What will it take to make the world better?
Leaders Kitbag – July 2020 Edition
When we look out of the window, pay attention to our screens or listen to pretty much any form of audio content, it seems we are surrounded by turmoil.
More change each day.
So much challenge from every corner, and so many opportunities to make a contribution.
For that is the approach I’ve aspired to take, small steps of progress, and I encourage you all to take – one step of progress.
Each of us in our own way, one small step at a time, we all can chose to participate in navigating these turbulent times and emerge strong, more versatile, more determined, and more connected in our collective endeavours. And these steps need not be large, need not be intimidating. All steps in the right direction no matter how small, are steps of progress.
In regards to the content, I’ve had many conversations over the last month with leaders asking for advice or seeking resources around how best to address the changing times and challenging topics with their teams, broader organisations and at home with families.
I’ve listed here many of the items I’ve shared with them in response to these requests, as well as a few that have been specifically mentioned in conversations on Better World Leaders. I hope you’ll find the recommendations insightful and helpful.
On this note, and to bring one content recommendation to your immediate attention if I may, I encourage you all to tune in on your preferred platform to the final episode of the first season of Better World Leaders. As I sought to summarise the conversations that have passed over the course of the 9 previous episodes, a series of steps became apparent that form a pathway of small steps that every leader can chose to take in order to move towards making the world better. If you’ve not had a chance to engage with any of the episodes thus far, this might well be a good entry point. You can watch a 10minute highlight video here, or listen or watch the episode in full here.
As always, I look forward to any thoughts or feedback you’d like to share by replying to this email.
One final point before we head into the content recommendations. At the end of this month’s Kitbag, you’ll find a new section ‘Discussion Questions’ – a few explicit questions which I hope will provoke some thought and stimulate some further discussion at work and home.
As always,
Be well, lead well and build a better world,
Tim
Imagine a better world built by better leadership (including yours).
This content is visionary, strategic or futuristic in nature, looking at the road ahead for leadership.
If we need to get creative in how to go about fixing some of our largest challenges, especially those intertwining land, resources and culture – how about a look at the examples from ancient peoples who managed those influences through tens of thousands of years in highly effective sustainable systems. This extensive exploration shows how complex the Aboriginal Australian system was that did exactly that, and how much of this knowledge we can apply to the new systems and models we must build to effectively move ahead. It’s a big ask in this time poor moment, but for me this 90min WATCH on YouTube was packed full of fascinating examples, many of which can be readily applied to our modern working context.
For so long, much of the world has looked at one country to set the cultural tone for the modern world. And for so long, that country managed to maintain the perception that it was setting that tone based on an aspirational culture, democracy and economic model. And now in so many ways that country is under-achieving, and looming towards failure on many of those counts. For all of those reasons, this question is very relevant to consider – what will it take to re-imagine America? This conversation on the Rich Roll podcast is one of the best I’ve come across that attempts to wrestle with this question. LISTEN to the 92min dialogue on Apple Podcast here
To find something great to shine a light on all the challenge and uncertainty, I simply loved this story when I came across it. A young genius from Mexico, put in a position of great opportunity in the US in the face of all that’s happening with migration and ‘walls’. A quick 4 min READ here, but well worth it for the smile it will bring.
Ignite your potential to lead to your utmost ability.
This content is intended to be pragmatic, actionable and applicable to your leadership today.
If I may, I’ll start with a recommendation of one of my contributions to answer the most frequent question I’ve observed and received – how do we begin to move forward? My suggestion is to apply one of the exercises we use in Culture Transformations, a StartStopContinue. You can begin with this that I wrote, which was published by Illumination, a 6 min READ in on Medium.
This article was sent to me by one of my former coaching clients (thank you Mark) following a conversation we had about how the CoVid pandemic was likely to impact on the way organisational leaders interact with their teams – in particular the role of the ‘coaching leader’. I had introduced Mark to Michael Bungay-Stanier’s book Coaching Habits, and this article contains a brief interview with Michael, as well as some great metrics and follow-on links on the role of coaches and coach-leaders. A quick 5 min READ on the website of the author here.
I’ve become a devotee of the Farnham Street’s blog since hearing the Founder Shane Parrish on a podcast late last year. This article is a brilliant summation of why we need cooperation, collective effort and above all connection if we are to make and sustain significant change. The opening line pretty much sums it up –The key to major changes on a societal level is getting enough people to alter their behaviour at the same time – and I’d highly recommend you commit the 5 mins to READ the full article on the Farnham Street site here
Embrace community – https://www.smallgiants.com.au/stories/14-ways-community
Most recent BWL episode with Rachel Abel – https://4ileadership.com/2020/06/25/what-do-you-want-to-do-as-a-leader-to-move-your-community-forward/
Immerse yourself in our deep exploration of a focal leadership topic.
Month by month, we at 4i are examine key areas that enhance leadership’s impact and contribution.
The current context, and how to address the time we are in when we face the challenge of discrimination on so many fronts, and seek both means and guidance on how best to proceed.
Specifically this month, it seems inexcusable not to include an immersion into the topic of social justice, and specifically racism. How can we as leaders can seek to both engage with and lead forward with informed perspective and courage to change so that we can build a more just and equal society? How can we ourselves and our organisations taking a leading role?
Here’s a few suggestions to explore and potentially share within your organisations and teams as a way of engaging with this challenge, and the great opportunity presented to make things better…
A practical conversation with many applicable insights from Shellye Archambeau, former CEO of MetricStream, now a board member at Verizon, Nordstrom and Okta, on how she as a black female leader has both navigated and engaged with this current change agenda. A 39min LISTEN here on Masters of Scale on Apple Podcasts
Aa confronting and fascinating series, Uncomfortable conversations with a Black Man, holds many reflections and learnings for leaders on how to engage in meaningful discussions on racism and social equality. A 13min WATCH on YouTube here
I appreciate there are many books lists going around that list the best of the best reads for right now around the topic of systemic racism. This is one that I’ve been surprised not to see mentioned anywhere: The Last Interview, with James Baldwin. What’s incredible to me, and one of the many reasons I love this quick read, is that whilst the conversation that this book is based on happened over 45 years ago, it reads as though the interactions Baldwin recounts were far more recent, even today. Click here to pick up a copy via Booktopia.
An HBR here article to READ (8min) packed with advice on how you can take deliberate steps within your organisation to improve social justice.
And finally, some explicit recommendations for actionable steps to further engage with several of the many initiatives that have been launched, these from Better World Leaders podcast guest Rachel Abel (thank you Rachel) rachelcargle.com for various resources from this inspiring author and speaker, and the Small Business Racism Pledge here
Inspire yourself or others who you may share this with.
Examples of great leadership, in particular what I call ‘Better World Leadership’ from the world at large.
Bold, brazen and brilliant – a fascinating 19 minute TEDx to WATCH here – Why as a black man I attend KKK rallies, on how to learn from the other side of the aisle in the most radical sense.
Both of these conversations deliver a great deal of inspiration about what’s needed to improve lives, culture and society as a whole;
Discussion Questions
(a new inclusion this month – a nod to Adam Grant’s excellent newsletter, Granted. Thank you Adam)
– What is your organisation doing to progress social justice?
– What can you do to change my behaviour, maybe beginning with my own ‘Start, Stop, Continue’?
– What can I do to inspire the motivation and ignite the potential of those I lead to make a consistent change to tackle the challenge of improving social justice?
