Leadership and change essays LO20260

tom heuerman (nate1@usinternet.com)
Mon, 22 Dec 2098 10:51:48 -0600

I write a monthly essay on leadership and transformation and distrubute it
free via the internet to several thousand readers worldwide. Recent titles
are: Chaos, The Servant Leader, The Leader's Journey, The Times in Which
We Live, Hope, and Self-0rganization. If interested in receiving this
essay each month email tomheu@aol.com.

A recent pamphlet:

PAMPHLET 15

AUTHENTICITY

by Tom Heuerman, PH.D.

with Diane Olson, PH.D.

@1998

Dr. Seuss wrote of King Looie Katz, a proud king in the world of
Katzenstein. King Looie was especially proud of his royal tail and did not
want it to drag on the ground and get dirty. So he commanded Kooie Katz to
walk behind him and carry his tail. All was well until Kooie realized that
his fine tail was dragging in the dirt. His pride was hurt. So Kooie made
a cat named Chooie follow him around, and Chooie Katz kept Kooies tail
from dragging on the ground. On and on it went until all the cats in
Katzenstein were hiking round and round all keeping one anothers tails
from dragging on the ground. They felt proud to be so special except Zooie
Katzen-bein who was the last cat in line. No one was left to carry her
tail. Zooie was awful mad, and she did a brave thing. She yelled, "I
quit!" and slammed the tail of Prooie Katz on the ground. Then all the
other cats did the same thing until each cat held its own tail. Since then
the cats of Katzenstein have been more grown up and democratic than
before. All movements to new realities begin with individual acts of
courageous authenticity.

Authenticity is the expression of our beliefs into action--the
intrapersonal congruency of ideas and behaviors. Herb Kelleher, president
and CEO of Southwest Airlines (selected by Fortune magazine as the best
company to work for in America in 1998) said, "I dont have a leadership
style except being myself." Herb Kelleher is unusual. Most organizations,
where conformity is the first rule, are filled with inauthentic
people--top to bottom--colluded with by academics, consultants, and
business writers who are equally contrived.

Social psychologist Solomon Asch conducted experiments to investigate what
human beings will do when confronted with a group which insists that
"wrong" is "right." When alone, 99 percent of the people chose the
obviously correct response to a question. But in a group, 76 percent
betrayed their own judgment and sided with the majority (who were
confederates with the scientist) at least once during 12 trials. And 37
percent of the subjects responses were incorrect across all trials. Asch
warned of a "tendency to conformity in our society so strong that. . .
people are willing to call white black."

My colleague Bob Terry wrote in Authentic Leadership: Authenticity is
speaking, however dimly, to more and more of us, calling us to recognize
the pervasiveness of the new inauthenticity. Something is not right and we
sense that what is not right is expressing itself in many forms, from
global issues to personal concerns. We have an intuitive sense of
disconnection from the very institutions and people we believe we should
be connected with.

The inauthenticity we see in organizations is paradoxical because when we
form teams, empower employees, begin quality programs, involve people in
decisions, and try to become learning organizations, an essential
requirement for the success of these approaches is the trust that comes
from authentic relationships. The more many organizations mindlessly
utilize these tactics, however, the more fearful and inauthentic their
employees become. Too many managers jump to the new organizational
approach looking for the quick-fix (mechanical) without laying the
relational (organic) groundwork necessary for the program to succeed. The
executives who make such incongruent changes are disconnected from what is
real, and they do not understand that the success of the new
organizational approaches is based on genuine relationships between
people.

Our organizations downsize, reorganize constantly, behave defensively, and
say one thing and do another. They demand political correctness, jump
frenetically from change program to change program, and, at the same time,
ask employees to trust, cooperate, and take risks. This "crazymaking" and
"calling white black" calls into question the motivation of executives for
using these new approaches in the first place. It is not unfair to accuse
many in power of manipulating the movement to employee empowerment for
selfish purposes. They are not the heroes they think they are for
enhancing the enterprises short-term bottom line. They are villains who
destroy trust that may never be rebuilt. Their behavior threatens the
sustainability of the organization. They are rewarded handsomely for the
damage they do. Is it any wonder that so many in organizations are
cynical, confused, and disillusioned?

Many executives are not up to the challenge before them. They do not know
how to lead change of the magnitude required, they are unwilling to ask
for the help they need, and they are unable to acknowledge and apologize
for their mistakes. They must work hard each day to appear competent. They
try to lead from the safety of the rear--hiding in their office suites
when things get difficult. These pseudo-leaders cannot hide, and they are
not credible. Followers do not trust them, and their inauthenticity
amplifies that of the employees. People realize they are part of a
dishonest system, and they perpetuate it by their compliance. Our cynicism
reflects an authenticity crisis that Bob Terry says is at the root of our
problems with organizational change.

Authenticity can be dangerous unless you are the owner or CEO. An easy way
out is to conform. We go along to get along. We smile and nod
enthusiastically yet feel the opposite. As a former colleague said often,
"I can feel strongly about either side of the issue." Perhaps we go
through the motions. We "check out" mentally and emotionally, and we
become just like those we are so critical of: clones, phonies, hypocrites,
useless corporate suckups. The value of diversity is lost leaving only its
surface appearance. For some, the inauthenticity becomes so insidious, the
lies so exhausting morally that, to remain sane, they must flee the
organization.

Others of us run from the awareness of our inauthenticity. We are in
conflict with ourselves--conflict between what we know to be true and our
fear. Deep down we know our falseness diminishes us. We are fearful that
if we acknowledge our own inauthentiticy, even to only ourselves, we will
need to take action. This is correct for unfeigned behavior is essential
for our wholeness and health. True mindfulness will require difficult
choices. Do I want to work in an unhealthy organization? Can I change the
enterprise? Can I stay in an unhealthy company and stay healthy myself? Am
I willing to trade being "alive" for a paycheck and the illusion of
security? How am I contributing to a destructive system? Am I going to
risk being genuine and live an authentic life? These questions are the
right ones to reflect upon and to squirm in our chairs over.

Authentic people examine themselves honestly. They ask others to help them
do so. They possess a clear purpose for their lives, a vision for their
future, and core values to guide them along the way. They translate this
core identity into action and live congruent with their identity in all
areas of their life. They do not confuse rude, insensitive, and selfish
behavior with authenticity--such behavior is simply emotionally immature.

Real people are not perfect. They surface their shadow side and are
"perfect" in their humanity. Authentic people connect with others. They
are the people who lead and are part of successful teams. We are inspired
by unaffected people because they ring true. They are the people who
change the world.

True leaders look in the mirror and see themselves and the organization
honestly. They become continuous learners willing to gain insight from
others. Authentic leaders see the variance between the organizations
behavior and the purpose, vision, and values the enterprise claims to live
by. Often they sense that the organization feels crazy, that people feel
crazy, and they ask kindly, "Do any of us know what we are doing?" Real
leaders seek and tell the truth--all the time.

Authenticity is a personal choice and comes from the inside out--not the
outside in. We are responsible for our own authenticity. We cannot wait
for organizations to change. We must take the initiative and behave
courageously. After all, it isnt authentic to be yourself only when given
permission by some higher authority. Then our organizations will change.

Aristotle said, "we become brave by doing brave acts." I attended a
dialogue about organizational change, and we discussed the pervasive lack
of courage in organizations. Many of the people attending the dialogue
shifted uncomfortably in their chairs when we talked about courage.
Someone suggested we will see daring behavior in organizations when
organizations are made "safe." I am all for creating a "safe" atmosphere
in organizations, but courage is not required when the situation is safe.
Boldness must come before safety; courage creates safety. If we wait for
safety before we act dauntlessly, we will never be brave. Courage is how
we exhibit our character.

What will we do if we behave courageously? We will do the "inner work" a
new era requires. We will look at ourselves honestly and ask if we are
living by our values, if we are living our purpose, and if we create
constantly evolving visions for ourselves. We will begin to live in
heartfelt ways and will set out to become our deepest intent.

We will seek out a community for ourselves that supports and nurtures our
growth and helps us become aware of ourselves, our organizations, and the
natural world. We will cast aside fear and indifference and stand up to
abuse, injustice, and incompetence in our organizations. We will
understand that what we do to others we do to ourselves. We will ask
ourselves if we want to work in an organization that is destructive to the
human spirit. We will see our role in systems and processes and how we
affect and are affected by them. We will live the change we wish to bring
about. We will see that our future success rests in creating conditions
that allow others to be the best they can be--not in technology or
reengineering.

The movement for the times in which we live is an inner journey that will
transform the external world. The first stage in a movement happens when
isolated people choose authenticity over living a divided life. This is a
decision made courageously for the sake of personal integrity. Like all
ventures into the unknown, the journey to authenticity begins with a few.
Soon others will follow. Those who are first inspire those who come later.
Each authentic life expresses natures potential for the whole.

RECOMMENDED READING: "Divided No More" by Parker J. Palmer in Change
Magazine, March/April 1992.

Other writings by Tom Heuerman:

Transformational Change--a discussion of mechanistic change,
transformational change ( including self-organization), the acceleration
of organizational change, and sustainable change.

A More Natural Way Leadership for Sustainable Organizations--a book (in
manuscript form) about leadership and organizational transformation viewed
through the lens of quantum physics and the learnings from the study of
living systems (including chaos/comp lexity theory).

The Adventurers--In-depth interviews with four women and men leading
intentionally from the metaphors of quantum physics, chaos science,
complexity theory, and life sciences. Application of leading-edge theory
to real-life leadership.

Contact Tom at tomheu@aol.com for more information.

Pamphlets are sent every 4-6 weeks in the spirit of sharing. If you do not
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-- 

"tom heuerman" <nate1@usinternet.com>

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