SOMETIMES, BUSINESS HAS TO HELP FORM SOCIAL CULTURE

Once upon a time, when I was new to Maine and new to the role of Director of Organizational Development, I had a dream. I wanted there to be a formal US holiday to commemorate Martin Luther King. Before we used the term "diversity" and "inclusion" I was the head of EEOC and Affirmative Action efforts in my OD role. I worked with a progressive CEO who felt the same.

Let's just say we were idealistic. We had the Birmingham Jail letter of Dr. King reproduce for every employee of The Central Maine Power Company—and it is one long letter and costly to produce (no email for all at this point).
And we gave a half hour of paid time for people who chose to,  to read it over a cup of coffee in break rooms or offices.

It took ten minutes for most of the letters to hit the trash cans and then spend time denigrating the contents of the letter. Later people would tell me how impactful the moment was because they all heard their fears and injustice with no opposition. The opinions hung in the air and began to change as they new, trusted and respected the CEO and as they saw I cared about fairness for everyone in the workplace. John Rowe, the CEO went on to become an important leader in energy distribution and in his work in diversity. 

I cringe at our innocence and lack of paving the way for the action we took. But I cringe more at what could have been our guilt and fear of a bold symbolic action that had us do nothing. Business resides in the  larger culture of its time. Usually it is prudent to stay a merchant only with your eye on what the customer wants. However occasionally, It is important to help shape the broader culture to keep it healthy and transforming.  

THE TIMES DEMAND AN ODD CEO SKILL

How to manage anxiety. That's it. That's the skill.
We live in an anxious time, personally and in our companies.
In fact, we are like the frog in the boiling water.
We often don't sense or feel the anxiety, but it is there.

What is involved in the skill of managing anxiety?
—Recognize your own anxiety. Know what helps you manage it. Physical
   exercise, stepping away from your workplace to a neutral location, 
   having a non-organizational confidante, having a work buddy that laughs 
   with you about how crazy tough things are all help.

—Create ways to let the organization express anxiety. I know this is taboo and
   runs against the demand for optimism in leadership, but denying reality is the
   biggest contributor to anxiety and causes much larger problems, like lack of trust
   and being afraid to tell the truth and diluting engagement.

—Give big picture context to all associates so that the challenges you face make
   sense. Give anxious energy a place to go like wanting to clobber your competition.

—After coming up with plans, goals, let people talk about barriers to meeting them and 
   then make plans for the barriers. Fantasy goals create huge anxiety based on 
   fantasy budgets.

—Get out and touch your people. This is the time to make contact. It is common for top
   leaders to begin to hide in the office or corporate headquarters during times that creat
   anxiety (ie. acquisitions). Don't. Be visible. You don't have to have answers. You do have to
   let people know you are in charge and real and accessible. 

—Here's an odd suggestion and it works. Do active listening. It can feel really awkward. 
   So what? It works. Reflect back to people what they are saying. Do it literally or in different
   words but exact same meaning. Anxiety goes down when people feel heard and when people 
   feel heard, they tell you more. We, as leaders, often stop listening too soon. Reflective listenig
   will put you in touch with the undercurrent of your company

—Remind people and yourself that you are not crazy to experience anxiety. We live in an anxious  
   world of economic insecurity, of random acts of violence, of concern for our  planet's health,
   for an atmosphere of anger and hate and polarity. We, you, are not crazy to be anxious.
   It is often the correct response. The skill is how to manage it.

   PS--Things don't get bigger when you name them. Their impact gets smaller.
   

USE THE POWER OF SILENCE

Everything in your position of CEO carries the extra power of the authority of your role. Like it or not, use it or not, this is the truth. 

I'm suggesting that you forget to use the power of your silence.
One of the best CEO's I worked with and the most in touch with the company used silence well. He (happens to be a man) entered an office said hello and waited--often a bit too long to be comfortable. And out poured all kinds of information and worry and options and gossip as he quietly listened and asked very gently very general questions. He didn't over guide the conversation or say much himself. 

When angry, another CEO I know would get quieter and quieter in a top meeting. He would let the conflict or irritation grow and get resolved without him saying a word. Somewhere along the line, it would be noticed that he was not longer engaged. And the direct reports would shape up and get the matter taken care of.

The best use of silence I witnessed was with a very introverted CEO having to handle a very volatile issue. He was not good at spontaneous response. I set up a town meeting about the topic. The rule was the CEO was there only to listen.
There were 500 people at the meeting. The CEO committed to listening until there was no one else wanting to speak. People came up to the mike for over three hours. All the CEO said was, "Thank you. I want to hear this." "Thank you this better informs me." He (yep, another man) got a standing ovation at the finish of the meeting and the volatility eased and the right solution was found.

Silence is powerful. Use it more consciously 

A HIDDEN WEEK

I loved this week at work.
It felt hidden and hushed.
Many people were on vacation.
There were fewer meetings.
Important things were left to the turning of the new year.
I read at work. I was quiet at work. I could think at work. I had enough breathing space at work. I was refreshed at work. I enjoyed talking to people without intense purpose at work.
Most of these things are reserved for home.
So I hope you enjoy some of this--at work.
That's my holiday wish for all my busy executive readers
Happy holiday.

CELEBRATE ALL OF IT

Holidays and personal celebration can create conundrums for leaders in organization. What belongs in the workplace?  What doesn't? What can be celebrated? What can't? It actually is a kind of all or nothing situation.

I vote all. Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, The Songkran Water Festival in Thailand, Diwali Hindu Festival of Lights.  Bring on the food, the traditions and let people see one another's cultural background.

We need the richness, Diversity is messy. We are desperate for more than one way of thinking, being, celebrating, creating, selling, innovating, marketing, managing, leading to name a few areas that could benefit.

Don't tame down Christmas so that it doesn't offend anyone. Turn up all the other important cultural and religious celebration. Make all the equally loud and interesting and educating.

It is essential that we allow differences, respect differences and use differences to create organizations that work and flourish financially and as good places to work. Don't do cosmetic shallow efforts to look inclusive. BE it with all the pain in the rear it entails.
It is the laboratory for your future, both products and people. In science and in the workplace, rich differentiation and development is what keeps things evolving

MORE BETTER SLOWER

I just posted on my personal blog (www.truthburps.blogspot.com) about how literally, physically slowing down boosted my productivity and my satisfaction during a busy, frantic holiday season.

You do know that speed and the hysterical "more, better, faster" mantra is a contagious dis-ease in your company, don't you?  There is a principle in systems theory that what goes on at the largest or top level of a system is mirrored at the smaller or bottom level.  "What is within surrounds you." 

Two business books solidified my thinking. One is WHIPLASH: How to Survive Our Faster Future by Joi Ito and Jeff Howe. The Other is: FOCUS: The Hidden Driver of Excellence.

Slower or slow just may be an important quality for your organization.

Slow:

—opens up space to see more clearly

—allows depth of thinking for new ideas

—takes your brain out of "fight or flight" thinking

—creates real engagement--not the assessment kind

—let's you course correct more as you head toward the result

—develops intrinsic satisfaction in the work

I would love to hear from you on Linkedin or here

Speed needs to be regulated in your business

Whiplash: How to Survive Our Faster Future 

Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence

May 5, 2015

by Daniel Goleman  

Whiplash: How to Survive Our Faster Future

Dec 6, 2016

by Joi Ito and Jeff Howe

I WONDER ABOUT BOREDOM

The definition of boredom is "the state of being weary and restless through lack of interest"!

How could a top leader be weary and restless through lack of interest?
Let me count the ways:

—Not having enough intrinsic interest in the business you lead

—Being numbed out by rote meetings with no real engagement

—Working with a team that is exhausted through pushing hard and creating very little movement 

—Thinking that work should be boring

—Having a calendar that is your dictator of time

—Not laughing enough with colleagues when you and they make ridiculous mistakes

—Not having a team that challenges you with their energy and ideas

—Becoming too narrow a person with no outside interests

—Thinking working hard is the only road to success, instead of just one

—Feeling tethered to an impossible task

One of the worst combinations is being bored while being incredibly challenged.
I've seen it derail top leaders.