The strongest, most well-articulated vision will have little effect on your organization if you don’t enlist allies to support your view. Allies are people who are willing to listen, who try to help you when you ask, who give you feedback and explain your cause when you’re not in the room. Allies give you inside information and explain political motivations you may have overlooked.
Allies are different from friends in that your relationship with them always serves a specific purpose. Continue reading » »
Those plaques on the walls! Those inpiring mottos! Companies have wasted millions of dollars and countless hours agonizing over buzzwords and slogans that are hung on walls. There is a clear assumption that people’s behavior will change because the pronouncements on plaques are “inspirational” or certain words “integrate our strategy and values.” There is an implicit hope that when people—especially managers—hear great words, they will start to exhibit great behavior.
Sometimes these words or phrases morph as people try to keep up with the latest trends in corporatespeak. A company may begin by striving for “customer satisfaction,” then advance to “total customer satisfaction,” and then finally reach the pinnacle of “customer delight.”
When the female vision remains untapped, both women and organizations suffer. Women are unable to translate their best observations into action. What they see remains locked within them, and their connections with others can feel shallow and inauthentic as a result. What should be a source of power becomes a source of isolation and frustration. Without the female vision, organizations also lose power. Continue reading » »
I have observed more than 50,000 leaders from around the world as they participated in a fascinating experiential exercise, in which I ask participants to play two roles.
In one role, they provide “feedforward”: They give another participant suggestions and as much as they can help with a specific issue. In the second role, they accept feedforward: They listen to suggestions from another participant and learn as much as they can.
Step by Step
The exercise typically lasts 10 to 15 minutes, and the average participant has six or seven such sessions in that time. Participants are asked to: Continue reading » »
Just as what we notice determines what we value, so what we value shapes our picture of how the world should be. This ethical dimension forms the third element of our vision. Unlike noticing and valuing, both of which occur within ourselves, in our minds and our hearts, the third component of our vision is manifest in our actions.
Our daily actions have real power when they serve the purpose of our larger vision, providing a link between what we are doing now, at this present moment, and what we most profoundly want to achieve in the world. Being clear about this connection — being able to articulate how our actions serve our larger vision — gives us a sense of purpose and inspiration and provides us with a yardstick against which to measure our decisions. Continue reading » »
