LeadershipConneXtions

Give Bad News Early

No one likes to hear bad news.

Maybe that's why many of us don't like to give it (I know I don't).

But problems happen...
so does failure... 
things don't work according to plan...

and someone has to deliver the bad news.

If you are involved and have responsibility - that means you.

But we procrastinate!  

Why?

1.  Maybe we are afraid of the "shoot the messenger" syndrome.

2.  Maybe we hope that somehow, magically, the bad news will go away, that things will improve.

3.  Maybe we hope that the bad news will leak out and get around without "me" being the messenger.

4.  Maybe we are afraid of looking bad by being associated with the bad news.

*******

If you are responsible for the bad news being bad news... DEFINITELY, you are the messenger and the sooner you say it the better. But go in a plan about what to do about the bad news. When you talk about it, do so in clear, concise, language. Don't blame, spin, excuse, rationalize and so on. That makes you look bad. Maintain a strong, problem solving presence.

If you are not responsible, but you are involved, help the one who is responsible process what to do with the bad news and how to deliver the report.  (See the guidance in the above note.)

If you know about bad news, but are neither responsible for it and not even involved, then just find out what appropriate action is on your part. And be responsible as best you can.

I love the business card for this Don't Shoot the Messenger courier service.

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com
 

 

 

 

Email Rules (and Etiquette)

Everyone has their own set of email rules, but here are some common ones you will find repeated often enough. I've been doing more reading lately on social media and have chuckled when I come across email do's and don'ts. Probably because I have felt the same.

They are not listed in order of importance.

1.  Please do not reply to all. The original sender wanted her or his thoughts to go out to a group. If they do not ask for group wide feedback, don't assume the group wants to hear your response.
 

2.  Subject line. Make it count. This is the hook, what grabs people. With the enormous amount of email, get our attention, but not dishonestly. No bait and switch.
 

3.  Keep the email short. I mean short. Email IS NOT the place for lengthy discourse. Reading on the Internet follows patterns of F-reading and that applies to emails.  See this post on how people read documents on computer screens.
 

4.  Tell us why you sent the email and what you need in terms of a response. Even if no response is needed. If the email is just an FYI, say so. If it is "must" read let them know. 
 

5.  Fast response.  Respond to emails with 24 hours. Some say this is an "old rule" and now it is within 12 hours. Even it if is to say:  received... or no thanks... or stop sending me emails. This does two things. It keeps the sender from contacting you again with another email. It helps you keep your in-box down to a minimum. And on that one...
 

6.  Keep a small In-Box.  How do you do that. The "two opens" rule is one way. If you opened it once to see what is there and did nothing, the second time you open it requires an action. Reply or delete it from your in-box.
 

7.  Develop a working Folder system. Don't store emails in your In-Box for future reference. Productivity studies find that a cluttered In-Box is like having hundreds (in some cases many, many hundreds) of letters, files, projects sitting on your desk. If you need to save something, archive it.

********

If you have some personal "email rules" you have developed, let me know what they are.

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com
 

Seize the Day

Carpe Diem.
Seize the day . . .
Made famous by actor Robin Williams in The Dead Poets Society.

Seize the day . . .

For life is

beautiful
magnificent
wonderful
flying by

and 
irretrievable once it is gone. 

At the end of every day, every one of your days, the deeds are tallied and books are closed.

You don't EVER get that day back (unless you are Bill Murray in Ground Hogs Day).

You don't get a second chance on THAT day.
No mulligans on THAT day.
No do-overs for THAT day.

Moses knew this, that is why he said:

The length of our days is seventy years-
or eighty if we have the strength;
yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:10, 12

The Apostle Paul knew it also:

Be very careful then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is . . . be filled with the Spirit.    

Ephesians 5:15, 16, 18 

Leaders seem to be those who have a passion to really seize the days. Lots of them, most of them, all of them... and do something with them.

One of my great influences is Ignatius of Loyola and he was passionately committed to "mas" or "magis" which is Spanish and Latin for "more."

Ignatius always wanted more of Christ and his missional purposes. So he lived full and robust and attentive to each and every day. Looking for the graces/gifts of the day, looking for the presence of God in each day, and looking for his missional opportunities every day.

He numbered rightly his days.

May you and I, today, begin to more intentionally - number of our days and in doing so, seize hold of each one.

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

Causing Happiness . . .

To borrow and slightly paraphrase the every flamboyant Oscar Wilde:

"Some (leaders) cause happiness wherever they go, other (leaders) whenever they go."

Which is your main way of causing happiness in others?

I think I'll just be going now . . .

Brian K. Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

The Grateful Dead (Learning Leadership From Unlikely Sources)

One of the books I read while on vacation at Cape May (the beach) was:

Marketing Lessons From the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn From the Most Iconic Band in History.

Hey, this was a fun book and a good one.

It was loaded with business (and leadership) insights.

This band did everything wrong (intentionally) and it worked. 

They were completely counter-intuitive by all the standards of the industry and they made a fortune and gained, not just fans, not just raving fans, but a global tribe of raving fans who are unlike just about any other followers of any other rock band.

They created one of the most memorable and sustaining BRANDS in the music industry.

Do you need to break out of some ruts.

Read this book and enjoy.

If's best if you can do it on the beach, but if not, read it anywhere.

And remember, leadership is almost always a long, strange trip . . .

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com
 

van Gogh With a Word for Preachers and Teachers

"You have first to experience what you want to express."

This is a simple idea, but a profound one.

While I can't always do this as fully as I like, for the most part, I only teach/preach on the things that I am personally wrestling with in fresh ways. 

To think academically and theoretically about a topic is good and needed, but it is not enough.

One must engage it experientially, personally, up close . . .

The communicator must live into the reality of that theme . . .

The idea must be fleshed out in the personal story of the one who wants to imprint it on others.

One old definition of preaching said, "Preaching is truth illumined by personality."

That was a start. I'd like to say, "Preaching/teaching is truth illumined by personal experience."

The Word has become "flesh" in the life of the one who communicates.

And when this is taking place, there is a new level of "unction" that carries those words to the hearts of others.

What are the implications of this for your own work in leading/teaching?

 

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com
 

 

The Dangers of Too Much Leadership Power

For the last number of years, there seems to be an exceptionally high number of really bad examples of those who had/have way too much leadership power. We see the fallout of immoral leadership that makes decisions that are mainly self-serving.

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. We know this famous quote from Lord Acton.

J.R.R. Tokien said (paraphrasing), that not one person in a million is fit for power, and least of all, those who seek it.

(Of course, this was a major theme in the Lord of the Rings. The ring of power is so corrupting that even the great and mighty of Middle Earth must be wary, for it will corrupt them also. Only the humble Hobbits can be entrusted with such power, and in the end, even Frodo is corrupted.)

(One of my favorite images. Look at his expression.)

Here are just four reasons why too much power can be so dangerous.

(1)  Too much power makes it easy for impulsive, selfish leaders to pursue their own goals at the expense of the needs and well-being of others.

(2)  Those in power protect their position by attacking those they perceive as threats to their position.

(3)  Those with too much power are prone to biased judgments because they have little interest in input from followers. Therefore, they act with faulty, limited perspective and often make bad decision.

(4)  Those with too much power are resistant to feedback. They gather around them, other senior leaders, who basically agree with and don't challenge them.  Even though there may be the appearance of accountability, in actually they have little or no real accountability.

(5)  And when that is going on, financial fraud and sexual scandal is hanging around as well.

We have seen these dangers, especially in the business world in recent years. The titans of business and industry, are often, exactly that. Powerful, isolated, independent, forceful, intimidating, ruthless...

This same theme carries over into the church, which has suffered as well, from this kind of leader. When all the above is flavored with "the spiritual," when those leaders are charismatic in personality and external flair, and especially when they are dynamic communicators . . . their followers give them enormous free rein with excessive power.

Watch out . . .

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

 

Leadership Power (What We Like and Don't Like)

There are a variety of ways that power is exercised by those who lead. 

In North America, most followers are more skeptical and suspicious of leadership that is based on:

Coercion:  using penalty and punishment as motivators,

Reward:  the opposite, but we don't seem to like it much either,

Position:  using titles, rank, status, and authority.

When a leader uses those types of power, while they may appear to have followers, they have an acquiescence type of following. 

Such leadership usually has minimal respect from those who are acquiescing and it certainly does not have buy-in. It has cooperation because the one cooperating is "forced" to cooperate.

This kind of leadership is often referred to as "authoritarian" and "hierarchical" leadership.

In North America, we prefer our leaders to lead with the power of:

Expertise:  knowledge, skills, experience, generally high competency and proven success ,

Role Modeling:  showing us the way by virtue of our respect for who they are as a leader (this is the character based component and it also includes the expertise element mentioned above),

Collaboration: that pulls others into the leadership process in significant and meaningful ways.

When a leader uses these types of power, they actually have followers who follow willingly, and who then receive a different type of reward - that is the reward of opportunities, personal growth, the possibility of making a difference and moving into deep purpose.

When this kind of leader also embraces the role of mentor, they become the true influencers and developers of others.
 

This is leadership "leak" and "imprint" at its best.

So which cluster do you tend to fall into?
Which kind of leadership do you experience at your place of work and/or ministry?
What is God saying to you about growth possibilities. 

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

 

Tell the World What You Love

Be an evangelist...

Be a positive influence...

Be a way maker and a way pointer...

Be an ambassador...

Add value to the world...

Pay it forward...

Be a vocal Raving Fan...

Be passionate and excited...

Be compelling and persuasive...

Tell someone (and many someones) these things:

What you love.
Why you love it.
Why they should love it too.
 

So - what do you love. Tell me about it. Inspire me to love what you love.

Replies welcome.

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com 
 

Answer to Yesterday's Question

 

Who said this:

"What luck for rulers that men do not think?"

Answer - This Man

In speaking of the Nazi regime and its horror, we can use the well known quote (attributed to Edmund Burke)

‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’ 

I'll tweak it in light of Hitler's own pronouncement.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for a nation of followers to stop thinking."

Today is a good day to start doing the hard work of thinking . . . 

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

Who Said This?

"What luck for rulers that men do not think?"

Answer - check back tomorrow .. .

And wow did millions of his unthinking followers wreck havoc on the world.

Do the world a favor and THINK . . .

Challenge those who lead with your best THOUGHTS . . .

 

Brian K. Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

Eccentricities - What Are Yours?

Hey, this is not a bad thing I am about to say.

Missionaries are among my TOP favorite people. I respect and admire them. Much of my personal vision and calling is to empower them for faithfulness, fruitfulness and to finish well.

Here is what I have observed. So many of the most effective missionaries have a quirkiness to them. They have an eccentricity or three or four. This is their flavor and seasoning and it is part of what makes them successful on the hard field of missional labors.

(I won't tell you story of my favorite eccentric missional friends . . . for they may turn around and give the favor right back!)

But think about it . . .

Aren't we all eccentrics in some way?

Doesn't the Scripture use that odd phrase - "peculiar people" (1 Peter 2:9, KJV).  I know the Bible students who read this post are protesting translation mistakes right now... Hey, some more peculiar people I know are a part of that group.

WORST CASE SCENARIO follows:

To be comfortably numb,
Predictably bland,
Inanely the same as everyone around,
Blissfully boring . . .

Yawn . . .

Why would a follower of the most Amazing Person ever to live (Jesus Christ), who offers us the most extraordinary Way ever . . . why would His followers choose numb, bland, boring, same ole - same ole?

You are unique, wonderfully and fearfully made, crammed with glory . . . and a little bit odd, truth be told.

So - what are your divinely downloaded eccentricities?

And what is your personality preference weirdness?

What's different about you?

Celebrate your Eccentricities.
Leverage them in your leadership.

Proud to be Peculiar 

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typeapd.com

 

To Obey or Not

Here is a "tricky" road to navigate.  Especially for a Monday morning start to the week.

We are all followers. Even leaders are also followers of other leaders.

How much obedience is required of those who follow?
How much obedience is expected from followers by those who lead them?

In North America, with our focus on individualism, personal freedom/liberty, equality/democracy - we inevitably bring our biases to this question.

At the same time, in North America, with our strong history of hierarchical, authoritative, strong leaders - many of us work for leaders who lead just like that and have high expectations for our obedience (for some, it may seem like subservience).

And, to make things worse, many of us have been on the receiving end of misuse, abuse and even toxic leadership.  (ugghh to that kind of leadership...)

Here is one passage in the Scriptures that speaks to this:

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their wayof life and imitate their faith. . . .

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.   (Hebrews 13:7, 17)

And then there is this one from the Book of Acts. After receiving clear commands from the Jewish leaders not to preach Christ, we read:

But Peter and John replied, 'Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.' (Acts 4:19-20)

Of course the Apostle Paul complicates this discussion with his unequivocal words in Romans 13:1-7 as he instructs substantial obedience to the governing authorities of the Roman Empire.

The matters of "Good Followership" are important. Bad leadership is often sustained because of bad followership that does not challenge the bad leadership. Grave consequences result when followers blindly follow and give obedience to bad leaders (this is a major theme in Barbara Kellerman's book, appropriately titled - Bad Leadership.)

LEADERS:  How do you sort through these issues in your own journey in terms of expecting obedience from those you lead?

FOLLOWERS:  How do you deal with these matters, especially when you are frustrated with the policies, ways, expectations and commands of those who lead you?

FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST: And give at least a little thought to the great reality that we are all called to obey God without question and without hesitation. The ONE LEADER who deserves such obedience is often not getting what He rightly deserves.

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com
 

 

Your Leadership Matters - It Matters a Great Deal

Here are two of my all time favorite perspectives on leadership. 
Take a few minutes, read each one twice.
What is God saying to you about the importance of your leadership work? 
 

Ron Martoia,  Morph! The Texture of Leadership for Tomorrow’s Church

Leaders are the ones responsible for the flavor, feel, and direction of the local church. If the leaders aren’t healthy, learning, dreaming, praying and creative individuals, then how are we to expect the church to be any of those things? . . .

A changing, healthy, growing leader cannot help but have a team and church that slowly, over time, takes on that kind of ethos...

Out of the interior life of the leader flows a certain kind of aura, ethos and culture. I call this the leadership “leak.” It is the leak from the leader and leadership team that creates what we call ethos or organizational culture. What is going on inside us automatically flows out. 

*************

 

 Frederick Lewis,  Prayers That Are Different

It is a sobering thought that what I say or do touches the deepest parts of others’ lives and even the atmosphere I carry with me betokens the inner reality of my own life.

Help me to stand in awe of this spiritual energy, so silent and invisible and yet so powerful.

May I realize that there is something subtle and magnetic emanating from me, and that its impact upon others will be either helpful or hurtful, whether I will it or not.

May I employ this way to help society fundamentally and lastingly by the silent powerful contagion of a thoroughly good life. 

****************

 Much grace to you as you live in your calling of leadership.

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com
 

 

 

Difficulties: What's Your Perspective on Your Struggles?

Perspective matters a great deal.

Perspective about the great things that matter the most, matters a great deal.

If there is any area where it is hard to have perspective, it has to do with our struggles, difficulties and suffering.

As I continue to think about the hard work needed for the Christian journey, for maturity in Christ and, for that matter, any good thing - I realize that I need to attend to my perspective on difficulties.

If I can learn to view my difficulties as friends, as allies, as stepping stones, and even as gifts from God for my personal development - then I will approach them very differently.

Here are a few quotes that I found sometime back in a newsletter from Dr. Mardy on this theme.

I would simply recommend that you reflect and journal on them and then journal about your own difficulties and your attitudes about those difficulties. Pray that God would give you a new perspective on your trials and struggles.

************

Conquering any difficulty always gives one a secret joy,for it means pushing back a boundary-line and adding to one's liberty.  Henri-Frederic Amiel   (One of my favorite new discoveries is the deep and difficult journal writings of this author.)

Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.  William Ellery Channing

A man of character finds a special attractiveness in difficulty, since it is only by coming to grips with difficulty that he can realize his potentialities.    Charles DeGaulle

The difficulties which I meet with in order to realize my existence are precisely what awaken and mobilize . . . my capacities.    Jose Ortega Y Gasset

It is surmounting difficulties that makes heroes.  Louis Pasteur  (His western novels reflect this theme everywhere.)

To overcome difficulties is to experience the full delight of existence.  Arthur Schopenhauer

If there were no difficulties there would be no success; if there were nothing to struggle for, there would be nothing to be achieved.   Samuel Smiles

Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties.  C. H. Spurgeon  (This wonderful pastor/author/teacher lived with pretty severe life long physical suffering.)

As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed.  Vincent van Gogh   (And of course van Gogh struggled with mental health issues.)

********************** 
 

Here is a final comment and of course, it is via another quote, and this quote from one of the Masters.

What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.  C. S. Lewis, The Magician's Nephew

We are blessed to be standing in the grace of God that does all things well, and which is working all things together for the good of those who love Him and who have been called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28).

I recommend you read Romans 8:31 - 39 so you can understand WHERE YOU STAND and therefore, what perspective you can have on your problems and difficulties.

*************
Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com
 

Fail Fast, Fail Smart

This is of course, a Google Motto.

For anyone, any team, and any organization that is involved in:

innovation,
creativity,
making a difference,
changing how things are done,
and improving what is being done . . . 

failures are inevitable.

Google believes you should fail fast when you are failing. In other words, don't let the failure gradually materialize, slowly growing more and more obvious as you try repeated attempts to prop it up, to minimize it, to salvage it or to live with it.

We tend to do this because we have invested time, money, research, hard work and sometimes our reputation with "what is slowly failing." 

If something is failing  - don't just let it FAIL FAST, push it to FAIL FAST.

The sooner you admit the failure, the sooner you can learn and move on.

Then you need to FAIL SMART.

Conduct the post-mortem or even pre-mortem.

Why did this fail?
What external factors contributed to failure?
What internal dynamics were part of the failure?
What could have been done differently?
What do we have as our "take-aways" from this failure?
What is our plan to move forward?

Take a few minutes and hink about what you are involved in and what you are developing.

What is "kind of failing" right now and how are you going to Fail Fast and Fail Smart.

The cartoon can be found here.

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com 
 

Zappos on Leadership Development and Training

May we all be inspired by the example of Zappos!

You don't know what Zappos is?

Read Here to Learn More About Zappos and their mission to deliver happiness.

Zappos is serious about its mission.

Which means Zappos is serious about leaders.

Which means Zappos is really serious about training its leaders.

So . . .

Zappos has developed a comprehensive curriculum to develop leadership skills in its leaders.

The FIRST course is 200 hours of class time.
They read NINE business books "outside of that classroom time."
Lots of practical, hands-on work is included in this. 

WOW!!!

Think about this for a minute. A company that exists to deliver happiness via a shoe (and more) shopping experience commits major resources (time, money, energy) to training its leader!

How much more so, should the church and missional organization devote to training its leaders for the mission of delivering Edenistic Happiness (borrowing from Reordered Love, Reorderd Lives by David Naugle)?

At the core of my personal mission at both Living Word Community Church and with Leadership ConneXtions International, is the developing of transformative learning environments for leaders.

Reading about Zappos has really fired me up for pursuing even greater excellence in doing this.

And as I always do - here is a question for your reflection.

What are you doing for your own leadership development?

Leaders - what are you doing to train leaders at your places of work and ministry, whether in the marketplace or in the world of church and mission?

Have at it . . .

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com 

 

Delayed Gratification

First of all, this is a funny video. It lasts about two and a half minutes. Watch how much the four year olds struggle with waiting to eat the marshmallow.

It is about delayed gratification. I recently did a message on spiritual disciplines and included a few thoughts about the need to resist instant gratification and that spiritual maturity is the results of hard work and long time that EVENTUALLY gets you the results you really want.

 

 

Here is the text that explained this Stanford University test.

The marshmallow experiment is a famous test of this concept conducted by Walter Mischel at Stanford University and discussed by Daniel Goleman in his popular work. In the 1960s, a group of four-year olds were given a marshmallow and promised another, only if they could wait 20 minutes before eating the first one. Some children could wait and others could not. The researchers then followed the progress of each child into adolescence, and demonstrated that those with the ability to wait were better adjusted and more dependable (determined via surveys of their parents and teachers), and scored an average of 210 points higher on the Scholastic Aptitude Test.

Of course, the question is - how are you doing with persistence, perseverance, waiting and continuing to make the investments in your own growth processes and that of others?
 

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

Catalytic Leadership

Note:
Not Cadillac Leaders . . . Catalytic Leaders.
There is a difference!  
And this is not your grandfather's cadillac,
Heck, it's not even your dad's!

 

The Leader as Catalyst is one of my favorite metaphors for leadership.

A catalyst is an "agent" that is added to two other ingredients to speed up and intensify the reaction process.   (the green agent in the picture)

Sometimes the leader as catalyst actually brings the right ingredients together and then steps back out of the way. I have done this when I have networked friends with one another, knowing they have mutually beneficial resources that can help one another toward their objectives.

Sometimes the people and "resources" are already together, but not working as well as they could. Then I provide mentoring guidance in maximizing the interaction and utilization of the resources. (In fact, the best mentors are those who know how to function as a catalyst for others.)

Sometimes there are ingredients in place, but a vital component is missing and it is the work of the leader-catalyst to provide that missing piece. 

The possibilities are endless.

It is just really a good way of leading to see yourself as a potential catalyst in every situation and every relationship. What do you have that is needed and when added, will speed up and intensify the spiritual dynamics that God desires to unleash? 

Pay attention to the opportunities God leads you into. They are everywhere.

Blessings and good catalyzing this week.

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com
 

 

Transparency (Harder Than You Think and Sometimes Misused)

Am I the only one that is a little concerned about some of the ways we are practicing transparency these days?

I am COMPLETELY for authenticity, vulnerability and transparency on the part of leadership. We have had enormous problems with the lack of each of those things.

I find it very hard to trust, respect or even listen to a number of leaders who I think are inauthentic, insincere, closed, protective and spin-doctoring. Whether these are political or religious - they ooze their lack of credibility. They come across as plastic, fake, forced, image managing, spin-doctoring... 

I like honesty. 
I want to hear the real story.
I appreciate the messy, actual journey of moving from brokenness to wholeness.

But I'd like to suggest we practice our transparency with some more attention to wisdom, discretion and discernment.

I find it hard to trust, respect or even listen to the wrong kind of transparency. Not all transparency is equal in its content, its substance, its motive and its results. I regularly hear leaders that I think are misusing transparency.

In other words - true transparency is more than just "letting it all hang out."

There is such a thing as Too Much Information when it comes to transparency.

There is a problem with "sensationalistic transparency" and "tell a bigger, better story" then the one you heard last week from the other person.

Sometimes I wonder if there is a "not so subtle" oneupmanship going on with transparency. Top this story if you can . . . so to speak, although very few would be able to admit this.

(I love this photoshopped image by the way - top this if you can).

I don't have practical suggestions for mapping a way forward into "appropriate transparency." I wrestle with this one as well. I found myself thinking about this again in light of some recent situations where I am telling my own story, describing my own journey . . . and aware of being appropriate and having integrity as I do.

To move into true transparency, it will take the slow, painful adjusting of:

how we can best tell our stories (methods),

and, even more, having genuine self-awareness for why we are telling our story the way we are telling it (motives).

What are your thoughts on this subject?
How do you struggle with it?
 

 For an article on CEO transparency, click here.

The image on I See You can be found here.

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com
 

Authentic Leaders

"Authenticity is a quality others must attribute to you. No leader can look into a mirror and say, 'I am authentic.'" (Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones, Managing Authenticity: The Paradox of Great Leadership, HBR, 2005)

Authenticity seems to be increasingly difficult in the age of: 

Excessive Image Management. 
 

In a brilliant little book that is now several years old (The Trouble With Paris), Mark Sayers talked about the hyper-reality of our age. Included in that hyper-reality is out need to make ourselves look better, smarter, stronger, more skilled, more successful, more attractive, more _____(fill in the blank) than we really are. And the tools of Image Management are more prevalent than ever.

So what about authenticity . . . which according to a number of writers, is one of the deep longings of the emerging culture. It wants authenticity. Yet it lives in the more image spinning season of human history.

And is authentic leadership even possible?

Don't we usually assume that our leaders are not telling us the truth, that they are giving us the run around, that they are just projecting an image, simply placating us with tired truisms . . . ?
 

Authentic Leaders:

They know who they truly are.
They know who God is calling them to be.
They are committed to covering the distance between those realities.
They practice transparency and vulnerability (wisely of course - see tomorrow's post).
They don't over promise and under-deliver (one of the banes of our age among leaders).
They are congruent in what they say and how they live (they walk their talk).
They are consistent which means they sustain over time all the above. 
 

And it takes time. Authentic leadership is not built in a week or a month. It is the slow, progressive, steady accumulation that takes place with daily attentiveness to these matters.

Wouldn't it be nice if leaders came with a "Certificate of Authenticity"?

In lieu of having such a certificate, you are left with the hard work of becoming authentic.

Practice this long enough and slowly, those who follow you will be the ones to say - "She/he is an authentic leader we trust."

The image of authenticity being erased is found here. This post is worth reading.

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com
 

Overvaluing What We Can Measure

Here is the main idea.

"We tend to overvalue what we can measure and undervalue the things we cannot" (John Hayes, CEO, American Express).

When it comes to the realms of church and ministry, that translates into overvaluing the ABC's.

Attendance (numbers of people attending events)

Buildings (the size of the structures we use with the sense that bigger is always better since it can accommodate higher attendance)

Cash (money that is contributed to the cause).

People, buildings, money - this is observable and easy to measure (as well as to compare with others).

Hang around pastors and missional leaders and you hear quickly hear questions like:

What is your role?
How many people are a part of the ministry?
What's your budget? 

What is hard to measure is change, transformation, maturity, heart morphing, Christlikeness, love, courage, faith and hope . . . all the stuff that really counts.

What use it is to have more people, bigger buildings, higher offerings - if we just increase the size of our already existing problem (3000 miles wide and 1/2 inch deep)!

Maybe we remain that since we continue to measure and give priority to the wrong, easy to measure things.

Jim Collins, in little monograph, From Good to Great in the Social Sector gives guidance for how to change what we measure. Leaders - check it out.

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com
 

Levels of Social Networking

Here is a little framework about the levels of involvement in social networking. It can be found in Open Leadership by Charlene Li.

 

1.  Watchers and Observers.
They visit a lot on the net, they surf, but rarely communicate, engage or personally connect with others. 

2.  Sharers.
This is the group that share their thoughts, ideas and experiences at a casual level. Most only Facebook and Twitter.

3.  Communicators.
This group goes further and engages with the ideas of others. They give feedback, add comments, discuss, argue . . . and are more connected. They are most often engaging with the Producers (see below).

4.  Producers.
This is only 24% of the USA population that is on the net. This takes time and energy. It is the producing of meaningful content. Whether via blogs, podcasts, YouTube productions, some Facebooking venues, etc. 

5.  Curators.
This is only 1% of the USA population. These are the producers that have sustained production over time. They have a permanent and visible presence on the internet. They are the tribal leaders (using the language of Seth Godin).  
 

Which group best describes your internet activity?

 

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com