Interview with President of CPL, Patricia Neal, on Leadership

photo credit: AtomikPhotography

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"I am fascinated by inflection points that are the beginning of a new trend. Looking into the future, what are some trends on the horizon?"

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Interviewing Patricia Neal on Leadership

Edited by Rachel Harris and Sarah Flores

CPL had an opportunity to sit down with Patricia Neal, President of the woman-owned Center for Purposeful Leadership (CPL), formerly Heartland Group. Patricia has been coaching and training executives and thought leaders into transformational outcomes for 12 years. She guides leaders in uncovering their authentic leadership and becoming powerfully vulnerable in presenting their transformational journey in a public forum. Leaders who work with Patricia boost their capacity to relate to others, enhance effectiveness for team management and wow audiences with newfound presentation skills. Currently, Patricia is updating her skills via a Conversational Intelligence® for Coaches and Coaching for ROI trainings. Insight into her extensive network and thought leadership can be found at http://centerfpl.blogs.com/

Check out our interview with President of CPL, Patricia Neal, below:

CPL: I understand CPL celebrated its 20th Anniversary with a conference last year. Reflecting on your own business success, who has inspired your leadership?

PN: My husband and partner, of course! Rachel Harris, really runs the place, as she steps forward in her leadership. Our CPL team--fantastic leaders to work with and be inspired by. Then there is Kiki the wonder cat…

I am inspired by leaders who pay attention to whole systems and whole people. Meaning, they hire for the person as a contributor to the whole picture, not just a set of skills. They are contributors to those around them and their communities outside of work. You can tell they are values-driven, inspired-by-life people.

I won't try to list names specifically, because the list numbers in the thousands. I am constantly inspired by the people whose lives intersect with mine.

CPL: As President of a woman-owned business, your to-do list and inboxes are often overflowing. When you have moments to read, what captures your attention these days?

PN: I have a large network of friends and colleagues whom I track because I consider them to be leading-edge thinkers. I watch what they watch. Forbes and HBR regularly catch my eye, but leadership shows up in many non-business settings, so I subscribe to a breadth of online news sources to broaden my perspective. I am fascinated by inflection points that are the beginning of a new trend.

CPL: After 12 years of coaching leaders into their authentic voice, you have worked with some of the brightest minds in the Twin Cities and Bay Area. You have developed a thought leadership following. Looking into the future, what are some trends on the horizon?

PN: Whole-brain, whole-heart leadership: leading to new ways to engage and collaborate for satisfaction and success. Purposeful leadership: Recent research shows that a sense of purpose, not a specific set of characteristics, is the key to successful leadership. Creating thriving cultures: Culture is how people express and define themselves within an organization. Culture defines what is measured. What is measured, matters, but the measurements will change by demand from employees. More than ever, culture will trump strategy. Sustainability: not just of systems and externalities, but of humans inside the systems.

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CPL: You are an incredible networker with over 4,000+ connections on LinkedIn. For people starting out in the workplace, what are some of your expert networking tips?

PN: I am voraciously curious about many things. In person, as an introvert, I’ve learned how to take that curiosity and start a conversation. I ask questions. Then, I try to listen, which is crucial.

Online, I follow and connect with people that interest me in their leadership styles and explorations, and I let them know they interest me.

CPL: You recently began running and competing in triathlons. That takes courage! How has courage played a role in your position as company President?

PN:Choosing a big goal does take courage! Acting on it takes even more courage and self-initiative, but I am always looking for ways to challenge myself and grow. It’s easy to do intellectually, but then, 4 years ago I decided to challenge myself physically and entered the YWCA Women’s Sprint Triathlon with 1200 other aspiring women and girls. It creates an annual stretch goal and benchmark. I created my own training plan of little steps that became longer strides. A 1-minute run turned into 5 minutes, then 20, then 3 miles. I grew my biking and swimming skills the same way. Some days I am tired and facing a wall of resistance, but I know I’m not doing it alone. Then the big day comes, the goal is met, the joy is palpable.

Choosing to co-found CPL (then Heartland) 20 years ago took courage. Choosing to step forward as President six years ago took courage. I then realized that learning to run a business is much the same way as training for the triathlon. The big goals get chunked into incremental, doable pieces. But, just like the triathlon, I’m never doing it alone. Collaborating with a great team is key. The team keeps me inspired and on track. We choose to be mutually accountable, which takes courage and perseverance, but brings great joy when we find and rediscover our groove together.  

To see more of Patricia’s leadership work, follow us on our LinkedIn and subscribe to our blog.

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Just-in-Time-Convening: A Client Success Story

Photo Credit: Craig Neal

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by Rachel Harris

There are many key aspects in convening with purpose and productivity. To ensure your organization's meetings are highly effective for attendees, Heartland presents a list of 10 key Principles of Convening. Many of our clients use these 10 Principles to further their convening skills. One of our recent clients - a team leader in a regional engineering agency - often finds himself in interdepartmental team meetings led by people of varying abilities.

He has taken the Art of Convening training and understands there are always opportunities to take advantage of employing the Principles of Convening in meetings. In his role, he travels from building to building meeting with different teams. He also understands the Principles of Convening are great equalizers in meetings within his role.

Wanting to ensure his time is effective, he envisioned an opportunity for convening principles to be posted and referred to in meetings. Upon hearing his request, Heartland collaborated with the Organizational Development department to install the Principles of Convening Poster in conference rooms. Once added, the interdepartmental teams' ability to collaborate increased. Here at Heartland, we have created a list of 10 key principles to advance and improve the practice and art of convening.

Listen: Respect everyone’s voice; hear their contribution and refrain from fixing, problem-solving, advice-giving.

Speak from your own experience: Speak from the “I”, your personal experience creates trust.

Slow down the conversation: Allow pauses between speakers to create space for collective genius and innovation to emerge.

Speak with sincerity and brevity: Speak your truth and make each word count.

Suspend certainty: Ask yourself, “What don’t you know?” Look for the surprises.

Allow space for difference: Seek to understand, welcome the divergent and convergent views.

Explore new ways of thinking and being: Look for and expect surprises.

Presume positive intent: Be aware of your judgments.

Each person has a role to play: Know that everyone is needed and each person has come to contribute the outcome.

Any engagement can be transformed through essential conversations: Intention to speak and act authentically from a common vision can transform any meeting Heartland's 10 Principles of Convening.

Following Heartland's 10 Principles of Convening will allow for your organization to conduct proactive meetings more successfully and thoroughly. These principles will encourage clarification, engagement, and open-mindedness within your convening. If you have meetings with people of varying skill level who seek to collaborate effectively and are occasionally challenged in doing so, consider adding the Principles of Convening your conference room. Contact Heartland today to maximize your collaboration, leadership or convening capacities. Follow us on our LinkedIn page to receive weekly updates on our blog and convening skills! Contact us at 612.920.3029 for your next consultation on the Art of Convening.

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This was passed on to Patricia by a friend on her 60th

Photo Credit: Craig Neal

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Prophets of a Future Not Our Own

It helps now and then to step back and take a long view...

We all plant the seed that one day will grow.

We water the seeds already planted, knowing that they hold promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces efforts far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything.

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Knowing this enables us to do something, and to do it well.

Our work may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way.

Our actions present an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are the workers, not master builders.

We are ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future not our own.

Amen.

—Attributed to Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero of El Salvador (1917-1980), possibly original to Bishop Ken Untener

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Patricia speaks at Business Book meeting

Photo credit: Daniel Scotton

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Minneapolis Book Events: A Business Book Bonanza of Minnesota Based Authors

In January, we started something called the Business Book Breakfast — and groups of 25-50 exciting, high energy, curious and fun people have gathered at 6:45 AM the 4th Wednesday of every month, to share thoughts and ideas about five very amazing books.

I decided we needed something more relaxing for the last, hazy days of summer, so we’re now meeting from 4:30-6pm (with a cash bar, lovely passed hors d’ouevres, plus FREE parking). Up next:

Wednesday, July 24, 4:30 – 6pm

This month, Minneapolis Book Events will be featuring 5 local authors, each sharing short snippets of their books and allowing time for book signings (and buying). Included authors are:

Al Watts, 

Navigating Integrity

Ralph Jacobson, 

Leading for a Change

Gary Cohen, 

Just Ask Leadership

Manny Steil, 

Listening Leaders

Patricia Neal, 

The Art of Convening

• Location: The Minneapolis Club, Main Lounge on the 1st Floor
• 4:30-5:40pm  Facilitated session; 5:40-6pm  More time for informal conversations.
• Cost: $15-passed appetizers, cash bar, free parking. Prepayment required.
• Non-Club members welcomed!

RSVP: 

Online

 or Call the Club (612) 332-2292

Guests Encouraged.

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Wednesday Wisdom (or Wit) from Heartland

Photo Credit: Craig Neal

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"Reading and writing poetry can exercise that capacity, improving one's ability to better conceptualize the world and communicate it — through presentations or writing — to others."

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HBR Blog Network
The Benefits of Poetry for Professionals
by John Coleman  | November 27, 2012

Wallace Stevens was one of America's greatest poets. The author of "The Emperor of Ice-Cream"and "The Idea of Order at Key West" was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1955 and offered a prestigious faculty position at Harvard University. Stevens turned it down. He didn't want to give up his position as Vice President of the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company.

This lyrically inclined insurance executive was far from alone in occupying the intersect of business and poetry. 

Dana Gioia, a poet, Stanford Business School grad, and former General Foods executive, notes that T.S. Eliot spent a decade at Lloyd's Bank of London; and many other poets including James Dickey, A.R. Ammons, and Edmund Clarence Stedman navigated stints in business.

I've written in the past about how business leaders should be readers, but even those of us prone to read avidly often restrict ourselves to contemporary nonfiction or novels. By doing so, we overlook a genre that could be valuable to our personal and professional development: poetry. Here's why we shouldn't.

For one, poetry teaches us to wrestle with and simplify complexity. Harman Industries founder Sidney Harman once told The New York Times, "I used to tell my senior staff to get me poets as managers. Poets are our original systems thinkers. They look at our most complex environments and they reduce the complexity to something they begin to understand." Emily Dickinson, for example, masterfully simplified complex topics with poems like "Because I could not stop for Death," and many poets are similarly adept. Business leaders live in multifaceted, dynamic environments. Their challenge is to take that chaos and make it meaningful and understandable. Reading and writing poetry can exercise that capacity, improving one's ability to better conceptualize the world and communicate it — through presentations or writing — to others.

Poetry can also help users develop a more acute sense of empathy. In the poem "Celestial Music,"for example, Louise Glück explores her feelings on heaven and mortality by seeing the issue through the eyes of a friend, and many poets focus intensely on understanding the people around them. In January of 2006, the Poetry Foundation released a landmark study, "Poetry in America,"outlining trends in reading poetry and characteristics of poetry readers. The number one thematic benefit poetry users cited was "understanding" — of the world, the self, and others. They were even found to be more sociable than their non-poetry-using counterparts. And bevies of new research show that reading fiction and poetry more broadly develops empathy. Raymond Mar, for example, has conducted studies showing fiction reading is essential to developing empathy in young children (PDF) and empathy and theory of mind in adults (PDF). The program in Medical Humanities & Arts (PDF) even included poetry in their curriculum as a way of enhancing empathy and compassion in doctors, and the intense empathy developed by so many poets is a skill essential to those who occupy executive suites and regularly need to understand the feelings and motivations of board members, colleagues, customers, suppliers, community members, and employees.

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"As [I rose] in business ... I felt I had an enormous advantage over my colleagues because I had a background in imagination, in language and in literature."

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Reading and writing poetry also develops creativity. In an interview with Knowledge@Wharton, the aforementioned Dana Gioia says, "As [I rose] in business ... I felt I had an enormous advantage over my colleagues because I had a background in imagination, in language and in literature." Noting that the Greek root for poetry means "maker," Dana emphasizes that senior executives need not just quantitative skills but "qualitative and creative" skills and "creative judgment," and feels reading and writing poetry is a route to developing those capabilities. Indeed, poetry may be an even better tool for developing creativity than conventional fiction. Clare Morgan, in her book What Poetry Brings to Business, cites a study showing that poems caused readers to generate nearly twice as many alternative meanings as "stories," and poetry readers further developed greater "self-monitoring" strategies that enhanced the efficacy of their thinking processes. These creative capabilities can help executives keep their organizations entrepreneurial, draw imaginative solutions, and navigate disruptive environments where data alone are insufficient to make progress.

Finally, poetry can teach us to infuse life with beauty and meaning. A challenge in modern management can be to keep ourselves and our colleagues invested with wonder and purpose. AsSimon Sinek and others have documented, the best companies and people never lose a sense of why they do what they do. Neither do poets. In her Nobel lecture "The Poet and the World," Wislawa Szymborska writes:

The world — whatever we might think when terrified by its vastness and our own impotence ... is astonishing ...

Granted, in daily speech, where we don't stop to consider every word, we all use phrases like "the ordinary world," "ordinary life," "the ordinary course of events" ... But in the language of poetry, where every word is weighed, nothing is usual or normal. Not a single stone and not a single cloud above it. Not a single day and not a single night after it. And above all, not a single existence, not anyone's existence in this world.

What if we professionals cultivated a similar outlook? We might find our colleagues more hopeful and purposeful and our work revitalized with more surprise, meaning, and beauty.

Poetry isn't a one-size-fits-all solution to every business problem. There are plenty of business leaders who've never read poetry and have been wholly successful. But to those open to it, reading and writing poetry can be a valuable component of leadership development.

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Wednesday Wisdom (or Wit) from Heartland

Photo Credit: Craig Neal

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Innovation Anyone? 
The word innovation derives from the Latin word innovates, which is the noun form of innovare "to renew or change," stemming from in—"into" + novus—"new". 

Heartland programs are often considered an innovation or imagination super-boost. 

How are you allowing time for your imagination and innate innovation to emerge?

Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.
Albert Einstein

Going forward, we are convinced, the world increasingly will be divided between high imagination-enabling countries, which encourage and enable the imagination and extras of their people, and low imagination-enabling countries, which suppress or simply fail to develop their people’s creative capacities and abilities to spark new ideas, start up new industries and nurture the own “extra.”  America has been the world’s leading high imagination-enabling country and now it needs to become hyper-high-imagination-enabling society.  
That Used to Be Us by Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum, 2011

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"US employers rate creativity/innovation among the top five skill that will increase in importance over."

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that next five years, and stimulating innovation/creativity and enabling entrepreneurship is among the top 10 challenges of U.S. CEO’s.
Ready to Innovate New York: Conference Board, 2008

Increasingly in the twenty-first century, what you know is far less important than what you can do with what you know.  The interest in and ability to create new knowledge to solve new problems is the single most important skill that all students must master today.  All successful innovators have mastered the ability to learn on their own “in the moment” and then apply that knowledge in new ways.
Creating Innovators by Tony Wagner, 2012

This is our generations Sputnik moment…We’ll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially in clean energy technology –an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people…In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives, it’s how we make a living.  We need to outinnovate, outeducate and outbuild the rest of the world.
2011 State of the Union Address, President Obama

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Wednesday Wisdom (or Wit) from Heartland

Photo Credit: Craig Neal

A friend sent this link not long ago. It's a light touch to a serious subject.

Follow the Frog

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You don't have to go to the ends of the Earth to save the rainforest. Just Follow the Frog! The Rainforest Alliance is a nonprofit conservation organization that holds Charity Navigator's highest rating of Four Stars.

What's behind the green frog seal? Only farms that meet rigorous sustainability criteria earn the right to use the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal. These criteria address all of the three pillars of sustainability -- environmental protection, social equity and economic viability -- and farms are evaluated by independent, third-party auditors. Learn more about Rainforest Alliance Certificationand its impacts.

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Wednesday Wisdom (or Wit) from Heartland

Photo Credit: Craig Neal

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There are many ways to consider beginning a new year. The article below offers creative and generative ideas to consider.

5 Ways to Begin Designing Your Life in 2013

TIM BROWN, CEO at IDEO

Great designers don’t just do design, they live design. Like them, we can learn how to practice design thinking principles both at work and at home.

As you start designing your life in 2013, here are five ways to begin:

1. Be optimistic, collaborative, and generative.

There’s something wonderfully gratifying about creating something new, whether it’s an award-winning design or a home-cooked meal.

2. Think of life as a prototype.

Conduct experiments, make discoveries, change as needed. Any process can be re-examined and tweaked. Look for opportunities to turn a process into a project with a tangible outcome. 

3. Don't ask "what?" ask "why?"

Instead of accepting a given constraint, ask whether this is the right problem to be solving.

4. Demand divergent options.

Don’t settle for the first good idea that comes to mind or seize on the first promising solution presented to you. Explore divergent options—and then set a deadline so you know when to move on.

5. Once a day, deeply observe the ordinary.

Make it a rule that at least once a day you will stop and take a second look at some ordinary situation that you would normally look at only once (or not at all). Get out in the world and be inspired by people.

Happy designing!

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Craig and Nils: The AoC Book Launch in Denmark

Photo Credit: Craig Neal

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Mødekunst: Meeting Art

The Art of Convening book launch in Denmark

24-27 september

Trip agenda:

click here

Craig has arrived in Denmark and is staying with friends and colleagues Nils and Annelise Stahlschmidt.

Thank you to the Danish Pionerer Group and to Gyldendal ASA for making this happen!

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Convening and Thanksgiving

Photo credit: Craig Neal

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"I know that the experience of being with the people closest to me will move me, one way or another, and I need to know during this powerful time, clearly, who I am and how I want to be with them."

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by Cindy Wold

I'll be hosting the Thanksgiving dinner at my house again this year. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! I love the delicious food, the connection, expressions of gratitude, leftovers for days afterward (or sometimes weeks) and of course the people. As I move into this time of year, the Art of Convening reminds me that gathering my family and friends requires more preparation than just buying the food, planning the menu, cleaning/decorating the house and confirming the guests. It is now that I am accutely aware of the "inner game" of convening.

I've learned over time that when my family and long-time friends show up in my environment, so do the memories (some fond, some not so fond), old conflicts, celebrations, hurts, confusion or chaos I may have experienced with them - whether I'm consciously aware of it or not. While the Art of Convening was initially developed to help organizational leaders have more effective meetings, I have learned that the same principles that are effective in a work or organizational context are also effective when gathering family and friends - and possibly much more necessary for cutting through the clutter of our history.

I've experienced first hand how much the inner game of convening can make or break a gathering of those closest to me, more than any other preparation. Now is when I see the value of keeping a regular (or, more likely in my case, irregular) practice of exploring who I am. I go for walks alone, meditate, and reflect on myself - quietly revealing what I'm ready to discover. This kind of practice is the center of the convening wheel, At the Heart of the Matter. I'm doing this because I know that the experience of being with the people closest to me will move me, one way or another, and I need to know during this powerful time, clearly, who I am and how I want to be with them.

I remember the gathering disasters in the past (some not so distant) - either tense politeness or explosive arguments - when I carried invisible (I thought) resentments, expectations or hurts just under the surface of my awareness. Those failures help me realize how much I need to reflect on my intention for our Thanksgiving gathering. I know this is important.

When I have brought to my awareness all of the intentions or motives I can think of for my gathering, both good and not so good (showing off, getting even, reliving the past, controlling outcomes, having fun), I can consciously choose to set aside anything that might sabotage my gathering and choose to keep intentions that are in line with who and how I want to be. I like to concentrate particularly on the desire for authentic engagement with my guests. This is the practice of Clarifying Intent. I don't need to know exactly why it works. I know from experience that when I do this clarification, it makes a difference in me and others in my gathering - intention has substance that is perceived and acted upon.

(I want to note here that Clarifying Intent is not repressing or forgetting something important just because it might be negative - in fact, while doing this step I bring to mind anything I can think of that is associated with the occasion or the people there - good or bad. It is, rather, remembering and keeping MOST prominent the things that are MOST important.)

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"It goes beyond the invitation itself, into my attitude, appreciation, and conviction that everyone I invite is wanted and needed."

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Because Thanksgiving is a tradition, sometimes we invite certain people because we always have or we think we have to. I realize that in order to convey a wholehearted and generous invitation, I need to do more thinking about the value and precious, unique presence of each person I'm inviting. In the midst of an unresolved conflict or hurt it sometimes doesn't seem possible, but with practice I have learned to acknowledge any lingering bad feelings, set them aside for now, and concentrate on the ways in which a person is a gift in my life. When I do this I realize how much I really do want everyone to show up and contribute their presence to our gathering. This is the inner game of the part of convening called, The Invitation. It goes beyond the invitation itself, into my attitude, appreciation, and conviction that everyone I invite is wanted and needed.

As part of the ongoing invitation, a couple of years ago I started making a small paper placename for each person at the table with a little drawing on each one. I leave the option open for guests to trade places at the table if they'd rather, but having their names there - especially after I've taken the time to write the name and think about each person - provides another opportunity for sincere welcome. 

So, as Thanksgiving gets closer, I am taking the time to prepare my inner game. I don't have to buy, store or cook yet. I just think, contemplate, appreciate and communicate sincerely. This is significant groundwork for my gathering. I hope it will result in a way for us to be together in as good a way as we can - and that's what's important to me.

I'll create another post closer to Thanksgiving with some other ways that the Art of Convening principles influence the way I do Thanksgiving and other family and friend get-togethers. Subscribe to the blog to get an email when a new post is ready.

Comments welcome. How do you pay attention to the inner game during holidays? Are there traditions or challenges you'd like to share? Do you have questions (for Craig, Patricia, or me) about convening during the holidays?

We'd love to hear from you, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Cynthia (Cindy) Wold is a Co-author of "The Art of Convening: Authentic Engagement in Meetings, Gatherings, and Conversations"

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AoC Book Review

Photo credit: craig neal

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I just spoke with our friend and colleague Jennifer Sommerness and recalled her review of our book, The Art of Convening. Follow the link below to read the review and learn more about Jen's important work.

"Today I read the book written by Craig and Patricia Neal with Cynthia Wold, called The Art of Convening: Authentic Engagement in Meetings, Gatherings, and Conversations. I have wanted to read this book for many reasons, one of which is...

http://jennifersommerness.wordpress.com/?s=convening

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The Chinese Dream

Photo Credit: Craig neal

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I'm savoring wonderful Thought Leader Gathering w/ Helen Wang + the TLG community-- visionaries all!.

Helen's deep reflection on the meaning of a middle class that is larger than the US population, and how to move towards connection and oneness was evocative and provocative.

Thank you, Helen!

More on Helen via her YouTube video.

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The invitation is about participation

Photo credit: Craig Neal

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In our new book "Art of Convening", Diarmuid O'Murchu speaks eloquently to the key aspect of the Invitation. He says, "the invitation is about participation, not mere observation. We are not journeying in the universe but with the universe. We are not concerned about living in an evolving world but co-evolving with our world. We are parts of a whole, much greater than the sum of its parts, and yet within each part we are interconnected with the whole."

This line of understanding our role as a part of a Whole living universe correlates very deeply and directly with Indigenous worldviews, and brings us circle back to understanding we are inspiringly a part of a magnificent co-creation, and that each of us has a voice and unique "fingerprint" unlike any other. When we gather in a convening circle, we deepen our ability to be productive, open to possibilities, and to acknowledge each individual's key role when we come from this lens.

Art of Convening is a very special journey full of tools and steps for authentic engagement. We'd be honored if you'd consider writing a review at amazon.com, and also if you haven't yet a copy, our publisher Berrett-Koehler is offering a 30% off discount for a few more days--both for the hardcopy as well as e-book. Here is the UPDATED (as of March 31, 2011) link to buy a copy for 30% off--offer expires April 7, 2011. Thank you, Bolsa, for flagging this.

All the best wishes to you and your circles,

Craig & Patricia

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