Position and Title don't make a Leader

My thoughts are riddled today with leaders and leadership; power and power trips. With what is beneath decisions and actions that seen cold hearted, malicious and 'personal'.

What lies beneath it all? The individual in their full majesty. Along with all the filters from their past experiences, sometimes clouded with preconceived notions of others, judgments and assumptions about that other individual or collective.

Through this project a good proportion of the leaders I have been speaking with have said how important it is to engage with your team in an equitable way (this does not mean equal). This is about seeing each person as an individual, finding out about them and working with them how it works for them.

What is important to an individual isn't always the same for the whole collective.

What makes one person's needs, goals and objectives matter more than another? Perhaps a lack of respect, empathy, understanding and compassion? Perhaps ego or fear of losing control? May it's the need to keep up pretences and appear to be running a tight ship? Forgetting that the individual people are what makes the ship run, maintaining it, making repairs and keeping it moving forward.

If you take the focus off the people your ship will eventually sink. Especially when the sense of personal power turns to a power trip and the 'captain' begins to dictate and micromanage others lives and styles of getting the job done. When it begins to become important to make an employee a carbon copy of yourself or of what you think they should be, instead off harnessing their individuality, strengths and ideas.

Remembering that any collective, business or organization is only that because of the individual people who do the work.

Diversity... embracing and recognizing it in the individuals of the collective. Working towards a creative workplace, where ideas, thoughts and different viewpoints are celebrated and valued.

Having a position and title indeed does not make a leader. There is so much more to it than that.

Life is good... and there is always more.

Back to the Grind

I spent much of yesterday dreading coming back to work today.

It is supposed to rain.

I am once again down to 1 vehicle (I had use of my mothers car for the past week).

I'd have to get up and mobile early (to leave the house before 7 a.m.)

All and all I had assumed I knew how today would unfold.

So as I woke up this morning I got ready for work, had breakfast and gathered up Sara's meals for the sitters house, thinking how cranky she is going to be that I have to wake her up this early... when in walks Sara.

Not only is she up, but she is in a good mood. A sign of the day ahead.

I got her dressed and we left the house 10 minutes early, providing us time to enjoy our walk to the babysitters house.

I dropped her off without any grief and off I went plugged into Jessica's MP3 Player to catch the Ferry to work.

Upon my arrival to the office I was greeted with silence... no one was here. It turns out that a whole lot of people are out of the office, on course or on vacation... today is going to be quiet, a good day to ease back in after a few weeks vacation.

It took me 2 hours to read through my e-mails I missed. I have even managed to reply to some.

I interviewed the Regional Director from Newfoundland & Labrador for my Summer Project this morning. The words that came out of this man's mouth during a town hall I attended in St. John's last year inspired my article Ripples...Waves...Tsunami. I really looked forward to speaking with him this morning about his views on Leadership and I was not disappointed.

Now it is lunchtime already. Time to run some errands. Back to the grind of "scheduled" life.

Tomorrow is another day. There is always more.

Leaders on Leading ~ Exploring the Nominalizations

As I embark on my summer project I am contacting those people in “leadership” positions to invite them to sit down with me so I can interview them.

With the early replies I have received it sounds like there are many who will be interested in participating

I think that simply by doing this project I will open a lot of people up to considering how they are moving through their world. By writing this article it will allow others to see how we don’t always do things the way we would like to, and to perhaps question why they are not living all aspects of their lives in a way that is meaningful to them.

My intention is to de-nominalize the word leadership and find out what it really means to the individuals who are in senior positions within my organization. My intention is to also find out from those who are considered leaders and are not in senior or even supervisory positions… just what does it all mean to you?

I hope to shake things up a bit, have people reflect on the way they are currently “leading” and consider within themselves, is it serving me? My hope is for my own self as well, is the road truly paved with good intentions? And if everyone hold a very similar vision…where is the disconnect happening?

Yes indeed it will be an interesting summer.

Life is good and there is always more.

Leaders on Leading ~ My Summer Project

This morning I engaged in a conversation with Cheryl Flemming about my week at Emerging Futures and Women - Redefining Leadership Reclaimed and her week at the PWGSC Leadership event in Cape Breton. Something different happened during our conversation, one of my Emerging Futures... I opened my mouth and talked about my summer project.

I apparently have given myself a summer project. The words just fell out of my mouth in the the air. Over the next month or so I plan on interviewing the "leaders" in our organization about their views on leadership.

I plan on asking the following questions:

• What do you thing being a leader is.
• What is leadership?
• As leaders what is the one thing they would like to be remembered for?
• If you had the freedom to be a leader, however you wanted without fear of judgment, would you do things differently?

Participants will remain anonymous and at the end of the project I will write an article on what I found.

The Regional Director General has already agreed to participate. I am confident that I will be able to interview everyone I approach.

Life is indeed good, another future is unfolding.

Tomorrow is a new day, and there is always more.

Exploring Nominalizations of Leadership

It is almost time to go... there is still a half a day left for growth, conversations, and discoveries.

This week we were invited to redefine leadership. That leadership as we know it (for the most part) does not work. That as women step into "leadership" roles, often times they lose themselves.

How each of us have our very own notions and definitions (as we each have are own unique
view of reality).

When you ponder the notions of leader and leadership what comes to mind for you? Does it imply that a leader demands followers? That only one person or a select group of people can have a voice, a valid voice that people actually listen to? Or is your notion of leadership something very different?

When I think of a leader and leadership, women in leadership, I think of a woman who is very clear on her intention and vision. A woman who is strong in herself, in her truth and is quite willing to stand in that, brazenly, unapologeticly. A woman who recognizes this in every person and who encourages and values growth, not only in herself but in those around her.

Leaders are every where, they are in every facet of society. Leaders can work, or not work, can be entrepreneurs or directors, they can be "wet behind the ears" or the can be "long in the tooth".

You see it isn't time and experience that makes a leader. You don't have to pay your dues or be high on the totem pole, you just have to be willing to be. To be and to be seen. To speak and to be willing to allow others to hear your voice, of your truth. To move forward, not to keep regurgitating to past. To stand in the moment and engage in an unfolding future... and Emerging Future.

I have learned that Emerging Futures can happen simply by choosing in the now to engage in a way that is very meaningful to me. Already intentions and ideas for Exploring Our Potential Consulting have formed into time and space. All that it required of me was to talk about my vision... and engage... as it crossed paths with the unique intention and vision of others new opportunities are forged for co-creation. It just is, as I just am.

Not losing myself, my sight, my vision, my voice. Never settling for less that the huge big intention I hold for myself and Exploring Our Potential Consulting.

And in my J-O-B, I see how this conversation of Emerging Futures - Redefining Leadership will make a real impact on the women I work with who are in these "official leadership" positions. How quite simply our world as we know it will shift, once again... creating space to allow for the unique expression we all are to shine as brilliantly as our selves.