 Lead from the Inside Out
 If we truly want to affect change in the business world,
we as leaders need to model the very change we want to lead. We need to
walk the talk. That promotes a level of integrity, and that is
“leading from the inside out.”
In this and subsequent newsletters, we will explore the four parts of
leading from the inside out:
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Go inside to get your inner wisdom.
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Have the courage to bring that wisdom out.
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Overcome obstacles. Create a strategic plan to realize your vision.
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Pay it forward. Coach and mentor others so that they possess the
ability to also realize their vision and purpose.
There are plenty of examples in the world of leading from the inside
out. In his book, Good to Great, Jim Collins discusses how
companies such as Nucor, Gillette, and Kimberly-Clark accelerated to
greatness by first, getting the right people and then driving the
process forward – which is leading from the inside out. He notes:
“We’ve allowed the way transitions look from the outside to
drive our perception of what they must feel like to those going through
them on the inside. From the outside, they look like dramatic, almost
revolutionary breakthroughs. But from the inside, they feel completely
different, more like an organic development process.”
Another example of building relationships that lead to greatness is the
success of the Kansas City Chiefs football team. In a recent newspaper
article, reporter James Fussell said the secret to the Chiefs’
success this year was the teamwork of Coach Dick Vermeil and his wife,
Carol: “What sets him [Coach Vermeil] apart is the family
atmosphere he creates with players that builds bonds and inspires them
to heights they never thought possible. . . . To the players, [Mrs.
Vermeil] is more than a coach’s wife. She’s a friend,
someone they can trust and talk to about their lives.”
The Vermeils value each and every person on the team. They are leading
the team down the road to greatness by building the people component
first, then carrying out the program.
Getting to know yourself
During the recent Linkage Women’s Leadership Summit, powerful
speakers such as Goldie Hawn, Barbara Corcoran, and Myrlie
Evers-Williams all spoke of needing to know yourself first. They
emphasized that the world wasn’t always kind, that they had
themselves experienced failure, frustration, and hardships, but they had
learned a great deal about themselves through those circumstances.
Goldie Hawn said that, at first, the adoration of fans threw her. She
realized that not only did they not know her, but she
didn’t know herself. Eventually through much soul-searching, she
developed a technique to stay centered even with the fame and fortune
celebrity brings. When people give her compliments, in her own mind, she
mirrors it right back to them. She realizes her talent and presence
isn’t her; it is a gift and belongs as much to the person giving
the compliment as it does to her.
Barbara Corcoran uses humor and the lessons her mother taught her to
create her own way of staying centered. Myrlie Evers-Williams uses the
sage wisdom that comes with experiencing tragedy and resilience. The
assassination of her activist husband on her front porch led her
eventually to a robust political life, remarriage, and the grace of
passing on her wisdom to others.
Each speaker had a unique way of staying centered. Each speaker was
comfortable in her own skin and own way and was authentic. This is a key
element in being able to stay centered amid the chaos of life. You must
find your own way to stay balanced. Try different techniques. It may be
a combination of things. Something might work one time, and then not
another.
In this way, you are not giving your power away to someone else and have
the tools you need to create what you want when you want it. Choice is
the important word to remember. At any given time you have choice. You
can choose to be crazy and suffer believing in a story that you tell
yourself to perpetuate the feelings of being a victim. Or you can choose
to put your energy toward what you want to create.
Go inside to get your inner wisdom
So many times during programs and workshops I’m asked, “How
do I stay centered and balanced? How do I achieve work-life balance? How
do I do it all?” Here’s a new twist on this idea of balance.
First ask yourself the question, “What does balance mean to
me?” Is it a preconceived notion that other people put on you, or
is it yours?
Balance for many of us is fabricated by the commercial media. We act at
being balanced, rather than going inside ourselves to find out what we
really need to achieve balance. For example, balance for some may look
like a hard-charging executive, who can relax at home or on vacation.
Balance can also be cyclical; one’s career may require intense
levels of energy for periods of time, then long periods of time of
relaxation. Balance for another personal may be keeping an even temper,
no matter what is happening in his or her life.
If you want to find out more, pick up a copy of Debra Gawrych’s
Lead from the Inside Out audio book.
 Leadership in action
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Linkage Women’s Leadership Summit. I co-facilitated a
program with my thirteen-year-old daughter at a women’s
 leadership summit held by Linkage Inc. in Boston. Our topic was
“Take Charge By Taking Risk.” A key component of the
presentation was how my daughter worked through her fear as a
world-class competitive climber. The program itself became a lesson
in mentoring as I watched these supportive women leaders pay forward
to my daughter the lessons they had learned about speaking with your
own voice. They helped her overcome shyness and empowered her to do
her best. They went the extra mile to make a profound difference in a
young woman’s life. For more information about the
Women’s Leadership Summit, please go to www.linkage-inc.com. To the men,
the ideas presented here are just as true for you.
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Coast Guard Leadership: Working from the Inside Out. An
interesting article by Captain John E. Williams, MSO, Wilmington, NC
(http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-w/g-wt/g-wtl/news/summer99/lead.htm)
outlines seven flaws that damage a leader’s integrity. He also
states that integrity is important because it is the basis of
credibility and trust. “Without these characteristics, you
cannot lead when times get tough and real threats are
encountered.” His words remind me that what is really important
is how you lead when conflict is present, when you’re stressed
and your very self-concept is threatened. Ask yourself the question:
Which path would you choose when tested? Doing the right thing for
yourself? Or doing the right thing for your team?
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Collaborative Leadership Wins Out in the End. A November 18,
2003 article in the Wall Street Journal talked about a
different perspective of leading from the inside out. It chronicled
the story of Charles D. “Chuck” Johnson, the heir
apparent of Franklin, one of America’s largest mutual fund
groups. It parallels two leadership styles: Chuck’s approach,
which was instilled by his father, Franklin founder Charlie Johnson,
and focused on pushing himself and the people around him; and the
approach of his soft-spoken brother, Greg, who instead chose to
collaborate and work behind the scenes developing good relationships
with peers and subordinates. In the process, Greg developed an
excellent working relationship with Chief Financial Officer Martin
Flanagan. Recently, the CEO reins at Franklin were passed not to
early heir apparent, Chuck, but instead to his brother, Greg, and
Flanagan. Greg Johnson and Martin Flanagan chose to lead from the
inside out working collaboratively, rather than individually; working
with people rather than against them; and inviting others to
participate in ideas on how to lead the organization.
 The debt mentality
In my travels around the United States this past year, it seems that
several key themes are of importance with regard to leadership and the
direction of American business. These key themes are:
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Integrity
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Authenticity
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Power
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Trust
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Security
Although the context of these themes may vary from company to company
and person to person, the themes seem to be consistent. Managers and
employees want a certain level of insurance that they are being treated
with trust and respect from their superiors. They want to be told the
truth. They are beginning to see that they have choices. They can choose
to stay with a company that treats them disrespectfully or leave.
They are interested in hearing the truth, even if it is unpleasant, and
want to have the opportunity to have input on solutions to the problems
that are facing them. In short, people want and are taking more control
and responsibility for their own lives. This is one of the factors
leading to the ever-increasing numbers of women and men leaving
corporate American to run their own enterprises.
A dysfunctional trend of business in the past has been that of debt. The
debt mentality -- you owe me; I owe you – has perpetuated a
society of victims. The debt mentality at corporate giants such as Enron
and Tyco led to retaliation as well as excess personal, corporate, and
national debt; and took valuable time and energy away from productive
business.
This debt consciousness also has spawned an attitude of victim in
employees. “The boss has to take care of me.” Or “The
head executive has to have all the right answers and make perfect
decisions at the spur of the moment.” This parent-child mentality
no longer serves the new business sector. The pace of business has
quickened so fast that it is ludicrous to think one person could have
the answers at any point in time, because by the time someone comes up
with an answer, the environment may have changed to the point that the
new answer is obsolete. Creative solutions are best formulated by the
synergy of a collaborative team effort. This concept was well researched
by Daryl Conner in his groundbreaking book, Managing At the Speed of
Change. This concept is as relevant today as it was ten years ago.
 Thoughts to help you lead from the inside out
Leaders are best
When people barely know that they exist,
Not so good when people obey and acclaim them;
Worse when they despise them.
“Fail to honor people, they fail to honor you.”
But of a good leader, who talks little,
When their work is done, their aim fulfilled.
The people will all say, “We did this ourselves.”
—Lao-Tzu
To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting
concerns,
to surrender to too many demands,
to commit oneself to too many projects,
to want to help everyone in everything is to succumb to violence.
Frenzy destroys our capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of
our work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work
fruitful.
—Thomas Merton
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ourselves faced with the
continual stress of how to balance the chaos of work and our personal
lives. The theme of the fall edition of Common Boundaries
newsletter is “Lead From the Inside Out” and is intended to
give you some pointers on how to stay centered when the world around you
is spinning faster and faster.
