''Bushmen refer to Tapping within themselves - A physical manifestation of a profound gift for intuitive apprehension of the future … Only a fool would go on ignoring his tapping…if he does not sit and listen to his tapping it could utterly leave him" - Laurens van der Post  (A Far-Off  Place)

Creative or visionary leaders need time to reflect - To listen to an inner voice that interprets countless bits of information that have set off alarm bells in the sub-conscious mind...!

Just as a computer has hidden files, cookies, meta-tags, temporary files etc. so the human brain has the capacity to search, filter and analyze its own data base while consciously engaged in other activity. Just as the computer contains a large amount of unused or underutilized functions, the human capacity for research and solution providing may remain untapped. Circumstance may provide an adrenaline rush that will necessitate blind reliance on intuition. Consider the advantage of being able to confidently and consciously engage this resource through taking the time to regularly reflect on diverse items of stimulating information !

"Creativity is about finding, discovery, and making the link between what you've seen and are trying to achieve…you can’t find if you're looking - It's a process of osmosis that is dependent on being in a relaxed state of mind…
Creatives need time to stroll and come upon things. We're idea merchants…If you are not fascinated, you simply do not find things … It's about finding visual stimuli and translating them into stunning creative concepts." Sean Harrison, Creative Director, Code

That Ontario based Bayly Communications went into receivership last month did not really make headlines. Yet the possible demise of this company, formerly Bayly Engineering, is significant as it marks the disappearance of the last vestige of an illustrious Canadian.

Founder, Benjamin De Forest (Pat) Bayly, the largely unknown Canadian hero of WWII whose brilliant encryption/decryption work saved countless lives and gave the Allies an unquestioned competitive edge, maintained the point of view that he should never be known by name. He refused to write up an account of his secret intelligence activities after the war saying:

"… the best thing I could do was shut up ..."

"I wasn’t having any of that, because I had been treated extremely well by Canada, the States and England - far beyond what was necessary. I was welcomed into places where it was absolutely necessary that I be … and everybody's been so very kind. … We'd go out and have a couple of drinks and they'd tell me political things that shouldn’t be free, … they were really quite outspoken and I came to the conclusion at the end of the war that the best thing I could do was shut up. Because if I did, if I spoke all the things I would unwittingly mention, things would have political (consequences)…." Quoted in The True Intrepid by Bill Macdonald (RAINCOAST Books)

Bayly’s standpoint meant that he placed the greater picture ahead of his personal desire for recognition – The critical discretion of a truly service-oriented leader!

Somehow, despite the plethora of client relationship management technology/training in most operational areas, is common civility disappearing?

Generally, it seems an increasingly accepted fact that we are not required to respond to calls, messages, inquiries etc. unless we have a direct/immediate agenda item … ?

“I am busy” “My calendar is full” “I have too many calls to manage” might all be valid for any of us at some point in time…. But can we expect others to consistently respond/perform when we have not afforded basic acknowledgement of who they are… their time… their agendas… their priorities…?

Similarly whatever happened to please and thank you? How long does it take to type thank you… and hit Send? Again: “Too busy”… but not too busy it seems to ask for something?

I am told I am decidedly uncool to worry about this sort of thing … As an acquaintance, index fingers energetically raised, said this week:  “We are moving to a place where please and thank you will no longer be necessary … It will be understood!”

Maybe I should offer a Mind-Reading program?

Effective leaders set the tone as to organizational values... Giving true meaning to sustainable relationship building?  

On Saturday, November 5, 2011 Rodger Harding will be speaking at the PMI (Project Management Institute) Lakeshore Chapter’s Symposium 2011 - Project Management for Organizational Excellence!
 
The topic will be The Project Team Member - The Eyes & Ears of the Organization 

The 40 minute presentation designed to heighten awareness of the individual/collective role of gathering and protecting information vital to sustaining product/service relevance and staying ahead of the competitor... A cost-effective intelligence/information gathering process

Participants will have enhanced leadership ability to secure an individual/team/corporate competitive edge secured through accurate foreknowledge of market-place/competitor/client/industry trends, developments and events. Enhanced participant ability to:
- Make informed business recommendations/decisions based on accurate outcome prediction
- Better understand current market requirement
- Take advantage of wild-card opportunities
- Inexpensively monitor industry trends
- Provide relevant/original service/product
- Secure a return on Information Technology investment

Event Date and Location:

The event will take place on Saturday, November 5, 2011 and will be held at the Canadian Coptic Centre, Mississauga - 1245 Eglinton Avenue West, Mississauga

Watching a TV sitcom recently, I was jolted by an expert’s response to an impatient crime investigator: “If you haven’t time for me to consider all the facts… All you can expect is sh_t!” I thought of how many top executives I have worked for/encountered who pride themselves on wanting answer “yesterday”. It seems almost a virtue to insist that all questions, briefings & backgrounders be provided with impossible speed and brevity.

The advance of Information Technology, while providing amazing & valuable tools/platforms, has added to the notion that brevity/speed is perhaps more important than context/depth. A distinction should ideally be made between lack of focus, waffle/padding & verbosity and the very real need for detail and big-picture background.

Efficient Time Management will ideally factor in goal achievement via the strategic balance of time, budget, quality, resource & team realities.

For Time Management training:  (416) 962-6700

Empathy seems more often than not to be considered a warm and fuzzy word in corporate circles. Certainly most training mandates indicate an unspoken aversion to the notion of empathy when discussing leadership requirements. It seems rather that absolutism, rigidity & strict adherence to rules/process are usually considered hallmarks of strong leadership.

Experience has taught me however that empathetic leaders have decided strengths in strategically identifying/spotting what might remain unseen, hiring the right team, reaching audiences/target markets, concluding successful negotiations and effectively resolving problems.

Certainly on a management level the ability to understand and accept humanity, imperfection and failure, in themselves and others, goes a long way in building a climate of team trust. Similarly empathy is the foundation upon which risk, change, crisis & chaos are managed!

It is perhaps useful to consider the core-competencies/qualities that underpin empathy: Listening; Observing; Analysis; Courage; Instinct; Dedication; Consideration; Forward thinking;

Beyond the business world, think of the value of empathetic teachers, doctors, cops, lawyers, builders etc. who are prepared to subjectively & objectively consider the circumstance of others, before applying a one size fits all solution/approach!

Surely the very notion of societal fairness depends upon a preparedness to empathize with the plight/requirement of those around us? 

To discuss customized Leadership Training:  (416) 962-6700   

The notion of “it is lonely at the top” is sometimes belied by the illusion that leadership is about Power & Influence… the attainment of absolute control and ensuing subordinate obedience. As we know from history, in stories great and small, this is the pursuit of the impossible.

Trusted support/stakeholder loyalty is the keystone to effective and sustainable leadership. Relationship building, for me, is the thread that links the key elements of forward thinking leadership - identifying operational requirement, proactively evolving a realistic vision, selling workable solutions, running collaborative projects & problem solving.

Trust & loyalty are not that easily earned. Consider the words of a former presidential aide: “Giving an order does not end the matter... nothing gets done except by endless follow up, endless kissing and coaxing, endless threatening and compelling… Everyone is watching you, waiting, trying to guess what you mean –Trying to get your number. Can they fool you? Can they outwait you? Will you be mad when you hear it isn’t done yet?  … And they are all testing you. How much can they get away with? How much authority can they take? How much authority do you want them to have? Once you choose men you have to keep them; which means endless attrition of your will against their will…” (White, aide to President Truman 1965; cited from article by George H. Litwin/Robert A. Stringer JR.)  

Relationship-building requires hard work on the part of any leader - Intense collaboration and persuasion/negotiation, involving a fine balance between strength & vulnerability. The stronger the team caliber, the fiercer the ambition...The harder the leader’s task! 

For more information about customized Leadership Training/Coaching: (416) 962-6700

That Kai Nagata’s manifesto on why he quit his job went viral, perhaps speaks to the frequency of the workplace sentiment that there is no point in continuing to do what we do.  

This is particularly true of aspiring leaders, hamstrung by perceived hidden corporate agendas that either overtly or covertly put the brakes on full deployment of potentially exciting ideas, strategies and vision. This becomes especially serious when ethical or value discordance comes into play. How often are we left feeling:” I just can’t buy into this… but what options do I have?” John Le Carre’s words come to mind: “the discovery that you’re just turning over a system that gets neither better nor worse is extremely depressing...”A courageous soul, free of duty to others, will take the leap and head for the hills… prepared to embark on a search for a better fit.

Some 20 years ago I abandoned a promising diplomatic career ... just before taking up post as the then youngest ever full-on ambassador ... The fact that the powers that be had, for me, totally departed from my perceived notion of the noble goals of the profession...or had nefarious agendas was unbearable. More than 2 decades of diverse consulting/training/coaching has since taught me that this phenomenon is more common than not in the larger world... Nagata's words and the widespread reaction to his experience bears direct testimony to the importance of ensuring that ethics, values and purpose retain priority in corporate goal setting!

Importantly the recognition, validation and accommodation of the like-minded goes a long way to ensuring that the valuable contribution of Kai Nagata, and his ilk, is not lost.   

http://kainagata.com/2011/07/08/why-i-quit-my-job/

Effective Business Leadership recognizes real and perceived negativity in the operational as well as all stakeholder environments.  This ability embraces the coexistence of opposites, notably certainty & uncertainty, structure & chaos. In the same vein, good leadership will recognize, accommodate and optimise individual/team strengths and manage human weakness/imperfection. Such an approach builds a climate of team confidence & trust.

Without failure there cannot be success; Agreement without disagreement! In recent decades though, a corporate leadership culture where all negativity is ignored/dismissed if and when it arises, seems to be increasingly commonplace. It is almost as if the school of positive thinking pundits have banished the possibility of all things negative, denying an inescapable human emotional wellspring.

Oftentimes those who disagree or ask too many questions are oftentimes seen as a “negative team influence”. I hear all too often the comment that these folk are “slowing the team down”! Would it not be an unfortunate turn of events if such inflexible management, preferring sycophantic passivity, cowed thinking/dedicated individuals into silence? Surely the consideration of opposing points of view provides opportunities for change, enhancement and innovation? A corporate spirit of efficent exploration will surely lead to a strong competive edge!

Mishaps, problems, glitches & failure are part of life. Is it prudent to hold the view that these phenomenon should not happen? Why is it that anything short of 100% approval is often enough to prompt real anxiety and the desire for retribution? Is it possible to lead via set templates and the rule book? Similarly, why are individuals who ask for help so often considered "incapable"? Have our levels of expectation/entitlement risen to absolute levels? What happened to the age old adage: To err is human?  

I recently came across an interesting talk by Alain de Botton that extols the virtue of pessimism - - An interesting societal exploration of the ongoing individual search for happiness and success – Perhaps a good investment of listening time:  

http://vimeo.com/10601416

For many years I have drawn comfort from Leonard Cohen’s Anthem:

“Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ma5tF6TJpA

For all inquiries about Business Leadership Training/Coaching: (416) 962-6700  

If a true leader is someone who has the ability to identify requirement, the courage to proactively engage & the smarts to formulate a workable solution, logically this person would automatically be, to varying degrees, at odds with the status quo and those who are content to go with the flow.

The key to meeting this challenge, as we know, is the ability to persuade, sell, influence and negotiate in order to overcome inherent resistance to change. Yet in the course of almost 2 decades of Leadership Training, Coaching & Consulting, I find it is this particular attribute that oftentimes frustrates real leadership deployment.  Innovative, different or exceptional thinking is, in the nature of things, in direct conflict with the beliefs, expectations, hopes and even the morality of the majority. How often are brilliant ideas ignored in favour of more digestible “what we know works” solutions? More...