Shera R. Sever: Awakening Leaders™

Earlier this year, I declared that I was not participating in this recession, particularly since I had experienced my own 5- year “karmic cleanse” starting in  2003 ( post 9-11). It’s a much longer story to be shared, so let’s BE HERE NOW.

There’s a lot I love about this recession.

In many ways, I see it bringing us all closer as we begin to recognize our interconnectedness (and how similar) we all are when it comes to  needs, purpose, wanting to make a difference and be happy!  There’s a collective global consciousness that continues to emerge as a result of the recession. We are learning to use our own “human technologies” and adapt to the changes.

1. FEAR only has as much power as we allow it.  In other words, it’s simply an illusion.  One of my beloved buddhist teachers from Spirit Rock Meditation Center, during a 10-day Vipassana Retreat, told us a story about  how he helped  his 3- year old “embrace” his fear of the dark.  He simply instructed his son to say “Hello” to the Fear, every evening when it arose. Within a week of applying this seemingly very simple advice, his son was able to recognize (name), befriend, and then move beyond the fear. This 3-year old began greeting the fear of darkness peacefully.

2. Living with uncertainty- births creativity, improvisation, flexibility, innovation- all essential qualities of a great leader and awakened entrepreneur.

3. Doing more with less- we are all adopting”green”  practices- or more accurately put-learning to live sustainably (living in a way that meets the needs of future generations)

4. Social entrepreneurship has become mainstream. See March, 2009 Ode Magazine.

5. Transparent Communication- Social Media has changed the way we do marketing. Now more than ever- authenticity , not hype , is what people are needing and seeking  The underlying message is to Be  Yourself- Everyone Else is Taken.

6. Real Dialogs- Van Jones calls this the need for human technologies- There’s an unprecedented grass roots global movement taking place- a caravan of world citizens.  Paul Hawkin, founder of Wiser Earth, first cited this movement in a keynote he gave at  Bioneers several years ago.  People are returning to their need to connect, gathering together to dialog:  in circles, in community gatherings, in living rooms, around fires, and town hall meetings-to share concerns, solutions, compassion, and their human connection- actually an anthisesis to all the wonderful social media marketing tools that keep us tied to a mobile gadget or computer.

7. Letting Go-We are learning to let go of STUFF , consumption (become citizens, rather than consumers), an illusory future, and simply be with the miracle of each moment.

I think Alan Watts says it best: “No use clinging to the rocks that are falling.”

What opportunities are you creating and what are you learning

as a result of the recession?

A friend sent me this powerful quote from Martin Luther King Jr the other day and I wanted to pass it along. It is a great reminder for all of us in this time.

“One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of the status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. But today our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.”

As the true leader that he is, I believe that President Obama is asking each of us to LEAD by staying awake and taking responsibility for the welfare of all, not just YOU and not just ME.  Let’s help each other awaken and STAY AWAKE.

To read Obama’s entire speech, click here

In the past few weeks, probably like you,  I have received hundreds of messages inviting  me to participate in workshops, teleseminars, meetings and groups for setting intentions this new year.

THE AWAKENED ENTREPRENEUR™

These invitations inspired me to create an overarching  theme for the year by declaring this to be “The Year of the Awakened Entrepreneur™.  An Awakened Entrepreneur understands that it’s not just about YOU OR ME any longer. We have entered a whole new game of interdependence and collaboration.  Vision is the Soul of our Business, and Committed Action, the fuel.

Read more. 

Last week, along with approximately 20 others,  I started my vision board for 2009- with images of actions I commit to this year. I’m sharing just a few of these commitments here:

FOSTER a CULTURE of TRUE COLLABORATION

In December, I attended the year end San Francisco Women in Consulting meeting. Of the 70 or 80 women business owners in attendance, I discovered that many were offering similar or complimentary services and targeting similar audiences.

Many attendees was asking for leads or referrals to clients, yet I wanted to hear more about what their clients wanted and needed. I was looking for introductions that answered these key questions:

What do I do best? Who am I serving?  

What do they need?  How can my business fulfill that need?

I thought, “Wouldn ‘t it be wonderful if we could combine our expertise and offerings with  authentic and transparent collaborative models?”  

Successful non-profits have been doing this for years, building coalitions and networks that share resources, expertise, and human capital. Peter Senge teaches very sophisticated decentralized, collaborative models with his systems approach in the private sector. And LOHAS just published their 2009 business trends. Coalitions and affiliations are in the Top 10.

How much more could our clients benefit if WE-small businesses and consultants- created more collaborative “One-Stop Shops”, that serve our clients’ needs in all areas: Strategic Planning, Marketing & Social Media, Human Capital & Leadership Development, Technology, Legal, and Financial?

GET THE RIGHT PEOPLE on THE BUS

We have a new leader. He can’t do it alone. With the right people on the bus, small steps lead to big change and transformative results. This year I am personally committed to staying very awake and alert with each step, and thereby expanding “OUR” fields of influence.

As collaborators, having the “right” people as “power partners ” is crucial. One of my mentors, Jim Collins, author of Good to Great,  makes some interesting distinctions between “Effective” and “Great” Leadership. Great leaders, he claims, first hold a vision and attract the right executive team , BEFORE executing a strategic plan. “Effective” Leaders  create their strategic plan and then search for the implementers, which, according to Collins, can result in a lot of silo structures and organizational fragmentation.  

Stephen Covey, in his newest publication,  The Leader In Me, has taken leadership even further, by introducing personal and collaborative leadership models and practices to youth and future generations.

INCREASE value-based SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

with Relationships, Learning, and Resource Sharing

In some of my free time in past 11 months, I’ve been immersed in studying WEB 2.0 business, marketing, and collaborative learning trends, teaching myself new skills, testing collaborative technology tools, and asking for help, which I still need a lot of!  It’s been a very motivating learning curve, and I am loving it!

I took my website down about five months ago, and replaced it with this WordPress site. The template still needs  more visual customization and a banner (any wordpress geeks reading this?);   I love the collaboration inherent in WordPress.  Now, my readers (You!) can respond transparently, with added information, insights, resources, and links.  I sincerely welcome your participation.  I invite and encourage you to subscribe to my blYou can leave a comment on any post, and share them with others.  

COMMIT to EXPANSION

with new publications, course offerings, and media

With conversations birthing and potential collaborations brewing, stayed tuned for an upcoming “Awakened Entrepreneur™” course series delivered in multi-formats, aiong with on-going group coaching. To join the development conversations, and participation, I invite you stay connected via this site, Facebook and Twitter. 

Let’s invest in our “inner economies”. Take a break from the news,  and come play with me.

It’s a new world, and We are creating it!

This past week has been a wonderful reminder of how good it feels to GIVE, and even more so, to do it, anonymously.

One of the communities that I am part of hosts an annual gathering on Dec. 24 in Sonoma County, CA. In addition to healthy, organic food and chocolate, we participate in a sustainable gift exchange.  No purchases, no additional consumption,  but rather, an offering of a treasure that you no longer use/need. During the “dancing” exchange, we keep passing from hand to hand these wrapped anonymous gifts, until the music finally stops.  It always turns out that each one of us receives the absolute perfect gift!

Here in my neighborhood, I love setting boxes of used “treasures” and clothes out for passerbys to take home. There is a Chinese woman who visits my “boxes” regularly. She also helps herself to the recycling bin before the weekly city pick up, and receives a few cents for each glass container that she recovers from the bin.

Last week, I saw her walking by with her shopping cart. She stopped, pointing to her feet. “Shoes good”, she said with a big smile.  I was delighted to see my pair of black clogs fitting her feet perfectly.

I am a big believer in tithing, and set aside 10% of my annual income to donate to such organizations as Global Exchange, Spirit Rock, Bay Area NVC, IONS, Seva Foundation, and CEO Women among others. 

TITHING

Do you tithe?  For more information on tithing and prosperity, read Catherine Ponder’s works, starting with The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity.  Catherine did not market and sell “The Secret.” Rather, she shared her simple formula starting back in 1958 to groups of business leaders, helping them go from recession to abundance!

 SHARE YOUR ABUNDANCE

In this time of reviewing, reflecting, assessing, and goal setting, take stock of all you have to be grateful for. To whom can you give anonymously?  What can you let go of (behaviors, beliefs, or actual “things” ) to bring in the new?  Share your abundance.  This is the SECRET!

 “Even after all this time,

The Sun never says to the Earth,

You owe me.

Look what happens to a love like that. . .

It lights up the whole sky.”

Hafiz

Have you read Lynne Twist’s Soul of Money?  If not, get a copy of it now, and share it!

Lynne is a global activist and a master fundraiser, raising more than $150 million in individual contributions for charitable causes including the Hunger Project.  She is one of the founding members of the Pachamama Alliance and now a facilitator of the Awakening the Dream Symposium. 

At last week’s Pachamama Alliance annual luncheon, Lynne reminded 1300 guests that:

“Money is like water. . it is a conduit.”

In these times when everyone seems to be in fear over money, she encourages us to move your money towards that which you LOVE. She reminds us that fear is not the opposite of love, it is the absence of love.  And that it is crisis that propels the most positive and far-reaching transformation.

For more inspiration, view Lynne Twist’s, presentation to Awakening the Dreamer Global Facilitators

Last night I felt it, and I am sure you did, too!

As Michael Moore writes in his post today, “we have experienced a stunning, whopping, landslide of HOPE in a time of deep despair.”

One my mentors, James Kouzes, laid out a seemingly simple, yet powerful leadership model and evaluation tool for personal and organizational leadership in his 2002 best-seller, The Leadership Challenge.

After eight (8) long, painful years, America (the USA), has finally elected a leader that:

• Models the Way
• Inspires a Shared Vision
• Challenges the Process
• Enables Others to Act
• Encourages the Heart

We have seen that anything is possible with focused intention, commitment, and ACTION. The world has been longing for a leader like Obama.

In Hebrew, “Obama” means Lightening. May he electrify and purify the past by co-creating and helping us all rebuild a better future. Let’s support this transition by awakening our own personal leadership practices.

We are all the messengers of change!

Last night, I had the opportunity to hear one of my earlier mentors, CJ Hayden ,speak as part of the monthly meeting at Spirit and Work Resource Center in Berkeley, CA. CJ, a principle at Wings Business Coaching, was a wonderful role model for me when I started Resumes That Work™ back in 1995.

Now the author of two books, CJ has found her true calling as a coach for social entrepreneurs- a calling that resonates with the core of my being as well.

In her presentation, she highlighted a very important distinction between a socially responsible business and a social entrepreneur. Social entrepreneurs are first and foremost Change Agents. Their reason for being is to lead SOCIAL CHANGE with an entrepreneurial approach. They are not merely socially conscious business owners with a desire to reduce their environmental footprint.

One of my long term clients, CEO Women in Oakland, CA is a perfect example of social entrepreneurship. Executive Director, Farhana Huq has received multiple awards and micro loans with the “Start Your Own Business” training for immigrant and refugee women.

So how do Social Entrepreneurs fund their ventures and earn a living?

• Micro-enterprise loans (Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank)
• Non-profit organizations with earned income- (Delancy Street in San Francisco)
• Teaching, writing, speaking engagements that fund their ventures
• Grants, fellowships, or awards
• Through another business that runs the social venture (examples: Paul Newman’s Own Foundation or Steven Van Yoder and the GIVE Foundation )
• Selling products and services from the social venture itself: (example: Lila Igram and Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund)
• Through a working spouse or parent (wow!- any extra spouses or parents out there to support my vision and venture?)

“Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with Vision is making a positive difference.” ~ Joel Barker

Conscious Capitalism is what we’re talking about, and I am committed to leading social entrpreneurs’ visions to action.

Collaboration in the Workplace
“None of us is as good as all of us.”
© Sheryl R. Sever (Coach Shera)

Fostering teamwork is creating a work culture that values collaboration. In a teamwork environment, people understand and believe that thinking, planning, decisions and actions are better when done cooperatively.

As One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard discovered, people recognize, and even assimilate, the belief that “none of us is as good as all of us.” High Five, The Magic of Working Together.

In America, many of our institutions such as schools, our family structures, and our pastimes still emphasize winning, being the best, and coming out on top. Workplaces that exemplify and reward teamwork are not yet the norm.

Organizations, however, are working on valuing diverse people, ideas, backgrounds, and experiences. As part of the social transformation that we see taking place globally, collaboration, co-creation and cooperation seem to be values that are being more readily embraced and promoted in organizational development.

Having consulted many senior managers, educational, and organizational leaders over the past 13 years, I’ve included here my Ten Tips for Building Terrific Teams as your quick guide to cultivating successful teams, encouraging creativity and innovation, and attaining optimal results within your business or organization.

TEN TIPS for BUILDING TERRIFIC TEAMS

1. Communicate Clear Expectations. It is crucial that team members know why they are working together, and how their role, functions, and outcomes contribute to the bigger picture and overall success of the organization, its clients and coworkers. As a leader, how clearly you communicate the overall vision, mission, and values of the organization will be the power driving the team forward.

2. Have an agenda with objectives at team meetings. Allow time for progress updates, discussion, brainstorming, and action plans. It can be particularly beneficial if the meeting facilitator is trained in Cross-Cultural Awareness, or Marshall Rosenberg’s NVC practices. Using these techniques will help keep a diverse team cohesive and focused, encourage everyone’s participation, and can easily diffuse and transform stagnation. Change, creativity and solutions are not birthed in a static environment. Are necessary concerns and misunderstandings raised and properly addressed on your team?

3. Include your consultants and independent contractors in your brainstorming meetings. One of the biggest mistakes some organizations make is to not include consultants and independent contractors in staff meetings, project updates, long-term goals and vision. You will get a lot more mileage from your consultants when they are included in discussions and sessions affecting your organization’s direction and growth. Consultants are typically natural networkers and wealth of resources. They can easily be a powerful contributing factor to your organization’s long-term success and expansion.

4. Cultivate an atmosphere where team members can appreciate the diversity of talent on the team, not just in skill set and areas of expertise, but from a whole person perspective. If the team is working on a long-term project consider investing in the Myers Briggs assessment, DISC or an Enneagram training for the workplace.

5. Have a rewards or recognition program in place. Giving public recognition on the company intranet, newsletter, or in a staff meeting, or rewarding high-performers with gift certificates to a spa or event, are just a few low-cost, no-cost ways to acknowledge team members for a job well done.

6. Build fun and shared occasions into the organization’s agenda. Hold potluck lunches; take the team to a performance or cultural event. Host dinners at a local restaurant, (include your associates’ families) or plan an outdoor event such as hiking, bicycling, or even river rafting.

7. Encourage collaborative leadership models within your workplace. Move away from traditional, hierarchical leadership models that are deadening to the human spirit and that can create separation, distrust, and a competitive environment. Focus on cooperative models for team performance. Rotating facilitators at your weekly or monthly meetings is one way to begin this shift. Appointing co-managers to lead a project is another effective strategy.

8. Create opportunities for giving and receiving feedback. In his recent visit to San Francisco, the Dalai Lama continually emphasized the importance of dialog, along with education and training. How well trained are you and your people in examining assumptions, active listening, asking for clarification, and other non-defensive communication models that make it safe for you and your associates to express needs, be heard, and enthusiastically create innovative solutions with and for each other?

9. Provide resources. One of the surest ways to create chaos and diminish motivation, performance, and morale is to expect people to perform without the tools and resources they need to deliver outcomes they are proud of. Be sure everyone has the basic information and tools they need to perform, including healthy, ergonomic workstations.

10. Form a Green Team at work. Help your people raise their awareness of opportunities to save energy and contribute to a healthy and sustainable environment. By allowing others to take leadership and responsibility, passion takes hold. A green team can be very motivational for employees who want to make a difference in their work environment.

Got a great organizational team story? I’d love to hear it, along with any other feedback you’d like to share.