“Sixty-seven percent of the statistical variance accounted for on the climate for creativity in organizations is directly attributed to the behavior of the leader.”

Lund identified nine factors that directly affect the climate for innovation in an organization.  Think about the following questions and develop a fresh personal leadership agenda to lead your company toward an innovative future.  As you will see, each of these nine factors is directly affected by you, the leader.

1. Challenge
   • How challenged, emotionally involved, and committed are we to the purpose of the company?
   • Is the environment inspiring or is there indifference and apathy?
   • Do we find meaning in their work?
2. Freedom
   • Do we have autonomy to define much of their work?
   • Can we take initiative?  Do we take initiative?
   • Are there so many regulations and rules to define the work that people have little room to make it their own?
3. Idea Time
   • Do we have time to think before they act?
   • Is there time to think about new ideas, discuss new ideas and approaches, test new ideas?
   • Is everyone too busy to step back, get perspective, and think?
4. Idea Support
   • Are new and fresh ideas welcomed, considered, and nurtured?
   • Do we build upon new ideas constructively?
   • Do we automatically reject new ideas?
   • Resources are tight, but do we find ways to invest in new ideas because we believe the future depends on it?
5. Trust & Openness
   • Is there an openness to hear out opposite or conflicting points of view?
   • Is there emotional safety in the working relationships so that honest communication can occur?
   • Is there respect for one another even when we disagree?
   • Do we trust one another and count on one another for support?
   • Do we steal one another’s ideas?
   • Are we suspicious and guarded toward one another?
6. Playfulness and Humor
   • Are we relaxed and is it okay to have a little fun?
   • Do we have a sense of humor?
   • Is spontaneity permitted?
   • Do we take ourselves too seriously?
7. Conflicts
   • Is there high interpersonal and emotional tension present?
   • Is there gossip and slander?
   • Do we fight and struggle with each other?
   • Are there power-plays and plots happening?
8. Debates
   • Are diverse opinions and points of view respected, sought out, and heard?
   • Do we succumb to group-think?
   • Do a few dominant voices prevail?
   • Do we hear the voice of the new, the young, the quiet?
9. Risk-Taking
   • Do we tolerate and welcome risk taking and new initiatives?
   • How do we view failure when trying new things?
   • Do we over-think new ideas and hesitate to make decisions?
   • How do we handle uncertainty, ambiguity, chaos?
   • Can we make decisions knowing that the outcome may not be certain?
   • How courageous are we?

After you’ve reflected on these questions, ask yourself, “What am I doing as a leader to kill the creativity in my organization?”

Uncertain about how to answer that?  Then here’s something you can do, if you have the courage to do so.  Ask the people in  your organization how they would answer the above questions.  And then really listen.

The next morning I woke up early to spend an extra bit of time in prayer and meditation.

I figured it was a good way to reinforce my conscious decision to surrender the situation to God, and to trust Him completely for the outcome. I had done my best, after all. God knew it, I was sure, and I rested in that.

Maybe I had wrapped too much ego into pushing my brilliant solution onto the organization. The other execs didn’t go for my idea – so what? Maybe there’s another pathway that I can help us all discover. Things will work out, one way or the other. I decided to be open, like a spiritual-leadership-vessel, for whatever God had in mind for this particular project. Yes, a vessel. I like that watercraft image. I’m picturing a nice little 20-foot cabin cruiser?

A follow-up meeting had already been scheduled first thing that morning with the same group of executives, to continue the discussion and determine the direction we would take for the subject at hand.

As I drove in to work, an unlikely calm and confidence lingered in my spirit. My thoughts began to drift thinking about that upcoming meeting. Now that my idea had been tossed, what should I say? How should I behave towards the team? Humbled, but over it? A little ticked off, to keep them on watch? Should I break into a series of nervous facial ticks, indicating the seriousness of their decision to reject my plan? Then it hit me. What to say, that is.

“Here’s what you do,” God said to me from the passenger seat with a glint in His eye. “Listen carefully, Bradley: I want you to go in there, and…” He leaned over and laid out to me his brilliant scheme.

I entered the conference room, calm and unfettered. My fellow executives had a sheepish and hung-over look about them as they were taking their seats. “We didn’t get much accomplished yesterday, did we?” I overheard one saying. “No,” said the other. “We were a disaster.” They knew they had behaved very badly in yesterday’s meeting.

I stood up and called the meeting to order.

“Gentlemen.” I began, with an earnest tone. “As you know, over the past several weeks, my team has put in a significant number of hours on developing this important project.”

No one could possibly argue with that.

I continued.

“Because of the time that we have invested, I am going to ask that you reciprocate with the respect and dignity to allow me to present the full scope of our plan, without interruption.”

The room was silent. One executive cracked an enormous smile that said, “You go, Mister!”

I kept the momentum going. “Now, I understand that there may be differing opinions, which I welcome. But for the next twenty minutes, I am going to ask you to suspend voicing your thoughts until I have had the opportunity to present the full extent of our proposed plan.”

In other words, keep your mouths shut until I’m done speaking.

No one breathed or moved an inch, so I kept going.

“Once I have completed my presentation, then I am open to discuss any and all ideas you may have. You can even tell me that our plan is terrible and we should start over. I am totally okay with that. But not until you have heard the presentation in its entirety.”

The group nodded in agreement, relieved to have been called back on track.

The presentation went brilliantly, just as God said it would. It was the very same presentation that was taken hostage the day before, but this time the group listened intently. It was like another spirit entirely had swept through that place before I arrived, preparing the way.

At the end, several people very politely offered some suggestions to adjust the plan slightly. But overall, once they heard the entire presentation, everyone agreed it was good. Not just good, it was great, they said. “Finally. Someone has taken a stand and given us the direction that we somehow could not give to ourselves.”
Well, no one actually said that out loud, but for the next few days, I knew that’s what everyone was thinking. Because this meeting was a turning point. It was a breakthrough. For me, for my executive team, and for the entire company. We are now moving forward on a transformational plan that will take the organization to an entirely new level of growth and performance. And everyone is excited about it.

In the end it’s all about the choices we make. I had the opportunity to choose – moping, or revenge, or beating myself up, or – hey! How about choosing to surrender the whole thing to God! By letting go and trusting God, I paradoxically gained a better end result. Probably because I was calmer, so I could think more clearly. And I was confident that it would work out, so I wasn’t all stressed and anxious. It gave me the ability to listen to God – and to get the insight for what this group needed.

Leadership isn’t so much about us taking control. It’s more like losing control, and then getting back something much better, as a surprise.

Bradley J. Moore is an executive in a large corporation in the Northeast which shall remain nameless. He posts regularly at shrinkingthecamel.com and every Tuesday at the High Callings Blog. Brad’s writing has also been featured in The Conference Board Review magazine and The Chicago Sun Times.

I drove home from work frustrated, tired and spent. My Big Idea had been argued over, stomped on, and dismissed in the course of 30 minutes during a late afternoon conference. Instead of coming out the hero, I lost complete control of the meeting.

Usually when I get iced out by a colleague or shot down in a meeting, I will either mope around for a few days, or else I will busy myself planning a suitable revenge.

But this time was different.

Because, ironically enough, this fateful meeting-gone-terribly-wrong happened to occur less than 24 hours after the Princeton Leadership & Spirituality Event – the same seminar where I spent two days getting all lathered up around the infinitely positive potential of God’s mighty spirit at work through my leadership position.
Well. Could this unpleasant turn of events be an opportunity to develop my new spiritual leadership skills? Was this a test, of sorts?

As I was driving home, I remembered how Dr. Stephen Payne, a seasoned leadership coach and the head of the Princeton event, recounted stories of leaders slipping into the dreaded spiral of despair and gloom because of performance pressure, corporate politics, projects gone bad, for all sorts of reasons. All of us participants nodded in a sad sort of recognition. We’ve all been there, we said, and we want to rise above it next time. Please, kind sir, how can we access the Spirit to allow God to help us move beyond our lousy circumstances, to do the right thing?

“When you are facing that point of despair,” Dr. Payne told us, “You must remember that you are God’s leader, and that your purpose is far greater than the negative circumstances before you. Do not give in to your fears or negative emotions. Choose to trust that you are loved by God and that He will lead you through to the other side.”

I considered all of this as I began to chant, quietly at first, the affirmation that Dr. Payne had encouraged us to repeat.

“I am God’s leader.” I said to myself out loud, all alone in the car.

“I am God’s leader.”

I repeated the statement, ignoring the stares coming from the cars next to me at the red light. That’s right, stare all you want. It’s just a guy in a car on his way home from a lousy day at work talking to God. That’s all this is!

“I am God’s Leader!”

“I AM God’s Leader!!”

My voice gained confidence and volume with each statement. I began pounding the steering wheel with each affirmation, to add emphasis.

“I AM GOD’S LEADER!” <bam!>

” I AM GOD’S <bam!> LEADER!!” <bam!>

“I <bam!> AM <bam!> GOD’S <bam!> LEEEEAAAAAADER!!” <BAM!>

Approaching the final leg of my trip home, I added a British accent, which sounded even more convincing.

“AYE <bam> AHHHM <bam> GAWD’S <bam> LEYDEH! “<bam!>

By the end of the commute I also determined that “Ray of Light” by Madonna played at full volume was very good theme music for this particular exercise.
As I pulled into the garage, I decided to completely and utterly forget the whole thing for the rest of the night, to enjoy my evening at home, and trust God for the outcome. And that’s exactly what I did.

Bradley J. Moore is an executive in a large corporation in the Northeast which shall remain nameless. He posts regularly at shrinkingthecamel.com and every Tuesday at the High Callings Blog. Brad’s writing has also been featured in The Conference Board Review magazine and The Chicago Sun Times.

A TALE OF MERE EXISTENCE by LEV

• Who wields power in your workplace?
• Take a minute to imagine yourself as a secret outside observer of your company… Based on their behavior toward people at different levels in the organization, what are some characteristic attitudes of the most powerful among you.
• What are some characteristic attitudes of the least powerful in your company?
• Read this passage from the apostle Paul to the followers of Jesus in first century Philippi:

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. — Philippians 2:1-13

• Based on this passage, write a paragraph about Christ’s exercise of power?
• Is that any way to run a business? Seriously; write about the tensions inherent in that idea.
• Grade your leaders’ performance against that standard? How do you think that affects productivity and return on investment?
• Which direction (from strongly positive to strongly negative) would you say your own performance against these standards is trending the last six months? What evidence of that (positive or negative) would you offer?
• What’s the most significant implication of all this for your professional conduct and business practices?
• Now what?

For the past several weeks, I have been leading a team in a transformational project pivotal to our company’s future. The President himself had entrusted me to navigate the treacherous paths of this new venture: “Everyone else has failed, so why don’t you go and try to figure out this mess,” he said to me one day.

My little team spent hours and hours sweating inside a makeshift war room. We schemed up new flowcharts, process designs and org charts. We researched industry trends and best practices. We gathered feedback from dozens of managers. It was an intense and invigorating process. It was just like being part of Jim Collins’ Chimpworks team.

Eventually we had developed enough substance to present a serious recommendation to the other executives, and get their approval to move forward with our brilliant plan – one that would completely transform our organization, forever and ever.

By the way, it’s not like the other execs were unaware of our work. No, I made a point to be super extra sure in checking in with the key players from time to time, to bounce off their opinions and ideas, to show our progress, and basically to make sure they were brought in all along the way. Because, dear reader, I am no schmuck, and this is how a politically astute leader gets it done.

A meeting was finally scheduled to present the Big Reveal.

At the appointed time, I marched in to the Board room with my team, all smiles and greetings, carrying nothing more than a few handouts to frame the discussion. “How exciting!” I thought to myself as I watched my fellow executives taking their seats. “A turning point for the organization, all thanks to my leadership! They will owe me big-time for this.”

First thing, I passed around Exhibit Number One: a visual depiction of the New World Order, which basically summed up our entire life’s work over the past four weeks. With casual confidence, I began to speak with great fervor of our stunning new vision for the company’s future.

Unfortunately, my speech did not get too far. Within approximately two minutes of the opening comments, I was abruptly interrupted by one of the more forthright Vice Presidents.

“This will never work,” he said with all the tact of a blunt instrument. He was looking intently at the handout. “You can’t do it this way.”

I chuckled lightheartedly at my moody comrade, and ever so deftly addressed his objections while steering the conversation towards a more pleasant direction. As I was reminding him of the very conversation we had two weeks ago when we had covered this exact issue, the VP of Sales jumped in.

“Wait a minute – what is this big thing in the middle?” he asked, pointing to a colorful orb centered on the sheet, designed to depict a critical strategy. “That’s not what we had talked about before. I had a completely different idea for that part.”

“Well, you see –“ I shifted the discussion away from the grumpy VP and started up an explanation to address this new line of questioning, when suddenly the Chief Operating Officer chimed in with a completely new suggestion. It was hastily resisted by the rest of the group.

Three differing opinions in five minutes.

Voices were now being raised, and I could sense a good deal of tension mounting. Once again, I tried to make my point, to get the meeting back in order, pulling the team back to the greater vision. But things were spinning out of control.

The temperature in the room was getting hotter. Arguments volleyed back and forth across the table for the next twenty minutes. No one was agreeing with my plan. No one agreed with anyone else’s plan, either.

Where had I gone wrong? The discussion was going in circles. Nothing was getting resolved. Although I could not exactly put my finger on it, I had the feeling that a foul spirit was hovering there with us in the conference room that afternoon.

Eventually the President said, “Why are we even looking at this proposal? I liked Joe’s idea from last month better.”

It was here that I knew that my meeting had finally gone down the crapper.

I burned with frustration all the way home from work that night.

Bradley J. Moore is an executive in a large corporation in the Northeast which shall remain nameless. He posts regularly at shrinkingthecamel.com and every Tuesday at the High Callings Blog. Brad’s writing has also been featured in The Conference Board Review magazine and The Chicago Sun Times.

We all run into prickly thickets from time to time as we are charging hard down the path of our careers.

Perhaps you are getting dressed down by an irate customer. Or it suddenly dawns on you that you’ve made a huge and costly mistake. Or maybe everyone on the team is now ganging up on your previously brilliant idea.

Whatever it is, you know it means trouble.

When things are not going so well at work, sometimes God provides a way out: an opportunity for spiritual intervention.

But it doesn’t always happen in a blinding flash of light, the way you would hope or expect. More often, the Almighty’s rescue beacon is nothing more than a dim and hazy hint, like the glimmer of a poorly-lit exit sign through a rain-pelted windshield along a very dark and lonely highway. It’s there all right, but if you’re not paying real close attention, you might miss it.

It is in these vulnerable moments when our leadership is tested, when we feel the dark pull of descent into panic and despair, it is here that we have an opportunity to access the infinite power of the Holy Spirit.

But it’s a choice, really. A choice to give in to a spiritual power that transcends your own, to reveal the greater good of the situation. Or a choice of short-sighted self-obsession, where anxiety and revenge rule our decisions.

The first step in climbing out of this valley of despair is to give up any shred of control we think we have over the outcome.

And this, my friend, is when God can do great things.

To be continued…

Bradley J. Moore is an executive in a large corporation in the Northeast which shall remain nameless. He posts regularly at shrinkingthecamel.com and every Tuesday at the High Callings Blog. Brad’s writing has also been featured in The Conference Board Review magazine and The Chicago Sun Times.

I don’t believe that these leaders are driven by evil intent. They may attract us with their charisma and vision.  They may draw us with their genuine  kindness, charm, and compassion.  However, once we commit to them we discover that they may not be competent or that they have an inability to follow-through or that they truly don’t have the discernment to distinguish between “fact and fiction.”  Again, these leaders are well-meaning and good.  That’s why we’re drawn to them, but in the end they fall short and leave us on thin ice.

Leaders need a robust combination of three things in order to be effective.  These are commonly referred to as “Know, Be, Do.”

Know. The leader must have basic knowledge of where we are going and what needs to be done.  This knowledge must also be informed, accurate, realistic.

Be. The leader must be certain things, especially as it relates to character that is essential for leadership.  Integrity.  Courage.  Decisiveness. Humility.   A biblical warning comes to mind that illustrates the connection between character and danger.

Like a city that is broken into and without walls
Is a man who has no control over his spirit.
- Proverbs 25:28, The New International Version

Do. The leader must be able to execute the actions of leadership.  Set direction.  Create a shared vision.  Motivate and inspire.  Build teams.  Align people and resources.

Missing any one or more of the “Know, Be, Do” and you potentially have a “treacherous” leader.  These leaders are not necessarily the ones that we expect to be dangerous.  However, in the end they are the most dangerous because we are drawn to them for many good reasons only to find that we are left standing on thin ice.