Sounds of Silence

No matter who I spoke to this week and last, there was this very subtle emptiness in their voices.  It made me wonder what that was all about.

It dawned on me after giving a speech at Bainbridge Graduate Institute's MBA program that perhaps the emptiness had to do with empowerment, or lack of empowerment.  I got lots of questions about being heard in a corporate setting and I heard huge amounts of frustration and disappointment around this feeling of 'holding back' and 'not saying what is so.' 

That brought me to the understanding that people want to know HOW to speak up. That floored me.  HOW to speak up is obvious, right?  We just load our brains, and shoot off our mouths.  Oh no, this was not what the real question was.  The real question had a twist. 

How do I speak up AND avoid risking my career and paycheck?

Whoa, and there it is, the fear.  Let's call it what it is, and maybe we can shift it. The very foundation of who we are as a society requires us to speak up, ask difficult questions, and know that we are safe to do so. When did it become so unsafe? Where are the pockets of openness, honesty, and genuine dialogue that honor our contributions and support our accountability? 

What I find right now is a genuine knowledge and wisdom just waiting to burst forth into open exchange.  There is a strong desire for change, and a passionate awareness of the need, no the urgency, to change.  And, there is silence. 

This silence is a gaping hole; we appease others, and go along, and don't rock the boat.  I've been there myself.  Not wanting to risk being seen as the one who spoils dinner, who stirs the simmering pot of conflict, I remained silent.  And I watched as the cultures of those companies I worked for and where I witnessed this pattern, diminished, slowly at first, and then rapidly.

The way forward is in cultures of openness, thoughtful patient dialogue, connectedness, and engagement.  Cultures that embrace discomforting discussion, and allow the full range of self expression within the boundaries of respect and integrity

Ask yourself today: where are you in appeasement?  Where do you choose to remain silent when your inner voice would have you speak up to shift a discussion or a decision? Do you work in a place that honors your voice and your wisdom?  And if not, how come you work there?

The Truth stands on its own, is heard for itself, and withstands even the harshest of critiques. Speak the Truth, say what is so, and be known as a person of high integrity. We need your leadership, NOW.

Right Relationship

It's important to remember our place, our relationship to all things.  

This line of thinking sparked a memory of an old story and I credit Ken Cohen for bringing the story to my attention in his book, Honoring the Medicine.  Here it is:

An elder and chief from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, was invited by the Pope to visit the Vatican as a representative of her nation.  Grandmother was pleased with this recognition.  The Pope took Grandmother on a tour of the magnificent buildings, art, and archives.  Later, when it was just the two of them and they were in the basement of the Basilica, the Pope pointed to a closed red door that was barely visible among the rows of sacred texts.

He explained in a hushed whisper, "Only a few great leaders have seen what lies beyond that door.  I escorted the Dalai Lama into that room, and now I am going to show you."  The Pope opened the door.

The splendor of the Vatican contrasted sharply with the simple view that greeted Grandmother: 15-foot square chamber in the center of which were a wood chair and a small table.  An antique looking gold colored telephone was on the table. 

The Pope pointed, and said, "Ever wonder how I speak to God?"  Knowing that Grandmother would welcome a chance to speak with the Almighty, the Pope continued, "It's a long distance call, but it reaches.  You only need a credit card," he smiled.

Grandmother shook her head with regret and explained, "I am poor, so I must decline the honor."  Yet, she was filled with gratitude for the offer.

A year later, while the Pope was visiting Western Canada, he received an invitation to attend a longhouse welcoming feast in his honor at a small village on Vancouver Island.  The Pope accepted and was pleased to see his friend.  After the nightlong festivities, as dawn was breaking, Grandmother invited the Pope for a walk around the village.  The cool fog was just beginning to lift and he could see the cedars and the sea.

To his surprise, he noticed a small simple cedarwood shack with a red door.  The Pope was incredulous. "You don't mean to tell me....?"  "Yes," replied Grandmother, calmly.  They went inside, and the room was barren, except for a red telephone sitting in the dirt. The Pope smiled and Grandmother said, "You won't need a credit card though. From here, it's a local call."

The stories told by indigenous people do such a wonderful job of teaching us to remember place, with each other, in our community, our nation, on Earth, and in the cosmos.   Wherever we are, we are there.

To Stand Alone and Risk Looking Ridiculous

When I had some medical challenges earlier this year and had to have surgery, I wasn't worried, not at first.  I'd put away money for just such a thing.   Like a good soldier, I had my surgery, recovered, and went back to work.

It was while I was building my clientele back that I understood for the first time that I had crossed some invisible line.  I realized that:

• I do coach my clients, but I can not define myself as simply a coach, not anymore
• I do consult with my clients but I would never want to be classified with the likes of the McKinsey's
• What I do and how I do it is very different than anything that has been tried in the past, and
• I've gone to the very edge of my comfort, that place on the ancient maps that says, "Beyond here th'er be dragons!"

In the midst of this discomforting insight, a family member asked me, "Why?  Why do you keep going? You don't have anything to prove. It wouldn't be a failure.  Just let it go.  Come back to the East Coast.  Get a job here, any job."

In an instant, every moment I have ever failed flashed through my head and with brilliant searing clarity, I realized that failure wasn't even possible. 

The secret is out.  MacGregor, Schein, Csikszentmihalyi, they started it.  And these leaders, all have lead the way: Tony Hsieh, John Mackey, Tim Ferriss, George Zimmer, Roxanne Emmerich, Tony Schwartz, Stephen M. Covey, Christine Comaford-Lynch, Keith Ferrazzi, Bill George, Hazel Henderson, Sarano Kelley, Tim Sanders, Casey Sheahan , Vicki Robin, Shai Agassi, Ping Fu, Lance Secretan, Tami Simon, Randy Komisar, Chip Conley, Juanita Brown, Richard Barrett, Lisa Nirell, Srikumar Rao, Bo Burlingham, Bettie Spruill, Paul Spiegelman, Marcia Wieder, Alan Gregerman, Kellie McElhaney, Chester Elton, Monika Broecker, Ari Weinzweig, Ahmed Rahim, Jeff Hayzlett, Simon Sinek, Raj Sisodia.

And me! I have added my piece - Transforming the human side of enterprise is one of the four components of creating sustainability.  People, planet, profit and purpose, the quadruple bottom line, all connected. 

Failure isn't possible simply because I am in too much good company. But something else nagged at me.  Why don't I just quit?  And the answer came:

.... because I'm still afraid.

In 1999, I raised my hand timidly at Columbia Business School and asked my professors, "In what class will we learn how to get along with each other and work together?"

Complete silence.  Then one of the academic supervisors said, "HR is next semester."  Everyone laughed. Except me. I didn't get it.  Where were the 'people' people? But, I tucked my head and went back to coloring inside the lines.

It's been twelve years since that day.  And I've picked at this scab every day, chipping away at the idea that how people work in a business is just as important if not more important than how the business itself works. 

I've heard it said that 'to stand alone and risk looking ridiculous' is the measure of a true leader. Until last Thursday I was uncertain of my leadership status.  

At the Boeing Auditorium at the University of Washington, I stood alone and said, "Ten years from now, not a single company or enterprise will exist without a Chief Culture Officer, a Director of Culture, or even simply named, the 'people' people."

I suppose I can quit now. 

Nah.

Culture is Contagious

I get alot of skepticism in the work I do.  People often ask me how my work is any different from the big OD firms, from the McKinsey's, and whether I really believe that culture can be changed. 

There are so many things I feel and think when I get this question.  The biggest thought that flashes through my mind is, 'my goodness, what are these other consulting firms doing wrong?'  (joking!)

But let's go with the flip side, 'what am I doing right?'

It starts with the belief that culture is contagious.  It is the easiest thing in the world to catch and the simplest to change.  There are no excuses for a rotten culture.     

Think of it like this.  I'll use the analogy of taking a trip to a foreign country.  Say for instance, you're going to France and Italy; you'll be there for three weeks.  You've read up on all the places you'll be visiting, and even know a few phrases in the native tongue to get you by.  You start your trip in the French countryside, greeted every morning with fresh baguettes coming into the house, still warm.  On the fourth day of your trip, you start to notice that you use your hands more expressively. You laugh at yourself and your partner laughs too!  By the time you get to Italy, you're saying, "mangia!!!," with both your hands flying in the air as if they were the ones doing the talking.  How did this happen?

Culture is contagious.  In any single moment, we can catch it.  When we choose to willingly put ourselves in a place we want to be, and we open ourselves up to the experience, we're likely going to catch something, something really good.   It could be a new way of seeing and being, a new approach or attitude, a new skill.  If we're open to possibilities and patient with the process, 'catching a culture' can be an exhilarating experience.

But there's a catch to catching a culture.  Like any contagion, there needs to be a consistent vehicle. 

That vehicle is called 'climate.' Climate is the weather, the temperature around the table. It's our attitude, our thoughts, and our behaviors.  It can be that big wind blowing on the other side of the conference room or the hot air coming from our colleague to the left. 

This is climate. It is everything we do and everything we don't do. Each one of us.  Everyday. Shift these, the attitudes, the behaviors, the expectations, and we shift our climate.  Do this consistently, and we shift our culture. 

So back to the question posed at the beginning:  what is different about my work and why does it seem to be so successful? 

I work with the climate, not the culture.  Day in, day out, I sit with my clients and their leadership teams and I notice each person. Here are just a few examples of what I might notice:

• I notice silence from the team member who is most experienced with an application
• I notice vocal ambiguity from a high performer
• I notice disagreement from the team member who consistently fights against and rarely fights for.

Hundreds of factors affect climate.  Most are unconscious, and once brought into awareness, dissipate. And that's my job, without judgment or blame, I bring attention to these small opportunities for change.  And each small change adds up to a collection of days and weeks and months of climate change that then tips the balance, and shifts the culture.

My work is successful because the people I work with invite me in.  They are committed to catching a culture of balance, harmony, sustainablility, and prosperity.  Many of them tell me that somewhere in the back of their minds is a little voice asking, "Am I contagious today?"

What is the human side of enterprise?

I am always grateful for this question when it comes up.  The human side of enterprise is any gathering of people for a specific purpose.  That's it.  It's not more complicated than that. 

(And if you believe that I have a bridge in...:)

Let's give this a go and take a look at the parts.  At the macro level, the enterprise is the business; at the micro level, the enterprise is a meeting, as in a leadership team meeting, a board meeting, and so on.

The purpose of the gathering is the "IT" - the driving force behind why we showed up in the first place.  At the business level, the IT or ITS (plural) is to be, do or have the mission of the business; at the meeting level, the IT is to discuss objectives, goals, make decisions, and share knowledge.

The human side of the gathering is the "WE." At the business level, it is every member of the team, including the Board, and all the stakeholders, customers, suppliers, community, and so on.  At the meeting level, it is every "I" that forms the WE.

In the past 100 years, we've studied the IT.  We get IT.  The purpose of a business, the business plan, the mission, the value statements, the process and systems, the strategy, we've got reams of research on the IT. We also have vaults of information on the WE, the organizational behavior, dynamics, and development side of enterprise. We're good to go on this end too.

It is only when we begin to discuss the "I" that forms the "WE" that we realize we've got nothing, nada.  Grasping air.

Here is a clear illustration of what I mean.  Phil Jackson, coach of the Chicago Bulls, said to Michael Jordan once:  "There is no 'I' in team."  To which Jordan famously quipped, "There is in WIN." 

Turns out they were both right.  Jordan was a forward guard for the Chicago Bulls; this was his role.  By the time the Bulls were winning the NBA Championships, you noticed the subtle, almost graceful choreography of all the players, Scottie Pippin, Bill Cartwright, John Paxson. Jordan evolved his role into a careful complement of his teammates' roles.

Jordan perfected the "I" in time to recognize the undefeatable advantage of the perfected WE.

Now you understand the human side of enterprise - its domain is every "I" that forms the "WE." It is not the accountant, the assistant, the human resources manager, the head of operations, the IT guy, in isolation.  These are roles. They have siloed organizations and individuals for decades. This separateness is ending.  We're returning to cohesive, participative interaction, and our leadership styles are following in step.

Working on the human side of enterprise dives deep into how the whole person works in the business and then, with constant practice, evolves his/her excellence into a contribution of greatness. 

And that is the work I do - every "I" that forms the "WE."