Week 22.21 Thorny Problems

Last week I traveled to Savannah to get a deeper understanding of the roots of America and learned about the legacy of slavery from some extraordinary individuals. Even though I consider myself well informed, I was unprepared for the experience of walking in the footsteps where the enslaved people first disembarked the ships, where they were held and then sold. I was reminded that no matter how much we read, watch documentaries, or listen to podcasts, they are no substitute for touching the stones, smelling the air, hearing the sounds, seeing the trees, and hearing the story from someone directly affected.

The next day we went to Hog Hammock on Sapelo Island, a remnant of the enslaved people who worked the Sea Island cotton fields. Because of the isolation of the living on the island, they retained more of the essential elements of this culture. This culture came to be known as Geechee. The community thrived between 1865 and 1912, peaking at over 400 formerly enslaved people and their descendants, and over 500 residents in 1945. Today there are fewer than 30 Geechee residents on the island. As we toured the island, we saw the Renyolds mansion, established by Richard J Renyolds who acquired much of the island. We also saw the Georgia State land and the research done there. And we saw beautiful beaches. We talked about the prospects for Geechee culture's ability to maintain a foothold with our guide. I certainly do not have any answers for these monumental issues. In his answers, I was reminded that our own minds can often be the most significant obstacles we need to move.

Retaining the Geechee ancestral heritage on Sapelo is a daunting task. The younger generations are now educated off the island and have access to high-speed wifi at home. They do not want to stay in their small community; they want to explore the world. It reminded me of the issue that many American cities have a getting their best and brightest to come back home after going to the best universities. It is easy to look at the problem and think, "It Can't Be Done," but that is also the surest way to an eventual demise.

Many people in the group offered up their own ideas on facing the challenge and addressing the problem. Putting aside the arrogance of thinking we had solutions to a problem we had barely encountered, more often than not, we were met with the response of "I've Tried That Already." This is another roadblock of our mind that puts up a stop sign before the conversation starts. It inhibits exploration, thinking from new angles, and does not recognize that sometimes an idea is a path to the answer, not the answer itself.

As we drove to other parts of the island, we asked additional questions about the community's ambition and what other successes might be had. Perhaps getting children to stay on the island wasn't possible, but getting other people, possibly descendants of the inhabitants, to come back could support the community's flourishing. Each idea of different ways to maintain the culture in perpetuity was inevitably met with "It Needs To Be Like This," an expression of the desire to maintain the status quo without alteration. The desire to preserve the past is meaningful for the older community members. But to establish a vibrant community, they need to think from the point of view of what will be valuable to generations to come. Our experience on the island led us to conclude that the community was important, its heritage vital, and its loss would be a tragedy.

In life and leadership, our biggest constraint is often our own perception of what is possible. Indeed, some fantastic individuals think expensively, and even their ideas are taken to even bigger heights by others. It is too easy for leaders to believe that leading and setting a vision requires them to have ideas. It is not. The key to outstanding leadership in developing vision is to be surrounded by great people who excel at their work, draw the best from them, and then crystalize the ideas from their collective wisdom and experience. The next time you think, "It can't be done," reframe it to "I don't know how it can get done." "I tried that already" becomes "The way I tried it didn't work," and "I need to be like this" is restated as "We need to find a solution that works for us." In this way, your message from a barrier to empowerment welcomes the imagination of the people you lead and love to reach better solutions to the thorniest problems.?

How to Re-Engage a Dissatisfied Employee by Laura Gassner Otting

Laura surveyed 5,600 workers from various industries from January 2019 to December 2021, finding that worker dissatisfaction not only starts as early as age 25 — it’s been here since before the pandemic started. This spells trouble for companies who hope the troubles are behind them and want to retain managers (whose average age is 44) and train future ones as well. Her advice for retaining mid-career managers and those preparing for the role? Aim for work-life alignment, not work-life balance. Find out what drives them as an individual — and reshape their jobs together. Engage them in the recruiting process. And connect their work to larger company strategy. How to Re-Engage a Dissatisfied Employee (hbr.org)

Creating Clarity In An Era Of Hybrid Ambiguity by John Baldoni

Setting clear expectations is rule number one in manager and employee relations. What a manager wants from an employee begins with the job description and gains credence when the person is hired, and the job is explained. Yet because this rule is so apparent, it is easy to forget. Something fundamental to the expectations equation is even more critical now. It is clarity. Be specific about what the job is and what an employee must do to satisfy requirements. However, there is more urgency now to clarify that we are migrating to the hybrid workplace where employers and employees come to the office on an as yet to be a determined basis. The success of the hybrid workplace will depend upon flexibility, allowing employers and employees to determine the best working hours. And in doing so, they might discover that things go better when they are discussed openly and collaboratively and with greater clarity. Creating Clarity In An Era Of Hybrid Ambiguity (forbes.com)

Lessons from My Wonderful Weekend with Marshall Goldsmith by Ruth Gotian

“Can you come to Atlanta?” That was the email Ruth received one day from Marshall Goldsmith, the #1 globally ranked leadership coach and author of the new bestselling book, The Earned Life. One thing she learned early on is when Marshall Goldsmith tells you to come, you make it your business to get there. You never know what to expect, but you can bet the experience will forever change you. The details of the weekend were vague at best. They set up a WhatsApp chat as we tried to coordinate travel plans. The conference center was 90 minutes outside of Atlanta so getting there during rush hour was no small feat. This chaos might have been the best thing to happen. It forced them to have a plan. It also formed relationships. Some of them had never met, but they were no longer strangers. The lucky travelers learned the power of "the rules": never complain, have fun, you are the expert, rearrange the room, and go big even as you go home. A fun and informative read

Except from What It Looks Like To Us and the Words We Use by Ada Limon

So instead, we looked up at the unruly sky, its clouds in simple animal shapes we could name though we knew they were really just clouds— disorderly, and marvelous, and ours.

With love and gratitude, Scott