Break the Rules
Many years ago a doctoral student shared some of his concerns with me. He felt that he was in prison […]
courage
Turning Points
I once gave a talk about deep change to a group of venture capitalists and CEOs of start-up firms. A […]
Spiritual Disciplines at Work
This kind of courageous forward movement has implications for leadership development. Disciplined believers, who struggle to continually live in connection with the divine, experience real intent on a more frequent basis. Rather than only reaching real intent in the deep valleys of life, they also obtain it in their regular prayer experiences.
The Dance of Positive Deviants
The conventional administrative will is a flawed path to organizational change. To turn a culture more positive someone must have the courage to embrace their best self and express their most authentic voice. Doing this changes the music and invites a few others to deviate and dance in more positive ways. As the dance spreads the culture begins to transform itself.
Becoming What We Behold
We accept the world as it is, and we become what we behold.
The Dark Night of the Soul
There are times when managers transform into leaders. Sometimes the trigger is a personal life crisis and sometimes it is an organizational crisis. Because of the crisis they enter the dark night of the soul and they have to choose between the fear driven self and the conscience driven self. When they make the latter choice, they tend to commit to purpose, increase in integrity and authenticity, orient to the common good, and initiate the journey of collective learning. The organization becomes more positive.
Don't Diminish Your Potential
There is a movie called The Help. It is about the condition of African American women in the 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi. The women are all housemaids. The depiction of the everyday racism is jolting. The women are trapped in a hopeless system.
At the risk of extreme punishment, the maids are asked by an author to tell their stories. To do so means certain punishment. As events unfold the women find the courage to tell their stories. Their stories are published and become a part of the culture of the Civil Rights Movement.
Their circumstances do not improve, but, because they exercised their courage and told their stories, their lives are filled with increased meaning. They feel they are part of something bigger than themselves. They can therefore better endure their lot in life.
I am reminded of a sentence from Parker Palmer: “The greatest punishment we can inflict on ourselves is to conspire in the diminishment of our own potential.”
Many of us live in organizations just as the maids lived in Jackson. Full of fear we “conspire in the diminishment of our own potential.”
In contrast, we can learn how to engage in our own self-elevation. This does not happen through anger, resistance and rebellion. It happens through internal work. As we clarify our deepest purpose, increase our integrity and authenticity, orient to the needs of others and find ways to co-create a better future, we change and so does our context. We begin to grow in self-respect and recognize the expansion of our own potential. This kind of courageous work creates a new life story, one that is worth living and worth telling. We become more empowered and more empowering to our community.
The Legacy We Leave
I suggested that when he exercised his courage, her father was probably giving little thought to his daughter; yet he was doing something that was uncommon and worth remembering. He was leaving his daughter a legacy