History

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We recently expanded idealis’ footprint to the beautiful city of Amsterdam.?In Amsterdam, it is hard to walk the streets without being reminded of the deep history of the land that we now call home.?

The image for this post was taken by our founder, Sumona De Graaf a few evenings ago, while on a walk in a neighborhood in Amsterdam called Oud Zuid. The image is of stumbling stones, or golden plates, that lay amongst pavers on the streets of Amsterdam. They represent the Jewish lives that were taken from this neighborhood during World War II. They reflect the last known location of a person - their gravesite in many ways - where their lives succumbed to the horrid acts of humankind.?

If you aren’t paying attention, you would walk right over them. But they are meant to stop you in your tracks, to honor the past and the lives lost, to pause and reflect. This week, in a similar vein, we honored the lives lost during 9/11, another tragic act of humankind. Every year, hearing the names of those who were loved and lost is a reminder of that tragic day, and the impact it had on so many lives.?

If we aren’t curious and don’t pay attention to our past, we risk missing something profoundly important to our future.

Honoring history and looking at our past can be uncomfortable. Whether that is a society, a company, or a person, we all have some origin story that has shaped who we are today.?

There are aspects of our pasts that we may not be proud of, or that we want to forget. But the past is a window into what has defined us, and when we close the curtain, we miss important context that might explain who we are today - because of our past. It doesn’t necessarily define our future (unless we let it)- but it certainly shapes the path we need to pursue a future that we aspire to.

We see this in our client work. Our human-centered approach to coaching always starts with understanding someone’s origin story - their history. We learn about who someone was, what shaped them, what experiences they’ve had throughout their lives that made them who they are. We hear executives share that coaching work usually focuses on what someone has done, rather than investing time in understanding who someone is.?

Both are important and inextricably linked.?

One coaching client reflected on his battle with a constant feeling of inadequacy because of the high standards of his childhood household. This has led him to seek feedback and validation in his work - much to his disappointment. (Most boards and c-level executives are not great at continuous positive validation).?

Another CEO shared how, as a child, he was paid $1 for every “A” he received on a grade, shaping his expectations for how he is rewarded for good work. He found himself frustrated when his compensation didn’t reflect his performance - far more than most others in his orbit.?

Another executive we’ve worked with shared that his performance was always compared to his siblings, which explains why he is always trying to understand how he is doing relative to his peers, competitors, and industry.?

Here is what we know: Without reflecting on this historical context, it is impossible to truly understand yourself, and be effective when leading and influencing those around you.?

A core tenet of human-centered leadership is that we have to start at the center, with ourselves. Only then can we understand and unlock the radiating impact we can have on others.?

As leaders, we owe it to ourselves to reflect on the life and career experiences that shaped us. And, as leaders, we have the ability to create conditions where others can reflect and share their formative experiences as well so that we can better understand each other - at work, and beyond.?

They can be uncomfortable conversations. But they are necessary. History is a reflection of who we were at a point in time, and it can help us define who we are meant to be, and remind us of what we should avoid becoming.?This rings true across sectors, industries and geographies - for those leading countries to those leading companies, to those leading households.

History is not something we talk about at work very often. We recently spoke with an executive who was describing the difference between working for a large corporation as compared to private equity.?

He said, “Private equity has the benefit of not being rooted in history - they are forward looking and forward thinking, and don’t get bogged down by the ways of the past.” Having worked with many private equity clients and companies, this rings true!?

Freedom from the past creates opportunities to change, to adapt, to move quickly. That is an added benefit of new ownership, new leadership, and new operating norms for companies that are experiencing transition and aspiring to grow. Often we see the energy and desire to change fuel leadership momentum, and then, we see the lack of appreciation and acknowledgement for company history to stall progress.?

The very people who you need to adapt and execute are “stuck in their ways”, “refuse to change”, “not on board.” The founders flail. The executive team struggles. The sponsors double down. Value creation is thwarted.?

In contrast, large corporations or family businesses with long-standing history and traditions are more aware of the struggle to transition and adapt. They often have firmly held truths and beliefs, ingrained in the systems, policies, structures, people and culture of a company. Historical experiences have shaped the norms and expectations, and the culture reinforces them. As these companies attempt to change and adapt to new contexts (e.g. digital transformation, AI), it can be really hard to pivot because of how things have worked in the past.?

People are “slow to move”, “quietly resisting”, “not adopting new ways.” Change efforts fail, or don’t stick. Frustration grows. Shareholder value diminishes.?

These are human problems that we create, and we can solve.?When we understand the context - the history - of a company, a culture, a person - and we honor it, with love and appreciation for what was, we give ourselves the chance to learn from it.?

Companies and leaders who avoid doing this end up finding out how the past has shaped the present… when they are struggling.?

There are ways to explore the past for ourselves, and for each other.?It starts with being curious and seeking understanding.

At idealis. , we help our clients gain a deeper understanding of the culture, the history and the human experiences of those in a company. In our coaching work, we help our clients better understand themselves. It is not always comfortable, but the right partner helps manage through the discomfort, asks the right questions, identifies opportunities, and can shepherd you through the hard parts. Having the right partner matters - without someone skilled and experienced in this work, companies, teams and leaders can unveil issues that left unaddressed, create significant enterprise and human risk.

Learning from historical events and experiences can be a critical part of our development as leaders and executives. This includes talking about history with new employees and new leaders who may lack context, and creating conditions where people can share openly about their past - both personally, and professionally.

It also means we need to have the audacity and willingness to talk about history with future leaders of our world. As a company, we believe that young leaders hold the keys to unlocking humanity at work in the future. That is why, from day one of our existence, we have committed to contributing a percentage of our revenue to mission-driven organizations supporting leadership and character development of young leaders.

Walking the streets of Amsterdam with young children, we find ourselves answering a lot of questions about the stumbling stones. About World War II. About the current war in Ukraine - a land war on the continent. It would be easy to avoid the conversation - to distract or not engage meaningfully. To assume they are too young to understand, or that they are not ready to hear.??

But the history of this land that we now live on - we must share it with careful intent, in terms that make sense to children. We are talking about what happened to Jewish people in our neighborhood, in this country, and in the world, to people who believe in the same faith as some of our bestest friends. We are visiting the Anne Frank house this weekend and will be talking to them about why a little girl, just a few years older than them, had to hide in an attic in a city where they so freely walk today.?

We are honoring the history and learning from it - and perhaps making this experience part of their origin story where they are learning to be more human-centered as future leaders of our world.

We hope this inspires you to reflect on your own history and origin story - and that of your company, culture or society with curiosity and compassion. And perhaps it may activate you to ask others about their stories, too.

If you are interested in learning more about idealis, our coaching and culture offerings, or would like to speak to us about human-centered leadership, reach out to us at [email protected]. We can help and we’d love to hear from you.?