Escape From Excellence

“How do I make my way in an organization as crazy as this one?” 

Unfortunately, this is a common question posed by our clients.  Figuring out how to navigate the sick organization is often the single biggest source of stress and energy depletion among employees.  And while our clients are leaders themselves, they complain that they often find it  difficult to sustainably lead from a fearless, generative and intuitive place when they are constantly victimized by inconsistent managerial policy, organizations that lack a clear sense of vision and executive leadership that comes from a place of ego, depletion and compromise.  

In a recent conversation, a client described a situation in which the CEO chose to publicly berate her for being late, while she was interviewing a potential new hire.  Our client admitted that she was 5 minutes late passing the candidate over to the CEO’s office, however the cause of the delay was the candidate being passed to her late as well.  Compounding the issue, when the CEO discovered that the delay had actually originated as a result of earlier interviews, he asked our client to implicate one of her colleagues as the original source of the delay.  Think of this.  The CEO has likely embarrassed the candidate, set up a dynamic where two members of his leadership team are potentially at odds with one another, and he has communicated that their time spent interviewing the candidate was not highly valued, at least not as highly valued as his own. Our client says this type of behavior is typical.

In cases such as these, it is clear that the major culprit in our advising relationships is often not in the room. The question then becomes two-fold.

1) How do we help our clients to find a sustainable place from which to lead within their organizations?

2) How do we help the sick organization or leader that is currently not our client?

In the best of all situations, the CEO would realize this act as one in a deep, pattern of behavior and call us the next day.  In the real world however the solution is simpler, but requires a bit more energy and time.  When working from within an organization that is not operating at its best, it is more important than ever to lead and act from one’s Dynamic Essence.  Be authentic and focused about what drives and energizes you and makes you a strong leader within your organization.  We provide our clients with support and tools to stay focused on acting from this authentic place.  In turn, Dynamic Essence becomes a wellspring of  purpose and indentity from which our clients sustainably generate the emotional energy required to thrive in a sick organization.  And as we have often observed, leading with a fearless, generative and intuitive spark, will often, but not always, inspire change in the organization around you.

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