Leadership and Mindfulness

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s way” (Frankl, 1992).

Stress Today

Stress today is everywhere. Leaders are often adept at managing highly stressful situations, but we are all interested in improving our performance. Self-care is critical for many successful leaders. While everyone learns to value aspects of balanced living in different ways, there’s a lot to be said for the simple yet meaningful practice of Mindfulness. Mindfulness has received a lot of attention recently, while some leaders are now seasoned practitioners – other leaders are still Mindfulness beginners.

Why Mindfulness, why now?

We are now living in what some have termed a VUCA world (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) (Harvard Business Review, 2014). Leaders are forced to manage each aspect of how this impacts their organizations and employees. It is a new year, 2017. The intensity of last year will most likely spill over, so how do we ameliorate the stress of a volatile and unpredictable world? Enter mindfulness. The answer may be found in being a more mindful leader. Or essentially, a leader who also practices mindfulness.

Leadership is about inspiring and guiding everyone to be the best they can be and mindfulness fosters the ability for practitioners to live in the moment, to take control of any situation by having the presence to remain engaged, flexible, and even calm in an unpredictable and volatile world.

How do we practice Mindfulness?

The FEEL Model by Liz Hall (2013) is a helpful acronym that leaders can use to begin a mindfulness practice. Try FEEL,

Focus – set an intention on what you are trying to achieve. Being mindful is often about paying attention to something – our thoughts, our emotions, our bodily sensations, etc. One may have the intention to focus on their breath for three minutes (for example) before they start a challenging task.

Explore – as you breathe, notice what arises (our thoughts, our emotions, and our bodily sensations), notice each with an attitude of curiosity and non-judgement.

Embrace – each sensation with awareness – breathe as you note each emotion, physical sensation, or thought. Try not to push away or judge what you notice. Just let each experience come and go, like clouds floating by.

Let Go – this is about not holding on to something pleasant or unpleasant for too long. With your awareness, return your attention to the sensations of your breath. Continue to let go as you begin to breathe again.

Practicing mindfulness often does not feel easy or natural in the beginning. Like many new tasks and challenges, the barriers within us are often our biggest hurdle. Many beginners find taking an eight-week mindfulness course as the most practical and informative method to begin a practice. Practicing mindfulness is known to reduce the of impact stress in our personal lives, our job performance and our overall well-being. Research has consistently shown that practicing mindfulness increases productivity by decreasing negative emotions and increasing positive well-being, even happiness. As a leader, fostering mindfulness will not only improve work-life balance but it will enhance your ability to choose how you respond to any given challenge or circumstance.

May we all have a more mindful and balanced – 2017. Keep practicing and stay present.

Decoding Authentic Leadership

Ancient Greek philosophers believed it was to “Know thyself,” in Shakespeare it was “To thine own self be true” (Polonius, Hamlet). Authenticity has been discussed for many centuries, long before the creation of modern day leadership theories. Authenticity has withstood the test of time and is now the latest ‘fad’ in the realm of leadership studies.

Let’s begin with how we define authentic leadership. Ask any individual to define the word ‘authentic,’ you may get responses such as ‘genuine,’ ‘speaking your truth,’ and perhaps ‘being honest.’ These appear to be relatively simple definitions, so should good leaders just be honest about everything, regardless of the outcome? Limiting the definition of a great leader to a one-dimensional definition such as ‘being honest’ drastically over simplifies the journey to becoming an effective leader. Great leaders are far from one-dimensional, so what makes us think we can use one-dimensional definitions to define their characteristics?

In the midst of morally corrupt and dysfunctional leaders, authentic leadership research has brought about a change in how effective leaders are defined and developed. More leaders desire a meaningful approach to how they serve, inspire, and guide their organization. I’ve heard several leaders ask “I want to be an authentic leader, what book should I read?” If only it was that simple! Prescribing a book about authentic leadership is a temporary and useless remedy for an ethically corrupt leader. A leader desiring sustainable success should be aware that long term success will not come with a ‘quick-fix’ approach. After all, sometimes the fastest way isn’t always the best way.

Authenticity calls for the ‘true self’ to be exposed, but leaders I’ve known to be blatantly honest and fully open about their feelings were a far cry from authentic. Such behaviors often result in poor relationships, mistrust, and even the collapse of an organization. Developing and emanating a fixed self-concept can make leaders appear inflexible when drastic organizational changes are required. Authentic leaders avoid a rigid style of leadership, they are willing to adapt to evolving situations and circumstances.

In addition, the world of business is becoming much more global, where interactions occur regularly with individuals of different cultural norms and beliefs. If a leader constantly exerts her own opinions, beliefs, and values on followers she appears more as a dictator and less as an authentic leader. How a leader chooses to interpret authentic leadership will potentially make or break her image.

While theorists and leadership researchers have created multiple definitions of authentic leadership; most agree authentic leaders’ posses the following four characteristics:

1. Self-Awareness. The authentic leader develops a clear understanding of her strengths, weaknesses, and emotions. The keyword here is weaknesses, by acknowledging their limitations they often find methods for overcoming them. Building self-awareness is a continuous journey as life events and circumstances alter one’s self-concept.

2. Relational Transparency. Authentic Leaders are open and forthcoming in their interactions with others; unafraid to be vulnerable.

3. Balanced Processing. Authentic Leaders are able to hear and consider numerous perspectives during a decision making process.

4. Internalized Moral Perspective. Authentic leaders possess a strong moral compass, with values and beliefs that are not easily influenced by outside pressures.

Authentic leaders are dedicated to building lasting relationships. They make connections with the help of empathy and build trust through vulnerability. This statement does not infer that authentic leaders portray themselves as ‘weak’ or ‘soft,’ they are in fact direct in their communication when required. Directness is often crucial to success of the individual and the organization. Nevertheless, the trait of empathy is often utilized when authentic leaders choose to be straightforward with followers and colleagues. This style of leadership is far from a ‘may way or the highway’ approach, because authentic leaders think collaboratively and create a safe environment that encourages others to share diverse viewpoints. They take satisfaction in empowering and inspiring their followers. Fundamentally, authentic leaders’ actions elicit hope, trust, and positive emotions in followers.

Although we’ve established it is not a ‘quick fix’ approach, the development of authentic leadership extinguishes the idea that leaders are born with innate qualities, traits, and characteristics. Authentic leaders are not just born; they develop through a lifetime of self-reflection and self-awareness. Authentic leadership gives hope to individuals at any stage of their careers or lifespans. It is never too late to become an authentic leader, it is however a fallacy to think such skills can be achieved quickly and without continuous, life long effort.

How to Create and Sustain Employee Motivation

The million-dollar question for managers: How do I motivate my employees and keep them motivated?

Over 20 years I’ve managed individual employees and built high performing teams, and I’ve always been perplexed by the large disparity in performance between equally skilled individuals. Figuring out why has become my life’s work. 

My investigation led me to the work of Sigmund Freud, who borrowed the term “dynamics” from physics when he coined “psychodynamics”. We can further apply the logic of physics to the understanding of work motivation, which I define as the desire to exert effort toward completing job tasks. 

I take this a step further and introduce the term motivation momentum as a psychological combination of mass and velocity (mass x velocity = momentum).  Often we hear a sportscaster describe a team as having momentum, and we might ask: What factors contribute to that kind of momentum? How does it work? Just as Freud suggested, the problem is dynamic in nature. 

One of the key factors in motivation momentum lies along the following continuum:

“Why should I bother doing this?”    “Why it is I really want to do this?

Employees that sustain high performance levels tend to have reasons behind their desire to work hard. 

Conversely, low performers tend to have reasons that leave them wondering why should they bother. 

Examples of these mass variables include pay, working conditions, benefits, achievement, growth, and advancement. Examples of these velocity factors include emotions, perceived fairness, self-concept, and social perception.

What gives these factors mass is how much or deep they can impact an individual’s psyche.  I also call these nurturing and non-nurturing factors.  Nurturing factors are factors such as achievement, growth, and advancement.  These factors are developmental and can possess great amounts of psychological mass.  Whereas, pay, working conditions, and benefits are non-nurturing factors, are not typically used for developing employees, and possess less psychological mass.

Subsequently, velocity factors are the individual differences of each employee that fluctuate, and are more or less stable.  For example, moods and emotions can be intense and change rapidly, generating large amounts of energy and creating short bursts of psychological velocity. Factors like perceived fairness are more stable, and provide less of a spike in energy, but have a greater impact on the long-term trajectory.

The combination of how these mass and velocity factors interact produces varying degrees of motivation momentum. Understanding the mechanics that create motivation momentum can be an essential tool for managers.  Depending on the immediate or long term goals of an organization, managers can adjust their approach to motivate their employees.

Such as, a sales manager may target the moods and emotions of each team member to elicit a quick burst of motivation momentum to achieve an immediate goal.  Conversely, a manager seeking long-term motivation for a project team may target the more stable factors such as perceived fairness and social perception to elicit motivation momentum that has more staying power.

Human capital is the most important resource of any organization, and motivation momentum can empower individual achievement, attain organizational objectives, and increase the bottom line. This is one of the most important challenges organizations face. We can brainstorm strategy until we are blue in the face, but if our employees are not inspired to see it through none of it matters.

Recruiting for Success: Getting Below the Surface

The best recruiters are alchemists. They seek to understand and weave a relationship between the hiring company, the hiring manager and the candidate. Most importantly, they look beyond the short-term gains and resist pressure to close the deal too quickly. Instead, they think holistically, looking beyond surface compatibility to explore long-term alignment. Finding a perfect fit may seem like magic, but successful outcomes can be predicted based on key compatibility factors.

For example, they might explore a candidate’s values. Do they align with the organization’s culture and values? Great recruiters also learn about a candidate’s expectations and the environment in which they thrive. Will a candidate seeking a high-growth business be disappointed to discover that the company they just joined is in Renewal or Decline? Does the candidate prefer to work independently, and how will this mesh with a manager that tends toward micro-management?

These factors matter. It’s tempting to stick to the surface to expedite the hiring process and meet immediate needs. But in the long run, it is costly to both the hiring company and the candidate, who soon find themselves frustrated and needing to begin the whole process anew.

Recently, a senior executive I was coaching recounted a crystal clear memory related to her own experience being recruited 8 years earlier. She recalled feeling great pressure from the recruiter to accept the offer and she didn’t take the time to do her own due diligence. Looking back, she regretted not knowing more about the political environment she was entering. Unfortunately, this story is all too common.

Similarly, I have seen candidates hop from one job to another in search of the right fit. Given the competition for top talent, it is easy for them to explain leaving due to a culture mismatch, long commute or higher salary. However, the real story is that the relationship was likely doomed from the start. By hopping from one poor fit to another, they perpetuate the cycle.

Most search engagements stay on the surface and seldom venture into the underlying compatibility factors that best predict a successful placement. This may be due to a desire for expedience or a lack of awareness. It may also be due to an inherent desire to look good — everyone wants to put their best foot forward during the courting process. Organizations may not want to admit that their values are not embodied in their leadership or culture. Candidates may fear appearing overly needy or demanding if they inquire too deeply about the company or hiring manager’s style. Regardless of the reason, without a deeper and perhaps more vulnerable dialogue, the perfect fit can be elusive.

This is where an experienced recruiter can work magic. By establishing trust, safeguarding confidentiality and being skilled at thoughtful inquiry, they can get below the surface to identify an ideal match while also maintaining a firewall that protects all parties.

It’s my belief that all parties share responsibility for better outcomes. Both the recruiter and recruited need to be prepared to slow down and engage in the deeper conversations that will reveal whether it’s best to move forward or keep searching for the right fit. With economic uncertainty in recent memory, candidates may feel they can’t afford to hold out. But I believe this dynamic has shifted and candidates hold the upper hand today, as long as they do their research, arm themselves with tough questions, and remember that the interview process cuts both ways.

As all parties share responsibility, all parties share in the benefits. Ultimately the goal is a shared one – the right fit and rewarding relationships that benefit all parties and last.

Eugene’s Thoughts On Amazon

With the recent hubbub regarding the Amazon workplace, I’m genuinely thankful to Jeff Bezos and Amazon for inspiring a conversation about values and culture.

True or not, the alleged issues at Amazon are not surprising – and certainly not isolated. I personally see similar issues daily across all kinds of organizations, from start-ups to established enterprises and non-profits.

Companies genuinely struggle to meet competing demands. On the one hand, everyone wants increasing profits. Organizations are under pressure to do more with less and deliver short-term results. On the other hand, we are appalled to learn about companies with less-than-ideal (or worse) working conditions.

Sadly, the result of this conflict is a trend towards an “on-demand and on-call” workforce. While this issue is rife with complexity that cannot be addressed adequately in this short space, in my humble opinion, we — as a community and as leaders — need to step back and consider if it is even ethical. All too often “on-demand and on-call” leaves workers voiceless and vulnerable, working with no job security or predictable income.

The bottom line is that none of this is sustainable. So what’s the answer?  Leadership!

Leaders are the stewards of organizational values, which drive behaviors, and ultimately shape company culture. Today more than ever, companies need to develop leaders who walk the talk and are willing to buck the trends. Starting on day one, leaders need to realize that what they say or do – or fail to — has serious consequences.

Commonly these so-called soft conversations about values and organizational culture get put on the back burner – a conversation for another day when “we have more time or money.” And even if they do have the conversations, values may end up posted on the wall but not embedded in behavior.

Unfortunately, our experience at the Dilan Consulting Group is that these critical conversations often happen after a negative event — a mass exodus, lawsuit, bad PR. Only then do leaders finally stop and ask: “How did we get here? How do we make it better?” And usually these questions come with fingers pointing outward, when the reality is the leaders themselves have been shaping their organization’s culture all along whether or not they were conscious of it. Who they are and how they show up directed the personality of their organization, for better or worse.

Without mindfulness, even the best intentions can fall out of sync with values. Conversations about values and behaviors have to happen early and often because every action matters. Each decision creates lasting consequences that either build or erode gains.

Smart leaders start with culture in mind. They know that how they speak and behave, and the decisions they make, quietly create a picture that tells their employees what really matters.

It is never too late to start this conversation inside your organization. While shifting culture can be a slow process, you can reach critical mass faster if you proactively invest in developing your leaders and cultivating the values and behaviors that will lead towards sustainable, long-term success. The truth is that the competing demands highlighted above do not have to be mutually exclusive. It is possible to have great working conditions and consistently improve your bottom line. If this seems daunting, know you do not have to do it alone. We’re here to help.

Supercharging your Innovation Capabilities

Have you ever tried to build an innovative organization, or wondered how to make innovation happen?  If so, you’ll know it’s difficult because innovation is about releasing the potential in your leaders and teams. Unlike traditional management, the role of the innovation-driven leader is not to set the vision and motivate others to follow it. Instead, it’s to create a community willing and able to innovate. The challenge is to build an organization capable of innovating again and again.

INNOVATION versus INVENTION

Innovation is the introduction of something new or a better way of doing something that adds value. It is generally linked to positive changes in efficiency, productivity, quality, competitiveness, and market share. It differs from invention in that it uses a better but not necessarily new process, device, or method to generate novel ideas or processes with social impact, life-changing advances, and economic value. An invention, on the other hand, is a unique novel device, method, composition, or process. It is the creation of something that has never been made before and is recognized as the product of unique insight which extends the boundaries of human knowledge, experiences or capabilities. 

INNOVATION ENABLERS

Case studies confirm that an organization’s persistent dedication to innovation is what sets great companies apart. Findings also point to the complementary role of organizational culture and key enablers facilitating innovative thoughts into actions that improve organizational performance and gain market competitiveness. The following are some key enablers of innovation: 

Innovation Driven Leadership Within an innovating system, innovation driven leaders provide a source of inspiration that produces energy for seeking a challenging, exploring, and risk-taking. They also reinforce the right behaviors and correct the wrong one in their teams. They ensure that individuals at all levels are able to work effectively as a team member within and across functions. Innovation-driven leaders understand the innovative thinking methodology, how an innovating ecosystem works, and how to correct elements of their organization and culture that do not effectively support innovation. Such leaders expand and sustain organizational innovation capacity by drawing out the genius in each person and assemble them into innovations that represent a collective product. Most critically, innovation nurturing behaviors, build trust, and open communication, are comfortable taking risks and provide a sense of protection, safety and care. 

Organizational Culture And ValuesAn organization’s culture is the combination of spoken and unspoken rules that define how members should behave to be successful.  Some of the most important elements of culture that support innovation include trust, open communication, openness to and respect for people’s ideas, teamwork across functions, risk tolerance, technology support, recognition, and diversity of thinking styles and backgrounds.  Research shows culture enables people to innovate.  An innovative culture defines identity and market, and encourages the workforce to ask questions, share ideas, and engage in dialogue.  It strengthens an organization’s capability to collaborate and encourages research and experimentation through quick pursuit, evaluation, creative resolution, and adjustments.  Innovative culture also captures commitment and ensures organizational health, standards, stability, and adaptability. 

Collective Identity   Members of innovative organizations generally have the skills that allow them to accomplish their role in their innovating systems.  In such systems, interactions among members are critical for turning an idea into a process, product, and/or service.  Everyone applies innovative thinking to solve complex business problems they face.  As a collective, they are a community with a focused innovation strategy and a purpose for why the group exists.  Purpose makes people willing to take risks and do the hard work inherent in innovation.  As each team member applies innovative thinking to solve complex business problems faced by the organization, they not only contribute to the organization’s identity but also build the organization’s framework for innovation.  Hence, being a member of such an organization confirms purpose and creates meaning for work. 

People, Willingness, And Ability   If you’re trying to build an innovative organization, you must first understand only individuals and teams innovate.  Willingness among organizational members to innovate is necessary but not sufficient for innovation to flourish if the ability to do so is not there.  Organizational culture is a critical foundation for innovation and people’s willingness to innovate.  However, organizations, cultures, technology, and processes as independent entities do not innovate.  They support, facilitate or inhibit the people who desire to innovate.  Hence, it is critical for organizations to train their people to innovate, think about how to create value for customers, and understand that an organization’s future depends on innovation.

Preparedness   Innovation doesn’t come from organized plans.  It comes from stakeholders’ preparedness to address challenges and problems.  Training and development are thus fundamental to ensuring that leaders, managers, and individuals have the knowledge and skills necessary to innovate in the right place and at the right time.  To prepare and transform one self and others into creatively-innovating individuals, one needs to reduce individual innovation constraints by

  • Asking, watching, experimenting, learning, and trying
  • Treating idea generation as an exploration, not just a search
  • Learning to reformulate problems through problem-framing and problem-solving strategies.
  • Networking and answering four very basic human centered design questions: “What is?”  “What if?”  “What wows?”  “What works?
  • Accepting ambiguity and becoming risk tolerant

Organizational Agility Finally, agility is key in people-centric, innovative organizations. Simplified operations and an agile workforce are critical to an innovative ecosystem. Being an innovative organization requires well-thought-out organizational practices and strategies that stretch beyond just challenging the status quo and creating value. The entire organization, including the executives, human resources, finance, training and development, and information technology must be agile for it to become a forerunner of innovation in its industry. 

Now that you know what it takes to foster an innovative organization, you’re ready to start planting and nurturing innovation enablers without worrying about where to begin or how to build an innovative organization. 

Contact Form

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

DILAN Delivers - Legal Disclaimer

By submitting a challenge or problem to DILANdelivers@dilanstg.wpengine.com, you grant DILAN Consulting Group permission to publish it on our websites, newsletter and social media platforms. Your full name and contact details will never be included or distributed. The advice received is expressing personal opinions and views and the advice offered is intended for informational purposes only. Use of this column is not intended to replace or substitute for any professional advice.

This column, its authors and DILAN Consulting Group are not responsible for the outcome or results of following any advice in any given situation. You, and only you, are completely responsible for your actions.

DILAN Consulting Group reserves the right to edit problems/questions for length and clarity and offers no guarantee that any particular question will be published.