MonkeyBusyness

An oft made mistake of leaders is to saddle ourselves with the "monkeys" of others.  This is the process of taking on the problems (and the commensurate solution crafting) that truly and best belong to those in the organization closest to the problem source.  

The negative effects of engaging in Monkey Busyness (not "business") are threefold:

• It distracts us from the real focus of our work - the vision - and gets us mired in details that rightly belong to those on the front lines of the work.
• It sends the wrongful message to others that we either have not empowered them to tackle the problems, or that we don't feel them capable of tackling the problems.
• It sends the wrongful message that accountability can be offloaded.

Monkey Busyness is both a time and energy drain.  In meaningful work, we all have plenty of monkeys of our own.

Baseline

A baseline is the starting point for making comparisons.  It can also be thought of as the minimum requirement for moving forward.

TRUST is the baseline for meaningful and fulfilling human interaction.  Without a baseline of trust, either or both parties withhold, hedge, shield, and evade.  Substantive accomplishment cannot fluidly ensue when those factors are in play.

What are some things that foster trust?

• Do what we say we will do.
• Listen intently when others speak.
• Express empathy, often and many ways.
• Be truly interested in the "stories" of others.
• Serve - relentlessly, without expectation of return.
• Seek always the collective good over the personal.

No price tag is attached to anything on that list.

We can start today.

SlowSpreadSink

Moe (my lovely bride of 39 years) and I have become students of an ontological approach called "permaculture."  In short, it's a way of living and interacting based on three foundational principles:  1) Care of people, 2) Care of the Earth, and 3) Return of surplus.

One of the fundamentals of permaculture thinking is the management of water, the medium that makes life and the exchange of life supporting nutrients possible.  Managing water is centered on a triadic strategy of slowing water flow down, spreading it over a wide surface area, and sinking it slowly into the ground.  The effect is a rehydration of soil, which promotes the energetic propagation of a diverse and robust ecosystem.  Health and abundance follow.

In thinking about organizations, it seems to me the same principle of slowing, spreading, and sinking of the fundamental life-sustaining medium works in this realm as well.  What would that life-sustaining medium be in an organization, you ask?  I believe it to be LEARNING (both individual and collective).  Health and abundance will follow.

Something to think about.

Justified

From my upbringing in the Christian faith I remember a frequently espoused layman's definition of the word "justified."  Here it is:  Justified means "it's just as if I'd never done..."  The proponents of that definition used it to describe the concept of grace, the fact that God would be willing to overlook our transgressions if we were appropriately remorseful.  It was sort of like getting a (mostly undeserved) free pass.

We often claim to be "justified" in our daily interactions, faith not withstanding.  We frequently us the word "justified" to defend our behaviors/thinking along these lines:  revenge, recrimination, hurtful language, retribution, reprisals, and retaliation.  We like to "cleanse" these nefarious acts and ways of thinking by claiming we have some justification for engaging therein.

Are we really justified for such?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  I'm not sure.  

BUT (there's always a "but"), does our engaging in those acts make us or the situation or the future any better?  Almost never.  

We get to choose.

TheGirlOnTheTrain

I recently read The Girl on the Train, a novel by Paula Hawkins (2015). 

The story is that of the intertwined lives of three women and two men.  The tale weaves a tapestry of the messiness of life, including love, infidelity, chemical dependency, deceit, the need for family, murder, revenge, and more.  

Set in the United Kingdom, the entire story unfolds within a single neighborhood, with much of the narrative provided from the perspective of one of the women, who daily rides the commuter train just out the backdoor of the houses.  

A great story, which provided some twists I was not expecting. 

Empowered

Some leaders, teachers, and parents mentor others through the process of empowerment.

Here are some words associated with empowerment:  
Entrust          Grant          Commission          
          Invest          License          Sanction          
                    Warrant          Delegate          Legitimize

A different kind of leader, teacher, and parent marshals the learning of their mentees by disempowering them.  

Words that describe this methodology include:
Deny              Refuse             Disenfranchise
          Disallow          Revoke              Withhold
                          Veto            Reject           Disapprove                

Who ya wanna work with?  Who ya wanna be?          

LieRepellant

Leaders hear a disproportionate number of lies.  More often than not, it's because they have created the conditions by which being lied to is advantageous to the liar.

Sometimes leaders have oversized egos that feed on bogus flattery.  Thus, the lies.  Sometimes leaders use their power to punish those who speak inconvenient or painful truth.  Thus, the lies.  Sometimes leaders so desperately want to hear only good news, or never hear bad news, that "rewards" flow toward those who fashion their reporting accordingly.  Thus, the lies.  Sometimes leaders build false and impregnable images of themselves, which require persistent fortification.  Thus, the lies.

The wisest leaders I know engage in two practices that mitigate the need for lies:  Transparency and Vulnerability.  They actively seek truth from all quarters, and they make it safe for truth speakers to report freely.  

Oddly, the lies create an illusion of prosperity and sustainability while the (often painful) truth arms us with the needed information to correct wrongs and perpetuate right thinking/practices/behavior.  

Like so many other elements of leadership, this paradox is best deciphered by those who are unafraid to LISTEN and LEARN.