Evolutionary Provocateur

Personal Spirit-Play and Prosper

The whole role of spirituality in business and its value has been pooh-poohed alot quite simply because it is associated with woo~woo and intiatives that were not tied back to meaning. If you set aside that personal spirit is an expression of outlook (lens on life), initiative (taking action) and sense of control (even in small measures) you can allow that personal spirit shows up as global initiative like the work being done by Communicopia and The Elders Or the increasing percentage of social enterprise businesses who are all about all three.

Meanwhile, traditional businesses drones on thinking it is business as usual when in fact the world is changing rapidly. Who is ready for the ride?

Millineals are. Indigo kids are. Gen X~ many are. Boomers~ some...depends on how much personal growth they have done. Traditionalists~ well you can find the odd person who has opened their mind to raging new ideas but for the most part the mindsets are pretty fixed. Mindset and spirit are not the same but they are related.

The impact of mass collaboration is that when people can freely express themselves, they do. Not rocket science but not yet fully absorbed at the executive and management levels. The flip from command-control style to participatory management is about releasing the human spirit so people can do what they naturally want to do.

When people repress themselves they create either depression or get aggressive. The energy has to go somewhere and spirit is energy lets face it! It makes sense then that companies are creating their own health and stress-related illness just by repressing people's desire to contribute to results. This makes no sense, or if it does someone please explain.

A recent interview with Dr. Nelie Johnson lays out the scientific and medical knowledge that supports this. To listen to the audio of the one-hour discussion where she lays out her journey from doctor to healer, the definition and root cause of disease (from research done in France), blocks to healing and how to help people engage click here  : http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WB1TDGm4 

To download the audio and listen at your leisure click on this link: http://dawnajones.audioacrobat.com/download/DrNelieDoctorTurnedHealer.mp3

In the end, you wind up being pointed to the need to evolve, grow, adapt, flex, let go, embrace and how to know the difference. Absenteeism, addictions, stress-related illness are indicators of a culture of repression not expression. All of this in unconscious and invisible unless you know how and what to watch for. More indicators up next.....

Increasing Employee Engagement-Pt.2: The Heart of the Matter

Dr. Bruce Lipton, profiled on this blog in previous articles, did a wonderful job of explaining how cellular biology informs corporate performance in a series of six ten-minute interviews done for InSight Out Consulting in June, 2006. In these interviews, he explains how our subconscious beliefs (which amount to around 90%) drive our actions. Most of these are downloaded from birth to six years.

From then on we just add to the pile forgetting to take a close look to see what is old baggage, useful or useless. Take that and mutiply it by the number of employees you have in your company and you see a community of unconscious potentiality~powerful or powerless.

It is a sure bet that some of what operates undetected is based on limiting notions about what is possible, what is not, what works, what doesn't, what is true and what is not.  Recognizing this simple scientific reality helps point the way to why we have been talking abour corporate culture change for the last ten years or more; why participative leadership is the only way to achieve performance and then leaders roll right on back to command and control as the default programming.

It would be easy to blame corporate executive leadership for this, but where is the manual for renewing and redefining oneself outside of the boundaries of commander of a fleet of employees? Letting go isn't easy especially when you aren't sure what will wander into the gap created. Trust then becomes the core issue. Trust in the self, in one's sense of what makes sense illogically but intuitively and trust that at the deepest level, employees come to work to do good work - unless of course the initiative has been beaten or repressed out of them.

Previous blogs have covered personal spirit and its role in fueling performance. When trust is broken, talent repressed, or contribution unsupported the human spirit takes a beating. One or more of the measures: initiative, outlook on life, sense of control, are weakened and creative initiative goes underground. What happens then? Pt. 3 covers that question. 

Increasing Employee Engagement-Pt.1: Impact of Global Trends

Business is confronted with facing and embracing a new reality surfacing in the form of human spirit. The drive to tap more deeply into the creative talent individually and collectively is gathering in momentum. Unfortunately, most business leaders are too busy to notice or are absorbed in old habits of action, missing the sensitivity to detect the distinction between what appears to be a problem and what is actually an opportunity. In so doing, they are at risk of missing the largest wave of human creative expansion ever.

Understanding the drivers behind the dynamic of engagement requires an insightful read on how global trends pressure evolution toward a radically different way of perceiving how the world works and the role of business. External forces outside of the control of the individual and the company meet internal forces arising from the individual's need to contribute purposefully to create a confluence which utilizes mass collaboration, Web 2.0 and community to achieve goals.

What are these trends? In 2004, when Dannemiller-Tyson held a Think Tank one of the five meta-trends was increasing connectivity and mobility - meaning communications and personal/professional life boundaries no longer existed. Looking through the lense of this trend we can see the work-life balance issue surface, the natural support for social networks and the subsequent shift required from autocratic to participative. Rod Collins, former COO of Blue Cross-Blue Shield is interviewed on the Evolutionary Provocateur podcast. He explains quite clearly what changes in thinking are required to make the jump. Changes in thinking are only the start. The other set of skills lie in the more intuitive/sensory domain. These are impossible to tap into when the mental/intellectual processor is working on hyperdrive. They are much more sophisticated skills; natural and not much valued in an environment where fear prevails and efforts are made to think through complexity rather than feel through using insight.

Websites like www.globalforesight and http://www.thefutureofwork.net/blog offer insight into the impact on work, leadership and personal lives yet oddly enough the implications of the web of interactions are still not translated into action. Why? That is the subject of the next article in this series. 

Engaging the Millennials-It's about Purpose

Many companies struggle with retaining and engaging the Millennials. Understandably. Most company cultures are organized around managing employees. Even those who 'enable' their employees use rules that are deeply embedded in the culture. These rules, while not transparent to the company, are obvious to the employee under thirty. When I look across the demographic in the workplace I see a trend that closes the performance gap with all the groups from Millenials to Boomers: a focus on purpose. The only difference is that Boomers have learned to 'suck it up' and Millenials won't have any part of it. The separation between emotion and action is impossible for those under forty, unless they have learned to seriously compromise themselves.

It is exciting to see what those global minds under twenty-five are up to. This story comes from a friend of my daughter's who is now working in Africa. He had been to Africa, returned home to go to school and then, after the election, returned. He is now working on a Youth Leadership Program teaching young people how to actively participate in political and social change. His initiative would join those like the 'Canadians for Obama' effort posted on Facebook. Enjoy this story of inspiration in action.

My friends,

I am back in Kenya, and with so many things passing through my mind as I see a changed country, I will occasionally be sending messages back home to friends and colleagues.  If you don't want to be included in these emails, please just let me know (not a problem!), and I will remove your address.

It's nearly sunrise and I've been putting off writing this message for hours.  Knowing there is so much to say, and (as cliche as it sounds) not knowing how to say it. 

As most of you probably know, I spent 2006/2007 working for an organization called ACCES in a beautiful little hole in the wall town called Kakamega (literal translation: to take ugali *main staple food* ...this was misunderstood as the village name by the former colonial rulers).  To save you all a lot of time and energy wasted on reading excessive adjectives, be assured that I loved Kakamega.  I still DO love Kakamega.

Naturally, all that I experienced and grew to embrace in my past times in Kenya continues to paint my view of the country today.  And despite my best efforts to forget some of the heartache its people have been subjected to in recent months, Kenya is unmistakably a different place.

~

I can remember the exact place and time when I found out, just hours after having hiked out of a 5-day snowshoe jaunt in the mountains with dear friends, that Kenya had descended into violence after a flawed election.  To say it was a major shift in mindset would be putting it lightly.  From that moment, the pressing issues facing Kenya raced through my mind more than anything else in my life.  My worry for Kenya consumed me, forcing me to keep my finger on the pulse of international contacts and media at all hours of the day.

And now I am back, and in many ways, struggling to reconcile what appear to be two very different Kenya's:  the one I left in July, regarded (perhaps mistakingly) as a bedrock of stability in Sub-Saharan Africa; and the one I have found in the present, now mostly beyond the sexy international media frenzy brought on by gory, neighbor-on-neighbor slaughter and senseless destruction.  Pictures of machete wielding youth, drenched in sweat and with deep yellow eyes, have an incredible ability to garner front-page coverage on the "it" day.  But the next week, once the agitated youth and disheartened citizens have traded in their weapons for a quasi-commitment to a fragile "peace" deal based on promises from two seasoned politicians (who both rather blatantly stoled votes in the recent election), the story is no longer of interest to the world.  If you didn't know otherwise, it's like as if the issue had completely disappeared. 

I am not saying that Kenya is buried in senseless violence and chaos...in fact, far from it.  Walking around Nairobi yesterday, even as riots and clashes with police carried on a few minutes away in the slum of Kibera, the general scene was perfectly normal and calm.  What I am saying is that, from what I have heard from Kenyan friends and colleagues over the past month, and from what I have seen quite clearly for myself this past week, the country is still terribly delicate, and if inappropriate action were taken, the whole place could topple at any time, creating even worst scenes of carnage and unrest.

Potential for trouble is a uncontrollable beast, and a scary one at that.  Today, this potential, sadly, appears alive and well in Kenya.  Sitting over our dinner a few nights ago in a region of Nairobi called Langata, situated literally across the river from the riots of Kibera, my friend Joyce made a very basic and otherwise unnoticeable comment.  She said, "you know, the problem is, people are biased, aren't they?"   The simplicity and honesty of her words can be viewed as a clear example of the simmering challenges - dangers - facing Kenya today.

~

It didn't take me long to grow tired of Nairobi, and so I booked a ticket to Kisumu, from where I would travel to Kakamega and my favorite part of the nation.  As we flew to Kisumu, two times over after having initially been sent back to Nairobi after a landing attempt was botched because of bad weather, I thought about all the generous and warm friends I would soon greet.  And then it struck me, that for example Rajab, who despite facing otherwise great challenges (poverty, minimal education, few employment opportunities, etc.) was an extremely happy guy, and had now become a heavily burdened young man.  Despite a determined will and strong belief in the greater good, Rajab is scarred by wounds that do not heal over night.  Having watched several of his friends be killed in front of his eyes, himself being beaten on several occasions, carrying his malaria-ridden 4 year old brother 30 km by foot to escape harm, and being forced to flee his own country and be a refugee in a camp for displaced peoples for weeks on end, with little food or water in sight; these things all take their toll.

I was greeted by Rajab at the airport, despite my flight landing 5 hours past the scheduled arrival time, and I was not surprised to see a man with a smile stretched across his face, beaming with exuberance.  We traveled the long and bumpy road, which just hours before had been impassable because of protesters blocking the road and stoning vehicles trying to pass, and went straight to Rajab's homestead to greet the rest of the family.  Along the way, we passed countless buildings that had been scorched during the outbreaks of violence...physical scars on the face of the community. 

Finally in the company of Rajab's entire family, including 9 wee-ones under the age of 5, I was met with open arms and warm chai.  Despite not being able to grow any crops this year after they were forced to flee their land during the crucial planting season, the family still served up a full meal, made over fire in a smoky mud room, not whisked out of a microwaveable container.  The food tasted good, and the company made me feel at home.  It is, in fact, home. 

~

On my first night in Kakamega, I go to a Rotary meeting with a friend, to hear about how some of the affected families - a young boy shot in the leg and forced into a wheelchair; a mama without any source of income to care for her family and take her children to school - are now being supported by local community members in rebuilding their lives.  It is an incredible thing to witness, and one that strikes a chord in me all the way to the bone: that we must look after one another.  A simply reminder. 

On my way home, sitting on the back of a push-bicycle "taxi", rushing down the path where I stay, we are stopped by 4 armed police officers.  They look at us in a rather menacing way, and the man who's bicycle I am sitting on is clearly (and for good reason) more scared than I am.  He has to see and pass these officers everyday in the community.  They curse at us, and one of them points his finger screaming "WEWE WEWE WEWE" ("YOU YOU YOU").  Finally, before letting us leave, one of them grabs his kalishnakov rifle and swings it back full force, just until it stand an inch from the face of the taxi rider. 

We stop dead in our tracks.  Not sure of what to do, neither of us say anything. And these police officers, the beholders of an ultimate authority with their rifles clutched strongly in their hands, stare at us coldly and full of insolence. 

We wait for some minutes until they pass, and as I alight, my friend almost rides off, ghost-faced, without collecting his fare.  Trust you me, not a common occurrence amongst bicycle taxi riders, or "boda-boda's", as they are known.

And so here I am...loving Kenya and loving being in Kenya, and hoping that Kenyans continue to find incredible ways of facing problems that would make many people hide away in fear.

Do you hear what I hear?

The Institute of Noetic Sciences has launched a wonderful series of interviews with thought leaders one of who was Jim Garrison from www.wisdomuniversity.com. Jim is currently working with Paul Ray of www.culturalcreatives.org to update research on a group who do not know they are a group. They are defined by having shared values, may not all be found at the same coffee shop and who, if their collective wisdom were applied, can move mountains and realign the planets.

So what does it take to unleash that kind of potential into organizations?

It calls for a suspension of judgement for starters. Listening to discussions of Gen Y,  X, Boomers or Traditionalists inevitably draws up character profiles of each group. All of this can be helpful until labels get applied. Labels like, The Entitlement Generation, distract from what talent, mission and purpose lies beneath.

Non-performers are judged as being non-performers rather than taking a more informed view to see that the non-performer is really an unengaged performer. This morning at a business meeting the whole conversation about psychopathic employees came up. Psychopath is a pretty harsh label to apply to someone and does not actually inspire anyone to reveal what they can really do. The word would appear to be closely associated with parasite.

Engaging employees boils down to seeing what lies at the heart of the matter. Earlier posts on this topic speak to the need to have a receptive mind so one can actually hear what has passion, meaning and purpose. Perception shifting as a skill is a huge part of this as is recognizing and eliminating judgmental language, thought and action.

Over to You! Have you ever been in a situation where you held yourself back because the working environment was so loaded with judgment that it was not safe to be you? 

Accepting Human Spirit as Fuel for Results

Steve Roesler has been doing a wonderful series on change over at his blogpost All Things Workplace. The most recent one Change: Does your Spirit Lift You and Others Up? hits on something that appears to still remain relatively dormant - the acceptance of the human spirit as THE fuel driving performance, results, retention, engagement ... you name it. Previous blogposts on this site include Spirit as Energy and Personal Spirit: The Fuel. Personal spirit is measured (to the extent one can measure energy) as outlook on life, sense of control (not over others) and initiative. These serve as the filter for perception and impact.

Yet oddly, at least to me, when I am discussing the need for workers who have been downsized, rightsized and minimized, to reconnect with their hope, their talent and themselves, eyes glaze over.  Talk goes back to the resources for job search, the inability of the workplace to see the value of older workers, known as Prime 50 by Drake International or the inability of the older workers to fit in. All these are negatives as you have undoubtedly noted. Fitting a square peg into a round hole is tough when the only shape recognized is square. OK, perhaps a poor metaphor but the point is that unless the hope, the inner strength and the belief that one has worth is there, zillions of job searches won't clear the self-doubt, or sense of powerlessness.

Reingiting the fuel the inspires personal contribution is a start. The support comes from a working environment that knows how to merge the differences in perspective between individuals and generations into something more powerful. That requires compassion. We don't act on what we think. We act on how we feel.

How is this connection between personal spirit and results, whether personal or professional regarded in your experience?

From Disengagement to Re-Engagement

The Disengagement Gap article posted on www.management-issues.com reports that 'just a fifth of the 90,000 workers surveyed worldwide said they felt engaged in their work. The Global Workforce Study conducted by Towers Perrin points out that 'at a time when companies are looking for every source of competitive advantage, the workforce itself represents the largest reservoir of untapped potential.

There is a lot of talk about engagement, what it is or is not. How well is it really understood?

Much energy is put into motivating employees, providing incentives or punishment for work well done or not. All of it appears to be anchored on external approval as the 'hook'.

What if employees are people who are looking for interesting and challenging work?

What if engaging employees really meant feeling good about what they are doing in their working lives?

Then no matter how much you focus on the gaps: of gender, age, wage, you will find common ground. Mechanistic reward systems take the humanity out of organizational community. Connection is what people look for. Connection and a place where they can feel inspired to give and be their best.

What kind of working environment would that be for You?

The Kids Today Aren't What We Used to Be-Really!

I love Wayne Turmel's irreverent approach to human folly, particularly as it shows up in business. Wayne's most recent article on www.management-issues.com is about the kids today...hence this post. To Wayne's points I add my own comments. 

'They don't have any loyalty to an employer - right--they leave a job when it does not challenge them or use their talent to effect.

They don't know the meaning of hard work - Work was never meant to be hard. it is meant to be fun and challenging but not about grinding your way to the end of the day. Challenge is OK; surviving the day is not.

They are spoiled and self-centered - Fruit spoils. Kids. ... well if we gave them the idea that the world is handed on a platter then it is natural to expect that. Self-centered? There is no shortage of very self-absorbed senior workers. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones said Confucious.

They don't understand that business is a rough game and life is not fair - Well if that is not a belief about how the world looks I don't know what is. 

They have book learning, but no real experience - Real experience is the one with life and some of these kids have already lived several lifetimes worth. They bring an inherent wisdom, unless it has been crushed, suppressed or oppressed and an intuitive natural know-how which is also known as tacit knowledge. Many bring curiousity and a desire to learn. This is something that the older generations have lost. Learn and live!

In my books, the kids who went to alternative schools are the independent thinkers, the innovators and the ones you watch for emerging trends. The kids who went to mainstream school will tell you how to work the system to get what you want and what you have to put up with to get there. They are well aware of the game and decide whether they play or not.

Self-sacrifice is not in their agreement with life; nor is serving a company when it does not serve you equally. Makes sense to me.

Pure and outright entitlement...well we have plenty of business cultures, especially the ones backed by the right to exist, who can demonstrate what that looks like.

For Wayne's post see The Kids are Alright.

The Simple Nature of Performance

Steve Roesler's simple example over at All Things Workplace illustrates how easy performance is. A couple of things come to mind:
1. People want to contribute. Motivation is not necessary. Inspiration is all that is required.
2. Performance follows joy as Nick Zeniuk my colleague from SoL puts it. When employees are given the freedom to express their talents...they do.
3. Performance is fueled by personal spirit. Personal spirit, as noted in other places in this blog, is made of the state of a person's outlook, initiative and sense of control. Unless repression has been the rule of the day, expression shows up as initiative ... taking charge and making things happen.

In general when people are not clear, the actions need to be done again. In many working environments the value is over being busy. Simple focus on clarity of purpose can clear the path to results by reducing the range of possibility down to what to focus on.

In a world of massive information overload, being clear about what you are trying to achieve and why creates the ground for focused and collective action. Sounds simple enough. To achieve it means giving more trust and letting go of the need to control.

The simple nature of performance cycles back to self mastery. Personal growth and development or personal mastery...call it what you want... is about the capacity to observe oneself in action and insert a decision between the impulse and that action so that the choice to intervene or let go is made as a conscious choice. Trusting in talent is what it is all about.

Passion with a Purpose

Tom Voccola at CEO2 is on a mission. As a CEO of five companies so far, Tom has figured out that the real opportunity lies in being tuned into what matters for you. There are lots of executives who, if they grasped this for themselves, would not be wondering how to engage and keep their employees.

I just spent 3 days in a workshop with Tom working on my purpose and passion statement. Are you ready?

Mastering the Invisible-Connection to the Web of Life

Through compassion, intuitively sensing into all levels of energetic reality and a knack for making connections I help myself and others bring the invisible to the surface and convert it to clarity, creativity and expanded contribution.

Tom's work is incredibly important right now to corporations whose level of self-knowledge is low to non-existent. This is true also for the people in it. Since tacit knowledge is THE strategic asset to corporate achievement, then companies must engage the passion and purpose of themselves to create the culture necessary to nurture.

Tom and his wife Francis can be found at www.ceo2.com. What is your relationship with your passion for work and your purpose in life?