I’ve been watching culture in action in the development of my daughter’s soccer team. Eight years ago, on a U8 team with barely enough players, Chandra moved out of recreational soccer to a competitive team. But, the team wasn’t very competitive to say the least. Not only did they not win a game, they scored one – that’s right – one single goal that year. It happened in one of the last games of season. Their team performed so poorly that scoring one goal resulted in so much cheering you’d have thought they just won the championship!

That was eight years ago, when their coaches, Andy and Deedee Cook, began devoting themselves to developing a team out of this group of girls. Culture began that year, sixteen seasons ago. While not always explicit, the values, and thus, the priorities, of this couple and of the team they built were abundantly clear: 1) Fun – in everything they did;  2) Friendships – among every player; and 3) Fundamentals – of both soccer and of character. It was always clear that on this team it is more important to be a good person than a good soccer player. These amazing coaches understand that the game is a tool for something far more important.

In the seasons that followed, the values remained consistent as the friendships grew and the skill levels developed. It wasn’t much about winning in the early days. If they lost, they were more interested in where they were going to go eat after the game. The parents seemed more attached to the win/loss records than the girls ever were. What mattered most was the effort they put in, not the scoreboard. There have been times over the years where they won by a large margin but the coaches were not happy with their effort or application of the skills they had learned,  just as there were games they lost where the coach was thrilled with their execution.

Over time, with these values clearly in place, and as the girls kept having fun, bonding with each other through social events, hard work and discipline, plus strategic coaching and technical sessions for skill development, the team has became an attraction to soccer players and coaches around the province. The team is now attractive, not just because they are winning, but because they are connecting. The are also attractive because of the power of their presence: respect for themselves and others, a commitment to put the team above their self-interest, a positive attitude in everything they do, and a bone-deep commitment to excellence and integrity on and off the field. The coaches have relentlessly modeled this strength of character and have this expectation of everyone. They know how to assess and build on the strengths of every player, creating an environment where every girl knows they belong and contributes to the success of the team in their own unique way.

Over the years this core group of girls have stuck together and grown into a U16 team that is absolutely magical to watch. From a small town with essentially the same group of girls for sixteen seasons (eight years of indoor and outdoor), this team now beats teams from the cities where upwards to 100 girls may try out for the team. This year they are in the midst of an undefeated season in the second highest division in the province, and are currently in the process of progressing to Tier 1, where they will compete with the best players in the province in their age group. Deedee and Andy frequently get calls from girls in the city who would be willing to drive a great distance just to have a chance to play on this team. They are drawn to the culture of this team. Strong, aligned cultures are an attraction. At this stage, it’s all about winning, and, simultaneously, not at all about winning.

Fun, friendships, and fundamentals: culture trumps talent… in sports and in life.

David Irvine, Speaker and Best-Selling Author

The following is an abbreviated and rather oversimplified list of how the modern world has changed in its perception of hierarchy.

Under The Old Hierarchal Model:

1. The hierarchy – whether in church, families, educational systems, or the workplace – has the authority.
2. People are of unequal value, and they dominate or submit to one another.
3. Roles are what give people power and status.
4. People have power over each other, and their feelings of isolation, fear, anger, and distrust are denied and suppressed in the name of order.
5. People are expected to conform, to live up to external norms.
6. One right way exists, and the dominant person knows what it is.
7. People deny their own experiences so as to accept the voice of authority.
8. Security requires maintaining the status quo, as change is seen as undesirable and abnormal.
9. Creativity, dissention, and individuality are suppressed because there is only “one right way”: the voice of authority.
10. Loyalty is defined as devotion to authority.

Under The New Growth Model:

1. People are their own authority, where we learn to listen and trust our own inner voice and conscience.
2. People are of equal value, and relationships are between equals in value.
3. Roles are distinct from power and status; leadership is about presence, not position.
4. People feel connected to each other with an ownership of self, respect for others, and freedom of expression; the darker side of our nature is brought into the light.
5. Each person is unique and can define him or herself from an inner source of strength and validation.
6. Many ways usually exist, and we can use our own criteria to choose an approach.
7. People acknowledge their own experiences to validate their own authority.
8. Security comes from personal development and self-confidence.
9. Circular thinking and a systems approach replaces linear thinking; new discovery, creativity, and connections are encouraged.
10. Loyalty is defined as devotion to self in the service of others.

I was first introduced to the Growth Model over thirty years ago by one of my early mentors, Virginia Satir. As a society, we have been slowly emerging into this model over the past few decades but with a history of centuries of living in the old model, we are all relatively very new at this way of thinking.

The Growth Model, especially while we are learning to embrace it, can be difficult to accept. Teachers in our school system today ask, “Where is the respect for authority?” I suspect it is much more difficult to be a parent today than in my grandparent’s day. And it is much more difficult to create workplaces during the transition to the new model, where there is far less respect for positional power and a new loyalty is yet to fully be understood and embraced. Many are lamenting how the world is now “falling apart” in an age of self-serving, narcissistic individualism. Many are yearning to return to the “good old days,” where managing people through positional power was undoubtedly more simple and straight-forward.

I believe there is a deep, inner yearning to embrace the growth model, just as a plant yearns for the light, or a child yearns to ride a bike. But the awkwardness, the scrapes, and bruises in the early stages of bike riding invite a protective parent to return their child to familiar, safer territory. Yet, even in the chaos of the transition, we are long past the point of no return. In the spirit of transcendence and inclusion, the “old” list notes those aspects that have been outgrown. The “new” list leans in the direction of the most positive aspects of the emerging consciousness. What is the good side of the old hierarchal approach that we must safeguard? What is the darker side of the growth model that we must be aware of and work to overcome? Three challenges lie ahead as we continue to emerge into this new consciousness:

1. Patience with ourselves and with others is required in the transition. Living and working together without the security of a hierarchy is both daunting and awkward. To forge our way through life’s deeper terrain requires different perceptions and skills than what it took to follow someone else’s dictates. Understanding and healing the troublesome parts of ourselves and the world, as opposed to repressing and punishing the darker parts of the human experience, requires skills that few of us have been taught. A beginners mind is required as we step into this new world with openness and curiosity. Like embracing any needed change, we must be willing to let go of our need for certainty.
2. Embrace the paradoxes. In an effort to find freedom, the pendulum of independence has swung toward self-importance. The growth model is not about narcissism. It’s about self-expression in service. Sounds simple, but find ourself asking, “If I declare independence from the tyranny of hierarchy, will I not end up drowning in the pool of self-centeredness?” Yet if I neglect myself and serve only the greater good, what will happen to my soul? An authentic response to this paradox is to stay with the struggle by embracing the value of both. Maturity – and subsequent consciousness – asks us to live in the paradox without expecting a heavy-handed, overly simplistic solution. It seems inevitable to swing back and forth between the questions in order to continue to grow.
3. Trust the process. While pain and discomfort are a part of life, we must embrace our destiny – the call to evolve and emerge with a new consciousness. Just as we must embrace the paradox, we must remember that the goal is to be more authentic, fearless, and free. As we stay conscious: of our perceptions, of our biases, of our limited beliefs, of our present experience, and of our vision of a new world, growth, and a new world, is inevitable.

David Irvine, Speaker and Best-Selling Author

A news report a few years ago from Biloxi, Mississippi, powerfully illustrates how important a reason for living – beyond your own self-interest – is to activate your energy (see Og Mandino’s University of Success, p. 8).

A  twenty-four year old dancer jumped from a wharf in an attempt to commit suicide. As she later put it, she was “tired of living.” A young man saw her jump and, forgetting that he didn’t know how to swim, stripped off his coat and leaped in after her in a blind attempt to save a fellow human being. He began to thrash about in the water and was in serious danger of drowning when the young dancer, her own despair momentarily forgotten, paddled over to him, grabbed hold of him and pulled him safely ashore. Instead of ending her own life she saved the life of another.

In that crucial moment when she saw the young man struggling for life, her own life suddenly gained something it had lacked before: a purpose. What ended up drowning beneath the wharf that day was not this woman’s spirit, but her despair. She had known in a dramatic flash the difference between having nothing to live for and something to live for, and having pulled the young man to safety, she was herself taken to the hospital, treated for exposure, and released with a new lease on life.

Why do you get out of bed in the morning? What gets you up early? What keeps you up late? Where are you going? What are you doing to foster a sense of purpose – both in yourself and in those you serve as a leader? When’s the last time you had conversations that focused on these questions?

David Irvine, Speaker and Author

Successful succession is the ultimate test of success in your organization. At its core, succession is about culture and values. What you are ultimately building and sustaining into the next generation, is your culture. Don’t leave succession planning to chance. If you are committed to sustaining your culture into the next generation and beyond, you have to be intentional about it.

Succession planning is not an event; it is a generational process, integrated deeply into your leadership culture. It is not transactional; it is transformational. To do it well, succession can take upwards of twenty years to come to fruition. It takes painstaking learning and patience.

Ten Steps To Successful Succession Planning

1)   Appoint a Succession Planning Champion – A person who is ultimately accountable for the succession success of the organization:

a.      A leader with a vision and passion for culture (a “monomaniac with a mission”)

b.     Someone who has earned respect and credibility throughout the organization

c.      A person with the positional power to make the required decisions

2)   Define your cultural vision and values. Clarify the vision and the kind of culture and leadership you are committed to build and sustain into the next generation. How do you currently hold people accountable for living the values?

3)   Build a vision for future leaders. Based on your vision and core values, assess the kind of leaders you will need to take your organization to the next level in the coming generation – well before beginning a search.

a.    What kind of leader do you want?

b.   Where are the core areas that need immediate attention?

c.    What are the key essential positions?

Note: As you assess your leadership needs, be sure to remain open to the kind of culture you are committed to create, rather than simply “settling” for what you currently have.

4)   Honestly identify the strengths and gaps of your organization. Take the time to rethink what kind of organizational structure you will need in the future.

5) Have open and honest conversations at every level with every employee:

a.    Every employee needs to have a say in their own aspirations and have organizational support to align their passions, unique talents, and goals with the needs of the organization (Authentic Alignment). Remember: horizontal growth can be just as valuable to an organization as vertical growth. The vital questions are: 1) Is it authentic to the employee and to the organization? and 2) Do your systems support this?

b.   Every employee should have an understanding of how they are perceived by the organization – so there are no surprises in the succession process.

c.    Every employee needs to know what the organization expects from them, as well as what they can expect in return.

d.    Every employee needs to take accountability for their own Authentic Alignment (ensuring that the expectations and needs of the organization are met and are aligned with their authentic self).

6)   Provide a fair and realistic assessment. Using your cultural values and the corresponding behavioral definitions, measure and assess people’s fit for potential successful leadership.

7)   Build your talent pool. Make your intentions clear with your positional leaders. To avoid destructive personality conflicts and “replacement planning” mentality, use an Acceleration Pool System that develops candidates for leadership positions, rather than targeting one or two hand-picked individual for each leadership role. “Pool” members are offered opportunities for learning, visibility, and accelerated individual development. Candidates are supported to find a mentor, and are offered coaching and training. After a careful assessment of the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses, you develop a tailor-made plan for their capability development together.

a.    You may find it valuable to categorize the potential leaders as: i) Ready immediately; ii) 1-3 years away; and iii) 3-5 years away.

b.   Those doing the assessing will need a clear, justifiable rationale for why these individuals were chosen for the talent pool (based on organizational values), and be prepared to openly share their reasons for choosing them.

c.    Obviously, the potential leaders must have a choice about whether they accept being included in the talent pool.

d.    You need to be very explicit right from the beginning, that being chosen for the talent pool does not guarantee promotion to a new leadership position in the succession, but only a commitment to an accelerated leadership development track.

Make selections for various senior positions from the talent pool as needed.

9)   Current leaders must develop a plan for letting go. This is about making room for new growth to emerge. Just as potential leaders must plan their development to be ready to meet the challenges of a new leadership position, the current leaders must plan:

a.    What they are willing to give up/let go of.

b.   How they will let go.

c.    How to make room for new leadership to emerge. Often coaching and mentoring can be useful to support leaders with the letting go, a “making room” process.

10) Monitor your progress.

David Irvine, Speaker and Author

I was inspired by the values, the standards, the disciplines, the professionalism, and the rigor of this life-changing program. I was also impressed by the caliber of cadets going through Depot training. The average age entering the RCMP is now 29 years old. There were engineers, PhDs, even a physician, who had left their careers to join our national police.

I was particularly moved by the graduating ceremony. I left the experience proud to be Canadian and protected by this great national police force. If every Canadian had the opportunity to experience a Depot graduation, it would change our view of this organization. I am convinced that the challenges the RCMP face as a culture are not at Depot. The challenge, among others faced by this amazing organization, is how to sustain the values instilled at Depot.

My sincere thanks to A/Commissioner Roger Brown, the Commanding Officer of the “Depot” Division, and your team of leaders there for making this such a remarkable experience for Chandra and me. We are better people for having had this opportunity.

David Irvine, Speaker and Author

A skeptic (according to Encarta® World English Dictionary) is “somebody who questions the validity or truth of things that most people accept.” Skeptics challenge the status quo. Skeptics are necessary for the growth and development of an organization, a culture, and a community. Perhaps the growth of life itself depends on the spirit of a good skeptic. While skeptics appear negative, they have a motive to build. They have good-will, and are solution-based. Their intent is to serve, to contribute, to make better and stronger by telling the truth. Some are called agitators. We need agitators – as long as its done with the greater good in mind.

Cynics are quite different. While cynics also challenge the status quo, their motive is self-interest. They are not in the game for the greater good. Unlike skeptics, cynics have no cause, and without a cause you are a poacher.

In my discussion with groups of leaders about the difference between skeptics and cynics, the role of complaint inevitably surfaces. Is complaining skepticism or cynicism? It depends on your motive. To complain is  to express dissatisfaction, pain, uneasiness, censure, resentment, or grief. While complaining inevitably, at least initially, comes across as negative, if your motive is to serve and build, complaining can be useful. Be careful that you don’t judge and silence complainers in haste. Sometimes they are your best teachers and your greatest allies. Listening to and learning from those raising complaints about what is not working can bring about positive change.  Judging complainers outright labels the leaders – the change makers – within your organization who have spoken up, to become silent lest they be labeled as such. Complaints can  promote change. Complaints can be productive  when they are heard and acknowledged and when the complaint is coming from a self-responsible mindset.

What’s your take on the difference between a skeptic and a cynic?

David Irvine, Speaker and Author

It’s personal values that matter most when it comes to employee engagement. People don’t put their hearts into anything until they believe in it. Clarity of personal values is the force that makes the difference in an individual’s level of commitment to an organization. Think about your own experience. When, in your career, were you most engaged? Was it when you were clear about the values of the organization you worked for, or when you were clear about your own personal values?

If you are committed to engage people with their hearts, clarifying organizational values is a waste of time unless you get to what matters to them as a person.

In retreats and workshops, I now focus more on helping leaders clarify their employee’s personal values than on clarifying organizational values. While both are important, you have to get to people’s personal values if you want to get to what engages them. Commitment is a matter of alignment between personal and organizational values. You have to get to both sides of the equation.

What’s your experience with getting employees engaged?

David Irvine, Speaker and Author

“Breathing New Life Into The Public Service: It Starts With You. That’s the title of the conference I recently attended. Best-selling author, David Irvine was the speaker for the day. He speaks about leadership, accountability and well, life. He inspires me and challenges me almost as powerfully as my faith. I heart David Irvine.

Now, about breathing new life into the Public Service and about how it starts with me. Sigh. I was thinking about passing on what I learned from the conference about organizational culture and how it’s up to me to make it a great one. I could also talk about accountability and how it’s about people being able to count on me. Or about leadership and how I can’t be promoted to be a leader, I have to earn it.

There’s so much I learned that day and I’m so pumped about it that I want to just blog about it all.

In my eight pages of notes from the session about culture, leadership, accountability and authenticity, there is one thing that I have learned. It’s so simple and so seemingly easy that you might fall off your chair when I tell you. Either that or tilt your head and go, “Really?” Yes. Really. So here it is. Friends, I’ve simply learned to PAUSE.

In the everyday challenges of work and life, I have learned to pause.

On my way to work, someone cuts me off. Pause.

Someone complains my ear off about something they don’t plan to change. Pause.

I get back my 360 degree feedback. Pause.

I present something I’m passionate about and someone rolls their eyes. Pause.

Pause. Pause. Pause!

It’s fascinating what we can do within an itty-bitty pause.

Within that pause I can choose to put on the full rage and let it ruin my whole day or shrug it off and let it go.

Within that pause I can choose to participate in a boy bashing, work bashing, boss bashing session or exercise my right to excuse myself from a potentially toxic conversation that helps no one.

Within that pause I can choose to find out who gave me a 3.5 (out of 5) score on leadership abilities and hurt them very badly or humble myself and accept the fact that I’m not perfect and I have oh so many “areas of improvement”.

Within that pause I can choose to let that eye-rolling dude break me down or use him as a stepping stone to break through my insecurities.

Within that pause I can choose to complain or do what I can to help fix the system.

That little pause breathes new life into my reactions. And when I breathe new life into my reactions, I breathe new life into my work… and breathe new life into my team… new life into my department… and yes, breathe new life into the Public Service.”

David Irvine, Speaker and Author

What is it about this phenomenon called “Rider Nation?” I’m going to give you my perspective (as an uniformed outsider from Alberta and Calgary Stampeder fan). These reflections were inspired by a conversation yesterday with my good friends and colleagues, Bernie Novokowsky and Murray Hiebert.

There is, first and foremost, resonance between the values of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the values of their customers: Saskatchewan Roughrider fans. Saskatchewan, like their football team, has always taken pride in being different. Historically, they have been underdogs to the rest of the country who perceived them as the “poor cousin.” In Saskatchewan they value hard work and producing results by working together. Football players who come to Saskatchewan have historically been told, “this is not a place where you’ll get paid well, and this is not a place where you will shine as a superstar. This is a place where we work as a team and where we will take good care of you.” They have, up until now, replaced financial benefits with pride, especially in being the underdogs – hardworking men committed to putting the team before their own ego, and who are known for their strength of character rather than their personal achievements on the field. There is pride in a team with owners who value community over greed and their own self-interest.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are an integral part of the fabric of an agricultural province with a “next year” attitude of hope amidst adversity, the genesis of greatness. The Roughriders reside in a province where historically, one looked out for their neighbor, picked up hitchhikers, and sacrificed self-interest for the sake of the community. During years of only two or three wins in the season, there was pride in being the underdogs and pride in believing that in football, like in the droughts and other adversities of farming, “next year” was going to be different. And the fans kept coming because they wouldn’t dare miss a game in case it was one of the rare wins! A “hundred years of pride!”

In the 2009 Grey Cup, when the 13^th man on the field destroyed their Grey Cup victory party, it was likely the best thing that ever happened to the team – and their fans. It rallied their energy, reignited their pride, and instilled hope that “next year” it will be different. Months later, Roughrider fans were still talking about that play with the same passion and fury that was felt on that dreadful Sunday evening. This team means something to Saskatchewan because it’s more than football. It’s life as people from Saskatchewan know it.

How do you explain this kind of magic? This Roughrider culture was not designed or strategized by a marketing or organizational development department. It emerged out of a group of leaders – from every level – who were true to their values. It’s an inspiring story, to say the least. It shows us that while culture can be defined, shaped, and nurtured, it is not a machine that can be built with business process improvement or procedures. Culture is a living, breathing entity with many variables beyond our control.

The real challenge that now faces this “Rider Nation” is how the team and their fans will handle success. What happens to a team who has built its reputation and character on the pride of being an underdog when they have a winning record? What happens if the underdogs become a dynasty? What happens when there is enough money to pay players to come to Saskatchewan? What happens when there is an expectation from fans that the team doesn’t just “show up” and “put their heart in the game” but actually wins? And what happens to the fans of a team that has a consistent winning record? Like the citizens of a country that goes from “hard times” to extraordinary “good times,” how do you not breed entitlement, greed, and self-indulgence? How do you keep from turning the exuberance into stupidity? Within the answer to these questions lies the true test of the character of a team, the character of a “Rider Nation,” and the character of all who are students of life.