Clearly I have NOT mastered this fine art of getting things done, as it has been a month since I last posted something.  Since then, however, I have been educating myself in the fine art of managing my time and the productivity of others.  I am currently availing myself of interns, with whom I am getting systemic changes accomplished that daily demands would have me ignore.  Like moving into Cooler Email, for instance, lock stock and barrel for managing my business from software-as-a-service.  There’s more to the story — stay with me.

Without some troops I would not tackle a project like shifting the locus of my business from my computer to another system so that others could share it.  Having that locus of control shifted makes many things possible that weren’t possible before.

While I have them (before they move on with their REAL lives), Ipek (on the left) and Semih (on the right) are making possible this transition to Cooler Email and other great tools of productivity.

On a related topic, I attended a business gathering last evening where we talked about execution of strategy.  The overarching theme of the evening was that for there to be a shift in the collective consciousness of bringing our heart to the business world, and not just our head, we all need to work for the common good and make decisions with the common good in mind, not just our selfish interests.

This is a theme of mine, and fortunately not JUST mine!  Working for the common good means that as we go about our regular work, we bring in the fine art of considering how what WE do will impact others.

I have helped Semih find a school where he will get his MBA, and I will help Ipek get a job.  I met these two young adults through an earlier intern, Orcun, whom I helped find a job and in doing so I lost him as an intern.  He replaced himself by introducing me to his two friends who needed internships.  THAT, my friends, is the FINE art of getting things done!  When I released my need for Orcun to be my intern, little did I know that I would end up doubling my workforce of interns!  My deciding based on the common good turned out to be good for me, good for Orcun, and good for Ipek and Semih.

I think that’s the way the world REALLY works, and it is NOT intuitive any more than leaning into the curve on a motorcycle is intuitive.  It is a choice, and in the end things get done that should get done, even though in the beginning we don’t see the whole picture.

I spent Friday evening and Saturday in the presence of a great man with a valuable message, in a program called “Claim Your Voice, Claim Your Life,” with Arthur and sponsored by The Abundance Network.

Arthur asserts, and lives, that vocal awareness gives us presence, and power, and authenticity.  After my short experience I concur and I saw it evolve in the room.

As Malcolm Gladwell points out in Outliers, 10,000 hours of practice are required for true, complete, in-your-bones mastery to occur.  That is so with Vocal Awareness as well.  Arthur’s work requires daily practice — seven minutes a day, to be exact.

If this concept is interesting to you and you want to know more, go to http://www.theabundancenetwork.com.   These several follow-up events with Arthur are occasional, spread out over time to allow practice.  It is not too late for you to join us!  Whether this is your path or you have another, and you are interested in mastery, I recommend the book Mastery, the Keys to Success and Long-Term Fullfillment by George Leonard.  It is small and mighty.  And, I recommend Arthur’s book, Vocal Power, Harnessing the Power Within and other products that can help you along that path.  Life is a journey, not a destination.

For me, I am on a journey to generate a conversation about trusting leaders, and leaders earning that trust.  That passion fires me up every day, and I am highly motivated to become more of myself, if that makes sense, so that I can illuminate the crying need, empassion and embolden leaders to be principled and to make choices that are not completely self-serving, but serve the whole of humanity and the earth as well.  That vision will take all I’ve got for the rest of my life, to make the difference I was put on this planet to make.  Not being a spring chicken, I’m in a bit of a hurry — but as Arthur pointed out, yocannot hurry the loving breath, which sources vocal awareness which sources authenticity.  The opportunity lies in the paradox — slowing down to accomplish more.  Oh, and by the way, being accountable for those choices!  Accountability pays!

Here are some of my thoughts about this topic, and very shortly I’m going to be conducting a survey so everyone can feed the conversation!

Authenticity is one element that fosters trust, as does integrity (doing what you said you would do, when you said you would do it at the low end, holding an empowering context at the high end).  I agree that having a vision (a future that is enrolling for followers) is critical, then the sustained execution that actually moves the organization toward that future, visibly, is important to sustaining trust.

The disappointment comes for followers when the gap widens between what is promised, and what develops.  (Many a slip twixt the cup and the lip).   And, with a company name of Accountability Pays, of course I would have to include accountability as very important; producing results you said you would produce, or being in communication and adjusting expectations.

But the essential ingredient that is not an acceptable “business term” that I believe needs to be present is love.  When love (an open heart) is present, people listen for other peoples’ greatness.  They are generous when mistakes are made.  In other words, they allow for humanity when it creeps in, which it will always do. In my view, this intangible, contextual element (love) needs to flow in both directions, up and down, between a leader and his/her followers… there is that intangible link between two people that, when expectations are not met or promises are broken, hurts emotionally.

Because the feeling love is intangible and contextual, and usually is not included in the context of business, it isn’t addressed when damaged, causing damage beyond the damage that is visible and tangible.  I think the presence of love as an ingredient in leadership is a missing conversation, and because it is such a large conversation — an elephant in the room — and because it means bringing feelings into the discussion — it is easier to leave it out than deal with it.

Love brings with it a level of engagement that is personal deeper than just getting results.  It makes firing people for shrinking profits much more difficult, for example.  And maybe it will always live in the background unspoken, but I see in my own experience as a coach that love is present when real leadership is present, which is paradoxically both more magnanimous and creates greater accountability.  And love clearly fosters trust.