Tag Archives: culture

Learning in the Rockies

Posted on by
Reply

Just about a week ago, I returned from an incredibly rich and rewarding trip to Denver for the 2012 ILA Global Conference. As I’ve blogged recently, I’m glad to be a member of the International Leadership Association, which brings together academics, business professionals, students and other folks who study and practice leadership around the world. This latest conference experience made for the second opportunity to co-present with my fellow learner and mother (pictured above). We had submitted to present a session on generational differences for this conference and received a call the next day inviting us to present at the Berlin conference which was focusing on leading across generations. In Denver, we had the opportunity to present an interactive roundtable session with great conversations involving people from nearly every generation at work today. Nonetheless, it has been a worthwhile experience to come together, share, research and present with my “Boomer” mom!

The theme of the conference created a relevant and poignant framework for considering leadership study and practice during the time in Denver…

“Leadership Across the Great Divides: Bridging Cultures, Contexts, and Complexities”

After nearly four full days of learning in sessions, conversations with others and reading as well, I’ve realized again that as much as we can teach, write, speak about, and for that matter “sell” leadership best practices, principles for success or anything like “Three Things You Need to Know about _________,” there is no equation that works everywhere. Especially after my experience presenting in Berlin this summer, there are countless elements at play that create the need for different approaches and leadership solutions. From home country to organizational culture to unique team dynamics, the environments where we live, work, study and lead make all the difference to how we act. These “divides” of culture, context and complexity can be small and some can seem insurmountable to bridge. Nonetheless, before we can prescribe “three easy steps for leadership success,” there needs to be time and energy spent to identify and leverage these opportunities for coming together and leading forward.

Whether hearing from the father of organizational culture, Edgar Schein, asking a question of Barbara Kellerman regarding followers and their growing influence in organizations or listening to Brene Brown speak again about leading through vulnerability–it was clear as I “learned in the Rockies,” that complex issues need more than simple solutions. As I continue to mentally unpack another learning experience, I hope to not be as quick to jump at offering an answer or solution to a situation and instead appreciate unique needs, try to understand the elements at work and ask good questions.

“Culture Eats Strategy”

Posted on by
Reply

This quote is one that I have remembered pretty frequently over the course of the last few years in my work in leadership development, studying effective organizations and understanding the significant part that the culture plays in organizational life. These words and the popularity of this quote and its concept, from the “father of modern management,” Dr. Peter Drucker, are emblematic of his impact on the fields of leadership and organization study and practice. The full quote is, “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” For those of you who follow me on Twitter, (@MillennialTweet) you know that I tweet a “Daily Drucker” quote to consider and chew on each day. Drucker’s writings and contributions to the field are great in number and I’ve enjoyed reading, in more depth, some of his books. After a quick weekend earlier this month to visit friends in San Diego, we were visiting a used bookstore and I came across Drucker’s, “The Age of Discontinuity.” This vintage edition was in relatively good shape so I picked it up and decided for the $5 pricetag that it was well worth the purchase. It has not let me down and in fact, a good part of his writings have been used in my graduate program capstone portfolio. From one of his most poignant passages…

“Lack of creativity is…not the problem of organization. Rather it is organizational inertia which always pushes for continuing what we are already doing.”

As I continue to consider the impact of individuals on organizations and vice versa, this quote made me realize that the collective influence of our comfort and familiarity with the culture that we are a part of is enormously impactful on our ability to achieve success for the future. We can say that we don’t have creative solutions to position an organization for a more effective tomorrow or we can realize that the history that we’ve either helped write or inherited is potentially preventing us from positive change. By coining the phrase “organizational inertia,” we have an understanding of the driving momentum of culture to trump any strategy that can be proposed.

May the organizations that we lead and belong to recognize the need for adaptable cultures that are ready for change and not mired in the cycle of what we’ve already seen and known.

The Ambition Gap

Posted on by
Reply

As I continue my coursework as a part of my graduate program in leadership development, I’m learning, reading and studying quite a wide array of issues and topics. After just finishing a course looking at gendered differences in leadership through the eyes of film, I’ve found myself much more aware and sensitive to things that I read, experiences that I have and discussions that I come across these days. One of the primary texts from this course that I just completed looks at this discussion of women and leadership through the metaphor of a labyrinth. For years, we have all heard about the imaginary “glass ceiling” that women would need to break in order to be successful in upper level management positions in companies and organizations. However, as the research has progressed over time, the metaphor of a labyrinth has come into the discussion, as the obstacles to women succeeding in leadership aren’t solely based on rank within an organization but are prevalent throughout. This new metaphor seems to be even more disheartening to me as you can imagine the idea of a maze without end, replete with twists and turns in the form of organizational norms, cultural artifacts and other stereotypes that exist.

On a related note, Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook has recently spoke about women and success in a number of different venues. In the course that I just completed, we took some time to watch her TED talk which I found to be very poignant, but most recently, Sandberg participated in a panel in Davos at this year’s World Economic Forum and got quite a bit of press. Her remarks (which I highly recommend you taking 6 minutes to watch) identified an “ambition gap” between men and women which she feels has contributed to the overall lack of equality in success for women in today’s workplace. Sandberg’s comments were obviously thought-provoking but also telling as our world continues to have conversations about women in leadership in our churches, companies, and organizations where they still are not identified as “successful” as their male counterparts.

Studies have indeed found that women, in some areas, are not as ambitious as men. However, regardless of your response to Sandberg’s comments in Davos, I think we all most be struck by her attention towards raising girls in today’s society. As we witness remarkable changes in virtually every sector of business in today’s marketplace including historic movement in world affairs and daily developments in technology, one can’t help but ask, “what will the world look like in 20__.” Absent any ideas about flying hovercrafts or new innovations in business, how will the next generation of women in the workplace respond to this continued conversation of their limited opportunities for success? Or, do we have a culture and systems in place across organizations and societies that will only continue to limit opportunity unless they are changed?

Do you believe there is an “ambition gap” between men & women?

Saving Seasons

Posted on by
Reply

Seasons marks the passage of time in a variety of ways for each us in different areas of life. For me, the changing of seasons from summer to fall seemed to pass quickly–and yet when I realize this, I just want to slow time down a bit. When I’m having conversations with colleagues or classmates or even overhearing people talk in the checkout line about “I can’t wait for (insert time of year/holiday) just to get here,” I wonder if we ever appreciate the present season/time of life, not just the physical season that is reflective of the weather outside (maybe not in Southern California!) Whether it be Starbucks rolling out their “holiday red” on my coffee cup the day after Halloween (in my opinion, disregarding Thanksgiving) or each one of us wanting to push onward to “what’s next” at some point in life, we can miss what is in store for us personally and collectively if we are not sitting in the present season and appreciating what is taking place.

I’ve been examining seasons in many different facets of my life; in my professional life working in organizational development, working with the seniors in my high school small group at church, and more recently as a graduate student finishing a course called, Understanding Vocation in a Changing World. This was definitely one of the most impactful courses that I’ve taken thus far in my graduate school journey, discussing issues and topics like calling, vocation, work, transitions and these seasons of our personal and professional lives that undergo change. One of my favorite authors, Parker Palmer has much to say about the life seasons that we experience, especially thus dealing with our vocation and work. In Let Your Life Speak, he writes about letting things come to a close in autumn, testing the depth of our limits in winter, developing ground for growth and rebirth to occur in spring and coming together and sharing our common story in summer.

There is value in each of these with lessons to learn as well. The challenge is for each of us to be content with where we are, saving the present experiences and keeping them in our mind while understanding that we will continue to change in the seasons that lie ahead.

Are you presently in a certain season of work, school or family life? Do you see things differently know then you did in the past? What has taken place in the present that will prepare you for the future?

Being Uncertain + Just Plain Wrong

Posted on by
1

During the last three months, as I’ve begun another chapter of my journey through starting graduate school, I’ve been introduced to a wide array of theories, thinkers and thoughts about leadership. Last week’s session in my class, “Leadership Development & Practice,” looked at the present challenges that face today’s leaders. One of the more poignant quotes from the class was in a video clip with words from Dr. Ellen Langer of Harvard University who said,

“Leaders need to exploit the power in uncertainty…when you think you know, you stop paying attention.”

Langer’s words struck such a chord with me because I think we find ourselves and the leaders we follow are so caught up in making decisions and taking actions that lead to the right action that we freeze in uncertainty. However, on the flip side, when we lead from such a sense of being certain (and sometimes almost stubbornly “there’s no way I’m wrong“), we completely miss the opportunity to see alternatives and hear different perspectives that may complement the outcome for the better.

Changing topics slightly–on a similar topic, I’ve been reading more about the “art of being wrong” and the challenges of creativity and productivity in the lives we lead if we aren’t open to the possible. One of my favorite sources of learning and knowledge these days comes from TED where Kathryn Schulz speaks for about 20 minutes “on being wrong.” I hope you find her talk as relevant as I did.

Compliance to Competence

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve told myself already several times this evening that this will be the last “wow, I haven’t blogged in a while” posts–as I just haven’t been logging into WordPress as much as I used to. For a variety of reasons, one of which has been the start to a new chapter of my professional journey as a Millennial in the workplace.

Just under three weeks ago, I began working as the Organizational Development Coordinator at Southern California Presbyterian Homes. This company is a not-for-profit network of senior living communities all across California (and one even in Texas!). With a variety of living environments, SCPH has great diversity in services provided from affordable housing to home care to focused dementia care. My role has me supporting the ongoing corporate learning and training initiatives involving our management and staff. I’m involved in training design and delivery, workshops and other professional development opportunities. The breadth of training topics and issues is vast; everything from how to effectively manage your team to focused dementia training modules to becoming a more effective supervisor. Needless to say, I’m thrilled to be working in this capacity, in an environment that fosters knowledge and values learning as well as for a company that is striving to be the preeminent leader in its industry.

On that note, I thought I would share a quote that I wrote down from a meeting I had today at work. While I’ve been learning names, faces, positions, etc., I’ve also tried to get a bigger understanding of the organizational culture that I’m beginning in from a variety of people across the different levels of its “org chart.” On to the quote, that I’ve been thinking about for much of the evening…

“The time has come where we’re moving from a culture of compliance to a culture of competence.”

In this age of regulation and industry standards that we find ourselves in, truly it’s a challenge to consider and actually embody an organizational culture (of any size, sector, etc.) that embraces the value of competence; not just meeting the bare minimum of expectations but setting new standards of their own. I found these words to be quite refreshing, and I hope they resonate with you as well.