January 14, 2014 · 4:56 am

A FINE line in leadership

According to the literature (one of my favorite lines), some say that leaders have to have a sense of self.  This suggests you have to have this awareness before you get into the “game.”  Others say that leadership helps you discover your sense of self.  Perhaps this is the now of leadership, that we can’t truly know ourselves until we have been in there working it out.  And…you guessed it…. some suggest that we have an expanded sense of self after we have been in a leadership situation.  Reflection is a beautiful thing and it probably is a little easier to look back and see the lessons with some time and context than perhaps anticipating or hesitating in process.  

Our ability to accomplish anything is connected to an internal fortitude.  Believing in ourselves is where it has to start.  It is the I CAN attitude that reinforces our inner strength and self esteem.  This is self-efficacy, it’s the inner belief in our own ability to accomplish our goals – any goals…all goals.  Funny thing about goals, charting a new course, setting out to accomplish things or expanding our self concept is that we need to move our thoughts into actions.  Everything is a thought before it becomes real.  Our evolution as a person is really the same thing.

When we talk about ourselves, others sometimes interpret this as an egotistical thing.  At times, this is more about the reality of the listener than our own actions.  It could be an egotistical thing, but that is a fine line of leadership.  In our American culture we are conditioned to have an I, me, my approach to the world.  Even the word we use for ourselves is always capitalized – I.  This isn’t true in all languages or worldviews.

  • We are told to get out there and make it happen.
  • If it is to be then it is up to me.
  • Make something of yourself.
  • Put yourself forward in the best light possible.

But, if we talk about ourselves too much then it quickly turns into narcissism.  So how do we approach this?  What is this fine line?  There is a difference between ego and egotistical. Ego is a Latin or Greek word that means I.  We use in to mean “self” and it is related to identity.  As stated at the start of this piece leading is a process that we have to have an ego before we start.  The ego is strengthened during the practice of leading.  Finally, our ego is expanded because of leadership.  Bottom line here…we have to have an ego to survive and thrive.  Ego is what get’s us through the hard times.  Ego is what pushes us forward to test our ideas.  Ego is what gets us to stand in front of the group and say, “let’s try this.”  In life (not just in leadership) we have to have a strong sense of self, an identity…. ergo an ego.

However, there is this thing about others interpreting our ego and TOO MUCH of a good thing.  Didn’t someone say -Moderation is the key to life?  And we have definitely said, “Less is more.”  I am not talking about less, who wants to be less of who they are?  Ego is about our identity and a sense of “I”.  I am talking about Awareness.  An awareness of when we are approaching that fine line between the two – ego / tistical. We see the word ego in ego/tistical.  So, we can see the relation.  Pretty clever eh?

We can accomplish more by working together.  This presents a few egos that have to survive together.  To make this happen we can think of it as a type of TRIathlon.  We have -1 part of our own I awareness, one part of awareness of the others I-ness, and finally, the awareness of how much we use the word –I.  The triathlon is about endurance and sustaining the energy of working together.  Our trIathlon is about me+them+aware.

How do you practice your TrIathlon?  How do you train?  When is your next ‘race’?

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November 18, 2013 · 11:21 pm

Newtonian Leadership

First, I am not a physicist. This explanation is an attempt to connect some things we all know and get on some level with the topic of leadership.  Perhaps the topic is more about collaboration and how leadership works between “forces” to create change.  So, now we can get to Newton and some thoughts about force, creating change, and setting the intention for our work.

I have used an example that force equals mass times acceleration (F=ma) to create an analogy for working as a leader or within a team.  This is actually Newton’s second law about force and inertia he published in 1687.  He was talking about force as an influence that causes an object to change.  Mass of course, has weight and takes up space, or something to that effect.  Acceleration has to do with movement and speed, like the accelerator pedal underfoot.  To bring it to a leadership topic we can define force as a movement or the intention for positive change.  Force has to do with strength, intensity, power, and energy.  Force is still an influence that precipitates change.  Let’s change the M and the A though.  Rather than mass, we use Me, or Members.  True, both of these still have weight and take up space.  The other part of our equation is Attitude.  Again, the attitude of the leader(s) and/or the team is definitely going to have an impact on the acceleration of the goals and objectives at hand.  The attitude of the leader (me) is going to provide a model and establish a tone for the rest of the members.

The force for change is set by those involved in the meaning making and the agenda setting group of leaders creating the movement.  I would call them leaders.  It is related to the Margaret Mead quote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”  Attitude is everything (someone said that before me…. but I couldn’t find a particular person for attribution).

Let’s return to Newton’s laws for a minute.  The first was that an object in motion tends to stay in motion.  Which is that feeling you have when the roller coaster car comes to a sudden stop (or slower speed) and you get thrown against the padded bar holding you in place.  The force that we are creating not only depends on attitude and the masses (me and members), but it has to be sustained for lasting effect.  The amount of energy it takes to create momentum generally has to start somewhere.  Once the energy is in motion we need to keep it moving.  It is a lot easier to keep the energy in motion once it is moving.  Finally, Newton’s third law is about symmetry, or the interaction among different forces.  This action-reaction law says that one action generally creates an opposite reaction from another.  This “pushback” or reaction is good from a leadership perspective.  A reaction of some type is a good sign.  Energy of any sort communicates interest.  This is good for any change.  It provides a greater energy.  It is much better to obtain a reaction, and some indication of interest.  The opposite of this is apathy.  We need change, and motion, not apathy and a dead end.

How does your attitude contribute to the forward force and momentum of your group?

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October 7, 2013 · 3:22 am

Linguistic Acrobatics

Linguistic Acrobatics

There is no “I” in Team….but we can find “me”

There is no “I” in team.  To have a team you have to have multiple “I”s to make it all work.  A team by definition is more than one. So, there is no “I” but we do find a ME. Let’s look at the multiples of ME that contribute to task and process of the team.

Let’s back up…

I am guessing that most have heard the saying,  “There is no ‘I” in team.”  This is a true statement of fact.  We can buy posters that say this for the office, locker room, and other gathering places.  I guess this overused phrase reminds us of the importance of working together. Perhaps it is a caution against being self-centered.  I agree that working together is teamwork.  The origin of the word TEAM is from the Old English about “animals being yoked together” to pull or drag something.  But, I am getting off the subject here.  There is no “I” in team.

Me

Let’s look at the word T–E–A–M, and we can find the “ME.”  It takes some spelling acrobatics to manipulate the letters to form the word, Me.   But, after the obvious statement that we can’t find an “I” in team the letter shuffle is least of our worries. Who is the me in a team?  By definition the team has to consist of more than ONE (which coincidentally is the Roman Numeral I).  This concept of ME in a team considers a grouping of individuals (which does have an “I” by the way) to accomplish the work of the team.  In fact one of those posters we can hang in the office also suggests that T-E-A-M  is an acronym for Together Everyone Accomplishes More.  Without the collaboration in a group (perhaps even a Team) of MEs they couldn’t accomplish the work.  This synergy of working together requires the combination of strengths, talents, and gifts that combines to create a critical mass of energy to complete THE work.  The metaphor of 1+1=3 catches our attention due to the improper math equation. At the same time, it illustrates that my work with your work can create a greater sum of work than just what each of us can accomplish on our own.

Abilities of Me

The power and ability to do or act is increased through the collaboration of the many that are working for a common purpose.  Through Transformational leadership we know that at times Me #1 has a strength or talent that will come to the forefront, while the others assume a supporting role.  At other times Me #X will possess a new talent or skill that could be used by the team for the common goal of the group.  Andrew Carnegie
said, “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. [It is] the ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”

An individual can have leadership qualities.  We can recognize a leader among people as a quality of personhood, or through their actions.  But, that recognition comes from someone…or even a group of someones.  I submit that generally this comes from a group, an office, an organization, a team of some sort.  The group in some manner probably shares the role of leader.  This will happen through sequential rotation through an office.  It can happen through shared leadership, or a network of leaders.  It can happen through delegation.

In short, there is no “I” in team, there has to be a bunch of “I”s in there to make it all work.  Do the acrobatics.  See the multiples of ME that contribute to task and process of the team.

When did you know that you were a leader?  Was it related somehow to a group or working with a bunch of other leaders?

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September 3, 2013 · 4:00 pm

Why raw ability?

When I decided to start blogging I had to think of a name that would allow me a little flexibility to think, write, publish, and put myself out into the universe. I also wanted a space that was true to how I thought about my ability and what I think WE all bring to the table.  Yes that proverbial table that doesn’t really exist, but at the same time is a metaphor for so many aspects of our lives – the board table, the conference table, sharing ideas over a meal-table, in a meeting, the classroom table, our kitchen table…in short the metaphorical table of sharing ideas The meta table.

My raw ability

I have some thoughts and things to share.  I think about theory and practice.  I think about the interplay between perfect practice and the theoretical.  One of my strengths is connecting the seemingly unconnected in ways that I think they make sense.  Often times they do make sense, sometimes in the immediate as they leave my mouth or fingers, and sometimes after a bit, more thinking.  One overall name for my blog posts was – I was just sittin here frettin’.  Which maybe a cool post at some point, but it is a little constricting for a whole theme.  It seems rather angstie (is that a word? probably not) as well.  Angst isn’t raw.  Angst is drama. Drama is probably what interrupts action, power, talent, or strengths.

I think.  I am analytical.  I am conceptual.  I am social.  I collect.  I connect.  So, my raw ability connects to my strengths – Strategic, Learner, Input, Context, Intellection, and Ideation.  I like to see where they came from and how they evolve.  The order, pattern, or connections within the chaos of life, sometimes it takes some time to notice.

Others raw abilities

We all have strengths, leadership, thoughts, ideas, and contributions to share at this table.  At times how the group (however that group is constituted) thinks and works together may seem to be at odds with each other.  I think, in general, when people come together they are really trying to propose ideas and suggestions that contribute to making the group better.  That is transformational leadership.  The challenge of working as a team or as a unit for a common purpose for the sake of collaboration can sometimes seem messy.  Periodically different thinking seems to be at odds and may contribute to the storming part of group dynamics.  However, it doesn’t dismiss the ability of any, or all, of the people working together.

So this means

Ability connects directly to our personal power and the capacity to do what we intend.   Raw ability is the culmination of the gifts we all have and bring to the table.  Raw ability is about the mix of talents in an organization, leader group, business setting, or team.  The feedback we get from others in these groups contributes to a better understanding of our own raw talents.  This will be refined and presented later in life, at the next table; it is the cumulative effect of which we are… a personal evolution, maybe a personal revolution (depending on the feedback of course).

What are your raw abilities?  What do you bring to the table?

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