Think about your current leader or supervisor. What thoughts or feelings immediately surface for you? Does this person inspire you? Are you excited to spend time with her sharing new ideas and working toward a common vision; or do you dread every interaction? Does she give you energy or suck the life out of you; or perhaps its somewhere in-between?

I'm guessing it was easy to assess your leader's impact on you. If you've been in the work world for a while and had several leaders, it doesn't take long to figure out if the current one is one you truly want to follow or whether you are going to have to pull from your own energy resources to find inspiration.

Most of us instinctively sum up a relationship based on past history, categorize it and expect the same from that person in the future. Guess what? From that stance, that's all we'll ever be able to experience from her. This is a great example of getting what we focus on. Once we have developed a narrow perception of another person, it takes intention to see the individual outside of that mental model. If your experience of your leader is positive, that's not a bad thing. If your experience of your leader is negative, it will wear you down.

Whether your current experience of your leader is positive or negative, I challenge you to take a moment to reflect on her gifts and talents. Every human being has beauty and gifts. It is there to see, if you look for it. What is it about her that is unique and special? Make time to focus on her gifts before every planned interaction and those gifts will reveal themselves to you in an even bigger way.

People will never change when we set out to change them, but science has shown that magnificence springs from people when we focus on their gifts. Perhaps you've heard of the research done by Rosenthal (R. Rosenthal, 1991) documenting the fact that the intelligence of randomly selected children increased when their classroom teachers were told that the children were gifted. The childrens' intelligence increased, as measured through an IQ test, because the teacher was looking for their gifts.

Remember, you get what you focus on. Look for the best in your leader and others and you will find it in abundance.

Source: R Rosenthal, Journal of Research in Education, 1(1991): 3-12

Labels: inspiration, leadership

Yesterday, I completed the Nationwide Columbus Half Marathon. I was prepared for what I wanted to accomplish and it felt great to run and finish with a friend.

What I've noticed in preparing for long running events is that preparation is key. That preparation involves my own creation of a long-term plan made up of short-term goals. I notice that once the plan is set, my mind prepares for it and the mind-body connection is enacted.

If I plan to do a short 3 mile run, I run it with ease; but I find it might be difficult to run more that day. If I plan a twelve mile run, I knock out each of the twelve miles, but don't ask me to run one step more. The phrase "set your mind to it" seems to have real meaning.

What I know about reaching goals is that when we harness the self-regulatory powers that reside within us versus it being externally enforced, we have a much greater chance of success followed by a sense of accomplishment.

Having a sense of choice and autonomy in goal setting, a feeling of competence and experiencing relatedness with those around us enhances our intrinsic motivation. When those around us attempt to motivate us through threats, deadlines, demands, external evaluations and imposed goals, intrinsic motivation is diminished.

The adoption of a coaching leadership style invites leaders to trust their followers and capitalize on their strengths; thus enacting intrinsic motivation or inspiration. The leader pulls the best from her employees by inviting them to set interim goals that fit within the context of the organization's vision. The employees enjoy creative autonomy and are reinforced by their leader's trust.

As each goal is accomplished, the employees' confidence in their own competence grows. The ultimate outcome is a healthy relationship, employee growth and success. By experiencing a coaching leadership style and adopting a marathon mindset, employees find success and both the employee and the company win!

Labels: coaching, goal setting, leadership, marathon

In case you missed it, I thought I would pass on the invitation to the Catalyzing Conscious Capitalism event that came from John Mackey, CEO at Whole Foods. Here it is:

I am writing to invite you to a special event that I am hosting in November. The event is called Catalyzing Conscious Capitalism. It's taking place in Austin, Texas this coming November 6-9.

I'm personally inviting you to join me and other business leaders in laying the foundation for accelerating a movement that Wharton School Publishing calls, "the most fundamental transformation in capitalism since Adam Smith."
"Conscious capitalism" was coined by economist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus to stand for a company's intentional efforts to directly serve society while creating wealth for shareholders.

Conscious capitalism rests on two core principles:

1. Every business has the potential to either discover or create a deeper purpose for itself, which goes beyond maximizing profits or shareholder value.
2. The most sustainable businesses over the long-term will consciously create value for all of their independent stakeholders, customers, employees, investors, suppliers, community and the environment. Paradoxically, this principle will also create the most long-term value for investors.

We have an incredible cast of presenters and facilitators, including Sir Ken Robinson, who will serve as the Master of Ceremonies or "guide" through the event. Please visit http://consciouscapitalism.com for further information and to register.

I sincerely hope to see you in Austin in November 6-9, 2008 where we will take the first steps to organize the Conscious Capitalism Society, an organization we envision as having a global reach.

Yours for a better world,

John P. Mackey
Chairman and CEO, Whole Foods

Humanity is in crisis. This Friday we saw the largest US government bailout of business in history. The very next day, European leaders met in Paris to deal with the newly acknowledged global economic crisis. Setting aside the larger societal problems of global warming, pollution, drinking water shortages, terrorism, war, genocide, ethnic cleansing, poverty and disease; serious financial troubles have begun to affect the richest countries in the world, and we are deeply divided about what to do.

There is good news. The way out of this mess has already been shown. Business must become the leading agent of world benefit. To achieve long-term sustainable success, business leaders must shift their focus to the common good. They must consider all stakeholders, not just shareholders. This larger vision of the role of business has already been proven profitable by the leaders of virtually every business sector. And, thanks to the Harvard Business Review and other business researchers and authors, the superior results of this approach are well documented. Study after study has pointed out that companies with this greater vision consistently and dramatically out-perform their competition.

So why do we find ourselves in this current predicament? It can be traced all the way back to Adam Smith. Smith was a pioneer of modern political economics back in the 1700's. He was among the first to state that greed was good (sorry Gordon Gekko), and that the invisible hand of the market would maximize the total revenue of society as a whole. More recently, American Nobel Laureate economist Milton Freidman championed the advantages of the unfettered marketplace and the disadvantages of government intervention and regulation. According to Wikipedia, Friedman's "views of monetary policy, taxation, privatization and deregulation informed the policy of governments around the globe, especially the administrations of Ronald Reagan in the U.S., Brian Mulroney in Canada, Margaret Thatcher in Britain, and Augusto Pinochet in Chile, and (after 1989) in Eastern Europe."

Hopefully, this latest systematic failure will once and for all expose Smith's and Freidman's philosophy as fatally flawed in its' narrow focus on greed and self-interest. After all, it was the deregulation of electricity that preceded the Enron scandal. In the 80's & 90's, the savings and loan crisis was preceded by deregulation of savings and loan industry combined with imprudent real estate lending. It's not hard to see the similarities to the current Wall Street melt down and its' precedent of further financial deregulation and unchecked financial "innovation".

Unfortunately, rules and regulations are insufficient to solving the root problem. We often legislate morality, but that alone does not ensure ethical behavior. Famously, even Enron had an ethics code that was widely and ironically distributed on the internet. Enron's in-house "Code of Ethics" was a 64-page booklet distributed to employees along with an introductory letter from Chairman Kenneth Lay noting the "moral and honest manner" in which the energy firm's business affairs should be conducted.

Moreover, Sarbanes-Oxley, the legislative response to Enron, Worldcom, & Tyco International et. al., did nothing to stop the current Wall Street meltdown and its' concomitant mortgage and securities shenanigans. 6 years ago these scandals cost investors billions of dollars and shook public confidence in the nation's securities markets. Yet, here we are, in the same place all over again.

To get out of this devolving cycle, we must address the root problem of trust, confidence and ethical behavior. This will be accomplished as leaders of business and industry embrace the larger vision of the greater good, backed up by living out the values expressed in their corporate codes of conduct. Those espoused values will include the concerns of multiple stakeholders, not just shareholders. Employee engagement, customer satisfaction, vendor collaboration and the good of the local and global community will be important as measures of sustainable success. When this larger vision is backed up by leadership behavior, business will become the transformative agent needed so badly right now.

As leaders begin to really walk the talk, employees become energized and engaged. In part this comes from the inspiring new business vision that now includes the greater good. And, if leaders further encourage employees to express their own unique passion and talents through the company's vision and values, truly sustainable success is assured.

Ethical breakdowns in this preferred future business culture will be smaller and less frequent. They will be the occasional cheats and embezzlements of individual bad actors, not the devastating results of systematic breakdowns. As the most powerful force in the modern world, business can quickly become the most effective agent of world benefit. Now, more than ever, we need business leaders of vision and values to step out of the destructive spiral set in motion by Adam Smith and move us towards a future that defines success as the triumph of the common good, not the privileged few.

Enter any organization and you will hear a leader from the Baby Boomer Generation expressing frustration over a co-worker from Generation Y.

When you think about it, this issue is probably less of a values gap then it is a leadership gap. Generation Y was parented by Baby Boomers. It is apparent that a different type of leadership than is currently practiced by many Baby Boomers is required to tap into the brilliance of Generation Y.

Let's look at what Generation Y wants. According to studies conducted by Rainmaker Thinking, Generation Y wants:

*Leaders who are honest, transparent and authentic;
*Leaders who use story-telling as a means of communicating;
*Leaders who inspire them and who recognize that different things inspire different people;
*Leaders who stimulate their thinking and allow them to make a contribution;
*Leaders who appreciate their civic mindedness and provide opportunities for them to give.

These desires are the characteristics of transformational leadership - the leadership of the future. It is the leadership of the future because it is the style of leadership that will truly tap into the brilliance of every generation and lead organizations to success. Take a look at our "What Engaging Leaders Do" blog posting for a list of transformational leadership characteristics.

This style of leadership can be learned through development and coaching programs. For some it will come naturally and for others it will be a longer journey. It requires a deep self-awareness, a sense of purpose, big-picture thinking and a willingness to give up control. These things can't be faked or rushed, therefore the time to support leaders in their own transformation is now.

Leadership Beyond Limits offers a variety of leadership development and coaching programs to build transformational leaders.

Labels: Baby Boomers, coaching, Generation Y, leadership development, transformational leadership

Have you seen the third edition of the biennial Global CEO study conducted by IBM? It is worth a read. The executive summary can be downloaded by clicking here. The findings make a strong argument for creating a high employee engagement culture.

8 out of 10 CEO's see significant change ahead, yet feel there is a huge perceived gap in their ability to manage that change.

Customers continue to be more demanding, well informed and socially aware.

40% are changing their enterprise models to increase collaboration.

Finally, the enterprise of the future goes beyond philanthropy and compliance and reflects genuine concern for society in all actions and decisions.

These conditions make a high employee engagement culture a necessity, not a luxury. If you want to know how to build and maintain a high employee engagement culture, you can download our white paper here.

The full IBM study is available at ibm.com/enterpriseofthefuture

Labels: business, compliance, customer service, employee engagement, enterprise, future, workplace culture

Employee engagement is dependent on leadership style. There are leaders who inspire their teams and bring them to life and there are those who perpetuate presenteeism and disengagement.

Recent workplace surveys tell us that one of the most important drivers of employee retention and engagement is a competent and visible senior leadership team that is invested in the well-being of the company's employees. Today's employees want to work for transformational leaders. The four characteristics of transformational leaders are:

1) Idealized influence: they do the right thing versus what is the most expedient, simple or cost-effective.

2) Inspirational motivation: they work from their values and can articulate a vision for the organization that holds meaning. Followers become greater through stretch goals and growth.

3) Intellectual stimulation: they ask the right questions that challenge the intellect, beliefs and creativity of followers.

4) Individualized influence: they believe in their followers and offer them care, compassion and support. They see their followers as human beings with full lives, not just as resources.


These leaders lead with a coaching style and give their employees space to perform. Their team relationships are steeped in trust and that trust inspires employees to be their best for the team.

Typical leadership skill building will not develop transformational leaders. Transformation comes from the inside out; it's a way of being. Companies on the cutting edge of leadership development are investing in the personal development of their leaders including exploration of personal values, life purpose and character strengths.

Organizations transform when people transform.

Labels: employee engagement, leadership, transformational leadership