Renewal Group
  • Blog
  • Guests
  • Events
  • Free Downloads
  • Renewalgroup.com

World View

4/5/2010

0 Comments

 
Picture
The world is and always has been a sophisticated and intricate tapestry of interdependencies. The first decade of the 21st. century has heightened and sharpened our awareness of this reality by exposing its beauty, complexity and fragileness.  Advances in telecommunications, medicine, and in the natural and social sciences have provided us the ability to experience the phenomena of interdependency at distances and depths never before seen or imagined. And as we continue to discover its intricacies and synergistic power, we are also experiencing the successes and failures of our attention or inattention to its principles and realities.

Fritjof Capra, in his book, The Web of Life, articulates this reality succinctly in the following quote:

“All living beings are members of ecological communities bound together in a network of interdependencies. When deep ecological perception becomes part of our daily awareness a radically new system of ethics emerges.”

   Every day the dynamic synergy and power of interdependence is at play and impacting the quality of our personal, professional and organizational experiences in small and large ways, noticed and unnoticed; we are part of an on-going experiment.

·      Parent – Child

·      Husband – Wife

·      Manager – Operator

·      Leader - Department manager

·      Sales Rep – Customer

·      Manufacturers – Employees – Suppliers - Consumers

A frequent refrain of, “I had no idea that what we (I) did would have this sort of impact” is symbolic of our growing awareness of the need for higher levels of consciousness to successfully navigate the challenges and intricacies of our interdependent world.  Fritjof Capra says “we are bound together”, and because we are, there is minimal tolerance for choosing to disregard or deny the principles of interdependence.  Leaders and teams that understand and behave as if they are “bound together” are far more productive and creative.

Literally hour-by-hour we acquire new insights into the interdependent architecture, which all systems are built upon, and begin to appreciate that our capacity to perform, sustain and thrive at our highest levels is directly related to the degree of respect we have for every part of the systems we live and work in.

Technology can assist us in attending to some of the requirements of interdependency, but it cannot comprehensively address the very essence of what it is and why it will contribute to our success or to our downfall. Technology can increase the speed and frequency of communication, eliminate the obstacles of physical distance and keep us informed. Yet, Imagine your team only communicating by email and text messages and never spending time together in the same room. One might mistakenly believe that this scenario is an acceptable alternative because it would save time, money and the people who don’t get along with each other wouldn’t have to be in the same room.  However, this scenario does not respect a core principle of interdependency - the need for human connectedness, and more specifically the capacity to build trust, which is the essence of interdependence.  Without relatedness and trust we cannot fully develop what Capra identifies as the perquisite for living in an interdependent world, “a radically new systems of ethics”.  Without a system of values and ethics that respect interdependence, teams and organizations cannot fully realize and capitalize on their full potential.

  All micro and macro systems must respect the principles of interdependence or suffer consequences. Families, teams, organizations, communities, states and nations are bound together and each has an effect on the other. What we do and how we do it, is tantamount to the quality of our experiences and endeavors, and ultimately to the success and significance of each other.

The Renewal Group’s expertise and focus on Relationship – Centered approaches to engagement, performance and leadership are based on the principles of interdependence. We facilitate the learning and integration of skills and competencies that equip individuals, teams and organizations to excel at creating and sustaining teams, networks and systems that are sensitive and effective in meeting the complex challenges of interdependency in the 21st. century.
0 Comments

Leadership

4/1/2010

0 Comments

 
Picture
Once again the media is full of stories of leadership gone wrong. Toyota captured our attention for weeks, but the history of automobile recalls is endemic to the industry; nothing new. Fortunately, there were no deaths associated to the problems of this recall. The loss of 29 lives at the Upper Big Branch mine appears to have been a tragedy that was avoidable. Unfortunately, this story is not new either. In 2001, 13 miners died, and in 2006, 12 people died.

The leaders on Wall street caused, and continue to do so, untold suffering and even documented suicides. The core reasons for this tragedy isn't any different than the story of Enron in 2001 and the savings and loan scandals of the late 1980's .

I will venture to say that the leaders of these companies are smart people. Many have degrees from the nations most prestigious universities and they get paid enormous amounts of money for their smartness, yet they have failed in the most basic and important way - they failed at the people part of their business. They choose to put at risk the quality of human life for a chance of increased profits. 

Every company makes decisions that will adversely affect people. They must make these decisions to remain profitable and in business; layoffs are painful and necessary, but these stories are different in a significant way. Profits in essence were not the issue; it was an obsession with profits. It's similar to a junkie who steals money from his mother's purse to get his next fix. I've listened to their rationalizations. I've got to relieve my "jones"; I'll pay her back when I get on my feet. Obsessed and addicted to drugs - obsessed and addicted to profits. As with all addictions it is not just the addict who is affected by their obsessed thinking and behavior; it impacts the entire village.

Most people are smart enough to learn from their mistakes and the mistakes of others, including CEO's, but we continue to make the same mistakes. And because of the highly interdependent world we live in, their mistakes ensnare thousands and in some cases millions of people. Leadership is at a critical juncture in this century. We will have to make difficult decisions, which will have serious consequences on people and profits. We will need more than smart leaders; we'll need outstanding leaders. Who understand that wealth is not a number at the end of a profit and loss statement that omits the health and well-being of their workforce, customers and community. It's time to insist on leadership that balances people and profits. 

The following article highlights the findings of a study that identifies the differences between good and outstanding leaders. I hope that it is helpful in creating meaningful dialogue on what we want and need from our leaders going forward.

0 Comments

    Follow us 
    Twitter
    LinkedIn
    Facebook 


    Enter your email address to subscribe


    RSS Feed


    About Us

    Our Purpose
    To provide leaders and organizations with the skills and tools to sustain optimal engagement, performance and competitiveness and cultures that afford all stakeholders the highest levels of safety and well-being.


    Events

    Time: April 26- 28, 2011
    Location: Evonik Industries Greensboro, NC, U.S.
    Quality Boot Camp 
    Creating a Department Mission and Vision Program



    Categories

    All
    About Us
    Audio
    Authenticity
    Bullying
    Carrots And Sticks
    Change
    Climate
    Communication
    Culture
    Egagement
    Emotional Intelligence
    Engagement
    Leadership
    Management
    Mindfulness
    Motiation
    Motivation
    Neuroscience
    Optimism
    Recognition
    Resiliency
    Return On Safety
    Rewards
    Safety
    Safety Culture
    Sales
    Strengths
    Stress
    Supervision
    Values
    Workforce Engagement
    Workforce Engagment
    World View

    Archives

    January 2018
    March 2017
    February 2017
    July 2016
    June 2016
    January 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    September 2013
    May 2013
    November 2012
    September 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.