Retreat? Advance!!

Introducing the Class of 2010 - 2011



Photo Credit: Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2010

One can enjoy a wood fire worthily only when

he warms his thoughts by it as well as his hands and feet. 

~Odell Shepherd

Leaders "Advance" At Retreat
"Ha ha! - Ah ha!"

How great was that weekend!! 
From the sounds of it, we were all exhausted by Sunday afternoon -  in a good way!
Time flew...laughter bubbled up...friendships just happened...
& so did some important & unexpected ah-ha moments.


The First Follower:
Who leads? Who follows?
How do you start a movement?

This is the story of how one gesture -
(like writing instructions on a banana, "Ba Na Na Grams")
can spread to become a MOVEMENT ...
because one follower advanced the idea to others...

To see your  3 Minute XO What
(U Tube) video of the week,
go to:  http://sivers.org/ffA leader needs the guts to stand alone and look ridiculous.


UTube transcript (available at sivers.org/ff) begins:

But what he's doing is so simple, it's almost instructional.

This is key. You must be easy to follow!

 

Now comes the first follower with a crucial role: he publicly shows everyone how to follow. Notice the leader embraces him as an equal, so it's not about the leader anymore - it's about them, plural. Notice he's calling to his friends to join in.

It takes guts to be a first follower!

You stand out and brave ridicule, yourself.

Being a first follower is an under-appreciated form of leadership.

The first follower transforms a lone nut into a leader.

If the leader is the flint, the first follower is the spark that makes the fire.

*  Some would disagree...Do you agree? 

Click on comments at http://www.xowhat.blogpost.com/  to post your thoughts. 

 

 

 

 

Another Example of Leadership  Momentum

(True Story! from John)

 

"Just prior to the retreat I received a ticket from the Legion to the Legion Sports Hall of Fame Induction Dinner at the Vahalla Inn on Saturday night. I had to decline, but said to the President of the Legion to give my ticket to a deserving volunteer who works tirelessly at the Legion to take my place.

 

Well it turns out that due to circumstances beyond their control other Legion invitees couldn't attend and they heard what I had done with my ticket and

they told the Legion Executive to give the tickets out to deserving volunteers and they did (including the President who couldn't make it either).

The Legion Sports Hall of Fame Inductee Dinner eventually turned into a

volunteer appreciation event

thanks in a very small part to me and to the lifelong lessons of leadership

I have learned from others.

I'm very excited about learning new skills as well in Leadership Thunder Bay!"



You Said It!

“INTEGRITY is everything. Without it, you go nowhere and lead no one.” - Dennis McDermott

“SINCERITY is everything. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.” - George Burns

~

Do You Remember Saying...

~

At the retreat, we introduced the Key Leadership Skill:

Appreciative Inquiry.

It's the art of asking really great - positive - questions.

~

Here's what you said, when asked*:

"What will you contribute to Leadership Thunder Bay this year?"

Answer: I will bring:

Deb - cooperation with group and CAP Team
Nancy - organizational skills
Kelli - perseverance, determination and energy
Tony - mediation and reconciliation. Help new groups find their true goals
Anna - personal leadership experiences to the group
Margaret - ability to see the end goal
Erin - good listener, open to new challenges
Chris - initiative and ability to see things through to the end
Jocelynne - strong, likes to work hard
Christina - openness to learning and big picture thinker
Carolyn - visionary, big picture thinker - creative, doer, multitasker. Many community connections and will bring an aboriginal perspective to the group
Yolibeth - work hard, very organized
Leanna - good listener, very caring, hard working, strong
Natalie - good listener, good at giving feedback
Kari - organization and humour
Maggie - heart and soul for the good of the group

* If you'd like to add more to your answer, go to www.xowhat.blogspot.com and click on "Comments".

==========================================

This week's bit of Leadership Theory:

• It’s about.... "Integrity” for each of us and all of us:
  
  "For an individual we distinguish integrity as a matter of that person's word being whole and complete.

• For a group or organizational entity we define integrity as that group' or organization's word being whole and complete. A group's or organization's word consists of what is said between the people in that group or organization, and what is said by or on behalf of the group or organization.

• In that context, we define integrity for an individual, group, or organization as: honoring one's word.

• Oversimplifying somewhat, "honoring your word", as we define it, means you either keep your word, or as soon as you know that you will not, you say that you will not be keeping your word to those who were counting on your word and clean up any mess you caused by not keeping your word.

• By "keeping your word" we mean doing what you said you would do and by the time you said you would do it.

• Honoring your word is also the route to creating whole and complete social and working relationships. In addition, it provides an actionable pathway to earning the trust of others." Source: Glenn Allison and his guru
  
  

So, add more thoughts about your LTB contributions in the "Comment" section (go to the original www.xowhat.blogspot.com), now that you've had a chance to think about your LTB experience.

• Keep asking great questions this week
• (and do some "reflection" as the season changes!).
  
  
  Yours in leadership,

Maggie

“It’s not the IQ that counts. It’s the I CAN.” - Walt Disney

Did I Hear "CHIPS"?

Photo Credit: Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2009

What a ReTreat!

From deer visiting our bonfires (urged out of his own comfort zone by the sound of laughter and pringles?)... to sleeping under the stars in September...to realizing that so many of us were nervous about what would happen over the weekend...to running like gazelles...feeling the warmth of the sun and our new friendships in the silence...the utter stillness of nature... to discovering our inner yearnings and connecting with the power of new relationships.... what a weekend!

And our "present reality" all comes down to this (as author Margaret Wheatley states in her book, "Leadership and the New Science"):

What is critical is the relationship created by two or more elements. Systems influence individuals, and individuals call forth systems. It is the relationship that evokes the present reality. Which potential becomes real depends on the people, the events, and the moment.

We need fewer descriptions of tasks and instead learn how to facilitate people and their process. We need to become savvy about how to foster relationships, how to nurture growth and development. All of us need to become better at listening, conversing, respecting one another's uniqueness, because these are essential for strong relationships.

Power in organizations is the capacity generated by relationships. We look for the fundamentals: Do people know how to listen and speak to each other? To work well with diverse members? Do people have free access to one another throughout the organization? Are they trusted with open information? Do organizational values bring them together or keep them apart? Is collaboration truly honoured? Can people speak truthfully to one another?

Because power is energy, it needs to flow through organizations; it cannot be designated. What gives power its charge - positive and negative - is the nature of the relationship. When power is shared...positive creative power abounds."

At the retreat, I hope you experienced the power of relationships as our class team - and your CAPS team - were forming. Your connection to one another, to the stars/sky and earth, to deer/ducks/loons and bears - all of these created a natural system in the moment.

We were left with 3 questions to think about:

How do we create transformational change in (a) PEOPLE? (b) ORGANIZATIONS and (c) COMMUNITY?

What's your thinking now that you've been at the retreat? Send in a couple of paragraphs now. Click on the "comments" link below.

To sum up, thanks to each of you for a wonderful Retreat experience!

- Maggie