I have been holed up at the Radisson Blu Centrum for the past three and a half days co-facilitating a Leadership Development Intensive (LDI). As usual, it is an all-absorbing experiential with days starting at 7.30am to 7pm daily. As rich and rewarding as these experientials are, the intensity means that the day after I am usually tired and spent. Today was no exception. I made a conscious choice a few months ago to cut down on travelling. This has meant more time in Warsaw. People ask me 'how do you like Warsaw?'- well, I am learning to enjoy Warsaw though I am still a long way off having any kind of relationship with this place.
As I stepped out of the hotel at around 13:00 this afternoon, I sensed that the air was sharper than it had been for a while. My feet decided to take a left instead of a right and I found myself walking down Grzybowska towards Warszawa Centralny. I had a vague notion of going to Radio Cafe for lunch. As I walked, I was aware of having a 'sunday feeling'. I saw groups of tourists looking at maps, families in their 'sunday best', tour buses, quiet roads. As I approached a major intersection, I saw that the Ministry of Culture building to my right- closer than I expected. On impluse, I decided to venture down a side road. A cosy little cafe- I could just make out that they were offering cream of brocolli soup as their soup of the day...a restaurant named 'Patagonia' that served Italian food...signpost for a synagogue...a crumbling old building with large photos of jewish families posted on the outside. The derilict building threw me back to pre-war era- dark brown-black brickwork...smashed and boarded-up windows...in warsaw, the past is never far away. Outside a large church, an incongruently small statute of Pope John Paul II and at his feet, a small carpet of bright yellow and red flowers and wreaths...the thunderous scraping of skateboards...the delicate 'ting ting' from a passing bicycle...
my eyes wandered towards the sky and I saw the light- the diffused orange pink glow of winter-light, soft orange sorbet against a bright bronze dome and a soot black cross. This light is so evocative, so unique to this part of the world that when I see it, I always feel like I am in a movie- Dr Zhivago or Anna Karenina. The unmistakeable light of early winter in central eastern europe. How bizzare it is that I am here! How lucky it is that I am here! How surreal!
Sunday, 25 November 2012
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Talent Development
I was speaking with a colleague at a client site yesterday when the topic of 'Talent Development' came up. My colleague said that in Poland, very few Talent Development schemes are actually effective. I said I have never been that impressed with how many organisations view 'talent' especially when they only focus on 'high potential' fast-trackers or when there is a heavy reliance on IT systems-driven profiling. My beef has always been that in most organisations, we have no idea who we actually have in our team let alone our workforce. It is hard to have quality time and conversations to really connect with the potential person/ being that is yet to emerge- the infinite energy loop of being <-> becoming. Furthermore, I find that workplaces are fundamentally preoccupied with functionality and utility- what is useful is valued. I think that this emphasis tends to push people into emphasising this aspect of their development rather than giving more space for people to simply following what is wanting to emerge. I think the lack of real developmental space has implications for creativity and innovation in the workplace.
In the last few days I have been particularly struck by the hiearchical nature of organisations in Poland. Maybe I have just been very lucky to have worked in places where the hiearchy is not particularly rigidly adhered to. But here, I do believe that where you are in the hiearchy and what job title you have are hugely important. Part of my frustration of owning a consulting firm here is that irrespective of my job title or my achievements, people will always look to John, the older man, as 'the boss'. I have found this to be irritating to downright absurd to feeling very despondent. Why? Because I fundamentally believe in the capability and potential of every person and how each person, in their own way, is capable of extraordinary things. However, for this to happen, each one of us needs to be in an environment where the conditions are supportive to us. The effect of rigid hiearchical thinking is that each person is kept in a box. This can be very efficient and it can also be very limiting. I think in such an environment, people's development become skewed towards learning to 'play the game'. This type of developmental path has it's roots in survival mode. The effect on the organisation is that people become very effective at learning how to sustain and strengthen the established patterns that already exist. This is not Talent Development.
Aside from the structure, people within an organisation also contributes greatly to each other's talent development. In fact, alongside structure, people and how they behave towards one another form the culture within which talent development takes place. Our ability to make space for differences, our willingness to let each other shine, our capacity to appreciate each other's gifts as well as our willingness to contribute to one another's developing edge. Above all, our fundamental believe that talent is not a scarce thing but something that is abundant, plentiful and diverse.
Next time you are in the countryside, look up at the nightsky. The inky sky is vibrant with a million stars. They all shine because they are all stars not because they want to outshine each other. The challenge for those of us who are responsible for creating organisations is: how do we create human systems that can allow all of us to shine more brightly?
In the last few days I have been particularly struck by the hiearchical nature of organisations in Poland. Maybe I have just been very lucky to have worked in places where the hiearchy is not particularly rigidly adhered to. But here, I do believe that where you are in the hiearchy and what job title you have are hugely important. Part of my frustration of owning a consulting firm here is that irrespective of my job title or my achievements, people will always look to John, the older man, as 'the boss'. I have found this to be irritating to downright absurd to feeling very despondent. Why? Because I fundamentally believe in the capability and potential of every person and how each person, in their own way, is capable of extraordinary things. However, for this to happen, each one of us needs to be in an environment where the conditions are supportive to us. The effect of rigid hiearchical thinking is that each person is kept in a box. This can be very efficient and it can also be very limiting. I think in such an environment, people's development become skewed towards learning to 'play the game'. This type of developmental path has it's roots in survival mode. The effect on the organisation is that people become very effective at learning how to sustain and strengthen the established patterns that already exist. This is not Talent Development.
Aside from the structure, people within an organisation also contributes greatly to each other's talent development. In fact, alongside structure, people and how they behave towards one another form the culture within which talent development takes place. Our ability to make space for differences, our willingness to let each other shine, our capacity to appreciate each other's gifts as well as our willingness to contribute to one another's developing edge. Above all, our fundamental believe that talent is not a scarce thing but something that is abundant, plentiful and diverse.
Next time you are in the countryside, look up at the nightsky. The inky sky is vibrant with a million stars. They all shine because they are all stars not because they want to outshine each other. The challenge for those of us who are responsible for creating organisations is: how do we create human systems that can allow all of us to shine more brightly?
Sunday, 28 October 2012
Bylam<->Jestem<->Bede
It snowed all day yesterday- everyone said it was unusual for this time of the year- not even November. I was struck by a sense of nostalgia. For some reason, the way it was snowing took me back to when I first arrived in Poland in 2010- or was it 2009? I was in Krakow then and I remember being struck by the black and white landscape- black railings of the Planty, black leafless trees, white snow, white rooftops- the smell of coal in the air- black smoke coming out of chimneys. Trams, renaissance stoneswork, cobblestoned alleyways- getting completely lost and disoriented- always somehow winding back on myself and finding myself in pretty much the same spot after a lot of walking round and round. And today, in Warsaw. What a difference! Streaming traffic, wide roads and angular structures- concrete, concrete and soviet past somehow embedded in the buildings, roads and the feel of the place. Then suddenly, I was struck by how familiar I felt to being in Toronto- the same flatness of landscape, of satellite settlements with no apparent character. Life in cold climes reduced to mostly hopping from one indoor setting to another. Odd. Oddly familiar. I looked at myself in the mirror and reflected on how time has passed so quickly. And I have been commuting from Krakow to Warsaw to the UK for at least two years- very intensely in the last year. Have I aged? How have I changed? I found myself unable to connect with the present me as I am filled with schedules, meetings, plans, articles yet to be written, workshops and flight bookings. It seems the pendulum has swung to the other side- away from the artistic side to the productive side. I fear the pendulum might get stuck and never swing back again. Though I am 'doing well' in many respects, I have a persistent, gnawing fear that this phase of productivity will drive out my creativity- that I will be condemned to being a little mouse on a little wheel. When I wrote the title, I wasn't sure whether to put anything after 'Bede' and if i were to put a sign, would it be < or >? If I had a choice, which I actually do, how would I swing the pendulum? Is Bede < or >?
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