Leading When the Walls Are Falling Down

As anyone who has not been asleep for 40 years can tell, the world has changed. For two decades it was assumed by many that the future would be much like the present only more so. All organizations would grow, future visions would be easy to formulate, and all investments would average 8-15%, unless they were with Mr. Maddoff, and then it would by 20-30%. Well, the sugar plum fairy has been destroyed by environmental toxins in the form of greed and hubrus. An old saying of my grandfather, and probably yours also, was "if it looks to good to be true, it probably is". So here we are with businesses scrambling to survive, lots of good folks hitting the food pantries they used to donate to, and a general anxiety felt across all ages. Parents have the sad task of telling children they may not be able to support their desired college for awhile. Families giving up their home to live with relatives or at homeless shelters. Since most of us only remember the great depression through the stories of our elders, it seems we are visiting the past.
We are generally a compassionate country, and still remain so in the midst of this reorientation to a new reality. However we have lost any compassion for those who seem to have escaped from the morass of their doing with only a few less millions than they had a year ago. The general population finds little sympathy for Ruth Maddoff who now must live on only 2.5 million. The anger was palpable when senior executives of financial firms were rewarded on their way out the door with obscene amounts of cash. It is one task to stabilize our financial system, it is a far greater task to reestablish the trust in its leadership. There is far too much belief that the fox is in charge of the hen house.
Well, you know all the stories, so I will refrain from retelling them all here. The question remains of how to lead in the midst of such climactic change that no part of society is untouched. The answer is found all around us. Volunteers are helping find food and housing and health care for those who have lost it all. Community folks are opening their hearts and smaller wallets to keep the most hurt among us covered with the basics. Churches are rediscovering there basic ministries by opening facilities to house the homeless and feed children. All kinds of support groups have emerged to network for any available jobs, part time or full time. Those who can are going back to school to get ready for new kinds of jobs that will emerge. This is creating such a jam at the doors of universities that they are having to set limits which is, in turn, giving growth to online resources for job searches and education.
For the first few months there was a bit of shock in the populace that left us stopped short, trying to figure out what to do or not do. Now the elements of leadership, individual self-leadership, and organizational leadership are accelerating as people flip on their innovation, second-wind effort, brush off old skills, and start creating a better, more honest world.
Leadership is all around. The Gen X folks have grabbed hold of the reins in some areas and are prodding the Boomers to get moving. Yes, some of the Boomers are escaping to Panama or Belize or some other country where the rest of their retirement account will stretch further, but many are tossing off the retirement hat and re-engaging in new jobs or old ones to lead the way through this. How can you tell these leaders are authentic and trustworthy? Because they are sharing the risk with us all. They are giving much of themselves and not asking others to carry it all. And if you look in their eyes, you see a passion. For some it is a passion they have not felt for some time, but have rediscovered. They are doing what matters, and they love it. Leadership is all around us, of all ages, and you may be one of them. If so, great. Lead On. Let's all work for a more sane, inclusive, equitable and considerate future. Let's encourage imagination, support innovation, restore the damage done by our past illicit appetites, and leave a much better place for the next generations.

Until next time,

Larry

Leadership in a Time of Rapid Change

"These are the times that try men's souls" is a quote that has been applied to numerous moments in history, and is certainly applicable for many now. Only a few pockets of certainty remain as the economic implosion has rippled out in shock waves to people of all socio-economic categories. It is a time that has seen leaders crash and burn, and in their ashes are the retirements plans, investments, and jobs of millions of others. Obviously this has triggered anger, even outrage, from those who are the mostly innocent victims of the unbridled risk taking of people not even known to be part of the lives of the victims. There are few around the globe who have escaped the fear, loss, and deprivation of the last months. What happened to leadership? The headlines have focused on a cluster of financial leaders who moved from their moral anchors to engage in a massive game of obscene profits and life threatening risk.
Less obvious in the news are the thousands of leaders who have exchanged predictability in their job with sleepless nights of wrestling for answers to keeping their businesses alive and their employees employed. Just recently the stories are emerging of companies and communities who are pulling together to share the burdens, resources, and pain. It is in this group that heroic leadership is becoming evident. It is in these scenarios that we learn once again, that leadership is not a label on the door. Leadership is the behavioral expression of the richest core values of caring for friends, neighbors, employees, and strangers. It is in this group that leaders arise as the need for leadership emerged. Leaders have stepped up, not because of pay, not because of position, not for ego, but because someone, or many someones, needed a leader.
Each person is a leader if they respond to the need when it rises up before them.
It is clear that this time in our collective history we are experiencing the complex interconnectedness of the global community. Only a few decades ago a community would pull together to rebuild a burned barn for a neighbor, repair a damaged house for a person down the street, or replace the daily goods of a family whose possessions had been scattered by tornadic winds. In the growth of population, the increase of diversity, and the busyness of our lives we lost our neighborhoods and scarcely know one another. That is changing. We are once again helping each other pick up the pieces, hunt for or create jobs, support one another in grief.
Vision may be global, but all action is local. As we move through the months ahead we will be reminded of the skills we have been too busy to grow, the talents we may have overlooked, and the people we need and who need us. Our country, businesses, and communities need leaders who lead from the heart now more than ever. They also need leaders who look after others before themselves. Let's all step in and step up. Use these times of chaos to build the base for new beginnings. Encourage others, and rebuild your tool kit for the future will never be like the past. But it can be better.