My mission is always about improving communication and relationships, building wise leaders, and helping people to discover, develop and deliver their gifts. That’s why I don’t spend a lot of time making political statements or arguing about what is on national or global news. At the same time, I do want to connect the dots on occasion to show the universal messages in No-Drama Leadership and how those messages and “predictions” if you will, are showing up politically, socially and in business. Here are some concepts and the snapshot of how these concepts are emerging.
Concept: Transparency is not a choice it is a given
We are living in times where nothing is hidden. Even things we thought were buried can come back to life due to advances in technology.
Current Application: Bill Cosby is a prime example of how nothing is hidden, not even the past. No doubt Bill Cosby’s legacy will live on and on. I predict a movie in less than five years. Bill Cosby will go down in history as a serial rapist. That title will override comedian, humanitarian, role model, and father figure. Instead of being able to bask in the glory of all of his prior contributions, he will live out the remainder of his life in shame and join the ranks of others who have betrayed our trust: Bernie Madoff, Lance Armstrong, John Edwards to name a few.
Concept: Spiritual Awareness
What does spiritual awareness have to do with business, politics or social issues? Everything. Spiritual awareness transcends religion, denomination, or doctrine. Spiritual awareness is the awakening of our highest values. When we aren’t clear about our values, those values get tested. My predication is that you will start to see and hear words like “heart” and “spiritual” in other places than just the church house. In fact listen to republican Jenny Horn talks about removal of Confederate Flag talk about South Carolina’s removal of the Confederate flag.
Current Application
The South Carolina shooting of innocent people at a church gathering. It took this tragedy for South Carolina to decide to remove the Confederate flag, recognizing that while the flag is part of our history, the symbol represents hate and division. Yes, it took 13 hours of debate to come to this decision, but that is what is required to examine our commitments.
Concept: Alignment
If leadership is about anything it is about alignment. The reason alignment is so difficult is because alignment is not just about walking the talk, nor is it a straight line between point A and point B. To test alignment make sure your decisions are in harmony and agreement. In the end, maintaining alignment is about tough decision-making, priorities, and seeing the bigger picture. Branding and alignment go hand in hand. Sponsorship are all about alignment and misalignment can cost companies millions.
Current Applications
CVS Pharmacy announced their decision to leave the US Chamber of Commerce because of the chamber’s stance on tobacco deregulation. The chamber says they do not support tobacco, yet they do support protecting the legal rights to sell legal products.
Another example includes Donald Trump and how he is Donald Trump losing sponsors because they do not want to be associated with his views. Lost sponsors include Macy’s, Univision, Televisia, and NBC Universal.
Concept: Power without Wisdom
Power must be balanced with wisdom. As our world speeds up and we continue to promote leaders without offering leadership development we will continue to see bad decision-making based on the short term versus the vision.
Current Applications
A blind grade school child acts up on the bus and the bus driver takes away the child’s cane and gives him a pool noodle to get around. There’s no consideration for the bigger picture, no empathy for the feelings of the child or how the action would brand the North Kansas City Schools winding up on the news.
Another example of power without wisdom can be viewed in our middle schools. The recent example of seventh and eight graders in Desloge Missouri caught sexting and then suspended. Let’s look at the bigger picture here. Children today are being given power (the internet, cell phones, instant access to information) without a balancing of wisdom and discernment. Is it fair to suspend these children, or do we need to look in the mirror and take actions to balance power with responsibility? As adults, when the children fail, we have to own the part we play.
Conclusion
A couple of times a year or so I will continue to post examples of what No-Drama Leadership has predicted that is coming to pass. Stay tuned for more concepts about course-correction, accountability, empowerment, Super Vision, and what it means to be an enlightened leader.
Marlene Chism is an executive educator, consultant, and author of Stop Workplace Drama, (Wiley 2011) and No-Drama Leadership (Bibliomotion 2015). She works with executives, and high-performing leaders who want to transform culture in the workplace. To explore opportunities please email marlene@marlenechism.com