Author: whatifconcepts

Empowering those that inspire so they can excel at the work that matters.

Original Cast

If you are a member of the traveling cast in the Broadway mega-hit Hamilton, how do you benefit from the DNA embedded by the original cast? With multiple productions worldwide, there are some links back to the original cast members who developed the characters and added depth and dimension to the songs. If you play King George III in a current production, you can trace nuisances to Jonathan Groff, the original performer portraying the Broadway King George. Your performance is calibrated in some measure based on the first iteration.

How might we recognize that when we join a cause, we have some connection to the original cast who started the enterprise? How might we benefit from their insights and add our own perspective as we build the best version of the cause? What transitive properties from the founders have cascaded to your work?

Inclusions

When we hold a precious stone up to an intense light, it reveals any inclusions and blemishes. We might be utilizing the stone for a purpose that does not require a high grade, or we may intend to make the stone the centerpiece of our work, which would benefit from fewer visible inclusions.

What light do we deploy to explore our organization’s inner workings? Do we have a culture of curiosity that is open to examining our enterprise’s status? Does a generative conversation make us stronger as a team or does it reveal fault lines that create more friction?

Hidden Signs

Spotting wildlife on a safari can be challenging. Moving across rough tracks in a moving vehicle, looking for subtle clues to reveal a unique viewing opportunity, is part art form and part science. Leopards are incredibly challenging to spot, even when they take shelter in a tree. A safari guide noted that a tail or paw hanging below a branch is often the only signal to reveal the leopard’s presence.

What are the hidden signs that you use to navigate your journey? A backcountry skier may be alerted to high avalanche conditions by hearing snow settle below their skis as they approach a possible ski slope. A board member may seek more follow-up if numerous committee meetings are canceled over a short period. A supporter of a social sector enterprise may be curious when they only receive communications related to philanthropic giving opportunities.

How might we think about the signals we send and receive when doing the work that matters?

Delayed Reaction

Superheated air takes thirty seconds to reach the top of a hot air balloon and influence its rate of ascent or descent. Therefore, a balloon pilot must make decisions half a minute ahead of the current position. It is a good metaphor for our own expedition. We cannot have the instantaneous response of an accelerator or disc brakes in modern vehicles. Our enterprises are more of a balloon journey; we need to look far enough ahead to navigate and adjust for the wind conditions at different altitudes.

How might we recognize that deploying resources has a delayed impact on our progress?

What, Then Where

If we get precise about what we are doing, it will clarify where we position ourselves. Companies prioritizing returning their employees to the office are reversing this conversation. They are focused on filling their offices with employees that the ‘where’ is proceeding the ‘what.’ Southwest Airlines allows customer support team members to work from home. As an airline, there are vital roles that require presence at an airport or base of operations, but there are roles that allow for a ‘work from anywhere’ approach.

If our journey has the strategic impact we planned, we need to know what road signs to look for. Otherwise, we might confuse motion for progress. If we are living our stated organizational values, it should be evident in the team’s behaviors. Otherwise, we just connect the closest dot without appreciating the whole picture.

Credibility

If we believe in a cause, we invest our resources in its work. A banking institution might be credible due to the federal and state regulations it adheres to, the accreditation it receives from banking regulators, and the FDIC insurance that protects our deposited funds. A social sector enterprise might obtain credibility for the standards and practices it follows, the integrity of the board and staff members, and its history of service.

What attributes must be embedded in a cause before you feel motivated to make an investment of time, talent, treasure, or touch? What is the tipping point for you to risk your social capital on behalf of a cause? Would credibility be one of the factors?

What makes us willing to

Fault Lines
Mid-Atlantic Ridge in Iceland: Meeting of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates

If we build on a fault line, expect dynamic experiences. If we desire stability, we may need to seek more durable ground. Flying into my city earlier this year, I spoke with my seatmate who worked as a facility manager, building served farmers (data centers). He was overseeing the construction of a new center outside the town. I asked him why his company picked this location, and he stated that it met four critical criteria: geologically stable land (i.e., limited seismic activity), a good source of inexpensive power (hydro and wind), less expensive land, and the cost to build was attractive. The exact property would not work well as a prospective site for a geothermal pool or a national park that contained geysers.

Where we work may influence our impact and ability to establish a stable foundation. A ski instructor has more prospects in the mountains than being based in the tropics. A social service organization might likely thrive in a region with an established nonprofit center and a community foundation. If your cause is a search and rescue organization, it exists on the frontier between emergency services and volunteer resources. The business model demands working in dynamic settings and functioning on fault lines.

How might we assess where our services are most needed within a community? How might we be willing to migrate if the need has relocated?

Change of Leadership

Winston Churchill was voted out of office in 1945 after serving for five years as Prime Minister during World War Two. The war’s conclusion allowed citizens to focus on other priorities, but the Conservative Party did not anticipate the growing calls for social reform and was routed at the polls. Harry S. Truman managed an unexpected victory in the United States to keep the Democratic Party in control during the first post-World War Two election.

Representative leadership exists on a delicate margin and is subject to the whim of the people. One might argue that Churchill led Britain with resounding fortitude, sufficient to claim another term, if for no other reason than gratitude that the Allies had prevailed. Truman succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died in April of 1945, making decisions that concluded the war but lacked as robust of a World War Two resume (he served in World War One and was a reservist until 1953).

Leadership is temporary, and a change always looms. How might we use our time in leadership by setting others up for success? How might we focus on our core values and execute the work that matters, regardless of our title? How might we recognize that we are leading, with or without the title of leader?