurture a "Growth of People" Culture

Hire Slow - find the fit. There's a company in the Atlanta area known for following hiring process: "Hire slow. Fire Fast." Their business results can't be denied. Chick-fil-A is the highest ranking fast food restaurant in the country for customer satisfaction, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index Restaurant Report. The family-owned company has been expanding across the country and is currently in 43 states and Washington, D.C., and had more than $7.9 billion in sales last year. Over the past five years, chain’s system sales have increased 73 percent YET they are open 6 days a week! So, when Chick-fil-A hires it puts candidates through numerous interviews and a protracted hiring process it is to ensure the person will thrive in their position. Truth be told, it's easier to develop others if they possess the basic building blocks toward full potential - core values, integrity, work ethic, raw gifts and talents. For more on values, SEE: The MOST Important Value? 

Embrace Diversity - When diversity is brought up, the first thing that comes to your mind is usually race, gender, and religion. Diversity these days includes much more than these criteria, especially for the rising workforce of millennials. Servant leaders get this. They define diversity as a blending of different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives - or what scientists are calling cognitive diversity - defined as "the differences in our thought and problem-solving processes." We can learn from one another, but first we must have a level of understanding about each other in order to facilitate collaboration and cooperation. SEE: Why Diversity Matters...​

Expect, Demonstrate and Encourage Teamwork - Servant leaders encourage / nurture teamwork through action, conversations, feedback, follow up, recognition and rewards systems. Some of the benefits of teamwork: fosters creativity and learning; blends complementary strengths; builds trust; teaches conflict resolution;  Skills; promotes a wider sense of ownership; and encourages healthy risk-taking.

Focus on Relationships - Servant Leaders are relationship builders and allow time and space for team members to build relationships while they accomplish tasks. The benefits: less conflict; higher morale, retention, engagement; increased productivity; and happier customers / clients.  

Help the Team Create a Vision - Servant leaders help people connect their personal work to the goals of the team and the vision of the organization. SEE : Conceptualization...ON Purpose!
​
Committed to Team Success and Others - The best teams are committed to their success and each other. This requires conversations, coaching and conflict resolution.

Coach - Servant leaders give their managers the know-how and time to coach. They understand people don't reach their full potential in a vacuum. I like to say "A COACH HELPS THE EYE SEE WHAT CAN'T BE SEEN, THE EAR HEAR WHAT CAN'T BE HEARD, AND THE MIND PROCESS WHAT CAN'T BE PROCESSED..."

Organizations where coaching skills are infused in day-to-day practice have “higher employee engagement and stronger financial performance.” So says an International Coaching Federation (ICF) research report. 

Here's a simple coaching framework borrowed from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland.

To start a coaching session, the acronym TOSS will help:

Topic - "What topic would you like to focus on today?"
Objective - "What is the objective for this meeting?"
Success - "How will both of us know you (i.e. coachee) have been successful?"
Support - "What can you do to support him/her during and after this conversation?"

At the end of a meeting, the TAPAT questions invite the coachee to consolidate her/his learning and commit to action.

Take aways - "What are your take aways from this meeting?"
Actions / Plan - "What actions will you take, and/or what’s your plan?"
Accountability - "How will you make yourself accountable for your action or plan?"
Thanks - Express appreciation for something specific that has happened during the meeting.

SEE: The Power of a Coach

Be Available While Letting Team Grow Independently - Servant leaders are needed. They are committed and are excited and believe in the goals of the team.  They have time and invest time in their team. And, they also leave their teams alone. They don’t micromanage. People grow and learn with help, yet, servant leaders can’t do things for them. They give them space, opportunity and are patient. As the team learns and grows they are leveraging that learning for the lifetime of the team.

Delegate - The servant leader understands that people get closer to their potential by being asked to stretch! Do something beyond their current capabilities. Many have found delegation to be a great way to achieve that end. Through stretch assignments! Delegation allows servant leaders to make the best use of their time and skills, and it helps other people in the team grow and develop to reach their full potential in the organization.

Celebrate - A servant leader must fight against the demands of management and the details of important tasks in order to be intentional about communicating value to the organization. He/she must consider affirming words, actions, tangible rewards, genuine encouragements, professional training, attentive listening, and many other methods to affirm his/her deep appreciation for the gifts and talents provided by each member of the team.

Closing

There are nine other servant leadership competencies that by themselves are meaningful. Add this competency - "Commitment to the growth of people" - and the others come alive. Without people and their growth - the results of the servant leader and the organization they lead will be muted. 

My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​​​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

​SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

Our journey through SERVANT LEADERSHIP continues! This week we discuss the competency STEWARDSHIP - the eighth principle in the SERVant Leadership...ON Purpose! series.  

Stweardship

Leaders defined in the servant leadership context: "...are good stewards and are concerned for individuals, organizations, and the world at large. Servant leaders make good use of all that is given to them and understand stewardship from a global perspective."

Robert Greenleaf observed "This is my thesis: caring for persons, the more able and the less able serving each other, is the rock upon which a good society is built. Whereas, until recently, caring was largely person to person, now most of it is mediated through institutions ― often large, complex, powerful, impersonal; not always competent; sometimes corrupt. If a better society is to be built, one that is more just and more loving, one that provides greater creative opportunity for its people, then the most open course is to raise both the capacity to serve and the very performance as servant of existing major institutions by new regenerative forces operating within them.” 

Peter Block - an American author, consultant, and speaker in the areas of organization development, community building, and civic engagement - has defined stewardship as "holding something in trust for another."

Robert Greenleaf 's view of institutions was one in which "CEOs, staffs, and trustees all played significant roles in holding their institutions in trust for the greater good of society. Servant leadership, like stewardship, assumes first and foremost a commitment to serving the needs of others. It also emphasizes the use of openness and persuasion rather than control."

Another leadership scholar adds, "Steward leaders recognize that if they become fully committed to helping the organization achieve its goals, they too, will achieve success and maximize their utility." 

In essence…think of stewardship as "good asset management"!

Ironically, stewardship is LESS about giving but MORE about managing the gifts we have been given! An insightful leader practicing servant leadership gets this!

The "good steward" is someone who is doing the best he or she can with the gifts they have been given. The reality shows up in how an individual and organizations, shares those gifts for the greater good. In other words, stewardship is akin to good asset management. We stand to learn from professional asset management!

Professional asset management is defined as "the strategic management of physical, human, environmental and financial resources usually during their life in an organization." Assets have a life cycle. They are planned, created, used, managed, maintained, and put to their highest and best use over time and then, when appropriate, disposed.

It's also about leverage!

I like the definition of leverage as defined by Business Dictionary.com - The ability to influence a system, or an environment, in a way that multiplies the outcome of one's efforts without a corresponding increase in the consumption of resources. In other words, leverage is the advantageous condition of having a relatively small amount of cost yield a relatively high level of returns. See also financial leverage and operating leverage.​

​The concept of leverage is all about maximizing the return on TIME, TALENT and TREASURE! A servant leader adept at stewardship can, no doubt, be a positive influence in this dynamic!

Servant leaders care more and control less.

Larry Spears notes, “Servant-leadership, like stewardship, assumes first and foremost a commitment to serving the needs of others. It also emphasizes the use of openness and persuasion rather than control.”

“Control” isn’t just represented by the red-faced leader who pounds on a desk when things don’t go his or her way. Zero control also indicates lack of caring for those within your circle of influence. In essence, the two extremes of “I micro-manage everything you do,” and “I don’t have time to notice anything you do.” greatly diminishes the likelihood of individuals within an organization finding a “sweet spot” within where to thrive.

Genuinely showing that you care about others is one of the most powerful actions any leader can model.

Servant leaders understand they are entrusted with that which they do not own.

Servant leaders care for people and possessions. They do not carelessly toss people aside (especially those within their circles of influence), nor do they use equipment, resources, budgets, etc., carelessly. A example where this can be applied is within government. Government owns nothing. The appointed / elected care for and manage that which belongs NOT to them but those they serve.

Servant leaders leave a legacy.

A legacy is defined as, “A thing handed down by a predecessor.”

Servant leaders believe in “handing down” knowledge, skills, abilities, insights, and wisdom. They are not as concerned about reputation as they are character. Stewardship asks servant leaders to become accountable for an organization’s outcomes for the greater good. Along the way, servant leaders express genuine care without the need to control.

Can you imagine how different our world would be if we had more leaders like that?

Steps to Practice Stewardship

Take inventory!

This means at multiple levels - individual, group, organization.  This includes: gifts, talents, strengths, time and resources (financial, intellectual and material). The inventory assessment will identify gaps and resources needed to fill the gaps. Servant leaders facilitate this process and help take inventory.

The task of taking inventory should include asking:

• What do we have?
• Of what we have, what is essential to the good of the world?
• With our limited resources, which would have the greatest impact?
• What do we not have enough of?
• What do we have TOO much of?
• What should we re-allocate?
• Could any of the resources be "purged" / reallocated to the greater good?
• How much is too much?

This last question get's to an important dynamic in stewardship - deciding to Purge...ON Purpose! For more, see:

Purge...ON Purpose!
Purge2...ON Purpose!

Commit!

If you recall in previous servant leader blogs, we have indicated it is not what the leader thinks but what the leader is able to discern from his teams. This is a collaborative approach. The same is true for this step - commit.  After the inventory is completed, what is the group willing to commit?

This part takes courage! Some great example of corporate stewardship:

Recently, in an article in Forbes magazine Edward Lawler III shared how he, Sue Mohrman, and James O’Toole assembled a group of experts to chronicle what is known about how corporations can act as stewards. Together they produced a book Corporate Stewardship: Achieving Sustainable Effectiveness. The authors agree the changes required by organizations are fundamental, and entail nothing short of the re-purposing. Some examples:

• Paul Polman of Unilever and  Marc Benioff of  Salesforce.com are redefining the purpose of their companies to include broader social, environmental, and ethical goals, and thus deliver expanded value to the communities and stakeholders they serve.
• Companies such as Novo Nordisk and Anglo-American are introducing transparent reporting systems that enable them to track and simultaneously achieve triple-bottom-line outcomes. These integrated reporting systems shine light on social and ecological outcomes, as well as financial performance.
• Kingfisher plc, Patagonia, and others have crafted strategies in which social and environmental concerns are integral components and drivers of their business models, not just bolt-ons.
• Unilever has designed its production, human resource practices, and management processes to optimize positive, and mitigate negative impact on environments, communities, and stakeholders.  Starbucks has aligned its organization to help solve critical societal problems.

Another well known example of sharing the resource of TIME:

Google - let's it's employees spend 20% of their time  working on what they think will most benefit Google and the world.

Others offer a range of sabbaticals - to spend their time where they see fit:

• Adobe Systems - four weeks
• Autodesk - six weeks
• Baker Donelson - no time limit
• David Weekley Homes - four-weeks
• Genentech - six weeks
• Goldman Sachs - 24-52 weeks
• Hyland, creator of OnBase - four weeks
• Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants - one month
• Perkins Coie - two months
• Plante and Moran - 30-days
• PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) - four weeks
• QuikTrip - four weeks
• Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) - four weeks
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - 6 months - 1 year
• The Boston Consulting Group - eight weeks
• The Cheesecake Factory Inc. - three weeks
• The Container Store - two weeks
• VMware - three months

Manage the Risk!

There is risk in everything an organization does - there's even risk in doing nothing - being stagnant. The servant leader helps the team understand the risk and helps the team mitigate it. The group's risk tolerance will impact the level of confidence. The stronger the belief, confidence, and faith the team has the more the team can reduce the feeling of risk.

Work Hard!

Progress, growth and enhancements of organization's gifts, talents, strengths, and resources should be one of the goals of stewardship...leaving the world in a better place as a result of being good stewards! That will NOT be without with determination, discipline, hard work, resets and tweaks. The servant leader facilitates this so the group does not grow weary.

Track Progress!

Tracking progress can be as simple as establishing metrics that can be measured and tracked or as complex as measuring impact of the organization on the world.

Conclusion

Servant-leadership and stewardship can be highly effective approaches to serving the human needs in a contemporary organization. STEWARDSHIP is a WIN-WIN proposition. Be committed to maximize the THREE - TALENTS | TIME | TREASURE - for the greater good  and watch exponential results occur. 

My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​​​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

We continue our journey through SERVANT LEADERSHIP. This week we discuss the competency FORESIGHT.

Foresight is our seventh principle in the SERVant Leadership...ON Purpose! series.  

Foresight

Defined in the servant leadership context: strategic intuition in thinking and behaviors. It is intuition based in the past, present, and future decision-making process.

Robert Greenleaf observed "Foresight is seen as a holy rational process, the product of a constantly running internal computer that deals with intersecting series in random inputs and is vastly more complicated than anything technology has yet produced. Foresight means regarding the events of the instant moment and constantly comparing them with a series of projections made in the past and at the same time projecting future events – with diminishing certainty into the indefinite future."

According to Larry Spears - president and CEO of The Larry C. Spears Center for ServantLeadership - "One knows foresight when one experiences it. Foresight is a characteristic that enables the servant leader to understand the lessons from the past, the realities of the present, and the likely consequence of a decision for the future. It is also deeply rooted within the intuitive mind."

Servant Leaders Make Decisions Based on Pasts, Presents, and Futures.

The ideal is making decisions based on collective pasts, presents, and futures versus individual past, present, and future. The servant leader purposefully surrounds himself/herself with people who see things from different perspectives, and invites analysis of unintended consequences of decisions. 

For example: starting a new venture. What if you ignored the collective pasts of other start-ups, other businesses? You might have a challenging present and possibly a questionable future.

Servant Leaders are Intuitive.

This opens the door to a “chicken and egg” argument. Does intuition come from foresight or vice versa? The reality is, both flow from/to each other. The more foresight leaders practice, the more intuitive their decision-making becomes. The more they rely on intuition, the more foresight they practice within the collective in order to validate decisions. Exclusively relying on intuition ignores validated feedback, i.e., “I feel like it’s safe to cross the street, so there’s no need to look.” Exclusively relying on foresight leads to paralysis, i.e., “I don’t see a car coming, but I am confident one will, so there’s no way I’m crossing this street.” In essence, intuition is enhanced and fine tuned through experience (good and bad) along with a healthy dose of consequential feedback.

Servant Leaders Identify Current Trends and Make Wise Decisions.

Due to technology and the 24/7 media cycle, trends may not have the sticking power they did years ago; so in addition to identifying, servant leaders must carefully assess to see if others are responding to whim or substance. Casual leaders rarely make wise decisions. Actually, they may not even make ethical decisions. So how can a servant leader "lean in" on the foresight competency?

There is a four step framework that could provide the structure to practice / demonstrate the foresight competency...

The Four Steps...The Foresight DO Loop.

As noted, we must do careful learning about the past and present. Learning is preparation for foresight. It is a core foresight practice skill. No one can practice good foresight without hindsight and present i.e. insight. Those who don’t start with research prior to producing new foresight are creating it based on old models and outdated information - a dangerous place to be. Those who do research in a vacuum - without inputs from others - are also in a dangerous place. So, that brings us to the DO LOOP - with learning, foresight, action, and feedback. 

According to Foresight University, "To be adaptive, all living things cycle continuously through the entire DO LOOP: learning, foresight, action, and feedback. This is the only way useful foresight can emerge. If our foresight is not tied to action, we’re just telling stories, not practicing strategic foresight. The steps are part of the real-world foresight process, with the See step representing the foresight professional’s core skills, and the other three steps representing key supporting skills. Just as the See step can be split into three skills (probable, possible, and preferable futures), the Do step also depends on three key skills (execution, influence, and relating), with one additional skill each for the learning and reviewing steps."​

The Four Steps of the Do loop can be represented as eight skills - split into Four Foresight Skills and Four Action Skills.​

Foresight Skills

Learn:

1. Learning - Investigative thinking

See:

2. Anticipation – Probability/Convergent thinking
3. Innovation – Possibility/Divergent thinking
4. Strategy – Preference/Priority (re-Convergent) thinking

Action Skills

Do:

5. Execution – Production thinking
6. Influence – Market thinking
7. Relating – Team thinking

Review:

8. Reviewing - Adjustment thinking

Closing

Foresight is a team sport and if done well, can propel your team, division, entity or cause to a higher level!  For MORE on FORESIGHT...SEE: Foresight2...ON Purpose!

​My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​​​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

​SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

We continue our journey through SERVANT LEADERSHIP. This week we discuss the sixth competency in the SERVant Leadership...ON Purpose! series - CONCEPTUALIZATION..  

Conceptualization

Defined in the servant leadership context: Conceptualization - "Servant Leaders seek to conceptualize challenges, thinking from a holistic and broad perspective. They dream big and use systemic thinking to approach day-to-day operations. Servant-Leaders are forward thinkers, seeking balance in the dream and daily life."

In other words, it's the ability to create a future-oriented concept that provides vision and mission. What's the result for those you want to engage? Perhaps, it should be finding purpose in their engagement!

Robert Greenleaf observed “A mark of a leader, an attribute that puts him/her in a position to show the way for others, is that he/she is better than most at pointing the direction…the leader can articulate [the vision] for any who are unsure.”

According to Larry Spears -  president and CEO of The Larry C. Spears Center for ServantLeadership - "The ability to look at a problem (or an organization) from a conceptualizing perspective means one must think beyond day-to-day realities. For many managers this is a characteristic that requires discipline and practice. Servant-leaders are called to seek a delicate balance between conceptual thinking and a day-to-day focused approach."

Servant Leaders Conceptualize IN Community.

Conceptualization does not occur in a vacuum. Servant leaders invite ownership FROM THE GROUP to help shape vision. In order to do that, servant leaders approach relationships on a long-term basis where expectations are defined and clarified. Which is why true servant leaders do not use others to meet their personal goals. Rather, they equip others to realize the group's, organization's, or, company's goals. 

Servant leaders have a constant eye on the horizon and the "future-state".

They have the ability to conceptualize the inevitability of conflict and envision what that could look like. That means while relationship expectations are formed, a process for dealing with conflict is identified. For the manager, setting the tone is important. This may be as simple as, “I have an open door policy,” or “Retaliation is not in our vocabulary.” For more on the conflict dynamic, SEE: Conflict...ON Purpose!

Servant Leaders Nurture Conceptualization IN Self and Others.

Servant leaders do not necessarily dream and tell people to dream the same dream. Instead, they "dialogue to arrive at shared dreams as a means of weaving a collective narrative." 

Questions to ask to ensure you are nurturing conceptualization: 

• How often do we dream about the future?
• How often are we providing consistent opportunities for the group to do the same?
• Do we keep those dreams to ourselves?
• Who do we share the dreams with? A select few? Or, do we “dream out loud” with everyone in your group, organization, or, company?

Conceptualizers Remain Calm, Even in Crisis.

As noted, servant leaders "conceptualize the inevitability of conflict and envision what that could look like." Crises can pull a team together. It can also bring to light a lack of certainty. A servant leader’s ability to be a non-anxious presence, even in the midst of crisis, is a testimony to their commitment to the vision. They see the future, anticipate obstacles, and refuse to abort at the first sign of trouble.

This is not to say servant leaders will take a group, organization, or, company to its demise rather than change the vision. Conceptualization is exercised consistently as a means of "evaluating the integrity of the vessel and seaworthiness for the journey ahead."

Testing the Team's Dream(s)...

In a book by John C. Maxwell titled "Put Your Dream To The Test", he encourages us to envision AND seize our dream(s). In the book, Maxwell outlined 10 thought-provoking questions to challenge us to take our dream(s) from conceptualization to reality. The 10 questions with a servant leader slant:

1. Clarity - Do We Clearly See Our Dream?
2. Cost - Are We Willing to Pay the Price for Our Dream?
3. Fulfillment - Does Working toward Our Dream Bring Satisfaction? 
4. Ownership - Is Our Dream Really Our Dream?
5. Passion - Does Our Dream Compel Us to Follow It?  
6. Pathway - Do We Have a Strategy to Reach Our Dream?
7. People - Have We Included the People We Need to Realize Our Dream?
8. Reality - Are We Depending On Factors Within Our Control to Achieve Our Dream?
9. Significance - Does Our Dream Benefit Others?
10. Tenacity - Are We Moving Closer to Our Dream?

Closing

Dare to lead your team to dream!

My best to your quest!
​
Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

​SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

We continue our journey through SERVANT LEADERSHIP. This week we discuss the competency PERSUASION.

Persuasion is our fifth principle in the ON Purpose! series. Persuasion, like the four principles before it, is an art form. Like with anything else that involves art, persuasion is one of those principles that have to be honed over time in order to be effective. 

Persuasion

Defined in the ever day context according to Merriam Webster: Persuasion - 1: the act or process or an instance of persuading; 2: the condition of being persuaded; and 3:  an opinion held with complete assurance;

Defined in the servant leadership context: "Persuasion is seen as a way to convince others, not through positional authority or compliance through coercive tactics. Persuasion in this manner distinguishes the leadership between the authoritarian model and the servant leadership model. Servant-Leaders are effective at using persuasion for building bridges."

Robert Greenleaf observed when faced with a difficult decision, effective servant leaders facilitate the decision instead of making the decision. Greenleaf added the servant leader was persuasive through effective consensus-building.

Consensus Building

Consensus building (also called collaboration or collaborative problem solving or "alternative dispute resolution") is essentially the mediation of multiple points of view - which may involve conflict - and involves multiple parties and also multiple - sometimes complex - issues. 

So taking Greenleaf's lead, the servant leader acts as a mediator. He/she does not make a decision about who is right or wrong or what the best outcome should be. Instead, the servant leader helps those involved hold constructive discussions by calling meetings, establishing a framework for the negotiation within which all parties agree to participate, and facilitates communication in and between meetings.

So how can someone practicing servant leadership build consensus?

First, the servant leader uses his/her other competencies - like clubs in the golf bag - to help build consensus. e.g. Authentic Listening is required to understand why there is a lack of consensus. 

- Lack of information?
- Differing opinion?
- Past conflict / personality clash? 

If so, self-awareness - to "steer" his or her strength(s) - authenticate listening and empathy are all needed to understand various points of view to the servant leader. 

What's Needed For Effective Consensus Building

The following prerequisites and strategies will increase the likelihood that consensus‐building can be successful in multi-dimensional / complex issues:

• Engagement - all critical stakeholders are willing to participate;
• Insight - early in the process, together participants share information and seek information;
• Mutual compromise - all gain something they value in the process while NOT compromising their basic value(s);
• Respect for others - interests are identified and communicated; multiple options are encouraged, and parties discuss evaluation criteria;
• Shared authority - all parties have authority to make commitments;
• Timing - the issue is "ripe" for resolution; there is a deadline or urgency for decision; and the time necessary for negotiation is available;
• Transparency - the process is transparent and communication with broader interests occurs throughout;
• Trust - participants agree on the process structure and goal, including a definition of the problem;

By working to build consensus, a servant leader empowers team members to express disagreements and collaborate on outcomes.  This, ultimately, leads to better and more informed decisions.  It also builds internal support for a decision. Those who participate in a decision are much more likely to embrace / support it.  If done well, the result is immediate and effective execution.

Closing

No doubt, persuasion - in the form of consensus building - is difficult.  It takes time and effort to build consensus.  It takes humility and compromise to lead a team through a decision making process.  The must-haves for the leader who builds consensus:  listen, find common ground, and embraces ideas not their own. If these must-haves can be met, it can be a powerful servant leadership competency that will yield positive outcomes, including:

• Better decisions - empowered by multiple perspectives and insights;
• Fully engaged and motivated team members;
• Organizational buy-in (even to difficult decisions);
• Effective communication - about the what and the why of the decision;
• Accelerated results - due to the advantages noted above!

Persuasion, when applied the right way, will greatly benefit the servant leader and all parties involved.

My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

​SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

We continue our journey through EACH SERVANT LEADERSHIP competency Robert Greenleaf identified. This week we discuss SELF-Awareness.

If you've been a follower of this blog you know, I believe SELF-Awareness is the starting point. The starting point to being a good FILL-IN-THE-BLANK - citizen, friend, partner, parent, associate, lead, manager and leader. Some of the blogs focused on SELF-Awareness:

Mindset...ON Purpose!
Life...ON Purpose!
Questions to Uncover YOUR Calling / Purpose / Why...  
Weakness...ON Purpose!
Work...ON Purpose!

Greenleaf also believed in the importance of SELF-Awareness - as it is one of the foundational competencies of servant leadership. So let's delve into SELF-Awareness and its place in servant leadership.

SELF-Awareness

Greenleaf shared, "Servant-Leaders seek awareness at all levels and particularly in issues involving ethics, power, and values." He went on, “Awareness is not a giver of solace — it's just the opposite. It's a disturber and an awakener. Able leaders are usually sharply awake and reasonably disturbed. They are not seekers after solace. They have their own inner serenity.”

The purpose of SELF-awareness, from Greenleaf’s servant leadership perspective, "...is to fulfill the needs of others and to persuade those being led toward the common good."  So, this journey begins with SELF-awareness and can only be charted when we successfully answer questions like: “Who am I?” "What's my 'WHYering'?" “Why am I here?” “Where am I going?” “How will I get there?” etc.

As we become more aware of SELF, we will be in a position to be more effective at serving / leading others.

How to Go From "Disturbed" to "Awakened"...

Here are some common everyday challenges that test our ability to completely lean into who we are:

Accelerated pace of change.​
Anxiety/conflict/phobias/stress. 
Being treated with no or little respect.
Closed mindedness.
Diversity - macro and micro.
Economic (i.e. need to make a living).
Fearing failure.
Insecurity(s).
Lack of knowledge.
Life.
Multi-generations.
Negative self-talk.
Parenting a children, or parent and/or being the child of your own parents.
​Pressures of the workforce.
Relationships - single or coupled.
Self esteem - especially in times of stress and tension.

So, with all that "life" going on, it's important to be able to NAME! CLAIM! & AIM! your way toward SELF-awareness!

NAME! Objective: Identify your gifts, talents, and strengths (AKA themes) and put them to words (themes) that resonate and are core to you. 

CLAIM! Objective: Appreciate the power and opportunities your dominant themes give you and help you accept responsibility for developing them.

AIM! Objective: Intentionally invest in the development of your themes by identifying specific actions to "flex" them to accomplish goals, reach desired outcomes, and better respond to situations that happen every day.

To Help...Perhaps a Window Into Yourself - The Johari Window...

The Johari Window is a relationship model that describes how you interact with others. It's a four pane window originally developed by two psychologists, Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham (JOE+HARRY = Johari).

The four panes, represent:

• Things YOU know about yourself;
• Things YOU do not know about yourself;
• Things people know about YOU; and
• Things people do not know about YOU. 

Simply put, the model describes interpersonal relationships based on the notion that relationships are comprised of things known and unknown. The interaction of what is known or unknown to both the individual and the group leads to the four panes that impact the relationships. The panes:

1. Open (or Public) - what YOU & YOUR TEAM know about you.
2. Blind (or Blind Spot) - what YOUR TEAM knows about you that you do NOT and they choose NOT to share.
3. Hidden - what YOU know about YOU that you choose NOT to share; and
4. Unknown - what YOU and YOUR TEAM have no insight/knowledge.

The IDEAL Johari Window scenario for a servant leader:

• MINIMIZE the blind spot (by ASKING for and RECEIVING honest / constructive feedback);
• MAXIMIZE the open area (by HONEST SELF DISCLOSURE);
• As the blind spot gets SMALLER and the open area gets LARGER, the size of the hidden area gets REDUCED because of this mutual / trusted sharing! 

NOTE: There will always be an "unknown" area neither you nor your team are able to control. 

Servant Leaders Are Driven to Correct Things That are Wrong

Servant leaders, as Greenleaf notes, are “servants first,” as opposed to “leaders first,” - "...the true servant leader cannot ignore what is broken." Whether with him/her self or his/her team, he/she will not hope a situation resolves itself. He/she will proactively reach out to serve, authentically listen, observe, and eventually point out specific, observable behaviors or outcomes that fall short of desired performance. The attitude of the servant leader is not “YOU have a problem!” Rather, it's “I want you to succeed…HOW can I help?”

Awareness That Something Needs to Be Done

Awareness of others is not one-dimensional. As noted, when servant leaders become aware of a problem, issue, bottleneck, etc., they can't sit on it. Instead,  they actively engage those they lead and apply appropriate aspects of servant leader competencies as a means of development. (Look for the next blog - PERSUASION...ON Purpose!)

Ideally, this drive toward awareness also means the servant leader will be and is prepared to look inward and address their own opportunities for development.

So, What Areas Should You Strive to Identify to Become SELF-Aware? 

• Anchors - what truly motivates you? (People? Performance? Process? or a hybrid?) 
• Gifts / Talents / Strengths - AKA themes.
• Impact - what impact are YOU having on others?
• Limitations / Weaknesses - opportunities to admit / compensate / delegate.
• Purpose - your WHY.
• Stressors - what causes stress and how do you react to stress?
• Values - your fundamental beliefs.
• Wiring - your dominant themes.
• WHYering - what's important to you?

How to Achieve SELF-Awareness?

The journey toward SELF-awareness begins with an open mind and a willingness to be vulnerable. As discussed in the previous blog, we fear vulnerability since we worry others may perceive us as push-overs or weak. To the contrary. "Vulnerability helps us connect with others, since it communicates we’re human; complete with our own weaknesses, hurts, and fears. This creates a feeling of “sameness” and gives the other something to connect." according to Brené Brown- who has spent the past sixteen years studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy and is the author of three #1 New York Times bestsellers – The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, and Rising Strong.

Put simply: don’t be afraid to ask for help. Asking for help shows vulnerability, and vulnerability often leads to that greater sense of connection, relation, and in this case, SELF-awareness. 

The steps:

• Ask for feedback.
• Take time to understand / reflect.
• Get coaching. SEE: The Power of a Coach...
• Get assessed. SEE: Assessment Summary - Picking Your Scissors...
• Embrace the reality. 
• Lean in. 
• Repeat!

For more, SEE: 8 Ways to Make Everyday a Gift...

Closing

The late, great Maya Angelou once said that, “When you know better, you do better.” SELF-Awareness, in many ways, is a journey. Be disciplined, open, reflective, and anchored and those you serve will be fortunate to have you looking out for them!  

My best to your quest!
​
Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

​SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

​We continue our journey as we go into more detail for EACH SERVANT LEADERSHIP competency Robert Greenleaf  identified. This week we discuss HEALING.

Preamble: the events of past weeks have been horrific. The division in our country (and around the world) threatens the future of our society. Our society and different pockets of it are in deep turmoil...as evidenced by:

-    People continuing to be underemployed or "mis-employed". (Gallup)
-    The middle class is now the minority. (Pew)
-    Depression, addiction, and suicide are climbing to unhealthy numbers. (CDC)
-   We have some counties in the U.S. where MORE people are dying from drug over-doses than NATURAL causes. (CDC)
-    For those currently working, the numbers are also daunting:
      o    70%+ are disengaged - i.e they just show up. (Gallup)
      o    20% wish harm on the company they work - i.e they cause harm.  (Gallup)
-    "No religion" is the world's third-largest religious group after Christians and Muslims. (Pew)

We can't deny those truths (despite our personal ideology). No doubt, we or someone we know and love, can use some healing. So, let us delve deeper into a servant leadership competency that has significant promise to right our ship...and as a leader can / will make you stand out from your peers..HEALING.

Healing

People talented in healing seek wholeness in themselves and others. According to Larry Spears -  president and CEO of The Larry C. Spears Center for ServantLeadership - "The healing of relationships is a powerful force for transformation and integration. One of the great strengths of servant leadership is the potential for healing one’s self and one’s relationship to others. Many people have broken spirits and have suffered from a variety of emotional hurts. Although this is a part of being human, servant leaders recognize THEY have an opportunity to help make whole those with whom they come in contact."

In his essay, "The Servant as Leader", Greenleaf (1977/2002) writes, “There is something subtle communicated to one who is being served and led if, implicit in the compact between servant leader and follower, is the understanding that the search for wholeness is something they share.” 

To expand on the concept of healing, Lauren Geertsen - Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, author, and creator of Empowered Sustenance - adds "The sustained dance of true healing means negotiating self-compassion and self-endurance. Gather conviction in the face of uncertainty – know that courage feels like fear, and the strength of your body fails to reflect the strength of your spirit. When positive change appears daunting, channel your soul’s tenacity to patiently and persistently abide in the moment. Ardently express lavish gratitude to your body: unconditional love nurtures the healing journey. Converse gently with the Inner Critic, quieting the accusatory chatter with understanding compassion. Adamantly reject the enticing fantasy of perfection – perfectionism antagonizes transformation and obscures the clarity of your intuition."
 
Focus of healing

There are numerous areas WHERE healing can take place. Here are the major ones:

• Body - many times people get healed physically after they have dealt with an emotional wound. A person who is bitter and angry at someone has a much harder time healing physically. In fact, as long as the negative emotions exist - there will usually be negative physical symptoms that exist...(arrhythmia, high blood pressure, insomnia to name a few). The person often has "trust issues". IMPORTANT: Until someone can trust someone or some greater power to heal they will not be fully healed.
• Energy - a holistic practice that activates the body’s subtle energy systems to remove blocks. By breaking through the energetic blocks, the body’s inherent ability to heal itself is stimulated. Energy - also known as Chi, Ki, Qi, Prana, Force – is all around us. All living entities – birds, flowers, trees and humans – are manifestations of energy.  We are living in a world of energy and can tap on the various energy healing modalities to heal ourselves and others. Some examples:

1. Cosmic - in the ancient world of Egypt, people acquired the knowledge to harness cosmic energy through the pyramids for many purposes such as healing and the formation of rains for crops. 
2. Fengshui - an ancient Chinese art of harmonizing the energy of people and environment. 
3. Laying of hands - shamans or energy healers - able to heal people through "laying of hands". We are energy and it's possible to perform healing for ourselves as well as others. Regardless of your belief-system there are countless examples of this "supernatural" power in action.

• Mind - Soul - when we make bad choices, we feel guilt. Guilt is an emotional reaction. When somebody makes bad choices against us, we feel all kinds of emotions - anger, shame, bitterness, revenge etc. Emotional healing is when we no longer react with those emotions when we think about or remember what we or others did. 
• Spirit - the human spirit becomes damaged and ill from the effects of bad choices. When we make bad choices, we cause harm to our human spirit and cause spiritual illness. When you achieve healing of the spirit you realize renewal and restoration. No surprise, this is where the term "born again" originates! Part of the healing involves forgiveness and for those seeking forgiveness it requires acceptance...those well-suited for the healing competency accept someone's forgiveness/remorse and that, in turn, has the power to liberate and heal!

Types of healing

When we use the term "healing" we may sometimes miss the nuance that healing can take numerous forms. Below are the main categories of HOW healing can occur:

Source: ihealedmyself.com

• Alternative - some form of healing where he or she has confidence. (E.G.s self-counseling, defense programs, meditation, shamanism, the use of jewelry, gemstones, colors, horoscopes, divinations or self-created programs not related to a specific organized healing discipline.)
• At-A-Distance - action is taken by others, an individual or a group, through prayer, meditation or using “treatments” either known or unknown to the person being healed.
• Dietary / Food Based - use of specific diet, foods, vitamin-mineral supplements or other nutrients which are used either in normal amounts or extreme dosages such as mega-vitamin therapy.
• Divine Grace - for those who are part of a faith, this is a fundamental premise present in many religions. Its been defined as the "Divine influence which operates in humans to regenerate and sanctify, to inspire virtuous impulses, and to impart strength to endure trial and resist temptation; and as an individual virtue or excellence of divine origin."
• Educational/Intellectual - based on knowledge and wisdom, intellect and seeking information, rather than a specific medical or religious doctrine or set of beliefs.
• Group - can be simple as a support group or complex such as an organized process with specific assignments and rules. (e.g. Alcoholics Anonymous, Allan-on, Cancer Support Groups, group therapy / counseling 
• Hybrid -  one technique or method of healing blended with any number of other types and techniques listed here.
• Instant/Spontaneous - healing appears to occur suddenly with or without cause, with or without preparation, work, reason, logic, planning or a specific healing program. Often this is an illusion as the individual has usually been consciously or unconsciously thinking about or taking action toward solving unresolved conflicts or problems for some period of time prior to the “healing.”
• Integrative (Combined) - a combination of strategies, disciplines, teachings and techniques which embody elements, in whole or in part, of all other forms of healing (i.e. those listed here).
• Medical - sought the help of a medical source or is undergoing a medical treatment program with the intention of “getting better,” “returning to wellness,” of being healed” or “receiving healing.”
• Prayer - based on a religious or non-religious higher power, higher intelligence, nature or family spirit(s). Either local, immediate or centralized, such as a church, home, group, or at a distance (decentralized) such as a loosely organized prayer group praying for a sick friend or parishioner.
• Problem Solving - recognition that certain problems or unresolved conflicts are causing and or exacerbating illness, stress or emotional, mental or spiritual turmoil leading to illness.
• Ritual - any series of actions interpreted by the patient and the healer as having meaning and facilitating healing. May be religious or non religious in nature.
• Self - accomplished by the individual, with or without help.  
• Shaman -  an individual or group which acts as an intermediary between the “real” or “visible” world and the “spirit” or unseen world.
• Touch -  an "energy therapy," which embraces a group of non-invasive techniques that utilize the hands to clear, energize, and balance the human and environmental energy fields. 

What's needed to be a healer

• Authentically Listen
• Demonstrate a healing approach - struggles may indeed be the direct result of a bad choices, the servant leader attempts to remedy (i.e. heal) before dismissal.
• Empathy
• Patience - healing takes times since the turn of events leading up the bad choice(s) may have been building for days, weeks, months, or years. 
• Seek wholeness - more likely to be achieved by demonstrating collaboration, empathy, trust, and the ethical use of power. 

What's needed to be a healed

This is important! In order for someone to be healed they usually need THREE things:

1. Permission (i.e. trust) for the healing process to take place;
2. Desire to be healed; and 
3. Do whatever is necessary to facilitate healing (e.g. be vulnerable).
​
Does that mean NO ONE can / will be healed if they don't meet all three criteria?

Nope! Complete spontaneous healing can occur without permission. It can also take place when the person resists healing, the healing process, the efforts of others, the use of objects, sacred or not sacred.

Healing AND Servant Leadership

The value those who have capacity for healing bring:

- Acceptance
- Engagement
- Enthusiasm
- Health
- Hope
- Love
- Loyalty
- Peace
- Positive Attitude
- Positive Business Outcomes
- Respect
- Trust
- Wholeness

The difference between healing and curing...

Another nuance around this healing concept is that healing does not necessarily mean a cure! To help unravel that, it's helpful to identify both for what they are...

Healing - As we've learned it's a restoration of wholeness — not the level of wholeness before the diagnosis but a restoration of wholeness that is new, different, and comparatively better than before the onset of a disease. 

Curing - A restoration of health, an absence of symptoms, and a remedy of disease.

So, in other words, healing is not the removal or end of symptoms,. Rather, it's a process that transcends the physical and includes mental, emotional, and spiritual vitality and wellness. 

According to Maria Mooney - licensed social worker, certified holistic health coach, social media and editorial assistant at KrisCarr.com and freelance writer - "Where we tend to go wrong is that our Western medical model stops at curing when healing is necessary to address the root causes of many of our ailments. Negative thought patterns, toxic relationships, poor diets, sedentary lifestyles, and poor stress management each are little drops in the raging waterfall that becomes the dis-ease that will drown your life. Committing to the healing process, even if a cure is available for you, is wonderful insurance for a healthy future." 

Healing May be the Cure!

Healing brings health, peace, and wholeness. Negative symptoms may never go away, yet, that doesn’t mean we'll never be whole again. Often times we limit ourselves to what others predict for our future. Someone with ability to heal / help others can help us break free and blaze a trail toward wholeness no one expected to see. Servant leaders demonstrating healing direct all of their attention / intentions on the healing that CAN happen. And sometimes, once healed, the cure (although different than what we expect) WILL follow!

My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

​SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

​We continue our journey for more detail of each SERVANT LEADERSHIP competency Robert Greenleaf identified. This week we discuss Empathy.

Empathy

Simply put, empathy is feeling with other people. People who practice empathy can sense other people's feelings by imagining themselves in others' lives and circumstances. It's a "sixth sense" of how other people feel and it can perceive and understand complex emotions.  Empathy is NOT a cerebral understanding of others' emotions, rather a gut level relationship to other's emotions. People with strong empathy can build and form relationships with emotional depth. No surprise, empathetic people are sought since they induce comfort, stability AND emotional connectedness with others. 

Characteristics of the Empathetic:

Ask great questions
Authentic
Authentic listener 
Aware
Curious
Emotional  
Expressive 
Helpful 
Intuitive 
Perceptive
Sensitive
Thoughtful
Trusted 
​Vulnerable

Value the Empathetic Bring:

Anticipate others’ needs;
Hear unvoiced questions; 
Help others find the right words to express feelings;
See the world through others’ eyes.
Sense others’ emotions.

The Difference Between Empathy and Sympathy

When you’re sympathetic, you might feel pity for the other person’s situation, but there’s still a distance between you and their experience. When you’re empathetic, you don’t just know how someone else feels; you understand how they feel, and you feel it with them. More details:
​
Empathy versus Sympathy comparison chart

​Can You Become Empathetic?

YES AND NO! 

NO if you don't care to learn and not open to understand others.
​
YES if you care to learn and open to understand others practice these 5 steps.

1. Authentically Listen More Than You Speak

Most speak twice as much as listen. It’s easy to get so caught up explaining something we fail to stop and consider what the other person might be thinking or feeling. An empathetic person, on the other hand, listens first; and only speaks after they’ve carefully heard. 

This also means being curious! Asking thoughtful questions based on what you hear. NOT to respond but to UNDERSTAND! ​

2. Express Your Perspective

After you’ve heard the other person completely, you’re in position to express empathy by voicing how you’d feel in that situation. For example:

“That must feel awful!"
“I would be challenged to know what to do!”
"My stomach is churning just thinking of it."
“It’s hard for me to hear you since the situation makes me feel so fill-in-the-blank.”

All ways to show you understand how the other person is feeling. 

KEY THING: the statement(s) must be genuine! Imagine exactly what the other person is going through. Put yourself in their shoes, experience the moment as if it were happening to you, and let your emotions guide you. More often than not, your emotional response will be similar to theirs; and will help the other person feel understood and heard, leading to a greater sense of connection.

3. Be Vulnerable

Too many conversations stay in emotional “safe zones.” We fear vulnerability since we worry others may perceive us as push-overs or weak. To the contrary. "Vulnerability helps us connect with others, since it communicates we’re human; complete with our own weaknesses, hurts, and fears. This creates a feeling of “sameness” and gives the other something to connect." according to Brené Brown - who has spent the past sixteen years studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy and is the author of three #1 New York Times bestsellers – The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, and Rising Strong.

Put simply: don’t be afraid to ask for help. Asking for help shows vulnerability, and vulnerability often leads to that greater sense of connection, relation, and self-awareness. . So, here are three steps to being more vulnerable:

- After you’ve authentically listened to the other person, try to think of a time when you were in a similar situation. 
- Remember what / how you felt.
- Express those feelings to the other person, then share what you learned through the process.

By sharing our own emotions, insecurities and mistakes, we will connect; and it's this common ground that is one of the most important foundations you can form in a relationship.

4. Don’t Make Assumptions

The enemy of empathy is assumptions! As was once famously shared on a 70's TV sitcom "The Odd Couple", "Assumptions make an ASS of U and ME!" Assumptions indicate preconceived notions not based on true understanding or experience.

Assumptions are also dangerous to empathy because we use assumptions as shortcuts to solve a problem. Unfortunately,  when we take shortcuts, we don’t get the full picture. We don’t “solve” the problem - if anything, we distance ourselves from the other. No surprise, this leaves the person we might be trying to help thinking, “She doesn’t understand my situation,” or, “He’s not someone I should turn to because he doesn’t listen.”

So don’t rush empathy, and try to empathize before you understand the situation!

5. Use Your Imagination

Here’s the challenge: You’re not going to be able to relate to every experience from every person you engage. Yet, to empathize, you need some form of connection and understanding. The ability to imagine what someone else is feeling — even if you haven’t experienced it — is important. If it is within your imagination - LEAN INTO it! If it's beyond your imagination, SAY IT!  Be truthful.

Results of Empathy

1. Fosters good, pleasurable and positive feelings. 
2. Induces a sense of connectedness.
3. Promotes emotional well-being and physical health.
4. Helps address psychological challenges (loneliness, alienation, anxiety, fear, depression, despair, shame, etc).
5. Provides an active ingredient in conflict resolution.
6. Becomes a source of creativity, innovation and action.
7. Creates a gateway to socially desirable values. 
8. Expands perspectives.

Call to Action

Empathy takes practice. It takes commitment. It takes focus. Simply try and you will find you can AND will get better at it!

My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

​SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

Last week's blog - SERVant Leadership...ON Purpose! was one of my more popular blogs to date. I'm not surprised. There's a healthy appetite for a positive leadership model. Can't think of a more positive / selfless leadership model than servant leadership! So, over the next number of weeks we'll go into more detail for EACH competency Robert Greenleaf identified - starting with authentic listening.

Authentic Listening

As noted, "The servant leader understands the will of a team and clarifies that will. The servant leader is always listening with an open heart to what is being said and not said. The servant leader hears one’s own inner voice with reflection and contemplation." 

According to Ann Catlin, LMT, NCTMB, OTR, "Authentic listening is a sacred art. It's listening with presence that goes beyond what your ears hear and what you say in response. It's listening with your heart; it's responding from your authentic self. It's listening for the essence of the interaction and connecting heart to heart." 

She continues "If we're to take an honest look at how we normally listen, we'd appear attentive and listening to the words the other person is saying but may be distracted by our own thoughts about what we're hearing, and already forming our response. Or we may be having judgments about what is said. Most of the time, we're more involved with our own experience than that of the other person."

Becoming an Authentic Listener

Listening from the heart requires self awareness and a willingness to expand your comfort zone. Intend to listen more authentically. Authentic listening is not about doing. No formulated response. No need to fix anything or to make the person feel better. It's not counseling or analyzing. It's about being. Being with the other person and caring about their experience. What follows are considerations for becoming an authentic listener.

1. Set the tone for authentic listening.

Tell the person how important it is for you to understand how s/he feels. When you set the authentic listening tone, your exchange will improve as a result.

2. Listen attentively to what is being said without interruption.

Be honest.  If you're unable to be fully attentive, it's better to let the person know than to pretend you're listening. You might be preoccupied or tired. Letting the person know you care yet you can't give your full attention is acting with integrity.

THIS MEANS NOT HAVING YOUR iPHONE / DROID / COMPUTER / LAPTOP ANYWHERE WITHIN REACH!

The other person WILL notice your distraction(s)! As someone shared with me, "Being an effective listener is an invaluable asset. Years ago, while I was listening to the CEO of my company telling me something very important, I looked down at my watch. He stopped and asked if the time was as compelling as our conversation. I never did it again."

3. Quiet your mind. 

Our minds are in constant motion. There are plenty of internal and external distractions drawing our attention. Getting centered and quieting the mental chatter opens a space for deep attentiveness. In other words, be truly present. 

Techniques for getting centered: 

• Keep reading!
• Sit directly in front of s/he.
• Make / hold eye contact.
• LISTEN to the words.
• LISTEN to the non-verbal / body language.
• Count to 4...BEFORE saying anything. (SILENCE is OK!)

4. Listen with your eyes and ears. 

Dr. Albert Mehrabian, author of "Silent Messages" , conducted studies on nonverbal communication. He found 7% of any message is conveyed through words, 38% through vocal elements, and 55% through nonverbal elements (facial 
expressions, gestures, posture, etc).

As noted, it's critical to focus all your attention on the person you're with - getting centered. Make eye contact. Genuinely listen. Concentrate on WHAT and HOW it's being said.  Pay attention to facial gestures and body language, to better understand the thoughts and emotions that may be driving what's being said. Observe the nonverbal messages, both her's/his' and your's. What's the body posture telling you? Is the voice tone consistent with the spoken words? What's the facial expression?

Listen to the silence as well as the words. Learning to be comfortable sitting in silence with another person is one of the most powerful forms of communication. Silence allows the hearts to connect, and a sacred dialogue is spoken.

5. Listen without judgment.

Judgment is reacting based on our experience. We may react because our personal triggers get pushed. It's important to become aware of what your triggers are so you do not shut down open communication. As you listen, receive without judging what's said. Do this and you'll open a space for trust.

6. Walk in her/his shoes.

Think about what it would be like to be in her/his shoes. Can you understand why s/he feels or thinks the way s/he does? If her/his thoughts or feelings don’t seem reasonable, you may not yet have enough information. OR, you may not yet regard her/him as your equal. As you come to fully understand her/his position, thoughts, and feelings, acknowledge. For example, “I appreciate your frustration.”

7. Feed back your understanding of what's being said and feelings you sense.

Occasionally repeat back what you’ve heard in your own words. Repeating and paraphrasing gives her/him a chance to confirm you understood her/him correctly and completely, and often will prompt her/him to divulge more information. Try to fully understand her/his position, thoughts and feelings.

8. Ask questions to learn. 

Be curious about what s/he thinks and why s/he thinks that way. Is there new information or a perspective you should consider?

Is s/he they COMPLETELY done?
Does s/he really want feedback?
What's my motive to listen / respond?
Say more about..
To help me to understand, may I ask...
So what I hear you saying...

9. Commit to patience. 

We tend to move on to the next thing rather than attend to what is in front of us. True communication can't be rushed. Be patient with yourself and the other person. Avoid the temptation to formulate a response. Listen first, then respond. There may be a tendency to be mentally forming our response while the person is still talking. Focus first on what's being conveyed, then form a response.

The Result of Authentic Listening

When you listen from the heart, you enter into a mutual experience of giving and receiving. Your relationships will improve. You will become more respected and regarded in a positive way. You will become sought after. So, let yourself be uplifted by the experience as you uplift the life of another. 

My best to your quest!
​
Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

​SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

Fortune Magazine‘s annual list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For is out. Noteworthy is 5 of the top 10 "100 Best Companies to Work For" are also identified as companies practicing servant leadership – 50% of the very best companies to work for!

​What Is Servant-Leadership?

Coined by Robert K. Greenleaf, often referred to as the father of servant leadership and founder of the Greenleaf Institute for Servant Leadership, the concept of servant leadership defines a leader who is, very literally, a servant first. “Servant leadership is a philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations, and ultimately creates a more just and caring world,” states the Institute.

Core Competencies of Servant Leadership

Greenleaf defined ten core competencies for servant leaders. These competencies form the basis from which all other research, writings, and books on servant leadership are founded. 

1. Authentic Listening – The servant leader understands the will of a team and clarifies that will. The servant leader is always listening with an open heart to what is being said and not said. The servant leaders hears one’s own inner voice with reflection and contemplation - critical to an emerging servant leader.
2. Empathy – The servant leader shows empathy and understanding with others. Individuals are accepted and recognized for their unique energy. The servant leader sees the good intentions of people and does not reject them as people, even when certain behaviors or performance are deemed inappropriate. Servant leaders are skilled empathetic listeners.
3. Healing – Servant leaders seek wholeness in themselves and others.
4. Self-Awareness – Servant leaders seek awareness at all levels and particularly in issues involving ethics, power, and values. Their view is integrative and holistic.
5. Persuasion – Persuasion is seen as a way to convince others, not through positional authority or compliance through coercive tactics. Persuasion in this manner distinguishes the leadership between the authoritarian model and the servant leadership model. Servant leaders are effective at building group consensus.
6. Conceptualization - Servant leaders seek to conceptualize challenges, thinking from a holistic and broad perspective. They dream big and use systemic thinking to approach day-to-day operations. Servant leaders are forward thinkers, seeking balance in the dream and daily life. 
7. Foresight – Servant leaders use strategic intuition in thinking and behaviors. Foresight is intuition based in the past, the present, and the future decision-making process. Foresight is known within the intuitive mind.
8. Stewardship – Servant leaders are good stewards and are concerned for individuals, organizations, and the world at large. Servant leaders make good use of all that is given to them and understand stewardship from a global perspective.
9. Commitment to the Growth of the People – Servant leaders are concerned about the growth of the people and as such, encourages and empowers personal and professional growth of individuals and teams. 
10. Building Community – Servant leaders enjoy building community among people and teams. In organizations, building community means bringing people together around a cause (whatever that cause may be) and developing that community with other organizations and institutions. 

Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership

1. Being A Person of Character – who maintains integrity and humility.
2. Putting People First – someone who is there to serve and cares for people.
3. Skilled Communication – showing empathy and encouraging feedback.
4. Compassionate Collaboration – giving congratulations when they are due, negotiating conflict well.
5. Foresight – being able to predict future developments and problems.
6. Systems Thinking – being comfortable working with complicated systems with many facets.
7. Leading with Moral Authority – moral authority is something that can only be given by others, and this is a reflection of how well a leader encompasses the previous six pillars.

Can it be taught?

YES! Servant leadership can be taught / influenced by understanding the “Servant Leadership Competency Model”. The reality is NO ONE is going to be proficient at ALL of the competencies and pillars outlined above. Yet, with an open mind, willingness to learn / understand what YOU bring to servant leadership, AND open to feedback / coaching / practice - we all can be a UNIQUE servant leader. So, creating or supporting a servant leadership program, an “academy” / curriculum to enable participants to become “consciously competent” @ Servant Leadership could be a real plus! 

Servant Leadership in Your Organization

“Servant leaders know by helping to guide the people who work for [and with] them, they will help their employees learn vital skills that will both improve their performance, and improve them as people,” said Peter Economy in his book “7 Secrets of ‘Servant Leadership’ That Will Lead You to Success.”

Employer Benefits of Practicing Servant Leadership

• You will attract the best employees!
• The quality of your team members experience will improve.
• You will be respected for your treatment of employees.
• Increase the overall creativity, productivity and other critical attributes of your greatest asset - your employees.

Fortune's Best Companies to Work For With Servant Leadership

The following 20 organizations from Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list are also considered companies practicing servant leadership:

SAS (#1 on the list of Best Companies to Work For)
Wegmans Food Market (3)
Zappos.com (6)
Nugget Market (8)
Recreational Equipment (REI) (9)
Container Store (21)
Whole Foods Market (24)
QuikTrip (34)
Balfour Beatty Construction (40)
TD Industries (45)
Aflac (57)
Marriott International (71)
Nordstrom (74)
Men’s Wearhouse (87)
CH2M Hill (90)
Darden Restaurants (97)
Starbucks (98)
TD Industries (45)
Aflac (57)
Marriott International (71)
Nordstrom (74)
Men's Wearhouse (87)
CH2M Hill (90)
Darden Restaurants (97)
Starbucks (98)
Southwest Airlines
Toro
Publix
Chick-fil-A

For the complete list - go HERE.

Of course, "making a list" should NOT be the ultimate goal. If you decide to implement servant leadership principles in your organization, you will recognize countless benefits. In fact, you may find achieving a top position on a "Best Companies to Work For" list is simply a side effect of following a servant leadership mentality.

Servant Leader as Partner, Employee, Manager, Volunteer

The competencies and 7 pillars are great attributes to aspire to and practice. If you can demonstrate any combination of these as a partner, employee, manager, volunteer you WILL set yourself apart from others and WILL not only be sought after but INDISPENSABLE! The ongoing opportunity will be self-regulating the competencies / attributes to the situation. Think of it as modulating the knobs on a stereo or a cook-top stove...you won't need ALL the controls turned on - or all on high...you modulate based on the recipe being prepared. 

To learn more about Servant Leadership:

• Greenleaf Institute for Servant Leadership
• Modern Servant Leader
• To Serve First

My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

​SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

Exceptional leadership is the heart of a successful organization. Employees need to be able to trust in the skills, strategy, judgment, and motivation of those steering the ship. 

Do a search of books on Amazon under the topic of LEADERSHIP and we'll come up with ~190,526 options!

Yet, with all this information / knowledge available focused on leadership, and the BILLIONS of dollars spent on leadership development without meaningful return, indicates leadership is broken. A study by Maritz Research showed ONLY 7 out of 100 of employees (7%) have trust and confidence that their senior leaders aren't looking out for their best interests. How can organizations succeed without the support of their employees? Not many!

In this week's blog, I want to highlight two very powerful LEADership books that provide a framework to be the exceptional LEADer and organization:

1. The Leadership Contract: The Fine Print to Becoming an Accountable Leader, 2nd Edition - by Dr. Vince Molinaro
2. A Leadership Kick in the Ass: How to Learn from Rough Landings, Blunders, and Missteps - by Bill Treasurer

Why these two books out of ~190.526?

First, LEADership is often thrust on people WITHOUT much preparation. The Leadership Contract is a great precursor to those aspiring to LEADership OR a wake-up call to those currently in LEADership positions and wondering, "Why is leadership not what I thought?" or "My leadership results are underwhelming!"

Second, too many leaders or would-be leaders aren't leading. "They're waiting for permission and direction from the executive team on every issue. Or they're acting like bystanders, watching problems persist or projects derail."

Third, LEADers learn the hard way about the Peter Principal. What is the Peter Principal? Observation in an hierarchy, people tend to rise to "their level of incompetence." Thus, as people are promoted, they become progressively less-effective because good performance in one job does not guarantee similar performance in another. Named after the Canadian researcher Dr. Laurence J. Peter (1910-90) who popularized this observation in his 1969 book 'The Peter Principle.'

Fourth, to prepare for when we WILL "hit the ceiling"  or "hit a plateau" in our own leadership journey it's Bill Treasurer's book - A Leadership Kick in the Ass! - to the rescue!

Before We Go There - Let's Do a Quick Level-Set to Review the Concept of Leading VS Managing...

Have you ever considered why we think of some people as leaders, and others — who clearly lead their team or head their department — you think of as managers or bosses? This leadership principle - Leading -vs- Managing - makes it tempting to manage without leading – particularly in good times.  When the "good times" fade away this phenomenon - assuming leading is leading when what's going on is REALLY managing will catch up to us and, to borrow a phase from Bill Treasurer, "Give us a kick us in the ass!"

So what's the difference between management and leadership? There are three differences:

​The Leadership Contract: The Fine Print to Becoming an Accountable Leader

Dr. Venanzio "Vince" Molinaro is a business strategist, author of three books, including The Leadership Contract, and speaker. His own LEADership experience has shaped his leadership philosophies and practices he continues today. Currently, he serves as Global Managing Director at Lee Hecht Harrison a global talent mobility leader. Vince also writes a  leadership blog "Leadership Gut Check". 

According to Molinaro - the main challenge of leadership is it's poorly understood. Unfortunately, the public associates leadership with scandal and distrust. People in leadership roles often do not understand how to lead. In his book, Molinaro presents a fresh look at leadership, and offers a tangible, concise, and easy-to-understand roadmap and outlines what leadership is: 

1. Making tough decisions;
2. Obligation;
3. Hard work; and 
4. Community. 

Molinaro explores the risks and rewards of leadership in the context of these concepts. He captures key lessons gleaned from his experiences as a consultant for leaders in a variety of organizations, and re-frames leadership as an opportunity to build successful and sustainable organizations. He threads the book with real world examples, research, and strong personal experiences and concludes each chapter with a series of "Gut Check for Leaders" questions to reflect.

A Roadmap For the Enlightened... 
 
Leaders are no longer "rulers," nor are they accidental—in today's business climate, leadership is both a trait and a specific set of skills. According to Molinaro, it's about trust, commitment, communication, and drive. This book shows us how to become the leader your organization needs. It goes beyond adopting the habits and practices of an effective leader and puts it in writing to establish a leadership contract that ensures the success of the company.  This is the second edition that includes revised and updated coverage of accountability, personal and organizational levels of the leadership contract, Gut Check summary questions after each chapter, and additional opening and closing remarks to provide key insight into what the leadership role entails.

Some of the Takeaways...

• Everyone has a personal leadership story! 
• The story to tell is about our own leadership style and how it came to be. We are shaped by our experiences. It's important for leaders to reflect about their history and their own personal leadership story.
• Learn why a leadership contract is needed and what it entails.
• There are many leaders who are disappointing, disconnected, have settled, and disgraceful. 

The FOUR Terms of the Leadership Contract

1. Decision. Make It!
2. Obligation. Step Up!
3. Hard work. Get Tough!
4. Community. Connect!

1. Leadership IS a decision. Make It!

Molinaro shares EVERY day leaders have opportunities to make leadership decisions yet, do NOT answer the call - it's easier to stay put and play it safe. According to Molinaro there are TWO kinds of Leadership Decisions - BIG D and small d. Both are important. Yet different. BIG D leadership come at critical times in our career and force us to reflect on who we are as a leader and whether we are ready to take on a new leadership role. small d leadership decisions are made in the moment and may seem minor, but over time, they can have a considerable impact on our effectiveness as leader.

We need a strong degree of personal commitment. Ask yourself the Leadership "Am I..." Questions:

• Up for this?
• All – in as a leader?
• Fully committed to doing what I need to do to make my team and company succeed?
• Able to handle the heat  I WILL be exposed?
• Prepared for the hardships I WILL come my way?
• Committing for the right reasons, or am I doing this only to feed my ego?

Molinaro contends this is why we can't just click "Agree" without understanding what the fine print of a leadership contract is about. We need to pause and truly understand what we're signing up for.

2. Leadership IS an obligation. Step up!

As a leader, we need to step up and recognize when we take on a leadership role, it should not be about us. Molinaro believes this partly explains why there is such a low level of trust and confidence in senior leadership. "Employees look to the upper echelons of their organizations and see leaders primarily motivated by personal gain."

Which is why he believes "Leadership needs to be considered its own profession. Medical doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers have professional standards.  Leadership needs and establish set of standards, too."

As such, he outlines core obligations of leadership:

• Ourself.
• Customers.
• Our organization.
• Our employees.
• Our communities.

3. Leadership IS Hard work. Get Tough!

The other reason I paired the work of Molinaro and Treasurer is their philosophy about required leaders' actions and attitude. LEADERship...ON Purpose requires courage and persistence to do the hard work of leadership. "There is hard work that we alone as a leader can do and must do, and if we don't do it, we'll save ourselves and our organization's back." Both seem to be aligned, "We'll need resilience, determination, and a deep sense of personal resolve to be effective."

Many leaders don't realize when we avoid the hard work of leadership, we actually end up making ourselves weak. Molinaro goes on to share in his book 10 ways leaders make the hard work harder.

4. Leadership IS a Community. Connect!

Molinaro believes the missed opportunity today leadership is a "community of leaders." "If you can create a strong community of leaders in your organization, it will become your ultimate differentiator." he says. 

Let's face it, no one leader can have all the answers today. The workforce, the business dynamics, the world we live in, has become far too complex for one person to be able to lead effectively. To drive the point home, Molinaro emphasizes, "Great risk is taken when a leadership culture is anchored to one leader who is the hero. When it's all rooted in one leader, even if that person is great, it can turn a company upside down and the leader leaves, because nothing sustainable beyond that leader's work has been created."

Leadership is more distributed today and we must leverage the capacity, ingenuity, and commitment of all leaders and employees. (Hint: WHAT ARE YOUR GIFTS?)

Signing a Leadership Contract

Beyond the LEADership concepts outlined, the book takes it one step further, by providing a template for a literal leadership contract. Which is why Molinaro wrote the book - his experience has shown many have signed up for leadership roles without understanding what it truly means to be a leader.

Signing a contract supports an important premise Molinaro outlines, "Leadership is a decision you have to consciously make." No accident,  the contract has four components: 

1. Decision. Make It!
2. Obligation. Step Up!
3. Hard work. Get Tough!
4. Community. Connect!

Another subtle, yet effective, way this contract can be used is to help those whom are not truly committed to being a leader. Molinaro believes the commitment not to lead is an important additional insight. "There is nothing to feel bad about. It's better to be honest with yourself. One way or another. What's important is you are making a deliberate decision not to lead – and that's an important leadership decision."

The Leadership Contract provides a blueprint for today's leaders, and guides us toward becoming the leader our employees deserve. For more SEE: http://theleadershipcontract.com/

A Leadership Kick in the Ass: How to Learn from Rough Landings, Blunders, and Missteps - Bill Treasurer

Editor's note:  portions below adopted from www.getabstract.com

Bill Treasurer - Leadership consultant and the “chief encouragement officer” at Giant Leap Consulting, which helps people and organizations become more courageous - once led a high-diving exhibition team. To get the results, he bullied the divers on his team UNTIL a diver on the team called him out. “If you keep talking down to us,” the diver told Treasurer, “I’ll walk.” This was the kick in the backside Treasurer needed to transform from being a bad leader to being a good one. Now a stand-up leader, Treasurer explains why a leader sometimes needs a good jolt to get on the right path. 

Key Concepts...

“At some point, every leader is confronted with the reality that his or her leadership is seriously and substantially flawed.” shares Treasurer. He goes on to say, “The more genuinely confident and humble you are, the less likely you’ll be to get kicked…most butt kicks are self-inflicted behavioral boomerangs.”

Why Every Leader Occasionally Needs a Swift Kick.

The book reveals leaders fall into two categories:

1. Those who have suffered humiliation; and,
2. Those who will.

Many times, the life-changing kick-in-the-pants moment is delivered by a leader’s staff member, colleague or boss - just one of the factors that makes leadership hard. Gandhi once said, “The truth only hurts if it should.” Some leaders need humiliation as a wake-up call in order to see their flaws and become more effective.

Being Told About Our Flaws IS Essential to Leadership Growth.

Such kicks can be career changing. Think of them as “transformative humiliation.” Colleagues administer wake-ups in the face of “overly strong or anemically weak leadership.” To accept these jolts as valuable learning experiences, leaders can put “adaptability over obstinacy.” Adaptability is a crucial leadership skill.

Additional "Leadership Kick In the Ass" Take-Aways

• Being a good leader is difficult. Make it easier by keeping our ego under control.
• People often need a quick kick in the backside to transform their leadership style.
• Leaders who get a wake-up kick usually deserve it.
• The worst leaders are arrogant “pigheads” or timid “weaklings.”
• The kick of awareness unfolds in four stages: oblivion about our flaws, a “startling sting” of awareness, the choice to change, and humility.
• Most good leaders began as bad leaders, got a jolt of awareness, faced their flaws and learned lessons that helped them grow.
• To benefit from a kick: think long term; learn from our feelings; accept discomfort as a way to grow; become our own management project; and be brave,  aware and present.
• Mistakes, shame and public disgrace teach bad leaders how to become good leaders.
• The ideal leader is a “confidently humble” person who is assertive, decisive, supportive and giving.
• The kick will propel the leaders to evolve toward their aha moment. "Great leaders never focus on how successful they can be. Instead, they focus on helping the people they lead become successful."
• There is value in the pain. Ideally it provides growth, development, seasoning, education, drive, and resolve to avoid the source in the future.  
• A leader who won’t learn is a “blockhead” who suffers from self-defeating stubbornness.
• Savvy leaders will accept feedback as well-intentioned, helpful information that encourages them to develop new skills and helps them eliminate or reduce flaws that work against their effectiveness.

Making the Most from Getting Kicked

Unfortunately, as supported by The Leadership Contract, “Organizations…struggle with helping new leaders fully comprehend what it means to lead.”

So, no surprise:

• Most leadership development programs focus on leadership mechanics – “planning, organizing, budgeting, or…management, such as delegating, time management and giving feedback.” In other words, most don’t emphasize people issues. Yet, people are the source of most leadership problems. ​
• Novice leaders get (and deserve) the most butt kicks.
• New leaders can’t imagine the challenges of leadership without experiencing them since, no surprise, they usually aren’t prepared.
• New leaders will often find themselves devastated by even routine leadership issues.

Editor's note: Isn't it ironic the people skills are called "SOFT SKILLS" when the reality is these skills are really HARD?

Let's Conclude And Ask Ourselves Tough Questions:

• Am I playing it “too safe”?
• What tendencies is limiting my positive influence?
• How can I be a more courageous leader?
• Is my organization setting up my LEADers for success?

Posing and answering challenging questions gives every good leader and its organization opportunities to become a great leader.

To set yourself / organization up for LEADERship success have BOTH of these LEADership books in your back pocket! The gems of wisdom shared by Dr. Vince Molinaro and Bill Treasurer will bode well for OUR LEADership journey!

My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

​SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

​I was not surprised by the reaction I had to the precursor to this blog - Purge...ON Purpose! - it seemed to resonate. The United States is unique in many ways - one of which is the sheer amount of crap we hold onto. Beyond the stuff...it does speak to an "opportunity" we all have at managing it all...

In this blog, we'll pick up where we left off and discuss details about HOW to PURGE...ON PURPOSE! I am NOT going to focus on the TANGIBLE items...there are plenty of resources, advice blogs / columns on that already. My focus will be purging the INTANGIBLE items...

The INTANGIBLE items we collect...

Commitments to our time!
Memories!
Experiences!

Remember what happens when we collect too much and CANNOT let go?

Stress
Resentment
Frustration
Disharmony
Depression
Inability to Concentrate
Diminished Mental Processing 
Reduced Productivity

Remember what happens when we CAN let go?

Time!
Freedom!
Space!
Ability to "Roll with It"! 
Improved performance! 
Better Mental State! 
Reduced load! 
Increased Energy!
Reduced stress!
Reduced body waste!
Clearer thinking!
Lighter feeling!
Anti-aging benefits!
Improved sense of well-being!
Ability to concentrate!
Feel more creative!
Sleep better!
Boosted mood!
Focus!

HOW to PURGE...ON PURPOSE!

Disclaimer: I am NOT a licensed psychologist or counselor. I am a career / gift coach among the multiple professional hats I wear. I understand I am treading into dicey waters involving psychology, mental state, and mental outlook. Depending on what you would be best served to PURGE you may consider seeking outside / professional help. Psychologist? Counselor? Coach? Minister? SEE: The Power of a Coach... 

With the disclaimer behind us...how?

You know it! What better way to go through the purging process than by following a proven three-step process - NAME! CLAIM! & AIM! Use this to help you identify what needs purging so you can maximize your own performance / outcomes! 

NAME!

Objective: Identify what you want / need to purge. 

Start with YOUR "WHYering"!

Before naming the items to purge, it's important to identify YOUR "WHYering" - morals and values. What is important to you? What makes you tick? This is important since "how you filter your world" impacts "how you see your world".

Reflective Questions:
As you reflect on your life, when were you feeling most fulfilled? Happy? What were you doing?
What makes you proudest about your life so far?
What are your top three values?
What would your "life slogan" be that reflects your values?
How do these values play in how you lead your life? Do you live them?
How do you own them?
How do you hold yourself accountable to them?
How would your life look if it were aligned with your values? Different than today? How?

SEE: The MOST Important Value?

Next - YOUR Wiring!

Or, another way to put it, "Identify your unique capabilities you consistently deliver without thinking."

Each of us is a thumbprint - we each are different combination of gifts, talents and strengths. No two people are the same - even among identical twins. 

Understanding and having an appreciation for who YOU are is important since you should be AIMing those capabilities in a way that could provide exponential results.

I have a simple equation I like to apply: G X P = S. Translated, it looks like this: GIFTS X PASSION = STRENGTH. For more SEE: 5 Steps to Make Work...Not Work!

Name the Items to Purge! 

The two biggest...

"Time stealers". Saying "I don't have time." sounds as though, somehow, you're a victim of something you can't change or control. You CAN take control of what steals your time. Find out where your time goes. Track your time or look at you calendar and analyze where is your time going.

Negative thoughts. Here are the big ones: Depression; Disappointment; Disharmony; Frustration; Regrets; and Resentment. We all have them. When you encounter them - accept them. Lean in on them. Think about WHY they are. Take some time to do some journaling about what you learned from whatever it is you are processing. Look for the patterns. The lessons.

CLAIM!

Objective: Appreciate the power and opportunities you have to accept responsibility and move on!

Learn. You will start picking up patterns where your focus lies. Listen. Ask for feedback. 

Express pain. It's OK to identify the items needing purging - the short-comings and to express your pain. Pain is personal! There are no two pains alike.  Claim yours. 

Own it. YOU will need to accept responsibility for what needs to be purged. 

Recognize what is NOT meant to be. I always wanted to be a professional athlete. Was a finalist for a kids TV show (years ago). Had my heart broken. Got fired TWICE! When it was all said and done, I licked my wounds and moved on! There are too many opportunities to seep into - SEE water reference below.

Accept you did the best you could. I AM who I AM! YOU are who YOU are! Try your best. If it didn't work - know you did your best.

Make the decision to let "it" be. Not only is this a great song - Beatles - this sentiment will be a healer. 

AIM!

Objective: Intentionally identify specific actions to "purge" and accomplish goals, reach desired outcomes, and better respond to situations that happen every day.

Take a break. Allow yourself five minutes with the thought. Then take a break from focusing on it and move on with your day.

Forgive. It's counter-intuitive. You forgive to let people know you are moving on. You hold no grudge. As long as you do, it will be YOU who will suffer. 

Have a funeral. Saying goodbye is therapeutic! It's OK to feel grief! Honor what you have been holding onto. Yet, you will need to say goodbye and move on.

Stop going back "there." Turn the page. There is a reason the WINSHIELD of our car is so much bigger than our rear-view mirror. We will make more progress looking forward instead of starring at the rear-view mirror.

Focus on your gifts / talents / strengths. The more you can practice focusing on your gifts / talents / strengths and not dwelling on your negative thoughts, the easier it will be to feel positive about yourself and the direction your life is taking.

Live in the present!  Stop thinking about it! Lose track of time (flow). Move toward it rather than away from it (acceptance). Be OK with ambiguity!

Create a “re-do.” Put things in perspective...Change your frame of reference! Use this time to go deep! Determine what's the worst thing that could happen.  Seek a second / third opinion. SEE: Pressing the Reset Button...

Challange. Whenever you have a negative thought, stop and evaluate whether it's accurate. Think about how you would respond if a friend spoke negatively.  You would probably offer a good rebuttal to his or her negative view. Apply the same logic to your own thoughts.

Share. Do NOT keep hurts, disappointments, resentments buried. Share your thoughts / feelings with those in your circle! NAME! CLAIM! and AIM! 

From victim to victor. One of my favorite quotes "Two prisoners stared out the prison bars, one saw mud, the other saw stars. Attitude is everything!" Dale 

Carnegie It's all about perspective. Act in accordance with your morals and values. Use your morals and values to shape how you take action and move forward. Tackle the big ones. What's holding you back? What's causing you the most pain? What items purges - will have the most positive impact on you, your team, and your loved one's? Go for it!

Be like Water. Explore NEW venues! Fill the gaps that exist. Fill the void!

Plan your time! Pull myself away from things you do that aren't the best uses of your time and replace it with the priorities in your life - health, fitness and things of that sort. Ironically, by narrowing your focus and paying attention to the important parts of your life you didn't feel you had permission to focus - your energy level will go up. Your ability to bring the best of what you do to the things important to you is far better than and you will feel you  can take a lot more on, in strange way, by doing less. Do the things you love. This is debatable and may stir a counter or two, yet, wouldn't you rather focus on what you love and delegate the rest?

Meet new opportunities / challenges / people. 

Practice kindness & gratitude instead of rightness. Research shows that feeling grateful has a positive impact on your levels of positivity and happiness.  Even when you are experiencing a challenging time in your life, you can usually find things (even small things) to be grateful.

Give.

Reconnect to spirit. How therapeutic it is to be able purge while "leaning in" on your faith. Chances are it will make the purge less stressful.

My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

​SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

A family tradition we have - especially since the kids have been old enough to remember - is being in Boston, MA for the July 4th holiday. Besides being where I'm from - I LOVE the fact and am prideful THIS IS THE PLACE where the U.S. was born. SEE: Pre "Extreme Vetting" - the FIRST Immigrants...

Yeah - the Declaration written by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second Continental Congress signed in Philly - the cradle of liberty was formed, stirred, rocked and rolled in Boston! 

What Drove the Bostonians' Desire Toward Independence? 

The King of Great Britain, George III, was guilty of 27 abuses. Among the 27, the King: interfered with the colonists' right to self-government; a fair judicial system; instituted legislation that affected the colonies without their consent - taxes on the colonists - required them to Airbnb / feed British soldiers withOUT compensation - removed their right to trial by jury - prevented free trade - refused to protect the borders & American ships at sea - and hired foreign mercenaries to fight against them! Otherwise, it was a great existence!

Ironically, the colonial governments tried to reach a peaceful reconciliation of these differences with Great Britain, but were continually ignored. Colonists who appealed to British citizens were also ignored - despite their shared common heritage and just cause! After many peaceful attempts, the colonists ran out of patience and had no choice but to declare independence from Great Britain.

Fast Forward 240+ Years...

So, no accident and not coincidental the thoughts, motivations, and actions of independence resonate strongly with me. Even during my years of being in corporate - I always felt most comfortable being more independent. Which is why when I left corporate I eventually decided to invest in a business that would allow me to maintain my independence yet "lean in" on a system / process. Yet, as that particular business is only one area of focus it speaks to my basic wiring - the desire for independence. (SEE: Making a Case for Career Polygamy...)

At the start of this blog I included a quote from Friedric Nietzsche - German philosopher, cultural critic, poet, philologist, and Latin and Greek scholar. I like this quote because it identifies that independence is NOT for everyone. Yet, the option of independence - at least here in the awesome country our forefathers struck out to establish in 1776 - is available to all of us. The independence can take many forms:

- Financial
- Emotional
- Intellectual
- Physical

So, what about you? While you think about that...let's see what we can learn from the original Patriots...

Independence Lessons Learned From the ORIGINAL Boston Patriots...

- Ask Questions! They began our nation by declaring the answers to the WWWHW questions, “Who are we?”, “What do we believe?” , "Why do we believe?" "How will we do this?" and "When?" These questions have set the standard for freedom around the world.
- Be bold! There were key ideas to establish this republic - new and earthshaking - in a world of empires and monarchies: 

• All people created equal.
• Unalienable rights (include: life, liberty, pursuit of happiness).
• Governments are instituted by deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
• Right of the people to alter or abolish government.
• The United Colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states.
• The new government reserved the right to levy war, make peace, make alliances with foreign nations, conduct trade, and do anything else that nations do.

- Committed to the idea independence was worth the risk AND fight!
- Created a series of steps that got them where they wanted to go!
- Always kept moving forward!
- Diversified their resources to achieve the objective!
- Established and maintained strong alliances!
- Managed risks!
- Did something!

Benefits of Independence

1 – Confidence.

Independent people naturally tend to be a little more confident on handling issues affecting their lives. They are more prepared to take actions and do things without having to wait for support or permission from someone else. Being independent means you will be more likely to try new things you want, rather than what or how you're expected. Also, you'll have more experience than someone less independent. This, in time, will build up more confidence in you with the knowledge you can do things on your own.

For entrepreneurs, this confidence opens your mind to take bigger risks and uncharted paths that eventually return bigger rewards. 

2 – Less dependence.

Less independent individuals tend to rely more on others. They choose not to want to have to make choices for themselves. Some lack the knowledge or the  confidence to go through challenges in their life without somebody by their side. Being more independent will be appreciated by others. They will be willing to come to you for help. Being needed or relied on is what some independent types desire and this will add some value to you and make you feel confident.

3 – Emotional well-being.

Reduced stress and increased happiness. Being emotionally dependent means you can make the most of your personal decisions and go through challenging life situations without dragging other people along. More emotional independence can also mean less suffering and disappointment, since you do not depend on others to meet your emotional needs. It's important to understand social support is necessary and you can still get it without necessarily being emotionally dependent.

4 – Freedom and a sense of accomplishment.

When it comes to personal independence, there is no satisfaction comparable to the ability to forge and pay your own way. Being able to forge and pay your way through life reduces dependence on your parents, friends, spouse or whomever person you used to lean on. Independence means you control your income and expenditure and are not answerable to anyone.

5 – Better decision making.

Being independent makes decision making an easier task since you have proven to yourself you are the only person who will be really affected by the decisions you make. On the other hand, being dependent on other people for emotional or financial support makes it difficult to make clear and appropriate decisions since you will have to stop to think about how the other person will be affected, and how they will react to your decisions. Don't get me wrong, it's good to consider other people while making decisions, yet, independent folks are not scared to make choices in fear of upsetting others. SEE: Smarter Choices...ON PURPOSE!
 
6 – Personal improvement and creativity.

The idea of setting independence as a goal can greatly boost numerous aspects of your life. Emotional independence for example improves your personal relations with friends, family, work mates and other people you interact. You are more in control of your emotions. Having a free and independent mind gives you freedom to explore your gifts, talents and strengths and will ultimately enable you to bring out your best.

7 – Broader horizons.

To be more independent means being prepared and free to meet new people and try new things. This means you will develop a broader sense of the world and be open to people and new opportunities which leads to more knowledge and understanding of the world. It's here where opportunities for success and adventure can be found. Less independent individuals are less likely to have such opportunities. For the successful "intrapreneurs" (the entrepreneurially-minded corporate employees) and entrepreneurs, this is what sets them apart.

8 – Self-value and self-esteem.

Earlier, we spoke about the "boost of confidence" independence can provide. It can also help increase your self-value and self-esteem, more so if becoming independent is one of your goals. The achievement of financial, emotional, social, career and personal independence gives you a sense of accomplishment. It will change how you rate yourself and how others view you.

9 - Ability to help others. 

It's not bad to need help. Everyone needs it at some point. With independence comes the ability to care for yourself and help other people with your gifts, talents and strengths. People learn to trust you as a beneficial resource and look to you for assistance.

10 - Enhanced reputation among friends and colleagues. 

When you prove you are independent, other people view you positively as a contributor to society rather than a dependent. Today, reputation determines how far you go. Independence creates a powerful reputation.

11 - Social independence and dexterity. 

The world we live in is social both in face-to-face situations and online. Sociability is essential to being human, and being independent provides you with the ability to maneuver in society. This enables friendships, networking, and collaboration.

12 - Physically capable of caring for yourself and others. 

Despite disabilities, the more physically able you make yourself, the better you are able to deal with situations in your environment.

13 - Positioned to be an innovator with independent thought. 

Regardless of your occupation or workplace, innovation is a valuable commodity, and independent creativity makes you a powerful asset to your employer or to your own business.

14 - Makes you mobile.

This means you're able to act freely, move and operate as you see fit. You're not bound to your current circumstances and can alter your future for the better.

15 - Sets you up for further progress and self-sufficiency. 

Since you rely on yourself, you're able to keep up with life's evolution. You can accomplish anything you want and you possess the means for infinite progress. Rather than falling behind with every evolution you're able to stay ahead of the changes and adapt as needed.

Happy INDEPENDENCE Day!

My best to your quest!

Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

​SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

If you're like me, you may have a tendency to collect things. We as society collect things. Lots of things - the tangible and intangible. 

If you're also like me, you don't realize how much "stuff" we accumulate and, as a result, if we are not careful, we will begin to experience negative side effects and outcomes.  

This blog will address the WHAT, WHY, SIDE EFFECTS and BENEFITS to PURGE...ON PURPOSE! In a follow up blog we will discuss details about HOW to PURGE...ON PURPOSE!

The process of purging can be a physical and emotional strain. Many of us do not have a disciplined approach to the purging process. Usually it's something we don't do enough. Many wait months or years.

The TANGIBLE Stuff...

Let's first consider these stats for the PHYSICAL stuff and what clutter and physical chaos in our life is costing us and also consider whether the value of becoming more organized is worth our time and effort!

• There are 300,000 items in the average American home. (LA Times)
• Americans spend $1.2 trillion annually on nonessential goods — in other words, items we don't need. (The Wall Street Journal)
• 80% of what we keep we never use. (National Association of Professional Organizers - NAPO)
• We wear 20% of the clothes we own 80% of the time. The rest hangs there, just in case. (NAPO)
• The demand for self storage doubled from 1994 to 2004. (Self Storage Association - SSA)
• 1 out of every 10 Americans rent offsite storage—the fastest growing segment of the commercial real estate industry over the past four decades. (New York Times and SSA)
• The U.S. has ~50,000 storage facilities, more than five times the number of Starbucks. (New York Times and SSA)
• 80% of the papers we file, we never refer to again. (Small Business Administration)
• People waste six weeks annually searching for important documents lost in among the clutter. (Wall Street Journal)
• Over the course of our lifetime, we will spend a total of 3,680 hours or 153 days searching for misplaced items.The research found we lose up to nine items every day — or 198,743 in a lifetime. Phones, keys, sunglasses, and paperwork top the list (The Daily Mail).
• 23% of adults pay bills late and incur late fees because they can’t find their bills. (Harris Interactive)
• We consume twice as many material goods today as we did 50 years ago. (The Story of Stuff)
• The average 10-year-old owns 238 toys but plays with just 12 daily. (The Telegraph)
• 3.1% of the world’s children live in America, but they own 40% of the toys consumed globally. (UCLA)
• American women own 30 outfits—one for every day of the month. In 1930, that figure was nine. (Forbes)
• Americans spend more on shoes, jewelry, and watches ($100 billion) than on higher education. (Psychology Today)
• Shopping malls outnumber high schools. And 93% of teenage girls rank shopping as their favorite pastime. (Affluenza)
• Women spend more than eight years of their lives shopping. (The Daily Mail)

So What Do We Collect?

• Stuff
• Data

Numerous articles talk about how unhealthy it is to be attached to possessions. When we find ourselves wrapped up in the things we have we also find ourselves suffering a great deal when these possessions are lost. If I lose everything, I want to be able to pick myself up and keep it moving.

Why Do We Collect?

A study - “Truly, Madly, Deeply: Consumers in the Throes of Material Possession Love” - says loneliness is to blame. Material possession love, as they define it, involves an attachment that incorporates passion, intimacy, and commitment. When marriages don’t have all three of those - someone will seek other outlets. 

The INTANGIBLE Stuff...
Truth be told what's really debilitating is the stuff we collect that is not physical. It's the emotional stuff that can really bog us down and much like the garage, basement, closets and attic it can become over whelming. It includes: negative thoughts, resentment, and inability to "let go" of the past - that may include bad choices,  the perception whether real or imagined of wrongs done  to us.

Consider the data points from the National Institute for Mental Health and others:

• ~1 in 5 adults in the U.S. — 43.8 million, or 18.5% — experiences mental illness in a given year. 
• ~1 in 25 adults in the U.S. — 9.8 million, or 4.0% — experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities. 
• ~1 in 5 youth aged 13–18 (21.4%) experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life. For children aged 8–15, the estimate is 13%.
• 1.1% of adults in the U.S. live with schizophrenia.
• 2.6% of adults in the U.S. live with bipolar disorder.
• 6.9% of adults in the U.S. — 16 million — had at least one major depressive episode in the past year.
• 18.1% of adults in the U.S. experienced an anxiety disorder such as post traumatic stress disorder, obsessive -compulsive disorder and specific phobias.
• Among the 20.2 million adults in the U.S. who experienced a substance use disorder, 50.5% — 10.2 million adults — had a co-occurring mental illness.​
• Serious mental illness costs America $193.2 billion in lost earnings per year. (The American Journal of Psychiatry)
• Mood disorders, including major depression, dysthymic (mild but long-term form of depression) and bipolar disorder, are the third most common cause of hospitalization in the U.S. for both youth and adults aged 18–44. (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, The Department of Health & Human Services.)
• Individuals living with serious mental illness face an increased risk of having chronic medical conditions.17 Adults in the U.S. living with serious mental illness die on average 25 years earlier than others, largely due to treatable medical conditions. (National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Council)
• Over one-third (37%) of students with a mental health condition age 14­–21 and older who are served by special education drop out — the highest dropout rate of any disability group. (U.S. Department of Education)
• Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S.,20 the 3rd leading cause of death for people aged 10–1421 and the 2nd leading cause of death for people aged 15–24. (Center for Disease Control)
• More than 90% of children who die by suicide have a mental health condition. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
• Each day an estimated 18-22 veterans die by suicide. (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs)

Impacts in the Workplace

At the core, the negative impacts of not purging at work are dramatic. Some of these were highlighted in the previous blog -  Conflict...ON Purpose!

What Happens When We Collect Too Much and Can't Let Go?

Stress - Living a life surrounded by the tangible AND intangible clutter is not a step toward balance it's a step toward stress. Your living environment can cause some serious strain on you emotionally.  For me, I get to a place where I feel stuck. My productivity falls off and the clutter just keeps building. When I feel that way, I know that getting rid of some things can only cause me relief. 

Resentment - The longer I experience stress and do NOT deal with it - i.e. PURGE - the resentment builds. Think of a pot of water that comes to a boil...it does not happen immediately but the longer heat is applied the water WILL come to a boil. Resentment is kind of like that.

Frustration - I need releases. If not frustration builds. - which is why I usually work out 5-6 days a week, meditate and pray daily, listen to faith-based sermons, inspirational talks and usually positive radio / TV programming.

Disharmony - if you are in a relationship, have a family, or are part of a team...this cluttered life will invariably cause disharmony. 

Depression - prolonged periods of the stress, frustration and disharmony will eventually lead to depression.

Inability to Concentrate - Our brains simply get overstimulated and cannot put energy into processing the clutter along with completing complicated mental tasks.

Diminished Mental Processing - this is like a domino effect...stress, disharmony reduced ability to process information.
 
Reduced Productivity - need I say more...

Benefits of Purging:

Freedom! You will feel free! As a matter of fact, getting rid of the PHYSICAL clutter would eliminate 40% of the housework in the average home. (National Soap & Detergent Association) Systematically getting rid of the EMOTIONAL clutter would be PRICELESS!

Space! Allow the space (virtual or physical) for something new and great to come into your life. In essence, purging can help you discover the REAL you.

Ability to "Roll with It"! Like water off the back of a duck as the tangible / intangible things threaten to clutter your life you will find it usually will not! You have momentum to keep it in check.

Improved performance! Mentally and physically you will feel alert / engaged / liberated / energetic. 

Better Mental State!  The quality of our relationships, our positive emotions, resilience, satisfaction with life, or the realization of our potential will be enormous!

Reduced load! The ability to deal with the PHYSICAL clutter will help save you time and money especially when it comes time to move - which ~13% of the U.S. population does EACH year! (U.S. Postal Service) The ability to deal with the EMOTIONAL clutter will be as if a weight has been lifted! You and I will be able to not only move on BUT thrive!

Teachable moment! How we handle our clutter is great to be able to demonstrate to our loved ones and those we work. We will be able to demonstrate the value of "things". If they have their own clutter - like "toys" they haven’t played with in years - this is a great time to show them how you purge. How you handle clutter could be a defining factor to a child and team's development.

Other Related Positive Outcomes:

• Increased energy
• Reduced stress rids the body of waste
• Clearer thinking
• Lighter feeling
• Anti-aging benefits
• Improved sense of wellbeing
• Able to concentrate
• Feel more creative
• Sound sleep
• Positive mood
• Focus more clearly on your goals!

Bottom line: by doing the PURGE...ON PURPOSE and holding onto LESS is an invitation to freedom, intentionality, and passion. It can be discovered at your nearest drop-off center, counseling center, workout facility, mediation center, church, mosque or synagogue. Purge away (clothes, excess, baggage, problems and people) and welcome in the new!

Look out for a follow up blog when we will discuss details about HOW to PURGE...ON PURPOSE!

My best to your quest!
​
Mark
​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum performance.

​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

​SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!