Friday, 23 December 2011
Peace at last
I noticed this morning how quiet it is. Normally I can hear trams and cars but this morning---nothing. There is a depth of silence in the countryside that is usually missing in the city. So it is actually quite unusual to experience complete silence and it is only in major festivals that I have ever experienced a 'quality' of stillness in the city. Somehow, when everyone is 'somewhere else'- Christmas Eve in some countries and Christmas Day in others- that places become very still. I find this stillness very peaceful. In this place, I am able to connect with the spirit in and of Christmas and indeed, in the heart of all major religions. In this place I am peace and acting from this place, all my actions are carriers of peace.
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Going backwards
For so long I have held the believe that it's not possible to 'go backwards'. Lately, I have been thinking that this idea is not entirely 'true'. Whilst I do believe that we all move on, I am starting to think that it is possible to 'go back'. The reason why I say this is because I think when I 'move forward' in life, it is possible to reflect and take stock of what really matters to me and what it is that gives me joy, happiness and a sense of well-being. I believe the choice to return to that place is possible. I think it is because what really matters to me is the environment in which I feel 'at home' and 'at peace'. It's been very obvious to me for a long time now that my 'place' is in the open expanse of the countryside, being in nature. It is the only place where I have ever felt peaceful and fully accepted. A place where everything falls into place and where my life has a balanced perspective. The year I spent in the countryside was a period of my life where I was most unsettled and the most settled at the same time. At my most desparate, the countryside provided me with an unconditional holding, acceptance and healing in a way I never could have imagined. It was also a place where I came to many realisations about the nature of nature. It is a place where I intend to return- to quote John Scherer, a place where I will be 'coming home to myself'.
Thursday, 10 November 2011
16899
So here it is, 16,899 +/- 1 day due to time zone differences. The number of days I've been alive on this earth. 16,899 sunrises and 16,899 sunsets. The question is, how many of those have I truly enjoyed? How many of those have I been fully present?
Lately, I've felt really disconnected and uninspired. I have come to realise the importance of place, space and time to me. In the last few years, I have grown to appreciate how nutured I feel when I am in nature. Living away from the UK, I desparately miss the woodlands and open countryside. At this time of the year when the air is sharp and the trees are resplendent in their reds, oranges and gold- there is nothing quite like being in the countryside- being one with nature. The most alive I've felt were some of the days in a little cottage in the depths of the West Berkshire countryside in the UK- surrounded by open fields and a depth of silence that connected me with my soul.
In this new place which I have yet to call 'home', I have not been able to take photos, write or paint. I wonder what it will take for me to return to reconnect with my sources of inspiration.
My favourite poem by Wagoner:
Lately, I've felt really disconnected and uninspired. I have come to realise the importance of place, space and time to me. In the last few years, I have grown to appreciate how nutured I feel when I am in nature. Living away from the UK, I desparately miss the woodlands and open countryside. At this time of the year when the air is sharp and the trees are resplendent in their reds, oranges and gold- there is nothing quite like being in the countryside- being one with nature. The most alive I've felt were some of the days in a little cottage in the depths of the West Berkshire countryside in the UK- surrounded by open fields and a depth of silence that connected me with my soul.
In this new place which I have yet to call 'home', I have not been able to take photos, write or paint. I wonder what it will take for me to return to reconnect with my sources of inspiration.
My favourite poem by Wagoner:
Lost
Stand still.
The trees ahead and bushes beside you are not lost.
Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen.
It answers,I have made this place around you,
If you leave it you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,You are surely lost.
Stand still.
The forest knows where you are.
You must let it find you.
Monday, 3 October 2011
A graceful moment
This was written by Leena Godiwala-Deubet from Mumbai in a session in Singapore called 'Not Knowing- The Secret to Creative Facilitation'.
Not-Knowing
Creativity to me is poetry
Which flows only when I let go
And trust the process of flow
Letting go is difficult
Of structures and content
Of facilitators and intent
(No facilitation or direction!! Just silence and reaction!!)
Over four decades of conforming
To others' standards and norming
Has stifled me of my creativity
Blocked me of my propriety
Anxiety embraces me
When I'm in the not-know
I wish I could just let go
And flow.
Not-Knowing
Creativity to me is poetry
Which flows only when I let go
And trust the process of flow
Letting go is difficult
Of structures and content
Of facilitators and intent
(No facilitation or direction!! Just silence and reaction!!)
Over four decades of conforming
To others' standards and norming
Has stifled me of my creativity
Blocked me of my propriety
Anxiety embraces me
When I'm in the not-know
I wish I could just let go
And flow.
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Shared History
Since my mother died three years ago my family as it was known to me was blown apart. What that did was to accentuate a sense of aloneness in the world. I do not have any siblings nor do I have any children so I don’t feel I belong to any family unit as such. When I spoke with John about this, it brought home to me the critical difference between a family that I feel is ‘mine’ and a family that I feel is ‘other’. This difference is shared history. When I look at John’s family, I can see that he has had a great deal of shared routines and rituals with his children and wives. I think the birth and presence of children contribute significantly to a couple’s shared history and the development of shared routines and rituals. Though I have heard in many instances the phrase ‘…it’s for the children…’ in a sense, it’s also for the entire family unit. These shared day to day activities and patterns become the fabric of that family unit’s shared historical map- points of reference that bind the unit together and that also marks out the unique topography of one family as compared to another. From age 13 onwards, I have slipped in and out of other people’s family units- mainly through invitations at boarding school to spend exeats, half-term and holidays with friends and their families. They were kind and generous people who took me into their homes, and involved me in their routines and rituals. For me, I always felt like an outsider, keen to fit into their worlds and in that process, often feeling both welcomed and alienated at the same time. This morning, I realised that, unless I have been part of the ‘history making’ process within a family unit otherwise, I would never feel like part of the family nor could I- this is because a shared history and the bond that develops in that process is built up over time. Critical incidents can have the effect of accelerating this process. Ultimately, it is the mundane, the non-critical, the day to day decisions and activities that contribute to a family’s cultural bond. In this context, integration into another family means an immersion in that family in order that these routines and rituals can be learnt but also to be part of that family’s daily evolution. This thought brings to mind a chinese tradition- once married, the woman goes to live with the husbands’ family. In this day and age of independence, this scenario is truly antithetical to our present-day values. Yet revisiting this concept in the light of integration, it does not seem all that crazy. In fact, it seems sensible, even necessary for any person to become part of another’s family unit.
Since writing the passage above, I had a call from my aunt informing me that my uncle has been seriously ill with a rare form of Lymphoma. My sense of family has taken on a different shape.
Since writing the passage above, I had a call from my aunt informing me that my uncle has been seriously ill with a rare form of Lymphoma. My sense of family has taken on a different shape.
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Loss of Life
I was speaking to an old friend today and it came up in conversation, the phrase 'loss of life'. It is interesting to me how we normally use the phrase 'loss of life' when there's been a death. In my work, in coaching, in therapy, in consulting, it is quite often about breathing life back into life. A midlife crisis is often triggered by a realisation that someone has lived a partial life- that there has indeed been a loss of life- that a vital part of someone's being has been dormant and/ or, for whatever reason, has been 'switched off' to make way for economical survival or prosperity. In mid-life, we realise the cost of this on our soul but by that time, it is a bit difficult. We are entrapped in half-life we have created for and around ourselves. The price at this point is huge so, for many, there is a 'settling' and a surrendering to the inevitability of unfufilled potential. It is not my choice.
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Meaning making
Apparently we are meaning making creatures- it is in our nature. Yet nature itself is without morality- it just is. Stuff happens not because of anything- why should this leaf fall instead of that leaf? Is it because this leaf is better or worse than the other? Of course not. Yet judgement and morality permeates every facet of our lives. It permeates this piece of writing. It may permeate your thoughts as you read this piece of text. My own personal history gives me a closer appreciation of the lack of morality in nature. My mum died relatively young- she was 71 at the time- perfectly healthy, internal organs of a 30 year old. Yet she died suddenly and without warning. Is it her 'karma'? Was it something she did? Did she live a life that 'deserved' a sudden death? I was not able to have successful pregnancies that resulted in a healthy birth of a child- was it right? Does it mean that it was 'probably a good thing' because I may not have been a good mother- that, somehow, it was 'for the best' that I couldn't have children?
Recently, I had a conversation with a great man, Len and in the course of that conversation I said to him 'it was a real pity that he did not take his talent further- that he gave up and never quite developed his immense potential as an artist' and Len's answer was 'it is not a moral question- whether he did or did not. A man has to earn a living. Pure and simple.'
It's a hard to really accept this fully. I have an intellectual understanding of this but I have not yet got to a place of letting go of my need to making meaning and come to true acceptance of the nature of nature.
Recently, I had a conversation with a great man, Len and in the course of that conversation I said to him 'it was a real pity that he did not take his talent further- that he gave up and never quite developed his immense potential as an artist' and Len's answer was 'it is not a moral question- whether he did or did not. A man has to earn a living. Pure and simple.'
It's a hard to really accept this fully. I have an intellectual understanding of this but I have not yet got to a place of letting go of my need to making meaning and come to true acceptance of the nature of nature.
Friday, 24 June 2011
Reflective and reflexive
I was talking to a friend today, of a sudden awareness, of how I reflect on my projections- it has become a habitual/ reflexive thing. For a long time, I have wondered what it really means to be reflexive in the context of personal development. This is how I came to the realisation: I was talking to a friend about his friend and how he needs to let go of his daughter to set her free- to be an adult and to carve out a life for herself. As soon as I said that, I though to myself 'What is it that I need to let go of in order to set me and others around me, free?' I have come to agree with my friend and trusted colleague, John, and his saying 'if you spot it, you've got it'. This means pretty much means that everything I pick out, every comment I make is a projection- something I recognise in myself that I have disowned and put it onto someone else. The fact that something stands out for me- that in itself means that it is something that is significant in some way to me- that more likely than not, it is something that I need to pay attention to. The more I am emotional about whatever it is I am picking up, the more this is likely to be true. The reflexivity is doing this self-checking as habit- that I reflect on my thoughts and actions as a matter of course. I do not know exactly when it happened but it is a shock to recognise that it is happening. I suspect that years and months of supervision and unpacking/ processing thoughts and actions in therapeutic training, in consulting and coaching---has, in some way, helped me internalise a process of self-reflection and self-examination. In case it seems like a lot of navel-gazing to you- well, it is and it doesn't have to be. More a case of acute self-awareness.
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Resolution, completion?
I was stunned by the news yesterday that Osama Bin Laden had been killed by US Special Forces. Instead of delivering feelings of justice or closure, the news brought a terrible sense of foreboding. When will the cycle of violence end? It became very clear to me that any hope of 'world peace' is as foolish as believing in Santa Claus. As I turned over events in my mind as well as processing my own feelings, I began to wonder about the notion of 'completion' or 'resolution'.
In Gestalt, completion is a fairly major concept. The act of completion in our 'cycle of experience' enables us to feel satiated and satisfied. Our ability to complete also provides a source of reference and a source of strength for facing challenges in the future. In contrast, incomplete gestalts call for our attention and this 'stuck' or 'trapped' issue will continue to ask for resolution until we are able to bring it to as good a conclusion as possible- given the circumstances. Looking at the situation of Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, it doesn't seem to be the case that resolution from a particular perspective or a particular course of action necessarily leads to long-term overall resolution. In fact, the contrary might well be the case.
As these issues were bubbling away, my thoughts turned to art. It is often difficult to know when a piece of art is 'finished'. For some people, it is never really 'finished' as such. For others, in trying to bring it to a point of completion, we sometimes do something that is just a stroke or a flick too much and the whole is ruined. I looked at some of Turner's later works and once again noticed how much less resolved they were compared with some of his earlier works. As I contemplated on this theme of completion, I emailed a friend, Ken, who is an extraordinary film-maker/ artist who worked with Joseph Beuys, to see what he might say about completion. He said that in his work, there is always the intrapsychical forces reacting with resistances of the medium. The extent to which the two can be reconciled can be detected in the work itself. I spoke with another friend and mentor, Len, who is a well-respected artist and painter and he said that completion is something he has struggled with all his life. That none of his paintings have ever reached a state of completion. In our extraordinary and precious conversation this afternoon, he said:
The reason why I use colours in the way I do is to get a balance...a balance between the parts so as to achieve the whole. The softening and toning down of colours is so that they can sit together...so that people look at the picture and they see the picture as a whole.
What would happen if we were to apply these principles to our most pressing issues in the world today? How is it that we have come to the place where power means power-over one another? To what extent can we have 'completion' if we are always going to have the polarities of right and wrong, good and evil. In fact, how is it that we have come to see polarities as opposing/ competing opposites? What happened to the possibility of complementary opposites?
I will finish with an experiment Len talked me through this afternoon. This track of conversation started with an A4 painting I made a couple of months ago- a blue-black painting that is completely saturated with darkness. I said that every time I looked at it, I was tempted to put a lighter colour on it. He told me to stand about 6 ft away and to focus on the canvas for approximately 1 minute. He then told me to turn my head to the right and look away. He said 'what do you see?' I said 'Oh....a transparent canvas- as if it's been lit up....exactly the canvas but without colour...' He said 'are you sure? It has no colour at all??' I repeated the experiment. Then I SAW...firstly- that the canvas itself had a darker edge with the middle forming a purple-blue rectangular patch. Secondly, when I looked away, I saw yellow. Len said '...hmm...you should also see some orange...' and...I did- very faint. He said, this is what happens to your eye. You have to 'see' the orange in your eyes to be able to pick up the dark blue. It is the complementary opposite...no-one knows why this is so but it is just the way our eyes work.
In Gestalt, completion is a fairly major concept. The act of completion in our 'cycle of experience' enables us to feel satiated and satisfied. Our ability to complete also provides a source of reference and a source of strength for facing challenges in the future. In contrast, incomplete gestalts call for our attention and this 'stuck' or 'trapped' issue will continue to ask for resolution until we are able to bring it to as good a conclusion as possible- given the circumstances. Looking at the situation of Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, it doesn't seem to be the case that resolution from a particular perspective or a particular course of action necessarily leads to long-term overall resolution. In fact, the contrary might well be the case.
As these issues were bubbling away, my thoughts turned to art. It is often difficult to know when a piece of art is 'finished'. For some people, it is never really 'finished' as such. For others, in trying to bring it to a point of completion, we sometimes do something that is just a stroke or a flick too much and the whole is ruined. I looked at some of Turner's later works and once again noticed how much less resolved they were compared with some of his earlier works. As I contemplated on this theme of completion, I emailed a friend, Ken, who is an extraordinary film-maker/ artist who worked with Joseph Beuys, to see what he might say about completion. He said that in his work, there is always the intrapsychical forces reacting with resistances of the medium. The extent to which the two can be reconciled can be detected in the work itself. I spoke with another friend and mentor, Len, who is a well-respected artist and painter and he said that completion is something he has struggled with all his life. That none of his paintings have ever reached a state of completion. In our extraordinary and precious conversation this afternoon, he said:
The reason why I use colours in the way I do is to get a balance...a balance between the parts so as to achieve the whole. The softening and toning down of colours is so that they can sit together...so that people look at the picture and they see the picture as a whole.
What would happen if we were to apply these principles to our most pressing issues in the world today? How is it that we have come to the place where power means power-over one another? To what extent can we have 'completion' if we are always going to have the polarities of right and wrong, good and evil. In fact, how is it that we have come to see polarities as opposing/ competing opposites? What happened to the possibility of complementary opposites?
I will finish with an experiment Len talked me through this afternoon. This track of conversation started with an A4 painting I made a couple of months ago- a blue-black painting that is completely saturated with darkness. I said that every time I looked at it, I was tempted to put a lighter colour on it. He told me to stand about 6 ft away and to focus on the canvas for approximately 1 minute. He then told me to turn my head to the right and look away. He said 'what do you see?' I said 'Oh....a transparent canvas- as if it's been lit up....exactly the canvas but without colour...' He said 'are you sure? It has no colour at all??' I repeated the experiment. Then I SAW...firstly- that the canvas itself had a darker edge with the middle forming a purple-blue rectangular patch. Secondly, when I looked away, I saw yellow. Len said '...hmm...you should also see some orange...' and...I did- very faint. He said, this is what happens to your eye. You have to 'see' the orange in your eyes to be able to pick up the dark blue. It is the complementary opposite...no-one knows why this is so but it is just the way our eyes work.
Saturday, 23 April 2011
Easter Saturday
John sent an email round today speaking of the significance of the day between GoodFriday and Easter Sunday. The day when there is a void- the void between death and (re)birth. In buddism, there is an intermediate state between death and rebirth that is known as 'bardo'. In this state, it is said that our experience is like being in a dream-state as our consciousness leaves our bodily/ gross form. In some buddhist circles, the period between dreaming and being awake is occupied by a void- where we do not dream- there is merely a gap. It is not uncommon for this brief period to be regarded as 'death'. I am writing this on the eve of returning to Poland- an in-between time when all that I can do in the UK has been done.
I wrote this to John a few days ago:
"...as I write this note to you now, I think that each death provides a space for something else- it is always pregnant with potential. Though oftentimes we wonder what that 'something else' is, what we realise, on reflection, is that where there was something and now there is space, that in itself is already 'something else'".
Friday, 1 April 2011
One year on
Last night, I filled the last page of my sketch book which I started a year ago. Every page is a placeholder for a moment in time- both in terms of what came through me, the space and place I occupied at the time and what was happening for me at that point in my life. As per usual, I did not have a plan for this page- I simply felt like making a small watercolour. Perhaps it is a reflection of what is going on right now in the world, the colours and pattern moved me to look for something by Rumi and here's what I found: What is the body?
Endurance.
What is love?
Gratitude.
What is hidden in our chests?
Laughter.
What else?
Compassion.
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Friday, 25 March 2011
Leadership and engagement
Knowledge workers
Around ten years ago, we started to hear phrases such as ‘knowledge economy’ and ‘knowledge workers’ and with these two ideas, ‘talent management’. Just how much of these ideas are present and how much is fabricated by market researchers and academics? Furthermore, as a CEO, to what extent do they matter to you and your organisation?
The extent to which knowledge workers and talent management are relevant to CEOs today depends greatly on a number of factors such as industry life-cycle and labour market conditions. However, underlying these ideas are two key factors: The extent to which workers’ know-how is unique to your organisation and the changing expectations that different generations bring with them to the workplace.
Know-how
We have been fortunate to have worked in both manufacturing and service industries. While some businesses might appear to have greater sector or organisational-specific know-how, we notice that most organisations have their particular way of running their businesses. Hence, over time, workers not only develop specific knowledge and skills in relation to their jobs, they also develop a way of bundling and applying their knowledge and skills in specific ways that is relevant to the unique demands of the tasks and the organisational culture. Increasingly, those in greatest demand are people who can adapt easily, learn quickly and crucially, people who can reconfigure their know-how in ways that are relevant to new situations. These workers are often the most mobile and the ones most employers want to retain because the cost of replacement is far greater than pure recruitment costs. Given the recent economic crises, we believe that the lull in worker’s mobility is temporary. In fact, even during the recent slow-down, we have seen movement in top talent despite the threat of redundancies and a climate of cost-reduction.
Generational differences
Whilst some people would call generational differences a fad, researches over the last few years have established changing patterns of behaviour and changing expectations as workforce profiles start to shift. In the last ten or so years, we have seen young people taking senior leadership roles- Google and Facebook are the most obvious. We personally knew of a similar 20 something CEO who, by the age of 27, had already handled two company buy-outs. Though these are exceptions, we are nevertheless sensing a bolder and more aspirational cohort of people who are likely to be part of your workforce today:
‘A study in 2004 carried out by Common Purpose, an organisation that offers training for leaders and managers, found that those who were not getting satisfaction at work were hitting a 'quarter-life crisis'. Searching for Something concluded that employers had to accommodate young workers' wider ambitions or risk losing them by the age of 30.
“We see young people that are searching for some sort of meaning in life and if you can't align their values with the organisation they might leave,” said Julia Middleton, the group's chief executive. “I think life is cyclical - and there is a return to people searching for meaning and searching for values.”
(Anushka Asthana, The Observer, Sunday 25 May 2008)
These future leaders are currently likely to be in junior roles or are new recruits in your company. It is not difficult to see how younger generations or, generation Y- those born between 1980s and 2000s, have become more tuned into ‘meaning in life’. Afterall, this is the generation that will have to create new solutions for their own sustainability with climate change and other macro shifts that will profoundly impact mankind. Yet there is a twist: they have also grown accustomed to a life that has been shaped by consumerism. Part of their reality is a constant pull from two poles: The need to sustain and enhance an aspirational lifestyle and the need for meaningful work/ freedom/ self-expression and inclusion. With a foot in each camp, they are likely to expect their workplace to provide them with:
• monetary rewards and a benefits package that will help sustain their aspirational lifestyles while at the same time,
• a freedom of expression, collaborative working, greater autonomy and decision-making and
• trust that they will work out the ‘how’ when given the ‘what’.
The more capable they are, the more likely they are to demand that an employer is able to support them in pursuit of what they love to do and to make possible for them to make a real contribution.
Whilst those of us who belong to generation X- born between 1960s and 1980s who are in executive and senior leadership roles value similar things- autonomy, decision-making and learning- we were also brought up by parents who were more prepared to work hard, keep their heads down and sacrifice today for a better tomorrow. Some of us also remember deep recessions and redundancies, as well as restrictive regimes such as communism. These wider societal and social factors have, to a greater or lesser extent, shaped our relationship with work. We view work as a necessity and are more likely to sacrifice our family life for greater career progression. As a generation, we are usually the ones who have bought into a ‘deferred life plan'.
As a result, it can be mystifying and highly frustrating that we are not seeing the same behaviours from our younger workforce. Viewed from our perspective, this generation may appear to be difficult to manage yet they are potentially the most high performing- highly educated, highly informed, socially adjusted and well-rounded members of our workforce.
More leading less managing
If we are interested in getting the most out of our workforce, we need to understand that this is not a generation that wants to be managed, they are a generation that expects to be lead, inspired, enabled and supported. The influence of communism on our workforce in Poland is that those who lived through the regime in their formative years would value security more than those who were too young to remember. That said, they also yearn for development, ways to make a contribution and to enjoy their work. Our future generation of leaders is inviting us to move away from a highly controlled and controlling environment to one that is contact-based. That is, our ability to make contact with the other person’s needs and aspirations and to give space and support for them to marry their needs with that of the organisation’s requirements.
What are the implications for senior leaders?
The magnet
What is your leadership and organisational practices designed to support? Most organisation structures, processes, procedures and working practices are modelled on the machanised production environment during the industrial revolution. There is a need to take a good look at how your magnet can be redesigned to meet the needs of your workforce and your future generation of leaders.
Invite to create
To what extent are people invited to shape and co-create the future? We see the most enlightened and progressive companies are actively taking steps towards inviting people to step forward and be involved. They know that their people and their creativity is the DNA underlying their competitive advantage. The wisdom lives wherever work is done- not just in the boardroom.
The role of the leader
What is the role of the leader? In a more collaborative and innovative environment, the role of the leader is closer to a mentor and a coach than a boss. The greater aspect of a leader’s job is involved in supporting their people to progress, develop and do more of what they love more often.
Leadership development
Bearing in mind that the capability and capacity of your organisation to innovate and your ability to survive and thrive is largely dependent on your own capacity to allow the organisation to change and respond to both internal and external changing needs. The adaptive ability of the organisation is dependent on your openness to embrace the unknown and to know, from your own experience, that ‘chaos is the birth canal of transformation’. In allowing yourself to open up to new possibilties, you are afforded a different perspective. In knowing what is your TOV and to know what it means that what you do everyday is an expression of your TOV is the best preparation for you to be an engaging leader because you now know what will open the hearts and minds of your entire workforce.
Around ten years ago, we started to hear phrases such as ‘knowledge economy’ and ‘knowledge workers’ and with these two ideas, ‘talent management’. Just how much of these ideas are present and how much is fabricated by market researchers and academics? Furthermore, as a CEO, to what extent do they matter to you and your organisation?
The extent to which knowledge workers and talent management are relevant to CEOs today depends greatly on a number of factors such as industry life-cycle and labour market conditions. However, underlying these ideas are two key factors: The extent to which workers’ know-how is unique to your organisation and the changing expectations that different generations bring with them to the workplace.
Know-how
We have been fortunate to have worked in both manufacturing and service industries. While some businesses might appear to have greater sector or organisational-specific know-how, we notice that most organisations have their particular way of running their businesses. Hence, over time, workers not only develop specific knowledge and skills in relation to their jobs, they also develop a way of bundling and applying their knowledge and skills in specific ways that is relevant to the unique demands of the tasks and the organisational culture. Increasingly, those in greatest demand are people who can adapt easily, learn quickly and crucially, people who can reconfigure their know-how in ways that are relevant to new situations. These workers are often the most mobile and the ones most employers want to retain because the cost of replacement is far greater than pure recruitment costs. Given the recent economic crises, we believe that the lull in worker’s mobility is temporary. In fact, even during the recent slow-down, we have seen movement in top talent despite the threat of redundancies and a climate of cost-reduction.
Generational differences
Whilst some people would call generational differences a fad, researches over the last few years have established changing patterns of behaviour and changing expectations as workforce profiles start to shift. In the last ten or so years, we have seen young people taking senior leadership roles- Google and Facebook are the most obvious. We personally knew of a similar 20 something CEO who, by the age of 27, had already handled two company buy-outs. Though these are exceptions, we are nevertheless sensing a bolder and more aspirational cohort of people who are likely to be part of your workforce today:
‘A study in 2004 carried out by Common Purpose, an organisation that offers training for leaders and managers, found that those who were not getting satisfaction at work were hitting a 'quarter-life crisis'. Searching for Something concluded that employers had to accommodate young workers' wider ambitions or risk losing them by the age of 30.
“We see young people that are searching for some sort of meaning in life and if you can't align their values with the organisation they might leave,” said Julia Middleton, the group's chief executive. “I think life is cyclical - and there is a return to people searching for meaning and searching for values.”
(Anushka Asthana, The Observer, Sunday 25 May 2008)
These future leaders are currently likely to be in junior roles or are new recruits in your company. It is not difficult to see how younger generations or, generation Y- those born between 1980s and 2000s, have become more tuned into ‘meaning in life’. Afterall, this is the generation that will have to create new solutions for their own sustainability with climate change and other macro shifts that will profoundly impact mankind. Yet there is a twist: they have also grown accustomed to a life that has been shaped by consumerism. Part of their reality is a constant pull from two poles: The need to sustain and enhance an aspirational lifestyle and the need for meaningful work/ freedom/ self-expression and inclusion. With a foot in each camp, they are likely to expect their workplace to provide them with:
• monetary rewards and a benefits package that will help sustain their aspirational lifestyles while at the same time,
• a freedom of expression, collaborative working, greater autonomy and decision-making and
• trust that they will work out the ‘how’ when given the ‘what’.
The more capable they are, the more likely they are to demand that an employer is able to support them in pursuit of what they love to do and to make possible for them to make a real contribution.
Whilst those of us who belong to generation X- born between 1960s and 1980s who are in executive and senior leadership roles value similar things- autonomy, decision-making and learning- we were also brought up by parents who were more prepared to work hard, keep their heads down and sacrifice today for a better tomorrow. Some of us also remember deep recessions and redundancies, as well as restrictive regimes such as communism. These wider societal and social factors have, to a greater or lesser extent, shaped our relationship with work. We view work as a necessity and are more likely to sacrifice our family life for greater career progression. As a generation, we are usually the ones who have bought into a ‘deferred life plan'.
As a result, it can be mystifying and highly frustrating that we are not seeing the same behaviours from our younger workforce. Viewed from our perspective, this generation may appear to be difficult to manage yet they are potentially the most high performing- highly educated, highly informed, socially adjusted and well-rounded members of our workforce.
More leading less managing
If we are interested in getting the most out of our workforce, we need to understand that this is not a generation that wants to be managed, they are a generation that expects to be lead, inspired, enabled and supported. The influence of communism on our workforce in Poland is that those who lived through the regime in their formative years would value security more than those who were too young to remember. That said, they also yearn for development, ways to make a contribution and to enjoy their work. Our future generation of leaders is inviting us to move away from a highly controlled and controlling environment to one that is contact-based. That is, our ability to make contact with the other person’s needs and aspirations and to give space and support for them to marry their needs with that of the organisation’s requirements.
What are the implications for senior leaders?
The magnet
What is your leadership and organisational practices designed to support? Most organisation structures, processes, procedures and working practices are modelled on the machanised production environment during the industrial revolution. There is a need to take a good look at how your magnet can be redesigned to meet the needs of your workforce and your future generation of leaders.
Invite to create
To what extent are people invited to shape and co-create the future? We see the most enlightened and progressive companies are actively taking steps towards inviting people to step forward and be involved. They know that their people and their creativity is the DNA underlying their competitive advantage. The wisdom lives wherever work is done- not just in the boardroom.
The role of the leader
What is the role of the leader? In a more collaborative and innovative environment, the role of the leader is closer to a mentor and a coach than a boss. The greater aspect of a leader’s job is involved in supporting their people to progress, develop and do more of what they love more often.
Leadership development
Bearing in mind that the capability and capacity of your organisation to innovate and your ability to survive and thrive is largely dependent on your own capacity to allow the organisation to change and respond to both internal and external changing needs. The adaptive ability of the organisation is dependent on your openness to embrace the unknown and to know, from your own experience, that ‘chaos is the birth canal of transformation’. In allowing yourself to open up to new possibilties, you are afforded a different perspective. In knowing what is your TOV and to know what it means that what you do everyday is an expression of your TOV is the best preparation for you to be an engaging leader because you now know what will open the hearts and minds of your entire workforce.
Sunday, 6 March 2011
The function of darkness
I have been sitting with this little piece of musing for a while- not sure whether to release it into the blog or not. So while another is cooking away, I thought I would take a peek...and- it seems like this piece still has some energy. So here it is:
My resurgence in painting was prompted by Ad Reinhardt two years ago and a suggestion was given to me back then that it might be an idea to make a small version of Ad's blue black painting myself.
Well, two years later, I have. It is, what I would call, a 'study'- of colour and form. It is a very interesting journey into this darkest of dark colour and to discover through experimentation, how Ad might have achieved the effects he did- without doing exactly as he did (my technical skills is way short of inadequate) but sort of following his idea. I am discovering a great deal about this colour- the difficulty in achieving complete saturation of colour on canvass. Also, despite the 'formlessness' of this monochromatic world, I found my mind busily putting form and colour on- it was very difficult to just sit with a dark void. Yesterday, I desparately wanted to put some colour into the painting- even the thinnest line of something...so it took great restraint to stick with the colour and to put on just a few shades lighter- to see how much of this colour would be absorbed. This morning, it is fascinating to see that the vibrant blue had dried and become very very muted and in losing it's vibrancy, a subtle hazy hint of 'something' hovering in the background.
While this little study was carrying on, there was a parallel discussion on Lent. I am a huge skeptic when it comes to rituals and in particular, religious rituals. In the context of Lent, I made a mental connection with the dark painting. In giving up bright colours, in staying with this dark dark canvas, I was reminded of vibrancy and of life. It seems a very natural tendency that when we let ourselves let go of what we have and enter a world of 'lessness' that we realise the value of what we have given up. So, just like Lent, we are joyful when we can re-embrace our old habits and the stuff we had before and for a short while, valuing them in a way that we had never valued them before. But what I think we are missing when we do this is the possibility of going down a different path. Even though I am not a christian, I happen to think that Easter is a story that encourages us to live a different life- that through the period of Lent, we allow ourselves to let go of some of our habits that prevent us from realising our full potential and that coming out of Lent, we are able to 'spring' into a newness.
My resurgence in painting was prompted by Ad Reinhardt two years ago and a suggestion was given to me back then that it might be an idea to make a small version of Ad's blue black painting myself.
Well, two years later, I have. It is, what I would call, a 'study'- of colour and form. It is a very interesting journey into this darkest of dark colour and to discover through experimentation, how Ad might have achieved the effects he did- without doing exactly as he did (my technical skills is way short of inadequate) but sort of following his idea. I am discovering a great deal about this colour- the difficulty in achieving complete saturation of colour on canvass. Also, despite the 'formlessness' of this monochromatic world, I found my mind busily putting form and colour on- it was very difficult to just sit with a dark void. Yesterday, I desparately wanted to put some colour into the painting- even the thinnest line of something...so it took great restraint to stick with the colour and to put on just a few shades lighter- to see how much of this colour would be absorbed. This morning, it is fascinating to see that the vibrant blue had dried and become very very muted and in losing it's vibrancy, a subtle hazy hint of 'something' hovering in the background.
While this little study was carrying on, there was a parallel discussion on Lent. I am a huge skeptic when it comes to rituals and in particular, religious rituals. In the context of Lent, I made a mental connection with the dark painting. In giving up bright colours, in staying with this dark dark canvas, I was reminded of vibrancy and of life. It seems a very natural tendency that when we let ourselves let go of what we have and enter a world of 'lessness' that we realise the value of what we have given up. So, just like Lent, we are joyful when we can re-embrace our old habits and the stuff we had before and for a short while, valuing them in a way that we had never valued them before. But what I think we are missing when we do this is the possibility of going down a different path. Even though I am not a christian, I happen to think that Easter is a story that encourages us to live a different life- that through the period of Lent, we allow ourselves to let go of some of our habits that prevent us from realising our full potential and that coming out of Lent, we are able to 'spring' into a newness.
Friday, 18 February 2011
To Niles
I was sitting in a bar in Seattle yesterday and had the good fortune of chatting with Niles Peacock who was working the bar. First off, he was unusual in that he had incredible eye-contact with me and everyone sitting at the bar. He suggested a Vodka Martini which I hadn't drunk for a long time and glad I was tempted. More to the point, he was talking about creating an experience for and with customers that was, in itself, a masterclass in co-creating and engagement. We found out that Niles was a trained fashion designer and that his first love is creative work- but, it's hard to earn a living doing what he loves the most and I paraphrase what he then said:
'Since it's hard to earn a living doing creative work...I decided to throw myself into this work- afterall, if I am doing this for a living, I would like to give it my best shot- otherwise, what's the point?'
So it was a massive lesson for me when, earlier that day, I was thinking about the sort of work I love to do- deep change, personal development, true engagement, enabling individuals and groups to be free and have courage to go for their 'truths'....that to earn a living, it is necessary to join in with more mainstream work. The difference between me and Niles is that I have yet to 'true up' to this reality and be able to fully occupy this reality with no resentment and sense of compromise. I don't know how this can come about- two options present themselves at the moment- separation between what I love and what I do well and/ or, let go of ideals and flow with whatever presents itself now.
'Since it's hard to earn a living doing creative work...I decided to throw myself into this work- afterall, if I am doing this for a living, I would like to give it my best shot- otherwise, what's the point?'
So it was a massive lesson for me when, earlier that day, I was thinking about the sort of work I love to do- deep change, personal development, true engagement, enabling individuals and groups to be free and have courage to go for their 'truths'....that to earn a living, it is necessary to join in with more mainstream work. The difference between me and Niles is that I have yet to 'true up' to this reality and be able to fully occupy this reality with no resentment and sense of compromise. I don't know how this can come about- two options present themselves at the moment- separation between what I love and what I do well and/ or, let go of ideals and flow with whatever presents itself now.
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
holding on/ letting go
I have been interested in the work of Otto Scharmer for some time. In particular, his notion of 'letting go' and 'letting come' as part of the U-process of presencing futures. To me, the notion of letting go has buddhist connotations- I make particular connections with meditative practices, alleviation of suffering and impermanence being inheremt aspects of nature.
In the last six months, I have been in the presence of a great teacher, John, who represents for me, in many respects, polaric opposites. In particular, his sense of personal history and identity that seems to be defined by the holding on to significant aspects of his past. Not only does he have artefacts that belong to past generations of his family, he has books, paper cuttings and a vast array of memorabilia that defines who he is, where he's come from and what he represents. He is also a prolific writer and has subscribers that run into thousands and that excludes the amount of people whom he has 'touched' through books, talks and workshops.
In stark contrast, I make a point of never keeping anything- whenever I left a place of employment, I made sure I left everything behind. This was a deliberate decision on my part to reinvent and create new works. But as a consequence of this decision, I have no explicit thing I can point at to say- 'that's me'. This is both freeing and disconcerting as I find myself in new places being overwhelmed by unfamiliarity with very little to hold onto. Speaking to Carol recently on a peer coaching phone-call, she suggested that I should do something which I have mastery- in my mind, I translated 'mastery' to simply something I knew I can do. It seemed to make a lot of sense though no immediate task or opportunity came to mind. A few weeks later, I was lucky enough to go skiing for a day and in that day, I, uncharacteristically, did not go for very difficult or challenging runs but runs I could comfortably do- and enjoy- with no deliberate effort nor thinking. I cannot begin to tell you what that did for me. I was able, in skiing down relatively comfortable runs, to feel free to enjoy my competence, to ground myself and to give myself just enough 'history' to hold onto- just enough to give me enough hand-holding to go from feeling totally overwhelmed to feeling more in control. It had nothing to do with control over my environment- which continued to be alien and unfamiliar, but a FEELING of being in control of my feelings of overwhelmness. In one day, I found myself in a different place which in turn enabled me to become gradually more connected with what is now arising and to be more open to my own internal 'calling' as well as what the environment is calling me to do. This insight was only possible in the chaos of letting go- and most significantly, with grace, for the reminder from Carol- the gift of holding on and in doing so, a readiness for new possibilities to present themselves- in what Otto might call 'letting come'.
In the last six months, I have been in the presence of a great teacher, John, who represents for me, in many respects, polaric opposites. In particular, his sense of personal history and identity that seems to be defined by the holding on to significant aspects of his past. Not only does he have artefacts that belong to past generations of his family, he has books, paper cuttings and a vast array of memorabilia that defines who he is, where he's come from and what he represents. He is also a prolific writer and has subscribers that run into thousands and that excludes the amount of people whom he has 'touched' through books, talks and workshops.
In stark contrast, I make a point of never keeping anything- whenever I left a place of employment, I made sure I left everything behind. This was a deliberate decision on my part to reinvent and create new works. But as a consequence of this decision, I have no explicit thing I can point at to say- 'that's me'. This is both freeing and disconcerting as I find myself in new places being overwhelmed by unfamiliarity with very little to hold onto. Speaking to Carol recently on a peer coaching phone-call, she suggested that I should do something which I have mastery- in my mind, I translated 'mastery' to simply something I knew I can do. It seemed to make a lot of sense though no immediate task or opportunity came to mind. A few weeks later, I was lucky enough to go skiing for a day and in that day, I, uncharacteristically, did not go for very difficult or challenging runs but runs I could comfortably do- and enjoy- with no deliberate effort nor thinking. I cannot begin to tell you what that did for me. I was able, in skiing down relatively comfortable runs, to feel free to enjoy my competence, to ground myself and to give myself just enough 'history' to hold onto- just enough to give me enough hand-holding to go from feeling totally overwhelmed to feeling more in control. It had nothing to do with control over my environment- which continued to be alien and unfamiliar, but a FEELING of being in control of my feelings of overwhelmness. In one day, I found myself in a different place which in turn enabled me to become gradually more connected with what is now arising and to be more open to my own internal 'calling' as well as what the environment is calling me to do. This insight was only possible in the chaos of letting go- and most significantly, with grace, for the reminder from Carol- the gift of holding on and in doing so, a readiness for new possibilities to present themselves- in what Otto might call 'letting come'.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)