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LRC Email – Caring For Yourself and Others

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Here’s my email to Leadership Reno County alums today, 9/16/13:

I know I’ve been on a managing self kick in recent emails, but I thought it was good to come back to the idea of taking care of yourselftoday.  One reason is that I’m rather drained after the amazing month I’ve been privileged to live recently.  Another is that as I visit with others, I get inspired by those who have the wherewithal and insight to pull back.
In 2012, the KLC did a conference call “On the Balcony” and thought about what it means to take care of yourself that I highlighted in some emails.  The big point: “Leadership is risky.  You stand a better chance of succeeding when you’re at your best.”  Caring for yourself means recognizing when you need to take care of yourself, finding what balances you, and having kindness and compassion for yourself and the work you’re doing.  Some warning signs that you need to take care of yourself were: you become restless, irritable, and discontent, you can no longer meet people where they are, you start forgetting things, you become physically sick and/or you take things personally that were meant as constructive criticism.  The remedy came in three ways: 1) Take quiet time for yourself: prayer, reflection, meditation.  2) Care for your physical needs: get enough sleep and exercise regularly. 3) Ask for what you want or need.
So, today, this is as much for me as anyone, but if I know anything about hard-working, nose-to-the-grindstone Kansans, it’s that we easily forget to manage ourselves by taking care of ourselves.  So, today, I free you take care of yourself, so that you can engage in more effective acts of leadership, helping our community make progress on the issues we care about deeply.

With you in this… 

LRC Email – Intentionality, Words and Self

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Here’s an email I wrote to Leadership Reno County alums today, 9/9/13:

I was thinking this morning about using words and the inherent power they have.  A popular workout regimen was claimed to have “terrorist” tendencies, people that disagree with us are labeled as “intolerant” and there’s a host of other uses of language that come out in print or from our mouths that may or may not be helpful.  There’s a tension here, isn’t there?  On the one hand, at times we’re compelled to raise the heat through our words.  On the other hand, we can manage ourselves to such a degree that we would never use our words to raise heat (although there’s quite a good bit of talking happening between our ears which may or may not raise the heat internally for us).  And, both of these tensions intersect in managing self.  So, for those who tend to be heat-raisers with words, is there a degree of intentionality in what you write or say?  Or do you tend to fly off the handle?  Maybe you need to manage self for more effective interventions.  And, if you tend to be one who talks more to yourself rather than others, maybe you need to manage self by intentionally intervening and asking that conflictual question or pushing back on that prevalent interpretation.

Today, let managing self be seen in the words you use and see if that doesn’t help us make progress toward the things we really care about…

LRC Email – Self and Others

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Here’s an email I wrote to Leadership Reno County alumni yesterday, 8/26/13:

Good Morning. 
As you know, my life has recently been turned inside down and upside out (yes, that’s a play on words) and I’ve been thinking about how this relates to our acts of leadership in Reno County.  One part of this is a simple reminder that I too easily forget:  I don’t have all the answers.  Now, I’m sure some of you have different capacities and rebuilding a basement might not be an issue for you, but I’m out of my element.  I need the eyes of others.  I need their wisdom, expertise, experience, history, baggage and all that’s gone good and bad for them before. 
And, if we were all honest, there are countless ways that we need the insight of others.  In terms of the competencies of the KLC, we would say, we must engage the unusual voices.  But, this is as large a part of managing self as anything.  How many of us simply default to our own best-laid plans or schemes and don’t really pursue the insights of others?  I know I do.  I don’t want to have the mess with the work that engaging others might bring.  But, it is an act of leadership to seek out those unusual voices.  So, today, remember this simple truth: You don’t have all the answers.  There might (probably definitely will) be others that you need to engage.  And, as you do this, I believe you’ll make more progress on this issues you care about deeply. 

With you in this adventure…

LRC Email – Leadership and Inspiration

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Here’s the email I sent to leaders in Reno County on Monday, 8/19/13:

Good morning everyone.  Thanks for your continued care for me in the aftermath of the flooding we experienced 2 weeks ago.  Many of you have checked in and continue to be an encouragement to me and, thus, my family.  I’m very grateful to be a part of this community.  And, it’s inspiring, which gets me to our thought for today.
A recent communication card from the KLC asks about the connection of inspiration with leadership.  The answer: “Inspire means ‘to exert an animating, enlivening or exalting influence.’ Something got you fired up.  Now you must motivate others through your words and example.  If you hope to make progress on a daunting, adaptive challenge you cannot do it alone.”  I’m wondering how inspiring our words and actions are, actually.

I’ve had some conversations recently with people who are plenty fired up about a great many things, but their words and actions aren’t moving toward a purpose.  One was fed up with a recent Brownback policy, another couldn’t believe Obama had done this or that thing.  Across the board (and more than likely all the way down to our local level), people get fired up about a great many things.  But, how we act in light of being fired up may help or hinder progress.  So, this Monday AM, what are you fired up about?  How are you speaking and acting?  And, what might you do to be more purposeful, to step into the arena of inspiration, so that progress is made?  Consider these things and, better yet, act on them and see if it doesn’t help move our community along.

LRC Email – Takeaways on Failure

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Here’s the email I wrote to Leadership Reno County alumni on 7/29/13AM, highlighting some areas of failure that we learned from recently.  Here’s my email:

Well, the Summer 2013 issue of the Journal of the Kansas Leadership Center arrived in my snail mailbox on Friday.  I didn’t get a chance to dig in to it until Sunday afternoon and a quick skim helped me notice something that might interest us Reno County people…
The article is entitled, “Fail, Why We Must Be Prepared To Fall Short In Civic Leadership (And what to do about it when it happens)” by Chris Green.  What’s of interest to us are the reflections of Randy Henderson, Reno County Sheriff, on the new jail (with some quotes from Dan Deming) as well as Dan Stiffler’s Buhler bond issue ruminations. 
The article concludes with some “Lessons From The Field (How Might One Respond To Failure in Civic Leadership?):”
1) Take the time to diagnose the situation thoroughly.
– Treat failure as a data-gathering opportunity
– Use it to dig even deeper into understanding the different points of view around your issue and more fully explore tough interpretations about why you’ve failed.
2) Put additional effort into managing yourself.
– Closely assess your part of the mess.  Are there behaviors or values you’re holding on to that are getting in the way?
– You’re going to have to be very aware of the stories that others are telling about you.
– Understand that failure is often a reality of exercising leadership on tough issues – there are no easy paths to lasting change.
3) Keep trying new approaches by designing and executing carefully thought-out, skillful interventions.  But accept that the outcome won’t be under your control.
– Don’t lose sight of your deepest purpose.  Hold to it.
– You’re going to have to try something new and act experimentally.
4) Look for others to energize around addressing the situation.
– You will have to engage more stakeholders in the problem, particularly those who haven’t been involved previously.
– Recognize and speak to losses that might be incurred by stakeholders in the problem.

So, there it is.  Reno County’s failures front and center, but great lessons learned.  Read through this article (pp.26-37) and see if reviewing this doesn’t help us catapult out of the failures into progress for the future.  With you in this…

LRC Email – Fighting the Hiccups

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Here’s a short email I wrote to Leadership Reno County Alumni this AM:

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve written and this has been due to some circumstances in life.  Specifically, I lost my grandmother on July 7.  I had the privilege of traveling home (to Southern Illinois) and being a part of the service.  It was a great time, but hard as that last relative on one side is now gone.  Needless to say, it was a hiccup on the road of my life. 
We all face these don’t we?  We face situations that have the potential to take us out of the game for a season.  We encounter times or seasons that call for refocusing or redirecting our efforts.  We drift into parts of life that mean we’re a little bewildered as to who we are and what we’re doing.  Even a simple vacation, which is an important part of taking care of yourself, can have an effect like this. 
So, how do we fight the “hiccups”?  Well, for me, even writing this short thought meant fighting through the hiccups.  And, I simply recalled a couple of basic KLC civic leadership principles:  Leadership is an activity, not a position.  I have to simply step out and do something.  I also remembered that It starts with you and must engage others.  Reengaging meant stepping into other people’s lives.  And, finally (and maybe most important), I remembered Your purpose must be clear.  Why do I do this?  So that the leadership capacities of you, my friends, are strengthened.  I want Reno County to be better for my children because we are more effectively engaging in acts of leadership. 

Today, what hiccups are you fighting?  Maybe these simple reminders will help you make progress on the issues you care about.  

LRC Email – Moving Forward

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Here’s my email to leaders in Reno County on engaging unusual voices today (7/1/13):

Today’s the final installment on “Engaging Unusual Voices.”  You might remember where we’ve been as we’ve quickly surveyed the waters of this important topic: we’ve talked about why it’s important to engage them, why we don’t do it more often, and who are the usual vs. the unusual voices.  Today, I hope you feel the urge to engage unusual voices in deeper ways, so we conclude very practically with some Steps on How to Engage Unusual Voices:
·         Pinpoint who will be impacted by a cause or decision.
·         Build a trustworthy process.
·         Learn to listen differently: Come to conversations with empathy, not expertise.
·         Don’t just engage unusual voices for input, engage them for decision making.
·         Meet them where they are.
Again, I’m grateful for the Kansas Leadership Centerfor having this conference call last fall.  And, I hope as we engage unusual voices, the effect will be a more engaged and connected community, making progress on issues we care about deeply.

With you to that end…

LRC Email – Usual vs. Unusual

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My 6/24/13AM email to Leadership Reno County alumni:

I want to continue pressing this idea of engaging unusual voices for 2 reasons: 1) It’s something that I don’t do very naturally.  I tend to default into “I’m-the-expert-and-have-this-figured-out-and-don’t-want-to-waste-time-talking-to-others” mode.  So, I need this content.  Also, 2) it was the content of a card sent out by the KLC summarizing a conference call on October 4, 2012.  This info is super-duper helpful.
Here are 2 groups of 3…
3 Examples of Usual Voices:
– People in positions of authority
– Individuals with significant influence surrounding an issue
– Those who frequently participate and show-up
3 Examples of Unusual Voices:
– Those perceived to have little or no influence
– People not actively engaged
– Individuals who are invited to the table but whose ideas are not heard
So, which group gets your attention?  And, what do you envision to positive and negative effects being of engaging these more unusual voices?  Today, why don’t you consider one such voice you could engage and seek to see what they might offer in helping you progress in your area. 

With you in this adventure of engaging in acts of leadership…

LRC Email: Hearing Voices

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Here’s the email I wrote to Leadership Reno County alums today, entitled “Hearing Voices.”

I’m being serious.  Hearing voices might seem like some metaphysical pursuit or some other kind of psychological thing-a-ma-jig.  But, one of our contentions is that engaging unusual voices is a very important act of leadership.  In a recent conference call, Ed O’Malley said, “Engaging unusual voices is about getting outside your comfort zone.  If we don’t build capacity to experiment beyond our comfort zone, we’re less likely able to engage unusual voices.”  They are important.  So, we’re going to take a couple of weeks and think about this.
Why is it so important to engage unusual voices?
Answer: They see things usual voices don’t.  True progress isn’t made without them.

I’ll leave it there for today.  Hope you have a great week.  And seek out some of those voices you don’t normally.

LRC Email – You’re Needed

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Here’s the email I sent to Leadership Reno County Alumni on 6/3/13:

I recognize that many of you have plenty on your plate.  Having said that, though, I also realize that some of you are looking for the right opportunity in which to engage.  The Alumni Association was recently approached by the city for help in dealing with board vacancies.  Here’s the low-down:
The City has many advisory boards, commissions and committee, and we are constantly seeking out volunteers who can give the time to participate in their local government.  The City’s web link below provides access to a description of each board, a listing of current board members and upcoming vacancies, an Application for Board Appointment, an Applicant Bank form, and information about our appointment policies.  [They] respectfully request that [we] share the City’s web link with [you].
So, consider if this might be for you and follow up accordingly.  If we really believe that engaging in acts of leadership helps us make progress on our most daunting challenges, joining a board might be a way to engage in an act of leadership and pursue change, while seeking to work for the good of our community. 

With you in this…