About Me

My photo
Welcome to nc’s blog. Read, comment, interact, engage. Let’s learn together - recursively.

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

SoWhatSuccess

What will it matter?

Most individuals and organizations long to be successful, to prosper. 

In particular, organizations go to great lengths to enhance their chances of success. They engage in market studies, strategic planning, infrastructure embellishments, targeted recruiting, investment in development processes, etc., etc. 

Some folks partake in similar success-oriented efforts at the individual level.

At the end of the day, we are wise to ask the following question: What will it matter if we're successful?

Will we be better people? Or organizations? Will the lives of others have been enhanced or improved? Will the world be a better place as result of our success? Does/Will our success have any eternal significance?

Purpose matters. Perhaps it's the only thing that matters.

Monday, May 27, 2024

(r)Evolution

Evolution implies change. Almost always that change culminates in a more complex state.

Evolution happens to us individually, physically, cognitively, and spiritually.  (Take a look at pictures of yourself over time if you need proof.) Evolution also occurs in social systems and organizations.

Change truly IS the constant.

Revolution is typically promulgated by those who are not satisfied with either the direction of the change(s) or the speed at which those changes are occurring. Revolution is almost always disruptive in nature. Revolutionaries push/force us to choose, rather than just drift.

An important distinction is worth noting: Sometimes, revolutionaries push for better systems, processes, and outcomes for ALL. Other kinds of revolutionaries seem "in it" only for themselves and their kin.

CHANGE is coming, inevitably. Because of our technological connectivity, time and place are continually diminishing in relevance as we observe and participate in the r/evolution.

How about we choose betterness for ALL (since the change is happening, anyway).

Sunday, May 19, 2024

AssumpXploration

Being stuck is a common experience. We get stuck as individuals, and we get stuck as organizations.

Getting unstuck is tricky business because it requires...

  • Careful examination of how we got stuck in the first place (aka Reflection)
  • Honest assessment of any assumptions that might have landed us in stuckedness
  • Willingness to clarify direction and next steps out of stuckedness
  • Forecasting opportunities and challenges to those next steps

Who has time for all that!?! 

Many choose the perceived less painful path of simply remaining stuck. Others, however, choose the journey toward improvement and betterness.

Key to this process is the part about honestly assessing assumptions. Carefully exploring what assumptions got us in this mess -- or are keeping us in this state of stuckedness -- are critical in finding our way out of it. 

Assumpxploration is key to getting unstuck.

Wednesday, May 15, 2024

BetterBitter

Some folks I know work intentionally, daily, relentlessly to get BETTER. Almost everyone I know that fits that description does so through a disciplined, continual LEARNING journey. They seem dedicated to making themselves better, in the interest of making our world better.

I know a few folks who seem equally dedicated to being BITTER. You likely know them, too, so I won't go into details of what that looks/feels/sounds like. 

I've noticed that BETTER attracts BETTER. Likewise, BITTER seems to attract BITTER.

Today, I think I'll choose BETTER. (Come on in, the water's fine.........BETTER, actually.)


Sunday, May 12, 2024

ProgressionAilments

Most organizations exist to accomplish something important. Most people who work in organizations want their organization to succeed (even if it's for purely selfish purposes).

Two debilitating ailments commonly compromise organizational progress: Complacency and Inertia.

Complacency is the product of being satisfied with the current state. Organizations that fall "ill" in this regard lose (or never had) a focus on continuous improvement. We -- the leaders -- can do something about that.

Inertia frequently results when fear of change sets in. When doing nothing seems safer than doing something, we move into an organizational death spiral. We -- the leaders -- can do something about that.

While there are a lot of moving parts to the something(s) that we -- the leaders -- can do, the first and foremost is to communicate with absolute clarity the noble and worthy outcomes we seek as a team. 


Wednesday, May 8, 2024

FIX(h)ATED

The wisest leaders I know resist the temptation to "fix" other folks. They understand each of us has predispositions and natural skills, the domains in which we work most comfortably.

Those wise leaders seek and find ways to put us in roles that are a good match for our "talents," and they work just as mightily to NOT give us responsibilities for which we are destined to fail due to that misalignment.

Our individual success, 

     the success of our organization, and thus, 

          the success of the leadership 

is optimized by effective skills-matching in that regard.

Those wise leaders also expect -- demand -- that each of us continually learn, improve, grow, get better. Complacency is not a skill, but rather, it's a condition wise leaders do not abide (for all the right reasons).

Monday, May 6, 2024

Obitu-Leader

Volumes have been written about what does and doesn't make a good leader. To be sure, there are many moving parts to being an effective leader. And, constantly changing contexts do nothing but make the challenges more ominous.

Nothing inhibits our ability to lead effectively more than when we begin to let "getting stuff done" become more important than learning. 

When we stop growing -- stop LEARNING -- we have begun writing our own leadership obituaries.

Yeppers; it's a choice we make. Daily.