Constructive Irreverence: A Cure for the Status Quo?

Posted on by Deb Mills-Scofield

If we’re going to solve some of our wicked problems, we’ve got to be able to disagree with each other without digging our heels into holes so big we can’t see over the mound of dirt.

Many aren’t even willing to try to listen to another point of view. And, the pressure for political correctness means the fear of offending is much stronger than the desire to alleviate suffering, inequality or injustice. Look at the US government, our businesses (‘social’ or not), our communities, our families!

In last September’s Convocation Address, the new president of Brown, Christina Paxson (pictured above) urged students and faculty to exercise Constructive Irreverence. She asked them to “Take a hard look at the assumptions, the status quo… to challenge what they think their preconceived notions are… to question the world and how they can make it better… [to use their] unparalleled independence [in a] thoughtful and responsible manner.” She warned them that impertinent criticism “Will obstruct your ability to learn and ultimately limit your ability to affect change in the world.” Some people think it takes courage to stand up against the status quo. I’m not really sure. Sometimes I think it takes more of a different sort of courage to stand with the status quo.

Chris Paxson explained further: “Anyone with the temerity to articulate an opposing view deserves to be treated with respect… The ability of men and women to think independently and with open minds was integral to the spread of the abolition movement that changed the world for the bettter. This lesson is as relevant today as it has ever been.” How true! Admittedly, I was born with a double dose of the “challenge status quo” gene.

It comes quite naturally and rarely tactfully, so I’m speaking to myself, not just to you. As I’ve gotten older, and appreciated how slippery the status quo slope can be, I hope I’ve become more open-minded, more willing to listen, to appreciate, to understand, to disagree with the opinion without also disdaining the person and less willing to allow the divergence of opinion from blocking real, maintainable and needed progress.

I remember the premier of the musical Les Misérables. Having how see the movie twice, it seems so painfully relevant to our world. Javert, a prison guard, and Valjean, a former prisoner, play a game of cat and mouse for decades. Valjean was shown grace and forgiveness by a bishop, changing his life from hate to compassion. Javert committed his life to the Law.

In the end, after Valjean saves Javert’s life, Javert kills himself. Why? Beacuse he couldn’t handle a changed world. In a misérables way, Javert preferred bondage to the Law than freedom of forgiveness and grace: “What sort of devil is he to have me caught in a trap and choose to let me go free…Vengance was his and he gave me back my life! Damned if I’ll live in the debt of a thief! Damned if I’ll yield at the end of a chase… How can I now allow this man to hold dominion over me… He gave me my life. He gave me my freedom… And must I now being to doubt, who never doubted all these years? The world I have known is lost in shadow…” Enough is enough.

It is time for us to practice Constructive Irreverence. If our children are being taught to do so, it is incumbent upon us to try as well. In fact, it is our duty. It directly affects the world we leave them and the role models we put before them. So, this day, this week, this month, find an opportunity to be Constructively Irreverent. And then find another.

This post originally appeared on Switch and Shift. Deb’s other post can be found on her website. 

 

Constructive Irreverence: A Cure for the Status Quo?

Posted on by George Dubec

If we’re going to solve some of our wicked problems, we’ve got to be able to disagree with each other without digging our heels into holes so big we can’t see over the mound of dirt.

Many aren’t even willing to try to listen to another point of view. And, the pressure for political correctness means the fear of offending is much stronger than the desire to alleviate suffering, inequality or injustice. Look at the US government, our businesses (‘social’ or not), our communities, our families!

In last September’s Convocation Address, the new president of Brown, Christina Paxson (pictured above) urged students and faculty to exercise Constructive Irreverence. She asked them to “Take a hard look at the assumptions, the status quo… to challenge what they think their preconceived notions are… to question the world and how they can make it better… [to use their] unparalleled independence [in a] thoughtful and responsible manner.” She warned them that impertinent criticism “Will obstruct your ability to learn and ultimately limit your ability to affect change in the world.” Some people think it takes courage to stand up against the status quo. I’m not really sure. Sometimes I think it takes more of a different sort of courage to stand with the status quo.

Chris Paxson explained further: “Anyone with the temerity to articulate an opposing view deserves to be treated with respect… The ability of men and women to think independently and with open minds was integral to the spread of the abolition movement that changed the world for the bettter. This lesson is as relevant today as it has ever been.” How true! Admittedly, I was born with a double dose of the “challenge status quo” gene.

It comes quite naturally and rarely tactfully, so I’m speaking to myself, not just to you. As I’ve gotten older, and appreciated how slippery the status quo slope can be, I hope I’ve become more open-minded, more willing to listen, to appreciate, to understand, to disagree with the opinion without also disdaining the person and less willing to allow the divergence of opinion from blocking real, maintainable and needed progress.

I remember the premier of the musical Les Misérables. Having how see the movie twice, it seems so painfully relevant to our world. Javert, a prison guard, and Valjean, a former prisoner, play a game of cat and mouse for decades. Valjean was shown grace and forgiveness by a bishop, changing his life from hate to compassion. Javert committed his life to the Law.

In the end, after Valjean saves Javert’s life, Javert kills himself. Why? Beacuse he couldn’t handle a changed world. In a misérables way, Javert preferred bondage to the Law than freedom of forgiveness and grace: “What sort of devil is he to have me caught in a trap and choose to let me go free…Vengance was his and he gave me back my life! Damned if I’ll live in the debt of a thief! Damned if I’ll yield at the end of a chase… How can I now allow this man to hold dominion over me… He gave me my life. He gave me my freedom… And must I now being to doubt, who never doubted all these years? The world I have known is lost in shadow…” Enough is enough.

It is time for us to practice Constructive Irreverence. If our children are being taught to do so, it is incumbent upon us to try as well. In fact, it is our duty. It directly affects the world we leave them and the role models we put before them. So, this day, this week, this month, find an opportunity to be Constructively Irreverent. And then find another.

This post originally appeared on Switch and Shift. Deb’s other post can be found on her website. 

 

Where You Place the ‘a’ Matters: Are You “Just a Leader” or a “Just Leader”?

Posted on by Deb Mills-Scofield

It’s just a trivial part of speech, just a the letter ‘a,’ no big deal. But it is! How often do we combine the words justice and leadership, especially in the for-profit sector? Obviously it’s a big deal in social enterprises; they focus on ‘social justice.’ But justice has a huge impact on any organization’s ethos and culture. Justice comes from the old French justitia meaning righteousness and equality as well as the Latin justus meaning upright. So how can we apply this virtue in a practical, applicable way as leaders? There are three ways I can think of, and I bet if you try, you can think of more.

I’ll address two: Fair versus Equal  and I versus You. The third, Triple Bottom Line/Corporate Social Responsibility, is better known and discussed, so we’ll leave that for later.

Fair versus Equal. Many of us have been through end of the year or are preparing for mid-year performance management. This is usually not a fun time to be a leader – not all the news is good, requiring honest, forthright discussion that rarely happen. For many of our people, it’s all about that raise or bonus, not ways to grow professionally. That’s why many companies treat their people equally – it’s easier!

We don’t need those hard, open, straightforward discussions about real performance and contribution. We just pay everyone at this level and move on. It’s more objective and clear – just like everyone getting a medal for showing up. Being a leader requires taking the right road, not the easy road. Treating our people fairly requires judgement, subjectivity, and clear communication of expectations and goals on an ongoing basis since the world around us changes all the time.

When we treat our people equally but not fairly, we tell people it’s okay to underperform and under contribute undermining the morale of our dedicated and passionate people and are then surprised when we get mediocre output and outcomes. What if we modify the culture to recognize people fairly, based on their work, effort, passion and results – as individuals and teams? We will be surprised to see the positive difference it will make.

I versus You. The current economic crisis may have exacerbated an extant corporate behavior, climbing the corporate lader and competing for promotions. But what have we really accomplished? We may have the wonderful corner office, but at whose expense and with what impact on results? I often as my corporate colleagues if focusing on ‘I,’ on themselves, has really gotten them the career satisfaction they sought.

As leaders, we need to help our people focus on the ‘You’ – the customer, the recipient of our services and products and you the employee. If we honestly ask ourselves who matters more, ‘I,’ ourselves, our ‘You’ our customer and people, what is our answer? A true leader is a servant who leads. So, is the business about our needs or the needs of ‘others?’

As we really focused on delighting our customers (to quote my friend Steve Denning), which means we will delight our people because they are working on meaningful, purposeful solutions to real needs (outcomes) that result revenues and profits (outputs) that can be reinvested in the delighting our customers?

Or, are we doing this for the next perk, the accolades from our peers, the prestige from our postion? I’m not suggesting total altruism (though that’s not a bad idea!), but I am suggesting we ponder why we’re leading and whom we’re leading – is it about ‘I’ or about ‘You?’ Can we really lead if it’s about us? Would we want to be led by someone who was all about himself? Does our leadership truly reflect our why and who? if someone asked one of our people who mattered to us, ‘I’ or ‘You,’ what would they answer?

Ask yourself two questions: do you treat people equally or fairly (or both) and does your leadership, hence your culture, value ‘You’ over ‘I?’ Just asking!

This post originally appeared on SmartBlog on Leadership, on SmartBrief. Deb’s other posts can be found on her website.

 

My Heroes? Young Millennial Leaders

Posted on by Deb Mills-Scofield

I bet you’re asking yourself if I’m nuts. I am and I’m happily addicted to these kids too! The stereotype of Gen-Y/Millennials is one of entitlement. There certainly are those who fall into this category and I’d submit there are plenty of Baby Boomers too (hum… look at Washington DC’s problem openly discussing Medicare and Medicaid!). I see this all the time in corporations with people of all ages.

You may say my heroes are self-selecting and I’m limiting my scope. You may be right. That doesn’t diminish the hope and encouragement they provide for our future. My heroes experiment-learn-apply-iterate in ways that befuddle most of us yet create impact we wouldn’t dare try. They turn the definition of entitlement on its head. T

hese kids (yes, they are in their 20’s so they are ‘kids’) feel very entitled… to change the world. They feel they have a right to try to make this a better world and don’t take ‘no’ as an answer.

This is why they are my heroes: Their default focus is on others, not themselves. They see problems in the world-globally and locally-and strive to understand, learn and discover instead of impose a solution. This has a profound impact on creating meaningful, valuable and sustainable solutions for customers in their world and shifts the lens of success from only outputs to outputs and outcomes.

My heroes also apply this framework to how they recruit, retain and develop their employees. In addition to Runa, two of my heroes are Pierre Ivan Arreola & Emily Goldman who created Hip Hop 4, a social business using Hip Hop to cultivate leadership with disadvantaged youth (in Los Angeles, California and Providence, Rhode Island) by partnering with local artists and youth programs employing a multi-sided and revenue generating business model for sustainability.

They challenge orthodoxy.

Because of their youth and naivety, they question everything, including long-held assumptions. This leads to innovative business models, partnerships, collaborations, organizational structures, products and services. I learn so much from how they think about their businesses and their definition of leadership as it pertains to them personally and to their organizatiosn in its ecosystem.

Two college juniors, Han Sheng Chia & Jayson Marwaha, founded of my favorite examples, MED International. This NGO assesses the current equipment, clinical needs and infrastructure capacity of hospitals in Zanzibar and ships over the appropriate surplus/used equipment from the USA, such as incubators that are now saving lives. They created an inventory and maintenance workflow system with the Zanzibar Ministry of Health and have trained technicians to repair the equipment.

Their currencies are trust and learning.

While these kids obviously need to raise money for their ventures, their baseline currencies are how well they can trust the people they work with and what they can learn, in real time, from these partners. Since they take their leadership seriously because their works impact, their need to trust and continually learn-learn about their customers and circumstances-is paramount. Trust and learning are also tied together-we find it easier to learn from those we trust. Another hero, Kona Shen, epitomizes the need for trust and learning with her successful venture, GOALSHaiti.

Kona combined her passion for the Haitian people with her love of soccer. GOALSHaiti improves the education, health and sanitation of over 600 kids and their families (nearly 5,000 people in total) in the Leogane region of Haiti. The program uses soccer as a vehicle for academic learning, community service, and learning healthy living , resulting in leadership. I could list so many more heroes.

We have so much to learn from them if we are willing to open our eyes, suspend disbelief, and check our over-sized egos at the door. The lessons these kids have taught me are now benefitting my clients and colleagues as we strive to rush to understand our customers’ needs, challenge the status quo, and base our relationship on the currencies of trust and learning. It isn’t easy for us ‘older’ folks to do, so get to know a few of my heroes and let them help you.

This post first appeared on Switch and Shift. Deb’s other posts can be found on her website.

My Heroes? Young Millennial Leaders

Posted on by George Dubec

I bet you’re asking yourself if I’m nuts. I am and I’m happily addicted to these kids too! The stereotype of Gen-Y/Millennials is one of entitlement. There certainly are those who fall into this category and I’d submit there are plenty of Baby Boomers too (hum… look at Washington DC’s problem openly discussing Medicare and Medicaid!). I see this all the time in corporations with people of all ages.

You may say my heroes are self-selecting and I’m limiting my scope. You may be right. That doesn’t diminish the hope and encouragement they provide for our future. My heroes experiment-learn-apply-iterate in ways that befuddle most of us yet create impact we wouldn’t dare try. They turn the definition of entitlement on its head. T

hese kids (yes, they are in their 20’s so they are ‘kids’) feel very entitled… to change the world. They feel they have a right to try to make this a better world and don’t take ‘no’ as an answer.

This is why they are my heroes: Their default focus is on others, not themselves. They see problems in the world-globally and locally-and strive to understand, learn and discover instead of impose a solution. This has a profound impact on creating meaningful, valuable and sustainable solutions for customers in their world and shifts the lens of success from only outputs to outputs and outcomes.

My heroes also apply this framework to how they recruit, retain and develop their employees. In addition to Runa, two of my heroes are Pierre Ivan Arreola & Emily Goldman who created Hip Hop 4, a social business using Hip Hop to cultivate leadership with disadvantaged youth (in Los Angeles, California and Providence, Rhode Island) by partnering with local artists and youth programs employing a multi-sided and revenue generating business model for sustainability.

They challenge orthodoxy.

Because of their youth and naivety, they question everything, including long-held assumptions. This leads to innovative business models, partnerships, collaborations, organizational structures, products and services. I learn so much from how they think about their businesses and their definition of leadership as it pertains to them personally and to their organizatiosn in its ecosystem.

Two college juniors, Han Sheng Chia & Jayson Marwaha, founded of my favorite examples, MED International. This NGO assesses the current equipment, clinical needs and infrastructure capacity of hospitals in Zanzibar and ships over the appropriate surplus/used equipment from the USA, such as incubators that are now saving lives. They created an inventory and maintenance workflow system with the Zanzibar Ministry of Health and have trained technicians to repair the equipment.

Their currencies are trust and learning.

While these kids obviously need to raise money for their ventures, their baseline currencies are how well they can trust the people they work with and what they can learn, in real time, from these partners. Since they take their leadership seriously because their works impact, their need to trust and continually learn-learn about their customers and circumstances-is paramount. Trust and learning are also tied together-we find it easier to learn from those we trust. Another hero, Kona Shen, epitomizes the need for trust and learning with her successful venture, GOALSHaiti.

Kona combined her passion for the Haitian people with her love of soccer. GOALSHaiti improves the education, health and sanitation of over 600 kids and their families (nearly 5,000 people in total) in the Leogane region of Haiti. The program uses soccer as a vehicle for academic learning, community service, and learning healthy living , resulting in leadership. I could list so many more heroes.

We have so much to learn from them if we are willing to open our eyes, suspend disbelief, and check our over-sized egos at the door. The lessons these kids have taught me are now benefitting my clients and colleagues as we strive to rush to understand our customers’ needs, challenge the status quo, and base our relationship on the currencies of trust and learning. It isn’t easy for us ‘older’ folks to do, so get to know a few of my heroes and let them help you.

This post first appeared on Switch and Shift. Deb’s other posts can be found on her website.

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