BY FREDRIC LEHRMAN

Chief in the New Context

I want to talk to you about being a leader in a new context. When we think about being the CEO, the boss, the manager, it sets off old authoritarian pictures in our heads. We think of the boss as being a kind of parent, and our old associations with our family quickly start to color our behavior in this role.

We live in changing times, and I am convinced that cultural change is influenced by deep instincts and intuitions which warn us that to continue running our businesses in the old way is becoming very dangerous. What appeared to work in the short term is now seen to be much too expensive in the long run.

As the world becomes smaller through greater interconnectivity and accelerated communications, we are noticing that what might have been a good idea in a less informed world would now be revealed as shortsighted. There is a fundamental shift towards sustainability and conservation of resources going on at all levels of business, society, and family. The essence of that new context is cooperation and support as superior to competition and domination.

Key to Success

The key to success as defined in this course is personal responsibility for the things that we cause and the things we find ourselves engaged in. Our simple presence as an observer is an influence in every situation. The new leader is driven not so much by a desire for power as by a willingness to engage responsibly in the shaping of a goal.

New Leadership is a function in a cooperative process rather than a position of control or command. Just as a ship without a compass can easily go off course, a project without a leader can lose focus in personal agendas. It is the role of the leader to create a vector, an alignment that enhances everyone’s talent and productivity.

What is the “leadership function” and how does it fit into your work and your life? As each person is unique, so each person must have a unique style of leading. What I want to discover with you is that unique style which only you can perfect. It is your original voice and way of being which will be your most effective card in the game of leadership.

In order to be very clear about this, I want to say that most of us have been operating under an illusion all of our lives. We have been playing a role, which isn’t our own. Our habits of posture, movement, and voice are artifacts of family dynamics and childhood environment, and of social trends and styles that are constantly changing. Underneath this mask is the unique person that you really are, who is more than just a subtype of your family and society. The opportunity of leadership is to learn to use this deeper and greater aspect of yourself in a public way.

The Secret of Charisma

This is the secret of charisma. As a photographer, I watch for the unguarded moment when the real person appears. As a musician, I listen for the intelligence and the sensitivity, which lies behind the notes, behind the technique. In addition to making good choices in strategy and giving good direction, a leader at any level of business or community is called upon to access those deeper qualities. Let’s call this factor “authenticity.” It is this element that gives the added edge to each action, reinforces in each member of the team a feeling of their own self-essence and inspires a wish to do good work.

Away From the Machine Model

As part of the new paradigm, we are moving away from the machine model of organizations where each person is just a moving part. Now we see each individual as a contributing force in an organic whole. The Old Leader ordered people to do things. The New Leader creates opportunities and challenges, which initiate a change of role in the individual worker towards a common effort.

A welder at home with the children will look like any other parent; but on the job it is appropriate to wear a mask and heavy gloves. In the same way a leader will adapt to the task at hand, always conscious of the responsibility which comes with the position and being willing to “wear the mantel.”

Artistic Aspect of Leadership

There is an artistic aspect to being a leader that involves using yourself like a fine instrument. This is easy and exciting for some, but very challenging for others, because they were pushed back into themselves as children and are not yet sure that it is safe to come out. In our advanced residential workshops we explore this. The surprising thing for most people is the discovery that they don’t have to change much to become very effective as leaders.

The adjustments are subtle, often involving no more than a slight adjustment of posture, a relaxation of certain muscles, an easing of the throat along with a moderate amplification of the voice. It is wonderful to see people surprising themselves with their newly accessed power. And once this behavioral threshold has been crossed, it is so pleasurable that it often settles in as a permanent shift.

Being A Winner

In my money seminars I talk about being a winner in a community of winners. Here you are a leader in a community of leaders. As a leader or a supporter in the new model, you must also be a good team player. The fully realized person doesn’t look for anyone to follow because they don’t expect anyone to do their vision for them. At the same time, they know that they don’t have to do it alone. Part of the new paradigm is “I do it right and everybody wins.” This is one of the major differences in the way companies will function and be structured from now on.

The old model, which is “I’m the boss and you do what I say,” can’t work any more. That’s the dinosaur, which is about to become extinct. So my sense is that what we are all looking for is a group of competent, committed, purpose- driven people who can pool their talents and work off each other’s strengths. For example, I am not an expert in business plans: it’s not the thing I like to think about all night. But I can do one if I have to.

And that’s important to know. If your car breaks down, can you fix it, even though you don’t like to work on cars? To know that you can is very important. But when you find someone who “likes” to work on cars, and whose part of the team, well that’s really great. They can say, “Look, I’ll become the leader at this point. Everybody get out of the way and let me fix the car.” When you are building your office, this is the spirit of it, that you have a whole crew of leaders there.

Introducing The Chief

The title of this section is “What does it mean to be the chief”? If you are the CEO of your particular office what does the “C” stand for? It means “chief.” So let’s look at what it really means. The word chief is the same as the word chef. In a kitchen you have the chef and the sous-chef and the pastry chef, there are all kind of chefs in there and right down to the chief dishwasher.

Basically the word just means “head.” It comes through several languages, as capo, cabeza, and kopf. Or there is the variant of chapeau, which means hat or cap. The chief is really the head. So what that means is that it’s the part of the system, which gives the direction. But it doesn’t operate alone; disembodied heads don’t work too well.

Head and Body

So the issue between the head and the body is the issue between the chief and the corporation. In Western industrialized culture we don’t generally have a good relationship with our bodies. This struggle for control is expressed in the way our corporate structures have been designed and operated.

So much importance is given to the head; the rest of the body is secondary. In the old business culture, everything every thing was for the benefit of the “ego” aspect of the company. No matter what is said, there’s always this implication of “Well, we’re going to be tougher and stronger than you.” This warlike aspect dominates the value system. We’ve reached the point where, at this millennial crossing, to continue that way is very hazardous.

Gender Issues

Gender issues affect everyone; each individual has masculine strengths and feminine strengths and the balance of them is the most important thing. But culturally, in the patriarchal system, you get to the place where you realize that there’s a very interesting double bind going on: if we continue to indulge in our survival instincts, we will destroy ourselves.

Win-Win Strategies

So now, the survival instinct itself has to turn around, to try to re-form into something more cooperative. Survival now means going from the competitive to the cooperative. That’s why I say “only you can do it and you don’t have to do it alone.” If we win, I win. But if I win and you lose, then I didn’t really win.

It’s really different in the matriarchal style of management. It’s taken a lot of time for the traditional business sector to recognize this, but its time has come; anything else is global suicide. Human culture is about to make this evolutionary choice, which Buckminster Fuller identified as “Utopia or Oblivion.”

This is also intrinsically bound up with our notions of power and of ability. Being in a position of responsibility without having the ability to do the job is very uncomfortable. Power without wisdom is ultimately dangerous.

Everyone Has Power

Everyone has power. The fact that you’re breathing means the switch is on. That’s the power I’m talking about, the one we take for granted. The old way of managing power is to first try to amass a kind of hard strength. And you say “o.k. I’m really strong and it’s me against the world. And the stronger I am the more power I have.”

That’s the old way. The new way is to say “I am alive in an ocean of power: let it use me.” See how much easier that is? You didn’t have to wake up in the morning by throwing a switch. You just woke up! That’s the first sign that power is using you. The power is ambient. We are simply nodes where it concentrates. It charges as we breathe in and out.

Just go back and read the old Chinese Taoist writings; it’s very clear there. All the old spiritual masters knew this. The more you relax into the power the more you will discover your “homing device” like a salmon returning from the sea. You can ask “What’s my vision and how does that fit into our project, our company’s vision?” You’re going to find yourself moved to exactly where you need to be. You’ll be in rhythm and you’ll be in the flow.

The Old Paradigm Chief

Now it’s confusing when you are the chief and people expect you to play the game the old way. They expect you to be the patriarch or the boss, even if you’re a woman. The old Industrial barons had all those factories and people slaving at the assembly line, getting exhausted and burned out. It was like an engine that they didn’t feel they had to take care of because the parts could be replaced. That is never going to work again as a management strategy.

Part of your job now as the chief is to teach people how they can operate in their own certainty, to empower rather than to dominate and control. So the smart thing in business, if you really want to make money in business, is to start supporting the well being of your entire organization. The way to be successful now is to nurture people, not to drain them.

Now understanding this verbally is good, but experiencing the truth of it directly is a thing that you want to start relaxing into and testing out. I’ll give you certain characteristics, which are necessary in order to be an effective leader in this New Economic Order System (NEOS).

Principles of Leadership and Something of Value

A first principle of leadership is to have something of value that you want people to have or get. That’s your motivator that you have something to give. So anytime you get a little stuck in your old “uniform” with all the epaulettes and medals, just stop and remind yourself that that’s the old leadership model. Stop and say “Alright, what am I here for? What do I have that I really want people to experience and get?” Whether it’s a good product, or a better state of mind, or more money, concentrate on the giving side of the equation.

Your Mission

There’s something there that’s part of your mission. A mission is what you were sent to do. That’s what the word actually means- something sent you to do that. So come back again and again to the question “What’s the gift that I’m trying to deliver to people?”

Commitment to Excellence

A second principle of leadership is a personal commitment to excellence. No job is “just a job.” It is also, always, an opportunity to grow, to improve, and to achieve mastery. Only when this example is being demonstrated from the top down will it permeate and energize an organization.

No Defense

The third characteristic of the new leadership is subtler. It’s called “No Defense.” Part of the old model is to defend your position at all costs. So the moment you feel someone’s criticizing you or doesn’t like the way you’re doing things, you get defensive about it. You immediately step out of the NEOS back into the old model.

It takes a lot of personal development to be able to drop the defensiveness and still know that you’re safe. I studied T’ai Chi for years and years and years to learn this. The Course in Miracles says, “If I defend myself I am attacked.” T’ai Chi principle says, “Relax and no one can attack you.” The same insights appear over and over again in widely different cultures.

Allow Feedback and Criticism

To let in feedback and criticism, you don’t have to fall apart and fold and just say “oh my God I’m sorry I made such a terrible mistake”, but let people tell you what they have to tell you and realize that this is only going to improve the situation. You must remind yourself to be open because when you’re not you go right back into the old model of trying to always be right. Then even the most talented people who are trying to support you will get frustrated with you.

If you do these two steps, then you will actually be functioning like the head of a horse. You’ll be the orientation, showing which way the horse going to go, which will allow others people’s energy to fall in to line and integrate into synergy. And that’s what exciting, when you feel that your particular job is actually part of some bigger picture. Then you feel, “I have a meaning, I have a function in a larger plan.” This is what everybody wants. You as chief have to provide the space where people can discover that.

Be Willing to Be the Leader

The fourth requirement for being the chief in the new environment is often skipped over because it seems obvious. It involves making a conscious and impersonal decision to be willing to take the role of leader. Now what does it mean to take the role of leader?

This is where the old and the new cross over. Sometimes people are so cool and laid back, that they sit in the leader’s chair and act like they are just there by accident. And that doesn’t make anybody happy. In the old paradigm, the robe of authority was quite literal, a distinguishing visual signal, whether a uniform, a badge, or a name on the door. In the new paradigm, the most effective signal is behavioral, and harks back to basic gestures common to all species.

Among wolves, for example, the leader stands tall and the other wolves yield in a way, which works best for the whole pack. Humans are not very different. We want our leaders to speak out, to inhabit themselves fully, to project. In the insect world and the animal world there’s an intricate signaling system to assume the role of leader of the pack. You either have to practice it by literally standing tall, or you can be tall inside, even if outside you are lounging around. It works both ways.

It’s not a formula; it’s not “Toastmasters” that I’m talking about here. It’s an “innerstanding.” As the leader you are allowed and even expected to speak twice as loud as everyone else. You know how frustrating it is when somebody gets up and they start to lead and they’re just kind of talking along like this (tone example – mumbled), it doesn’t really work. I mean it works, but it works better (tone example – pronounced and more clear, louder) if I talk like this.

This doesn’t seem too loud, but if I were in a conversation with you I wouldn’t talk this way. I’m in the leader/teacher role, that’s all. But it doesn’t mean that I identify with that, in the old way of saying, “I’m in charge here, so be afraid of me!”

The opposite is also true. There are people who dominate by just quieting down. (Tone example – very low volume) They just sit back and you’ve got to lean forward to hear what they say, kind of like Marlon Brando in The Godfather. It’s just as effective… as long as you can still be heard. But you see, it’s “twice as,”- either twice as loud or twice as soft. And even this style requires that you express yourself with certainty and assurance rather than timidity or doubt.

So you want to practice that. When I train seminar leaders, I always see them get up and try to be just their normal selves. It doesn’t work. You have to be yourself as the leader; you have to take that role of leader. The details of style will change. Sometimes you’ll speak faster, sometimes slower. Play with it, eventually you’ll find your pace, your rhythm, your stride.

Body History and Story

Another aspect of what we’ve been looking at is that your body has a history. You may stand up there and say what you want to say, but your body may be communicating a whole different story. For example, some people walk around in a victim attitude all the time and they don’t even realize it. You look at them coming down the street and what you pick up from them from a long distance away is a complaint, or anger, or sadness.

They’re saying, “look what you did to me.” They go around all day like that. They’re still communicating with their father or their mother or someone else who isn’t even there any more, without being aware of it. It’s built into the body as a gesture, a habit.

Almost all of us have this or some other unconscious attitude, which comes through us to some extent. If the history is there it doesn’t have to be repressed. When you are in touch with it, then it doesn’t get in the way. If the person is willing to say, “I’ve had problems just like everybody else, but I’m going to be the leader now and I’m going to do my best,” you will immediately support them.

Principles of Being the Chief

So to summarize: the four principles of being the Chief in the new paradigm are:

1. Have something of value which you wish to give
2. Be committed to excellence
3. Operate with openness to feedback: No Defense
4. Be willing to assume the behavior of a leader

Optimism and Belief in the Future

The last thing I want to talk about is optimism and belief in the future. As a leader you want to balance being realistic with being open to new possibilities. In the new paradigm change is continuous and good. If you only do what worked before you will soon be obsolete. So you must always accept a certain amount of risk while avoiding a tendency to be impractical or overly idealistic.

Your project or venture will be at its most exciting creative edge when it itself becomes a pioneer in its field. In this way everyone in the project is identified with the leadership function. You will all join together into a coherent organism, like the dragon in the Chinese New Year Celebration, which consists of a big dragon mask and a long cloth body carried by many people. Everyone has to move individually but with one mind to make the dragon dance realistically. And when the person in the front becomes tired, someone else can switch places temporarily while the dance continues.

Now imagine that your company is this dragon, and that the dragon is real. Let the combined knowledge and intelligence and skills of all the dancers fuse into a synergy of talent. Like the traditional Chinese dragons that chase the pearl of wisdom, let this dragonmind lead you all towards the pearl of success, which draws you, like a magnet, to the future.

In summary, what does it mean to be the chief in the new paradigm?

1. Come to serve rather than to be served
2. Bring something of value to give or represent
3. Inspire excellence by being committed to it in yourself
4. Stay open to feedback without being directed by it
5. Be willing to take the role of leader without making it your identity
6. Remember that success of a venture implies success for all participants.

INSPIRED BY STEVEN COVEY

Stephen Covey has written several great books and audio seminars including the “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” and “Principle-Centered Leadership.” We highly recommend both of these for your continuing education.

In his “Principle-Centered Leadership” he discusses the ten dilemmas of professional managers, the distinction between the law of the farm and the law of the school, the four levels of natural law, and the power of turning your company mission statement into a constitution. We’ll be summarizing those for you here.

Ten Dilemmas of Professional Managers

Like being a leader, being a business manager can be frought with challenges and opportunities. According to Mr. Covey, there are ten dilemmas of professional managers.

1. First, how do you achieve a healthy balance between work and family? How do you achieve balance and peace of mind in the middle of constant change, stress and crisis? How many years can you endure before this balance is achieved?
2. Second, how do you unleash the creative talents from the vast majority of people who have more talent than their jobs allow? How do you overcome the blocks to personal and human development that have stifled the creativity and productivity of most of your associates and co-workers?
3. Third, how do we uncover the hidden agendas in ourselves and become trustworthy? How do we achieve peace in a culture with so much conflict, rivalries and jealousies? How do we learn to trust each other and create a safe space to tell the truth?
4. Fourth, how do we emerge into the new paradigm of principle-centered leadership and not slip back into the old authoritarian hardball approach?
5. Fifth, how do we have security in an insecure world? What is the wisdom of insecurity? Can we embrace change, flexibility and adaptability and still meet our security needs? Can I have security in the middle of constant change and thrive?
6. Sixth, how do we invoke a deep sense of commitment to the project or business, to invoke a commitment to the strategy of those who founded it? How do we create a sense of ownership and equity, social, psychological and financial?
7. Seventh, how do we internalize the qualities of excellence and performance when so many people are cynical, fatigued and disillusioned? How do we continue to maintain and improve quality?
8. Eighth, how do we facilitate respect and the value of diversity without prejudice clouding our perceptions? How do we get away from pre-judgment and keep an open mind to new ideas and people?
9. Ninth, how can we turn a mission statement into a constitution that everybody can get on board with?
10. Tenth, how do we maintain control yet give people the freedom and independence to be effective and fulfilled in their work?

Law of the Farm

Under the natural Law of the Farm, you cannot procrastinate and still expect to eat. You either get the seeds in on time, when the conditions are right, or you miss the harvest. You must work within natural law or go hungry. On a farm, you cannot fake it. Nor can you pretend to be strong and work hard every day plowing the fields. When it comes to natural things, or principles, there’s no fudging it.

The Law of the Farm requires having a long-term goal that is, making the harvest. Natural laws are self-evident and not arguable. There is no debate, except amongst fools. Natural law is universal in all religions and societies throughout the ages. Reality is based on natural laws. The natural Law of the Farm is in contrast to the Law of the School.

Law of the School

But the Law of the School is different. You can procrastinate for weeks in class not doing your homework, then cram for the exam, memorize lots of facts and still get the grades. You can fake it. You can fudge the tests. You can pretend to know things that you really don’t know. You might learn it today, but then forget tomorrow because you’ve never applied it. It’s an artificial simulation of the real world, and reality may not be anything like what you’d expect once you’ve graduated.

The Law of the School is about short-term goals, making it through the test, or tenth grade.

If your goal was to get a degree, instead of getting an education, then school could work for you. But dare you apply what you learned in school on the farm if you were faking it? I dare say not.

The Law of the School is based on social agreements, norms and economic values relative to getting a job or developing a career or business. These are relative and change from society to society, and from time to time. You cannot count on social values to remain the same. Trends will change and you must change with them. Reality may appear to be based on social values as projected by the media, but they are always subject to natural law.

Be aware, that what works in school may not work on the farm. Do not confuse the Law of the Farm with the Law of the School.

Four Levels of Natural Law

The four levels of natural law include the personal, interpersonal, managerial and organizational. All these systems of natural law are integrated with each other and must be present for a successful project or relationship.

Personal – Trustworthiness

The personal level of natural law is based on trustworthiness. Are you trustworthy? Do others experience you as trustworthy? If you are unscrupulous in your character or double-minded with hidden agendas, then you will sabotage your projects or relationships with others.

If you have integrity and are in alignment with higher virtues and values, then you will prosper in your projects and relationships. Whenever someone in a business, or family, undermines trust, then it sabotages your best efforts to succeed. True security lies in the adherence to principles of natural law and trusting your own abilities. This develops independence, character, competence and skills that are integrated into your personal and professional life.

Interpersonal – Trust

The interpersonal level of natural law is based on trust. Do you trust other people? Do they trust you? If there is no trust, then communications and relationships are not possible. But we’re not talking about blind trust, or trusting people who are not trustworthy. Trust must be established and earned.

Having trust in other people yields empowerment and teambuilding for your projects, or in your families when it is established and earned. Teambuilding builds trust in the family or the company. When trust is high then communications is more effective. People will compensate for each other weaknesses with their strengths. Your project or business will have a greater likelihood of success.

To be a leader on the interpersonal level means making emotional deposits in other people. Build people up, don’t tear them down. This develops interdependence and strong relationships that can bend like the oak during the toughest or the best of times.

Managerial – Empowerment

The managerial level of natural law is based on empowerment. Your delegations of tasks or assignments to others will work if the trust is strong and you have empowered them with your management style. People first become independent, then interdependent. Then they are empowered to create and complete their responsibilities with the minimum of authoritarian oversight and control.

When there is no trust or empowerment in an organization, then the managers must use control systems, and follow-up and check-up on everybody. This takes an incredible amount of energy to accomplish. And fear and intimidation become the methods for enforcing company policy instead of common sense.

But will these command and control systems produce the world-class project or business that can compete in an emerging market? Treat your people the way you’d treat your customers. And you know what happens if you treat your customers badly. They go elsewhere.

Under principle-centered leadership, you do not manage people, but things like money, information, and time. Managers empower people to be their own leaders and let them do what they do best.

Organizational – Alignment

The organizational level of natural law is based on alignment. You can make change after change in the organizational structures and protocols, rules and procedures, guidelines and incentives and not achieve the desire result of any organization, that is, alignment. When all the people, stakeholders and joint venture partners in your organization are in alignment, then things just work. Stakeholders include investors, management, staff, customers, suppliers and the government when necessary.

Of course, quality in the spirit of continuous improvement and service, and excellence are a necessary part of a successful project or business.

Integrating all these levels of natural law is the true test of whether or not you’re willing to play in the new paradigm of leadership. Remember, leadership is about being effective, not just efficient.

Mission Statements Into Constitutions

Mr. Covey suggests that every individual, every department, and every branch office author their own mission statements along with the overall company mission statement. This process creates a powerful tool for alignment of the organization on every level.

These mission statements cannot be coerced, but must originate from the free will and autonomy of the individuals involved. They must be able to interact freely, be safe and secure from persecution or being fired, and be advised of the realities of the challenges and problems in each department. Covey asserts that if given the opportunity, people will step up to the challenge and arrive at goals and values that everybody will hold in common. Natural law will prevail.

Peter Drucker studied the managers of America’s largest business institutions. After much analysis and study, he arrived at the conclusion that “Executive ability seems to have little correlation with intelligence, imagination, or brilliance.”

Rather, he found that effective leaders do four things:

1. They practice conservation of time
2. They have an eye fixed on new developments
3. They build on the strengths of their colleagues
4. They starve the problems and feed the opportunities.

In summary, according to Steven Covey, principle-centered leadership involves:

1. Understanding and resolving the ten dilemmas of professional managers
2. Understanding the Law of the Farm versus the Law of the School
3. Four Levels of Natural Law including personal, interpersonal, managerial and organizational and their corresponding principles of trustworthiness, trust, empowerment and alignment
4. How to turn Mission Statements into Constitutions
5. Becoming an effective leader.