"Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The artist never entirely knows. We take leap after leap into the dark."

AGNES DE MILLE

OPENNESS: The Foundation of Authentic Leadership

In our work, whether it is with senior executives in large organizations, or "single-shingle" self-employed small business owners, this much written about topic consistently comes up as a common thread.

We contend that the characteristics of openness are the foundation of authentic leadership, and when integrated, allow all the other leadership traits like vision, strategic thinking, execution, catalyzing action, and others, to fluorish.

In his 1994 book, "Beyond Entrepreneurship", James Collins describes leadership as "the ability to articulate a vision and catalyze action around it". Intellectually, we get it. This is not rocket science. Simple, yes...Easy, no.

If we all can easily grasp and understand this concept of leadership, and if we simply followed the powerful Nike paradigm of "Just do it!" why is it that so many CEOs, managers, and business owners have yet to find themselves as successful as they would like?

Because, as the old saying goes - "The devil is in the details". Implementation is where it all breaks down. This is where coaching can help.


In the thousand-and-one "moments of truth" that come every day, how does one demonstrate the skills and abilities of a leader? It is our belief that the key capacities of a leader can be thought of as "openness" in the following way:


Openness to reality - not denying

As a leader, how committed are you to the value of truth-telling? How willing are your people to tell the truth about what is really going on? How often have your projects been delayed, repeatedly, and yet when planning another project, no additional time for delays gets built into the schedule? When new information arrives, is it integrated into plans and schedules, or do you just keep going?


Openness to change - not resisting

It is our deep belief that any sustainable organizational transformation starts with and is maintained by effective personal change. How open are you to new and different perspectives? How easy is it to give up a course of action you have committed to, even when the results are not there? How easy is it for you to be the one to change, rather than believing that if others or circumstances would change, things would work?


Openness to being in the unknown - not controlling

It is human nature to want to have power over our experience - to control events and outcomes. How willing are you as a leader to truly delegate authority and responsibility? Do you have faith in the judgement and skills of your teams? Do you allow for the creativity of your people to manifest? Can you tolerate, equally, the subsequent failures and successes inherent to that freedom of expression? How often do you begin a sentence with, "it should," "they should," or "he or she should."

To investigate your own level of openness as a practice, we invite you to consider these questions and offer our support in your exploration.

We suggest that as a leader, entrepreneur, or senior manager, every aspect of your activities, from each conversation you hold, to every single action you take demonstrates your leadership capacity and has an impact on the culture and success of your organization.

Our leadership development coaching is about bringing awareness to how our clients are really showing up today. For example, as a leader, how is he/she denying, resisting or controlling. And then with new practices, to integrate into ourselves the the behaviors of openness to change, to seeing reality as it is, and to being in the unknown with grace.


SUGGESTED READING
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It is always a risk to take on such a broad topic as leadership given the wealth of quality writings that abound on the topic. The books we suggest are intended for the leader to work with himself/herself. They introduce a level of rigor that will help keep the leader alert and focused on these principles and values of leadership.


DuPree, Max. Leadership Is an Art. New York: Doubleday, 1989
Max DuPree is the Chairman of the board of directors of Herman Miller, Inc. The book is invaluable, inspiring and credible.

Koestenbaum, Peter. Leadership: The Inner Side of Greatness. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991
The author develops a compelling case for his leadership diamond: Vision, Reality, Ethics and Courage.


Senge, Peter M. The Fifth Discipline. New York: Doubleday, 1990
Although billed as a ground-breaking work in organizational development, the chapter on Personal Mastery is a must read for any leader.


Wheatley, Margaret J., Leadership and the New Science. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1992
The author eloquently describes how we can live and work well together in chaotic times.


Copyright © 2001, all rights reserved.
Please feel free to copy or distribute this article along with this copyright notice and information about contacting authors Donna Fowler and Tim Van Slambrouck, Mindwalk Consulting, LLC. Contact them at info@mindwalk.net, or at (650) 344-4144.


Your recommendations and suggestions are welcome. This article has been published in an eNewsletter produced and distributed by Mindwalk Consulting. You can subscribe by emailing us at info@mindwalk.net.

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