Intervene Skillfully: Raise the Heat

No one would say what needed to be said.

Haven’t you been in meetings like that before?  Most everyone knows that the issue  – the thing holding back progress – is Jimmy, Suzie, the accounting department, etc., but no one has the guts to say what everyone is thinking.

Making progress on what we care about often requires “raising the heat” to get ourselves and others to do difficult work.  You’re not going to want to do this, but you have to. Most of us would rather not focus on the daunting challenges facing our organizations and communities.  We tend to avoid working on tough issues until we must.  Until there is enough pressure or “heat” we often just don’t act.

This is true in leadership and life generally.  Too many of us don’t save for retirement until the pressure is on.  We put off confronting a friend or relative about a tough situation until not doing so is worse than the status quo.

The exercise of leadership is often about “raising the heat” on ourselves and others enough to propel action.  But, people don’t like it when you raise the heat not because it’s bad, but because it makes us uncomfortable.  Especially because often times you have to raise the heat on “your own people,” like those you see everyday and who you supervise, or even more challenging those who supervise you.  You are putting pressure on them to do something different, to work on a challenge they would rather ignore.  It’s needed though, because when you raise the heat you provide an example for others.  Your goal is a culture in your organization that raises the heat when necessary.

Raising the heat enables so many things that are often needed.  It can reveal what is really on people’s minds and put other things to rest.  It can create new energy and the opportunity for alliances and relationships.

Chris Green, editor of  KLC’s quarterly magazine The Journal, had this to say about raising the heat, “I think it’s important to be clear with ourselves that raising the heat is really not about throwing bombs. The goal isn’t to blow up the conversation or push people over the brink, it’s to edge the group (including yourself) toward getting really hard, important work done on a difficult issue or in a tough situation.

Because raising the heat is hard, I think there is sometimes a temptation to get so focused on the turning up the “heat” aspect and lose sight that raising the heat is a sub-point under Intervene Skillfully. We can’t forget the skillful aspect of it – it needs to be a conscious choice done for purpose.

One strategy I like to use when raising the heat is to be really clear about the consequences of not confronting a difficult issue. I will try to acknowledge that we’re talking about something tough but explain that if we don’t confront the challenge, there’s this less than ideal reality that will continue unabated. The contrast gives people a reason to keep themselves in the productive zone.

One sign that you might have done a skillful job of raising the heat is that you see others in the group follow with their own heat-raising interventions. If you see other people purposefully lowering the heat that should be a signal that – while you shouldn’t quit — you may need to adjust your approach and try something different.

Making an observation about interventions that lower the heat can also be an effective tactic for raising the heat back up. “I noticed we were talking about this tough issue but now we’ve moved on to this technical issue. What happened?” It takes the group back to the issue at hand and can make them examine what they’re avoiding and why.

In those times when I get thrown off track raising the heat, I’m usually not being curious or persistent enough. Ask tough questions for the group as a whole to consider and follow-up with them. Throw out tough interpretations that you aren’t explicitly owning. Be acutely aware of what seems to move the needle and what gets deflected by the group. Use your gut to provide data to guide you but don’t forget to keep looking for the data others give you.”

It’s risky, so knowing when to raise the heat is important.  Here are some clues:

• If you are the only one doing the work and things are going slowly.
• When time pressures are requiring action.
• When people are bringing “elephant in the room” type issues to your attention outside the main group meeting time.
• When you aren’t feeling satisfied with the amount of progress.
• When you find yourself not doing any part of the work.
• When you sense burning questions aren’t being addressed.
• When you have a sense, your gut is talking to you, that something important is being missed or you think the group is going in the “wrong direction.
• When only a couple of people are doing the work and the majority of folks are silent or not engaged.

Twenty ways to raise the heat?

• Use silence.  Don’t jump in and answer the question or smooth over the tough issues for others.  Let them do the work.
• Allow more time.  Tough issues will surface and progress will be made if you allocate enough time to let a group stew.
• Grab the bull by the horns and declare a way forward.  Movement often raises the heat and gets people to engage more fully.  But remember, your purpose is to get people engaged.  Be willing to let go of your preferred way forward if necessary.
• State the consequences of inaction.
• Define the roles of individuals and organizations involved in the challenge, thus urging responsibility where its needed most.
• Use humor.  Shakespeare helped us learn all jests contain a bit of truth.
• Name the elephant in the room.
• Ask powerful, open ended questions.
• Ask someone directly for input.
• Interrupt someone who has taken up a lot of air time. Ask them to hold their comments in order to create some space for those we have not yet hear from.
• Set timelines.
• Write down responsibilities and timelines and include those in future agendas.
• Make a statement about your own frustration: “I am not sure where to go here, but I am frustrated with our lack of progress or movement forward” or “I am concerned about how quickly we are jumping to solutions.”
• Take the temperature.  Name it.
• Point out potential values/losses or ask what they might be.
• Compare and contrast what is going on.
• Speak from the heart.
• Offer different interpretations.
• Give the work back.
• Bring somebody new to the discussion.

What do you do now that you’ve raised the heat?

• Moderate the temperature.  If it is getting too hot, you may need to help people get back down to a manageable level.  Getting some facilitation training is a skill that can help you do this better.
• Prepare for the heat to be raised on you.  Now that you have raised the heat, consider the points under Manage Self to help you manage triggers when you feel the heat raised.  Also, think about what it might feel like to manage your own internal heat when you have raised the heat on others.
• Remember your purpose and evaluate.  Debrief what happened by intervening in this way.  What worked?  What would you do differently?

Q and A

Question: Every month for three years I’ve attended committee meetings for an organization I care deeply about.  Lately, it feels like we’re stuck.  There’s little engagement at our meetings and it seems like we’re just going through the motions.  Frankly speaking, if this is all we’re going to do, I feel like I have other ways to spend my time.  I’m not ready to give up quite yet though so I’m wondering what I can do to help us break out of this rut?

Answer:

What History Tells Us

William Wilburforce – slavery in Britain

Keene’s speech to the pastors at Birmingham jail

Civil Rights Movement

Inspiration

“When you can’t make them see the light, make them feel the heat.” ~Ronald Reagan

Resources

Book: ???

Song: “Roar” by Katy Perry

Movie: Lincoln

Movie: Twelve Angry Men

SoJourner Truth and “Ain’t I a Woman” speech

 

 

Energize Others: Start Where They Are

Leadership is about mobilizing others.  You need to know where others (the “they” in “start where they are”) are coming from.  What do they care about?  What’s their perspective?  What do they stand to gain or lose?

Too often when trying to tackle tough issues, like a bull in a china shop, we charge forward with what we believe is the right idea, having given scant attention to the mindset of others we’ll need involved.  You most likely have spent more time thinking about the issue if you are the one championing work on a tough adaptive challenge.  The challenge might also appear different to you based on where you are in the organization.  An adaptive challenge can look a lot different depending on whether you are the CEO, a middle manager or a front-line worker.

Failing to “start where they are” leads to a failure to ever get the group doing adaptive work.  Starting where they are is also a great way to regulate the temperature (see Diagnose Situation: Take the Temperature).  This allows you to control the heat and energy in the room, particularly if you anticipate that what you have to share will contribute to a lot of change for others.  It’s a lot different to hear “I don’t care what you have to do this afternoon, you will focus on this project first,” than “I know you all have a lot on your plates.  We’re all feeling the crunch of being short staffed right now.  With that said, it looks like we have a short deadline on this new project and need to do what we can to get it in by the end of the day.”  Obviously, in the second example the person starts where others are and addresses feelings and concerns right from the beginning.

When exercising leadership, you are asking, encouraging, inspiring, compelling, cajoling, and/or pressing others to change.  Knowing where those you wish to change are coming from, their history and perspective, in general and in relation to the issue you are working, is critical.  You can’t lead others if you don’t know where they stand and start there.

How do you start where they are?

• Ask questions.  What do they care about?  What is their perspective?  What is their history with this idea/group?
• Just listen.
• Explore multiple interpretations about what might be going on in the situation before reaching out to someone.
• Other examples???

What gets in the way of “starting where they are?”

We are blinded by our own vision.  Our vision is so obvious for us that we fail to realize others come to the same issue with vastly different history.  If you find yourself trying to convince another person of the brilliance of your idea you are probably not starting where they are.

Time and values.  In our rush to solve problems, we don’t value engaging others, listening to them and trying to understand them.  We fail to remember that the exercise of leadership is often mostly about engaging others, listening to them and trying to understand them!  The reality is that in our clock watching, results driven world, we would most likely see better outcomes if we took the time to start where people are.

We are misguided.  We think leadership and action is about solving the problem rather than understanding the people involved and the true nature of the problem.

Knowledge and experience.  The less we know about others and their experiences, the less likely we are to realize they come to the issue differently than us.  A lack of engaging with others has a cascading effect.  Lack of engagement leads to a lack of understanding which leads to a lack of collective movement on tough adaptive challenges.

How do you know when you have successfully “started where they are?” 

Constant evaluation of your leadership interventions is important.  There are two quick and easy ways you can discern whether you are starting where they are.

• First, as you track the conversation among the group, is the “main thing” staying the “main thing?”  Failure to start where they are typically means groups get distracted by the things that are more important to them.
• Second, observe whether other factions are connecting and resonating with the discussion rather than becoming defensive or contradictory.  You’ve started where they are if they are connecting and resonating

Q and A

Dear Ed:

I’m a new vice-president in a midsize company.  The company is successful, but I was brought in to help take it to the next level.  I hit the ground running with a robust 90-day action plan.  My challenge is that my ideas are meeting lots of resistance.  How do I gain traction for my ideas?

Joe Blow, Tampa, Florida

Dear Joe:

Shred and recycle your 90-day action plan and replace it with a 90-day listening and engagement plan.  You are the new guy.  Coming in with a package of ideas to implement isn’t the way to go.  Your adaptive challenge is to help a group of people who are already successful go to the next level.  Your job would be easier if the company wasn’t successful.  Then, your colleagues might be desperate enough to grab on to any idea you, as “the savior” offers.  Your 90-day action plan is most likely a threat to them.  They are successful now and you are trying to get them to change, without understanding what that change might mean to them.  Engage them.  Listen to them.  Ask questions.   Don’t let your mind start developing ideas or solutions.  Discern your next steps only after you really understand where they are coming from.

ONWARD!

Ed

What History Tells Us

(Ideas for this section?  We are looking for a historical anecdote.)

Inspiration

“To effectively communicate, we must realize, that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” ~Anthony Robbins

Resources

Book: Insanely Simple by Ken Seagall

Movie: Lincoln

Movie: Forever Strong

Movie: Les Miserables

Religious example: Jesus spoke fish to fisherman and theology to Pharisees and scribes to resonate with where that person was

Song: “Man On Fire” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Movie: Extreme Measures

The Framework for the Book

Initial ideas about framework for the book are below.  Please add your thoughts, ideas and feedback in the comment section.  Thank you.

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We’ve spent almost seven years articulating, exploring and refining five leadership principles and four leadership competencies.  The principles describe the reality of trying to mobilize people to work on tough things.  The competencies describe the way of going about it that is most effective in our opinion.

Here’s a way of thinking about it.  If leadership was a sport, the principles would be the context of the game.  Football is a violent sport, full of injuries.  You have to be fit and well prepared.  Teamwork is essential.  The corollary in leadership is that it’s risky, it starts with you and must engage others, it’s an activity, anyone can do it and you must have a clear purpose.

Each football team has its playbook, full of running and passing plays.  A team might be run or pass oriented.  Maybe they have an option or West Coast style offense.  When working on tough challenges – challenges that require leadership – the competencies below comprise the best “play book” for your efforts in our opinion.  They were born out of intense listening to everyday Kansans and leadership development experts across our state and beyond.  This book will explore each idea below.  The goal is to present each idea in a way that is easy to grasp and apply.

Leadership Principles For The Common Good:

1. Leadership is an activity, not a position.
2. Anyone can lead, anytime, anywhere.
3. It starts with you and must engage others.
4. Your purpose must be clear.
5. It’s risky.

Leadership Competencies For the Common Good:

Diagnose Situation

1. Explore tough interpretations.
2. Distinguish technical and adaptive work.
3. Understand the process challenges.
4. Test multiple interpretations and points of view.
5. Take the temperature.
6. Identify who needs to do the work.

Manage Self

1. Know your strengths, vulnerabilities and triggers.
2. Know the story others tell about you.
3. Choose among competing values.
4. Get used to uncertainty and conflict.
5. Experiment beyond your comfort zone.
6. Take care of yourself.

Intervene Skillfully

1. Make conscious choices.
2. Raise the heat.
3. Give the work back.
4. Hold to purpose.
5. Speak from the heart.
6. Act experimentaly.

Energize Others

1. Engage unusual voices.
2. Work across factions.
3. Start where they are.
4. Speak to loss.
5. Inspire a collective purpose.
6. Create a trustworthy process.