In the "About The Leadership Challenge" section of this website you will find a brief description of The Five Practices Model. Here you will find more in-depth discussions of The Five Practices, updated every month with a new, lively point-of-view.

New: Making the Connection: The Leadership Challenge Practices and the Seven Habits, February 2009

The Five Practices
The Five Practices On Leadership, January 2009
By Shannon Rossman Allen
By Maureen O'Leary Pickard
By Steve Coats
By Craig Haptonstall, February 2008
By Beth High, November 2007
By Beth High, June 2006
By Barry Posner, March 2008
By Charles St. John, September 2006

Model the Way
By Peter Alduino, January 2006

Inspire a Shared Vision
By Christine Barnes, July 2008
By Steve Coats, May 2008
By Blair Forlaw, May 2007
By Craig Haptonstall, June 2007
By Michael Neiss, April 2008
By Michael Neiss, February 2006
By Valarie Willis, May 2006

Challenge the Process
By Dan Mulhern, November 2005
By Fine Points Professionals, October 2007
By Renee Harness, January 2007
Part I By Steve Coats, March 2007
Part II By Steve Coats, April 2007

Enable Others to Act
By Charles St. John, March 2006
By Dick Heller, July 2006
By Robert Thompson, April 2006

Encouraging the Heart
by Kim Chesky, July 2007
By Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, December 2005
By Renee Harness, January 2007

Leadership Reflections
Leadership: An Affair of the Heart by Steve Houchin, September 2007
December 2008: The Practice of Leadership

Other Thoughts on the Model
A Sustainable Leadership Challenge by Daren Blonski, November 2006
Credibility & Leadership: Reflections on the Nigerian Elections by Richard Obire, August 2007
Curiosity: What's out there? Who's in here? by Peter Alduino, June 2008
Loving Critics: The Importance of Feedback, January 2008
Me and My LPI by Sharon Landes, February 2007
Small Wins by Lisa Shannon, October 2006
The Leadership Challenge and Gallup's StrengthsFinder—What's the Difference? by Craig Haptonstall
The Leadership Challenge® launches in China, December 2006

 

 Inspire a Shared Vision by Steve Coats

How important is Inspiring?

Based on over twenty years of survey research, Kouzes and Posner have shown that there are four characteristics which people most consistently look for in the leaders they admire: honesty, competence, inspiring, and forward-looking.

Over the years I have shared these findings with thousands of aspiring leaders. And there is seldom, if ever, dissenting points of view about this ranking. Many may try to make the case that one of their personal favorites should be high on the list—be it supportive, fair-minded, or whatever. But, in the end, they recognize and concur that these four attributes are the most important characteristics of leadership.

On many occasions, I also have taken these findings a step further. In a completely unscientific fashion, I have asked people to rate themselves on how they believe they are doing in each of these four areas. For example, on a scale of 1 to 10, I ask participants to respond to questions such as, "How honest are you?," How competent?," and so forth.

How do you think people responded? Which do you think they typically rated the highest or lowest? Is there a wide spread between the two? What would your response look like?

The results I've seen form a fairly predictable pattern. The business people I predominately have worked with tend to rate themselves very high in honesty and competence, and much lower in forward-looking and inspiring (generally in that order). When asked directly, very few view themselves as inspiring and, in fact, many readily ante up evidence about how "uninspiring" they are. For some reason, they do not seem to be too concerned. It is as if being considered inspiring would be nice, but it is not anything to lose sleep over. They even argue that not everyone is destined to be a John Kennedy or a Martin Luther King.

I might add that they do not seem so cavalier about honesty and competence. And even though many do not rate themselves very high in forward-looking, they seem to accept that it is, indeed, essential for leaders. For some reason, however, inspiring is usually not viewed in the same light. Could these leaders be attempting to minimize a weakness they don't believe they can strengthen? Or is their perspective actually correct?

Remember that nearly 70% of all respondents to the Characteristics of Admired Leaders survey have indicated that inspiring is an attribute they most admire in a leader. Ironically, most of these self-admitted, non-inspiring businesspeople selected it as well.

So is Inspiring, as a key characteristic of leadership, really important? The answer may come from looking no further than Senator Barack Obama. Here is an individual who in mid-2007 (just 18 months before the Presidential election), was given little to no chance of being elected President of the United States, especially given the prominent position of his opponent, Senator Hillary Clinton. Nine months later, he was the front-runner. And if there has been one word used most frequently to explain his unexpected and perhaps miraculous rise, that word would be inspiring. In many people's eyes Barack Obama is inspiring - and that attribute, above the rest, is differentiating him from the pack and helping him in his run for the White House.

Through March 2008, Senator Clinton's attempts to sway voters in her direction by focusing on the issue of competence have yet to be proven successful. So, is competence important for leaders? You bet. But at least in the 2008 Democratic primary contest, so is inspiring.

No leader of a company or a country can be a one-trick pony. If Senator Obama is perceived to lack honesty, competence, and vision, his inspiring presence will not be nearly enough for him to win. But it will likely be "the difference" if the other attributes are not in question.

As we watch with interest how this all unfolds, there are a few key lessons to be learned. The first is that it is clear that a leader cannot discount the importance of being perceived as inspiring. People want to be inspired and energized about the future, and know that their leaders really care. These are the leaders they will more readily choose to follow. This means that those considered inspiring will have a leg up as leaders over those who are not. So do not overlook or minimize the importance of this attribute, just because it is not one of your strong suits. You will grow in your effectiveness as you work to make it a strength.

The other lesson is also very important and could be the subject of another article. Being inspiring is much more than simply being a gifted speaker. Having a golden tongue certainly is an asset, especially if you are running for public office. But it is not the only criteria for being inspiring. Funny thing, when you ask people to think about great speakers, they are quick to point out some well known names (including Kennedy and King). One name that never makes this list is Mother Theresa yet she is almost always at the top of the list of the most inspiring people. (And I am sure you can cite a number of other examples as well.) Perhaps we should give some thought as to why.

If being genuinely inspiring is not simply great oratory skills, then what else is it?

Examining this leadership characteristic from that perspective will reveal a variety of new options, beyond public speaking, which you can pursue in becoming more inspiring yourself. And that will serve you well on your leadership journey.

One of the leading authorities on The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership®, Steve Coats has been involved with The Leadership Challenge for over 20 years. A managing partner and co-owner of International Leadership Associates, a leadership development education and consulting firm, he can be reached at stevec@i-lead.com

 Inspire a Shared Vision by Michael Neiss

Crafting an Inspiring Vision to Drive Change

In my sessions with managers and leaders, I often ask attendees how much of their time they set aside during the previous week to think about and plan for their area of responsibility—three years out. After the nervous chuckles subside, it is clear that very few value long-term visioning over the demands for short-term results. Yet, in today's turbulent business world, vision or purpose is critical to driving the change necessary for excellence.

For instance, most of my clients identify innovation as a key strategy necessary for them to excel in their business. At the same time they often admit that they fall short in creating real innovation, citing historic practices and structure as the key barriers. To become innovative, substantial change is required. And that's where Inspiring a Shared Vision-one of the essential Five Practices-applies.

A powerful and compelling vision, delivered in an inspiring manner, is necessary to thaw out an organization's entrenched practices and drive the necessary changes in systems, and even, the culture. A great vision provides the courage necessary to change. It engages the discretionary efforts of the team. And most importantly, once it becomes shared, a great vision provides the determination and discipline to actually implement change.

Facilitators provide a great service to workshop participants and the sponsoring organization by setting aside sufficient time for attendees to complete a written draft of their vision statement. It takes time to help participants move beyond the initial tendency to state their vision as a three-year business plan full of metrics and, instead, actually breathe enough life into their vision to create a compelling picture of the possibilities.

For many workshop attendees, functioning in business environments that place the highest priority on execution and operational excellence, the need for a statement of ennobling possibilities can be seen as a 'nice-to-do,' not a 'must-do.' What is missed here is the simple dynamic that people execute when they are passionate about building something together that makes a difference.

Although time is always at a premium in workshops, the feedback I have received continues to confirm that creating an inspiring vision is the most useful takeaway for participants.

Max DePree, past CEO of my client Herman Miller, Inc. said it well, "Management has a lot to do with answers. Leadership is a function of questions. And the first question for a leader always is: 'Who do we intend to be?' Not 'What are we going to do?' but 'Who do we intend to be?'" The leadership journey often begins with answering that question.

Michael Neiss is a 25-year veteran in corporate management, OD and HR, and leadership consulting. A Master Facilitator of The Leadership Challenge® Workshop, he can be reached at mike@michaelneiss.com.

 The Five Practices by Barry Z. Posner

Be Leaders: Do Leadership

Learning about leadership is not the same as learning to be a leader. This "blinding flash of the obvious" comes after being a leadership scholar for more than 30 years and serving as a leader for much of that time. Too much of what I see in business education is teaching about leadership: leadership theories and concepts or social psychological concepts applied to leadership. What we should be teaching our students is how to be leaders.

Learning to be a leader doesn't happen enough. Don't get me wrong. Students do learn what is required to be a leader. But students—along with executives, public servants, clergy, physicians, etc.—can't be leaders by restricting their learning of leadership to the classroom. Just as medical students can't become surgeons by only operating on cadavers or elected officials can't make budget decisions without prioritizing among competing 'goods', our students can't learn to be leaders until they experience leading themselves.

Of course, that's the rub, and also the source of the familiar refrain, "I can teach about leadership, but only the student can learn it." Therefore, the reason we need to be doing things differently in our leadership curriculum is that leadership development is fundamentally the development of the inner self. Being a leader requires leading from within more than leading from outside.

Organizations can only pay people to manage; there are no intrinsic reasons for leading. In fact, it's hard to imagine people getting up day-after-day and putting in the countless hours required to get extraordinary things accomplished, unless they have their hearts in it.

Leadership is hard work. It is about going beyond a job description-like caring. From a missed meal or night of sleep, leadership also requires sacrifice if you want to make a difference. Does anyone tell their graduates that they can expect to get ahead in their careers or lives by working regular 9-to-5 hours?

In every leadership seminar I teach—whether undergraduate or graduate students, or practitioners—would-be leaders are required to go out and lead, and then come back and reflect on that experience in order to learn how to be a better leader. Of course, I offer ideas, concepts, techniques, and strategies in an effort to make the seminar assignment successful. But what participants don't always realize at the start is that (a) I really don't have anything to teach them that they don't already know, and (b) that becoming a better leader only happens in the 'doing' of leadership. The 'grade' on such an assignment is not a measure of their work output but comes from their reflections on what they learned from the experience (irrespective of the outcome), and what they would do differently given another opportunity.

My co-author, Jim Kouzes, and I talk about leadership practices because we know that it is only through disciplined practice that one can gain mastery. In this regard, talent is over-rated. Organizations will prosper more by gaining a 1 percent improvement in 100 people than they will by getting the most talented individual to do 100 percent better.

Another outcome of asking students and practitioners to 'do' leadership in order to learn to be better leaders is the value of their remarkable accomplishments-most of which would not have happened if these same individuals were not required to do something different. This leads to still another keen insight into leadership: there is no shortage of opportunities to lead and make a difference. (There's wisdom in the old adage, "Where there is a will, there is a way.")

It never fails to anger and frustrate me when asked, "Are leaders born or made?" Leadership is a skill. And while this set of abilities is normally distributed in a population just as any other talent is, it can be made (learned) in the same fashion as any other ability. But no amount of practicing and coaching can make up for the lack of desire, motivation, drive, or passion on the part of the individual to do better than they are currently doing. Which brings us full circle, where leadership begins inside of us as we try to figure out such questions as who am I, why do I do what I do, what's important to me, and the like.

The same challenge is equally applicable to higher education administration. We don't ask department chairs to be leaders, so the outcome is the same as teaching about leadership without doing it and reflecting on what was done as a leader.

We politely call them department chairs (perish the thought that we would be putting them on some pedestal), but they are more like bureaucrats (from a public administration perspective) or managers (using business jargon) than leaders. Where do we use the term "department leaders?" Isn't it true that few of our faculty want to become department chairs (let alone Deans!) or volunteer to "chair" their departments? Indeed, in a great Catch-22, we're mostly suspicious of anyone that would volunteer to be a department chair, wondering what "power trip" they might be on or what vendetta they want to pursue.

As leaders on our campuses we have often decried the "cosmopolitan" norms of the faculty who have been educated to be more concerned with and attuned to professional standards than to "local" or institutional considerations. Let's appreciate that there doesn't have to be a contest between these two orientations. The good work of the faculty in academic and professional communities serves the needs of our students for current and validated information. And the questions, issues, hypotheses and applications that students raise serves to heighten the richness and depth of faculty understanding and knowledge. After all, as often pointed out, if you really want to know a subject, try teaching it to others.

Figuring out what is important inside applies to the faculty, just as much as it does to our students. The plain truth is that most organizations conspire to make department chairs and others in hierarchical positions into managers. And they do this conspiratorially by keeping everyone so busy-barely managing to complete all the tasks already on their plates-that they don't have any time to lead. Putting out fires and dealing with matters that have happened in the past, managers are confined to responding to whatever is happening right now in front of them.

In this way, they deal more with "what" should I be doing than "why" should I be doing (anything). The future is the time domain of leaders: "What should I be doing today that will get us to where we want to be in the future?" is the leadership question.

Language also influences our thinking and behavior. At Santa Clara, we scrapped our traditional undergraduate and graduate policy committees in favor of leadership teams-as in the "Undergraduate LEADERSHIP Team." The same faculty members are still involved, but are now responsible for setting an annual agenda around what will make our program better, rather than simply making decisions around new courses, reviewing prerequisites, admissions standards, etc. (which, by the way, they still do). Just this shift in language has altered their perspective: from holding onto the status quo (managing) to figuring out what needs to be changed (leading). We're working hard to reduce the administrivia connected with department chairs' responsibilities so that they only have two leadership tasks: curriculum innovation and faculty development.

I'm often pointing out, with all due humility, that it is so much easier to write about leadership than it is to do leadership. But in this doing, in the being of leading, I am confident that I have become a more astute scholar about leadership and more insightful about how to liberate the leader within everyone.

Barry Z. Posner is Dean of the Leavey School of Business and Professor of Leadership at Santa Clara University where he has received numerous teaching and innovation awards. He is co-author of The Leadership Challenge.

: Loving Critics: The Importance of Feedback by Jim Kouzes

The late John Gardner, leadership scholar and presidential advisor, once remarked, "Pity the leader caught between unloving critics and uncritical lovers." I'm quite taken by this observation. It should be on a poster that hangs over every leader's desk-or a screen saver on their computers-and it should be read and contemplated several times a day.

None of us likes to hear the constant screeching of the harpies who have only foul things to say. At the same time, we never benefit from, nor truly believe, the sycophants whose flattery is so obviously aimed at gaining favor. To stay honest with ourselves, what we really need are "loving critics"-people who care deeply enough to give us honest feedback about how we're doing.

According to research Barry Posner and I have conducted over the years, credibility is at the foundation of leadership. From a behavioral perspective, credibility is about "doing what you say you will do." But how can you do what you say if you don't know how you're doing? If you never ask for feedback on your behavior and on how your behavior affects how others are doing, how can you really expect to align your words and your actions over the long haul?

There's solid evidence that the best leaders are highly attuned to what's going on inside of them as they are leading, as well as what's going on with others. They're very self-aware and they're very socially aware. They can tell in short order whether they've done something that has enabled someone to perform at a higher level or whether they've sent motivation heading south.

Setting up a system for getting regular feedback (the equivalent of the dashboard) and paying attention to that feedback will help a leader more effectively move the organization forward. All leaders want to have a positive impact on performance. It's part of their legacy. The only way they can know if they're having the desired impact is to get regular feedback on how they're doing.

In addition to the annual 360-degree assessment, try this the next time you're in a meeting. Begin by asking, "How am I doing?" More than likely you'll be greeted with stunned silence—a sure sign folks are not used to being asked this question by you (or anyone else) and are uncomfortable in responding. But if you wait long enough some brave soul may venture an honest response. When she or he does, immediately recognize him or her for showing some courage, and tell the rest of the group, "That's what we need more of around here. More loving critics."

Jim Kouzes is a highly regarded leadership scholar, experienced executive, and coauthor (with Barry Posner) of The Leadership Challenge. He also is Dean's Executive Professor of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University and has been cited by The Wall Street Journal as one of the twelve best executive educators in the U.S.

 Challenge the Process by Fine Points Professionals

Challenge the Process and Reap the Rewards

Have you ever been in a work environment where you heard someone say, "That's not my job!" Or perhaps, you wanted to say it yourself. Sometimes restrictions are placed on us by employers and sometimes we are content to stay inside a self-imposed "assumed" role and never venture out to see what lies beyond.

As owners of Fine Points Professionals, we have worked with the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) since 1997 and in 2004 started our present business, an Authorized Service Center for The Leadership Challenge® Workshop. We have grown passionate about the LPI and The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership®. Now, we specialize in administrating the LPI. Our initial business vision included three goals: 1) to provide stellar service to our clients, 2) for us and our employees to be blessed by the growth of our company, and 3) to look outwardly for sharing those blessings with others.

Which brings us back to "that's not my job"! In the fall of 2006 we brainstormed whether an LPI administration company could actually promote and present—free-of-charge—a public Leadership Challenge® Workshop to non-profit groups and public servants in our community. Could we challenge the process we had established for ourselves and produce the whole pie instead of one piece of it? We were now motivated to find a location, a facilitator (our good friend and Master Facilitator Steve Houchin), and fill the seats with people who really wanted to be there, but couldn't afford to attend under other circumstances.

That's when "not my job" became "let's do it!" and, eventually, the vision became reality. Gathered in a meeting room were fire fighters, police officers, clergy, professors, community center directors, teachers, missionaries, city officials—most of them from jobs where they serve their communities and fellow citizens. At Fine Points, we had attempted to expose these types of leaders to The Five Practices in the past, but felt like money was always the proverbial brick wall for them. To finally see 22 people who give of themselves selflessly on a daily basis learn about leadership was truly a dream come true for us.

A common practice at the workshop is to provide participants a choice of fun toys/rewards to use creatively to acknowledge people for something they've done. The first afternoon a woman presented us with a mini basketball hoop and ball and said "If this afternoon is anything like this morning, you've made a slam dunk." Inside, we breathed a huge sigh of relief—YES! Finally, we had received the sort of response for which we had been hoping. More comments followed after Day 2:

"The LPI was a wonderful way to hear helpful and constructive criticism in a non-threatening and yet honest way."

"To be honest, this was one of the most practical approaches to leadership. It was fantastic and enlightening."

"It's the best leadership seminar I have ever experienced."

The participants engaged in learning and for many it was life changing. Fire fighters went back to work with a renewed sense of team building and appreciation for their counterparts in the police force. Teachers returned to their troubled school districts with new ideas of how to enable parents to be more involved and more positive influences in their childrens' lives. Clergy went back to their places of worship inspired to take further action to encourage their parishioners. Community leaders returned to their organizations with a renewed desire to help their communities engage with each other to solve problems. For all of these people, change had occurred.

Whatever sacrifices we made as a compan—financial resources, time, energy—were immediately worth it. It is interesting to realize that when we push ourselves to do something that is somewhat uncomfortable or unknown, we end up feeling empowered. For Fine Points Professionals, "that's not my job" has changed to "let's do it!" And for all of those who attended the workshop, we strongly hope that they will have the courage to venture out of their self-imposed "assumed" roles as well, and impact those around them in a positive way.

   

   

Amy Savage, Carol Wolper and Cheryl Boys are co-founders and owners of Fine Points Professionals, Ltd. The Leadership Challenge Authorized service provider for administration of The Leadership Challenge® Workshop. For more information, visit www.finepointsprofessionals.com.

 Leadership: An Affair of the Heart by Steve Houchin

For years we have stated that while management is an affair of the head, leadership is an affair of the heart. Today, neuroscience is proving us right!

When we have a direct experience, nerve impulses travel first to the enteric nervous system—literally a second brain in our intestines—that produces an instant gut reaction (what we might call 'butterflies'). Next stop for the impulses are the baroreceptors in the heart, or the third brain. The brain in the heart communicates to the rest of the body in a number of ways, one of which is a chemical messenger in the hormonal system called atrial peptide, a principle driver of motivated behavior (the goal of every leader!). Neural messages travel to the brain in our heads to be "thought about" after they have been sensed and interpreted by the intestines and the heart.

What does this mean for leaders? First, whenever you confront important issues and before deciding on a course of action, ask yourself what your gut and heart are telling you in addition to what your head might think. Purposeful, committed action requires an alignment between your head and heart.

Second, messages to constituents must be connected to the heart and gut, reflecting your true feelings. Since behavior is so heavily influenced by what we feel, any perceived disconnect between words and real feelings often makes us appear untrustworthy and damages our credibility—the essential foundation of effective leadership. Constituents believe in the authenticity of leadership when true feelings and beliefs, spoken and written communications, and actions are all in sync.

Third, important messages about vision, strategy, or change must first invoke a positive feeling in the guts and hearts of constituents. If not, your words likely will be interpreted negatively by the message centers in their brains, resulting in the all-too-familiar "resistance to change" syndrome.

Finding your unique leadership voice-one that consistently inspires high levels of performance by constituents&151;is a significant "leadership challenge" but one worthy of your best efforts. One way to get started is to reflect on the following thought questions:

• Do you characterize yourself as a rational decision maker or someone who tends to go with your gut feeling? The next time you are making an important decision, listen to what both your gut and brain may be telling you and try to bring them into alignment.
• Am I an authentic leader? Do my constituents really know what I feel and believe what they hear and see? Is there anything about me that I could change to improve my credibility in the eyes of my followers?
• Recall the last important message you received from your leader(s). Did you understand, agree, or even care? Did you enthusiastically take the appropriate action called for? If yes, what about the leader or what did the leader say or do that inspired your positive response? How can you use this experience to improve your own communication? If no, what specifically can you learn from the experience to avoid or change?

Successful leaders have discovered that they must first listen to their own heart, be comfortable with who they are, and ensure that their words and actions are consistent with both what they believe and their authentic selves. Only then can they can win the hearts and minds of their constituents.

Steve Houchin, an 18-year veteran of corporate HR and executive leadership, is an owner and Managing Partner of International Leadership Associates, the leadership development firm that has presented The Leadership Challenge® Workshop to organizations, large and small, for over 15 years. He can be reached at shouchin@i-lead.com.

I

 Generation Me: Encouraging the Heart by Kim Chesky

Workforce of the Future
Everywhere you turn there is another article written about the looming impact of retiring baby boomers. According to the Conference Board, as many as 64 million skilled workers will be eligible to retire by the year 2010. That is a staggering number, to be sure.

I don't know about you, but this impending labor crunch keeps many of my clients awake at night wondering just who will replace this mass of retiring baby boomers. Their children (or in some cases grandchildren) will, that's who.

Often referred to as Generation Y, the Millennium Generation, or Generation Me, these 18- to-24-year-olds are the newest members of the workforce and represent the future of leadership for our organizations. Bringing to the workplace vastly different expectations about work, life balance, social conscious, and what it means to succeed in a career, these twenty-somethings stand in stark contrast to the boomers they are replacing. Although sometimes maligned for lacking loyalty and the work ethic of their parents, nothing could be farther from the truth. Members of Generation Y are very knowledgeable, have spent their lives surrounded by technology, are well connected to information and a vast social network, and are capable of being highly productive.

So what makes this group different? Like generations before, Generation Me has been shaped by experience. They witnessed 9/11 and the shootings at Columbine which, together, demonstrated how vulnerable life is to unpredictable events and how suddenly tragedy can bring life to an abrupt end. Their views on loyalty have been shaped by the corporate "right-sizings" that victimized their parents, friends and neighbors. Global warming and other environmental and health issues have raised their social conscious. Often raised in dual income households in relative affluence, Gen-Yers were taught to believe that they could do or become anything they wanted. Instead of punishment, boomer parents worked to build self-esteem in their children by showering them with coaching, attention, and praise.

Kim Chesky is the founder and learning partner for Human Performance Solutions, an organization dedicated to helping clients enhance individual, team, and organizational effectiveness. He is also a Master Facilitator of The Leadership Challenge® Workshop. Kim enjoys spending time with his family, cooking, reading, coaching, and refereeing youth athletics and continuing his pursuit of life-long learning. Email him.

The Implication for Leaders
Generation Me can be high maintenance. Their expectations are high. They want interesting, well-paying jobs. They demand life-balance, flexible work arrangements, and want to live life to the fullest. They will leave a job if they feel they have stopped learning and growing. They are very productive, knowledgeable, independent, and technologically savvy. They see work as a job and not a career. And most importantly, they want and expect frequent, positive praise and encouragement for their work.

To win the war for talent, it is critical for leaders and organizations to understand and meet the needs and wants of this Generation Me workforce:

• Build a great place to work where associates are satisfied and engaged
• Deliver challenging and interesting job assignments and create opportunities to learn and grow
• Create and communicate a compelling vision of the future
• Provide regular, effective, frequent recognition, praise and encouragement

Isn't it Amazing?

Encouraging the Heart practices not only meet the needs of members of Generation Me, they address a universal need for recognition. In study after study, employees at all levels and generations indicate that they value, need, and want recognition.

One of the fundamental practices of an outstanding workplace, Encouraging the Heart is essential for retaining quality associates. And yet I am continually amazed by leaders who tell me that they don't believe in encouraging associates. Their list of reasons and excuses are endless . . .

"Why should I do that . . . it's their job, I pay them for it."

"Who has time for that fluffy stuff?"

"I don't see people doing anything all that worthy of encouragement"

or my personal favorite . . .

"If I do it too often it will lose its effectiveness" . . . as if recognition was something to be rationed and horded.

How do the leaders in your organization view encouraging? Do they embrace and model the right behaviors? Or do they think of it as soft fluffy stuff?

Making the Case for Change
What keeps leaders from encouraging the heart? What is the fundamental difference between leaders who encourage and those who don't? The answer lies in the leader's beliefs about recognition.

Changing beliefs changes behaviors. My leadership coaching experience shows that in order to get a leader to become better encouragers I first have to change this leader's beliefs about encouraging. A leader who believes that recognition is unnecessary (i.e., soft fluffy stuff) will have a hard time becoming an effective encourager.

So, how do you change beliefs about encouraging the heart? One way is to appeal to our rational side and paint a straightforward, practical, and compelling business case for Encouraging the Heart. The argument is simple: associates drive customer satisfaction and loyalty in organizations, and the secret to taking great care of customers starts by taking excellent care of associates. Creating a compelling place to work is essential to taking care of customers as well as attracting and retaining talented people. Research by Gallup Inc. and others has shown that encouraging the heart is an essential ingredient for a great workplace.

Another approach is to provide opportunities for leaders to learn from their Encouraging the Heart experiences. If taking care of the customer isn't enough reason to become an expert encourager, think about the impact that encouraging has on reinforcing the behaviors and values you need and expect from associates. How do associates know what is expected of them? How do they know that they are delivering what you want? How do you get more of the behaviors you want and less of the ones you don't? The answer is simple. Get out from behind the desk, catch people doing something right, and tell them about it. It is that straightforward and that effective.

I often give leaders who are struggling with Encouraging the Heart a simple assignment: for two consecutive weeks, their task is to find at least two opportunities each day to encourage others-either in the workplace or in their personal life. Leaders are instructed to practice the seven essentials and then reflect and journal their experiences. It is interesting what leaders discover when we talk about their insights and observations. They find that encouraging doesn't take a lot of time and the impact on others is very positive. They discover that the more they do it the better and more effective they become and that there are benefits to providing ongoing encouragement.

The case for Encouraging the Heart is compelling: greater associate and customer satisfaction combined with the ability to attract and retain the best talent. Whether using these fundamental practices to nurture and support future Gen-Y leaders and innovators or to bring out the creativity of current workforce Baby Boomers, leaders and managers that can demonstrate often a sincere appreciation for individual and team excellence will move their organizations forward in creating an employer-of-choice workplace and win the war for talent.

This article was inspired by an NPR broadcast by Chana Joffe-Walt that aired in late May. Listen now.

: A Sustainable Leadership Challenge by Daren Blonski

For those of you who haven't seen the documentary, An Inconvenient Truth featuring Al Gore, it highlights the Earth's immediate climate crisis. With all due respect, the film is moving, but it should not take a dramatized documentary for us to realize the crisis we face. Clearly, we have an effect on our environment-scientific data leaves no other conclusion. Part of the problem is that we utilize our environment with no regard for it. In addition to the consequences of global warming, environmental resources will become scarce as the world's population increases. Census data tells us that the world's population is currently six and a half billion and is expected to reach nine billion by 2050. At what point will the earth no longer be able to support its population? No one really knows.

For Generation X, there are many impending catastrophic issues. Unless we change "business as usual" and take a collective global stand against the degradation of the environment, our doom is sealed. Although I believe greatly in the resilience of the human spirit and our ability to intervene, one cannot help but wonder if we will reach a point where there are no more opportunities for intervention.

The only solution to the environment/population collision starts with you and me. Whether a CEO of a Fortune 100 Company or a member of the local community action group, you should have a vested interest in finding ways to shift our current path. The solution is complex, and each of us needs to be a leader in the process. As The Leadership Challenge states "Leadership is Everyone's Business." Leadership is the ticket to a sustainable future.

The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership®, provide us with an ideal framework to enlist others to want this sustainable future:

• Model the Way - Learning to Model the Way is essential to any leader's success. To be an effective leader you must be a shining example of the message you intend to deliver. Leadership is inherently about relationships and is experienced through various forms of communication. Modeling the Way is about communicating your message from a place of integrity. Leading others to a sustainable future means that first we must live in a sustainable way.
• Inspire a Shared Vision - Changing our attitude toward the environment is going to take an incredible adjustment in the way we currently think. No longer will we be able to wash pollutants downstream and think that they will never show up in drinking water. Nor will we be able to continue to cut down our trees and think that it does not have an effect on the ozone layer and eventually temperatures around the world. We need to understand that we live in an interconnected world. The leaders of today and tomorrow must Inspire a Shared Vision of interconnectedness. A simple solution that would provide some relief would be to buy the things we need, and not the things we want. Ninety percent of what we think we need is more realistically only what we want. I envision a world where we all lust after a little less, knowing that we will, in the end, all get a little more.
• Challenge the Process - Each of us has the power to adjust how we live. In The Five Practices® this is called Challenge the Process. Creating a sustainable future is all about challenging our current patterns of behavior. We can all make a little difference in our day-to-day lives. It is no secret that many companies create products that they know will be obsolete in a short amount of time. It is time to start creating socially responsible products that will not intentionally end up in land fills. Perhaps you are the head of a large company, faced with making a tough decision that would decrease your profits slightly, but would greatly benefit the climate. Will we step up to the challenge, or will we wait until the world is no longer inhabitable?
• Enable Others to Act - When I speak of sustainability, I am not talking about left or right political agendas. In order for an effective sustainable movement to take place, all parties need to embrace the values of sustainability. Consuming less simply needs to become the "cool" thing to do. All who depend on air and water to live have a vested interest in embracing principles of collaboration and "green-ness." We need to empower each other to act responsibly, helping others to understand and to behave in ways that give thought for the future.
• Encourage the Heart - The first unit of change is the heart! In The Leadership Challenge this practice is called Encourage the Heart. Effective leaders must recognize, appreciate, and celebrate the success of those whose efforts have made a difference. Doing so will build the desire to continue along a path that re-creates a world that will sustain us for generations to come.

One of the Master Facilitators for the Leadership Challenge® Workshop, Sharon Landes, concludes her two day sessions by reciting a piece from the Hopi Elders. This powerful statement provides a few moments of self-reflection and consideration of personal responsibility.

You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour.
Now you must go back and tell the people that this is The Hour.

Here are the things that must be considered:
    Where are you living?
    What are you doing?
    What are your relationships?
    Are you in right relation?
    Where is your water?
    Know our garden.
    It is time to speak your Truth.
    Create your community.
    Be good to each other.
    And do not look outside yourself for the leader.

This could be a good time!

There is a river flowing now very fast.
It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid.
They will try to hold on to the shore.
They will feel like they are being torn apart, and they will suffer greatly.

Know the river has its destination.

The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off toward the middle of
the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water.

See who is there with you and celebrate.

At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all
ourselves! For the moment we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

The time of the lonely wolf is over.
Gather yourselves!

Banish the word struggle from your attitude and vocabulary.

All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.

The Elders,
Oraibi, Arizona
Hopi Nation

We have a pending crisis on our hands. Waiting for others to solve it will not work. What legacy will you leave? Will you step up to make a sustainable difference in your community?

Daren Blonski is a consultant working for Sonoma Learning Systems, an authorized affiliate of the Leadership Challenge. Daren studied at UC Davis where he received his bachelors in Organizational Studies. His passions are leadership philosophy and entrepreneurship. He enjoys spending time with his wife Shae and finding adventures outdoors. He can be