Sunday’s Unchained Melody

In short, the leadership pivot is to get our nature in front of nurture… self-knowledge in front of awareness.

A paradox… is it?

It is better to first get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats, and then figure out where to drive. — Jim Collins

In general, I disagree with this litmus test but I agree with the notion — it’s a paradox!

A VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world needs a few great companies and a whole lot more GOOD Companies and each starts with the nature of things via the nurture of nature.

Let’s have a look at a brief summary of human nature through a LeadU Lens… then I’ll explain.

Human Nature at LeadU

What is Human Nature?

Human nature refers to the intrinsic characteristics, including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting, that all humans share — a bit differently. It encompasses traits such as curiosity, sociability, and the propensity for language and culture.

Why Human Nature?

• Behavior Prediction: Understanding human nature helps predict and explain behaviors, essential for fields like psychology and sociology as well as leadership where both psychology and sociology are applied.
• Enabling Society: Insights into human nature guide the creation of social structures and policies that meet fundamental human needs as well as promote civilization.
• Relationship Building: pivoting with human nature fosters empathy and offers alternate attributions of cause and effect, shifting communication, while improving interpersonal relationships… reducing destructive conflict.

Leadership & Human Nature

Here are some ideas as ‘examples only’ as to how you would LeadU these concepts after the pivot.

Lead with Vision: Leaders envision future possibilities and propose strategically a concert with human nature before funding the nurture required for learning, growth, and development — self-knowledge leads rather than always following.

Problem Solve: Effective leaders identify problems early and devise systematic solutions by recognizing tendencies emergent from human nature via nurture.

Reason with INQUIRY: Data-driven decisions require analysis and inquiry in view of human nature and self-awareness, as it relates to the application of self/other knowledge to reduce destructive conflict.

Practice Empathy: Successful leaders connect with their team’s natural emotions and the reasoning about the ‘feelings of what happens.’

Inspire Confidence: Confidence inspires trust and respect in notions that we are all different and can come together with an understanding of self-knowledge and engagement of ends that create multiple wins.

Instill Innovation: making it ok then desirable to innovate because you pepper your organization with the right people. Some people (~15%?) are naturally innovative and they almost always need the permissive structure of an innovation system alongside. Innovation is hard on people, make it easier for those who don’t!

Reward Resilience: Emotional resilience helps leaders recover from setbacks, overcome obstacles, and navigate VUCA CCR (Culture, Conditions, and Requirements).

ADAPT.

—— The paradoxical idea to pivot with as a leader starts with an admonition from Deming: ‘…it’s the system…’ not the people! Yet, after you get the system structure right by accepting the notion that people are not to be trained but selected for, who they already are — on purpose — and find ways to fit them productively into the structure of the system.

This probably sounds like double-talk. However, this nuance sets you up for the kind of selection process that allows you to find and enable great talent as well as get people in the right seats.

In both cases…

Who is most likely with little to NO training going to lean into the role that by its very nature motivates and satisfies that person’s needs at this point in their journey.

Who is worth developing on the bench for a future role who has the ability to adapt and learn with that end in mind — a talent to be prepared.

It’s important to go back to Covey’s habit… begin with the end in mind — the world needs more good companies.

All in @LeadU.com/news

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Our team at Living & Loving Inquiry

Mike R Jay & Gary Gile
Founders @ The NEW LeadU

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