Ideals in Motion

"First, say to yourself what you would be, and then do what you have to do."

This quote from Epictetus speaks to the need to develop practices that will enable me to embody a certain way of being.

I just returned from the School Of Embodied Leadership (SOEL) - a six day program focused on developing the capacity to truly embody leadership. The program was presented by Dr. Richard Strozzi-Heckler, founder of the Strozzi Institute and the discipline of Somatic Coaching. A major thrust of the program revolves around the development of what Strozzi-Heckler calls "practices". These are activities that support and literally enable being the kind of leader, the kind of person, that produces the results we want in life - for ourselves and others. Practices are the activities in which I regularly and mindfully engage that over time develop into unconscious habits. The significance of this is that it is my habits that form and inform my leadership "body".

The old addage "practice makes perfect" is actually a bit off base. The truth is that "practice makes habits"! With a bit of thought and a lot of discipline it is these practices - these activities that allow me to habitually keep my ideals in motion.

What's in a name?

When it is consciously evoked such things as identity, relationship, place, and possibly even sentience.

Who we are is defined not just by our sense of self. It's a function of how we are known by others and how we come to identify ourselves - our place - within the networks of others with whom we live. This is why some recent research data about dolphins is so interesting.

The new research expands on previous knowledge long known to scientists that dolphins' whistle calls include repeated information thought to be their names. CNN reports that the new research indicates that "bottlenose dolphins can call each other by name when they whistle, making them the only animals besides humans known to recognize such identity information." Even more compelling, Laela Sayigh, one of three authors of a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says that two dolphins may refer to a third by the third animal's name. They know themselves, they know their place in the relationship network of which they are a member. We are not the only self-aware animals on the planet. Similar information has long been known of primates - although not to this extent. Some chimps have learned very extensive vocabularies and can communicate quite consciously with humans using hand signals. The ability of another species to consciously reference another within the context of self is critically important to us as a species.

Our ideals as a species are too often predicated on an assumption that we are the uber species on the planet. We view the world through this filter of dominance and infallablity. We act on the environment with impunity, we interact with other species as if our lives were the only lives that mattered. It is worth considering that any particular culture can only be understood by someone outside of it - a neutral observer, unaffected by prejudice or belief. In a wonderful book I read years ago (Ishmael by Daniel Quinn), the reader is able to see our culture through the eyes of just such an observer. In order to be sustainable my ideals - our ideals - need to be seen through many eyes. What's in a name? Perhaps our future.

Keeping our bearings...

I was recently sitting by a swimming pool in Maui where I was on a working holiday with my family. It was about 10:00 at night, the stars were out and a gentle trade wind was blowing. I had earlier been on the beach well after a spectacular sunset and had marveled at the clarity and abundance of the stars that were in the evening sky. As I sat by that pool I again looked up. The stars I saw on the beach were dimmed, and in some instances not visible at all. Of course, the stars were all still present. All that had changed was that I was attempting to view them through the ambient light coming from the pool deck and the pool itself. If I was a sailor attempting to use the stars to guide my way this ambient light could be a real problem.

This struck me as a wonderful metaphor for our busy lives today. When and how does the ambient life of our lives prevent us from seeing what we need to see in order to keep our lives on course? Are we even aware of when we are blinded by the ambient light in our lives? More importantly, what practices have we developed to allow us to step away from the ambient light in our lives – practices that enable us to see our stars in order to make sure we are, more or less, on course?

Raising the kids, balance between work and family, money worries, next quarter’s results, fears of disappointing someone significant. These are only some examples of what could be deemed the ambient light of life. These things aren’t going to go away and we put our ideals at considerable risk when are blinded by the unique “ambient light” that makes up much of our worldview. Being able to mindfully step away from (not leave behind) the ambient light in our lives in order to better see our guiding stars is a practice well worth developing. Quieting the internal voice that forces attention to the ambient light is a very useful way to approach this notion. I use a variety of meditation practices – sitting, walking, running – to quiet the voices of my ambient light in order to keep the stars of my ideals in view. Developing this practice is not easy – there have been many false starts. Knowing what keeping my ideals in view makes possible is the “for the sake of what?” that enables me to sustain the practice.

For the sake of what do your ideals exist? What practice(s) have you developed or could you develop that helps you keep your bearings as you move through the enormous complexities of modern life – the ambient life that keeps what’s truly important in view?

Prelude to Opportunity...

Often times I am asked by leaders I am coaching how to reconcile apparent conflicts between the values and ideals of their company and apparent and intransigent market realities. Rather than have these seeming conflicts be experienced as an either/or dilemma there is another alternative.

I was speaking with a client today who related an incident where an emerging conflict of values with one of their clients resulted in something other than a breakdown. One of the core values of my client's firm is environmental sustainability. A new client of theirs was asking them to assist with the development of a new product that would result in an enormous use of oil to transport critical raw material used in the product. Because of concerns about environmental impact (contributing to global warming through the burning of huge amounts of oil in transportation) the initial reaction of the project manager at my client's firm was to tell their new client that the firm wouldn't be able to work with them on this project. The dilemma this posed is that their client would likely retain another firm to do the work, my client's company would lose a significant amount of revenue as well as likely lose the client for other projects, and they would not have any positive movement toward one of their ideals of helping create environmentally sustainable business practices.

The solution as it was related to me was my client requesting that his project manager go back to the client and invite a conversation to explore alternative ways of developing the product that would not involve the use of this particular raw material (which is a definite but not obvious option). This would negate the need for oceanic shipping and would thereby provide this developing product with a new and previously unrecognized niche with "green" consumers. Rather than the value (sustainability) linked to the realization of of an ideal (environmental responsibility) being the source of polarization and breakdown it becomes the catalyst for exploring new ways of working together and of developing a uniquely new product.

Leaders cause movement. Effective leaders use values as one of the core mechanisms for doing this. A seeming conflict with a company's espoused values in the face of market "realities" can be used as a prelude to opportunity - the opportunity to keep the organization's ideals moving and an opportunity to challenge people to live into the ideals that we say are important to us.

Ideals and China....

I just returned from mainland China today where I delivered the first module of a six month, three module coaching program to 40 Chinese businesspeople. The passion and hunger with which the participants engaged themselves in the program was astonishing. For me, the week was a wonderful exhibition of ideals in motion. Each person had a reason for being in the program that was crystal clear - not just in the form of a personal goal but clear as well in terms of the "for the sake of what" that the goal made possible.

China is clearly a country that is on the move and it's truly exciting to be able to contribute to individuals who have dreams and are willing to pursue them despite significant obstacles. As just one example of this, I delivered the program in English and it was interpreted into Cantonese and also into Mandarin for those who weren't totally fluent in Cantonese. How many people do you know who would be willing to sit through three full days of interpreted training and teaching to learn something that they believe could possibly move them closer to their dreams?

Aboard Air Force One

The current rhetoric about making the world safe for democracy is a wonderful ideal. And, in order to move toward an ideal it seems useful to take some time for an introspective assessment of why this ideal is important - to myself as well as to those likely to be impacted. Without the benefit of an inward look I set myself up to be, at best, driven by my ego and, at the worst, influenced by others in ways in which I have no awareness (see my posting of Feb. 01).

This is what is so telling and so disturbing about President Bush saying aboard Air Force One on June 4, 2003: "I'm also not very analytical. You know, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about myself, about why I do things."

This Ideal May Be Cooked...

The sky is falling, the sky is falling!

Based on some of the latest studies citing increases in air temperature over Antarctica, melting glaciers in Greenland and increasing acidity in the world's oceans  it does indeed appear that the sky is falling. Why is this relevant to ideals in motion? Simply because one ideal that I believe is universally shared at some level is a habitable planet. The climatic reprecussions we are beginning to witness are a direct consequence of "I" and "id" (see my posts from March 16 and March 24) getting the best of the realization of an ideal. One need look no further than the Bush Administration's continued insistance that there is no problem ("...it's undeniable that the White House's environmental record--from the abandonment of Kyoto to the President's broken campaign pledge to control carbon output to the relaxation of emission standards--has been dismal." - Time, April 3, 2006).

When we trump our ideals by allowing ourselves to be swayed by small minded, ego driven, and fear spouting "leaders" who have the agendas of their constituencies in mind rather than a desire to move us to a closer realization of our ideals we get what we pay for. One of the primary "laws" of leadership I work from is that people will give us what they perceive we are willing to accept. Pandering to the lowest common denominator of parochial interests (Terry Shaivo and Jack Abrahmof come to mind) rather than insisting that we as a people live into the realization of our ideals of truth and justice for all is a good example of this. So too is making the difficult choices necessary to live on a habitable planet.

Sustaining Ideals...

Looking at the graphic in the previous posting I'm struck by the increasing  narrowness of space that "I" have to work with. The container that holds "I" is obviously much different than the container that holds "Ideals". Yet, they are both part of the same vessel. This disparity between "I" and my "Ideal" is actually very good news.

My ideals are larger than me. That's why they are compelling. The challenge I face is dealing with the failure to live up to my ideals. Coming to realize and accept that "failure" to live up to my ideals is normal actually provides me with a platform to sustain the movement to having my ideals live. How so? Again, sustainability can be thought of - must be thought of - as a process of developing the capacity to continuously start over. This notion can and does have profound implications for how we approach our lives, our businesses, our careers, our political processes and the shaping of our societies.

My life isn't about living up to my ideals. That's a position that can only result in blame and shame when I'm not successful. My life is about living into my ideals. Which means I will be ever involved in the process of starting over as I move further up the funnel that contains the ideals of which I and my life are a reflection.

The deconstruction of an ideal...

So, what's the purpose again?

What's so important about knowing your purpose in life? Maybe the following examples will help clarify this:

• Imagine that you're playing golf. What's the purpose of golf? If you say to put the ball in the hole you'd be wrong. If that was the purpose the game could be over fairly quickly. No, putting the ball in the hole is one of the goals of golf - as is grooving your swing, breaking par or beating your partners. Goals are not the same as a purpose. So, what's the purpose of golf?
  
• Imagine that you're an archer. What's the purpose of archery? If you say to hit the bullseye with the arrow you would again be wrong. If that was the purpose of archery why would one stand so far away from the target? Again, hitting the bullseye is one of the goals of archery but it is NOT the purpose of archery. So, what's the purpose of archery?
  
• Imagine that you're given a life to live. What's the purpose of that life? If you say it is to make money (or be successful, or be a doctor, etc.) you'd be wrong one more time. If that was the purpose of life there would be far more people on the planet with money than without - just the opposite of what we have today. Making money is a goal one can have in life but it is not the purpose of a life. So, what's the purpose of life?

What is it that gives the goals we set meaning? What is it that keep me coming back again and again? What is it that makes it possible for even the smallest of acts to bring joy and fulfillment?

Purpose is not a goal to be achieved. Purpose is not provided by the "rules" of the game. Purpose is created by thoughtful individuals living with and asking the question "for the sake of what" am I pursuing this goal? Purpose is what the attainment of a goal may eventually make possible. Purpose is what I greet the dawn with each day. Without it my life has no meaning. With it all is possible - and any of what I have is fulfilling. What's the purpose of your life?