The purpose of this interview is to provide a model of practice for leaders
– a model that supports healthy systems.
M: By way of introduction, can you describe to us again the goal of your work?
SG: For me, the goal of any work is to help create and sustain healthy systems – profit, not-for-profit, public, private, home, or community. By “systems” I mean organizations, groups, and the people that comprise them.
And thus far in our conversations we have defined “health” as dynamic wholeness. “Wholeness” means integration, alignment, and balance. And “dynamic” means vital, flowing, interactive, moving, or creative. So health – dynamic wholeness – is ever-changing in it’s expression, and continuously re-aligning, re-integrating and re-balancing.
M: How do leaders create and sustain healthy systems?
SG: They take the lead in this balancing act. Leaders move between activities for redirection and improvement on the one hand, and activities that stabilize and control on the other– activities that support dynamism AND wholeness – health. We introduced this idea in our last interview.
We could say that leaders are continuously crafting and re-crafting structures that either unleash change or bring stability – and usually it’s a combination of the two -- to bring forth the health, potential and capacity of the organization. Additionally, leaders exhibit discipline. They have a practice, or yoga, that requires conscious effort.
M: What do you mean by conscious effort?
SG: To me, conscious effort arises from self-awareness and is an extension of that awareness into our surroundings. In addition, conscious effort is goal-oriented and uses feedback to adapt and adjust.
Nothing done well is done unconsciously, at least, not for long, because without consciousness and awareness there can be no real feedback, and feedback is the mechanism for learning and improvement and growth.
M: “Discipline” or “conscious effort” sounds so heavy -- onerous.
SG: It doesn’t have to be. Discipline can be inspired by our commitments. It arises from our experience and the meaning we have assigned to our experience. It comes from the strength and clarity of our values and our sense of purpose. Using the language of health, the discipline it takes to be a great leader comes from our commitment to personal and organizational health. Discipline certainly takes energy and intention but that can be uplifting and inspiring.
And discipline, at least initially, is supported by – call it a framework or a support that we can refer to and follow. This may be the aspect of discipline that feels difficult and serious.
M: This aspect implies an external influence – a structure or impetus imposed from the outside.
SG: That’s right. Discipline has an internal, organic as well as an external, more rigid aspect. I would say that at its most sophisticated, refined level, discipline comes entirely from within a person. For most of us, discipline is both internally and externally imposed. Our inspiration is supported by some kind of trusted model, set of rules, or structure that we can follow until we become its embodiment. Gandhi said, “Your life is the message.” Well, until our motivations and intentions are refined and clear, and fully express our deepest sense of purpose, a model or framework can be our guide. When we “fix” an action according to a model (by, for example, committing to a rule or set of guidelines) the model feeds back to us how we are performing against its parameters. And as we learn, we refine our model. It’s a feedback mechanism that’s continuous, and that’s a good thing.
M: Can you give some examples of the benefit of using a model to develop discipline?
SG: For example, I say that I will run two miles, three times a week. If I do it, not only does my stamina improve but in holding to that structure, that commitment, I learn about discipline itself and how I respond to rules. I might feel the resistance of working for example. This tells me something about myself and to the extent that I can extrapolate to others, it gives me compassion. Or, I might notice that, after several weeks of running, I feel so much healthier that the resistance starts to diminish and I begin to look forward to running. This teaches me about the positive results that flow from perseverance and might enable me to help others push onwards when they feel discouraged.
Likewise in the business world, when we launch new programs or commit to a set of measurements and targets, we need to focus on them, design our days to address them, align our actions to them and understand what they mean. The discipline and perseverance that this requires will undoubtedly point out gaps in our understanding and weaknesses in our resolve. But it will also lead to organizational paybacks such as institutional knowledge, productivity, satisfaction and a culture of confidence.
So this is the value of discipline. It’s a big topic and it is critical to creating and sustaining health whether individually or organizationally.
M: Describe more specifically the disciplines associated with leadership.
SG: There is no one set of tools and techniques that all leaders will use and no final set of commandments that can be universally applied. The circumstances, expertise, technical processes, administrative requirements, and leadership styles are too varied.
This being said, in my experience working with leaders in a variety of settings, and drawing on the principles of health, systems theory, quality improvement and yoga that we discussed in our first interview, there are a few underlying practices or strategies that guide leaders in their decision-making.
In my own work, I come back again and again to these practices. They are disciplines that I impose on myself in working with organizations and groups who are cultivating a sense of identity and purpose and are aspiring to be healthy, productive and successful.
M: Can you bring these practices to life for us?
SG: I will describe the five practices as actions – active verbs. However they are categories of activities as well as descriptions of the personal state of leaders – the atmosphere leaders create around themselves, and the feeling that emanates from them.
Focus on health and know what it looks like for your organization.
We have choices about where we focus. We can focus on the problems. We
can focus on our past. We can focus on the risks. We can focus on our
desired state. This is true individually and organizationally. There
is, of course, value in shifting focus – looking around – but
we have only so much time and energy.
Thinking about, talking about, clarifying, and refining what we want
to be and where we want to be in our workplaces creates a shared understanding,
and allows people to act individually on behalf of the whole. And when
we can visualize what we want and then keep our eyes on it, so many
decisions
take care of themselves.
(Re) Design your organization for health — flow, integration,
focus and clarity.
Structure dictates function for better or worse. So many structures –
policies, process, designs, relationship, etc. – have us function
in a way that is unproductive and unhealthy. The worst of union contracts,
silo-ed organization structures, and production lines with designed-in
waste – these are a few examples that come to mind.
Leaders at all levels, formally and informally titled, are designers.
They can see the invisible “structures” that are limiting
the health of the organization and they engage the right people in
re-designing
them. This process of design needs to flow freely and express vitality.
It needs to support alignment and integration with the broader organization
or system.
Be open to change as a growth and improvement.
Openness is a state of being. I know it sounds esoteric and abstract,
but we all know what it is like to interact with people whose minds
and
hearts are open, and people whose minds and hearts are closed.
Leaders are open to the possibilities and inputs that lead to improved
or increased health and productivity and satisfaction and integration
– they listen for opportunities.
They are open to the oft-times, inevitable pain of corporate redirection
if it means greater health. Being open causes all of us to check our
egos.
The greater the desire for system integration and flow, the greater the
need to appreciate that the “answer” can come from anywhere
in the system. This is the starting and ending point of collaboration.
Release tension and blocks to the health of the organization.
Due to history, patterns of behavior, modes of operating, and habits,
individuals and organizations get locked into “that’s
how we’ve
always done it around here.” The physical equivalent to this might
be limited range of motion. The mental equivalent might be limited thinking
or narrow-mindedness. This happens at every level at work.
Leaders understand that tensions, conflict, roadblocks, and bottlenecks
are pent up energy and that beneath all the pain and problems there
is
the potential for creativity, satisfaction, involvement and productive
flow of goods and services. Our job, at all of these levels, is to release
the tension and allow creativity to flow.
Respect and serve the larger system within which you operate.
No man is an island. This is a principle of our environment. It is a
principle of our social service programs and society in general. It’s
the basis of most religions. I think that this principle is the heart
of thinking
systemically. We – individually and organizationally – are
always part of a larger system. That system allows us to exist and we
need to give back to it and respect it. This is not altruistic. It is
practical. I think enlightened self interest sums it up nicely. At work,
this can
be applied to serving the customer, corporate citizenship, working with
the families of employees, and sustainable practices.
M: So an effective leader is one who engages in all of these practices?
SG: Yes. These practices are essential to the yoga of leadership –
crafting structures that create the change and stability necessary to bring
forth the health of the organization. And the beauty of this is that,
while
they are disciplines that require conscious effort, once engaged, they have
the potential to create a positive feedback loop. The leader’s commitment
to organizational health inspires him or her to engage these practices.
And
these practices, in turn, because of their effectiveness, deepen that commitment.
Finally, this dynamic of growth can happen at all levels of an organization
because the practices can be embraced by anybody, no matter what level they
work at, or what their title. And if they do engage in them, even in the
smallest way, this can promote the health of the organization as a whole.
Mira Ames is an editor, writer and communications consultant. For the past three years, she has worked with Sara Grigsby and Healthy Systems on a variety of projects, including editing and helping to write training manuals on Meeting Management and Facilitation, as well as Project Management. She takes great pleasure in helping her clients use the written word to express with clarity and depth what matters most to them. Mira is also a professionally trained facilitator and mediator, has a J.D. from Suffolk Law School in Boston, and is a member of the Oregon State Bar.
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