Your North Star

 

 

Do you have a “North Star”?  It defines that personal boundary of our ethical, moral and legal standards to which we will hold ourselves, and by which we will judge others.  For some it will be a formal and clear definition.  For others it will be a bit more nebulous.  But regardless of how you establish your borders you will consciously and even subconsciously know when your behavior or that of others has gone outside of your comfort zone. It is where you draw the line between acceptable and unacceptable conduct. 

Almost all of us have such a star.  It has been built from a variety of sources: our personal faith beliefs; our experiences; our hopes and dreams; the model of others. Especially when it has been thoughtfully considered, it becomes our touchstone. It is our truth in the storm of misinformation; in the halls of public opinion; and in the pit of social media. All the pressures of society that stand against our principles will seek to influence our thoughts and undermine our conduct.  

The reality is that standing for that which is noble, for that which is just and for that which is true is not easy.  When some propose ‘alternate facts’, those who have grounded themselves in truth can only shake their heads in disbelief.

 

Too often integrity is viewed as old-fashioned. Situational ethics are considered as justification when conduct does not align with the standards to which we aspire. Anonymous attacks assault us through cowards in social media too weak to engage in civil discussions. 

It begs the question ‘...why has the high road become the road less traveled...’ 

Leaders must be the champions of truth, the upholders of moral and ethical conduct, the ones who lead by force of character. This is why it is so critical to have a well-defined and tested North Star. In times when you are being challenged to compromise your behavior or to condone that shortcoming in others, you must have something to grasp which has been refined under fire. You must be able to draw strength from it without questioning its’ resilience. Your North Star gives you the ability to chart the road ahead regardless of the turbulence that you encounter. It is your rock and your anchor.

I encourage you to take time to define what you stand for, before it is challenged. Knowing where your boundaries are allows you to defend your principles with certainty and confidence. 

My thoughts on International Womens Day

 I don’t mean to spoil your joy of International Women’s Day but let’s be serious. How can you celebrate being squeezed in between International Sex Workers Rights Day and World Kidney Day. If this is the only time that we recognize the contributions that women have and will make, we do a disservice to them. 

The reality is that this must be International Century of Women in leadership. 

Consider what male leadership has accomplished over the past 100 years. We have a climate that is becoming uninhabitable for many and leading to weather challenges around the globe. We have communication technologies that connect people everywhere but at the expense of intrusive and dangerous breaches of our privacy. We have a rise in autocracies that are governed exclusively by males that are seeking to control populations with an emphasis on controlling women. 

I’m not disparaging the abundant positive contributions to health and general welfare. But let’s be candid. The disparity between the haves and have nots has never been greater and it continues to widen. Male leadership has created wars, heightened discrimination and inequality around the world. 

Women must be given the opportunity to lead. It’s not that they are not qualified. 

Women represent over 50% of all law graduates, up from under 9% in 1970. 

Women represent 59% of all graduate school students. 

The fact is that in arts and humanities, biology, education, health, public administration and behavioral sciences we graduate significantly more women than men. Not only graduate but women also lead in both masters and PHD candidates. Men dominate in math and engineering and are only slightly ahead in business or earth sciences.

 

Truthfully, in most areas of society we have more qualified women than we do men. It is time for that to be reflected in our leadership. 

Celebrate Womens Day if you like. But mourn the opportunities we have lost because of the lack of diversity in leadership. Use this as a day of commitment to change, because the sooner we see it happen the sooner we come close to achieving the potential for a better world! 

The Void in Leadership...isn't it our fault?

 

Most surveys of the world’s population, now about 8 billion strong, suggest that faith plays an important part in an individual’s identity. Statistically, 7 of every 8 people subscribe to a faith with the largest being Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism accounting for almost 80%. Non-believers – atheists and agnostics – comprise about 15% of the population. The remainder are affiliated with local beliefs. 

Why is this worth considering? When you examine the core beliefs of each religion as they relate to others, that is, excluding their views on salvation or after-life, you find that they share a common principle. That principle is service to others, empathy for the condition of our fellow travelers. Apparently, we esteem this characteristic above all others. We measure the dedication to empathy as a key to the working out of our faith. We look to our leaders of the faith to have this quality in full measure.  

For that segment of our lives that the majority will cling to regardless of the rest of our circumstances, we want someone in leadership who cares – about us and about others. Everything else is secondary! 

This truth begs the question. If, in the innermost parts of our being, we look for character to be our touchstone, why, in the rest of our lives, do we define success as being associated with power and wealth? Why do we elect or appoint individuals to positions of authority if they do not first lead with empathy?  

Why is quality that guides our life choices outside of work not equally valued in our work and governance? 

Clearly history has something to do with it. For eons the ‘might is right’ philosophy has also been the reality. And wealth has been able to buy allegiance or influence. But are these what leadership should look like in the 21st century? Isn’t this the time when we look for character - empathetic character – and competence in those whom we assign lead? 

There is a misconception that a person of character is weak or not able to withstand the rigors of leadership. Some would suggest that an empathetic person will shy away from the challenge when things become difficult. 

  

The reality is that empathy is a sign of strength and accomplishment! If you can seek to improve the condition of others it is because you are strong enough in character to understand that raising another does not come by making yourself lower but rather you are pulling them up to your level. 

Difficult times do not build character as much as they reveal character. We need leaders who have spent the time building character so that they can act with character when the time demands it. The last thing we need is a crisis to demonstrate that someone is not fit for service. We can change that by the choices we make moving forward.  

It is time to align our private beliefs with our workplace and governance realities.