Finding #1 — Myths Matter

Don't believe me? Let's ask the ladies in the audience:

How often have you had to suck back frustrated ... angry ... exhausted tears AND paste a smile on your lips and a song into your voice while facing the undeniable, for all to see, reality of a publicly missed deadline?

And in doing so, did you also have to overlook a mountain of dirty laundry; beg out of a dinner or two with family, an important event with friends; or otherwise process the stress of overcommitment and fallout of its resulting decision fatigue? Just to get close to what was, from the get go, an unrealistic, "ideal" timeline from "the powers that be above" under the threat of shame and embarrassment should you miss it? Did you force yourself to:

• Stack rank health, hearth, and marketplace needs?
• Choose between quality and timeliness?
• Admit that your own Defying Gravity, 80s Ladies superwoman myth helped you put yourself in this uncomfortable, unsuccessful position in the first place?

I was. I did. It's why this post is 4+ days late. I stack ranked health and hearth above marketplace as that move I mentioned a few weeks back, demanded more, immediate attention. And, if I'm honest, I've had similar misses in the past.

And, Dear Reader — male or female — I bet if you close your eyes and are really honest with yourself, you too can think of at least one (and likely more) migration, transformation, and/or identity project milestones you too, felt similarly about and were forced by circumstances to respond to in a similar manner.

Although we can't do much about those "ideal deadlines," we can and should as leaders proactively choose and mindfully reprogram ourselves against myths that more positively impact the people, processes, and outcomes of the projects we lead.

Afterall, none of us can defy gravity; we all need a better myth. And the myths we tell ourselves (as I've just illustrated):

• Color most things we think, say, and do.
• Come through in almost every message we send — regardless of medium, in person or digital, intentionally or unintentionally.
• Covertly influence not just ourselves — but Our Teams, Our Sponsors and Superiors, Our End Users, and ultimately, the very success of the initiatives, implementations, projects, and platforms we lead.

So where do we begin? What myths, models, and team structures work best for digital business platform transformation and migration teams, both initial implementation and ongoing support and maintenance?

To illustrate this, let's go back to those girls, the ladies we started this visualization with. After all, we savvy female leaders are simply grown-up girls. Girls who learned early and often not just how to "Lean In," but rather how to best equip our pink toolboxes with the relational and other "soft skills" needed to successfully execute hard data and code into pleasing, profitable end user experiences.

And we girls learned quickly, transformation and innovation leadership is a Queen's problem. As the leader of culture, commerce, and government, who lives daily in the public eye, every Queen knows — The "Big B" is gonna get you one way or another — better to be an Elsa than an Elphaba. The "Big B"? It rhymes with witch and is a label no female leader can avoid. As we grown girls know, it comes with the job.

But what do I mean, when I say, Frozen works, Wicked doesn't. It's pretty simple, really — if not so obvious at first glance to:

• Non-females in the audience — who were not enculturated in the princess myth system from birth.
• Fathers who haven't raised little girls in the last 20 years or so — who were not primary purchasers of Disney and Broadway princess collateral or the primary audiences for little girl renditions of said productions' theme songs.
• Anyone unfamiliar with the data products including performances, scripts, movies, translations, birthday party supplies and other ephemera, parodies, sequels, spinoffs, derivatives, commentary and criticism, marketing, sales analytics, recurring revenue patterns, etc. associated with these two intellectual works — who were neither part of these two work's audiences nor catalogers of such things.

But, I digress, these last few points will make more sense in Finding #2: Models. For now, let's get down to what works and what doesn't.

What Works — Disney's Frozen

1. Future Queen Elsa and the Country who needs her leadership — culturally, commercially, and regulator(ill)y (I know, it doesn't flow otherwise)— are frozen, siloed, and cut off from opportunity.
2. They avoid con-men and false promises of those looking to steal from them and control the goods and services market, not to mention the governing body.
3. With the help of Elsa's sister, Anna (read passionate, committed family) and her future mate (read worthy, well trained partner) aided by his comical, trusted steed (a sense of humor is not just nice to have, it's mandatory when dealing with humans, life, and death), and a little magic snowman (no one turns down a bit of technical wizardry now and then).
4. They connect everyone and kick out the liars and bullies who benefitted unfairly from those frozen siloes and the cold, killing winds of death they engendered in the kingdom, its people, commerce, and culture.

Quite simply: Where friends and family matter (and know they do) and true kindness, connection, and community are coupled with enough accountability to breed trust — commerce and prosperity blossom.

Take a listen to the theme song: "Let It Go" and its Reprise and let it inspire your own myth reset.

What Doesn't — Stephen Schwartz's Wicked: The Musical

1. Two adolescent Witches, Elphaba and Glinda, struggle for control through popularity and questionable magic, as they attempt to impress the wizard behind the machine, amidst the backdrop of a community in need of rescue: Culturally, educationally, and regulator(ill)y (see above note).
2. Neither "Big B" defies gravity; no one gains the community's full trust.
3. Judgement criteria — metrics of Good and Evil — are debated, with everyone, even the leaders, uncertain about who and what are For Good.
4. As falsity reigns, key players are run out of town as criminals, and the populace is unsure whom to trust, the story ends where it began with everyone singing "No One Mourns the Wicked" and no real transformation, just a lot of pain for everyone.

Quite simply: When music is all that matters (and leaders are all talk, no walk), gossip rules and the status quo (despite all its warts and dents) remains unchanged. Connection and community do not develop, because there is no accountability to germinate trust and nothing grows — no matter how much time and money are spent; how much effort and education invested.

Take a listen to the soundtrack: Most of its songs will provide you with a knowing smirk that just might look like a smile when pasted on your lips. Though I don't believe any will be the songs you want to sing, the next time you miss a deadline.

Until next time, when we dig beyond the soft skills lessons into the hard work of models, I hope, if nothing else, I gave you a smile today.

—Nannette