Story:
The Power of Authentic Leadership: Creating an Agile, High Performance Team Flourishing in a Low-Stess Environment.

The Challenges

1)--In today’s uber-competitive, rapidly morphing markets, leaders have many and varied responsibilities, but there is one that trumps all the others: it is to protect the organization’s “primary earning assets” that walk out of the building every night.  It is the leaders’ job to have those people enthusiastically walk back in the next morning.

Research by Gallup shows that employees don’t leave organizations, they leave bosses!  When the employees are counting down to Friday, they are disengaged.  Their research indicates that today over 60% of the employees are Disengaged and another 15% are totally Unengaged. 

This suggests that one of the most serious challenges facing Senior Leaders today is “how do we develop leaders who create cultures populated with engaged employees who enthusiastically walk into the building each morning?”

2)  In our practice as Executive Leadership Coaches, we consistently encounter a common organizational distress that transcends the size of the organization or its markets or its industry.  This distress appears to be universal in response to three imperatives imposed by the 21^st Century Global Economy.  To prosper, a business must 1) Evolve at the velocity of change, which is continuing to accelerate, 2) Consistently exceed the client’s expectations for off-the-shelf delivery of customized products or services, and 3) Create enduring relationships across companies, countries and cultures.

The executives leading these teams want more creativity, innovation and productivity for the team and less chaos, stress and overwhelm among the team’s members.  Each leadership team desires their version of the same goal:

“An Agile, High Performance Team flourishing in a low-stress environment where everyone enjoys a fulfilling live adventure of their own design.”

Our conventional wisdom regards high stress executive leadership as indigenous to a high performance organization.  This belief is understandable when witnessing the ever accelerating rate of change brought on by the game changing disruptive technologies arising throughout the world.  However, this is, literally, a destructive, unhealthy myth.

Stress is large factor in all of the preventable, “life style,” diseases such as obesity, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and the more popular forms of cancer (breast, prostate and colon).  Economically and morally, it makes no sense to tolerate a high stress working environment.  Everyone deserves a “low stress, fulfilling life adventure of our own design.”  It is a birthright for everyone to create a life that is truly their own and then own it.

The Solutions

Authentic Leadership is consciously and intentionally designed -- and evolving -- to meet these two specific challenges.  “An Agile, High Performance Team flourishing in a low-stress environment” is a proven concept; it exists!  The Authentic Leadership Principles making it possible evolved over last 30 years.  It has been the focus of my life’s work.

The Authentic Leadership Model is currently documented in a large collection of Coaching Handouts (one to three pages) used to deepen the learning and advance the action in relevant coaching conversations.  The coaching agenda is controlled by the client, so the sequence in which specific Coaching Handout becomes the focus of discussion depends on what is important to the client at that moment.  (Six of the Conceptual Foundation Documents are included in the Materials Section in one PDF Document and nine of the Operating Guides are included in the second PDF Document.)

In practice, each Coaching Handout becomes the focus of intense, provocative coaching discussions.  The clients are at choice as what part of each concept to embrace or discard.  The “Authentic” in Authentic Leadership refers to the fact that all Authentic Leaders have their own unique style and are guided by their unique constellation of values, vision, purpose and priorities.  The following material is excerpted from these Coaching Handouts: 

Excerpted from ALD 408 The Organization and The Environment:

We embrace the wisdom of R. Buckminster Fuller to shift management’s obsolete models:

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."

Today’s successful organization is not the “well-oiled machine,” of the past.  It is a “living, breathing evolving organism!”  Today’s successful organization is a healthy organism with sensitive feedback circuits that make it aware of changes in its environment, or more precisely, its “Ecosystem.”  The organizational organism must adapt to its changing Ecosystem or perish.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin

The Organization as a Living Organism:

Every organization is nothing more than a mental construct.  Thirty years ago, it was a firm, if not rigid, construct.  However, in today’s rapidly changing environment, it must be a “living, evolving construct.”  While it may be very adaptable and resilient, it is vulnerable to disease when in an unhealthy environment.

An organizational organism is a fragile idea to which people are drawn - and their resources committed - in pursuit of their common Vision, Values, Purpose and Priorities.  An organization can be no more than the sum of the focused enthusiasm of the people drawn to it.  Without the conscious and intentional discretionary energy of the people, all their talents and other resources are, at best, underutilized if not steadily decaying to a quiescent state.

The success of any organization lies more in the culture derived from its shared Vision and Values then in its business strategy, more in its enthusiastic commitment to its Purpose and Priorities than its technical expertise and management competence, important as these may be.

When people believe what they are doing is important, they easily focus on their tasks with enthusiasm and persistence; they have the passion of ownership.  The operative idea is belief.  The Essence of Leadership is the ability to gain Buy-in to the leaders’ Vision, Values, Purpose and Priorities.  Without gaining Buy-in, the leaders’ only alternative is the blunt instrument of coercion.

When management fails to gain Buy-in and chooses to use coercion, resentment and revenge arise.  This condition is expressed as Distrust, Dissonance, and Disengagement – A virulent “3D Virus.”  Once it gets started, it can be tenacious and difficult to eradicate.  It saps the focused enthusiasm and the discretionary energy of the organism.

Like all living organisms, the organizational organism must always be in harmony with its ever-evolving ecosystem if it is to flourish.  When in harmony, the organism receives vital nutrients such as new ideas, opportunities, etc.  All healthy organisms have feedback loops, sensitive circuits, which guide the organism’s response to changes in the ecosystem. 

However, when an organizational organism is infected with the “3D Virus,” the feedback loops shut down, then atrophy, and eventually, die.  A 3D Virus infection makes the organism unresponsive to changes in its environment; it responds inadequately to change required to meet the expectations of its customers, suppliers, community and other stake holders.  If the virus infection is not controlled, it will be fatal!

The 3D Virus is extremely virulent.  Even a modest 3D Virus infection will easily defeat management’s best designed and most enthusiastically pursued Strategic Plan.

A company -- an organizational organism -- does not die from competition!  If you will look closely, you will discover that the corpse was ravaged by the 3D Virus.  It dies when the employees’ experience so much distrust that they no longer believe in the leader’s Vision, Values, Purpose and Priorities.  It dies when the employees become dissonant and disengaged.  (The Gallup Company reports that up 65% of a typical organization’s employees are disengaged!)

The best employees “fire the boss” and move on.  This provides advancement opportunities for the less competent employees who willingly endure the negativity of distrust, dissonance and disengagement for a pay check.  Often an organization dies many years before anyone recognizes it is dead and someone provides a proper burial.

Excerpted from ALD 404 The Journey of the Authentic Leader.

The Leader vs. The Manager:

The assumption is often made that those in management positions are (automatically) leaders.  There is a world of difference between being a manager and being a leader.  Many managers are not good leaders.  Many of the most effective leaders in an organization are not managers; they are not even in positions of formal authority.

Managers are “created” from above.  A manager is a manager by virtue of the authority vested in the manager’s position from above.  The manager’s authority is extrinsic to the manager.  The manager’s power comes from outside the person.

Leaders are “created” from within and below.  A leader is a leader by virtue of the authority vested in that person by those who choose to follow.  The leader’s authority is intrinsic to the leader; the leader’s authority has more to do with “Being” than “Doing.”  The leader’s power comes from inside the person.  (Authority is external, Power is internal.)

The Authentic Leader:

Authentic Leaders are transparent, curious, and vulnerable.  They also possess a Beginner’s Mind.  They have no facades; what you see is what you get.  ALL they can ever offer those they lead is who they authentically are, nothing more, nothing less.  They are neither superior nor inferior to their followers.

Authentic leaders show up with humility and quiet self confidence.  For example, when asked a question, they can easily say “I don’t know.  What do you think?” when they don’t know the answer.  Or, when reviewing one of their unsuccessful projects, they can say “That sure didn’t work.  Can you help me?  What do you think we should try next?” 

Three attributes define the Authentic Leadership.  First, the Mastering the Art of Authentic Leadership is a life-long journey, not a destination.  The effectiveness of all leaders dissolves the instant they think they have “arrived.”

Second, Authentic Leadership emanates more from the heart and less from the head, more from intuition and feeling, and less from logic and thinking.  Yes, logical, analytical problem solving skills are necessary, but they are NOT sufficient if Authentic Leaders are to be successful at their most important Key Responsibility. 

Third, Authentic Leaders must create “HOT” Relationships with those they wish to lead if they are to successful fulfill their most important Key Responsibility.  (“HOT” Relationships are relationships grounded in Honesty, Openness and Trust.  This concept is developed in the “HOT” Relationships Coaching Handout.) 

The Core Essence of the Authentic Leader:

Authentic Leadership is grounded in our relationship with ourself.  We work in harmony with our Internal Team and learn from our self talk.  Our relationship with ourself is the keystone of the arch that encompasses every relationship in our life.  It is the quality of our relationship with ourself that determines the quality of ALL the relationships in our life.  It is this relationship on which we focus when we create a low stress, fulfilling life adventure of our own design.

In all circumstances, Authentic Leaders treat themselves with loving kindness and gentle good humor.  Criticism, especially self-criticism, never improved behavior or performance.  They look for lessons, not mistakes and they regard all failures as valuable research.

Authentic Leaders live by two self-evident truths: 1) all leadership is example, anything else is coercion and 2) moment-by moment, we are choosing to create either Resonance or Dissonance in all of our human encounters.  (This concept is expanded in the “A Simple Model” Coaching Handout.)

People willingly follow a leader because they see their leader as an authentic, vulnerable human being; complete but not perfect, knowledgeable, but not all-knowing, and most importantly, caring without being weak or smothering.  (“I must know how much you care before I care about how much you know!”)

The essence of leadership is the ability to gain Buy-in to the leader’s values, vision, priorities and purpose.  Without gaining Buy-in, the leader’s only alternative is the blunt instrument of coercion which is not an effective leadership tool. 

Excerpted from ALD 410 A Very Simple Model

Introduction:

Many, many years ago, the Dean of American Management Theory and Practice, Peter Drucker stated:

“The Purpose of Business is to create and keep a Customer.”

Peter Drucker goes on to make the case that a focus on profits is harmful.*  Of course, profits are essential.  However, they are the result of focusing on what is truly important.  With the exception of the rare monopoly situation, all sound businesses have adequate access to physical resources and financial capital. 

The only thing that distinguishes the highly successful business from all the others is the leaders’ ability to create and hold a customer.  That ability is directly proportional to the leaders’ ability to attract and hold enthusiastically engaged, creative and innovative talent: highly productive “human capital.”  (High quality human capital attracts high quality financial capital, not the other way around.)  Success is proportional to the human capital competitive advantage!

Peter Drucker’s simple, direct focus on what is truly important for business success is the Geneses of Authentic Leadership.  The simple elegance of this model is the marriage of two self-evident truths:

• All leadership is example, anything else is coercion.

All effective executives authentically “walk their talk.”  This is the only way to create enthusiastic, emotionally loyal and engaged followers.  Competent people with a strong self-concept will not be coerced; they’ll just leave.

• Moment-by-moment, we are choosing to create either Resonance or Dissonance in all of our human encounters, even if we disagree.

The reality of both our personal life and our professional life is this: our joy, success and happiness are limited only by the quality of our relationships.   Authentic Leaders choose to create Resonant Relationships, not Dissonant Relationships.  They disagree without being disagreeable.

Excerpted from ALD 414 “A Low-Stress, Fulfilling Life Adventure of Our Own Design”

Our prosperity, health and happiness require us to discover new ways of dealing with the rapidly changing 21^st Century Global Economy, its mercurial markets, disruptive technologies and sudden economic threats.  Regardless of our business or profession, this unrelenting rapid change imposes varying degrees of anger, frustration, isolation and overwhelm upon our lives, both personal and professional.  Anxiety abounds!  Not only is the velocity of change accelerating, it has no known terminal velocity! 

It is easy to understand how the ever-increasing chaos may cause us to grasp for control and security, abandoning our opportunity to create “a low-stress, fulfilling life adventure of our own design.”  However, consider this alternative view:

"Security is mostly a superstition.  It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.  Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.  Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing."  ---  Helen Keller

In 1970, Alvin Toffler’s book, Future Shock, was the first to point out that the velocity of change was accelerating and discuss the implications.  He accurately predicted what has transpired since then.  At that time, it became my life’s work to assist people (and their organizations) in learning to use the energy of change to their benefit.  The Authentic Leadership model evolved from this clear purpose.  These concepts apply universally to both our personal and our professional lives.  They provide guidance in our pursuit of happiness and meaning in our life.

I know of no greater privilege and responsibility than for each of us to create a “low stress, fulfilling life adventure of our own design.”  In our pursuit of this creation, we quickly crash into the fact: “We are all Leaders, all of the time!”  Our life is an example for everyone whose life we touch; “All leadership is example, anything else is coercion.”  Our emotions are contagious; we create either Resonance or Dissonance in all relationships, personal and professional.  This includes family, friends, bosses, colleagues, other employees, suppliers, customers, and the general community. 

Year by year, we are increasingly buried in information, choices and challenges, all demanding more time, energy and attention.  Our natural, intuitive response is to run faster, do more and eliminate anything that is not focused on an immediate task in order to get everything done that must be done NOW!  Yes, a “do more, faster” strategy may work for a while, but it ultimately ends in disaster!  At the best, the “human being” becomes only a “human doing,” a carbon computer: a multi-tasking “Bot,” sans awareness.  At worst, it destroys the individual’s health and happiness.

“Nobody, as long as he moves among the chaotic currents of life, is without trouble”. -- Carl Jung

The wisdom of both Jung and Maslow suggests that the only way to deal with the ever-accelerating rate of change is to slow down!  We must slow down so we can focus on just two things: Clarity and Equilibrium.  Only from this solid foundation can we create a “low-stress, fulfilling, life adventure of our own design.”  Let’s examine each concept individually:

Clarity:

Clarity is knowing what is truly important to us; what it is we value.  Most simply stated: “it is knowing what makes our life worth living.”  Clarity is also being decisive and courageous about whom and what to jettison from our life so we have room for the relationships and experiences that bring fulfillment to our life adventure.  This is a singular act of courage:

“To find in ourselves what makes life worth living is risky business, for it means that once we know, we must seek it.  It also means that without it, life is valueless.”  ---   Marsha Sientar

To become clear as to our values requires a journey into our inner space.  To coin a phrase, “to boldly go where no man has gone before!”  It requires honesty in recognizing values we once adopted because of someone else’s expectations, and replacing them with values we choose because they are integral to our Being and Purpose.  We don’t just value one thing; we each have a vast array of values.  It is just as important to be clear about our priorities within our value array as it is to be clear about the values that populate it.  We evolve only to the extent we are clear about our values and their relative priorities in the life we wish to live!  Socrates figured it out 2400 years ago:

“An unexamined life is not worth living.”

Nature is both relentless and unforgiving: Every organism must evolve as its environment changes or it will die.  Both individually and organizationally, we connect to our “ecosystem” through our Values – and the belief system our values support.  Our ecosystem is changing so rapidly, we must periodically check and update our Clarity.  Are those things we once valued, those things to which we once dedicated our life’s energy still calling us forth, or is it time to replace them with new, more compelling values that are more in-tune with who we are now and desire to become?  Have our value priorities changed?  Both individually and organizationally, we have a responsibility to update our conscious values and their relative priorities as we evolve in response to the ecosystem in which we are evolving.

Any necessary redirection of our Life Purpose flows naturally from the updated clarity of our values.  Our Purpose is simply our reason for Being.  Individually, it is expressed as our Vocation, our Calling in Service of a Life beyond our self-absorbed comforts.  Organizationally, it is expressed as our Purpose, our reason for existence that transcends power, profits, and personal aggrandizement.  A life lived “With Purpose” – individually or organizationally -- embodies Clarity and Equilibrium. 

Equilibrium:

In this context, Equilibrium means “a dynamically stable system in which the forces balance each other; a harmonious arrangement of the elements within a design.”  How we each balance all of the competing demands on our time and energy is a very individual exercise.  To do this successfully, we must have acute clarity; that is, we must be acutely aware of our values array and their relative priorities.  We also must be very comfortable with who we are, our life purpose, and dedicated to living beyond our self-absorbed comfort.

For example, all business owners, executives, and individual professionals have competing demands between their personal and professional lives.  The proper distribution of time and energy for every individual will be very different because we all have very different values arrays and relative priorities.

Regardless of the details of handling the chaos and frustrations in one’s life, our life is in Equilibrium when it is a harmonious arrangement of Passion, Joy, Prosperity, and Ease:

Passion: we are passionately engaged in life; alive and curious about each ever-changing moment.  (The alternatives to passionate engagement are partially engaged numbness or disengaged boredom; both are lethal states of non-existence.)

Joy: our compelling life purpose is the source of our Joy, a state of being quite different from pleasure or even happiness.  (Living “With Purpose” is the only source of lasting Joy in life!)

Prosperity: our Prosperity has nothing to do with money or possessions; its source is abundance, – not poverty – a state of mind created by the beauty of being fully alive.  It is the appreciation and awareness of our beauty within and from that space, seeing the beauty in the world.  It is grounded in our full appreciation of our intrinsic worth and our enthusiastic desire to share our unique talents with the universe.

Ease: It is not related to leisure.  Its source is humility, humor, intuition, vision and vulnerability.  We move through our day with Ease.  For example, tough decisions are made with Ease.  Though the decision may be tough, there is no self-doubt, agony, or anxiety surrounding the decision.

Conclusion

The above material is a sample of the concepts the clients are challenged to evaluate as they search for more successful ways to lead.  Fifteen of the Coaching Handouts are in the PDF Documents up loaded in the materials section.