Is it just me or is anyone else bumping up against lots of binary questions and linear thinking these days? On LinkedIn, Twitter, TV, in day-to-day conversations?

“Is this thing better than that thing?” “Is leadership more important than management?” “A obviously causes B, so lets fix A.” “Mandate the wearing of cycle helmets and save lives”

These kinds of questions and assertions can send our minds straight to a place of stored knowledge, analysis and judgement. Quite a small place really.

Fine if we are being asked about travel directions. “Is it left or right at the next junction?” In these cases there is a good chance that there is a single, correct answer.

Less useful if the apparent issue is part of a more complex inter-relationship of events, processes and behaviours. Less useful if different people have different views of what is more or less relevant in such a dynamic web of activity.

So, when we consider the assertion that mandating the wearing of cycle helmets will save lives, many of us might agree. It is intuitively obvious.

But zoom out from this linear relationship for a moment. Consider – as New Zealand has – the numbers of people who will give up their cycle commute to work or evening ride because of helmet legislation, and the larger knock-on public health impact of reduced cardio-vascular health in the population at large.

I am not inviting an either/or debate on cycle helmets. Ideally an inspiring public dialogue will achieve tactical (less head injuries) and strategic (better public cardio-vascular health) outcomes.

Rather I am inviting the development of an inquiring and systems level approach to the way we engage with issues more generally.

An approach that considers the bigger, often more complex picture. An approach which helps us better understand inter-relationships and where these form helpful and not so helpful feedback loops. An approach which helps reveal what is important and what is less important.

Maybe we all intuitively know this. And so there are perhaps wider questions – for a future blog maybe – about the ease with which we embrace sloppy thinking and our attachment to simplistic soap-box points of view.

Dave Stewart
The Fresh Air Learning Company

Last week’s blog by Mike Noel-Smith drew on a voyage by Leif Ericson, the Norse sea-farer, to trigger some reflections on leadership. It generated some great discussion.

Some people embraced an interpretation around courage, focus and persistence. Others held Leif up as a rather mad, reckless bully.

As with all stories the blog was simply an invitation to readers to engage and derive their own meaning. There is no “right” answer.

It got me thinking about our capacity for inquiry – how we engage and the way we develop meaning.

What meaning do we make at first pass? And is that it? Do we stop and pronounce our belief there? Are we able to cycle some more? Sleep on it. Shift a bit perhaps?

How does the meaning we make develop as we engage further – perhaps reading more closely, noticing bits we missed, reflecting a bit, maybe discussing with others? How long do we stay open and curious and play with possibilities before we close and stick with a point of view? How strongly do we stick?

What are the circumstances in play when we inquire, stick, and act? Is there a pressing need to converge on a decision, and act quickly? What about those occasions when a more creative, divergent process might serve us better?

How aware are we of our perceptual biases? How fully do we see, hear and feel what is being said or written? What is evident, and what are we blind, deaf and insensitive to? Who helps us notice what we don’t notice?

What metaphors do we habitually use; what mental models jump into being; what inferences do we automatically make? How fully are we “in the moment”, or are we thinking into the future? Can we do both perhaps? How small or big, simple or complex is the context we position our thinking in? Are we dealing with tactical symptoms or are we playing in a wider system or ecology?

There are books and books on this stuff.

My invitation is simply to consider how you show up in this world, and to consider what is possible for you and those around you with a more inquiring approach.

Dave Stewart

The Fresh Air Learning Company

The wind howled like a thousand crying wolves and the waves crashed against the longboat throwing up white spume and froth onto the deck.

The storm had raged like this for 6 days and continued to carry the men in a direction they had never been before. No one could row in weather like this. They huddled under the canvas sheet. Meagre shelter in atrocious conditions.

Some prayed and some wondered why they were on this crazy journey.

Leif Ericson, the master skipper, calculated they had travelled hundreds of nautical miles since leaving the shelter and safety of Greenland. He looked at the dark sea and thought about how brave his men were. A trip into the unknown. A trip to a new world and new beginnings.

Was it true that the world was flat? Would they plummet off the edge of the world and enter Valhalla?

Discovery

This journey took place over a thousand years ago, and pre-dated Christopher Columbus ‘discovery’ of the New World by 500 years.

When Leif Ericson first set sight on a strange coastline, he was not to know that he was ‘discovering’ the New World. He named the land Vinland. Archaeological finds in Newfoundland and the Gulf of St Lawrence in the 20th century confirm the presence of Norsemen and their settlements.

Resolve and revelation

Dispelling myths and being courageous of heart in what you want to pursue will reveal new worlds and new beginnings to all those that try.

Erickson and his crew were quite literally going into the unknown, but had a strong belief in themselves and in their skipper as leader. They refused to listen to the doubters and the critics and went onto achieve many amazing journeys of which this one was outstandingly awesome!

What awesome journeys await you and your business? What new worlds will be revealed through your leadership?

Mike Noel-Smith
The Fresh Air Learning Company

Escaping the gravitational pull of a flat world

“Thank you for your courage in presenting in this way”

So spoke a prospective client after a really rich hour of discussion about experiential learning.

Not the sort of courage one associates with acts of heroism or other heart thumping, air gulping moments.

More the use of a big word to recognise and value that something different had happened, something which required a thoughtful step away from “normal.”

Quite simply, the “normal” we had stepped away from was the use of PowerPoint.

It’s a flat, flat world. Or is it?…

Have you noticed how many workplaces are flat? Really flat? Devoid of vitality?

How many times have you sat on your flat chair at your flat desk looking at your flat screen, and then printed off flat papers to walk along a flat corridor to a meeting where you sit around a flat table in a room with flat, featureless walls onto which are projected flat images? What are those meetings like?

Even the word “meeting” is revealingly flat. There is very little expectation in the common use of that word of the rich possibility of people fully engaging with one another with all their powers of intellect, imagination, emotion, and bodily feeling. At home and at play, yes. But we call that living and loving – not “meetings”!

Walking the talk…

So, what was our courageous act? We didn’t use PowerPoint. We tipped out a box of artefacts and used them to share stories of past events and excite thoughts of future possibility, whilst frequently checking in to how we all were in the moment.

It wasn’t a meeting. It was a powerful experiential learning engagement. When we use the term “experiential learning” we simply mean engaging into our worlds with all of our senses and capacities. Simple really. It’s how we humans are built to thrive.

Dave

Dave Stewart
Director
The Fresh Air Learning Company Ltd

The Fresh Air Learning Company creates and supports game-changing leadership journeys for individuals, teams and organisations.

A few days ago I had lunch with a senior HR manager in a global consulting firm. I was struck by his rather joyless work existence.

Twelve-hour days are his norm. With commuting he is turning in around 14 hours per day. Five, six days a week. There was a sense of resigned grind in his words and demeanor. Sound familiar?

Things are looking up however. A new HR Director has arrived in post.

Under the cosh

The previous one was a “mission delivery machine”. A mask of pleasantness would slip at the first hint of pressure to reveal an unpleasant toxic side. My friend and colleagues felt “under the cosh”.

She got what she thought she wanted – answers, information, people walking on eggshells and jumping through hoops.

Yet she never got what she and the business really needed – passion, energy, commitment, and innovation.

My friend is loving the prospect of his new boss setting a new, affirming and motivating tone; one that will encourage him, and the rest of the team, to bring their whole selves to work.

Pink performance

Later the same day I picked up a copy of Daniel Pink’s “Drive” (2009).

Pink says, “Carrots and sticks are so last century….for 21st century work we need to upgrade to autonomy, mastery and purpose.”

How could you increase the autonomy you and your people have over task (what), time (when), team (who) and technique (how)?

How would it feel to get better and better at something you are passionate about, something that really matters to you?

How awesome would it be to exercise your yearning to do great things in the service of noble goals larger than yourself?

As a leader where do you sit on the “carrots and sticks” versus “autonomy, mastery and purpose” debate? Maybe there is an optimum, context dependent blend?

What fresh thinking is underway about motivation where you work? What is doable and desirable? How comfortable does all this feel? What help do you need?

Dave

Dave Stewart
Director
The Fresh Air Learning Company

The Fresh Air Learning Company creates game-changing leadership journeys for individuals, teams and organisations. We dare them to dream, to lead, to do. Bold, challenging, and sometimes uncomfortable!

Place and social setting have a powerful impact on how people behave and learn. Add expert facilitation and the outcomes can be dramatic.

Here are seven great reasons we have found that working outdoors works:

1. Clients’ experience
2. Changes in biochemistry
3. Burnout recovery
4. Boundary removal
5. Inspiring metaphors
6. Story creation
7. Cost effectiveness

Let’s look at boundary removal and inspiring metaphor.

Boundary removal

Have you noticed how many of the boundaries normally encountered in the workplace limit creativity and relationship building? Have you noticed how these are relaxed or removed in the outdoors? And what about that sense of freedom that is created which triggers shifts in perspective, and enriches the nature of conversations with one another? Just how many great conversations are you not having right now where you work?!

“I remember the moment clearly, the moment when I started experiencing my colleagues as real people; people I wanted to be with, to really engage with, to lead the business with. Up until then we had been kidding ourselves that we were a leadership team!”

Inspiring metaphor

We all speak in metaphor. How many times are you caught between a “rock” and a “hard place”? How often do you walk through “treacle”? What about those meetings that are “battles” where people take up “positions”? What would these be like if you used something creative like “dance” or “architecting” as metaphors instead?

The outdoors excites all the senses and is super rich in metaphor. With expert facilitation the outdoors can be a source of inspirational thinking, fresh meaning, revitalised relationships and transformative action.

“I forgot I was there….I was absolutely in the moment… It gave me powerful images and metaphors with which to develop and anchor my thinking….Really, really powerful!”

Go on! Get outdoors and have the kinds of conversations you will never have at work!

Dave

Dave Stewart
Director
The Fresh Air Learning Company

The Fresh Air Learning Company helps leaders realise game-changing possibilities. We dare them to dream, to lead, to do. Bold, challenging, and sometimes uncomfortable!

Experimenting with small changes can deliver great effect. Over time – incremental gains. Or in an instant – the tipping point effect.

I have a routine of writing blogs of a certain length, and always with two photographs. So here is my small change experiment. I am going to use fewer words and create the space for some short questions and two dares.

A dare to reflect, and a dare to act.

So:

• What is it like for you, right now, in your team?
• How far are you slipping into or away from really reflecting?
• What is your body doing, what emotions are you experiencing, and what words, sounds and pictures are forming in your mind as you reflect on this?
• How much of yourself do you really bring to your participation?
• What does the team you want to be part of look, sound, feel like?
• What does the you that your team wants look, sound, and feel like!?
• What will doing nothing give you; give your team?
• What small steps are possible, right now, to help create what is needed?
• How far are you slipping away from, or rushing towards taking these steps?

Feel free to share your daring.

Dave

Dave Stewart
Director
The Fresh Air Learning Company

The Fresh Air Learning Company helps leaders realise game-changing possibilities. We dare them to dream, to lead, to do. Bold, challenging, and sometimes uncomfortable!

Wake up! Do something about your leadership engine rooms!

Why do so many organisations base their reward structures just on a blend of individual and organisational performance? Sometimes departmental or project team performance is also recognised in the mix.

Nothing wrong with this; indeed, it’s a great thing in many respects. It recognises the golden thread between individual effort and organisational success.

Something missing?

How might organisations perform if management and leadership teams were rewarded for their collective performance? I don’t mean reward individuals for their behaviours and contributions in team settings. This is covered by individual appraisals. I mean reward everyone for the team’s collective performance.

Implicit in this notion is the need for clarity around team purpose, the setting of team objectives, investment in training & development, and assessment of team performance. This is emerging as good Board practice, and some organisations invest well at this level.

Dreadful conversations

But how many truly dreadful “teams” have we all been part of at various levels in organisations throughout our careers? How much time has been lost through dreadfully ineffective meetings? How much leadership opportunity has been lost? How much have teams failed their organisations; and vice versa!?

How much training & development did you receive about creating and sustaining quality dialogue? How confident, right now, are you about the difference between debate, discussion, and dialogue? How aware and practiced are you in the skills needed to think together as a team, create new insights, inspire common purpose, and transform performance?

Maybe organisations that don’t recognise and reward team performance don’t understand how teams should perform? A “don’t know we didn’t know” situation! And maybe those that do value teams also value great support to get the best out of their leadership engine rooms.

Dave

Dave Stewart
Director
The Fresh Air Learning Company

The Fresh Air Learning Company creates game-changing leadership journeys for individuals, teams and organisations. We dare them to dream, to lead, to do. Bold, challenging, and sometimes uncomfortable!

Place and social setting have a powerful impact on how people behave and learn. Add expert facilitation and the outcomes can be dramatic.

Here are seven great reasons to work outdoors: clients’ experience, changes in biochemistry, burnout recovery, boundary removal, inspiring metaphors, story creation, and cost effectiveness.

This blog looks at the first three.

1.   Experience…
Very few executives have told us they do their best thinking in their office!

“Looking back it was such an obvious thing to do – to get out into some remote and beautiful countryside, and simply walk and talk.”

2.   Biochemistry…
Our body biochemistry changes as we move through natural landscapes. Blood pressure drops, mood lightens and self-esteem rises. We become more open to fresh ideas.

“It wasn’t long before our initial reticence and anxiety dissipated and a surprising spirit of engaged curiosity and sense of well-being crept upon us!”

3.   Burn out recovery…
We have two systems of attention. One, “directed attention” is used to solve problems. This focused faculty appears to have limited capacity, and without rest can lead to “burn out”.

The second, “involuntary attention”, is used to maintain awareness of our environment and does not seem to deplete. Stimuli-rich natural environments can strongly engage this latter form of attention, so creating an opportunity for our directed attention to rest and recover.

“I arrived tired and rattled, a difficult week with lots of unresolved issues still weighing on my mind. I left refreshed with clear, doable priorities. But more than that I left with a new way of thinking, a richer sense of awareness and curiosity, and with new learning about vitality and sustainability in the context of my leadership style.”

More next time…

Dave
Dave Stewart
Director
The Fresh Air Learning Company

The Fresh Air Learning Company develops leaders, teams and organisations. We dare them to dream, to lead, to do. We bring their leadership journey to life. Bold, challenging, and sometimes uncomfortable!

Question 1: “I have this problem. How quickly can you fix it?”

Do you know clients who are very clear about their problems, confidently specify the solution, and just want you to execute the fix as soon as possible?

Maybe they don’t know the solution, yet are pretty clear about the problem.

Maybe you are this confident client. What is the source of your knowing?

If these situations are familiar to you, how do they usually turn out? How enduring and transformative are the outcomes? Do your actions apply a plaster or create something new?

Question 2: “We are noticing a bunch of stuff going on. Help us make sense of this. What are the game changing possibilities that lie beyond these issues?”

This is a totally different kind of question! Competent leaders ask these types of questions. They know there is stuff they don’t know. They know about “55 minutes.”

These questions require more than an off-the-shelf hole-plugging response. They require more than a project management “scoping discussion”. They require much more than self-limiting, convergent thinking.

Clients who ask this sort of question appreciate the need to invest in exploration and discovery; a process which engages an array of people; which collects a range of “facts”; which pays attention to stories and conversations; which in itself may trigger new questions.”

Courage and curiosity are required; and discomfort can be expected. And this just gets the client to a starting place, a place of sense-making and discovery!

More about journeys and possibilities next time.

Dave
Dave Stewart
Director
The Fresh Air Learning Company