ULC the Leadership Navigator

Governance without Fear

By Willem H. J. de Liefde

Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd

Copyright © 2011 WHJ de Liefde
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-77009-769-8

Contents

Dedication,
Title Page,
Copyright Page,
Foreword – A paradigm of leadership,
Basic rules on a tablecloth,
From the writer’s desk,
Chapter 1 – Lekgotla: a platform for dialogue,
Chapter 2 – Embracing Leadership,
Chapter 3 – The Universal Life Cycle for individuals,
Chapter 4 – A trinity of leaders,
Chapter 5 – The Universal Life Cycle in a corporate setting,
Chapter 6 – False beliefs,
Chapter 7 – Awareness of the WE versus I Ego,
Chapter 8 – Embracing Leadership in a corporate context,
Chapter 9 – Wisdom levels for power versus force a leadership level indicator,
Chapter 10 – Embracing Leadership: an international perspective,
Chapter 11 – We have the tools,
References,

CHAPTER 1

Lekgotla: a platform for dialogue

Setho: ‘People-ness’

In a world in which we are becoming increasingly individualised, in which greedy corporations have caused economic collapse and politicians act in their own interest, there is a real need for a new form of leadership.

It is only by talking to each other and listening to what we have to say, that we can learn from the past and step towards reconciliation and change.

A new leadership will emerge from that collective wisdom.

In my book Lekgotla, the art of leadership through dialogue, I explain the power of using the wisdom of the collective in dialogue.

Dr Maki Mandela said in that book:

This book is a meeting of souls from Africa and Europe – in an attempt to find common ground. It is written for family, friends, colleagues known and unknown, for those who find themselves at the crossroads of their lives, or their careers, and for those who are searching and yearning for a source of change. It is for those who are willing to dig deeper, to look beyond the surface of things. It is an invitation to all to learn from a lekgotla as a continuing journey into the future – one driven by caring and commitment to common ground.

On the following page are some wonderful comments from other books on the power of dialogue.

In her book, Space to Grow, Mari Schultz says:

Dialogue is helpful especially in a multinational and multicultural environment.

Professor David Bohm, Donald Factor and Peter Garrett say in their publication, Dialogue – a Proposal:

Dialogue resembles a number of other forms of group activity and may at times conclude aspects of them but in fact it is something new to our culture. We believe that it is an activity that might well prove vital to its future health.

Lekgotla: an unfolding dialogue

A lekgotla is a tribal meeting to discuss an issue or solve a problem. The tribe can be anything: a company, a football team, a family or a group of friends. What counts is that the tribe operates as one.

In the lekgotla, there is a collective unfolding dialogue. This is a process of sharing individual thoughts, perceptions and fears. The communication between the participants in the lekgotla enriches both the individual and the collective. This unfolding process, which reveals new insights, gives leaders and individuals the opportunity to take firm decisions which will improve the wellbeing of all stakeholders.

In the lekgotla-style meeting, everyone has freedom of speech. Everyone can speak their minds without fear of any recrimination. Whatever someone says in the lekgotla is addressed to the community. They are authentic, first-person stories that illuminate different aspects of the topic under discussion.

It is important to emphasise that this way of speaking, based on the principle of equal rights for everyone, is essential if a company or group wants to take the initiative for dialogue. It opens the possibility for leaders to make the best decision and one that is endorsed by their staff. Only if participants experience a deeply rooted trust from all the other participants, will they be able to give their candid view of the problem or problems.

Sharing truth is at the heart of the lekgotla system. There are no negative consequences for those involved. Fear of losing face is no longer an issue. Sharing the truth creates the possibility of being sincere. No one points fingers. Everyone’s contribution is aimed at clarifying what has caused the problems being addressed.

These dialogues are characterised by community feeling, an open and creative working environment, motivation and commitment, socially orientated entrepreneurship and receptiveness to transformation.

The surprising, unifying and powerful ‘fire’ that the lekgotla can bring about may give a workable perspective to Western managers as they discover the concept of community-orientated interactive culture.

Using the principles of lekgotla, it is possible to persuade organisations that have a Western approach to business to deal in inspiration rather than products.

In the lekgotla-style meeting, everyone has freedom of speech

Companies that follow these procedures when solving problems can grow towards creating better solutions and products. A company is a living organisation and if it wants to retain its value, it has to recognise the human element of the soul as most important.

A company does not exist in a vacuum. It must take into account those people whose emotional and spiritual needs ought to be met. The ‘fire’ of the lekgotla creates transparency and therefore creates the right climate for creativity and enthusiasm. It also aids the development of new levels of collective collaboration and innovation. It helps the company function properly and responsibly at every level and instils a respect for people through listening. If people feel that the company is structured around their personal values, they will find it important to share the truth. This will contribute to dispelling fear because people will see themselves as part of a ‘living company’ that contributes to society.

A company is a living organisation and if it wants to retain its value, it has to recognise the human element of the soul as most important

Dr JJ Boonstra, in his foreword to Lekgotla, writes:

As a professor I read many books about organisational change, leadership, culture and decision-making. Much of what I have read has been written before. And books on current themes, such as giving meaning, inspiration and creativity, don’t always enthral me. They are often not very practical or so practical that they overlook the complex reality confronted by those in management positions. Occasionally I encounter a book that inspires, connects themes and presents arresting points of view. This is one of those remarkable books in which an abundance of well-considered practical experience leads to new insights. In this book it is clear how renewal and movement in organisations takes shape through the exchange of experiences, telling stories, giving meaning, creativity and forming communities.

Question, listen, observe:

In a lekgotla, questioning, listening and observing are paramount. Formulating the right questions is not simple. Here are some questions that could be asked at a lekgotla dialogue:

In a lekgotla, questioning, listening and observing are paramount

1. How do you create accountability and transparency to all stakeholders of enterprises?

2. What do we mean by referring to the ‘developing’, ‘developed’, ‘third’ and ‘first’ worlds?

3. Studies by leading universities of reorganisations and mergers within companies revealed that 90 per cent failed. Why is this?

4. Is sustainable growth possible without conflict?

When the media brings the problems of the ‘Third World’ to our attention, I often wonder what their intention is. Is it a genuine attempt to solve the problems, or do they wish to create fear, suspicion and judgment in the hearts of their readers?

Connecting

Look at this extract from an article, entitled ‘The IMF Warns of Human Calamity’ that appeared in Business Day on 28 April 2009:

The global economy has deteriorated dramatically. Developing countries face especially serious consequences as the financial and economic crisis turns into a human and development calamity … Pledges of aid by countries … should be delivered.

Through this the IMF seeks to set itself up at the apex of a hierarchical pyramid as saviours. By doing so, it takes the power out of the hands of the collective and distances itself from the fear felt by the collective at the bottom of the pyramid.

The people of South Africa who adopted the principles of the extraordinary document known as the Freedom Charter, in Kliptown, in 1955 is a good example of the wisdom of the crowd, a wisdom that led to the formation of the Rainbow Nation.

However, despite the huge initial success, we see in the creation of a democratic and free South Africa just how difficult it is to implement a brilliant vision, one that can become an extraordinary example of sustainable change based upon peace and love. The people of South Africa have gone through the process of awareness and reconciliation but are now drifting away from this beautiful dream towards internal conflicts and power struggles. Why is that? They did not complete the process of forgiveness and thus did not realise the dream of the Rainbow Nation, which is an equal place for people of all races and colours.

It is gratifying that there are people who have the welfare of their communities at heart and are not afraid to make their beliefs public. An example of this is the following extract from the open letter written by Archbishop Buti Tlhagale to the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma:

… use your power and influence to heal the bitterness and distrust that might pose a threat to our nation and rob us of an opportunity to build a winning country. I hope that your first priority will be nation-building, healing and continuing to heal our much scarred souls.

The problems highlighted in this section point to the need to develop a new kind of leadership that embraces the collective, instead of governing them through fear and force. In the next section we will look at the concept of Embracing Leadership and define the idea of a WE organisation as opposed to the ego-driven organisations we find predominantly today.

The people of South Africa have gone through the process of awareness and reconciliation but are now drifting away from this beautiful dream towards internal conflicts and power struggles

CHAPTER 2

Embracing Leadership

How do we define the WE organisation and an embracing style of leadership?

WE organisations:

• Focus on the common good

• Carry the vision of the people

• Attract talented people

• Align the personal mission of the individual with the mission of the collective

• Align technology with spiritual human needs

• Allow decisions to be made by the people

The process of awareness, reconciliation, forgiveness and letting go is important for living in harmony with the past and creating the open space required for transformation

WE organisations have learned to master sustainability through self renewal and are willing to risk experimenting with various strategies to find the most appropriate strategy for any given situation.

The sustainability of WE organisations is developed through understanding the following leadership principles:

• Every one of us is a part of the whole

• The leaders know themselves and their capabilities intimately

• The leaders expose their true selves to the collective

• The process of awareness, reconciliation, forgiveness and letting go is important for living in harmony with the past and creating the open space required for transformation. It also creates a valuable and positive energy flow, new organisational structures, new avenues of profitability and the wellbeing of the collective

• Managers in WE organisations have a strong emotional intelligence through which they can engage their employees in the dialogue required to create the platform for openness and sharing the truth

In summary

The following characteristics epitomise WE organisations, which operate under Embracing Leadership management:

The embracing leaders of such organisations understand the concept ‘I am because WE are’

• Their employees have an improved awareness of what has to be done as a result of the open dialogues in which they have been involved

• Their employees work in harmony as a result of engaging in these dialogues, which have paved the way for awareness and reconciliation

• They have an absentee rate of less than 4 per cent

• WE organisations are flexible, avoid bureaucracy and have a minimum of management layers

The embracing leaders of such organisations understand the concept ‘I am because WE are’.

Each one of us has a choice to participate honestly in the Embracing Leadership style or experience the shock of discovering that our constituents rate our leadership style as that of an Elite Manager, whilst our own perceptions were that we served the best interests of our organisations or our communities in a positive manner.

The question we should all ask ourselves is, how often do we inform our employees that a decision we implement in our organisation was taken by the board of directors and we were forced to abide by it despite knowing it would not solve the problem?

Ubuntu: The community as guiding principle

Archbishop Desmond Tutu said in 1994:

Africans have a thing called ubuntu ; it is about the essence of being human, it is part of the gift that Africa is going to give the world. It embraces hospitality, caring about others, being willing to go that extra mile for one another. We believe that a person is a person through other persons; that my humanity is caught up inextricably in yours. When I dehumanise you I inexorably dehumanise myself. The solitary human being is a contradiction in terms, and therefore you seek work for the common good because your humanity comes into its own community, in belonging.

Because of this, the employees in WE organisations have the freedom to voice any fear, perception or solution they think of in a lekgotla. These create the open space in which their truth can be shared.

Members of WE organisations live in harmony with the past, having gone through the important stages of awareness, reconciliation, forgiveness and letting go.

Forgiveness is crucial for sustainable transformation. It liberates people from the past through the process of letting go. This is the process of accessing the full human potential hidden in the right brains of all humans and it activates inner knowledge. It is a natural way of creating an ‘open space’ in organisations. This open space is vital for sustainability, change and innovations. Letting go of the past is key for gaining access to understanding your higher self.

Awareness is fundamental and is most of the time only linked to logic, reason and perception. One of the traps we find ourselves in is our addiction to the thought patterns of our basic instincts and not to the levels of the higher self. As a result, we tend to move directly into action, without sufficiently exploring the deeper consequences of doing so.

Therefore, we find ourselves once again at a time where there is a great need for liberation from the past. We have to learn to deal with our collective pain from the past in harmony and to explore new roads for living in a world which is in balance with this planet.

Members of WE organisations live in harmony with the past

In this story, we can see that by speaking his truth, the manager would ultimately create a win-win situation.

Story 1

The power of the truth

The head office of an organisation sends its technical staff to visit its subsidiaries, showing them volumes of statistics, such as SWOT and PESTLE analyses, that were used to determine and justify an impossible-to-achieve budget for the organisation for the next financial year.

How many times does a manager accept a budget, even when he or she knows the facts are inaccurate and the budget unachievable?

Would it not be in everyone’s interest for the manager to stand his or her ground and not accept the budget, given his or her knowledge of the local markets, the local environment and the quality of the products?

Through this action, the manager would avoid:

• The organisation undergoing a year of pain as it increasingly realises that the budget is unachievable

• Having to manage the expectations of irate shareholders and

• The negative energy generated by employees — who immediately realise the budget is unrealistic — and the inevitable negative corridor conversations that go with this, destroying the morale in the company and destroying the manager’s levels of trust with his or her own staff

Instead, the manager liberates his or her organisation and staff, who can then achieve the more realistic goals.

Although, initially, the head office may summon this manager to appear before it to explain his or her actions, it will ultimately come to appreciate the manager’s honesty and accurate assessment of the situation.

CHAPTER 3

The Universal Life Cycle for individuals

The process of awareness, reconciliation and forgiveness can be found in the Universal Life Cycle (ULC). The ULC is a powerful tool for identifying levels of consciousness and helping us find harmony and balance, both as individuals and within a corporate or society setting.

The ULC is also a valuable navigational tool.

The ULC can give valuable insights into the ability of the members of the collective to work together. This tool shows the collective how it can solve its inner relationship problems in a natural and non-confrontational manner. The ULC taps into our unconscious knowledge and so reveals clear solutions. These solutions are arrived at and implemented by the members of the collective rather than being forced on them by external sources.

(Continues…)Excerpted from ULC the Leadership Navigator by Willem H. J. de Liefde. Copyright © 2011 WHJ de Liefde. Excerpted by permission of Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd.
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