Hack:
Square Pegs, Sacred Cows and Starting Over with Leadership

Hi Jane

I am drawn to the concept you have explained of 'polarity thinking' as in my work in the Middle East I see many examples of this. Paternalism & democracy; cultural traditions & 21st century practices; new technology communication & the need for 'group' discussion round a table. I could name more. The leadership challenge is indeed to pick a way through.

Fantastic, Jane. The one size fits all errant mentality in professional development starts much earlier, doesn't it? Your blueprint would do well adjusted to the education sector as well...

Ms. Perdue,
Your article is very timely concerning companies that have had great successes in the past but are struggling in today's environment. The key point that really struck a cord with me is that early adapters will lead the change by using new ways to inspire others. The "boys network" really boils down to leaders surrounding themselves with yes people versus surrounding themself with people that both challenge the leader and encourage calculated risk. I think individuals will need to make tough chooses as they try to create a more enlightened management team. Are we willing to take the charge to upend the old network?
Sincerely, Donna

Jane,

Barry Johnson's framework of Polarity Thinking sheds a much needed light on the actions leaders can choose to gain and sustain success.

Polarity Mapping provides an explicit way for a leader to be more intentional and conscious. In your example, a leader can determine how well he/she is managing the delicate balance between Taking Charge AND Taking Care of People. It's about getting the best of both over time.

That's the power of the "AND"...

Thank you, Jane!!

These are some maverick-type actions, Jane, and needed in many case to jolt people awake to better business practices. You provided some new thinking to consider and begin to adopt. Thanks! Jon

Exceptional post, Jane! I will add a (dangerous!) new dimension: the idea that women, and men, need to be empowered to be more of who they are meant to be and less of who they are not - as individuals, at home, and in the workplace.

I am working with the To Be a Woman global platform for empowerment and we'll be launching an effort later this year that encourages women to embrace their feminine side and bring all of the essences of womanhood to their roles in the workplace. We think women have been told they need to act like men for way too long. The corporate world needs the insights and courage that women bring, just as it needs every essence that men bring to their work. We need to be empowered to balance each other by being more of ourselves, rather than competing with each other and trying to be more of each other.

When women, and men, are genuinely empowered to bring their True Selves to work, and to find roles that are a perfect fit for their True Selves, then personal satisfaction in the workplace will finally begin to rise. People will be able to lead from within themselves because they'll finally be connected with who they really are. Seems so simple...but not easy.

Best of luck, Jane!

Nicely done Jane. We've been working on articulating a new model of leadership within a specific field of public policy - workforce. But we've come to realize the implications go far beyond the field (not surprising since it was informed by many disciplines). We call it WEadership. One of the gaps we uncovered across many disciplines is that of capacity building - many people recognize that the hero-leader model is insufficient (and was probably never sufficient), but we're still training people to be leaders largely on the basis of that model (CCL and the folks in this crowd excepted). The other interesting thing is that the significant gaps in reimagining leadership are not between public and private sectors but between large institutions and smaller orgs/networks. Suggests new kinds of collaboration.

Jane - This is an excellent thoughtful piece, and a substantive contribution the leadership thought and practice. I hope many who have an opportunity to lead and to influence leaders will take it to heart and mind. You are being the change about which you speak, thinking boldly and articulating bold thoughts. I am honored to named as someone who pushes your comfort zones and deeply appreciative of the conversations we've had that advance our thinking about leadership and business.

Thanks Jane for spending the time to put your thoughts in writing. As I read this hack, I did a quick search of direct reports to my CEO. I found 3 names of women. One was his admin, one was his Program Director, but only one was a VP - VP of Human Resources. Though I'm very thankful for that one female VP, it is also very disappointing and frankly de-motivating. I was once told by the VP of Manufacturing that the reason he hires women is that they work twice as hard for half as much. My examples are not meant to put men down because I have equal as many good stories to share. My point though is to fire up women. We need to believe we are good enough and as deserving. Most importantly, we need to believe we are part of the change.
The good news is that the change is underway. As an example, I am part of an accelerated MBA program in Silicon Valley. Traditionally, the average female representation in a MBA course is about 30%. This is the first year in the history of the program that there is over 50% female representation! This is the first of many steps but a good start.

I just spent two days as a guest of Chick-fil-A and Giant Impact in Atlanta. Both organizations "get" your points above Jane. I choose to use different adjectives and labels though. You see, as a member of the male gender, calling good or bad things male or femail tends to create (at least for me) the same polarization we're trying to eliminate.

In reality, your practices above are sustainable. When we violate long-term sustainability for short-term greed we create a new problem. The behaviors you mention above are beneficial in the long run. Just look at Chick-fil-A. We understand them. But our greed and our financial system inspire us to be willing to forego the long run in exchange for reaping a greater return in the instant.

One suggestion I'd make along the lines changing the focus is to increase the tax capital gains (in the shorter run) and reduce it on corporate income and dividends. Then public organizations and their shareholders would be rewarded for paying dividends rather than raising their stock price. The stock price would increase as a function of the company's ability to pay a good dividend over time.

Thanks for the thoughtful hack. Mike...

I think you're saying it, but I want to be pointed about it. The behaviours that are promoted in business are typically male ones - competition, task-orientation, finding a single answer and moving on, back-slapping frat-boy communications, etc. . These are NOT bad things. Yet they aren't the whole picture. Women bring inclusion, collaboration, empathy and give everyone a voice. What is needed is leadership and business practices that value both. That the old boys clubs go away and are replaced with places where greater diversity is recognized and rewarded.

Extremely interesting. So often "reorganization" translates to little else than "huge lay-offs"...when what truly needs to be "re-organized" is the leadership paradigm within an organization.

I certainly believe that business has got to find a better way to operate and Jane seems to have an excellent, well thought out plan. It is time that leaders start learning to see both sides of a win-win (company-employee) situation instead of focusing only on the win with the dollar sign. Yes, Virginia, you can have both!

Perhaps another way of looking at this is in the call for a "revolution." And who typically has led revolutions? The little guy.

Leadership within small companies can use as much of this change as the large companies, but smaller companies are much easier to turn around. Think fishing boat (company under 50 ppl) vs. Titanic (corporate america). If we make changes starting with small, privately owned companies first.. then perhaps the big companies will follow, slowly but surely.

You're right on so many points, including, unfortunately, just how tough change will be. The people in the best positions to make rapid & significant change also have the most to lose by doing so. I hope those leaders smart enough, brave enough, will take note of the changing world and communications dynamics around them. They should realize that if they don't embrace new corporate/leadership mentalities difficult changes may be made *for* them!

Jane - very nice article!
I am hopeful that one day, the upper leadership (and I use the term loosely) in my organization realizes that the "my way or the highway" / "I win/you lose" mentality is unproductive. Otherwise, why hire people who are thinkers and doers? Change your hiring profile to obtain weak, simple-minded individuals who will always say "yes" and "how high?". We have a lot of those "cultural cobwebs" to dust away, I believe...

Jane, good words.
How about this -- fundamentally we need to shift away from our model where we divide the world into leaders and followers? It seems that mindshift would go a long way toward achieving what you advocate.