Much of the job of a leader is to become a curator of talent: to find the talented people who can do their best work in the environment of your organization.  ~ Faisal Hoque

This past weekend, as I do periodically, I went on an art gallery tour in the River North neighborhood in Chicago. This happened to be one of those very rare occasions when I was the only person who showed up for the free tour. And I was fortunate enough to have a tour guide from one of the galleries who I know fairly well. I’ve done this enough times that I offered to be my own guide so he could go back to his work, but he too wanted to visit the galleries included on the route for the day, so off we went.

I go on these tours because I’m fascinated not only by the art but also by the art gallery business. So I tend to ask sort of unusual questions on these tours about running a successful art gallery. One of the things I’ve learned is that the more successful galleries are really good curators. They typically represent about 8-12 artists and there will be a focus or commonality among those artists. For example, one gallery exhibits only contemporary Asian art, another represents only Russian artists, and some focus only on modern art, etc. And the gallery owners are very particular about which artists they will represent in their galleries. I think it’s much like what Faisal Hoque said, “…find the talented people (aka: artists) who can do the best work in the environment of your organization (aka: gallery).”

Not too long ago, I asked one of the art gallery owners what buyers or collectors were looking for when they came to their gallery. Her response, “I think they are typically looking for a specific color scheme.”  That was not the answer I anticipated, and consequently that gallery is no longer in business. They were not good curators. They had art on the walls, but had not practiced a great deal of care in the selection of that art for the environment of their gallery.

In Everything Connects, author Faisal Hoque says, “The Medieval Latin is curate, a person responsible for the care of souls, or curator, an overseer or guardian.” If you walk into an art gallery you will find yourself in a curated space such that the overall effect of the works in the room will be greater than the sum of the parts. There will be, in other words, a synergy among the exhibition’s components and their arrangement; an additional value will be added by the way the pieces are put together.

One of the trends in HR is to refer to HR as talent management. I’ve never really cared for that terminology and now I think I know why. Because managing talent sounds like a leadership style that’s focused on “command and control.” It also seems almost disrespectful. If employees are truly talent, then wouldn’t it be much more respectful to care for their souls like a guardian rather than to manage them?

Sometimes I’m a bit surprised by how quickly some leaders select members for their leadership team.  This should be something akin to an art gallery owner who has identified precisely the type of art and artists who will best fit their gallery. Then they painstakingly search the world (I mean that literally) for just the right fit for both their gallery and collectors. Now, imagine the difference between leadership talent that is “managed” and leadership talent that is “curated.”

The most impactful leadership development comes when you are able to build the emotional stamina to withstand people telling you that your new idea is naïve or reckless or just plain stupid. ~Leader interviewed by Roselinde Torres

I was searching for a TED Talk last week that I wanted to recommend to someone, and in the process came across a title that intrigued me. “What it takes to be a great leader by Roselinde Torres who shares the three simple but crucial questions leaders need to ask to thrive in the future.” I think it was the “three simple” reference that really made me curious. In her less than 10-minute talk she provides these three questions.

1. Where are you looking to anticipate the next change to your business model or your life? 

Torres says, “The answer to this question is on your calendar. Who are you spending time with? On what topics? Where are you traveling? What are you reading? How are you distilling this into understanding potential discontinuities, and then making a decision to do something right now so that you’re prepared and ready?”

I think the key to this question is the word anticipate. It’s not about reacting to change well, but getting ahead of change so you’re prepared and ready. Because of the pace of change in the 21^st century this is more of a way of life than a periodic retreat or intense review.

2. What is the diversity measure of your personal and professional stakeholder network?

“What is your capacity to develop relationships with people who are very different than you? Those differences can be biological, physical, functional, political, cultural, or socioeconomic. And yet, despite all these differences, they connect with you and they trust you enough to cooperate with you in achieving a shared goal. Great leaders understand that having a more diverse network is a source of pattern identification at greater levels and also of solutions, because you have people who are thinking differently than you are.”

I would add to Torres’ comments that I believe real diversity likely comes with a degree of discomfort. As she said, “they need to be people who are thinking differently than you are,” and that may make you uncomfortable, frustrated, or impatient. That doesn’t mean you should walk away; it might mean you should lean in.

If two people agree on everything, one of them isn’t necessary. ~Winston Churchill

3. Are you courageous enough to abandon a practice that has made you successful in the past? 

Don’t let your past success hinder your future potential. ~Kathryn Scanland

Torres asks, “Are you going to keep doing what’s familiar and comfortable? Great leaders dare to be different. They don’t just talk about risk-taking, they actually do it. The most impactful leadership development comes when you are able to build the emotional stamina to withstand people telling you that your new idea is naïve or reckless or just plain stupid. Now interestingly, the people who will join you are not your usual suspects in your network. They’re often people that think differently and therefore are willing to join you in taking a courageous leap. And it’s a leap, not a step.”

What I observed about these three questions is that they all hover around the topic of significant change and relating to those who think differently. In the midst of unprecedented change, our instinct may be to surround ourselves with like-minded networks and rely on our past success. The 21^st century is asking us (maybe demanding us) to take a leap and lead with courage, not comfort, and embrace difference and change.

The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder. ~Thomas Carlyle

I write about purpose frequently. I think it’s because early in my own life, my options for purpose seemed more limited than plentiful. The options were connected to a handful of job functions (teacher, nurse, secretary) or who I would marry. Consequently, my purpose would be a farmer’s wife, a teacher’s wife, etc. Somewhere along the way I began to look at life and work differently. I’ll credit my liberal arts college education.

Last week I facilitated a training on personal leadership. For the first time, the client sent one of their managers to speak to the group about his own experience with self-leadership. I was a bit apprehensive since I had no communication with this manager until he walked into the room. I was not only relieved, but elated that he shared his own personal purpose statement and then asked the class to each write their own purpose statement.

They were put on the spot so I shouldn’t be too critical. However, I noticed that a number of them basically summarized the bullet points of responsibilities that were a part of their job description, or essentially described their basic work function.

Real purpose transcends job function. Purpose gets at the core of who you are, it’s a part of your character, it’s what gets you up in the morning.

The job function of our guest speaker was a marketing manager for drill bits. Yep, that’s right, all those little accessories, like drill bits, that are part of power tools. Did his purpose statement have anything to do with drill bits? No. Synonyms of purpose are drive, resolve, tenacity, and doggedness. And that quite accurately describes his purpose statement.

For some of the class participants, their purpose statements resembled synonyms for task or responsibility like duties, chores, assignments, charge, or job.

When the manager left the room, I asked the class what they observed about his self-leadership. They quickly commented about how passionate he was. His passion was quite evident and I believe it’s because what was driving him was not “drill bits” but his tenacity and doggedness to create a product line for the company that was truly world-class.

For some, or probably many, stepping out of your job function and looking at your work from the perspective of purpose is a challenge. I think that purpose is a lens you choose to look through. This manager could look at his job through the lens of selling drill bits and saw blades. Instead, he made the choice to look at this job through the lens of dominating a market, developing people, and building something bigger than himself. He was working on-purpose.

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.  ~Mahatma Gandhi

It’s confession time. I’m one-quarter Irish (from my McCracken heritage) and I live on a street clad with Irish pubs. Yet, I really know very little about Saint Patrick; so I decided to do some research. Now that I know a little more, in the future, I hope to think of March 17 as “forgiveness day.”

I’m borrowing background information from Lee Cockerell’s blog, “Lessons in Leadership” March 18, 2009 post on St. Patrick’s Leadership Lessons.

THE LIFE OF SAINT PATRICK: A STORY OF FORGIVENESS

Born to a wealthy British-Roman family, Patrick was kidnapped by a band of Irish marauders as a teenager. The raiders carried him off to Ireland where they forced him into slavery, tending their flocks and fields. Isolated and alone, Patrick clung to his faith to endure the cruelty of his masters.

After six years in captivity, Patrick summoned the courage to risk escape. He ran away from his captors, surviving a 200-mile trek across Ireland to the sea. Upon arrival to the coast, he talked his way onto a shipping vessel bound for his homeland.

Lesson #1 – [Leaders] don’t harbor grudges.

After being enslaved in Ireland, you would think Patrick would have been resentful of the Irish for stealing six years of his life. However, he dedicated the next 15 years to studying theology in preparation for a return trip to Ireland as a missionary. Despite being kidnapped and cruelly mistreated, Patrick chose forgiveness and showed compassion to his former captors.

Lesson #2 – [Leaders] go the extra mile to make amends.

Patrick was not exactly a welcome visitor back in Ireland–especially when he began teaching a religion that ran contrary to the beliefs held by druid priests. However, Patrick won favor by returning to his former master and paying the full ransom price of a slave as “compensation” for his escape. This generous gesture astounded the Irish and appeased them.

Lesson #3 – When reconciling a relationship, [leaders] speak the other person’s language.

During his six years of forced labor in Ireland, Patrick gained a working knowledge of the Celtic language. When he returned as a priest, he could speak directly to the Irish in their native tongue. Furthermore, Patrick understood the religious sensibilities of druidism from his time in captivity. Accordingly, he was able to communicate the message of the Christian faith in images that made sense to the Irish.

Regardless of a person’s religious beliefs, there’s no denying Saint Patrick’s enormous influence as a leader. By harnessing the power of forgiveness, the one-time slave persuaded his former captors, and their entire nation, to adopt his Christian faith.

This week, share the story of Saint Patrick and encourage forgiveness as an act of leadership. Happy Forgiveness Day!