"Authenticity", the Foundation of Leadership

Last week I had the chance, the fortune, to spend a few days with my friend Bruce who has ALS.  I have written about him before, see the entry "Always pursue the Truth";  and while his disease is taking it's expected, unrelenting course, my time with him was precious.  Over the course of a day or so, we had the chance to have some amazing conversations which ranged widely over topics that Bruce wanted to talk about.  There were three conversations though that have stayed with me, that have affected me deeply, and over the course of the next few weeks I am going to write about all three.  The following is one that has to do with "Authenticity" and "Leadership".

As I commented on in earlier entries, Bruce was my first boss out of business school and proceeded to have a very significant career at a major, publicly traded, consumer products company.  He held a number of senior executive roles across his career and had the responsibility and accountability for a multi-billion dollar business and a large organization in his last role.  I am not sure what prompted him during my last visit, but somewhat out of the blue, Bruce brought up the topic of "Leadership" and asked me what I thought about "Authenticity" as a leadership characteristic.  Rather than diving into a rambling "sermonette" of my opinions on the subject, I had the good sense to ask Bruce what he thought about this idea of "Authenticity" in a leadership context.  Even with his voice restricted by a respirator, he started to talk about "Authenticity" as a critical variable in leaders.  That organizations knew immediately whether their leader was being "Authentic" or not .  In those moments of "Authenticity" , Bruce felt that organizations trusted their leaders dramatically more than when there were impressions of Leadership "Inauthenticity".

I asked Bruce how he evaluated/measured "Authenticity".  His comments rang true to my experience, but I was having a hard time trying to figure out how you might evaluate/assess this characteristic.  He said very simply, "alignment between words and actions".  He talked about an executive that he worked closely with who "talked a good game" about caring for and being focused on his team; but his actions showed that he really cared for and was focused on himself.  A clear example of misalignment between words and actions... a clear example of a lack of "Leadership Authenticity."As a result,  the organization doesn't and probably won't trust this leader very well.  Obviously a limiter to performance. In many  ways it would have been better for everyone, including the broader organization, if the executive in the example wasn't trying to portray an image that was so different from who he really is.  

Since returning home, I found an old article from 1997 written by Kevin Cashman, titled "Authentic Leadership".  The following is a quote from the article that articulates Bruce's point well:  

The foundation of leadership is authenticity. How do we go about expressing ourselves more authentically?  I constantly challenge clients to ask, “Where is my leadership coming from?”  Do our actions originate from deep within ourselves, or are they coming from a more superficial, limited place?  Is our leadership arising from our character, the essence of who we are?  Or is it only coming from our persona, the external personality we’ve created to cope with life circumstances.

As I mentioned above , I am not sure what prompted Bruce to want to talk about this topic; but I have always found Bruce to be an amazingly "Authentic" person, friend, and boss.  This conversation gave me more to think about regarding the alignment of my words and actions, my "Leadership Authenticity". I hope that it might be a trigger for you too!

Can we have it all?

I recently had a marvelous dinner with a dear friend named Susan who I hadn't seen in almost a year.  Too long!  In our far ranging conversation, we talked about her being at a recent event where a moderator posed the question : "Can we have it all?"    That question has stayed with me over the past day or so and what I have been ruminating about is, what does "all" mean?  What does it mean to you, and how is that different from what it might mean to me?  What does it mean to me and my family today versus what it might have meant when I graduated from high school or college?  While the questions piled up, unfortunately (but not surprisingly) no simple answers came.   I tried to answer, "if I had it all, what would it look/feel like?"  What I was surprised about was that three images/ideas started to take shape: a painting/drawing, a song, and a speech.

First, I have included a visual of Picasso's "Dance of Youth", a drawing that has inspired me for years.  I have had the fortune to work at an office that had a signed print of this inspiring piece.  On those tough days at work, I would take a break from my work or a meeting and take a moment at the print, trying to envision a world where youth of all races dance around the dove of peace.  A very dear friend named Chris gave me a copy of this drawing and we have it in the front hall of our home, hoping to inspire our friends, our children and ourselves! 

Second, I have included a copy of MLK's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.  I have written about the specific words that talk about the "isness" versus the "oughtness" of mankind.  Strong words that give us all hope that tomorrow can be dramatically different, and better, than yesterday!

Martin Luther King Jr.

The Nobel Peace Prize 1964

Acceptance Speech

Martin Luther King's Acceptance Speech, on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, December 10, 1964

Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:

I accept the Nobel Prize for Peace at a moment when 22 million Negroes of the United States of America are engaged in a creative battle to end the long night of racial injustice. I accept this award on behalf of a civil rights movement which is moving with determination and a majestic scorn for risk and danger to establish a reign of freedom and a rule of justice. I am mindful that only yesterday in Birmingham, Alabama, our children, crying out for brotherhood, were answered with fire hoses, snarling dogs and even death. I am mindful that only yesterday in Philadelphia, Mississippi, young people seeking to secure the right to vote were brutalized and murdered. And only yesterday more than 40 houses of worship in the State of Mississippi alone were bombed or burned because they offered a sanctuary to those who would not accept segregation. I am mindful that debilitating and grinding poverty afflicts my people and chains them to the lowest rung of the economic ladder.

Therefore, I must ask why this prize is awarded to a movement which is beleaguered and committed to unrelenting struggle; to a movement which has not won the very peace and brotherhood which is the essence of the Nobel Prize.

After contemplation, I conclude that this award which I receive on behalf of that movement is a profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time - the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression. Civilization and violence are antithetical concepts. Negroes of the United States, following the people of India, have demonstrated that nonviolence is not sterile passivity, but a powerful moral force which makes for social transformation. Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace, and thereby transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

The tortuous road which has led from Montgomery, Alabama to Oslo bears witness to this truth. This is a road over which millions of Negroes are travelling to find a new sense of dignity. This same road has opened for all Americans a new era of progress and hope. It has led to a new Civil Rights Bill, and it will, I am convinced, be widened and lengthened into a super highway of justice as Negro and white men in increasing numbers create alliances to overcome their common problems.

I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the "isness" of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal "oughtness" that forever confronts him. I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsom and jetsom in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.

I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. I believe that even amid today's mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men. I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive good will proclaim the rule of the land. "And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid." I still believe that We Shall overcome!

This faith can give us courage to face the uncertainties of the future. It will give our tired feet new strength as we continue our forward stride toward the city of freedom. When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds and our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, we will know that we are living in the creative turmoil of a genuine civilization struggling to be born.

Today I come to Oslo as a trustee, inspired and with renewed dedication to humanity. I accept this prize on behalf of all men who love peace and brotherhood. I say I come as a trustee, for in the depths of my heart I am aware that this prize is much more than an honor to me personally.

Every time I take a flight, I am always mindful of the many people who make a successful journey possible - the known pilots and the unknown ground crew.

So you honor the dedicated pilots of our struggle who have sat at the controls as the freedom movement soared into orbit. You honor, once again, Chief Lutuli of South Africa, whose struggles with and for his people, are still met with the most brutal expression of man's inhumanity to man. You honor the ground crew without whose labor and sacrifices the jet flights to freedom could never have left the earth. Most of these people will never make the headline and their names will not appear in Who's Who. Yet when years have rolled past and when the blazing light of truth is focused on this marvellous age in which we live - men and women will know and children will be taught that we have a finer land, a better people, a more noble civilization - because these humble children of God were willing to suffer for righteousness' sake.

I think Alfred Nobel would know what I mean when I say that I accept this award in the spirit of a curator of some precious heirloom which he holds in trust for its true owners - all those to whom beauty is truth and truth beauty - and in whose eyes the beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold.

From Les Prix Nobel en 1964, Editor Göran Liljestrand, [Nobel Foundation], Stockholm, 1965

 

Finally, I think about the recording of the Indigo Girls (with Girlyman) singing the marvelous hymn, Findlandia.  With the music from Sibelius, and the lyrics from a 1934 Methodist Hymn "This is my Song", the unbelievable harmonies of this recording stir in us the belief that: 

" May truth and freedom come to every nation;

may peace abound where strife has raged so long;

that each may seek to love and build together,

a world united, righting every wrong;

a world united in its love for freedom,

proclaiming peace together in one song.

Now I am not certain that everyone would define their "all" in this same way.  No mention of fame or fortune. No mention of achievement, beauty or advancement.  But for me, these three inspirations: a drawing, a speech and a song, all illuminate the common themes of peace, love, and optimistic possibility... my definition of "all" tonight!

A teachable point of view

 

Over my 20+ year business career I have had the chance to work for a wide variety of manager and leaders.  As I mentioned in my previous post "Three impact points of leadership", there is a significant difference in the work of management vs  the work of leadership.  In hindsight, I have had a number of bosses over the years who "got" that truth and maybe a larger number who unfortunately did not.  One such leader who I had the chance to work under and learn from for a few years was Neville Isdell, when he returned to the Coca-Cola Company in the role as CEO and Chairman.

As Neville came back from retirement in 2004, he lead an effort to reinvigorate a large global company and bottling system and re-establish a strategic direction for the future success of the Coca-Cola enterprise all over the world.  In that effort, he gathered a number of executives from around the world to work on what would become a strategic roadmap called "The Manifesto for Growth."  I had the pleasure and honor to be one of those executives at the time and to this day it was one of the most dynamic learning experiences of my career.  I am not going to go into any details about the content or the process of that experience, both of which were unique and inspiring.  What I do want to share is one quick story from one of those meetings that has dramatically altered my view on the role and nature of leaders.

As part of the process I mentioned above, Neville lead a series of meetings/workshops that gathered 125+/- executives from around the world.  The meetings were mentally and physically exhausting, and it felt like the work we were doing was crucial/vital to the future success of the enterprise.  It was at the end of one of those days that there was an open Q&A session where one weary participant asked what seemed like a simple question, "Neville, these meetings would go a lot faster if you just told us what you were thinking and we then could work on how to make that happen".  While I am certain this individual verbalized what was on other's minds, we were all surprised by the intensity of the response.  Neville came up on stage and with a strong voice quickly remarked that he didn't need leaders of Coca-Cola who needed to be told what to do!  He needed leaders with a point of view, no..." a teachable point of view".  Somehow this phrase hung in the air that night and I can still hear it ringing in my ears today.  Leaders with a "teachable point of view"... leaders as teachers.

Now this idea that great leaders should be great teachers doesn't sound very revolutionary.  Since my "epiphany", I have started to see this idea commented on and reinforced in many forums.   One such example is in the area of "Six Sigma/Lean Manufacturing" where there are numerous references to the idea of leader as teacher.  What has been new for me is to think about what makes a great teacher and how can I bring that into the workplace every day.  Think in your mind who some of your best teachers have been from your days at high school, college or graduate school.  As I have done this, a very clear images and memories come to mind.  I then thought about their common traits, their similarities (which is hard when you are thinking about a scottish professor of systematic theology and a southern professor of strategy).  

Here are a few of my reflections:

1.) Competence.  These folks all knew the subject matter/material, deeply!  They knew what they were talking about and didn't have to work very hard so that we students all knew that THEY knew what they were talking about.  

2.) Challenging.  They all set very high expectations both for themselves and clearly for us as students.  Somehow it was those expectations that became OUR expectations for ourselves.  We weren't working hard in a course just for the professor's appreciation, we started doing it for OURSELVES!

3.) Fairness.  Whether we were star students, average performers, or less, we were treated commonly and equitably.  From the grading of exams, feedback on papers, discussions in seminars, we felt that we were all given the same chance/opportunity to learn and succeed.

4.) Availability.  While it was not always as much as some of us needed, my best teachers had time for us students.  Time to ask the silly questions, time to make the naive point, whether in class, in their office, over coffee (or a beer) or in the hall.  We felt like we could be heard.

5.) Student orientation.  My best teachers somehow made it clear that the class wasn't about "them", is was about "us".  Even in times of significant lectures the best teachers would work to draw the students into the lecture, fostering (or sometimes creating) debate to advance "our" learning.

None of these five themes are very unusual, but they ring true for me when I reflect on my best teachers from my past.  What gets interesting is to use these five themes to assess the leadership around you.  If you have the honor to lead teams, how competent are you?  Do you set high expectations?  How fair are you with your team?  etc.  Do you have a "teachable point of view"?  Are you a great teacher?

If you are an individual contributor, are you learning the skills that will allow you to be available to your "class"?  Will you be "student" oriented?  Do you have a "teachable point of view"?  Are you a great teacher?

Let these questions linger as you reflect on your own situation.  Give yourself the freedom to always look for ways to learn, grow, build skills and become a better teacher! 

Always pursue the truth

In a recent entry, “The story of Lester”, I mentioned a visit from an old friend named Bruce. I commented that he has ALS and that my visit with him was quite an inspiration. Since that entry, Bruce’s disease has sadly progressed dramatically. Over the past few weeks I have spent a number of days with him and his family, trying to help in any way possible. It has been an amazing and inspiring honor to have those moments, and I want to thank Bruce, Sarah and their daughters for allowing me that intimacy and privilege. I will cherish those memories for the rest of my life!
During one of those visits, Bruce had just finished a video that was shared across the company where he has worked for over 25 years. The following are a few themes from his video message, please take a look and think of ways of how to make some of Bruce’s ideas a reality in your life!

Always Pursue the Truth

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MaMa's Tomatoes

As I think about all the people who have had an impact on my life (and there are many!) I often think about my paternal grandmother, known to many as "MaMa". My first entry in this blog was about a long ago thanksgiving dinner and an experience that I often think back on today. The entry is entitled "Legacy", go and take a look if you have a second.

Well MaMa was not only an influential person to me an many, she was also a wonderful cook and gardener. Over the years I enjoyed many meals at her table, often laden with homemade rolls, deviled eggs, southern pole beans, and if in season, fresh tomatoes from her garden. One variety that she raised over the years was some sort of yellow tomato that when ripe, took on pink stripes. She would save the seed year to year and over the years, those seeds were passed to my father , my brother and me to propagate season to season. Not of us are certain when MaMa started raising these tomatoes but my father remembers them from when he was young and he was born on 1930.

I have planted those tomatoes in various gardens and cities over the years and have shared the seeds with friends across the country and across the world. Recently I taught a module in my son's 5th grade class focused on family/history/ and botany. We took the seeds that I had saved from last season, planted them into "mini greenhouses" and watched the process of germination up-close. After a few weeks we thinned the seedlings and finally after enough growth, we transplanted the seeds into little pots and all the students (and the teachers) had at least one tomato plant to take home and plant in their own gardens. It was something special for me on my last day in the classroom to see a picture of my grandmother posted on the wall. It made me smile to think of MaMa and all the things she has passed along to so many over the years, including a class of 5th graders in Atlanta!

My lesson from this experience is that we are all affected by many important people in our lives. Whether a parent, a spouse, a boss, a friend, an aunt or a grandmother, we have all learned many "lessons of life" from those that have meant the most to us. My encouragement is to try to find ways to be "generous" with those lessons to others in our lives. Find opportunities to share a story, pass along a recipe, or maybe a few tomato seeds, and in the process continue the chain of finding and sharing ways to make this life better for all!

Below is the prep-sheet that I used with the 5th graders recently, take a look!

Mama's Tomatoes

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The Crease of Dawn

Recently I have had the pleasure to work on a number of very interesting consulting assignments. These assignments have ranged from working on new product launches, sales force redesign, strategic planning, board communications, team meeting facilitation, and executive coaching. One executive coaching project recently took me to work with a client based in Melbourne, Florida. Now I don't know about you, but I had never been to Melbourne until recently. The city is on the east coast of Florida, very near to Cape Canaveral. Upon arriving at the airport (MLB), you are greeted by a sign that welcomes you to the "Space Coast" of Florida.

On my last visit, the schedule called for me to stay overnight and I asked my client for a hotel recommendation. He gave me a few ideas but somewhat offhandedly suggested that since I was from Atlanta and rarely saw the ocean, maybe I might like to stay on the beach. It just so happened that his company had a great rate at a beachfront hotel so very quickly, reservations were made. That day was a busy one, full of discussions and content reviews , that merged pretty seamlessly into a dinner with my client. I want to highly recommend the restaurant, The Yellow Dog Cafe on the Indian River, and the deck is a perfect spot to unwind and work on the problems of the Universe! With that said, I was dropped off that night at around 10 pm at the above mentioned hotel.

After traveling extensively for my work over the past 20+ years, a late night hotel arrival is no new territory. Upon checking into my room, I set my blackberry alarm, plugged in my computer, turned on ESPN, and proceeded to crash for the night. The 5:30 am alarm came and brought me back to life. After a few groggy thoughts wondering what hotel I might be in, I arose to start the little in-room coffee maker. It was at this sleepy moment that I almost made an unfortunate error. Thinking that I had a few hours before I needed to catch the airport shuttle, I began to sit at my computer and begin working on a summary of my past day's work. It was after the second sip of the unassuming in-room coffee that I started to put together a simple logic stream of:

1.) It's before Dawn...... 2.) East Coast of Florida......3.) Beachfront Hotel......

I started to think that if I got my act together, threw on shorts and a t-shirt and got outside, I might be able to watch the sunrise. Leaving my computer idle, I donned my togs and made my way to the beach. Unbelievably, the sky had started to lighten with shades of turquoise, and yellow but as of yet the sun was still well below the horizon. I started to walk up the beach, mostly accompanied my pelicans fishing and sandpipers chasing the waves. Everything was very quiet and still and after 15 minutes or so, I stopped to sit in the sand and watch the "lightshow"! The sky was perfectly clear at the horizon and it was unbelievable to watch the first glint of the sun break the horizon's plane... "the crease of dawn." The awe and beauty of the moment was breathtaking and I sat on that spot in the sand for 20 minutes or so until the entire orb of the sun had entered our skies.

As I walked back to the hotel, completely in the "afterglow show", I was blown away by how close I came to missing an amazingly beautiful moment. How easy it would have been for me to pour that second cup of adequate coffee, work on the computer for an hour or so, and miss the entire experience. How many times have we all "stayed in the room" and missed the amazing experience just outside our doors? My lesson from that recent morning in Florida is to slow down the "normal routine" long enough to look around, remember that life is fleeting, and think if we might be able to see the "crease of dawn" or it's equivalent, just outside our doors.

Anchor or a Sail

The following story is a lesson from early in my career and it continues to resonate today.  Having perspective on how a business is performing and finding ways to share the learnings from the best performers across an organization never goes out of style!  Take a look and let me know what you think!


Are You an Anchor or a Sail

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