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Declining engagement, AI, globalization, the great resignation, accelerating competition, quiet quitting, burnout ... there are many forces today putting extreme pressure on our organizations.  CEOs and leadership teams are struggling to respond. DARWIN OUTPACED! We are creatures of habit.  It's the way our brains work, we learn things and relegate the learning to our unconscious mind; behaviors become habitual. This mechanism serves us very well… but also makes rapid change very difficult in the way we see things, the way we approach things, and the way we behave. We become comfortable with our habits and these habitual behaviors become our comfort zone.  Human beings are committed to comfort.  We're inherently motivated not to change. Darwin’s model of Generational evolution and growth is no longer sufficient for our organizations to remain viable. Left to our own devices, we will live out our entire lives in our comfort zone…and become obsolete. We must develop the ability for inner-generational development; the ability to retool ourselves many times within our lifetime. TRANSFORMATION The word transformation is used so much today it has lost all meaning… Installing a new computer system or starting a new exercise routine get tagged as being transformational.  If we could use a different word, we would—but transformational is the only word that means what we want to say: a fundamental change in the basic character of a person or a culture. Growth and development always require that we operate outside our comfort zone… if we are to grow, we must be motivated by something more compelling than our commitment to comfort. An introverted parent who fears public speaking but stands up in a PTA meeting because they believe that speaking up for what's best for their child is a great example. That parent is more committed to their child's welfare than to their own comfort.  Personal transformation is a fundamental shift in a person’s behavior that arises from a conscious choice: to operate out of my commitment to comfort…or to operate out of my higher purpose. A TRANSFORMATIONAL CULTURE A transformational culture in any organization develops when leaders generate a focus on a higher purpose; a purpose that people find meaningful, that provides an opportunity to make a difference. This provides people with a simple, but not easy, choice: Am I going to behave in a way that makes me comfortable or am I going to behave in a way that serves our higher purpose? Such a culture is rooted in: Inspirational leadership ~ keeps people focused on a compelling purpose that fuels growth and change. Supportive accountability ~ ensures results. Insightful Coaching ~ helps people become aware of habitual behaviors that are ineffective, and generate new, effective behaviors. WHAT IS CULTURE? If we are to change culture, we must first understand what it is. We define culture as the unspoken rules of engagement within any group of people. These unspoken rules govern everything; what can and cannot be discussed, what language is allowable, the assumptions decisions are based on — everything.  What we know from decades of experience is that Culture Eats Everything! CULTURE IS UNCONSCIOUS. Culture just happens. When you walk into work do you say to yourself, “I’m going to follow these rules today” or “I think today I will be a micromanager“... of course not. Humans are social animals; once we are acclimated to a culture, we will adopt its practices unconsciously because we want to fit in. Most efforts to change culture overlook this basic characteristic of culture, which is why such efforts frequently fail. How can you change something you are not conscious of?  Any culture change process that ignores these “comfort zone” behaviors is doomed to failure. AN OPERATING SYSTEM The practice of changing cultures is complex and difficult. Once we understand the nature of culture, why it's so difficult to change, and what it takes to change it, we can develop a methodical operating system to drive culture change. Our work supports the development of such an operating system. This operating system impacts an organization’s propensity to: Be Engaged Innovate. Perform as a United Team. Evoke Engagement from Associates. Produce Results. CULTURE IS A PRODUCT OF LEADERSHIP. Cultures arise from the behaviors demonstrated by the organization’s leaders. Cultures mirror the CEO’s or Superintendent's behavior and the collective behavior of the organization's ’ leaders.  Therefore, the first and most crucial step in cultural transformation is to foster transformational leadership. Transformational Leadership : Generating a vision that people adopt as their vision, that changes their focus from an unconscious, fear-based purpose of self-protection, to a consciously generated love-based purpose of contributing to the growth or benefit of others. You may think this sounds overly idealistic but Transformational leadership isn’t a new management fad. A consciously generated commitment to providing value or service to others is at the heart of every great organization, and it’s existed throughout history. It’s at the heart of historically impactful groups such as the Founding Fathers, the blacksmiths and farmers who changed the world; or the “Greatest Generation” of World War II, who experienced personal transformation en masse and adopted a commitment to a bigger purpose than their own comfort and fears in the war against Hitler’s Nazism. Transformational leadership inspires rather than instructs. Most training is ineffective because people are not motivated to try new methods or approaches—but you can inspire them to commit to a higher purpose that motivates new behaviors. You might ask: Why doesn’t the leader just change the priorities? Not so simple! Those priorities arise from her or his unconscious behavioral needs. Behavioral profiles such as Disc, Myers-Briggs, or our own The Elevate System™ offer insight for people into what their unconscious priorities are and how they shape behavior and therefore culture. And the entire leadership team must be made aware of how their collective unconscious behaviors are impacting the organization if they are to have a shot at improving their organization’s culture. Once leaders are aware of their unconscious habits and which ones support the type of culture they’re trying to build and which do not, they can begin to develop conscious habits that intentionally support a high-performing culture. Any culture change effort must begin by helping leaders develop their ability and propensity to exercise transformational leadership.

David Rock's SCARF Model is a brain-based model for collaborating with and influencing others. It's particularly useful for collaborating with others and coaching others. Simply put, it helps anyone work with others more effectively. The Model was developed in 2008 by David Rock and SCARF stands for the five key "domains" that influence our behavior in social situations: Status – our relative importance to others. Certainty – our ability to predict the future. Autonomy – our sense of control over events. Relatedness – how safe we feel with others. Fairness – how fair we perceive the exchanges between people to be. The model is based on neuroscience research that implies that these five social domains activate the same threat and reward responses in our brain that we rely on for physical survival. Here’s an excerpt we found especially fascinating: “…in most people, the question ‘can I offer you some feedback’ generates a similar response to hearing fast footsteps behind you at night. Performance reviews often generate status threats, explaining why they are often ineffective at stimulating behavioral change. If leaders want to change others’ behavior, more attention must be paid to reducing status threats when giving feedback. One way to do this is by allowing people to give themselves feedback on their own performance.”

As coaches, a big part of our job is to help people see things from a new perspective. Reframing our experience can be very valuable, to see things in a new light, opens up possibilities that create opportunity. We off the following in that vein: Gratitude and Privilege I am forever grateful that : My parents taught me the value of hard work. I was born into a family of means. I lived in an area with good schools. I was not discriminated against based on my race. My parents taught me to live with integrity. God gave me a sound mind. These things for which I am grateful, are privileges: unearned benefit or advantage. I am not ashamed to be privileged. There is nothing wrong with being privileged. And much of my success in life has accrued to me because of those privileges. I am not discounting that I have worked very hard to be successful. Yet, I realize that without these privileges, my probability of success would be greatly reduced. I am particularly grateful for the privilege of a Christian upbringing and belief, and the values that upbringing has bestowed upon me. 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' (Matthew 25:11) I believe it is my responsibility to share with others the bounty that has accrued to me, to benefit others who are not as fortunate (privileged) as I. Those with: mental illness, cognitive disability, neglectful or abusive parents, kids with life-threatening illness, those who are discriminated against…. Let us not use privilege as a basis for divisiveness. Rather than being resentful of those who have more privilege than you, you can choose to accept it; after all, they did not have a choice about their privileges. You may also ask yourself: What privileges do I recognize in my life? How might I use the privileges I do have to rise above my circumstances? Rather than being defensive with those who say you are privileged; you can choose to acknowledge them and be grateful. You may also ask yourself: How might I use these privileges to help others? Let us be grateful for our privilege and love one another enough to use that privilege to help one another. Ultimately, love will mend racism, sexism, and all the other ism’s that currently divide us.

Questions demand answers. Questions stimulate thinking. Questions give us valuable information. Questions put you in control. Questions get people to open up. Questions lead to quality listening. Questions get people to persuade themselves. Adapted from “The 7 Powers of Questions” by Dorothy Leeds © 2000

Open LinkedIn and you can find an endless stream of articles about culture. Culture is one of the most popular session titles at conferences. Magazines use it to entice readers. Studies have proven that culture is the single most important determinant of your organization's performance. We want to offer a perspective on culture that is not mentioned in any of the hundreds of articles we’ve read (if you find one, please send it to us). Culture is UNCONSCIOUS…and if you ignore this unconscious nature, you will never be successful in shaping it. This is why most efforts to improve culture don't work... a recent study found that 63% of culture change initiatives fail (Forbes). We have been helping CEOs develop mission-focused, high-performing cultures for 30 years. We offer the following six-step process that summarizes what it takes: Define the beliefs required for culture change. Make conscious the characteristics of the existing culture. Make conscious the leadership characteristics of the leadership team. Make conscious the unconscious needs that motivate each member of the leadership team. Lead: Create a compelling personal commitment to the organization's purpose within each person. Foster peer coaching. Watch the video above to learn more. The video is a recording of a presentation entitled "Good News/Bad News for Superintendents: You are the Source of Your District’s Culture" we did with Dennis McDavid, Berkley Schools' Superintendent, for a presentation at the annual Leadership Summit for ASCD (The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development). In it we outline these 6 steps in more detail. And we offer some tools for facilitating the process. The presentation is aimed at Superintendents/CEOs of schools but is universally applicable to any type of organization (as long as it is comprised of humans!). And at the end of the video, we offer several (free) tools. If you’re interested in these tools, let us know. Good News/Bad News for Superintendents: You are the Source of Your District’s Culture As Superintendent or District leader, you are creating the culture around you. The question is what sort of culture are you intentionally or, more likely, unconsciously creating? Culture is a product of our unconscious beliefs and actions, so you may not be aware of the effect your actions are having, but your actions are driving the culture everyone else lives into. Billions of dollars are spent by organizations attempting to change culture; most such efforts fail. Why? Because most don’t take into account the invisible nature of culture; it’s unconscious. To change culture, people must identify their unconscious beliefs and habits and create conscious ones that advance the desired culture. That process starts with the Superintendent and Cabinet. Berkley Schools is building a culture where people are connected and united, where personal responsibility and growth are the hallmarks, and where people stop hiding and defending their shortcomings and ask for help ... a coaching culture. Much progress has been made and there is a long way to go. Superintendent Dennis McDavid reveals how he and his team are creating conscious habits that advance their culture. This video helps leaders & Superintendents understand: A practical understanding of 3 sets of tools that are crucial in creating the culture you desire. Insight into and increased awareness of your unconscious behaviors that are influencing your culture. An understanding of a key to unlock your ability to have “difficult conversations” that help people grow. Special Acknowledgement : We want to thank Dennis McDavid for the opportunity to co-present at the prestigious ASCD Annual Conference. It’s an honor to partner with such amazing leaders and amazing school districts.

If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right. ~ Henry Ford Until around the turn of the century, it was believed that intelligence and talent were directly linked to the human brain’s ability to “grow.” It was also believed that neural tissue, including the brain, became static and was unable to regenerate or grow past around the age of 20. Brain research has completely refuted that concept. We now know that neuroplasticity (the regeneration and growth of brain tissue in response to demand) is an everyday process. The brain is “plastic,” so just like our muscles, the more we work it out, the more it grows. Therefore, intelligence and “talent” develop throughout our life: IF we believe. In 2006, psychologist Carol Dweck wrote a groundbreaking work: “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.” In it she distinguished between two separate mindsets; unconscious belief systems that are central to growth/stagnation and success/failure in life: A Fixed Mindset: The belief that intelligence and talent are a fixed asset. In this mode of thinking, failure is seen as “proof” that we are not capable. It leads to defensiveness and avoidance of new challenges. A Growth Mindset: The belief that intelligence and talent can be developed throughout life. In this mode of thinking, failure is seen as an opportunity to learn and become more capable. It leads to an openness for coaching and embracing and persisting in the face of new challenges. The pace of change in the 21st century is accelerating at an alarming rate. If your organization’s product offering and business model becomes static, economic Darwinism will render you obsolete… it’s just a matter of time. On the other hand, if you develop your organization’s ability to grow and to morph into new products, new services and even new business models, you can enjoy significant longevity. By definition, an organization is a group of people, organized for a common purpose. The only way to grow your organization is to grow your people; thus, to thrive going forward it is absolute critical to cultivate a growth mindset as a cornerstone of your culture.

As Superintendent or District leader, you are creating the culture around you. The question is what sort of culture are you intentionally or, more likely, unconsciously creating? Culture is a product of our unconscious beliefs and actions, so you may not be aware of the effect your actions are having, but your actions are driving the culture everyone else lives into. Billions of dollars are spent by organizations attempting to change culture; most such efforts fail. Why? Because most don’t take into account the invisible nature of culture; it’s unconscious. To change culture, people must identify their unconscious beliefs and habits and create conscious ones that advance the desired culture. That process starts with the Superintendent and Cabinet. Berkley Schools is building a culture where people are connected and united, where personal responsibility and growth are the hallmarks, and where people stop hiding and defending their shortcomings and ask for help ... a coaching culture. Much progress has been made and there is a long way to go. Superintendent Dennis McDavid reveals how he and his team are creating conscious habits that advance their culture. This video helps leaders & Superintendents understand: A practical understanding of 3 sets of tools that are crucial in creating the culture you desire. Insight into and increased awareness of your unconscious behaviors that are influencing your culture. An understanding of a key to unlock your ability to have “difficult conversations” that help people grow. Special Acknowledgement : We want to thank Dennis McDavid for the opportunity to co-present at the prestigious ASCD Annual Conference. It’s an honor to partner with such amazing leaders and amazing school districts. For more on this topic, check out our article A CEOs Guide to Culture Change

"The Drum Major Instinct" (the relentless desire to be first) King, Martin Luther, Jr. February 4, 1968 (He was assassinated exactly 2 months later on April 4th, 1968) Atlanta, Ga. at Ebenezer Baptist Church This morning I would like to use as a subject from which to preach: "The Drum Major Instinct." "The Drum Major Instinct." And our text for the morning is taken from a very familiar passage in the tenth chapter as recorded by Saint Mark. Beginning with the thirty-fifth verse of that chapter, we read these words: "And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came unto him saying, ‘Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.’ And he said unto them, ‘What would ye that I should do for you?’ And they said unto him, ‘Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.’ But Jesus said unto them, ‘Ye know not what ye ask: Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’ And they said unto him, ‘We can.’ And Jesus said unto them, ‘Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of, and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.’" And then Jesus goes on toward the end of that passage to say, "But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your servant: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all." The setting is clear. James and John are making a specific request of the master. They had dreamed, as most of the Hebrews dreamed, of a coming king of Israel who would set Jerusalem free and establish his kingdom on Mount Zion, and in righteousness rule the world. And they thought of Jesus as this kind of king. And they were thinking of that day when Jesus would reign supreme as this new king of Israel. And they were saying, "Now when you establish your kingdom, let one of us sit on the right hand and the other on the left hand of your throne." Now very quickly, we would automatically condemn James and John, and we would say they were selfish. Why would they make such a selfish request? But before we condemn them too quickly, let us look calmly and honestly at ourselves, and we will discover that we too have those same basic desires for recognition, for importance. That same desire for attention, that same desire to be first. Of course, the other disciples got mad with James and John, and you could understand why, but we must understand that we have some of the same James and John qualities. And there is deep down within all of us an instinct. It's a kind of drum major instinct—a desire to be out front, a desire to lead the parade, a desire to be first. And it is something that runs the whole gamut of life. And so before we condemn them, let us see that we all have the drum major instinct. We all want to be important, to surpass others, to achieve distinction, to lead the parade. Alfred Adler, the great psychoanalyst, contends that this is the dominant impulse. Sigmund Freud used to contend that sex was the dominant impulse, and Adler came with a new argument saying that this quest for recognition, this desire for attention, this desire for distinction is the basic impulse, the basic drive of human life, this drum major instinct. And you know, we begin early to ask life to put us first. Our first cry as a baby was a bid for attention. And all through childhood the drum major impulse or instinct is a major obsession. Children ask life to grant them first place. They are a little bundle of ego. And they have innately the drum major impulse or the drum major instinct. Now in adult life, we still have it, and we really never get by it. We like to do something good. And you know, we like to be praised for it. Now if you don't believe that, you just go on living life, and you will discover very soon that you like to be praised. Everybody likes it, as a matter of fact. And somehow this warm glow we feel when we are praised or when our name is in print is something of the vitamin A to our ego. Nobody is unhappy when they are praised, even if they know they don't deserve it and even if they don't believe it. The only unhappy people about praise is when that praise is going too much toward somebody else. (That’s right) But everybody likes to be praised because of this real drum major instinct. Now the presence of the drum major instinct is why so many people are "joiners." You know, there are some people who just join everything. And it's really a quest for attention and recognition and importance. And they get names that give them that impression. So you get your groups, and they become the "Grand Patron," and the little fellow who is henpecked at home needs a chance to be the "Most Worthy of the Most Worthy" of something. It is the drum major impulse and longing that runs the gamut of human life. And so we see it everywhere, this quest for recognition. And we join things, overjoin really, that we think that we will find that recognition in. Now the presence of this instinct explains why we are so often taken by advertisers. You know, those gentlemen of massive verbal persuasion. And they have a way of saying things to you that kind of gets you into buying. In order to be a man of distinction, you must drink this whiskey. In order to make your neighbors envious, you must drive this type of car. (Make it plain) In order to be lovely to love you must wear this kind of lipstick or this kind of perfume. And you know, before you know it, you're just buying that stuff. (Yes) That's the way the advertisers do it. I got a letter the other day, and it was a new magazine coming out. And it opened up, "Dear Dr. King: As you know, you are on many mailing lists. And you are categorized as highly intelligent, progressive, a lover of the arts and the sciences, and I know you will want to read what I have to say." Of course I did. After you said all of that and explained me so exactly, of course I wanted to read it. [laughter] But very seriously, it goes through life; the drum major instinct is real. (Yes) And you know what else it causes to happen? It often causes us to live above our means. (Make it plain) It's nothing but the drum major instinct. Do you ever see people buy cars that they can't even begin to buy in terms of their income? (Amen) [laughter] You've seen people riding around in Cadillacs and Chryslers who don't earn enough to have a good T-Model Ford. (Make it plain) But it feeds a repressed ego. You know, economists tell us that your automobile should not cost more than half of your annual income. So if you make an income of five thousand dollars, your car shouldn't cost more than about twenty-five hundred. That's just good economics. And if it's a family of two, and both members of the family make ten thousand dollars, they would have to make out with one car. That would be good economics, although it's often inconvenient. But so often, haven't you seen people making five thousand dollars a year and driving a car that costs six thousand? And they wonder why their ends never meet. [laughter] That's a fact. Now the economists also say that your house shouldn't cost—if you're buying a house, it shouldn't cost more than twice your income. That's based on the economy and how you would make ends meet. So, if you have an income of five thousand dollars, it's kind of difficult in this society. But say it's a family with an income of ten thousand dollars, the house shouldn't cost much more than twenty thousand. Well, I've seen folk making ten thousand dollars, living in a forty- and fifty-thousand-dollar house. And you know they just barely make it. They get a check every month somewhere, and they owe all of that out before it comes in. Never have anything to put away for rainy days. But now the problem is, it is the drum major instinct. And you know, you see people over and over again with the drum major instinct taking them over. And they just live their lives trying to outdo the Joneses. (Amen) They got to get this coat because this particular coat is a little better and a little better-looking than Mary's coat. And I got to drive this car because it's something about this car that makes my car a little better than my neighbor's car. (Amen) I know a man who used to live in a thirty-five-thousand-dollar house. And other people started building thirty-five-thousand-dollar houses, so he built a seventy-five-thousand-dollar house. And then somebody else built a seventy-five-thousand-dollar house, and he built a hundred-thousand-dollar house. And I don't know where he's going to end up if he's going to live his life trying to keep up with the Joneses. There comes a time that the drum major instinct can become destructive. (Make it plain) And that's where I want to move now. I want to move to the point of saying that if this instinct is not harnessed, it becomes a very dangerous, pernicious instinct. For instance, if it isn’t harnessed, it causes one's personality to become distorted. I guess that's the most damaging aspect of it: what it does to the personality. If it isn't harnessed, you will end up day in and day out trying to deal with your ego problem by boasting. Have you ever heard people that—you know, and I'm sure you've met them—that really become sickening because they just sit up all the time talking about themselves. (Amen) And they just boast and boast and boast, and that's the person who has not harnessed the drum major instinct. And then it does other things to the personality. It causes you to lie about who you know sometimes. (Amen, Make it plain) There are some people who are influence peddlers. And in their attempt to deal with the drum major instinct, they have to try to identify with the so-called big-name people. (Yeah, Make it plain) And if you're not careful, they will make you think they know somebody that they don't really know. (Amen) They know them well, they sip tea with them, and they this-and-that. That happens to people. And the other thing is that it causes one to engage ultimately in activities that are merely used to get attention. Criminologists tell us that some people are driven to crime because of this drum major instinct. They don't feel that they are getting enough attention through the normal channels of social behavior, and so they turn to anti-social behavior in order to get attention, in order to feel important. (Yeah) And so they get that gun, and before they know it they robbed a bank in a quest for recognition, in a quest for importance. And then the final great tragedy of the distorted personality is the fact that when one fails to harness this instinct, (Glory to God) he ends up trying to push others down in order to push himself up. (Amen) And whenever you do that, you engage in some of the most vicious activities. You will spread evil, vicious, lying gossip on people, because you are trying to pull them down in order to push yourself up. (Make it plain) And the great issue of life is to harness the drum major instinct. Now the other problem is, when you don't harness the drum major instinct—this uncontrolled aspect of it—is that it leads to snobbish exclusivism. It leads to snobbish exclusivism. (Make it plain) And you know, this is the danger of social clubs and fraternities—I'm in a fraternity; I'm in two or three—for sororities and all of these, I'm not talking against them. I'm saying it's the danger. The danger is that they can become forces of classism and exclusivism where somehow you get a degree of satisfaction because you are in something exclusive. And that's fulfilling something, you know—that I'm in this fraternity, and it's the best fraternity in the world, and everybody can't get in this fraternity. So it ends up, you know, a very exclusive kind of thing. And you know, that can happen with the church; I know churches get in that bind sometimes. (Amen, Make it plain) I've been to churches, you know, and they say, "We have so many doctors, and so many school teachers, and so many lawyers, and so many businessmen in our church." And that's fine, because doctors need to go to church, and lawyers, and businessmen, teachers—they ought to be in church. But they say that—even the preacher sometimes will go all through that—they say that as if the other people don't count. (Amen) And the church is the one place where a doctor ought to forget that he's a doctor. The church is the one place where a Ph.D. ought to forget that he's a Ph.D. (Yes) The church is the one place that the school teacher ought to forget the degree she has behind her name. The church is the one place where the lawyer ought to forget that he's a lawyer. And any church that violates the "whosoever will, let him come" doctrine is a dead, cold church, (Yes) and nothing but a little social club with a thin veneer of religiosity. When the church is true to its nature, (Whoo) it says, "Whosoever will, let him come." (Yes) And it does not supposed to satisfy the perverted uses of the drum major instinct. It's the one place where everybody should be the same, standing before a common master and savior. (Yes, sir) And a recognition grows out of this—that all men are brothers because they are children (Yes) of a common father. The drum major instinct can lead to exclusivism in one's thinking and can lead one to feel that because he has some training, he's a little better than that person who doesn't have it. Or because he has some economic security, that he's a little better than that person who doesn't have it. And that's the uncontrolled, perverted use of the drum major instinct. Now the other thing is, that it leads to tragic—and we've seen it happen so often—tragic race prejudice. Many who have written about this problem—Lillian Smith used to say it beautifully in some of her books. And she would say it to the point of getting men and women to see the source of the problem. Do you know that a lot of the race problem grows out of the drum major instinct? A need that some people have to feel superior. A need that some people have to feel that they are first, and to feel that their white skin ordained them to be first. (Make it plain, today, ‘cause I’m against it, so help me God) And they have said over and over again in ways that we see with our own eyes. In fact, not too long ago, a man down in Mississippi said that God was a charter member of the White Citizens Council. And so God being the charter member means that everybody who's in that has a kind of divinity, a kind of superiority. And think of what has happened in history as a result of this perverted use of the drum major instinct. It has led to the most tragic prejudice, the most tragic expressions of man's inhumanity to man. The other day I was saying, I always try to do a little converting when I'm in jail. And when we were in jail in Birmingham the other day, the white wardens and all enjoyed coming around the cell to talk about the race problem. And they were showing us where we were so wrong demonstrating. And they were showing us where segregation was so right. And they were showing us where intermarriage was so wrong. So I would get to preaching, and we would get to talking—calmly, because they wanted to talk about it. And then we got down one day to the point—that was the second or third day—to talk about where they lived, and how much they were earning. And when those brothers told me what they were earning, I said, "Now, you know what? You ought to be marching with us. [laughter] You're just as poor as Negroes." And I said, "You are put in the position of supporting your oppressor, because through prejudice and blindness, you fail to see that the same forces that oppress Negroes in American society oppress poor white people. (Yes) And all you are living on is the satisfaction of your skin being white, and the drum major instinct of thinking that you are somebody big because you are white. And you're so poor you can't send your children to school. You ought to be out here marching with every one of us every time we have a march." Now that's a fact. That the poor white has been put into this position, where through blindness and prejudice, (Make it plain) he is forced to support his oppressors. And the only thing he has going for him is the false feeling that he’s superior because his skin is white—and can't hardly eat and make his ends meet week in and week out. (Amen) And not only does this thing go into the racial struggle, it goes into the struggle between nations. And I would submit to you this morning that what is wrong in the world today is that the nations of the world are engaged in a bitter, colossal contest for supremacy. And if something doesn't happen to stop this trend, I'm sorely afraid that we won't be here to talk about Jesus Christ and about God and about brotherhood too many more years. (Yeah) If somebody doesn't bring an end to this suicidal thrust that we see in the world today, none of us are going to be around, because somebody's going to make the mistake through our senseless blunderings of dropping a nuclear bomb somewhere. And then another one is going to drop. And don't let anybody fool you, this can happen within a matter of seconds. (Amen) They have twenty-megaton bombs in Russia right now that can destroy a city as big as New York in three seconds, with everybody wiped away, and every building. And we can do the same thing to Russia and China. But this is why we are drifting. And we are drifting there because nations are caught up with the drum major instinct. "I must be first." "I must be supreme." "Our nation must rule the world." (Preach it) And I am sad to say that the nation in which we live is the supreme culprit. And I'm going to continue to say it to America, because I love this country too much to see the drift that it has taken. God didn't call America to do what she's doing in the world now. (Preach it, preach it) God didn't call America to engage in a senseless, unjust war as the war in Vietnam. And we are criminals in that war. We’ve committed more war crimes almost than any nation in the world, and I'm going to continue to say it. And we won't stop it because of our pride and our arrogance as a nation. But God has a way of even putting nations in their place. (Amen) The God that I worship has a way of saying, "Don't play with me." (Yes) He has a way of saying, as the God of the Old Testament used to say to the Hebrews, "Don’t play with me, Israel. Don't play with me, Babylon. (Yes) Be still and know that I'm God. And if you don't stop your reckless course, I'll rise up and break the backbone of your power." (Yes) And that can happen to America. (Yes) Every now and then I go back and read Gibbons' Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. And when I come and look at America, I say to myself, the parallels are frightening. And we have perverted the drum major instinct. But let me rush on to my conclusion, because I want you to see what Jesus was really saying. What was the answer that Jesus gave these men? It's very interesting. One would have thought that Jesus would have condemned them. One would have thought that Jesus would have said, "You are out of your place. You are selfish. Why would you raise such a question?" But that isn't what Jesus did; he did something altogether different. He said in substance, "Oh, I see, you want to be first. You want to be great. You want to be important. You want to be significant. Well, you ought to be. If you're going to be my disciple, you must be." But he reordered priorities. And he said, "Yes, don't give up this instinct. It's a good instinct if you use it right. (Yes) It's a good instinct if you don't distort it and pervert it. Don't give it up. Keep feeling the need for being important. Keep feeling the need for being first. But I want you to be first in love. (Amen) I want you to be first in moral excellence. I want you to be first in generosity. That is what I want you to do." And he transformed the situation by giving a new definition of greatness. And you know how he said it? He said, "Now brethren, I can't give you greatness. And really, I can't make you first." This is what Jesus said to James and John. "You must earn it. True greatness comes not by favoritism, but by fitness. And the right hand and the left are not mine to give, they belong to those who are prepared." (Amen) And so Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. (Amen) That's a new definition of greatness. And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, (Everybody) because everybody can serve. (Amen) You don't have to have a college degree to serve. (All right) You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. (Amen) You only need a heart full of grace, (Yes, sir, Amen) a soul generated by love. (Yes) And you can be that servant. I know a man—and I just want to talk about him a minute, and maybe you will discover who I'm talking about as I go down the way (Yeah) because he was a great one. And he just went about serving. He was born in an obscure village, (Yes, sir) the child of a poor peasant woman. And then he grew up in still another obscure village, where he worked as a carpenter until he was thirty years old. (Amen) Then for three years, he just got on his feet, and he was an itinerant preacher. And he went about doing some things. He didn't have much. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. (Yes) He never owned a house. He never went to college. He never visited a big city. He never went two hundred miles from where he was born. He did none of the usual things that the world would associate with greatness. He had no credentials but himself. He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against him. They called him a rabble-rouser. They called him a troublemaker. They said he was an agitator. (Glory to God) He practiced civil disobedience; he broke injunctions. And so he was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. And the irony of it all is that his friends turned him over to them. (Amen) One of his closest friends denied him. Another of his friends turned him over to his enemies. And while he was dying, the people who killed him gambled for his clothing, the only possession that he had in the world. (Lord help him) When he was dead he was buried in a borrowed tomb, through the pity of a friend. Nineteen centuries have come and gone and today he stands as the most influential figure that ever entered human history. All of the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned put together (Yes) have not affected the life of man on this earth (Amen) as much as that one solitary life. His name may be a familiar one. (Jesus) But today I can hear them talking about him. Every now and then somebody says, "He's King of Kings." (Yes) And again I can hear somebody saying, "He's Lord of Lords." Somewhere else I can hear somebody saying, "In Christ there is no East nor West." (Yes) And then they go on and talk about, "In Him there's no North and South, but one great Fellowship of Love throughout the whole wide world." He didn't have anything. (Amen) He just went around serving and doing good. This morning, you can be on his right hand and his left hand if you serve. (Amen) It's the only way in. Every now and then I guess we all think realistically (Yes, sir) about that day when we will be victimized with what is life's final common denominator—that something that we call death. We all think about it. And every now and then I think about my own death and I think about my own funeral. And I don't think of it in a morbid sense. And every now and then I ask myself, "What is it that I would want said?" And I leave the word to you this morning. If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. (Yes) And every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards—that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. (Yes) I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. (Yes) I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question. (Amen) I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. (Yes) And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. (Yes) I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. (Lord) I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity. (Yes) Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. (Amen) Say that I was a drum major for peace. (Yes) I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. (Yes) I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. (Amen) And that's all I want to say. If I can help somebody as I pass along, If I can cheer somebody with a word or song, If I can show somebody he's traveling wrong, Then my living will not be in vain. If I can do my duty as a Christian ought, If I can bring salvation to a world once wrought, If I can spread the message as the master taught, Then my living will not be in vain. Yes, Jesus, I want to be on your right or your left side, (Yes) not for any selfish reason. I want to be on your right or your left side, not in terms of some political kingdom or ambition. But I just want to be there in love and in justice and in truth and in commitment to others, so that we can make of this old world a new world.

“On a personal level he was experiencing a loss of agency, determination, and energy. The “steady hand” approach and rapid action mindset that had characterized his leadership during the first wave were becoming fuzzy, less ingenious, and much more volatile.” If you are concerned with your team's mental state and your ability to keep up their motivation under the stress of Pandemic Fatigue, this Harvard article {How to Lead When Your Team Is Exhausted — and You Are, Too} is a worthy read. It outlines several key concepts and distinctions that we find very helpful: The difference between humans reaction to an emergency vs. the relentless onslaught of continuing stress. The difference between Urgent and Important. An emergency requires immediate action which feeds our brains need for dopamine. The problem is that we begin to treat everything like an emergency and burn out! When is it appropriate to provide compassion and when to provide inspiration to contain the drama that accompanies the pandemic? Some great ideas on what to do, and not do, to energize people throughout your organization. Lead on!

One of our favorite quotes is from Rollo May because he points out that courage isn't just another virtue ... it's the foundation upon which all virtues and values are built. And for Managers to be excellent, they must muster this courage on a regular basis. Here is Rollo’s quote: “Courage is not a virtue or value among other personal values like love or fidelity. It is the foundation that underlies and gives reality to all other virtues and personal values. Without courage our love pales into mere dependency. Without Courage our fidelity becomes conformism. The word courage comes from the same stem as the French word couer, meaning “heart”. Thus just as one’s heart, by pumping blood to one’s arms, legs, and brain enables all the other physical organs to function, so courage makes possible all the psychological virtues. Without courage other values wither away into mere facsimiles of virtue.” ~ Rollo May from his book The Courage to Create It’s a wonderful quote, so now what do we do with it? We offer a pragmatic article from Gallup that helps take courage to the next level for any manager looking to improve. Click here for the Gallup article: “Do Your Managers Lack Courage?” In the Gallup article, Ryan Pendell states that "managers are 50% more likely to strongly agree that they have too much to do. And some managers may feel like their job is impossible -- trying to please the people above them and below them at the same time." He concludes with “Being in management means dealing with messy problems and making tough calls. But to truly resolve issues, managers need shared conviction around your organization's values. Hard conversations are never fun or easy, but they are more likely to result in positive outcomes when we have the motivation to do the right thing.” Gallup “Do Your Managers Lack Courage?” Article Overview: Managers who lack courage produce burned-out teams. Low-courage managers undermine both their leadership and their teams. Organizations can boost courage by reshaping the "us vs. them" mentality. For the rest of the Gallup article, you can click the link below: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/325952/managers-lack-courage.aspx

Daniel Goleman is a bit of a superstar in the brain & behavioral science / leadership space. It's been 25 years since he released his book Emotional Intelligence which was on The New York Times Best Seller list for a year-and-a-half, a best-seller in many countries, and is in print worldwide in 40 languages. He recently shared some thoughts about those 25 years that we think are worth sharing (especially his answers to the 5 myths). "Bring to mind someone you’ve worked for who you really liked – someone you enjoyed working for. That’s your favorite boss. When I’ve asked folks to do this, and to name one outstanding characteristic of that boss, I get a list that looks very, very familiar: that boss is emotionally intelligent. We know this intuitively, but now research confirms our gut instinct: The greater a leader’s EI, the more satisfied their direct reports are with their job, and the lower their turnover rate. Low turnover rates, in turn, are connected with better business outcomes like return on investment, return on assets, and profit." FIVE MYTHS ABOUT EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE In the years since Emotional Intelligence was first published, some persistent myths about the concept keep popping up. The most persistent: 1: “Emotional Intelligence (EI) always matters more than your IQ.” Wrong. This is a misreading of the subtitle of my book. EI can sometimes matter more than IQ – in romance, for example, or for leadership. But certainly not when it comes to academic achievement. 2: “Emotional intelligence accounts for 80 percent of career success.” Wrong. This mistake comes from a misinterpretation of data I cited in Working with Emotional Intelligence: that IQ may account for up to 20 percent of career success. That other 80 percent is NOT all emotional intelligence, but a host of factors like the wealth of your family of origin, luck, connections, and other forces in one’s success. 3: “Being emotionally intelligent just means you are nice.” Wrong. But the way a person with emotional intelligence confronts someone else would not be with anger and rage (nor with passivity). It would be with an assertive and firm, but calm, declaration of fact, viewpoint, or whatever else the moment calls for. I like the Dalai Lama’s idea of a “muscular” compassion, where the confrontation of injustice, corruption, and the like comes in a strong form but without hostility. 4: "I invented ‘emotional intelligence." Wrong. The first time I saw the term was as the title of an article in an academic journal (obscure then and now extinct) by Peter Salovey, then a junior professor at Yale and now President of that university, and his then-grad student John (Jack) Mayer, now a professor at the University of New Hampshire. I just made the idea more famous. At the time I was on the science desk at the New York Times, and my job was to scour such journals to find research that was new and of general interest – like emotional intelligence. 5: "There are five parts to emotional intelligence." Wrong. In my original model (e.g., in my 1995 book) I did parse EI into five parts. But two of these – self-motivation and self-regulation – have long since been combined into one: self-management. My most recent work focuses on 12 competencies that fold into the four parts of EI. Interested in learning more? Check out this list of 100 books on Emotional Intelligence.

The NEXT disruption? Yes, the next disruption. Not if, but when. How are you making sure your team is ready for the next disruption? Gallup’s article A CEO's Guide to Preparing for the Next Crisis offers the following five tactics that can help any CEO disaster-proof their most important teams now, while preparing for an increasingly uncertain future. Know your team -- intimately. Set up key partnerships. Build your talent engine -- together. Commit to a shared vision. Do not wait for the next crisis to come up with a crisis plan. Here is the full article (which we highly recommend) from Gallup: A CEO's Guide to Preparing for the Next Crisis