Growth

The last post may seem the opposite of having superpowers.

Or is it?

If you ask author Joe Badarracco, he’d likely suggest that stepping back, maybe shedding a tear or two, and taking a break are without question the stuff superheroes are made of. In his book Leading Quietly, Badarracco suggested that what he calls ‘quiet leaders’ are the result of ‘the sum of millions of small yet consequential decisions that individuals working far from the limelight make every day’ and they select ‘responsible, behind-the-scenes action over public heroism to resolve tough leadership challenges’.

But to make those decisions, to sit far from the limelight to make behind-the-scenes actions, a leader has to be able to sit with themselves. So often, we fight, push, struggle, and attempt to get things done, to the detriment of our own health and sanity.

I read this great piece about self-care a bout a week ago. The tl:dr (too long, didn’t read) of the matter was that the term self-care has become synonymous with ‘some thin gruel, sufficient for enabling the person to experience the unsustainable conditions for one more day’, a way to get past the horror of this day to survive to reach the horror of tomorrow.

Maybe that’s how you feel about your current personal or professional situation.

The remainder of that post related to people’s relationship with their faith practice, but the point is well-made as it relates to leadership as well. There must be more of a ‘why’ to what we do, something more than ‘fake it til you make it’, something more than ‘if I just [finish this report … get done this meeting … fill in the blank].

R-Leaders want to see their businesses grow but also want to see their people grow. They invest in professional development, mentoring, conferences and presentation opportunities, and advancement opportunities to develop that succession pipeline (more about that in a future post).

Sometimes however, one of the areas R-Leaders may not be so good at is looking at their own growth. It’s important to help others, but the leader must also help themselves to grow and thrive.

When was the last time you took a professional development course, a training to update current or learn a new skill, or enlisted the support of a trainer or mentor?

Now might be the best time to (re)evaluate your leadership position. Let’s connect today to explore your opportunities.

The ‘R’ in Reconnoiter stands for ‘respectful provocation’, which all R-Leaders have as one of their superpowers.

But what does it mean to be a respectful provocateur?

A typical definition of the word provocateur offers a potentially negative connotation: one who is an agitator or who disrupts.

However, for the R-Leader, agitating and disrupting are not negative.

The thing in the middle of the washing machine is called an ‘agitator’: it’s job is to toss the clothing about, to loosen it, to open up the folds so more water can get in. Without agitation, not all the bits get cleaned.

A light switch ‘disrupts’ an electrical signal: without it, the lamp never goes off and the power bill is always enormous.

As an R-Leader, you likely already use this superpower.

Author Timothy Keller offers the term ‘respectful provocation’ in Generous Justice. He suggested that respectful provocation is a way to encourage others to discuss and share beliefs and values with the understanding that such discussions cannot be neutral. For most people, their beliefs and values are often not negotiable, until something shakes them up a bit.

Such provocation goes beyond conversations about beliefs (faith-based, political, or otherwise).

Think about workplace norms. Every organization has The Big Three: a mission, vision, and (there it is!) values. The Big Three are not negotiable. Team members agree upon hire to support them or in some way indicate they can abide by and respect them at minimum.

Just like social conversations about beliefs and values, workplace norms must be discussed at some point, whether it’s during on-boarding, at individual annual reviews, or when something happens that calls those norms into question.

Regardless of personal or professional discussions, talking about norms is not always easy. Confronting them when something happens is where the R-Leader’s superpower of respectful provocation comes in.

Recon-Leaders observe the environment and are able to engage others in courageous conversations, often leading to change and growth for everyone involved.

Respectful provocation brings elements of Reggio Emilia-inspired education into the adult arena. The four pillars of the Reggio Emilia Approach apply:

• Team members must have some say over what they experience.
• When people use all their senses to understand the world around them, they are better able to think and process.
• Colleagues must interact with others and be encouraged to explore.
• Team members should be encouraged to express themselves and be given the freedom to do so.

One way that R-Leaders engage this superpower is by helping their team members ‘think outside the box’, but that’s just one way: the opportunities are endless.

If learning how to develop your respectful provocation superpower is something you’d like to do, reach out.