Different Has Arrived
by Tom Wentz, President of Corporate Performance Systems, Inc.
Never in our history has our Leadership mind been challenged to “think” without the ability to “think about what it wants to think about.” Think about that.
One of my friends told me last week, “There are days when I think and nothing happens.” He went on to say, “I have no answers other than to judge what is happening as “not right.” Never have I felt this way as a Leader in my company or community.
” He asked, “What’s happening to me? I’m on the Board of several organizations in our community and we are all struggling to develop new strategies. I coach a group of young leaders in our community and we talk about the “world of abundance” but I can’t tell them how to access it. We know it is out there. They get excited for a day or two and then the enthusiasm goes away.”
“We teach all the leadership “stuff” that has worked in the past: seven habits, character, discipline. We’ve read all the books and it does make sense. They know the answers. They could pass a leadership test, but it doesn’t translate into action. What’s missing?”
My response was that he is a great “problem solving” leader. “Problem solvers” can “think” about a situation because they have experienced it in the past. I suggested that when “different” arrives without warning, it is possible that no one knows what “different” looks like. When a vision of “different” is missing, the “problem solving” leader has no “solution” to “different.”
He was confused.
Key Point: The future is not a “problem to solve,” rather a “different” to create.
We are confronted with an “awareness” gap, not an intelligence gap. “Different” challenges our awareness, not our intelligence. There are many very intelligent people who are totally unaware when “different” arrives.
He was confused.
In the past, the leader was often the most intelligent, the most knowledgeable and the person with the most experience in dealing with situations. This is the “problem solving” leader. We send them to Washington for they promise to “solve the problems.” They know a “strategy” of deployment that has worked in the past. They work within the scarce resources and get people working on the “problems.” But, the problem persist.
He asked, “But, what happens when a “different” reality arrives that no one has ever experienced before?” Good question. Have we ever experienced a “global recession” before? Right now “different” is happening to the world.
I suggested to my friend that when “different” arrives, he needs to activate a “creating” form of Leadership activity. I suggested that it is very important for him to understand the difference between “problem solving” leadership and “creating” leadership. They are totally “different.”
He asked for examples. I suggested that “In the beginning God created.”
That made sense but was too far removed from his current reality. Then he said, “My people are very creative.”
“Creating” and “creative” are two very different things. “Create” is a verb. “Creative” is an adjective. “Creating” is the “action” you are missing in your people. They have “creativity” and they are “creative” but they are not “creating.” We aren’t talking about “creative leadership.”
He then asked, “But, don’t we need to come up with “creative solutions” to problems. Of course, but that is not “creating.” A “solution” is action aimed at “solving” a problem.
He needed another example. I suggested, “I doubt that you were a “creative solution” to your parent’s marital problems.” What?? Children are “creations” and they are “created” not because people have “problems.” And, the process of “creating” has nothing to do with the “intelligence” of those who do the “creating.”
“Creating” as an activity starts with “awareness” not intelligence. Edison failed many times while “creating” the light bulb. He could not draw on his “intelligence.” He would “think” and nothing would happen. The only question is whether “creating” is done “consciously” or “unconsciously.”
“Creating” is the process of bringing into being something that people want and don’t have. “Conscious creating” requires that people embrace the first two of the seven habits: “be proactive” and “start with the end in mind.” I suggested he was teaching the young people the correct “habits” but he was teaching them within his “problem solving” leader mind.
He was getting it but was still confused.
“Problem solving” can only start after the “creation” exists. We can not have “problems” with children unless we have children. Problem solving is a reactive orientation and starts by reacting to the circumstances from yesterday. The “habits” are not “be reactive” and “start with yesterday’s problems in mind.” A road can not have a pot hole until the road exists. A Mall can not go vacant until the Mall existed.
Key Point: “Creating” Leaders know that nothing fails like success.
I suggested that leaders are very clear that a new Vision for success must be developed before current reality “fails.” That is what “be proactive” means! Vision is the “end in mind.”
He asked, “Isn’t “problem solving” important work of Leaders?” Of course! When there is a “crisis” we must “react” and “solve” but what if the leaders keep the crisis alive an unsolved forever? I suggested that many leaders do that. That is the issue at General Motors today. They have been trying to “solve” their problems for many years now and their problems have not gone away. This is why they need “bailed out.”
This is not a semantics issue. The antecedent for “creating” is Vision. The antecedent for “problem solving” is the conflict from yesterday. Vision leads to action. Strategies lead to polarized debates from the “right” and the “left.” Very seldom are people “united” by the “solution” to a problem.
Key Point: It is important for Leaders to use the right verb when enrolling followers.
My friend is still confused as he has never been challenged to lead with Vision. This is a very “different” assignment for his leader mind. Today he is asking, “What does different look like?”
This is a very important question for Leadership Worthington and for our Leaders in Washington. The future of Worthington, Columbus, the State of Ohio and the entire United States of America will be “different.” Leadership Worthington might be the first group to define it. What is the Vision? Different Has Arrived.
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