Leadership to Provoke Quintessential Humanity

Inciteful Leadership Group, LLC

Lots of material out there regarding leadership

• A lot of definition of what “traditional leadership” is

Challenge traditional views of what a leader is and the purpose of leadership

• Incite a shift in your perspective

This is as much a spiritual as a physical excursion

• The real objective is the journey…

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Authoritarian style

• West Point

• Army Company Commander

Participative style

• Research and Development Project Lead

• Staff Manager

• Senior Systems Engineer supporting the BLM

Laissez-Faire

• Systems Engineering Lead – early

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Servant Leadership

• Systems Engineering Lead - later

Inciteful Leadership

• Current position as SE Lead and Deputy PM

• Government advisor

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What, in your mind, does a “typical” leader look like?

• Characteristics

• Who do you think of when you think of a leader?

• Well-known examples

• Examples from your own life

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What are some definitions of leadership?

• Dictionary.com: “…a person who guides or directs a group…”

• Wikipedia: “…a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task…”

• Merriam-Webster Online: “…the power or ability to lead other people…”

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Generally, then, leadership is the ability to influence others to accomplish a set of goals

• A very corporate point-of-view

Does society ask more of its leaders today?

• Address people on a much more personal level

• Improve them so that they improve themselves?

• Pervasiveness of leadership in society today ‒ Schools

‒ Work

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Authoritarian style

• Longest history of all the leadership styles

• Good if quick decisions are needed

• Depends on decision-making ability of one person

• Decisions tend to be one-dimensional and less imaginative

• Team morale may become an issue

• Sample disciplines ‒ Military

‒ Construction work

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Participative style

• Leader provides guidance to team members but makes the final decision

• More team member involvement in decision-making

• Effective in building teams

• Solutions tend to be richer and more diverse

• Useful in dynamically changing situations

• Requires time to reach decisions

• Disciplines ‒ Engineering manager

‒ Most office-style positions

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Laissez-faire style

• Highly experienced and self-motivated staff

• Most relaxed form of leadership – mentor to team members

• High-level guidance – priorities and objectives set by team members

• Disciplines ‒ Engineering manager

‒ Leader in an educational institution

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Leadership blending

What does a leader look like in your workplace?

• Think of examples – what are their traits and characteristics?

• What are they like?

• Why do you and others look up to them?

Think back on your life experiences – what kind of person do you remember the most / had the most impact on your life?

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Theories of motivation

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• Accomplish lower levels before progressing

• Modern interpretations see much more interaction

• The self-actualized individual is at the top of the pyramid

Self-Actualization

Esteem

Belonging

Safety

Physiological

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People have inherent needs that drive them to grow

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A self-actualized individual looks like:

• Efficient perceptions of reality ‒ Sees situations and people for who they really are

‒ “Maslow considered self-actualizing people to possess "an unusual ability to detect the spurious, the fake, and the dishonest in personality, and in general to judge the people correctly and efficiently”

• Comfortable acceptance of self, others, and nature ‒ Perceive your own flaws and are comfortable with them

‒ Take life’s trials as they come

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• Reliance on own experiences and judgment ‒ Your decisions are your own, based on your own judgment

and experience

‒ Know your strengths and weaknesses and how to leverage both

• Spontaneous and natural ‒ You live in the moment

‒ React naturally to situations as they are presented to you, almost without thought

• Task centering ‒ Focused on getting the job done

‒ No drama or hidden agenda

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• Autonomy ‒ “Societal norms” do not affect or restrain you

‒ Others’ worn rank mean little or nothing to you

• Continued freshness of appreciation ‒ Can listen to a song over and over again and still feel the

freshness – gain a more in-depth appreciation for it

‒ Take each day and situation on its own merits

• Profound interpersonal relationship ‒ Few and far between, very deep and meaningful

relationships

‒ Truly understand the “real you”

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• Comfort and solitude ‒ Not afraid to be alone

‒ Have a need to do this from time to time to reflect on lessons learned

• Non-hostile sense of humor ‒ Do not disparage others

‒ Self-deprecating at times

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• Peak experiences ‒ “…(temporary moments of self-actualization). These

occasions were marked by feelings of ecstasy, harmony, and deep meaning. Self-actualizers reported feeling at one with the universe, stronger and calmer than ever before, filled with light, beautiful and good, and so forth.”

‒ Associated with epiphanies

• Socially compassionate ‒ Feel an obligation to help humanity as a whole

‒ A desire for others to feel the same you have felt

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The objective of Inciteful Leadership is to deliberately build self-actualized individuals

• Accomplished by providing others the opportunity to improve through provoking them

• The provocations elicit emotional responses from other people

• The emotional responses make others think – to use their mind to understand themselves and their interaction in the world around them

A subtle form of leadership

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10 minute break…

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An examination of a word’s root can be revealing

Lead (v.1): “to guide”

• Old English lædan "cause to go with one, lead, guide, conduct, carry; sprout forth; bring forth, pass (one's life)“ ‒ causative of liðan "to travel“

‒ from West Germanic *laidjan (cf. Old Saxon lithan, Old Norse liða "to go," Old High German ga-lidan "to travel," Gothic ga-leiþan "to go")

‒ from PIE *leit- “to go forth”

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The prior implies movement of some sort – perhaps a movement of individuals from one perspective to another

• “To guide” implies that the leader shows the way, but does not force the path to be taken

• It is incumbent on the individual to recognize the path to improvement and to take that path

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Old English lædere "one who leads," agent noun from lædan

• Lædere: present active infinitive of lædo: ‒ I strike, hurt

‒ I offend

‒ I thwart

‒ I betray

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Slightly different implications in the translation – the original meaning

• On the surface of it, the underlying meaning seems negative in nature

• Some thoughts to hold in your mind as we proceed: ‒ Could these be the appearance of what the leader is doing?

‒ Could the leader’s underlying intent be something else entirely, belied by what others perceive from his or her actions?

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A mental attitude towards the individual and organization as a whole

Inverts the traditional leadership “pyramid”

Puts the individual on the team first

• Puts their needs first

• Provides them both the responsibility and authority to accomplish their job

• The servant leader tends to be in the background

The intent is to make the team members grow as individuals

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Characteristics of the Servant Leader • Listening

• Empathy

• Healing

• Awareness

• Persuasion

• Conceptualization

• Foresight

• Stewardship

• Commitment to the growth of people

• Building community

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ACTING SIMPLY True leaders Are hardly known to their followers. Next after them are the leaders The people know and admire; After them, those they fear; After them, those they despise. To give no trust Is to get no trust. When work’s done right, With no fuss or boasting, Ordinary people say, “Oh, we did it.”

Lao-Tzu (Sixth Century B.C.)

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A discussion on the quote

• The quote describes a hierarchy of leaders ‒ The sequence implies the level of effectiveness for each type

of leader

‒ The least effective are those who are despised

• Trust is a two-way street and is critical to any leadership role

• Last stanza implies that a True Leader’s work is fully transparent to their people, such that when they succeed, they see only their efforts

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What do you believe a True Leader is?

• What does a True Leader look like?

• Why is the True Leader “…hardly known to their followers…”?

Do you know anyone in your life that fits the description of a True Leader?

We equate a True Leader with being an Inciteful Leader

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Think of an Inciteful Leader like you might an email

• The email is generally neutral

• Receivers interpret the email according to their own perceptions and biases

• Similarly, the Inciteful Leader is perfectly neutral in passionate situations

• In this manner, the Inciteful Leader becomes a perfect mirror to the opposite person – a mirror of their personality and emotions

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“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up”

King James Bible, John 4:10

The process must start with yourself

Simple humility is objective of this approach

• Becoming humble is not so simple or easy

• The largest obstacle for most people is pride

• Recognizing pride for what it is and what it does to you is the first step

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Tell the absolute truth – overtly admit when you are wrong to yourself and to others

• Daily personal retrospectives

• Initially, set personal objectives/goals

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Allow other to use you as a “punching bag”

• Do not react when they attempt to provoke you

• Your non-reaction will incite them further, eventually causing more self-examination

Have no hidden agendas

• Be transparent to everyone – from your perspective

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Keep a journal of your progress

• Make daily entries

• Record your innermost thoughts and feelings

• Record reactions to various situations ‒ Will see trends over time

Two steps for decision making

1. Recognizing your options

2. Making the right choice

• Inciteful Leadership in action is all about the choice you make to respond

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Record the choices you make on a daily basis

• Write a description of the situation

• Write down the choices you faced

• Write down the choice you made

• Was the choice the right choice? You will know…

Read the right things

• Uplifting articles or books which espouse the traits you seek

• “Marc and Angel Hack Life” blog is an example ‒ http://www.marcandangel.com/

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Learn how to meditate

• Another techniques for deep self-examination

• Allows for a release from tensions of the day

Broaden your personal horizons

• Try different approaches to solving problems

• Explore different religions ‒ Attend different ceremonies to gain an appreciation of their

differences and commonalities

Go in with an open mind, eager to learn

‒ Look for common threads throughout the different ways religion is practiced

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Perform daily introspectives

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The process must start with yourself

Expect this process to take some time

• Be steadfast – the results will come

• Looking for evolution over an extended period of time

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Expect to be ostracized by others because they do not understand the transformation you are undergoing

• Your actions will often be misinterpreted by others

• Your actions can be viewed as saintly or wicked – the common human interpretation is the latter

• People interpret your actions based on their own perceptions of the world around them

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During the process, you will have the potential to isolate yourself from others

• Guard against that

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You will be able to read people much more clearly than before

• Their true intentions will become clearer to you

• You will be able to read their “body English” much more effectively

You will become more humble in the process

• Recognize what your capabilities and limitations are

• That there are no true “experts” in existence

• That attitude and self-respect is everything

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You will be better at reading yourself

• Recognizing your own emotional reactions to situations

• Providing measured responses to various situations

• The measured responses will tend to provoke others to their own emotional responses ‒ Provocations may not always be conscious

‒ With no external reaction on your part, others will begin to examine themselves and improve over time

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You will become more confident of yourself and your abilities than before

• Little will shake you, because you have been through an intense trial by fire

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Human resources-related concern for employee

• Occurred over several months – initial warning

• Intent was to warn him of behavior with no repercussions on permanent file

• He initially thought that there would be significant impact to his career – was angry with me

• Realized no impact

• Possible results: ‒ Adjusting targeted behavior

‒ Realized we were not “out to get him”

‒ Increased his comfort in position with this company

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<Issue about putting PRs into system>

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Who are the True Leaders in your work place?

Inspire versus incite

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

Holy Bible, Matthew 5:5

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