Evolutionary Provocateur

The Field of Knowing

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.” - Rumi

This is an oft quoted passage from Rumi which shows up here because it segues into a conversation on intuition. Recently a LOT of people have recognized that their analytical mind is so over-amped that anxiety attacks are up close and personal. The experience scares most enough that they recognize that it is time to rethink how they are approaching life.

The time for shifting from a duality way of seeing the world: wrong or right; weak or strong; mind or heart is in front of us. the opportunity it presents is to recognize the mutuality of all things: Wrong and Right: two sides of the same coin. weak and strong: vulnerability is strength.

Leadership must now reflect the delightful dance of the heart and the mind working together. This can only happen when the heart is given the lead and the mind is asked to coordinate.

What does intuition have to do with this? Intuition has two levels: the cognitive processing level and a deeper level which is best accessed through meditation. At this level you assess the happy blend of foresight and insight into how things work and why they do. To access this level you must enter throught the heart's intelligence.

Self-knowledge is a strategic intelligence that fuels the capacity of individuals to remove blocks and move on. Collective intelligence reflects the collective capacity to know oneself as a whole entity and to know how one contributes to collective endeavors. Interestingly, self-knowledge is self-directed unless intentionally done in a collective setting. The field of knowing lies within. Implosion is not necessary.

What is your experience with your journey?

Expanding Worldview

The whole idea of expanding worldview was touched on recently on www.bnet.com in an article by Charles Ehin entitled 'Executives Beware of the Fossilized Worldview'. It is not the first time the whole need to expand the sight line to take in new data has been mentioned. Doing so requires flexibility in the thinking and security in the self along with a series of more advanced deeply attuned skills such as sensitivity, questioning, and seeing (not visually but with foresight).

For leaders to make the shift requires willingness to learn and tap into more of their own personal talent rather than relying on what they have accessed to get them where they are. If you are totally commited to life-long learning as a fun way to keep your energy, brain cells and growth then it is natural once you know the way. The trick is that the skills you require to expand world view are ones that are not cognitive in nature but embrace 'precognition'. The inspiration to tap into them is driven by personal passion. The mind can then support the work rather than limit possibilities down channels of past experience.

The application to current business is huge not just because expanded thinking lets more possibliities in but also because the workforce, being global and mobil, is not restricted to a dominant world view. It is critical the the culture embrace different ways of seeing the world as a strategic advantage. Group think, while comfortable, is not effective. Only when the diversity of perspective, backstopped by very different worldviews, is embraced will the talent in the culturally diverse workforce have a place to play.

Equine Guided Leadership Development

Nick Zeniuk and his horse Guess have taught each other a lot. She came as a rescue horse off the track via a couple of homes. He is a retired executive from Ford. They are teaching each other how to be present, sense more than say, connect, converse by patiently learning how to communicate until they reach a place of agreement. Considering that only 7% of our conversation is actually verbal it makes sense to learn with a master of non-verbal communication...a horse. Horses are highly intuitive, and sensitive to subtle signals. They react to incongruence each in their own way and are very attentive and responsive to your energy.

The new leadership paradigms demands leaders who can listen with their senses well beyond words. We listed being present, increasing sensitivity, understanding how your energy impacts others, trust, and congruence as the easy to note qualities learning from horses draws out.

Equine assisted learning is a different way to draw out the skills that people have but have forgotten to use in the day to day rush and focus on action rather than receptivity. Leadership programs exist around the world with each horse bringing their talent to the table to match the participant's need.

There is tons to learn in this area. My curiousity has lead me to Linda-ann Bowling in Langley, B.C. Canada www.equine-imity.com who referred me to Barbara Rector in Tucson www.adventuresinawareness.com who referred me to her friends in Germany at www.horsedream.com and to Louanne at Horses Help who referred me to www.teachinghorse.com in Oregon.

After the SoL Consulting Convergence was over, we visited Horses Help in north Phoenix and learned a lot from Louanne who gave us her time to show us how the conversation takes place and what is involved.

More than leaders benefit. Youth at risk, people needing therapeutic recovery for a variety of reasons are being assisted by horses to heal, grow and attune their skills to the NOW. Barbara Rector has a facilitation training program coming up in August for those who can see themselves contributing in this way.

Leadership and Tacit Knowledge

It was refreshing to note recognition of innate intelligence, or tacit knowledge, as the source for what Ram Charan calls Know-How in his new book. Seeing the world through a wide angle lens is a natural result of being in touch with innate intelligence and this has real value for times when the cognitive or mental process is not enough to embrace the complexity of decision making, information, or the mind gym that helps explore and examine a problem from as many ways as possible.

When Peter Senge introduced spiritual intelligence in the Fifth Discipline and then later The Dance of Change, he gave us a way to talk about energy and spirit that offered credibility to the larger human resource. It is no accident that HeartMath provides us with an understanding of the heart as an intelligent processor for our emotional take on the world AND that the limbic processor is around 80, 000 times faster than the cognitive. Yet for some reason, we continue to rely on only the cognitive mental in times where the ONLY lens that functions is the wide angle multi-dimensional one. Spiritual intelligence is the vehicle to access the innate wisdom and knowledge each person has.

The road to innate intelligence lies in a journey...the hero''s journey because it involves looking more deeply than the color of your suit or tie. In the next post we will take the first of a series of steps that lead to the core or innate talent, unique to each individual and the anchor for self-leadership, a wider way of seeing the world and its possiblities, personal and organizationa;.

Authenticity: Is it really at odds with executive leadership roles?

A recent article in Forbes.com by Saj-nicole A. Joni states "thoughtul leaders know that the popular definition of autehtnticity-beingfully yourself, completely transparent, always telling the unvarnished truth --is at odds with the reality of the executive leadership roles and responsibilities." The reason is that "full disclosure must give way to discretion." Bennis is quoted as saying, 'The truth is , we all know tath wxective operate in roles that come with many strategic, operational, legal and ethical constraints."

I found this perspective interesting.

The definition of authenticity in Primal Leadership by Daniel Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee defines autheticity as acting from one's genuine feelings. Using discretion is still consistent with that definiton. But if the meaning of authenticity in the corporate environment has morphed into being associated with telling the whole truth under any circumstances, then authenticity is being confused with disclosure.

Authentic leaders are real. They may not be perfect but they are truly aware, or at minimum dedicated to becoming aware of what their shortcomings are and what feelings they are expressing. Some views see authenticity as something that is part of the performance, a theatrical reference, rather than being genuine and trustworthy as the word is actually defined. The idea that authenticity is something you use strategically forgets that genuiness and trustworthiness centers on you and your actions. The role you play, or your purpose, is the podium. The message comes from your center of energy that you express yourself from.

When you reflect on your own relationships with people who you consider to be authentic. What makes them 'real'? How do they create the podium of safety that allows people to reveal their true feelings in a supportive environment?

There is an ancient universal principle which goes: 'Tell the truth without blame or judgment." (See the Four Fold Way by Angeles Arrien). Authenticity in those teachings is synonomous with being connected with one's spirituality, which is the conduit for all energy. When applying these concepts, much discernment must be used. it can be only be employed to effect with individuals who are committed to achieving high levels of personal mastery. Standing on that step there is a much clearer picture of how to authenticity is directly connected to personal presence - essential for leaders at any level.

Zidane's Red Card and a Higher Level of Leadership

Zidane's red card and the whole action to reaction dynamic offers a chance for FIFA to ensure that those who provoke using insults on the playing field are called to account for their action. Otherwise what makes fair play 'fair'?

You have to wonder what Materazzi was thinking when he thought it was legitimate tactics to insult Zidane's family and yet admit sensitivity to his own mother. What ever you do to others you do to yourself. For years World Cup soccer has seen the red carded player be vilified for their reaction while the perpetrator, who often openly admitted their intention, would get reported in the press. No repercussions for their action. True, there is always a healthy dose of self-discipline required in any leadership role, on the field or off. When did it become acceptable to insult someone's family in order to gain competitive advantage.

Viewing the commentary the comparison is often made, in Canada at least, with hockey. The notion is that injury is worse and worse things are said so it is better to receive insults than injuries of the type that Steve Moore and others have received. The idea apparently is that trading injury for insult should make it all better. It doesn't.

Soccer or football, is a vehicle for social change. Go to www.streetsoccer.org and you can see the social impact on homeless people as they take the skills associated with playing the game and transfer them into their lives. For football (soccer) to achieve that, FIFA needs to ensure that fair play becomes fair; that the provoker's actions become transparent and that street fighting tactics that result in hurling insults on the field are not an acceptable part of the game. That way players can rely on talent, skills and vision to win rather than using base insults to uncenter and destabilize players. That way there is a real chance that the game can model how to have differences, be competitive and yet remain respectful, retaining dignity even in the heat of the moment. It is there that football can inspire a bringing together of people from all over the world as many intend it to do.

Talk of stripping Zidane of his award reflects, as one person put it, a sorry logic which only looks at a limited portion of the picture. To raise the level of leadership the lens will have to widen, and lessons from Ghandi employed: "The challenge for leaders is to live up to their fundamental responsibility as human beings: to treat others as themselves." (A Higher Standard of Leadership - Lessons from the Life of Ghandi by Keshavan Nair.)