Harmonic Leaders Envision a New Reality

One of the main characteristics of the harmonic leader that sets them apart from other leaders is their willingness to see themselves as personally responsible for seeing a reality that is yet not perceivable by most. Harmonic leadership is as much about having an understanding of the truth that everything is in constant motion and therefore must be forever changing as it is in believing in the need to constantly evolve to something better. True leaders understand that they must embrace reality as it really is and not as it used to be or how they would like it to be. In other words, harmonic leadership involves personally looking beyond the obvious into the possibilities and deciding what course of action needs to be taken.

I am reminded of a conference I went to about three years ago where I got a chance to listen to Dr. Jennifer James, an urban anthropologist, discuss her theories on why some companies succeed and why others fail to sustain their competitive edge. One key message she communicated was that a major difference in successful and non-successful companies was in the “stories” their leaders tell. She discussed the fact that some leaders refuse to see a new version of reality and therefore keep telling and sharing the same old stories within their organizations of what they believe to be true about their business environment. For example, in her opinion at that time a well known automaker deserved to go out of business because of the stories their leaders had been telling themselves and their associates about what people wanted and would buy in a new car, all while refusing to look at a new reality. She spoke of their inability (or refusal) to see beyond the current day to day observations and envision a different type of automobile needed in the future. Instead, the stories they have been sharing and continued to share, tell the tale of people wanting bigger, less efficient automobiles and SUV’s rather than the new reality of a more fuel efficient vehicle or hybrids that address the rising costs of gas. I can’t help but think that Dr. James must have been on to something back in 2006 when I reflect on the news I've been watching the past several weeks and hear about how this same automaker, three years later, who recently accepted billions in bail0ut money and who’s CEO was recently let go, will probably have to file for bankruptcy in the very near future.

This “reality” underscores the importance and willingness needed in a leader to confront a new reality as a key ingredient for leadership and business success. Harmonic leaders understand this and are willing to plant the seeds of a new reality with the intent and purpose to grow a better tomorrow. An example of this harmonic leadership characteristic can be found in the founder of Federal Express, Fred Smith, who saw a new and different reality that others had not yet envisioned.  As I understand the story, Fred Smith envisioned a new reality when he was in college. He wrote a class paper about a company that would be able to deliver packages overnight for one of his class projects. Because his professor could not see nor understand the possibilities of this new reality, it’s been said that Fred got a “C” on his paper. However, as most great leaders do, Fred’s reaction was to continue to believe and see his new reality as possible. As with most great leaders, Fred kept his dream alive because he understood that it was his responsibility to let go of ingrained ways of thinking and to lay a new pathway to a new and different future. Fred Smith was exhibiting harmonic leadership when he stepped off the main path, leading the creation of a new path to a better, bigger and brighter future for the package distribution industry.

Another key characteristic that defines harmonic leadership is the basic “willingness” and “courage” to lead and serve others. Harmonic leadership is as much about the willingness to assume command and the willingness to sit in the driver’s seat as it is about feeling a strong desire to move people, organizations and/or situations “forward”. It is about having the courage to step out and take risk for the greater good. We need leadership today that is willing to “think a new thought” in order to “create a new and better world”, not for one man but for all men. When I was growing up I learned a song that has become my “leadership mantra” today. The words of that song, which I refer to often and that I constantly remind myself of, are “if I can help somebody as I pass along, then my living will not be in vain”. For me personally, harmonic leadership starts from the values I have within. The values to serve, to make a difference, to make the places and relationships I have the privilege to touch better because I was there as a leader are driven from within to serve those without. For me, it’s personal. It is why I am willing to take risk in times of need. We need more leaders who are willing to step off of the “traditional path” and courageously lead their people, their organizations, and their companies in a new direction. We need leaders now who are not only willing but have the courage to step out and away from the crowd into a different spot and then turn and look the crowd in the eye and say “come, follow me, this is the way”.

Leading Change Enablement and Engagement

Change is and will continue to be a constant for all organizations and all leaders must be willing and ready at all times to lead the charge. Harmonic leaders must be change leaders, having the willingness and ability to change that which is currently being done to something that possibly has never been done before. They know they must let go of yesterday’s successes and abandon the past in search of a better tomorrow. We have been taught to see the outside world as the source of creation for anything new but the truth is the outside world that we see and experience first begins as a thought from within. Before we can begin to change any situation or any thing, we have to first “imagine” that change within our minds, and then and only then can we begin to move forward towards creating a changed reality. Harmonic leaders know that’s where the true power for change comes from. They also know that the ideas and thinking that created the current states that exist are not the same ones needed to create a better tomorrow. Therefore, harmonic leaders know how important it is to encourage and reward “new thinking” and “new thoughts” in order to move an organization to a new place. The harmonic leader welcomes and encourages innovation while encouraging others to develop new and innovative concepts for solving tomorrow’s problems and delivering world-class solutions. They embrace the idea that everyone should have an “imagination journal” because they know that’s the only way we can not only imagine a better tomorrow but actually begin to create it.

To aid the harmonic leader in managing change I defined the following five guidelines to aid in enabling the change effort:

1. Have a "vision" and then "talk and walk it up" - It is essential that the harmonic leader create a vision that links the present with the future for others when implementing change. They must not only create a vision but become the vision in the eyes of those that follow them. People must have a way to see a glimpse of a better future, a better tomorrow that is attractive and reachable that compels them to move in that direction. When developing the vision, the leader should identify who the key stakeholders are and engage them in helping to develop and bring the vision to life. Beginning with the senior leadership team is a great place to start because they should have the broadest perspective and knowledge necessary to understand the need for change. The harmonic leader must also take time to understand the values, hopes and dreams of others effected by the change and know how to engage them. They also know it is not just about engaging a few individuals but more importantly, engaging the "masses" from the beginning of the change journey. With a vision, the harmonic leader can convey an image to all of what can be accomplished and the benefits and values to be realized when the change is achieved. However, it is important that the harmonic leader neither over promise nor under sell the opportunity when developing the vision.

2. Build a broad coalition of support and use them to help sell the change - Successful change is not easy and usually requires the support and effort of several key people. Therefore, it is essential that the harmonic leader work to build a coalition of supporters and advocates inside and outside the organization. One way to begin is to schedule time with other leaders to sell the value and benefits of the change and engage them in being active advocates and supporters. Ensure they are engaged and prepared to support the implementation of the change. The harmonic leader should continue to sell the vision to all who are impacted. The more advocates and "angels" one has supporting the change initiative the better.

3. Communicate, communicate, then communicate – The need for continuous communications for successful change cannot be emphasized enough. Once the vision and future state is communicated, people will need to know what the expectations are for supporting the change, what steps are being taken, what has been completed and what work still needs to be done, what improvements or impacts have been made and finally, are the objectives being achieved. Communications is also essential to address any anxiety or stress people might go through when faced with major change. To keep people informed on how things are progressing will create more enthusiasm and self-confidence in the ability to achieve the desired results. It is also critical to allow for two-way communications. Not only should people be communicated to, there must be a way of people to communicate to the harmonic leader and other change agents and advocates when needed. The ability to ask questions and get honest answers will go along way in keeping people engaged in the change initiative.

4. Create a sense of urgency – Harmonic leaders must communicate that the need for action is "now" not later. When change is seen as gradual and far off, many people will choose to "wait it out" and "not engage", some with the hope that if they ignore it, it will go away. The harmonic leader must be able to persuade others in the organization that the time needed for change is now versus a gradual slow roll approach. It is important to explain the consequences of waiting versus the benefits of action. Many leaders rely on business cases to communicate the need to act now. Identifying a high return on investing in the change over time can go a long way to engaging and convincing others to "get on board".

5. Decide how you want to "chew the elephant up" then plan for early wins – Large change initiatives can take several months and even years to implement. With a large initiative it is important that the harmonic leader plan a strategy that allows for early and frequent successes along the way. As people experience success they gain more confidence providing them with more energy to continue. That's why it's important that the harmonic leader plan critical milestones of achievements to show progress to the plan and to provide an opportunity for people to stop and celebrate accomplishments. Also, by dividing the elephant into the right "bite sizes" the harmonic leader minimizes the feeling that the change is too large and unachievable.

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.’

— Alan Cohen

I just love this quote.....:)

Harmonic Leaders Allow the Impossible to Become Possible

I am a firm believer in the notion that thought is creative. If you can’t think it, you can’t be or achieve it. The Harmonic Leader knows the importance of creating a place where it is safe for everyone to think about that which is not normally considered in the realm of all potential possibilities. In other words, it’s okay to dream out loud!! Creating an environment and the opportunity in which everyone feels free and safe to “super size their dreams and aspirations” as well as the vision and goals of the organization, is the only way you can achieve the impossible. The Harmonic Leader knows that the only reason anything is impossible is because someone hasn’t yet dreamed it up. However, before one can understand what it means to create the opportunity for people to live in and even thrive in this “space of impossibility”, one must first understand what a leader must do to evoke in others the desire to dream.

In one of the books I read, “Coaching for Leaders,” (Goldsmith, Lyons, Freas, 2000) it states that the ultimate judgment of a leader is not about how they acquire and use power but how they relinquish it. In other words, a leader must be willing to give power away in order to be successful. By giving away power to the organization and its people, the leader enables them to use that power to create the impossible. The paradox implied is that as a leader gives power away; they actually become more powerful because when power is given away to others it actually energizes and mobilizes them to act. With an understanding of the paradox of power, the possibility exists for the leader to achieve breakthrough thinking, to think of the possible within the impossible. That means, for the leader, they must be willing to say farewell to being the “superstar” and the “one with all the answers” and hello to creating and leveraging the “dream team” made of impossibility thinkers and doers ready to create breakthrough success.  There is no question that when a leader trusts and gives his or her power and energy away to an organization, they in turn empower their organization to seek and achieve greater success.   It is through this relinquish of power that the opportunity for breakthrough thinking and the achievement of the impossible exists.  When one knows they not only have the responsibility to achieve a certain outcome but the power to make it happen, they have all the right ingredients for creating the impossible.

In the absence of giving the gift of power, leaders may find themselves in a struggle to lead effectively. They soon then realize that the opposite is true as well. For example, I once worked for a leader that people would say “sucked the energy out of the room” every time they engaged with their team and the organization. It was their show; they gave the orders and people where expected to perform as told. To no ones surprise, over time the organization was drained, morale was at an all time low and overall organizational performance took a turn for the worse.

One must also be careful because old leadership patterns have a tendency to play over and over and over again until there is disruption. Therefore, it is important for leaders to identify ways to interrupt old patterns while continuing to open up new ways of thinking as a leader . Key to being able to break old patterns is understanding that as a leader, they possess within themselves, everything they need to break old patterns, resolve their conflicts and chart a new path. It was John P. Morgan who stated that “The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.” Becoming a Harmonic Leader means understanding the need to let go of old patterns and embrace new ways of leading. They know they don’t have to accept the fate traditional leadership has imposed upon them but instead they have the opportunity to create their own fate, their own new reality about leadership going forward. All they need to do is decide.

As I prepared to write this blog, I ran across some new and old quotes that I found spoke to the “art of making the impossible possible”. I hope you enjoy them!!

“What we can or cannot do, what we consider possible or impossible, is rarely a function of our true capability. It is more likely a function of our belief about who we are.” - Anthony Robbins

“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” - Walt Disney

“I am neither an optimist nor pessimist, but a possibilist.” – Max Lerner

“Let your imagination release your imprisoned possibilities.” – Robert Schuller

Are Your Attracting the Right Outcomes as a Leader?

Based on theories derived from the science of quantum physics, we know that what we focus on we also attract into our lives.  Therefore, it should not be a secret that the Universal Law of Attraction is alive and well and always acting on and responding to the tendencies and focuses of a leader.   That’s why I believe it is important to get clear about what the underlying motivations are that a leader gravitates to when in a position of leadership and how those leadership traits will attract or not attract the desired successful outcomes. For example, some of the traits that I believe are critical to understanding and predicting the effectiveness of ones leadership approach are:

1.   High energy level and stress tolerance: predicts the degree to which a person has the ability to perform under pressure and function in the presence of chaos; helps leaders cope with the hectic pace, stressful situations.

2.   Self-confidence: predicts the degree to which a person has an action oriented approach to problem solving, a self-confident leader is more likely to attempt difficult tasks and more persistent in the pursuit of difficult tasks.

3.   Internal locus of control: predicts the degree of belief a person has that events in life are determined by their own actions, therefore, they believe they can influence their own destiny; they take more responsibility for their own actions.

4.   Emotional stability and maturity: predicts the degree to which a person will have a more accurate awareness of their strengths and weaknesses; oriented toward self-improvement; less self-centered.

5.   Personal integrity: predicts a person’s ability to be honest, ethical and trustworthy; able to keep promises; able to build trust among others.

6.   Power motivation: predicts the degree to which a person will seek positions of authority and power and will be more attuned to the policies of the organization.

7.   Achievement orientation: predicts the degree of drive and ambition to accomplish a particular outcome; able to set challenging yet realistic goals and deadlines.

8.   Need for affiliation: predicts the degree to which a person will enjoy working with others and building relationships; willing to include others not only in the journey but in the creation of the desired outcome. 

In assessing one’s leadership traits or tendencies, one can potentially predict in advance how successful or not one might be in a certain situation. For example, the need for achievement, if too high can actually undermine leadership effectiveness and attract a lack of support for a particular outcome if not careful. If the need for personalized power is too strong, the person is likely to exercise power impulsively and seek to dominate people to keep them weak and dependant thereby attracting non-resourceful teams and individuals. One should look at all of these traits and tendencies (and others) and the potential impact they can have on leadership effectiveness as well as ineffectiveness. Being honest with oneself and to others will help a leader ensure they are able to attract the resources and outcomes they need to be successful in a particular leadership situation.

Don’t Just Create a Vision, Become the Vision

I’m sure you are familiar with Gandhi ‘s quote, “Be the change you want to see in the world” and Zig Ziglar’s quote “You must be before you can do”. You may not have realized it but both where zeroing in on what it truly means to be a Harmonic Leader with a vision. With the same sense of responsibility, I believe every leader must “become the vision they want to achieve”. 

Effective leaders must be able to purposefully inspire and energize people to act in a direction towards a goal they understand and believe is worthy and meaningful. Therefore, the Harmonic Leader must possess the ability to create, communicate and become a powerful vision that will not only excite the minds of their followers but inspire them to go "beyond" their current boundaries.

Own the Vision

One of my favorite bible verses states, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." (Proverbs 29:18.) I once had an executive tell me that he didn’t want to create a vision because “what if he gets it wrong, he might get fired”. To him it was “safer” to just wing it and embrace whatever happens as something he expected to happen all along. Now don’t get me wrong, he wrote a vision (one of those one-sentence visions that you have to figure out on your own what it means exactly). It was a safe vision because no one understood it and he wasn’t explaining it. If you had to ask, you were the one who needed help, not him. 

Okay, I don’t like to use this term and I don't mean it personally but “what a cop-out”. I think he failed to realize that the vision wasn’t about “him” it was and will always be about “them”.   He failed to realize the “power of a vision” in getting people to do and create things they never dreamed of or thought they had the ability to create. Harmonic Leaders know that they must first possess confidence and a strong belief in their own abilities if they truly want to influence and change the present course and action in the organizations they lead.

Create a “Vision Story”

A Harmonic Leader also needs to practice "idealized influencing" that arouses strong emotions and reactions within the follower that leads the follower to closely identify with the leader. One way this is accomplished is through the creation and communication of a compelling “vision story”. One leader I know and would label as being a true Harmonic Leader, was very good at crafting visions that captured and motivated the employees to rally behind a common cause and goal that she saw as worthy. For example, in helping the organization emotionally connect with where she wanted to take the organization, she crafted (with the help of her leadership team) a 4 page detailed vision of what the future would be like. She knew the "one sentence" approach was not enough to move the mountain she saw before her.  The vision she created was written as if it was 2 years in the future and a person, while walking around and observing a different kind of organization, was describing in detail everything they saw and experienced from not only the perspective of the employee but of those the employees served.  It was vivid and emotionally captivating. In fact, in order to ensure people could actually see and feel the vision, one exercise that was used when it was rolled out to the teams was to read the vision to them while they closed their eyes and actually envisioned themselves 2 years in the future seeing and hearing everything that was described to them. 

This leader used various motivational speeches and techniques to inspire the organization to emotionally connect to a new future. I knew this leader had truly influenced and transformed the team when not only the goals as planned where achieved but also the organization was known to have a strong attachment to this leader. She not only created the vision but also became the vision in the process. Harmonic leadership involves evoking strong emotions while inspiring others to look at things differently, all of which are proactive influence tactics.

Be Your Greatest Salesperson 

Developing and communicating the vision is just the beginning. The Harmonic Leader knows that they must also be able to continually "sell the vision", continually convince others to climb on board, stick it out, whether in good times or bad. In other words, they must become the vision they want to achieve in the eyes of those they lead. How the Harmonic Leader not only "frames" but also sees and becomes the voice of the future and the organizations purpose is critical for long-term support. 

This can be illustrated in a story that has been passed down concerning three replies from three bricklayers when asked about their job. When the first bricklayer was asked what job he was doing, he replied, "I am laying bricks, one on top on each other". When the second bricklayer was asked what he was doing he replied, "I am building a great wall". However, when the third bricklayer was asked what he was doing he replied, "I am changing the world! I am building a new gateway to the west. A place where people from all over the world will have an opportunity to come and visit new places, meet new people, make new friends. I am building one of the most advanced travel facilities in the world. Millions of people will benefit from the work I am doing. This airport will change lives!" The difference in how each bricklayer saw their same job is an example of how important it is for the Harmonic Leader to create, communicate and "frame" the future purpose of the organization. The first two bricklayers where just doing their jobs, however, the third bricklayer was inspired and motivated because he was changing the world.

In keeping with the spirit of this blog, I will share with you one of the Universal Laws that support the message of becoming the vision you want to achieve. Enjoy and may your leadership “be” an example for others to follow and ultimately manifest.

The Law of Example

You are the example that others will follow. This law states that any person placed in a position of significance, serves as an “example” for others to follow. Those who serve as an example of greed and power are therefore creators of the tragedies, which they and those who follow them manifest. Those who serve as an example of love and service are therefore creators of the hope and fulfillment, which they and those who follow them manifest. The creative choice of example is totally up to the chooser, you!