She knew her head was on the chopping block and Jerry was holding the axe. If this meeting didn't produce some results, Gwen knew where the axe would fall&

She thought back a month to a scene in the office. "Hey boss, said Gwen, leaning against Jerry's doorframe. "You got a few minutes? I'm at my wit's end.

"I just don't know what to do anymore, said Gwen, sinking into the chair opposite Jerry's desk. "You and I both know that sales are down and my people are listless. They aren't motivated and the more I push the less motivated they seem to be.

"Gwen, you're still trying to be the person in charge, said Jerry. "Your job is to nurture and teach. It's an obligation. You're the facilitator for your team, to help them grow as individuals. Like a gardener . . . sowing seeds. That kind of thing.
In order to be successful, people need the freedom to learn, to expand their skills and talents. A leader nurtures this kind of behavior. Leaders stretch others, not stress others.

Excerpted from The Offsite: A Leadership Challenge Fable

Gwen is an amalgam of the dazed and confused managers who are a part of everyone's workplace. In The Offsite: A Leadership Challenge Fable, Gwen has an epiphany. She learns the error of her ways. In the real world these epiphanies seem rare.

Do you have a Gwen in your organization? A product of their times and their environment, the "Gwens were taught to see leadership as a management tool. A cloak to wear that demands people show you respect. Once in the management queue they may become blinded and may even jettison their passion to keep getting their addictive fix.

How many careers must be marginalized before we realize the path we are on is draining real leadership&integrity, creativity and productivity dry? Isn't it time for a revolution?

Isn't it time our leadership actions included ending the abusive use of power to exploit others? Isn't it time to take back our lives? And to urge others to take back theirs?

When we finally remember what really matters to us, that's when we show up as a beacon for others, speak up to inequities and insults, step up to challenge the mundane or mediocre, and serve others with a sense of gratitude. It is then that we are leaders. It is then that we create our masterpiece.

It seems somewhere around grade-school many of us lost our way. We became bound up in rules and regulations. And our behaviors conformed more and more until the last vestiges of individuality collapsed. We shred when told. We lie on cue. We cover our backsides and laugh about our illicit stories over chardonnay.

Of course, socially we need guidelines, but should these "lines cast such a long shadow over our lives? Do they need to be drawn with electric red pencil to keep us from straying?

Leadership, teamwork, collaboration, empowerment and vision are becoming just key words to win Buzzword Bingo, the game of cynicism people love to play.

These keys to success have seemingly been hijacked and tossed overboard into the sea of lost opportunity by many ill-informed executives as they sail month-to-month searching for quarter-to-quarter treasure.

Many of us have toiled for years and celebrated success one person at a time. Perhaps some of us have actually helped a few organizations transform their culture successfully. That is to be applauded. Congratulations if the impact was permanent.

Yet, overall, most experts would agree that our organizations are struggling to stay afloat and survive in the global marketplace.

We have flattened, right-sized, downsized so frequently that we have homogenized our people to work more but expect less and less.

How we think about leadership might be helping to poison the water. We should look at leadership as a personal choice about creating open, honest, and authentic relationships that urge others to want to discover their own power and focus on what matters to them and their community.

Too often people spread the myth that leadership is about title, position or tenure to be used as a tool in certain ways in certain situations. That message may be the beginning of the end for those junior executive's like Gwen on their way up the ladder of success.

Once in a position of even minimal authority these automatons see more promotions and higher positions as their entitlement. They see telling people what to do as leadership and the more people you can tell what to do the greater the leader you are.

With that message, instead of creating clarity and commitment we create a cycle of fear. And it is that whirlpool of ineffectiveness that our organization's are drifting deeply into.

Choosing to immerse your organization in Kouzes and Posner's Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership can keep the ship sailing smoothly towards a more productive, healthy destination .

As depicted in THE OFFSITE, the "Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership are:
"Model the Way - It's not just what leaders say, but what they do that really matters - and it's up to them to behave the way they want others to behave. But first they must know who they are and what really matters to them. Connect your beliefs to your behavior. Eliminate the gap. Stop using values as just nicely framed pictures adorning the hallway.

"Inspire a Shared Vision - Leaders must envision the future and create a roadmap for getting there. Their vision story must inspire others to join the effort and appeal to shared aspirations. Everyone has a laminated vision statement that is hammered to a wall and forgotten. Share your dreams not a stale statement&your vision needs to be a positive story that comes alive.

"Challenge the Process - Leaders must search for opportunities by seizing the initiative and by looking outward for innovative ways to improve. Leaders are pioneers who challenge the status quo. Be your own action hero. Blow up the petty bureaucracy in your business and in your mind. Ask what do we need to move away from and what do we need to move towards. Help others find their courage.

"Enable Others to Act - Leaders make it possible for others to do good work by fostering collaboration, building trust, and facilitating relationships. They must strengthen the talent around them by increasing self-determination and developing competence. Be a servant leader. Offer others the resources that they need to learn, grow and build your business. Constantly ask others what you need to do more of, less of, start and stop. Let others ask those questions without fear of retribution.

"Encourage the Heart - Leaders must recognize everyone's contributions, showing appreciation for individual excellence. They should celebrate accomplishments and create a spirit of community. Share the praise specifically. Celebrate success. Give your gratitude freely.

Lastly, leadership is in the moment. So, demonstrate daily. Involve others&evolve yourself. Make the commitment. Without commitment, nothing changes.


Robert Thompson is the author of "The Offsite: A Leadership Challenge Fable.