Abuse of Power Comes As No Surprise

I have always explained to young professionals when they are beating themselves up over a mistake: Mistakes happen, but when mistakes become a pattern, that is when a supervisor should be addressing things.

A boss knows when patterns occur.  

Everyone stumbles.  There is a perfect quote from Theodore Roosevelt that states:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

It is when the stumbling becomes the norm that attention needs to be paid to the situation.  When the supervisor notes the issue and then has a reinforcing event, then possibly another, it is time for the supervisor to belly on up and address the situation no matter how uncomfortable and no matter how much the person is beloved.  

It is better to say how much you care but redirect than to do no one any favors and pass someone along who thinks they are doing just fine only for that individual to run into a devastating wall under his or her next supervisor.

This quote from artist, Jenny Holzer, struck me so strongly:  

“Abuse of power comes as no surprise.”

What a profound and moving statement. 

I believe we have all been witnesses to abuse of power through media, relationships, and personal experience.

What has happens is when the dots are connected there should be no surprise that 1 + 1+ 1 = 3! 

I have also come to realize that abuse is systemic and perhaps even supported, accepted or expected!

When abuse of power has occurred at various levels, individuals who are the target of the abuse often feel alone, like they are the only ones, like they deserve or are at fault in some way.

Others know but they keep quiet.  (Desmond Tutu stated that “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.  If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”  

Further, Dante Alghieri said “The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.”  Amen and Amen.)

Others know but do not know what to do.

Others may say they didn’t know, but we find what we are looking for don’t we!  (Adele- “Throw your soul through every open door-Count your blessings to find what you look for-Turn my sorrow into treasured gold-You’ll pay me back in kind and reap just what you sow.”) 

Ultimately if abuse of power comes as a surprise, the surprised is likely abusive as well! 

For additional reading, I found this:
http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_find_your_power_avoid_abusing_it

A Culture of Curiosity

Having now worked for three different organizations (averaging almost ten years at each location), I believe I have gained a productive understanding of culture.

Culture is a product.

Wherever you put your questions, you put your priorities.  Regardless of the framed mission or values statements, how you respond to your personnel, the questions you ask, and how you spend your time make the culture.

The questions you ask, the little chunks of your time, that is what you are cultivating and that is your culture.

If the leader’s biggest priorities are academic mission and student development then she will ask questions from a place of inquiry regarding those things, then the culture is nurtured.  Example, asking “what will the student learn if I allow him or her out of the residential contract?”  Or asking “what will my staff learn about our values if I skip this organizational event?”

If the biggest priority is shallow or making sure the organization “looks good” at all costs, then the culture is deepened.  If the leader is more concerned with “how will the organization look if this state representative’s daughter gets mad because we will not let her out of her housing contract” sets the culture as surely as the questions above.

I’m not saying exceptions don’t happen because they do.  However it is the pattern of behavior, over time, which represents the culture.

What culture do you want in your organization?

Recently I read an article about a company (HopeLab) which cultivates and supports a “culture of curiosity.” 

I love that approach.  It neutralizes the “right and wrong” of things and allows for exploration (being curious) without a leaning, just learning.

The way HopeLab creates its culture is to:

1.  Encourage Inquiry

2.       Write agendas as questions
3.       Avoid blame
4.       Assume all learning is good

HopeLab believes that a “culture of curiosity is key to innovation.” 

Innovation does not have to be a product development in my opinion, it can be a new paradigm for a staff member, an “a-ha” moment, or even a gaining of respect for differing opinions.

Just like any change, changing the culture has to be intentional.  The first step is being aware of what the culture is and that requires great courage.

·         A leader has to keep her “ear to the ground” and make sure she is getting an unbiased view of the organizational culture.  She has to have courageous speakers of truth that will tell her when she has upset the organization, mis-stepped on a decision, or isn’t meeting expectations.

·         The messenger has to be a truth-teller who is going to speak the truth in love but ultimately speak the truth regardless of destiny.

·         The leader needs a system to inform her of how the culture is developing, maintaining, or crumbling.

·         The leader must intentionally take steps to shape the culture into the direction she wants.

·         A culture of curiosity will create free-thinkers so it is not suitable for a leader-centric environment.

I believe the benefits of a culture of curiosity will outweigh the costs of getting there.  Sure change is hard, but change can be healthy and help the organization survive.

On Becoming A Better Writer

Learning to construct letters and words together into an interesting and coherent structure has been a life-long journey for me.  I wish I had the ability to say “here are the three tips that made me a better writer.”

However, I am on this journey with everyone else and by no means have I arrived at “good writing.”

I love the cadence of the keystrokes as I construct my work.  But I’m fully cognizant that some of my friends are truly passionate about grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, and the beauty of well-constructed sentences.

I wish that level of detail made my heart smile.

It does not.

What makes my heart smile is conveying ideas to others and often I get so excited that I leave words out of my sentences, I forget to punctuate properly, and I simply fail to utilize proper grammar.  It is simply not my giftedness.  My giftedness is the idea.  However I also know that being able to clearly communicate my idea is critical.

While I’m on the writing journey here are some things which are strengthening my writing:

1.       I am a reader.  I consume the work of others.  John Maxwell stated something akin to “leaders are reader” and I propose writers are readers! 

I believe to truly be well-written, one must be well-read.  Sure I believe the passion to tell one’s story through one’s art is given and must flow out of the artist.  However that artist learns, grows wiser, and refines.

2.       Allow others to critique your work.  I remember the first time my supervisor (who was a truly gifted writer) gave me feedback on my writing.  It looked like a murder had occurred on the page due to so much red ink!

That feedback helped me learn my patterns and where I tended to make my mistakes.  For example I am completely reluctant to use commas.  I had a Freshman English professor (Graduate Student) for two semesters who gave a 50% for the first comma splice then a zero on the paper if there were more than one comma splice.

So I learned quickly to simply avoid putting commas anywhere.  Instead of truly learning the rules, I just learned to complete a comma “fast” which earned me a passing grade.  As I have progressed through my education (and paying dearly for an editor on the dissertation) I have repeatedly regretted not getting more out of Freshman English classes!

While I highly encourage you to utilize someone who cares for you but will “speak the truth in love” there will be times your work is critiqued by those who care nothing about your feelings.  That is when you have to recognize that it is not personal and you can still garner wisdom from the feedback.

As an individual moves forward, I believe the abilities to convey ideas, thoughts, opinions, and to communicate effectively are essential.  You owe it to yourself to become the best writer you can be, to consume the work of others, and to allow others to guide you to new heights.

Finding Your Greatest Success

Did you know that things you have been criticized all your life for, are likely a strength for you?

It is true!

My entire life I’ve been told I’m impulsive and that I “jump before I look.”  Well guess what one of my top strengths is?  Activator! 

What is an Activator?

Turns out, I’m terrific at getting things started!  I make quick assessments of situations and have a leaning towards action versus sitting around pondering.

However, if my Activator strength is out of balance and, what I call in “overdrive,” I tend to be impulsive and I “jump before I look.”

Know Your Strengths

Knowing what your stregths are (whether through the use of instruments such as the Strengths Finder, Myers-Briggs Inventory, or simply by asking close relationships what your strengths are) is a key strategy to success.

While we, in the West, have been trained to pour into our weak points and allow the strong suits take care of themselves, the opposite, it turns out, is true.  In research done by Don Clifton at the Gallup corporation, it has been proven that if an individual will manage his or her weaker points but develop the strengths, greater growth will be experienced.

Use Your Strengths

I have experienced the greatest successes in my life when I have been using my strengths.  Never have I known as much success in focusing on a weaker area.  You and I are wired to use those strengths we were given in this life.  So, use your strengths!

Develop Your Strengths

But just having strengths alone does not mean you are finished.  You must pour into those strengths, develop them.  While we’ve been trained to let those strengths take care of themselves, again, the opposite is true.  Develop your strengths, spend time getting better and better.  Professional and Olympic athletes do not spend time trying to be “well-rounded” when they are at the peak of their career-no!  They spend hours every day repeating a move, running a sprint, or honing in on a muscle group to assure performance.

In the mean time, if I’m GREAT at writing but stink in math, the teachers pull me completely out of writing and put me in double math.  Guess what-I will never achieve my greatest success as a mathematician.  It’s the writing that is going to carry me further.

Sure, I need to understand basic math (yes, even Algebra) and get through to a high quality of life level, but my greatest gains will not be in math.  Rather, spending time working on my grammar, understanding sentence structure, plot, and other writing topics will carry me beyond my dreams in math.