Leadership Physics

One doesn't necessarily think or talk about physics and leadership in the same sentence, but the events of the past several weeks - including a variety of political machinations and challenges in Alberta, Canada, North America and throughout the world - engaged my imagination (delusions) and came to rest on a couple of physics concepts that seem to resonate for me and leadership.

Now I'm not going to profess to being an expert in the field of physics. I successfully avoided the subject through high school and university! I have just enough awareness of the concepts to be dangerous and think I can draw some comparisons to leadership and work challenges.

Being very much a wanna be science geek, as attested to by my love of astronomy, Star Trek and the Big Bang Theory, I start to see a relationship between leadership and physics. No more so than as it relates to events that have driven changes in my work and that of my clients through such things as COVID, but also by seemingly distant events like wars and dislocation taking place throughout the world. Add into this mix challenges to supply chains, labour disruptions, and the ever-increasing speed of AI applications and we have a recipe for large scale change and disruption.

The first physics concept that strikes me at present is the relationship between work, time, and power, which brings my own time management and prioritization into focus. When I started my entrepreneurial and business venture over seven years ago, there was the challenge of striking the balance between clear opportunities in the moment versus the need to continuously invest in planting seeds and developing new or better service offerings. The challenge of important versus urgent that we all face. Now add in the new dynamics I have mentioned above and time management and prioritization take on a whole new significance. 

As I write this, I continue to make changes in my practice that have both been challenging and beneficial.  Almost all of my work has taken on a strong virtual flavour rather than in-person connection. This has also opened up a new landscape of international work with connections now being made and sustained in countries like Germany, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Mexico, and Finland. Time zone management in individual and team/group coaching has added a new dimension to my daily juggling efforts. 

  

My translation of the concept of Power as it relates to leadership and business is that power represents our ability to achieve and to get things done. Power is certainly a time-based concept and quantity as all of us know too well. The level of Power we are able to achieve directly relates to two key factors: the amount of Work effort we bring to bear on any one task, and the amount of Time it takes to complete a task (or that we are prepared to give to it). Simple enough on the face of it. 

As I work through the current reality it becomes abundantly clear that Work and Time exist in limited quantities! At a certain point there is no more Work to be applied or Time to be had in relation to the quality of Power (or quality of accomplishment) that we expect or can achieve. There are bigger forces at play right now and our priorities are getting reordered almost hourly. Quality and commitment are having to be revisited along the way. Simplification and flexibility are the watchwords of the day.

We often undertake pieces of work, invest in initiatives and in other people and relationships for all the right reasons. We believe we see some current or future value in this investment of our time and energy.  Sometimes we have really done our homework while other times we become enamored with the idea of what has been presented to us or is before us. 

However, in service of Power (or quality of that Power), we need to make appropriate commitments of Work and Time. Nothing good comes for free.

Now if you google "time management" you'll get a host of tips for getting more Work done in a given Time period in service of results/Power. This list often includes delegation, forensic audit of your last week's or last month's calendar, block off time with yourself, schedule time for inevitable interruptions, take the first 30 minutes of your day to plan, and turn off your technology. If you are like me - and most of my clients - you've done most of these and are still feeling challenged.

A breakthrough for me came when I started to think, "How would I coach one of my clients through this type of scenario?" I started to ask myself some hard questions. What was I prepared to continue to do to make this particular task successful? How long was I prepared to continue to make the investment of Time and Work into the venture? How did that investment of Time and Work relate to other things that were giving me more Power?

The light bulb came on when I recognized that rather than trying to find more Time or give more Work, I needed to really think in terms of efficiency in service of my personal Power (or ultimate goals). Once that equation came into sharper focus and I really owned my personal priorities, the decision became clear (although not necessarily easier). The hardest decisions I had to come to terms with were ones of key priorities and personal choice. Ultimately the same struggle that any one of my clients deal with - being clear on priorities and making hard choices. And that's what leadership is often all about, whether it relates to leadership of self or a business.

One additional side note. The achievement of Power (accomplishment) is, for better or worse, a simple matter of your own Work and Time. Rather we have to deal with the concept of Friction and a potential to lose impact from your own Work. There are other forces in the environment that can confound your efforts. I needed to take that into account as well when considering my decision. In my particular circumstance it was clear that there were too many other points of Friction at play that were not allowing me to make the best use of my personal Work and Time to achieve my full Power.

Long story short - Time and Work are bounded for all of us. We have to be wise enough and strong enough to make the right choices in service of our Power.

Leadership is about setting priorities and having the courage to act upon those priorities. Nobody ever said it was going to be easy, but that is leadership.

______________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE(R), CEC, PCC
Executive Coach/Senior Consultant

gregh@breakpoint.solutions

www.breakpoint.solutions

780-918-0009

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.

The Practice of Gratitude

September 21, 2024, is World Gratitude Day. The intent of the event is to help individuals, organizations, and society at large to celebrate the broad meaning of gratitude. More specifically, it has become increasingly apparent that there are significant benefits of setting aside time and otherwise being conscious of all that is good in our lives. In my past leadership roles and in my current role as executive coach, I have often found that the vast majority of us seem to fixate on all the things we believe we have not attended to, have not gotten right, or otherwise ruminate on all that has gone wrong or could go wrong.  From personal experience I can certainly say that this is a highly de-energizing and demotivating place to be.  

In today's world we are also often inundated with all the worst news the world has to offer - conflict in the Middle East, war in Ukraine, polarization of politics in western democracies, natural disasters with significant loss of life and property, crime in our own towns and neighborhoods, and too many other challenges than can be listed.  All of these situations can impose a heavy burden on our mind, body, and soul, not to mention anything that hits us on a more personal level - loss of loved ones, day-to-day work challenges, financial challenges. Where is the room for gratitude? And does gratitude even feel like the right thing to think about given what I have already said?

I hope we can all start to say a resounding "YES" to this last question. I can certainly appreciate - and am living - a whole range of challenges that parallel what has been noted above. Not least of what has transpired for me is the sudden loss of my mother earlier this year. And I certainly would not have found a place to express gratitude for many months of 2023 and through much of 2024. Indeed, it was not until the middle of 2024 that I said, "Physician (or coach) heal thyself".  At the time I started journalling and asking, amongst other questions, "What am I grateful for?"

I try to answer this question on a daily basis. The exercise takes no more than 30 minutes and on some days it feels harder to engage in the practice than others. Events of the previous day often weigh heavily on my mind, but I believe it's on those days that this exercise is the most important to engage with and complete. It's on these days in particular that I gain the greatest benefit from appreciating what I have working for me versus what I might be thinking is working against me. 

How do I answer this gratitude question? For the most part, I would say there are some very consistent entries in my journal. Those answers include gratitude for:

• My daughters. And in the case of my oldest daughter, her boyfriend. I am grateful for the time and role I can play in their lives and for the appreciation they (sometimes) extend back to me.
• My friends and family. In the past year, these people have had an extraordinarily powerful supporting role through challenging times for me. In fact, in my journal, I document them as my community therapists. 
• Key people where I can sometimes get very specific with naming certain people based on what they have done for me in support of me in the previous 24 hours or more.
• The good health I still generally enjoy. There are certainly days that I find myself more fatigued than I would like, suffering from a few more aches and pains as I age, and discovering that I have somehow twisted my back in my sleep! Overall, however, nearing age 60, I am still capable of doing significant physical labour and can still describe myself as reasonably mentally agile :).
• My personal and business reputation. People still reach out to me in a variety of ways because of how I have shown up with them, supported them, and otherwise encouraged them in their own good and bad times. They have reinforced through their words and actions that the qualities I aspire to live to are in fact experienced by them in their interactions with me.
• My parents. Despite my dad passing in 2019 and my mom earlier this year, I have a strong sense that they are still looking out for their son through his trials and tribulations, while also rejoicing in his victories as they happen.
• My power to choose. I am able to do a lot as I choose to. I am not powerless. I am not restricted as so many others may be. I can engage in physical activity. I can travel. I can enjoy experiences.  I can make things happen. 

One of the final things that I try to express gratitude for is myself. In truth, this is where I actually start my gratitude entry every time. Is that egotistical? Perhaps. More importantly though, it is a place to ensure that despite whatever challenges I might be facing or attacks I might feel that I am under, I try to ground myself in the reality of who I am and what I have accomplished. I don't often go into a lot of detail here - which might be a mistake - but a simple entry can bring me back to appreciating my core values of integrity, courage, creativity, collaboration, and fun. The simple entry can remind me of the adversity I have overcome. The simple entry can remind me of what I have accomplished as a leader in my past roles and as an entrepreneur/consultant/coach. These FACTS can act as a powerful counterpoint to other PERCEPTIONS rattling around my brain.  As I have said before, our minds are a dangerous neighborhood to go into alone. Reminding myself of the FACTS of my life is like turning on a light in a dark room.  I get to see things for what they really are.

Does this exercise mean that I don't sometimes worry about my business, the expenses, how my retirement fund is shaping up (or not)? Absolutely. But more often than not, I now find myself more worried about the experiences I might be denying myself in the moment and what greatness still awaits me.  

What can you do on September 21, 2024, to live into gratitude? What can you do every day after that to live with more gratitude.  
_____________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC

President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions

gregh@breakpoint.solutions

www.breakpoint.solutions

780-918-0009

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.

Bouncing Back - A Personal Recipe

My last post focused on the work of Linda Graham and her book Bouncing Back. I reflected on her five elements of resilient coping and how we can build new neural circuity to increase our resilience.

That blog prompted additional questions from readers about what my personal experience has been with a narcissistic boss. Readers/commentators wanted less theory or constructs from professional writers or researchers; they wanted to hear about my lived experience. What personal insights did I have on the topic of surviving (and later thriving?) with a narcissistic boss.  Regrettably, I can say that I have worked with at least two such leaders in my career. The consequences were emotional, mental, and even physical.  In both cases, self-confidence took a hit and directly led to physical ailments like stomach problems, sleep deprivation, and anxiety. But I not only survived, I also learned some valuable lessons along the way about how to cope with challenging leaders/people in the future and how I wanted to be as a leader (and person) going forward. Listed below are my personal insights and, I hope, some guidance for you if you are living through similar circumstances.

One, articulate or affirm your personal strengths, qualities, values, achievements, and essence. One of the most insidious tactics or realities of a narcissistic boss is that your self-confidence takes a hit.  Why?  Because most of us want to do a good job, most of us want feedback on our performance, and most of us are expecting that someone with greater authority and experience wants to help us learn and grow. People with positions of authority are people we should learn from, right? One of my greatest challenges with working with a narcissist was that "good enough" was a benchmark that was often ill-defined and constantly shifting. This was accompanied by feedback that mostly noted (supposed) flaws in my work and was woefully short in terms of clarity of what good should look like.  

In these situations, we are either being told directly that our abilities are not up to standards OR we punish ourselves for falling short. In these circumstances what I have learned to do is remind myself of my values, core strengths, and past achievements. Ideally, this is work that has already been done, allowing you to go back and ground yourself in objective reality rather than allowing yourself to be tossed to and fro by the whims of a challenging boss. I have done this kind of personal reflection and assessment since my early 20's and have continuously refined my understanding of self through the years. It is incredibly helpful and I would encourage you to do this work for yourself. 

Two, recognize reality for what it is.  What I had to come to realize was that fundamentally, the situation I was living through was not about me. Rather, it was about a less than capable leader. This is not about you. This is about them. In both of the circumstances I can relate to, I started to realize how fundamentally broken the leaders I was working with were. At the core of their personalities was deep seated insecurity and fear of being anything less than perfect. Vulnerability, humility, and the courage to work with others who are/were capable was too big a bridge for them to cross. Their need to criticize and/or withhold positive feedback was not because I was failing or incapable. Rather, they needed to create some sort of reality that allowed them to feel good about themselves even if that meant trying to break down others.  

Third, take time to breathe, pause, and process. Probably the best piece of advice I received from another leader who, like me, reported to the same challenging bosses, was to hold off responding to requests/demands until she had heard it three times. At first hearing this I was shocked at the approach.  How could I not instantly drop everything and respond to what I think my boss was asking for? Well for one thing, in most of those situations my emotions were running high while my thinking capacity was probably at a lower ebb. The result was usually not being clear about what I was being asked to do, I failed to ask enough questions, and I failed to bring my best skills and thinking to bear on a situation. In these cases, speed kills. As hard as it is to implement, the best thing you can do for yourself is slow down, go for a walk, meditate, and settle before responding to a situation.  

Fourth, cultivate your network. Too often when we are under pressure and starting to doubt ourselves, we hunker down and isolate. We do this as a natural protective response. If you think about trying to weather a storm or get away from a physical danger, our tendency is to crouch down, lean into the wind, or find shelter. We fail to take advantage of the connections in our lives that are incredibly useful and necessary to leverage at this time. I have learned this lesson the hard way. Too often I would see this reliance on others as a weakness. Or perhaps I feared that admitting my challenges with a narcissistic boss would only reveal that I was the only one failing and struggling. This has never been the case. Your network - in work and beyond - will help reinforce your positive qualities and attributes, help you see your situation objectively (see Point Two above), will allow you time to think and process (see Point Three above), and help you focus forward (see Point Five below). Cultivate and grow your network always. It takes time, energy, and investment in the good times, but it will pay huge dividends in the challenging times. 

Fifth, create or get grounded back to your positive future vision. Don't let the narcissistic boss define you. This is a bump in a road, maybe even a learning opportunity, but use the situation to further enhance where you would like to be rather than seeing this as the best/worst you can achieve. You likely took on your current job with high hopes and expectations of making a difference, learning and growing, and setting the stage for the next great opportunity. You might also have been very excited for the team you thought you were going to be a part of. Again, ideally, this visioning work is something you have been doing for some time before coming up to the current reality. Don't lose sight of your positive, preferred future. If you haven't previously done this work then start to think about where you do want to go, grounded in the objective reality of your strengths and positive qualities (Point One) and further informed and reinforced by your network (Point Four). If you are having trouble visioning positively, start thinking about what you would want to have less of in your preferred future state. 

None of these lessons I have learned makes the path forward pain free or easy for anyone. However, I hope it provides some tools and hope for you to overcome a personal challenge. As you try to implement these steps you will probably do so with some hesitancy and discomfort at first, but I promise you that the effort will lead you to a better place. Own your strengths and potential.  Be courageous and even creative.  

Phoenix Rising! It's within all of us. It's within you. 

_________________________________________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC

President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions

gregh@breakpoint.solutions 

www.breakpoint.solutions 

780-918-0009

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.

Bouncing Back - A Recipe?

The topics of resilience, trauma and post-traumatic growth have been subjects that I have pondered for many years now.  This focus was sharpened by my learning journey as a coach and a particular learning opportunity that exposed me to the concept of post-traumatic growth.  As I read the article, I was struck by the insights and parallels to my own journey starting with the sudden death of my wife in 2007 and the subsequent reinvention of myself from that point over the next few years.  Long story short, since that traumatic event I have:

• dramatically changed my physical status, losing and keeping off (on average) 35 pounds;
• successfully completed multiple athletic events including several marathons, a Goofy and a Dopey (ask me about that if you wish), two full Iroman triathlons, and have even combined marathon experiences with destination travel in Venice and Berlin;
• successfully launched a coaching/consulting business, leaping forward into an entrepreneurial venture after 25+ years in public sector leadership (that more often rewarded risk aversion vs risk taking); and,
• successfully overcome major life and societal events like COVID, economic downturns, and other significant, negative life events.

At the present time, I find myself navigating a number of dramatic changes in my personal and professional life that cause me again to reassess and refocus on the next part of my life journey.  In particular, I have been spending significant time digging into the concepts of trauma, narcissism, resilience, leadership, and recovery.  I will be exploring these topics for many months (years?) yet to come.  Most recently, I was introduced to the work of Linda Graham and her book Bouncing Back.  

In her work, Ms. Graham, presents the Five C's of Resilient Coping that help to rewire old dysfunctional patterns of behavior that can be attended to and work to help us build new neural circuity to increase our resilience.  I expect this will be helpful in my current journey.  But why might this be relevant to you within the context of work and leadership?  My belief is that all of us have been challenged in the course of our working lives in dealing with challenging situations, including co-workers and leaders.  If not, count your blessings while at the same time take something from the discussion that follows to prepare yourself for any future challenge you may face.  So, let's dig into Linda Graham's 5 C's.

First learn to remain calm in a crisis.  I would say a key distinguishing factor for leaders who excel and those who do not is this quality of balance and calmness.  In far too many circumstances I have seen leaders who not only fail to properly diagnose the root cause of an issue but in their drive to lead (or manage their own anxiety) they make matters worse by their rapid reaction.  Metaphorically speaking, they more often add gas to the fire rather than fix the presenting issue.  Our inherited mindset of flight, fight or freeze doesn't help us in most modern-day circumstances.  As a leader we are particularly tasked with slowing things down long enough to see an issue for what it is, understanding its significance, assessing risk, and potentially even deciding whether the issue is worthy of response.  Patience is a virtue to be cultivated!  Breathe, pause, and reflect before taking action. 

Second, focus on achieving clarity.  Obviously, this is very much related to the first point.  It's hard to achieve clarity when you have given into your first instincts and find yourself hip deep in alligators!  The benefit of the patience noted above is that you can not only see the situation for what it really is BUT also better appreciate how your past experiences have served or not served you in similar situations.  The more clarity you can achieve for yourself the better positioned you will be to implement a better response - including the option of no response!

Third, get help.  I have said before that leadership is a team sport.  While there is no shortage of challenge in admitting imperfection or showing vulnerability, a good leader takes full advantage of the full resources of the team that should be available to them.  Now when I say team I do so the broadest sense of that term.  These resources need not simply be any direct reports you might have.  Rather, there could be a range of people, information and systems that can help with a given scenario AND in helping you grow as a leader.  Their past/current work and life experience are assets to be leveraged.  Don't let pride, ego or fear get in the way of using other assets that could deliver a better decision and result for you.

Fourth, remind yourself of your current skills, competencies and experiences.  Even as a I wrote this blog today, I found myself discussing this concept with two of my existing coaching clients.  And this subject often comes up in my coaching practice in general, as I debrief leadership assessment results, and in strategic planning engagements.  We seem to be wired to think more in terms of our real or perceived weaknesses or gaps in skills versus truly owning our strengths and abilities.  We are not empty vessels and we need to remind ourselves that we have come through adversity before.  Tap into those experiences and existing skills as starting points for managing through the current challenge. 

Finally, we have nothing to fear but fear itself, right?  Find your courage.  Take the next first/best step forward.  I am fond of a couple of phrases that I started using several years ago when I was President of the Edmonton Chapter of the International Coach Federation - "Why Not?" and "What If?".  Look for possibilities.  Be creative.  Objectively evaluate risk.  Look back to bullet #3 and #4 for some objectivity and even inspiration.   

As and when you build calmness, clarity, connection, competence and courage you will build out your resilience.  In this respect, think of resilience and the 5 C's as muscles.  The more you can use these muscles the stronger you will become.  Moreover, as you use these tools you will also be modeling resilience for those around you.  

Resilience - It's All About Leadership!

_________________________________________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC

President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions

gregh@breakpoint.solutions 

www.breakpoint.solutions 

780-250-2543

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.