a Series of 10 — second-order consequences

By my count I am 10 blogs away from having written 500 blogs on my two websites. I thought it might be an interesting idea to write these remaining blogs based on the common threads that have woven themselves through the last 490 I have written — and with that said, “a Series of 10” has come into being.

Cause and effect; action and reaction; push comes to shove — these are all pithy sayings that remind us that if you do something, as a result, something else will happen. If it’s not a universal law it definitely should be. More than ever in our made-up binary world, where instantaneous gratification is the norm, there is this tendency to expect the result to follow the action quickly so we can be done with it and move on. Worse still, in many cases, there is little understanding that there will be consequences past that moment. Actions always cause consequences, and it’s important to understand that consequences echo. There is a second-order of consequences (in a figurative sense) that can ripple for years.

Under this title there are two important messages.

Number One: Things happen when you drive action; if you do something you can expect something to happen. It should be pointed out and you may consider this wordplay, but inaction (commonly known as doing nothing) is a form of action and will also result in a consequence. Although there is a place for inaction, driving action is a more effective way to progress through problems and take advantage of opportunities. Also, you are more inclined to think about consequences (and unintended consequences) when you are initiating something. Part of being proactive I suppose.

Number Two: The results of your actions will echo much longer than you think and will have impact that you may not have imagined. It’s a reminder to look at the results of your actions with a longer timeframe in mind than the situation may suggest. Also, the more strategic the action is, the greater the cascade of continued actions and results that may echo for years — this is where the virtue of patience comes in — some of your actions may take quite a while for the ripples to die down. This helps manage expectations and reinforces the need for tenacity and sticktoitiveness.

A case in point for myself — I started what I affectionately called my city project when I downsized to experience city life and continue developing my boutique consulting initiative. That did happen but I also: redefined what work is for me and how it is accomplished, became much healthier, established better habits for success, changed my life model for looking at the world and now make my way assuming I know nothing. None of it I would have imagined because my view was so short term and as they say, “you don’t know what you don’t know”.

“As much as I am the same, I am different”.

iamgpe

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Pro Memoria — Essential Points of Leadership

Maybe it’s the algorithm influencing all my feeds or the broader zeitgeist in general, but I have noticed very few people are talking about leadership — influencers aplenty talking about other things but little about leaders or leadership. Is “influencership” even a word? There may be communities talking about leadership but I’m not getting the newsletter or seeing the blogs. I thought I would offer some thoughts on the essential points of leadership as a flare to catch someone’s attention and get some invitations.

I wanted to mention I wasn’t trying to be pretentious when I titled this blog Pro Memoria — Essential Points of Leadership. I could have easily called it “crib notes” or “a cheat sheet” but leadership is so important that I wanted something that stood out and offered weight (much like the topic). Pro Memoria is derived from Latin and literally means “for memory” and in modern terms means “A memory aid; a reminder or memorandum” — with that said, here are the essential Points for Leadership to get the conversation started.

1) Leadership is as much a philosophy as it is a journey, and it’s about perpetual learning — a case in point, great leaders are always reading about leadership and other things to improve. I suppose that is why Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is considered in the top must reads for anyone interested in leadership. This is not the only step on the journey but one of many.

2) Will you be a Selfish leader or a Selfless leader? If you raise your hand and say you want to be a leader you have to pick a camp. I am not here to tell you which type of leader to be… but there is a saying that goes something like this, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together”. My experience is Selfless leaders go far.

3) Leaders are not defined by a title. Everyone and anyone can be a leader — ask all those people that spend their day with lots of responsibility and no authority. A leader by definition is someone who acts like a leader — beautifully circular.

4) Leaders have a vision. And right after that they have goals, objectives and expectations. This becomes even more important the larger the team you are working with gets — effective execution on a vision comes with alignment and everyone involved.

5) Ownership, the ability to make decisions and communication transparency are crucial traits for a successful leader. A leader owns what they do and takes responsibility, makes decisions to help the vision and team progress and is always communicating as honestly as possible to make sure everyone understands, and is clear with what is happening.

6) Leaders encourage others to shine and foster personal and professional growth. An abridged quote by Marianne Williamson reflects what great leaders do:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other
people won’t feel insecure around you.

It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.”

7) Leaders create an environment to drive action. I remember listening to a CEO I very much admire — someone was making a pitch for a big idea and his only response was, “Do it”.

8) True leadership skills are forged when it is difficult — it is easy to be a good leader when times are good. You can’t control when your world decides to get hard but you can decide to take on difficult things to practice for when it becomes real.

As I look at my notes, it seems I have landed on 8 points for my Pro Memoria. I appreciate that each of these points are large topics in their own right and there are probably other points that could be added — but remember, this was just intended to be a cheat sheet.

Hopefully it starts up a conversation about Leaders — we can’t let the Influencers win.

iamgpe

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Moments — yesterday

Prequel to yesterday

I didn’t ask but my room was upgraded and it made the stay at the trendy Toronto Hotel even better; the universe must have had plans.

Yesterday

The day started with a massage with some focus on my problematic shoulders. It’s what happens when you break your shoulder playing touch football — at the time, I was told I had made a great defensive play; I wonder to this day if the sacrifice was worth it.

Had a four hour breakfast with my daughter where we enjoyed each other’s company. We talked about many things and landed on a plan to go to Vancouver Island to hike, surf and enjoy Tofino.

I wandered the city after that. I bought some clothes and enjoyed perspectives of the people I met. Advice to stay young and vibrant rang true for me — be healthy in your choices, choose a community that is vibrant and doesn’t act its age, and don’t consume alcohol (I added sugar for good measure).

By chance, I found a restaurant and a seat at the bar; I enjoyed good food, witty banter and multitasked — I arranged a dinner with friends at the same restaurant in a few weeks and firmed up details on the upcoming trip to the west coast. It was an excellent place.

On the way back to my hotel, I came across a speakeasy disguised as an apothecary — they had room for one. I do not have a hard line with alcohol so I had a dry gin martini with three olives.

I turned 66.

Sequel to yesterday

The morning was sunny, cold and crisp — a perfect January day. I will continue my journey until I no longer can. I still have things to accomplish.

iamgpe

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