My St. Amant Experience

Posted April 30, 2012 By David Irvine and has no comments yet.

Last week I was in Winnipeg working with some wonderful leaders and front-line professionals who have dedicated their lives to work with people with disabilities. The conference was sponsored by St. Amant, a not-for-profit organization that offers a wide range of programs and services to support individuals and their families in Manitoba with developmental disabilities and autism. I am a better person for having spent two days with these inspiring, caring, and dedicated people. Thank you St. Amant.

I was privileged to be there on the first day to hear the lunch speaker, Ian Brown, who shared his very moving and human journey of raising a son who was born with a disability. I liked Ian’s story. And I liked how he told it. He was real. He articulated beautifully the depth of his journey with eloquence and with a simple and magnificent expression of the English language. It is truly an authentic journey that inspired everyone who had the privilege of hearing Ian. I bought a copy of his book after he spoke and I would recommend it. It’s a beautiful story.

Here’s a review on the back cover by The Walrus:

“Given the current glut of smug daddy blogs and cutesy mommy memoirs, it’s bracing to read a story about parenthood in which there is something so extraordinary at stake.”

The name of the book: The Boy In The Moon: A Father’s Search For His Disabled Son, by Ian Brown, published by Vintage Canada, 2010

David Irvine, Author and Speaker

Categories: Leadership and Culture
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Leading Authentically With An Ego

Posted November 14, 2011 By David Irvine

Realities in recent times have demanded a new approach to leadership. I recently had a very stimulating dialogue with a group of CEO’s about the difference between the ego and the soul and what it all has to do with being an influential leader. In an age of spiritual awakening and consciousness, leaders driven by their ego will soon become obsolete.

The ego, that mental image of yourself formed from your personal and cultural conditioning, attempts to provide you with a sense of security, safety, and worth. Your ego demands recognition and wastes energy in resentment if it doesn’t get enough attention. But the ego, by it’s very nature, is empty. It’s like a hole inside of us that is in a continual state of dissatisfaction and restlessness, constantly pursuing “more” to fill itself up. To the ego, the present moment hardly exists. Only the past and future are important to the ego, for these are what it depends on for its survival. While the ego is essentially dysfunctional, there are times when it can be a positive, necessary force, such as when growing into adulthood or pursuing certain goals. Then the ego can be helpful, providing you can observe it and not get attached.

There also resides in each of us, to a lesser or greater degree, an authentic self, a soul, an essence of who we really are. Your soul doesn’t care about rejection, titles, possessions, successes, failures, or how scared you are. The soul cares only about expanding and expressing itself. It is your guide, and your true source of power. This inner source of strength comes from developing your capacity to delay gratification, learning to courageously face the demands of reality without escaping, developing the capability to see the long-term effects of actions, and achieving quietness of mind. Such cultivation requires a lifetime of dedicated personal work, guided by masters. A cultivated, integrated authentic self is, in today’s world, a leader’s greatest tool. Cultivation, or becoming more fully human, is the primary leadership issue of our time and lies at the core of our work.

Deciding to embark on this arduous journey called leadership requires a decision to go inside yourself and learn to discern the impulse of the ego from the voice of the soul. If a decision comes from the ego, you’ll never be satisfied. You’ll always want more. Authentic leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great organization. It’s not that authentic leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious—but their ambition is first and foremost for the greater good, not themselves.

I end this blog with a wonderful poem attributed to a Chinese sage, Wu Wei Wu:

Why are you so unhappy?

Because ninety-nine percent of what you think,

And everything you do,

Is for your self,

And there isn’t one.”

 

David Irvine, Speaker and Author

 

Categories: Leadership and Culture
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How is the Clarity of Your Conviction?

Posted August 10, 2011 By David Irvine

“Then I asked: Does a firm persuasion that a thing is so, make it so. He replied: All poets believe that it does, and in ages of imagination this firm persuasion removed mountains; but many are not capable of a firm persuasion of anything.” William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

To achieve a goal, you need a clear purpose and firm conviction. In the Sanskrit language there is a word for a firm mind: vyavasayam., which means agriculture. To reap a harvest, a cultivator needs a firm mind with one conviction that “by doing such and such, you will harvest this much.” With such conviction one does everything towards fulfillment. You don’t haphazardly throw seeds on unprepared soil or sow the seeds and say, “I don’t have time to care for it.” A good cultivator doesn’t change when the going gets tough. He continuously uses his effort until his goal is reached. That is what is meant by a firm mind.

People with a fleeting type of mind don’t stick to one thing. They may choose something, but become scattered. When things get difficult or uncomfortable, those with an infirm mind will lose concentration and be distracted by the allure of an easier, softer, or cheaper way. They’ll keep switching to something else. It’s like digging many shallow wells. They never find water and are always thirsty.

The achievement of a worthy goal will require you to ride out the storms with dedicated, focused effort, knowing you won’t get the fruit over night. It won’t be easy. And it won’t happen without the clarity and conviction of a firm mind.

Imagine a fisherman who is determined to catch a fish. He is in a small boat in the middle of the lake. It’s raining, chilly, and windy and his boat is being blown about. He casts his line and keeps his eyes only on that. Nothing disturbs him. He could be sitting comfortably at home in an easy chair, but knows he won’t catch a fish that way. Even for the simplest thing one needs great concentration.

With the clarity and conviction of a firm mind you can stay focused on your goal. It won’t matter if you experience some physical or psychological suffering or if people tell you that you are wasting your time. You won’t be distracted by discomfort or temptation. Nothing will move you from your purpose.

When you hear, “Leave that, and come watch television,” and you say, “No, I’m catching a fish and I won’t budge an inch until I do.” Then you are a true fisherman, not just someone who fishes as a hobby.

How is the clarity of your conviction? What have you achieved lately that’s come through having a firm mind?

David Irvine, Speaker and Author

Categories: Leadership and Culture
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Breathe New Life Into Your Organization

Posted May 11, 2011 By David Irvine

This beautiful little blog from a public service team leader, a participant in one of my workshops, inspired me so much that I thought I’d pass it along.

“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

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Passion, Vision, and Persistence: Leadership And A Group Of Committed Mothers

Posted April 11, 2011 By David Irvine

“Although ski jumping was an official event in the very first Olympic Winter Games in 1924, women weren’t granted the right to compete at the highest level in the sport until last Wednesday – 87  years later. The International Olympic Committee’s decision to include women’s ski jumping in the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, might not have come about without the persistence and hard work of four Calgary mothers who fought for their daughters to have an equal footing with men in the sport.” (Calgary Herald, April 10, 2011)

This decade-long fight against tradition is a great leadership story about passion, vision, persistence – and love. It’s also a story of integrity and fighting a principle that, in the words of the mothers, “just wasn’t right.”

The irony of this inspiring story is that all four young women whose mothers’ determination changed years of tradition have since moved on and will likely not be competing themselves. This story reminds me of an old Chinese proverb that says, in essence, “The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”

Well done ladies. A leaders’ legacy. Many women will be jumping in the shade of your contribution for years to come.

David Irvine, Speaker and Author

Categories: Authentic Leadership and Culture
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It Takes Patience And Persistence To Find Your Voice

Posted April 6, 2011 By David Irvine

Our daughter, Hayley, now eighteen, has been taking voice lessons since she was seven. For eight long years, she relentlessly showed up for lessons, week after week, but during those years her voice was breathy, immature, and fragile. Her talent didn’t really reveal itself back then, but it didn’t stop her. Some kind of force inside her kept her going. I don’t know if she even knew what it was, except that she somehow knew she was meant to sing, and she persistently kept at it. The concerts in those days were pretty amateur,  but we just kept supporting Hayley to do what she loved.

Then something happened. Three years ago, everything seemed to align and come into place. Her voice matured, deepened, and strengthened. With an alto quality of depth, Hayley found the voice that she had been striving for. Last year she played Eponine in her  high school production of Les Miserables. This year, in her final high school musical, she starred as Belle in Beauty and The Beast. I watched with pride and gratitude as she shone on stage. But I felt more than just awe for her talent, I admired her courage, her passion, and her persistence – to keep at it until she found what she was looking for and what she  knew, without knowing, was there.

I understand that this is what it means to find your authentic voice. Listening and trusting the inner promptings to keep going and doing what you are meant to do. Don’t depend on the world’s approval or support. You have to follow a deeper knowing. It takes passion, patience, and persistence. It takes courage to move through the doubt. It takes willingness to be unsure. No instant gratification. While support can help, rejection, failure, and pain are all part of the authentic path, the hero’s journey.

David Irvine, Speaker and Author

 

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The Saskatchewan Roughrider’s Culture: Just What Do You Make Of This Thing Called “Rider Nation?”

Posted April 2, 2011 By David Irvine

Every time I talk about organizational culture to companies in Canada, I make reference to the amazing culture that has emerged in the province of Saskatchewan, the culture that surrounds the Saskatchewan Roughrider football team. You can’t go to very many cities in Canada and not see some piece of Saskatchewan Roughrider merchandise. The Saskatchewan Roughriders have infiltrated Canada’s consumer market with their logo branded on just about anything you can think of. Some statistics suggest that the Roughriders sell as much merchandise as all the other CFL teams combined! And then there are the fans. At any CFL game on any given day, half of the stands are green!

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 13th 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.

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Goals, Achievements, And Success Are Not Enough…

Posted February 11, 2011 By David Irvine

Goals and achievements are not enough for a fulfilling life. I’m a goal-oriented person, and I love the exhilaration of achievement that comes from clear intentions and disciplined activity. I learned the value of goal setting early in my life as a track athlete, student, musician, and later as an entrepreneur.

But I need to remind myself that the true joy of life comes from practicing present-moment awareness. Joy is not in the future. It is in attention to the present moment. Whether I’m writing, making a presentation, facilitating an executive retreat, or spending time with one of my daughters, fulfillment comes as I am present to whatever is in front of me, right here, right now. I do not want  to diminish the quality of my attention in the present  moment, for my relationship with the present moment will ultimately determine the quality of my life. By  accepting the present as it is, the future will be manifested through my most treasured intentions and desires. And what emerges by being present to the moment is love – and an inner peace that the world cannot give. When it comes down to it, it really is the journey and the way the journey was traveled, rather than the destination.

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The Value Of Temperance

Posted February 6, 2011 By David Irvine

Temperance – the willingness to give up what we want in order to have what we need –  gets a bad rap in our culture. Most of us associate moderation with repression. My parents grew up with the mindset of sacrifice, duty, and restraint for the greater good. However, in an age of consumerism, debt, and instant gratification, we are out of balance. Knowing what you can, and need, to live without can be liberating. Learning to set limits on our desires is the beginning of freedom.

You can’t always get what you want. I am learning that in my life – the  hard way. You can’t get to your heart’s true desires until you set limits on your hungers. The chaos of indulgence brings pain and anguish, while calm, clear moderation actually affords us the opportunity to realize our dreams. I have found that unbridled wants block me from realizing my potential.

What have you found to be the value of temperance in your life? From the amount and kind of food you eat, to the amount of money you spend, to how you spend your time and with whom, to making sure your “to-do list” has a corresponding “don’t-do list,” intelligent temperance will change your life and the world around you.

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Being A Force Of Nature: Leadership At Any Level

Posted October 3, 2010 By David Irvine

George Bernard Shaw, the Irish playwright, philosopher, and a co-founder of the London School of Economics, said that, “This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”

You don’t need a title to be a “force of nature.” I’ve seen people with no title whatsoever who are changing the world. Here are my seven keys to being a force of nature.

1. A vision. What is your dream, your highest aspiration? What gets you up early? What inspires you to stay late, to learn the extra skills, to go  the extra mile? This could be a higher purpose, a mental picture of a new reality for yourself and others that you are excited about.

2. Passion. “The history of mankind is the story of people selling themselves short,” wrote Abraham Maslow. You are more than you believe and passion is a key that unlocks the door to new possibilities. Influencing others starts on the inside. Passion begets passion.

3. A decision, a choice to do your part, however big or small that may be, to be a part of the solution, instead of a part of the problem. Decisions are what change lives. You can change the course of your very existence with a single decision.

4. A commitment to serve, to make the world better by your presence. There appears to be two kinds of people in the world: Those who help, and those who hinder; those who give and those who take; those who lift, and those who lean; those who contribute, and those who consume. Which will you be?

5. Love. Being a force of nature, at least a positive force, means that you are driven by love. If you are uncomfortable with the word “love,” call it caring, because impacting others means caring for people, not manipulating them.

6. Authenticity. Great leadership – influencing others with love – cannot be reduced to technique; great leadership comes from the identity and integrity of the leader.

7. Strong Character. There is no real excellence in this world that can be separated from right living. Character is the courage to face the demands of reality. It is integral to being a force of nature. Character means means standing on strong moral ground – uncompromising principles – and then being accountable – being a person who can be counted on.

What are your keys for being a force of nature? How are you a change agent by being a force of nature?

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