Thought Leaders

I am thrilled to spread the word about John Spence, (Chapter 1 in my book Leaders: Their Stories, Their Words) who was named as one of the top 100 thought leaders in trustworthy business behavior for 2013 by Trust Across America! Read on...

I first 'met' John Spence years ago when we were co-authoring a blog with other leaders from many parts of the world.  He is not only insightful, knowledgeable and authentic but a human-based leader in every sense.  He looks well beyond the bottom line and works with his clients to lead joyful and fulfilled, not to mention successful lives.

To quote John "Very few people have someone from the outside to be there for them, who’s there 100% for them. Let me help you, let me serve you, let me do whatever it is I can do to assist you." That's John in a nutshell. He has your back, helps you see beyond what you're currently seeing and turns people's and organization's worlds right-side up.

I'm at the stage of my career where I want to be teaching whatever I can to those willing and eager enough to learn. Through the teaching I in turn learn and so the circle continues.  I'll have more to share with clients and continuously create the shifts in my life that I need to be making. How are you keeping your knowledge fresh, current, and relevant? We live in a world that is never static, therefore we have to continue to dance in real time with our worlds as they unfold. 

When you start getting comfortable with your work, start questioning what you don't know, partner with others to stretch you, have those percolating conversations until you're back to uncomfortable. That's when you'll be truly dancing.

John Spence Speaks on "The Most Important Thing I Have Ever Learned"

John Spence is a Human-Based Leader extraordinaire. It's not only what he says and does...it's the core of who he is. His story in my book in Leaders, Their Stories, Their Words has inspired people around the world. 

This TED talk is yet another indication of he not only turned his life around but how he deeply and profoundly impacts people in a myriad of ways.  It's an honor and privilege to know him.

Shared Learning....and What's Next

2011 was filled with learning in every realm of my world and my life. There were so many shifts for me. I not only wanted to share what the learning is and was but acknowledge those who were instrumental in creating those shifts.

I continue to learn that it's possible to grow older without growing old from my parents. They are more with-it, energetic, insightful, and up to the minute than pretty much anyone else I know. I'm constantly learning what new leadership looks like from my son and daughter-in-law. It's not about off with the old and on with the new. They integrate what they learned from those before them with what works for them for their present and future.  I learned from Ray what it means to disconnect and enjoy life, (although what I do is as much who I am as my profession but he's really good about putting up with me. He makes it so easy for me to be me). 
 
I learned the art of sharing knowledge, time, energy and expertise graciously and selflessly from Renee Freedman and  John Spence. 
 
I learned you can have the difficult, courageous conversations with a friend and still remain a true friend. I consistently learn from my friends who are my family by choice what authentic friendship means and from others what friendship isn't and make my choices accordingly.
 
I learned how to dive in and (as Seth Godin would say) know it's time to say "Ship it". 
 
I learned a lot from Seth this year. I'm waffling between saying thank you and saying "Seth, get out of my head" …but as his words of wisdom were not only timely but a great 2 x 4 to the side of my head reality check, and because of them, I made a lot of changes in how I do what I do, whether coaching, writing, teaching or living…. "Thank you" wins hands down.  And I've learned that pretty much anything he publishes, either his work or someone else's is something I WILL learn from, tangible or intangible. It might push every button I have and then some, but the learning curve will be HUGE!
 
I experienced the differences between having a book published and publishing a book... when to draw the line and acknowledge that delays are more damaging than the odd typo….and not to wait until 100 people think it might be good enough before getting it out. I learned who I could work with and who I couldn't, what conferences I'd attend and which ones I won't any more. It's time to see what people are living in realms outside of coaching. I need to learn more about people and what they're living in order to work best with them from their perspective, not coaches'. I continue to learn how to shift my view of the world and my place in it. 
 
I learned that we learn from stories and how we connect our stories with those of others'. It's personal that way. We learn better and remember  the lessons longer when a story connects to who we are or who we want to be. I learned from my clients everything from turbulence and chaos to success and accomplishment and that sometimes the latter is harder for them to deal with than the former. 
 
I learned from the TED Fellows that everything I didn't think was possible…is possible.  Thank you Jessica, Dominic, Adital, Su, John, Jon, Cesar, Naomi, Katie, Zubaida, Colleen, Kellee, Rachel, Eric, for opening my eyes to your worlds and inviting me in.
 
I learned from Ron Kitchens and Ruth Ann Harnisch that it's not about giving just to support….it's about giving to support greatness, growth, innovation and learning. It's about giving so those they give to get stronger and are independent.  They are Human-Based Leaders in more ways than I can list here.
 
Through this year's experiences, not to mention through Laurier LaPierre, I was reminded of how proud I am to be Canadian. I love travelling and working all over the world but really love coming home. I am continuously reminded that, although we are similar to other countries, we are unique as a people and a country. We're just quieter about it. We have to be more vocal about it. 
 
I learned from everyone in my book Leaders: Their Stories, Their Words.  They shared their lives with me above and beyond anything I knew before. Thank you to John, the two Rons, Ruth Ann, Joe, Laurier, JD, Rick, Tom, Barry, Frank and Robert and all the others who shared their words of wisdom. Even though it's my book and I've read it 1000 times, I learn something new every time I read or share a passage from it. 
 
Everyone has a story and I can't wait to hear them all. Everyone knows something I don't know about life and living and through their stories, I'll continue to learn about them, their worlds and myself. 
 
For next year, there is a ton in the works. In addition to client work, I'll be doing more team and team dynamics work, part of that will be working with clients on putting in place a reverse mentoring program in their organizations and coaching what emerges through those conversations. I'll be speaking at Catalyst University in Kalamazoo. Talk about an innovative, community-growing initiative! I will be collaborating with client and friend Tuuli Sauren from INSPIRIT International Communications on a workshop for sustainable design to take place in Milan, Italy and partnering with friend and colleague David Drake as we bring Shadow and Narrative Coaching together for the first (but I'm sure not last) time in Toronto early next year. I'll be continuing my work with the TED Fellows which is such a gift to me, wearing my Dean hat with the International Consortium for Coaching in Organizations, and teaching more with MBAs, university students and even doing some guest teaching at the high school level which I'm very excited about. 
 
There will be another book in the works….maybe two. What form that'll take is still to be determined.  Stay tuned!
 
I'm continuing to learn how to better use Social Media and am thankful for the amazing people I've met through it who I wouldn't have connected with any other way.  
 
There's more but I don't want to clue you in on everything just yet. 
 
Suffice it to say, I'm hoping from reading this you'll reflect on your learning this year. The easy lessons and the hard, the life lessons and professional ones. I know I want to learn at least as much or more from the up-and-comings than from the leaders who are about to retire. I want to continue to believe that nothing is impossible. It just hasn't been invented yet and even then, the TED Fellows are showing me otherwise.
 
I'm sure there will be challenges in 2012 but I know the year will be extraordinary nevertheless. With people like this touching my life, how could it be anything else? If you see that I've missed something or someone, then let me know. Tell me your stories, share your dreams and aspirations and maybe I'll be able to point you in a direction. We all have a definitive amount of time to make our presence felt. Choose what you do with it wisely… who you spend your time with, learn from and what sandbox you're going to play in. Make whatever changes in life you need to make to be the best, the happiest, and the most fulfilled person you can be.
 
Begin now and in doing so, remember to take risks. Opportunities and people don't stay around forever. Live life to the fullest extent, don't just exist from day to day. Share your dreams with others, as if you keep them silent they will eventually die away. Help them help you make them happen. And may 2012 be great in every way.
 
Warmest,
Donna

Giving

John Spence, Human-Based Leader, bar none (Chapter 1 in Leaders: Their Stories, Their Words) wrote this amazing list called "What Should You Give"? in The Jungle of Life. With his permission, I'm re-posting it and asking you, what would YOU add to this list?

"A Damn: “Life is a dar­ing adven­ture – or noth­ing at all” ~ Helen Keller
 
Help: to any­one you can offer it to.
 
LOVE: to your­self first… then to as many oth­ers as pos­si­ble – you have an end­less      sup­ply!
 
Respect: because EVERYONE is wor­thy of it.
 
Hugs: as long as HR does not have a rule against it – ugh!
 
Freely of your best ideas: the future will be unlocked through col­lab­o­ra­tive cre­ativ­ity.
 
Advice: when it is asked for… and then… care­fully!
 
Advice: some­times – only some­times – when it is NOT asked for… and then even MORE care­fully!!
 
Men­tor­ing: help oth­ers to avoid some of the mis­take you have made.
 
Gen­er­ously: to a char­ity you are truly pas­sion­ate about.
 
Time: to peo­ple who will not waste it.
 
Wis­dom: to those who love you and will lis­ten.
 
Your­self a break: you are not sup­posed to be per­fect – let that go.
 
Praise and thanks: to every­one – often!!
 
100% of your per­sonal effort: life is not a dress rehearsal.
 
A smile: pass along some warmth and joy to oth­ers.
 
Under­stand­ing: remem­ber that every­one you meet is fight­ing a mighty bat­tle.
 
Give, give, give and give some more. Embrace an abun­dance men­tal­ity by under­stand­ing deeply that if you just help enough other peo­ple get what they need – you will get every­thing you need.

I promise this works – I GIVE you my word!"

One that I added was Presence. Be present with the person or people you’re with. Pay attention to them, which means stop doing three other things when you’re with someone. Listen, learn from them, hear who they are and what they’re saying (and what they’re not saying out loud).

What would you want to give?

Other's Views of Human-Based Leadership

Recently, Will Lukang wrote about Authentic Leaders and stated "Authentic leaders have integrity and lead with compassion for their people.  Like all other leaders they have the vision, insight, influence and followers.  But the difference between a regular and authentic leader is that the authentic leaders care.  They truly care about their constituents"....."The world is changing and competition is all around us.  The need for authentic leaders is more important than ever.  If you’re in position of authority, ask yourself the question: Is doing the right thing your way of doing things?  Are you there to serve or be served?  Hopefully your answers are doing the right thing and to serve your constituents." Read on...

And Dan Rockwell writes:"How do you want others to feel when they are around you?

• Like you are smart or like they are smart?
• Like they have great ideas or like you have great ideas?
• Like they are stars or like you are a star?"

Be intentional is his overall theme. Read on...

The bottom line is people take jobs because of people and they leave jobs because of people and that applies right across the board.

In Leaders: Their Stories, Their Words, John Spence speaks to just that when he says "When I was hired, my first boss was mean and aggressive and paranoid. I loved my job. I loved the people I worked with. I was absolutely enthralled with the work I was doing. But I would get up every morning, shaking as I put my clothes on, and drive home from work crying every day because my boss, my “leader,” was so tyrannical that it was just painful. 

I learned a huge lesson about the impact leaders have on other people’s lives. Whether you lead two people or 20,000 people, you have a huge obligation, responsibility, and incredible impact on the joy, the balance, the love, and the fun in people’s lives. You can either make their work exciting and fun or make their lives a living hell."

It's all about choice; Human-Based Leader or Power-Based, command and obey leader.

The Courage To Lead from a Human-Based Perspective

This morning in John Spence's blog he says "Although I am a great fan of heroic courage and know that in many situations that is exactly what is called for, what I believe we need from our leaders right now is the ability to show an even more powerful level of courage… the courage of vulnerability."  (Click here to read on).

In Leaders: Their Stories, Their Words, Chapter 1, John and I discuss the virtues of a Human-Based Leader and how it has nothing whatsoever to do with circumstances. It's who they are and how they live by their values. 

He says "High-achieving self-actualizers are not a slave to the good or bad opinions of other people. They’ve got a deeply held set of values. They have a clear vision of the life they want to lead, the legacy they want to leave, are really clear about the kind of person they want to be. They’re open to feedback and input, but not really swayed by what other people think about them."

"Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down."

— Eleanor Roosevelt
You Learn By Living (1960)

You Become What You Focus On

""You become what you focus on" and "You become like the people you surround yourself with." Whatever you think about, whatever you study, whatever your brain is filled with — TV, books, CDs, DVDs, audio books, networking, and those you surround yourself with — are what determines what your life will turn out like. "" — John Spence.

"Driven by an insatiable curiosity to understand the fundamental aspects of what it takes to achieve and sustain excellence in business and life, John Spence has earned a reputation as a leading authority in the areas of Strategic Thinking, High-Performance Teams, Advanced Leadership Development, and Delivering Consistently Superior Customer Service, making him one of the most highly sought after executive educators and professional speakers in America." (JohnSpence.com)
 

John Spence is an extraordinary man, leader, teacher and speaker and I am honored to have him grace the pages of my book (Chapter 1, Leaders: Their Stories, Their Words).

"Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand." — General Colin Powell. Or as John says, ...."making the complex awesomely simple."