Love your local heretic

I've been whirling in the eddy of thought on heresy of late. Funny though, as I bring it up in conversation and ask people about it I usually get a negative reaction. Is it the whole burning-at-the-stake bit?? I wonder. Thankfully, while the figurative stake burning may occasionally still occur, we have been spared in modern times at least of the gruesome fate for those in our midst that are driven to speak the voice that pokes the bee-hive.
In this day and age when we are deluged with mass marketing and media "message," rooting out what is authentic and truth is daunting in the least. Worse yet are the posers; masquerading the "message" as heresy to gin up some contrived counter cultural tipping point. The reality is though that good old fashioned scare-the-whits-out-of-you heresy is needed, now more than ever. Any organization from time to time requires renewal and it is the heretic in our midst that is speaking truth about what we've become is the lone voice providing the truth for us to see through the filters of complacency. Let's face it though, it's often not easy to hear. In fact, it's much easier to castigate the heretic than to truly listen.

What gets in the way of hearing the heretic truth?

Ego, comfort, profit.

Case in point, consider Starbuck's situation: CEO Howard Schultz likely sensed long before the slide began that Starbucks had lost their way. In a telling and well publicized news event, a memo "leaked" out under his authorship that derided the direction of the company by the board, current CEO and wall street experts, all the while losing it's coffee culture culture in the process. He made the observation that it doesn't even smell like coffee in a Starbucks anymore when you walk in the door. Starbucks had lost sight of it's Hedgehog concept. Yet Howard's protestations seemed to have been largely ignored for too long until trouble was brewing (sorry, couldn't help myself...). This is ultimately the risk we run in being complacent in our success; that we may have missed the window of opportunity to renew and sustain it. Time will tell however even with Howard back at the helm as his efforts may ultimately be in vain.

What can we learn?

Heresy is necessary to our survival and renewal. Listen for where it is being silenced, be it on your team, organization or community. Pay particularly close attention to the motives. If the altruism is outweighed by the self-serving, proceed very cautiously and question the authenticity. However, if through the often painful examination, the aim is honorable then take the message to heart. The truth you hear likely bears the DNA of the organization's destiny in renewed mission.

The Being'ness of Leadership

My recent visit to the Stout Grove stand of old growth redwood in the Jedediah Smith National Park in Northern California reminded me of a profoundly important aspect of leadership that has nothing to do with what we actually accomplish as leaders. Simply, it is about who we are as leaders and human beings. For the sake of this discussion, let’s call it the realm of being’ness. To have any lasting appreciation for this in a manner that shifts our understanding, we must first experience humility in a way that evokes inquiry and a deeper reflection of who we are.
For this reason, I repeatedly come back to the Redwood forest and in particular the Stout Grove stand of trees during our family camping trips. There is something primordial that is stoked while standing in their presence. Much like losing oneself in the gaze of the glowing embers of a fire, the compression of the lives that we live are unpacked, slowly at first and then in substantial leaps. As the anxiety melts away, the mind yields to Satoric moments as we open ourselves to introspection and learning. Experiencing humility in this way strengthens the heart for authenticity in our roles as leaders, and it is this authenticity that gives energy, meaning and drive to what we do.
The rub as they say, is that more often than not the time we allow ourselves for this depth of inquiry and reflection are superficial attempts at best. Vacations which are more akin to action adventures then peaceful, relaxing sojourns are the norm, leaving us spent upon our return to the organization, worn out from the “break.” Just more doing masquerading as being. Thankfully, the remedy is very simple; seek to experience undiluted nature. The un-pretention of it will enable you to see yourself for who you are, without judgment or expectation. Then and only then, can you re-energize your leadership with a profoundly deepened sense of who you are and how you serve others.