Collaboration: Social Enterprise Leadership IV

Collaborating Across the Boundaries of Organisations 

Collaboration has surely become one of the all time great buzzwords. Seemingly everyone aspires to be collaborative. Unfortunately, for every successful collaboration, there are dozens of ‘partnerships’ and ‘alliances’ that fail to achieve their potential.

In this fourth part of our series on social enterprise leadership, we share insights into how great coalitions are developed and how they can provide structure to implement diverse strategies simultaneously and the resilience to undertake long-term, complex projects—typical of those undertaken by social enterprises.

Back in the second part of this series on social enterprise leadership, we focused on how effective leaders ‘engage others.’ They support their colleagues, they work hard to develop their organisations as a whole and they are open and clear in their communications with their teammates. All these activities happen inside the organisation. Collaboration reaches farther.

The complex problems faced by social entrepreneurs often require coalition-building—cooperation beyond the boundaries of their organisations.

At their simplest, coalitions can look like strategic partnerships. In the social impact sphere, these simple partnerships often take the form of cause marketing campaigns. Think in-kind sponsors’ engagement in the Race for the Cure. As they get more advanced, diverse networks of like-minded organisation can coalesce around a shared vision. Such was the case with the ten-year Rainforest Solutions Project in western Canada.

The Project aimed to protect a vast and pristine coastal rainforest on Canada’s west coast. This spectacular ecosystem is the last untouched coastal temperate rainforest in the world. It is home to hundreds of unique species and to First Nations who have lived there for thousands of years. “Canada’s Amazon,” as it has been called, includes about one quarter of all the coastal temperate rainforest on Earth.

It was also commonly referred to in government policy documents as the ‘mid-coast timber reserve’—so it was essentially viewed as a commodity storage area, a heart-breaking misrepresentation of this priceless ecosystem. Perhaps the single greatest moment of genius in the Rainforest Solutions Project’s work was to rebrand the region as the Great Bear Rainforest.

The Rainforest Solutions Project was the organisation set up to house a remarkable campaign. The systems approach that they took exemplified the four key factors in effective coalition building.

1. Network for Results: The three founding partners in the Project (Greenpeace, ForestEthics and Sierra Club BC) recognised that the diversity of stakeholders and interests in the region would require an equally diverse range of partners in the Project. Their mission was to shift policy and enact new legislation that would be required to preserve the land. So they planned to engage absolutely everyone who had a stake in the ecosystem: Politicians, industry, First Nations and others. Certainly, as few participants as possible makes any coalition easier to manage, but as many as necessary must be included to ensure positive results.

Many networks of organisations or individuals exist in every community, sector and profession. Our client 1% for the Planet is another in the environmental space: they’re a member network of companies who have committed to giving 1% of their revenues to environmental causes. Members and the NGOs to which they donate have advanced a long and diverse list of environmental issues—including stepping up in ad hoc consortiums in emergency situations.

The Social Venture Network recently celebrated its 25^th anniversary. Members of that group have established some remarkable social purpose campaigns and organisations (Net Impact emerged from SVN).

So networks are essential to effective collaboration, in that they establish a structure and a shared set of values upon which effective coalitions can be built.

2. Honour Stakeholders: The second factor that Rainforest Solutions Project considered and the second factor in effective coalitions, is the honouring of the needs and priorities of various stakeholders. Each group had a distinct vision for the region. Where some wanted the entirety of the land left inviolate into perpetuity, others wanted industrial development. Each of these perspectives were held as valid, but so too was the common ground—namely that a sustainable management approach was required. This requires leaders to assume positive intent on behalf of their partners in the coalition.

3. Openly Share Knowledge: Coalitions break drown when trust degrades. And trust degrades when communication isn’t forthright and clear. Open knowledge sharing across a coalition helps everyone understand the rate of progress, the challenges ahead and the role they can play in moving a campaign or project forward.

Arguably, the most important audience for marketing and communications is made up of members of the coalition themselves. As more energy goes into member outreach and engagement, more goodwill accumulates between the parties and resilience of the group increases.

Moreover, as knowledge is shared and as more people understand the contributions being made by coalition members—and those stakeholders that elect not to join the coalition—the more the group can adopt a systems-perspective on the challenge they’re working to resolve.

In the Great Bear, some activist organisations that were not part of the coalition staged headline-grabbing protests on the one hand, while coalition members sat at the same table as industry and government, working on solutions. This multi-pronged approach is only possible in a coalition, and can only endure when ‘one hand knows what the other hand is doing.’

4. Navigate the Socio-Political Context: Conflict is inevitable. At some point in the life of a coalition, parties will find themselves at odds with others in the network. Collaborative leaders effectively negotiate through conflict and mobilise support, building from shared vision and values.

Significant work must be undertaken up front to ensure the coalition is convened in support of a clear, shared vision. A well-framed vision is both aspirational (i.e. it describes the idealised end-state of the campaign or project) and actionable (i.e. individuals and groups can act each day consistently with the vision. Values—or guiding principles or touchstones, whatever name they’re given—describe how members of the coalition will engage with one another and govern their coalition-related activities. More than words on a wall, there must be a consistent guide for behaviour and decision-making.

Though it took 10 years, the Great Bear Rainforest campaign was ultimately successful. Canada’s west coast is home now to one of the largest protected areas in the world. New approaches to ecosystem-based forestry were launched in the region. And the campaign is frequently held up as a shining example of effective coalition building.

Today, members of the Rainforest Solutions Project have their eyes set on another massive Canadian environment: the internationally noted oil sands development in British Columbia’s neighbouring Province, Alberta. In the same way that the Rainforest Solutions Project engaged diverse stakeholders to protect the Great Bear Rainforest, the Tides Canada Energy Initiative, with which Junxion has been proud to work, is honouring industry’s perspective, while also building a network of partners to define a New Energy Vision for Canada. Their early progress is encouraging.

Ultimately, effective coalitions succeed only when they’re collectively conscious of the broader system that encompasses all their individual members. And that will be the topic of the final part in this five-part series on social enterprise leadership: Systems Transformation.

Photo credit: Fishers, Cristina Goettsch Mittermeier; Great Bear, Ian McAllister. 

Opportunity to Change the World

On behalf of Octopus Strategies, I was excited to announce in September 2011 our merger with Junxion Strategy. Not only are two of Vancouver’s most prominent mission-based consultancies are joining forces, but our expanded firm truly reaches around the world.

Octopus Strategies has earned a reputation for values-driven leadership, award-winning marketing, and the development of leading brands for a long list of remarkable social enterprises and NGOs. Junxion Strategy has long been respected for its diligent mission to build environmentally and socially responsible organizations—in both the business and not-for-profit sectors.

By combining our companies, Octopus and Junxion are solidifying a powerful suite of services designed to help drive the successful brands, organizations and movements of the 21st century:

• Social Purpose consulting, to support the social enterprise and corporate social responsibility movements
• Sustainability strategy, to help organizations adapt to environmental imperatives that really can no longer be denied
• Outreach & Engagement, to help organizations of all kinds to market their products and services, develop donors, and build loyal followings

With a combination of offices in Vancouver, Toronto, London and Delhi, we unite world-class expertise and experience with a significant international reach.

The new company will operate as Junxion Strategy. We’ll unveil a new website in October.

Social Venture Institute 2013

There’s always an atmosphere of possibility and potential in the days leading up to the annual Social Venture Institute – Hollyhock. And it gets positively palatable in the hours before each year’s cohort of social entrepreneurs arrives at this remarkable retreat centre on Cortes Island, off Canada’s west coast.

This year—the 18th in SVI’s storied history—was no exception, and the record assembly of over 145 attendees certainly fulfilled all the expectations of a production team that had worked tirelessly to curate and design an event that at once informed, inspired and connected each of the attendees.

Each day began with SVI’s signature live case study, an opportunity for everyone present to share their ideas, advice and wisdom, to serve an entrepreneur courageous enough to ‘take the hot seat’ and present a significant challenge or opportunity that lies ahead for their business. The three enterprises this year were a diverse group indeed:

• Fresh Roots Urban Farm’s Ilana Labow and Marc Schutzbank spoke at length about their combination of food production, educational programming, and community engagement, and sought their peers’ advice on how best to market their complicated product to institutional clients that might host their farms. Wearing their hearts on their sleeves, and infecting the entire audience with their passion, Ilana and Marc demonstrated focus, humility and ambition—all at the same time.
• James Johnson-Piett, founder of Urbane Development, talked about his commitment to fostering neighbourhood connections in his New York community. He wondered whether a consulting model or a real estate development model was the right route forward, and heard fresh ideas from an engaged audience that was eager to see this big-hearted man succeed in his work.
• Father and son duo Daniel and Theo Terry presented the challenge of growing the pioneering Denman Island Chocolate, without sacrificing their commitment to their rural, island community, or to their organic, artisanal heritage. For many, though, it was the beautiful connection between father and son that stood out as the most important value to be nurtured in their business.

And in keeping with SVI tradition, each day ended with a ‘True Confession’ keynote—a speech by a more seasoned and accomplished entrepreneur to share insights into their trials, tribulations, setbacks and ultimate successes in business.

• Judy Wicks, heroine of the local food movement and subsequently the local living economies movement, shared her story, implicitly giving everyone permission to trust their instincts, and lead from their hearts. Hilarious and poignant, Judy’s diverse experience as an entrepreneur, activist and author left many of us wondering how so much good work could be accomplished in just one lifetime!
• On the second night, long-time friends Ian Walker, CEO at Left Coast Naturals, and Matt Breech, CEO at Tall Grass, played hilariously off one another as they shared the story of their businesses’ simultaneous development. Both companies sell into natural foods and health products stores, with Left Coast making and distributing food brands, and Tall Grass focused in health and beauty products. Their cross-town connections are a shining example of how collaboration across organizational boundaries can lead to greater outcomes for everyone.
• And the anchor presenter was Vancouver’s own John Fluevog, a fashion icon whose shoes have graced fashion runways, stomped concert stages, and walked the world’s streets on the feet of style mavens of all stripes. John’s openness about the challenges of achieving sustainability in the competitive fashion business was eye opening for many—and sparked healthy and productive debate among his audience. And like Judy, Ian and Matt, John spoke about the importance of vision, imagination, and chutzpah for entrepreneurs of all stripes.

This year’s workshop presenters shared diverse lessons on strategy, marketing, leadership, fundraising, and more. The informal, interactive nature of SVI, along with the producers’ dedication to openness and mutual support, collectively make for boundless opportunities to ask hard questions, seek out experts’ advice, share ideas, and ultimately define visions of a world made better by our work.

The true magic of SVI shows up in the space between the formal sessions — times when people get to connect with their ideas, and open up about their dreams and aspirations. By Friday afternoon (two days into the five-day conference), dozens and dozens of intimate one-on-one consulting sessions were happening throughout the lodge building and around campus. The vast potential of these focused dialogues and connections is hard to imagine: new ideas are translated into new business plans; business plans are matched up to the financing they need to lift off; and talented newcomers fit fortuitously into open roles with established ventures.

As the campus went quiet again on Sunday afternoon, the echoes of these conversations rebounded off the mighty rainforest that surrounds Hollyhock. As this year’s alumni returned to their homes and their work, taking with them helpful lessons, new connections, and hopefully a healthy dose of inspiration, three important themes from SVI 2013 emerged for me….

First, it’s profoundly important for everyone, and especially for entrepreneurs, to make the time and space to step away from their work and conspire with their peers to polish their approach and enhance their plans. Time whizzes by (and SVI 2014 will be upon us before we know it), but by focusing on our best opportunities, we can quickly develop significant value through our work. The challenge is to stay focused, firmly placing each step as we walk down our entrepreneurial paths.

Second, I’m reminded again of the singular power of a “small group of thoughtful and committed citizens.” This group of dedicated entrepreneurs is focused on solutions to some of the profound challenges of our time. From water security, to resource development run amok, to local economic development, I’m left hopeful that bright ideas will turn into innovative new businesses, and contribute to making our communities, our countries and our world more safe and resilient.

And third, those leaders who we celebrate and revere in business are more like each of us than we often imagine. Challenged by the hard times, humble when fortune shines their way, and helpful to those around them, leaders in social venture (as in other sectors) are the ones who recognize the next great idea can come from anyone, anywhere, at any time.

Somehow, I feel sure a number of ‘next great ideas’ will emerge from this year’s Social Venture Institute. And for me, this is the ultimate contribution of SVI.

Photos by Sara Dent

Transforming Systems: Social Enterprise Leadership V

 

The University of British Columbia is one of the largest and most prestigious universities in Canada and consistently ranks among the top 40 academic institutions in the world.

Renowned for its Nobel Prize-winning researchers, its beautiful, sprawling campus and its diverse, international student population; UBC has pioneered countless research breakthroughs and societal contributions since its founding over a century ago.

On the western edge of the campus, in a new and modern LEED certified building, is the ISIS Research Centre. Launched in 2009, its “original vision was that business and business education have significant roles in driving social innovation and active change in a complex global climate characterised by financial, economic, political and environmental instability.”

In other words, ISIS aims to use market forces to transform complex global systems.

It’s a leadership ambition that reflects the ultimate goal of most social entrepreneurs—to transform entrenched systems, making them more sustainable and generative. Indeed, the ultimate measure of social enterprise success is a legacy of enduring, positive change. Whether in local communities, on our shared environment, or in the broad context of international affairs, successful leaders are largely those that manage to embrace new and emerging paradigms, blazing a trail of change in which others will follow.

Building on skills of self-leadership, engagement of those around them, a focus on achieving results, and on coalition-building beyond the bounds of their organisations, to successfully transform systems, leaders must be able to manage analytical and conceptual thinking—often at the same time.

Systems transformation is the fifth leadership discipline of successful social venture leaders 

The first of four fundamental activities of effective systems thinkers—looking at the system they aim to shift with a critical eye, and questioning accepted norms of policy, approach or activity. They then draw on the other disciplines of leadership to move themselves, their colleagues, and organisational partners to achieve results.

Active support of innovation is the second characteristic of systems thinkers. I’ve had the pleasure to contribute some time and ideas to one of ISIS Research Centre’s newest programmes, the Coast Capital Savings Innovation Hub—an accelerator for social ventures that brings together “university resources, access to new networks, peer learning and improved investment readiness.” The Hub supports cohorts of social entrepreneurs working to develop ventures that drive social innovation.

The entrepreneurial energy, risk-tolerant support and coaching and skills building the Innovation Hub delivers to cohort members are all essential ingredients in the encouragement and support of innovation.

The Innovation Hub is making space for creative, continuous improvement to flourish, and establishing conditions for disruptive change to be possible

I spoke recently with Joanna Buczkowska, Managing Director at ISIS’s Centre for Sustainability and Social Innovation, right. She and her colleagues have been working hard to develop the plans for the Innovation Hub, and what struck me was her commitment to complementing—not duplicating—work that’s already being done in the region. While a number of specific examples of complementary organisations, groups and convenings came up, the point is that systems thinkers like Joanna recognize that their work and their organisation are just one part of a significant puzzle. And the more complex the issues they aim to address, the more important it is that a community deploys diverse solutions…. Not all of them will work.

As a result, strategic planning with systems thinkers is a formidable process—an approach that monitors the extended environment in which the organisation exists for ideas, best practices, and emerging trends that will shape the system. Leaders must nest their own organisations in the far broader context, and have clarity on where their organisation can make a contribution, giving due consideration to the work others are doing to move the system and their collective organisations toward the future they all aspire to reach.

They must also continually scan their environments for ideas, best practices and emerging trends, trying to foresee how those trends will shape the systems they aim to shift. This future orientation is the third characteristic of effective systems transformers. It can also be the most exhausting: Capitalising on emergent trends—i.e. following the lead of successful, small-scale changes within the system—requires leaders frequently to ‘pivot’ their work and business or organisational models. The significant energy and support this future orientation requires makes communities of supportive peers profoundly important.

Supportive networks are essential to meaningful systems change

Most visible among the contributions of systems thinking leaders is their active orchestration of change. Whether within their own organisations, or in collaboration with partners, this final characteristic of systems transformers presents as a championing of the change they seek.

This is precisely why well-designed, scalable convenings are vital in complex contexts. Developing trusting relationships between people, across organisational boundaries, and creating the ‘safe space’ to share progress, findings, and even failures are just two of the reasons why transformative events like the annual Social Venture Institute are continually successful.

Junxion has been a long-standing sponsor of SVI, and I act as one of the Executive Producers, precisely because the community of connections SVI cultivates is an essential aspect of systems transformation. The 150 or so ‘thoughtful and committed citizens’ who convene each year for SVI comprise a community of changemakers that is now interwoven through countless organisations.

Alumni draw on one another for support in myriad ways, and collectively are shaping some of the most promising social ventures in our region. And any one of those organisations might be the one to solve the riddle of systems transformation, conserving environments, supporting communities, or shifting norms sufficiently to catalyse progress.

 

Achieve Results: Social Enterprise Leadership III

I like giving information interviews. (There. I have said it. If the phone now rings off the hook… my own fault.) At least thrice each week, a brave entrepreneur (for the record, I believe they are all brave) sends me an email, or gives me a ring, to ask if they can “buy me a coffee” and “pick my brain” about their business.

I make time for as many as I can.

Many – perhaps most – of these conversations are as fruitful for me as I hope they are for the entrepreneurs across the table.

A handful are truly inspiring – instances when I get a glimpse of the vast potential of a true and compelling vision. And some fall into another category – one best captured by an age old saying: The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Leadership is about goals…

Most entrepreneurs suffer from ‘shiny object syndrome.’ They’re compelled to chase each of the bright new ideas that show up on their path. Successful entrepreneurs recognise that ideas are cheap and that what counts is execution. They stay focused and build something of enduring value.

Execution in social enterprise is the same as execution in any other organisation. It boils down to articulating a goal, working hard to reach it and achieving results.

Goal-oriented leaders – those that achieve admirable results  – are TE Lawrence’s “dreamers of the day.” They’re the precious few who take their vision and follow the steps that will make it a reality. These leaders share four key practices that distinguish them from their vision-oriented peers:

Practice 1: Set a course for success…

Most social enterprises exist to redress a complex problem. So their business models and practices are necessarily complicated. Successful leaders are able to break down complexity and share their organisation’s approach with others.

Clear, concise and compelling, their storytelling inspires their teams. It’s the day-to-day practice of what it means to be a visionary.

Future of Fish is a US NGO focused on redressing the complex challenges faced by the fishing industry.

The interlaced issues of over-fishing, mislabeling and supply chain opacity are preventing the emergence of sustainable practices. The issues are highly complex. And the solutions are complicated. Yet Founder and CEO Cheryl Dahle is continually working to refine her presentation, each time making Future of Fish’s theory of change clearer.

The story is already compelling enough to have attracted partners like National Geographic and Ecotrust, and to position Cheryl as a finalist for the 2012 Buckminster Fuller Award.

Practice 2: Align decisions with vision, values and evidence…

Leadership decisions aren’t easy. The complexities of social enterprise only make them more challenging. Clarity helps. A well-framed vision is both aspirational (“we aim to create this”) and actionable (“today we’ll do this”). Successful social entrepreneurs are able to frame decisions every single day in the context of their vision, moving ever closer to the change they wish to see in the world.

Second, they make daily decisions consistently with their own values and the values of their enterprise. They trust their instincts about what is the ‘right’ way to proceed. And if they’re unsure, they defer decisions until clarity emerges. They resist the panic to make a decision, instead maintaining urgency, but not tipping into the conviction that any decision now is better than waiting for the right one.

Third, they make decisions not on how they wish or hope things might be, but based on objective evidence. This may seem obvious, but the truth is that too many social entrepreneurs are so convinced of the rightness of their mission that they fail to see when their approach isn’t working.

Practice 3: Take action to implement decisions…

The decision is made. The path forward is explicitly clear. And nothing happens. Stasis, despite clarity of direction, is all too common in a social enterprise. One surprising culprit is the runaway empathy that’s so characteristic of the social sector: Well-meaning people are biased to leave well enough alone, when change means disruption or turbulence in their work and the work and lives of those around them.

So for the successful social entrepreneur, it isn’t enough merely to make decisions. Successful social entrepreneurs also exemplify active leadership. They act, directly and visibly, consistently with organisational values and in alignment with their decisions. Openness and transparency about decision-making is vital: Everyone in the organisation should know why their leader is acting.

Practice 4: Take stock of progress and refine…

Regular reflection, reassessment, and revision of plans is the final characteristic of goal-oriented social enterprise leaders. There are two equally important facets of this: One is metrics. Leading social entrepreneurs are borderline obsessive about measuring their results and evaluating their outcomes. They refuse to let the complexities of their work dissuade them from defining the metrics that define their milestones on the road to success.

The second facet of assessment is about accountability. Successful leaders hold their teams and themselves accountable for successes and failures. They correct behaviours and revise plans that don’t move their organisations toward their vision. They embody the decisiveness of successful business leaders and the empathy of the social sector. And, ultimately, this is perhaps their greatest asset.

To move an organisation forward, decision-making and an unwavering focus on results are the hallmarks of successful management. But pushing too hard for achievement can have longer-term consequences on morale. Exceptional social entrepreneurs balance drive and empathy. This is the hallmark of successful leadership.

Successful social entrepreneurs are profoundly inspiring people. Yet their leadership can be learned. This five part series, profiling the various aptitudes and skills of successful social enterprise leaders has been assembled to share some of the specific insights we’ve recognised in our work consulting to social entrepreneurs around the world.

Engaging Others: Social Enterprise Leadership Part II

The Association of Integrated Marketers invited me recently to present on the topic of ‘Community Marketing.’ In a room full of marketers, ‘marketing’ needed little preface. ‘Community,’ on the other hand is a word for which we each have our own definition.

Self-Leadership: Social Enterprise Leadership Part I

After eight years of planning, development, hoping and dreaming, the W2 Community Media Arts Centre finally opened its doors late last year.

This ambitious project aims to serve the working class community of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Canada’s poorest postal code and a neighbourhood made notorious by drug abuse, slumlords and heartbreak.

The challenges faced by this strong, tight-knit community aren’t simple or easy to resolve. More than 200 NGOs operate here and countless social workers, law enforcement professionals, health professionals, and city planners have so far failed to make it a truly safe neighbourhood.

W2 Media Cafe

The W2 Centre aims to contribute to the solution. Unlike most NGOs, though, it doesn’t plan to foist its programmes on the neighbourhood. Executive Director Irwin Oostinde and his team don’t claim to have the answers. Instead, the community will programme the centre. Interested in learning photography? Great. Bring some friends together, W2 will help find a local teacher and you can host a course. Chinese poetry? Brilliant! Let’s find an elder in nearby Chinatown who can share her knowledge. It’s up to the neighbourhood, not some imported “expert.”

W2 will also operate an incubator for micro social enterprises, a printing facility for public use, a significant convening space for meetings, conferences and other events, and more. And it’s all fronted by the W2 Media Café, which acts as a symbolic welcome mat for the community.

The great inspiration behind W2 is the simple recognition that the answers to the challenges of the Downtown Eastside won’t be simple. But then, neither are most answers sought by social entrepreneurs. That’s because the problems we face aren’t simple either.

Defining the challenges we aim to meet

Simple problems are like baking a cake; you just have to read the instructions! Cause and effect are obvious. “Best practices” exist, and we can train others to repeat the solution. (It’s written on the side of the box!)

Other problems are complicated, like flying to the moon. Cause and effect can be discerned, but it takes deeper analysis and more expertise. We can see a problem, analyse it, and respond accordingly. Only good practices can be defined, because the subtleties are significant. In social enterprise, we face complicated problems every day. We learn on the job. We develop systems and processes to smooth the way forward, on strategy, on budget and on mission.

Then there are the complex problems. Cause and effect are clear only in retrospect. We must analyse the problem first, then seek solutions that emerge from our analysis. Complex problems are like raising a child: Do everything right, do your best every day and your child may grow up to be a Nobel Laureate. Or they might equally end up a convicted criminal.

The fourth and final category is chaotic problems, where a relationship between cause and effect simply doesn’t exist at a systems level. The hours after a major disaster—such as the Banda Aceh tsunami of 2004—are chaotic. Expert agencies like Red Cross must simply react as best they can and adapt quickly. (There’s no time to strategise a social enterprise response here!)

This typography of problems is known as the Cynefin Framework. It’s a useful way of identifying the types of problems we face and defining the right ways to respond.

Problem Type	Identifying Factors	The Approach to Solutions
Simple	Relationship between cause and effect is patently obvious	Sense the problem, categorise it and respond using best practices
Complicated	Relationship between cause and effect requires analysis	Sense the problem, analyse it and respond using good practices
Complex	Relationship between cause and effect can only be identified in hindsight	Probe for understanding, sense the problem and respond using emergent practices
Chaotic	Relationship between cause and effect doesn’t exist at a systems level	Act first, sense the impact and respond using novel practices

Equipping ourselves to face complex problems

As social entrepreneurs, we face complex problems head on: urban degradation and decay, and the social issues these trends bring with them; the accelerating march of climate change, and the diverse consequences on ecosystems, animal populations and human cultures; international conflict, and the unimaginably harsh capacity of “security forces” to mete out pain on their fellow citizens.

While social enterprise cannot be the solution to every problem, it can and does provide opportunities and answers for some aspects of these significant challenges.

Leading a social enterprise that aims to resolve these “complex” problems is no small feat. The strategic thinking, diverse skills and capacity, and enduring resilience of successful social entrepreneurs are characteristics that should be the envy of most leaders of traditional business. These inspiring leaders engage their colleagues, develop enduring coalitions and effect the systemic change necessary to redress societies’ hardships and failings.

So how can we, as dedicated social entrepreneurs, learn to lead with this capacity? How can we imitate the great leaders of history—Gandhi, Kennedy, Dr. King, just to name a few from the last century?

Leadership: Self-awareness, self-management and self-development

Leadership begins with self-awareness. When we contemplate great leaders (whether huge names, or those closer at home) patterns of behaviour and capacity are clear. Effective leadership always begins with deep self-reflection. Self-aware leaders understand where they are strong and where they need the support of those around them to mitigate their weaknesses. They recognise and articulate their own assumptions, and the impact they might have on their decision-making. And they’re clear on the values and limitations that influence their intent and their actions.

There are three easy and sure routes to self-awareness:

• First, take regular breaks from your work. We all know the invaluable perspective that comes from time away. It enables us to see the trees and the forest. We simply don’t do it often enough. Breaks might be midday meditations, quarterly week-long retreats or a longer sabbatical. Or all of the above. Time away from our missions refreshes our resolve, renews our capacity and ultimately deepens our impact.

• Second, form a personal advisory board of trusted friends, colleagues and allies who will lovingly tell you the honest truth, helping you identify, articulate and learn from your mistakes. Meet with them regularly (it doesn’t have to be formal) and especially during challenging times or crises.

• Third, do the inner work it takes to understand how you react when the going gets tough and to learn your strengths and weaknesses. Knowing yourself is half the battle, but too often we move through life on autopilot. Take a look at InnerActivist.com for ideas and practices you can use.

Successful leaders also manage themselves, taking personal responsibility for their energy, their performance and their health. They recognise that the height of their ambition will take inimitable energy. They manage themselves, so they have the energy to lead their cause. Complex problems, after all, are resolved through marathons of effort, not sprints.

Self-management begins with self-awareness, but day-to-day, effective time management is profound in its contribution to achievement of results. Countless “systems” exist and even more products are available. Many people are advocates of GTD—Getting Things Done. Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People remains invaluable decades after its publication. Whatever system you choose, make best use of it and tailor it to your particular role, responsibilities and life.

Impactful leaders also develop themselves with intention and dedication throughout their whole lives. They never stop inquiring, learning, improving and seeking opportunities and challenges to build their own character and grow as human beings and as leaders. They indulge their curiosity; they read voraciously. Like martial arts masters, they train every day, because it is the very act of practice that preserves our ability to learn, to adapt and to remain innovative. After all, “change is the only constant.”

By focusing on self-awareness, self-management and self-development, the leaders we respect by definition demonstrate that for which we respect them—their incredible depth of character, their honesty, their integrity. And their resilience.