Transformed Leadership Thinking

The nomadic leadership journey is one of adaptation, adjustment & awareness of 2 worlds:  the internal world of our thinking and the external world where that thinking interacts with people and the environment.

Here’s an example.  I am a part of a few cross-cultural partnerships.  In one recent meeting we had a great outcome, but our process revealed some deeply-set thinking.   This is typical of most meetings and with all people, but as I tried to discern whether in this case it was cultural or personality-based it occurred to me that behind both is a common denominator...the BRAIN.

Reflecting on that meeting, one realization I came to is that whether something we hold to is defined as a cultural value or a personality characteristic, our behaviour towards each other can change because our brains can change.  We can transform our thinking as leaders.

We create limiting borders for ourselves and others when we make claims such as: "it’s their culture”, or “that is how they are wired”.  While there is truth underlying those declarations, it is a limiting truth. 

For clarity:

Culture is a shared pattern of thinking and behaviour, which is developed and reinforced by a person’s ethnic group.  Geert Hofstede refers to culture as the “collective programming of the mind”

Personality has a genetic component but also is the unique software of the brain developed and nurtured while interacting with the world around us.  Bio-physical influences, social teachers, environmental systems, experiences and more all contribute to defining and then rooting our personality.

Both culture and personality are developed as our brain interacts with our surroundings.  Over time we develop certain patterns which can then be hard to shake.  Think of your brain development in this way:  As an infant, your brains’ neural pathways were like a wide sheet of water on a flat plain.  As you developed & processed information, small streams began to form.  Continual learning and experiences added more streams on the  open landscape of your brain.  Confirmations & affirmations consistent with your thinking then served to deepen those streams into rivers.  Ongoing learning and experience is then framed by, or channeled into these existing rivers, because that’s easier to do than creating new streams of thinking.  That’s why learning new skills or perspectives as we age gets harder (but not impossible).  

Soon, however, those rivers become deeper and form canyons.  Once  deep enough, it’s difficult to see out to a new horizon.  The multiple vistas that were available to us when we were younger now take a lot more energy to see, let alone process.

If you are honest you will notice in yourself that you tend to seek out learning, opinions and people that confirm or align with what you already know & perceive (confirmation bias). Not to excuse it, but this is actually related to a brain physiology issue; it takes less physical energy to process something that can be channeled into one of those existing rivers.   Think of it this way – your brain is like a computer with a hard disk and RAM.  Your RAM, the frontal cortex, is where new learning takes place.  While it is only about 4-7% of your brain, it consumes the most physical energy.  So, where will we default?  Where the pathway takes less energy – the stored learning in the hard disk, not the new learning.

This 'hard wired' analogy played out in my partnership meeting.  A partner was fixed in their thinking and had a hard time looking out and over that canyon.  It was far easier for this person to bring everything into their canyon to interpret it from that perspective.  In my default mode, I do exactly the same thing.

Our cultures, our personality and our training all give us a framework for life.  This is necessary because we all need some lens through which to initially interpret life.  But let’s acknowledge that much of our thinking exists in a few canyons we have dug out over years and years of processing life in a certain way.  Getting out and abandoning those ways entirely is not really possible, BUT it is possible to start a new stream, a new neural pathway.

Speaking to the cross cultural contexts I am in, ethnic culture needs to be both honored and challenged.  While on one hand it provides a leader with community, security and a sense of ‘place’, it also bears limitations.  There is a trans-cultural way of thinking, found in the teachings and ways of Jesus.  Following His ways does not lead a person to abandon culture or personality so much as it leads us to think & act above those ‘canyons’ we have created.

God calls us to be ‘transformed by the renewing of our minds’.  Our Creator wired our brains and knows we can get fixed in destructive or limiting thinking.   So, is the answer to think your way into transformation?  Afraid not!  We all need Divine help because quite simply, our thinking is affected by a universally shared selfishness that defines ‘me’ as the center of reality.  That can’t be fully overcome independently.  Only the presence and the power of the One who crafted your brain can come alongside you and affect true transformation.

I coach people using a brain- based approach.  I help you to think about your thinking so that you can create new neural pathways in order to move forward in some aspect of your life.  I have seen this help people transform their thinking to take a significant new step in their business, pursue a dream, make a career shift.  What I could never do is help you approach life and this world from a trans-cultural, divine perspective.....only following the way of Jesus can accomplish that.  He can transform you by the renewing of your mind. 

For information on a brain-based coaching approach or on the way Jesus can fully transform your mind & life, contact me at:

Harv Matchullis

harvey@visiontracks.ca - www.visiontracks.ca

Stop Talking. Finish Thinking. Move

It’s been 3 years and 30 posts since I started writing The Nomadic Leader.    

The purpose of this blog lies in this conviction: the ability to impact a family, organization, business or social structure depends on the ability of the leader to not only conceptualize an outcome, but the flexibility to pivot/move when needed.

In my original blog (http://nomadicleader.blogspot.ca/2009/09/nomadic-leader-inaugural-blog-sept-2009.html ) I expanded on the life of the traditional nomad as a base for describing the Nomadic Leader.  Read it for a review, but one thing bears repeating here (Now, of all things I get to quote myself!):

‘For various reasons traditional nomads sought new territory; better grazing, more fertile land, peace, etc.   The “contemporary nomadism” I endorse for leaders is a response to the ever-shifting opportunities and challenges presented by a world that is increasingly defined by the global highways that carry people, ideas, beliefs, traditions and commerce.  Those who lead any type of organization must therefore be somewhat ‘nomadic’ in their thinking; able to view the landscape, respond to multiple cultures, see the potential threats and opportunities, be ready to move when the need arises.  Fixed thinking and strategies, while they provide security for a while, will relegate a leader and his or her organization to the sidelines’.

The Nomadic Leader I envision IS NOT about change for the sake of change. 

In fact I think a lot of ‘change’ today is faked.  What I mean is that it has become so mainstream and trendy that true change is rarely accomplished.  Our nomenclature of ‘trending’, ‘change management’, ‘innovation’, ‘reorganization’  and even ‘boiling the frog’ (the case for incremental change), is often used in order to make a persons’ leadership visibly legitimate.  We change the website but the product/story is the same.  In some ways these elements of change have become the new strategy statements.  The mere act of describing the change we need is often enough to lull others (and ourselves) into thinking true and meaningful change is actually occurring.

The Nomadic Leader I envision IS about connecting personal or organization purpose to their context. 

Nomadic Leaders recognize that PURPOSE drives them to look around and make whatever adjustments & changes are necessary to get to their desired outcome.  Contemporary Nomadic Leaders may not have to move their 'flock' to a new pasture across the country, but they do have to move thinking, assumptions and strategy to new places in order to accomplish their purpose.

I know this is a time when many of you are thinking about 3 things:

Ø  The kind of person you will be as a leader

Ø  What you are going to accomplish

Ø  The strategies you will use to get to your goals.

September (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) has a way of helping us think about starting again.  It’s a hopeful time.  “Maybe this time around we can really get this done”.

My challenge to you is develop a nomadic mindset and orientation. MOVE.  If you are (like I am right now) inspired to make a bold claim of possibility in the face of some status quo you currently inhabit, that implies MOVEMENT. 

Stop talking.  Finish thinking (for now). Move. 

 ‘We reminded ourselves that movement was the law of strategy and we started moving’.

(T.E. Lawrence; Seven Pillars of Wisdom)

I close with this poem – and find it curious and insightful how there is a parallel between nomadic leadership and the immigrant experience. In some ways we are all on the move.

Either you will

go through this door

or you will not go through.

If you go through

there is always the risk

of remembering your name.

Things look at you doubly

and you must look back

and let them happen.

If you do not go through

it is possible

to live worthily

to maintain your attitudes

to hold your position

to die bravely.

but much will blind you,

much will evade you,

at what cost who knows?

The door itself

makes no promises.

It is only a door.

Adrienne Rich – “Prospective Immigrants Please Note”

To the nomadic leaders out there – are you moving?  Moving toward your purpose is the first challenge.  The greater challenge is moving again when the context calls for it.  That’s the nature and necessity which characterizes nomadic leaders.

Harv Matchullis

Visiontracks

harvey@visiontracks.ca

www.visiontracks.ca

Reunited after 7 years - An immigrant story

Here's a 'fairy-tale' ending to a refugee story my daughter Bethany has been involved with for over 2 years. It's what personal connection, prayer, persistence and the Christian community can accomplish in the lives of a New Canadian. These are her words to the many believers she had involved in this family's journey...

In September 2011 I sent out a call asking for help for my friend Shukri. It’s been a long journey for Shukri since she left her home in Somalia over 10 years ago with her five kids. After living as an alien in Syria for 4 years, Shukri was accepted for permanent residence in Canada under humanitarian grounds. While in Syria, Shukri’s husband, Ahmed, continued to travel to take day jobs here and there and send additional support to his family. Unfortunately, Ahmed was not present for Shukri and her kids’ transfer to Canada. Since February 2010 Shukri has been working hard as a single mother to support her family in their new safe and free life in Canada.

Through the One Year Window program, government assisted refugees in Canada can apply to sponsor their family members to reunite with them in Canada. Although Shukri applied under this category for her husband, she has faced a multitude of barriers that have devastated the usual process. Ahmed had taken asylum in a country not catered to refugee claimants, with little-to-no rights for those waiting. In addition, Shukri and her husband did not take any physical proof of their marriage with them as they fled Somalia – this put the case on the back burner until any proof could be given.

In August 2011 Shukri received a letter from the Embassy in Dubai advising that she and her children take a DNA test as proof that Ahmed is the father of her children or else the case would be dropped. In order to have this test done and sent to Dubai, Shukri would have to pay over $1,000. This is just under two months income for the single mother on income support. After getting over the initial shock of being questioned and having to explain this situation to her children, Shukri started saving. With her current debt of $7,000 for her family’s flights from Syria, and the time frame it would take for her to gather this amount of money, (in addition to a CRA mix up at this exact time which held back her child tax benefits) I sent out a call for prayer and financial support. I received an overwhelming response of words of encouragement and over $3,700. With this help, we were able to begin the process of gathering the last shred of proof the Immigration Officers needed, with the additional financial support going to pay off Shukri’s travel loan.
   
The DNA tests came back 99.9% positive that Ahmed was the father of Shukri’s children. And with the final proof sent to the Embassy we waited... and waited... and waited...   In the meantime Shukri would call me almost every week asking for help to get an update on her husband’s situation. She would go to the Harry Hay’s building and wait in line ups only to be sent away. We called immigration offices in Canada, the US, and Dubai, all with no response. Although Shukri often became discouraged, seeing the husbands and family members of her friends who had arrived in Canada after her reunite with her family – she never lost hope.
   
A week ago I received a call from Shukri. She was very excited that she had just passed her learners exam, meaning she was on her way to independence from hitching rides from other people. She’s looking for a reliable van that can fit her family – oh and her husband is coming to Canada!!!!  All the papers have been finalized and Ahmed has been accepted as a permanent resident and given a plane ticket to meet his family (for the first time in over 7 years). He arrives tonight (he arrived July 10th!) and I cannot explain how excited and nervous I am. Thank you for taking Shukri’s story to heart and supporting her in this process. Although you may not have met her, you have made a world of difference for her and her five children. Please continue to pray as Shukri’s family is reunited this week. Although the hardest part is by far over, this family has to now redefine its dynamic and will no doubt go through rough patches as they continue to get on their feet in Canada. But now, with your help, they can do this together!
 - Thank you!!

Machine Gun Mission

I watched ‘Machine Gun Preacher’ the other night.  Gerard Butler was outstanding in the movie.

It’s the story of Sam Childers, the real-life machine gun preacher who still works in the Sudan.  This guy had a rough background to say the least.  After getting out of prison he ‘found Jesus ‘and then started a church for outcasts (like he was) in Pennsylvania.  At one point he was moved to help on a ‘missions trip’ to Africa and there became exposed to the unspeakable violence of child-soldiers & Joseph Kony’s Lords’ Resistance Army.  That was a tipping point that led him to a single-minded campaign to build an orphanage and further to defend that orphanage from Kony’s LRA soldiers by use of force and by leading armed rescue missions directly into LRA territory (his own ‘get it done with a gun’ history still influences him).

The movie affected me emotionally like only one other movie in my life – Kramer vs. Kramer (waaaay back in the late 70’s!).  I was newly married when I watched Kramer vs. Kramer and it made me angry how couples could choose to marry, choose to have kids and then so irresponsibly and acrimoniously tear it all apart.

Machine Gun Preacher did the same emotional number on me but with obviously different issues at play:

·         It makes me angry that Joseph Kony and so many other characters like him get away with the ego-centered violence that they do.  It’s such a messed up world out there.

·         It makes me angry that we in the world so easily keep our distance from getting engaged in the messiness of evil.  Assad and Syria is a current example of the world (READ: the UN) pontificating a moral stand but basically doing nothing of true import to end the conflict.

·         It makes me angry and sad that I am also guilty of seeing what is wrong out there, articulating a moral opinion about what is awry, and then hope someone else will take action while I go on my way, untouched and untouching.

Got me thinking about being a leader who considers the benefits of Sam’s ‘Machine Gun Mission’ approach for what I lead and who I lead.

Sam Childers (born 1962) is a former gang biker who now dedicates his life and resources to rescue children in the war zone of South Sudan. Childers and his wife Lynn founded and operate Angels of East Africa, the Children's Village Orphanage in Nimule, South Sudan, where they currently have more than 300 children in their care. (Wikipedia)

Sam would be chided for his approach by most international development professionals.  I am among those who say his approach was very ego-centric.  However I am not here to argue for or against his developmental philosophy or his use of guns, but to draw some lessons from his actions; because he at least accomplished something versus doing nothing.  Here are those thoughts:

1.       His approach was radical, but he DID something.  How many times do we seek the magic bullet, the perfect approach, the comprehensive ‘game-changer ‘plan?  I find the more we do that, the greater the likelihood we rationalize, analyze and even spiritualize our way out of action.  This world, our cities and neighbourhoods, are highways littered with the remains of good intentions.

2.       He did not change a system to save everyone, but he did save some.  Forget about your grand plans to change the world.  You can’t.  But you can impact someone, something, somewhere.  Bishop Oscar Romero was martyred because of his tireless advocacy for the poor in El Salvador; cut down before he could accomplish all he wanted.  In his eulogy, Bishop Ken Untener said: 

It helps, now and then; to step back and take the long view....we accomplish in a lifetime only a fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.  We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing this.  This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.  It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lords grace to enter and do the rest.  We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the Master Builder and the worker.  We are workers, not Master Builders; ministers, not messiahs.  We are prophets of a future not our own.” 

3.       His work wasn’t perfect – but it worked.  Just because our work may not fit a known system or model of good development, or be part of the latest trend does not mean it isn’t worthwhile.  I want to remind us that our models are not the mission.  Professional associations, academic institutions, businesses, relief and development agencies, churches etc. have to protect themselves from becoming so invested in a model that they lose sight of the desired outcome.  If your model isn’t producing what’s at the heart of your mission, it seems obvious to me that you need to re-examine what you are doing!  Dr Phil’s question is a great one to apply to our particular mission strategies: “How’s that working for you”?

4.      WARNING: His ego almost became his mission.  Sam’s initial motivation was pure, innocent, and yes, ill-informed.  But overall it was a good mission.  However, his mission ran into trouble when when his ego and identity became so wrapped up in the cause that he lost sight of the purpose.  IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU – IT’S ABOUT THE MISSION.  Sam foolishly risked his finances and ran roughshod over his closest relationships – signs he was losing mission-focus.  How much ego vs. mission (to benefit the investor) has been involved in Wall Street financial deals that have melted down in the past few years?  How many ministries have focused on the leader and not the people?  How many non-profits have been started which now serve the leadership and the donors but not the poor? This is a good reason to never go it alone on any mission.  Who is your team and how are they speaking into not only the process, but into YOU as the leader?

Could it be that the approach you are taking right now is no longer prospering you or your mission?  Could it be you need a more simple yet radical, machine-gun mission approach?

I have named this blog the ‘Nomadic Leader’ for a reason.  Leaders in our world and in our organizations need to be ones who do not settle too long in one place, in one strategy, in one way of thinking.  There are times when you have to look around, see that the place you are in is no longer ‘feeding your tribe’ and prepare to move on.

Perhaps it’s time to pull up stakes, roll up the tent and seek a new context or approach so that your mission will make its intended impact. 

If it’s not you, then who?  If not now, then when?

Harv Matchullis

www.visiontracks.ca

Starting Over

What's it like to leave everything you know to start over in another country?  

In response to my blog post "Welcoming the Foreigner"of Oct 2011 (http://nomadicleader.blogspot.ca/2011/10/welcoming-foreigner.html) I received this email from a reader who herself had come to Canada to 'start over'.  I have received her permission - minus her actual name - to share that email.

Walk a minute in her shoes and let it change the way you walk among the newcomer to your neighbourhood, church, workplace or school.

Harvey

Dear Harv,

I hope this e-mail finds you in a very blessed state. My name is CS.  I'm 23 years old. A good friend of mine forwarded to me the "Welcoming the Foreigner" article sometime last October. I read it then and thought "what a great piece of work" and I can't say I thought much about it until recently when I looked it up and decided to read it again.

I came to Canada 2.5 years ago as a refugee from Zimbabwe and honestly I can't say it has been an easy road. Nobody can ever understand the loneliness, depression, the hurt of being separated from your friends and loved ones unless they go through it themselves…heaven knows it's not easy, but I've had no choice but to 'man up' and be strong.

Transitioning into a new society has been one of the bigger challenges I've had to face in my life with no parents by my side (I just have my sisters) - -mom remained back home and dad died a decade ago. As I was reading through your article, I felt so much longing for someone to talk to, someone to ask me about home, what I miss, my upbringing, my fond memories of home…oh how I longed for that one somebody.  Yes I have my sisters  but they already know what I miss :).  I decided to take myself to school and I just finished my first year at the University of Calgary…with the thousands of students at the university, I find myself all alone having lunch by myself…feeling 'uncool' and inadequate, everyone seems to have their life going great for them, no worries about anything (I know that's not entirely true for everyone).  The few times I get to be around people, everyone is talking about everything I don't have and I find no reason to say anything since I don't have any of those things…makes me have this low esteem, thinking that everyone is better than me.  All I'll be thinking about will be, “I don't have rent money and my tuition fees are only half paid”, whereas those around me all are talking about the comforts of their homes and parents etc.

I hate thinking like that.  I know I'm a child of God and I'm just as worthy, but sometimes if you don't feel appreciated, or even noticed enough to be asked how your day was, you tend to feel rather unimportant right?  I miss home badly. All I do is study in my room, watch things online, sometimes I realize that the weekend is over and I did not even open the door for some fresh air. Pardon me if I'm coming out as though I'm just feeling sorry for myself, that's not my intention, I know I'm not the 1st one in a situation like this and certainly won't be the last one…I just wanted to let it out of my chest.

I must say though that the article challenged me to be a better person myself and be of service to other immigrants who need help especially with the fact that I know what it feels like to be in a new society trying to start a new life, surrounded by new things and so on. I volunteered at the Calgary Immigrant Women's Association when I 1st got here and working with other immigrants was rewarding, it taught me a lot of things especially Humility and Love…your article has challenged me exercise that humility and love every minute of my life. So for that I thank you.

Sincerely,

CS

Leadership for Sustained Change-Management

Inspiring change is easier than sustaining it.  All you have to do it is move people with a vision or paint pictures of what could be and you are on the road to moving people to consider and even adopt a change for which you are advocating. That's a step toward change but it IS NOT CHANGE.   The goal of any change process must not only be to initiate change, but sustain it.  The required leadership skills for initiating and then sustaining change are complementary and yet different.  Like the popular t-shirt saying goes in SE Asia:  "same same but different". 

Most non-profits do very well at inspiration-driven change.  In fact, since they tend to rely more on a committed volunteer vs. motivated-for pay personnel base, this is a necessary leadership skill set.   However, inspiration-driven change that is sustainable is rare. Most change requires the sustained effort of committed leaders.

Coming from the church world, I know a lot of them right now are in their budget and ministry planning process.  Voices abound expounding visions for change and rationales for financing those changes.  Personally I am launching a project right now that I believe will effect change.  I am inspired by it and a few others are 'catching the vision'.  But I know that I will need to create a framework and add personal commitment to sustaining the vision over the long haul.  If I don't commit to that, I am a passing fad, a whiff of wind that was refreshing for a moment.

Reminds me of the movie Braveheart.  At one point William Wallace waxes eloquent to his followers about his vision & aspirations.  To which one of his key guys responds:

 

"Great speech.  

Now what do we do?"

Once you have cast the vision, how will you make that a reality over the long haul?

The following critical success factors in sustained change management are adapted from “Best Practices in Planning and Performance Management” (Second Edition; 2007; David Axson; John Wiley & Sons).

11 Critical Success Factors for Sustained Change

1. Don't count on a silver bullet. 

·         Usually a combination of approaches and skills is needed.

2. Stage the process. 

·         Extend it if necessary to ensure success.  Each stage must have clear outcomes.  Staging the process also allows for organizational learning along the way, and opportunities for adaptation of the process to enhance its success.

3. Plan comprehensively. 

·         Breadth is more important than depth in planning.  Identify all the component parts first. Planning the detail is not absolutely necessary up front because good planning is an ongoing activity to 'fill out' the component parts.

4.   Dedicate the resources.

·         Assign the best people and funding to the project.  The calibre of resources influences not only the optics, but also the outcomes.

5.   Build commitment through involvement.

·         The PRIMARY key here is that the organizations' leaders themselves must believe in the change and be seen as embracing the changes that the process seeks to implement.

·         There are 7 elements of securing commitment:

i)        Commitment is earned; it is not an entitlement, even in hierarchical organizations.

ii)      In the early stages, find the people who 'get it'.  They are your 'evangelists'.  Get them resourced with information and other supports.

iii)    Once earned, sustain the commitment.  The tendency is to expend the energy and vision in the creative process and then let it dissipate in the execution.  This is extremely damaging to any change process. Cynicism sets in.  Volunteers and finances begin to depart.

iv)    No single method to secure commitment works in isolation.  Match the message and the medium to the recipient(s).  Take into account their motivation, personal style etc.

v)      Security is top of mind with people.  People generally fear uncertainty more than the change itself.  Therefore consistent and redundant communication is crucial. Use common 'talking points'; create communication schedules across various media; provide easy access to information through vehicles such as websites.

 vi)    Communication by itself won't secure commitment.  You must also

·         provide 2-way processes

·         use pilot programs

·         develop templates/prototypes

·         conduct workshops

·         involve a wide spectrum of people and provide feedback loops

vii)  Know you won't convert everyone.  Plan for how you will deal with resistors.  You must deal with them because if left ignored, they will negatively affect the project. (see point # 11)

6. Gain momentum quickly. 

·         No false starts.  Momentum is a function of activity and delivery.  Produce something visible every 3 months.

7. Make the investment of time, money and personal focus.

·         It means you must reduce your commitments in other areas to make this work.

8. Work the organizational politics. 

·         Success is the best offence, so create it early; tell the story and repeat it often

9. Be flexible but don't compromise the end objective.

·         You will never define all the steps ideally or anticipate all the events along the way, but don't lose sight of the objective

10. Keep Boards informed and focused on the goals with regular updates.

11. Don't let naysayers get you down.

·         A small number will never sign on.  The greater number of naysayers are those who, at the first sign of trouble start to question the viability of the change.  Addressing this starts with the leader and his/her change implementation team. 

Is your vision worth more than the inspirational story you are telling?  If it is, my challenge to you (as I am making it to myself), get in for the long haul and roll up your sleeves to create some sustained change.

Harv

harvey@visiontracks.ca
www.visiontracks.ca

1-403-970-4148

Skype: visiontracks05