Getting There

Photo Credit: Craig Neal

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You take a final step and, look, suddenly

You're there. You've arrived

At the one place all your drudgery was aimed for:

This common ground

Where you stretch out, pressing your cheek to sandstone.

What did you want

To be? You'll remember soon. You feel like tinder

Under a burning glass,

A luminous point of change. The sky is pulsing

Against the cracked horizon,

Holding it firm till the arrival of stars

In time with your heartbeats.

Like wind etching rock, you've made a lasting impression

On the self you were

By having come all this way through all this welter

Under your own power,

Though your traces on a map would make an unpromising

Meandering lifeline.

What have you learned so far? You'll find out later,

Telling it haltingly

Like a dream, that lost traveler's dream

Under the last hill

Where through the night you'll take your time out of mind

To unburden yourself

Of elements along elementary paths

By the break of morning.

You've earned this worn-down, hard, incredible sight

Called Here and Now.

Now, what you make of it means everything,

Means starting over:

The life in your hands is neither here nor there

But getting there,

So you're standing again and breathing, beginning another

Journey without regret

Forever, being your own unpeaceable kingdom,

The end of endings.

~ David Wagoner ~

(In Broken Country)

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Leadership: Proving You Can Do Well by Doing Good

Photo credit: craig neal

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The TLGS were founded with the belief that business and organizations are the conduit and delivery system through which a global renaissance is occurring. Our Friday, February 2 TLG with David Reiling, CEO, Sunrise Banks, exemplified this belief. University Bank’s mission is to be “The Leader in Improving Our Urban Community.” Global change starts locally.

Besides offering a bridge and hand extended to the community, mentoring and leading by example seem to have been core themes throughout David's journey to where he is now. A further ah-ha! came with on-the-ground-learning and empathy: “I soon found out that my job had nothing to do with banking, and everything to do with caring for my customers.”

In his role as CEO, his greatest challenge is to standardize the culture of respect fostered at University Bank. “Getting the staff involved in the community is key. It’s amazing to see the fears and misunderstandings melt away. Before you know it, we’re not looking at the differences between us but how we can help each other.”

Using the organization as the fostering organism, it's a "pay-it-forward" philosophy that creates a loop of generativity for the organization that is good for the individual and community.

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Gender Myths

Photo credit: craig neal

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I was honored to host an engaging conversation with longtime Heartland friend Marilyn Mason on the topic of one of her passions: Gender Myths: how the myths of gender block our spiritual and professional growth. As we all know, this isn't just about gender, but it was a good place to start.

According to Marilyn, the glass ceiling is actually in the foundation, the walls, the floor. Men and women are bound by simple stereotypes that we’re often unaware of. What are some of the simple ways to create change? One suggestion is to create a Vital life vs. a Balanced life—one that includes mentoring or being mentored, appreciation and support of those we work with, creating opportunities for each of us to thrive.

How to turn the baggage into value? By committing to an awareness of common misperceptions or limitations that hold each other and ourselves back from being in relationship with those around us. Because as Marilyn notes, personal and professional growth occurs best within relationship.

What does this have to do with bringing more of ourselves to work? Knowing what is propelling people to change: 65% of people leave the workplace because they don’t feel appreciated to show up in their full capacity. If you're thinking employee engagement or talent retention, this conversation matters.

Engagedly yours -Patricia Neal

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Making Your Contribution in Powerful Times

Photo credit: craig neal

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From Bay Area team member Amy Lenzo, as posted on her journal, Beauty Dialogues:

We just finished another amazing Thought Leader Gathering on Friday, produced by the west coast Restoring Wholeness team of Heartland Circle, Resonance and myself - this one was held in San Francisco, in the Golden Gate Officer's Club at the Presidio.

Our conversation starter (so called because rather than a keynote speaker or presenter, their words are truly a spark to fire the group conversation) was Eamonn Kelly, CEO of the Global Business Network.

Eammon's perspective about the state of the world (outlined in his excellent new book, Powerful Times) was in complete accordance with my own, but he used such a different analytical matrix to get there that it had the effect of blowing the top off my conceptual limits and letting in more light, illuminating my understanding with different hues than I am usually aware of. I heard variations of this opening and quickening in others as we engaged with Eamonn's words in small group and whole circle conversations.

The group assembled for this TLG was one of our largest ever - 57 of us sitting in a circle around a centerpiece of beauty created by Pele Rouge of Resonance. We had to lean in a bit to hear each other at first, but with our 'outdoor voices' on it was soon effortless and the morning's experience was extremely full and rewarding, in the unique way this event has of creating magic for us all.

I am continually awed by what happens in these sessions... it seems that no matter who the conversation starter is, who shows up, what the weather or external conditions are, there is always 'something' that occurs to make the morning seem like a special gift to each of us. I have the feeling this one will be reverberating in me for some time...

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Christopher Avery

Photo credit: craig neal

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Teamwork Is An Individual Skill
Our recent VisionHolder, Christopher Avery asked us....
"What must we do together that is larger than any of us, requires all of us, and none of us can claim individual victory until it is done?" In his book, Teamwork Is An Individual Skill,  he writes that this is the first of five conversations that a successfull team must have. It addresses the question: What is our task? And satisfies the requirement that a team is a group of people brought together around a common goal or purpose. When a group is held in this conversation until they approach a shared clarity about the answer, then a remarkable shift in behavior begins organically and spontaneously. See more on Chris's Responsibility Process by clicking below....

About the Responsibility Process™
The Responsibility Process shows the mental path by which we avoid and take ownership for problems–i.e., how we avoid or take responsibility.

A break-through performance advantage for leadership, teamwork, growth, and change, the Responsibility Process demonstrates that responsibility is not merely a personality trait but instead is a learnable mental process that anyone can develop, any leader can tap into, and any culture can cultivate.

WHAT ARE THE KEYS TO RESPONSIBILITY™?
The keys to mastering Responsibility are:

1. Intention – a mindset to operate from the mental position of Responsibility.
2. Awareness – of when you are avoiding ownership so you can catch yourself.
3. Confront – facing yourself and the truth about the effects of avoiding ownership.

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