|
Long after the StormAs I write from my hotel room in New Orleans, I look out over the city’s shiny office
high-rises and spy the familiar curve of the Superdome rooftop, temporary home to so many victims of Hurricane Katrina nearly two years ago. Like everyone who visits this come-back-from-the-dead city, I have a certain morbid curiosity about what happened here and what the devastation looks like now; in fact, the tour companies offer “Katrina tours” if you really want to see it up close and personal. It’s hard to remember those
horrible images we all saw on TV when you walk the streets of the French Quarter today, all scrubbed clean and thronged with partying tourists and convention-goers. And yet, as we all know from continuing media reports, the rehabilitation of this charming old city is far from complete.
Soon after the storm, I wrote a column musing on the leadership lessons of Katrina
and her aftermath: - What we saw unfold in New Orleans was a failure of execution of epic proportions.
- Good information on the developing crisis was in short supply, but leaders acted on rumors as though they were ground truth.
- Communication systems failed catastrophically, apparently with no backup systems in place.
- The structure of our organizations has not adapted to the growth in our technical
capabilities.
- Putting the right person in the right job at the right time is a key function of leadership—no, it’s the key function.
- The human brain can only take so much stress.
- Middle managers were the real heroes of the hurricane story.
As I wrote then, every single item on the list is an artifact of mindset and
culture. Fundamentally, they require changes of mind and heart, the necessary foundations for sustainable change of any kind. You could apply the list to any of the tough problems facing our country today, as well as to many of the challenges leaders face at all levels of today’s organizations. The lesson of Katrina two years on is that minds and hearts are the hardest things of all to change.
On the one hand, you can’t help but be impressed by the resilience of the people who live here, their ingenuity in making lemonade out of all the lemons (Katrina-themed souvenirs abound), and the engine of large-scale corporate investment (every major hotel chain has rebuilt, bigger and better than before.) Listening to Cajun bands and watching traditional dances at a lively street festival, I saw how enduring the culture and
traditions are, and how a sense of communal identity is stronger than any force of nature.
On the other hand, people are clinging to notions of re-creating what once was -- probably wildly unrealistic. Many are caught in their “story” of government disinterest, which could just as easily be bureaucratic ineptitude. The finger of blame is pointed by everyone, and in every direction. And it’s probably safe to say that no one has a real
handle on what works and what doesn’t in recovering from a disaster of this magnitude, anywhere.
So, a few further lessons for leadership from this place at this time: Don’t squander whatever faith people put in you, because trust once lost is seldom regained. Seize the opportunities that come from major discontinuities or disruptions to create a whole new vision for a future reality that’s different, and appreciably better than the past.
Recognize that although people need some quick wins to see tangible proof of progress, most things worth doing require patience for the long haul. You can’t talk to people too much – you need to be in constant communication about goals, status, and next actions. Pay close attention to what people farther down in your organization are telling you, and solicit feedback from many different sources. Empower people on the
ground to take action in support of your strategic goals wherever they are in the company. Finally, don’t be surprised if things don’t turn out quite as you expect. Coaching can help you learn to assess your own challenges and design effective action plans for tackling them. Let’s talk. Call (410)626-6008, or email info@bloomfieldassociates.com. 
Master coach Marshall Goldsmith introduced a technique of brainstorming years ago called “feedforward,” a powerful way to collect ideas for change from many people in a short period of time. Here’s how it works: - Pick one thing that you would like to change.
-
Describe this change to randomly selected fellow participants in the process.
- Ask for two suggestions for the future that might help you achieve a positive change.
- Listen attentively to the suggestions and take notes.
- Thank the other participants for their suggestions.
- Ask the other persons what they would like to change.
- Provide feedforward - two suggestions aimed at helping them change.
|
|
People spend more on tax preparation than the government spends on higher education, according to advocates of a simplified tax code.
According to a recent survey, employees who “are satisfied with their company’s commitment to social responsibility” are more engaged and show genuine interest in its
success. They also tend to have favorable views of top company leadership, including executives’ integrity and their interest in the well-being of employees.
Making the transition into leadership is by far the most stressful life event, according to interviews with about 800 US and foreign business leaders of large corporations conducted by global HR consulting firm DDI. The increased responsibilities that come
with being a leader topped the list, ahead of such upheavals as divorce, bereavement and moving. 
Keyboarding From Gloria Steinem’s commencement speech at Smith College: “In my generation,
we were asked by the Smith vocational office how many words we could type a minute, a question that was never asked of then all-male students at Harvard or Princeton. Female-only typing was rationalized by supposedly greater female verbal skills, attention to detail, smaller fingers, goodness knows what, but the public imagination just didn’t include male typists, certainly not Ivy League-educated ones. Now computers
have come along, and ‘typing’ is ‘keyboarding.’ Suddenly, voila! — men can type!” 
 Go Put Your Strengths to Work: 6 Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance, by Marcus Buckingham. What I like about it: The latest in the series of groundbreaking books by this author that have inspired a “strengths-based” approach to professional development, this volume is essentially a workbook to help you develop
your own action plan, with follow-through. I will be recommending this to most of my coaching clients!
Beth Bloomfield
Executive Coach, Strategy Consultant
Principal, Bloomfield Associates Share what you’re into — books, articles, movies,
music, websites — with others on the list! Send us the title and author or other pertinent information, along with a sentence or two on what you like about it, and if we use it in A Different Optic we’ll not only quote you, we’ll provide a link to you or your website. |
|
“Start by doing what’s necessary, then what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
-- Saint Francis of Assisi | | Do you know someone else who might be interested in reading this? Send it to them now by clicking here.
If you wish to subscribe to
A Different Optic, please click here to send an email request or visit the newsletter section of our website. | | |
|
| |
