Effective Leadership over the Long-Term:

A Process of Inclusion and Connection

“Disadvantaged people are a resource to be tapped rather than a problem to be solved.”

Hard Times Cafe

Every participant is responsible for the whole program

Decisions made by consensus of all present Self-managing teams

◦ Office, accounting, businesses, store, children’s program, membership, Elders etc.

Leader = advisor, clarifier, facilitator Patron leaders emerge around specific issues

Leadership without Authority

How well does the traditional approach to leadership fit the needs and opportunities of today’s world?

Politics has become increasingly fragmented and adversarial

There is a lack of critical thinking and honest discussion of major issues.

Focus is on positions not needs, concerns, or solutions (dueling ads/dollars/talking points)

It may be impossible to discover common ground and find compromise under current conditions.

Political Leadership

Gallup Survey 2000 to 2012

Organizational Leadership

“Of the approximately 100 million people in America who hold full-time jobs, 30 million (30%) are engaged and inspired at work .”

“…roughly 20 million (20%) employees … are actively disengaged. These employees roam the halls spreading discontent.”

“…The other 50 million (50%) American workers are not engaged. They’re just kind of present, but not inspired by their work or their managers.”

“…Seven in 10 American workers are “not engaged” or “actively disengaged” in their work, meaning they are emotionally disconnected from their workplaces and less likely to be productive.”

"If you don't like your job, …you just go in there every day and do it really half-assed.

That's the American way.“

-Homer Simpson

“… having too few engaged employees means our workplaces are less safe, employees have more quality defects, and disengagement is driving up the country’s healthcare costs.”

“U.S. Gallup puts the price tag of active disengagement at up to $550 billion in lost economic activity each year.

And even if America's unsatisfied workers have fulfilling home and social lives, boredom at the job means long days for everybody.”

Traditional models of leadership tend to be based on assumptions that humans are naturally competitive and aggressive and only a few gifted people are qualified to lead.

Robert Sapolsky,Baboon researchSteve Taylor – “The Fall“Story of the dogwood tree Adaptive nature and true nature

Emerging leadership @ HTC

There are good reasons to question these assumptions

Chaotic No clear responsibility

Reactive Impulse Driven

Rigid Total control from the top

Unresponsive Data/$ Driven

Extremes of Ineffective Leadership

Chaos--------Inclusion------Rigidity & Connection

Shared responsibility Responsive

People Driven

The Golden Mean of Leadership

Effective leadership over the long term is a process of Inclusion and Connection

Hypothesis #1:

Provides multiple perspectives, See a larger picture more clearly

Facilitates shared vision and values Leads to intrinsic motivation More able to anticipate problems and

recognize opportunities Increases likelihood of finding creative

solutions Develops potential of participants

Inclusion and Connection

The Process of Inclusion and Connection emerges from Balance and Clear Perception

Hypothesis #2

Inclusion and Connection essentially involves seeing clearly with an open heart.

Potential, Possibilities What needs to be

done Who best to do it How it fits together

Likely outcomes Opportunities Obstacles

Connect by caring Trust/confidence based

on understanding People are more than

costs or means of production

Work becomes challenging and satisfying when it connects to worthwhile mission

See Clearly ..……Open Heart

How Do We Do That?

Balance takes us out of crisis mode

Narrowed vision Increased reactivity, decreased receptivity Tend to return to old methods Increased rigidity More errors, less efficiency Short-term focus More self-centered

Effects of Stress and Tension

Stopping the build up of tension Learning to adapt thoughts and perceptions to meet short and long-term needs and opportunities

Understanding the nature of emotion

Physical, Mental and Emotional Balance involve:

Establish autonomic nervous system balance through Natural Rhythmic Breathing

Use Grounding to recognize and stop the build up of tension

Use a Rhythm Phrase to redirect unproductive thinking

Clarify direction and helpfulness of thought Meditation to fine tune awareness and skill of

redirecting thought

How to Restore and Maintain Physical and Mental Balance

The function of emotion is to provide a quick assessment of the current situation, to help us connect with other people, and to get us moving.

All humans (and many animals) share the capacity to experience the same emotions

Understanding Emotion

There are four kinds of emotion◦Natural emotion – response to

perception of the moment◦Conceptual emotion – response to

thought◦Structural emotion – response to

trauma◦Sustained emotion – (attitude,

motivation) response to emotional habits and beliefs

Understanding Emotion (cont.)

Balance allows us to see a larger picture more clearly

Clear Perception is Shared Perception

Frame – Conceptual habits, beliefs

Filter – Emotional state

Focus – What we pay attention to

How We Limit Perception

Defensiveness Blame, resentment, “should” Seeing people as parts or costs Narrow rigid frame Short-term focus Self-promotion, self centeredness (me frame) Conceptual Fear

Obstacles to Clear Perception

CompassionPersonal ResponsibilityHopeHumility

Components of Clear Perception

Defensiveness (blocks compassion) Control (undermines personal responsibility

Fear (turns away from hope) Self-centeredness (distorts reality – “me-frame”)

Opposite of Clear Perception

Choices