How Do You as a Leader Generate and Elevate Real Conversations Faster, in a Safe Space and More Creatively within an Organization?
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How Do You as a Leader Generate and Elevate Real Conversations Faster, in a Safe Space and More Creatively Within an Organization?
January 26, 2020
Podcast Series: What Does Poetry Have to do With Leadership?
JMJ is launching a new podcast series called ‘What Does Poetry Have to do With Leadership?’ This series is for individuals looking to build on their leadership development skills to empower and motivate their people and to become strong and effective adaptive leaders who can navigate the business challenges of today.
This podcast series uses poetry as a creative leadership tool to help leaders generate and elevate critical conversations to shift teams and organizations into a new future. In today’s VUCA world, leaders require an array of adaptive leadership skills to help them motivate and inspire their teams. In this series, leaders will discover a creative leadership tool to use within their own teams and organizations as well as gain new insights, leadership distinctions, skills and tools to add to their repertoire.
“Poetry is the last preserve of honest speech and the outspoken heart.” Garrison Keillor, Author
Listen to JMJ consultants Kelli Bettenhausen and Kathryn Schindler, introduce the series while they explain and demonstrate “What Does Poetry Have to do With Leadership?” Why it is a novel tool for leaders, particularly in these times, and how poetry is becoming a business practice within today’s organizations.
Pull up a virtual chair and listen to our podcast series, one poem at a time, to see what you will learn and discover as we dive deeper into each of the poems over the coming months. The first poem of the series of podcasts to be released is “The Leader” by Roger McGough, which will be followed by the next poem and discussion, every other week.
Explainer Episode
Episode #1: "The Leader"
The Leader the first podcast of the series “What Does Poetry Have to do With Leadership?”. In this first episode JMJ consultants, Kelli Bettenhausen and Kathryn Schindler explore a short poem by English Roger McGough “The Leader” and look at the big questions - What is Leadership? and What distinguishes Leadership?
“Leadership: one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth.” James MacGregor Burns
This will give you an opportunity to reflect on what leadership means to you from your childhood impressions to your more mature view of leadership today. As well as thinking about what leaders you personally admire and why.
Related Resources
Book: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't, Jim Collins
In Good to Great, former Stanford business professor Jim Collins offers a primer on turning the average into the exceptional.
Episode #2: "Come"
“Come” is the poem for the second podcast of the series “What Does Poetry Have to do With Leadership?” In this episode, JMJ consultants Kelli Bettenhausen and Kathryn Schindler explore this poem by contemporary Australian poet Andrew Colliver and look at JMJ’s leadership distinctions of “getting on the balcony” and “not knowing.”
““To be effective, a leader must respond in the moment to what is happening. On the other hand, the leader must be able to step back out of the moment and assess what is happening from a wider perspective.” Ronald A. Heifetz, Professor
This will give you access to two critical leadership skills for shaping the future. The conversation provides you an opportunity to look at when you are caught up in the field of action and when it’s important to step back into a larger view, as well as to reflect on how safe is it within your working environment to say “I don’t know”?
Related Resources
Book: Leadership without Easy Answers, Ronald A. Heifetz
Offers a practical approach to leadership for those who lead as well as those who look to them for answers.
Episode #3: "what haunts him"
“what haunts him”. In this episode, JMJ consultants Kelli Bettenhausen and Kathryn Schindler, along with special guests Brian Martin and Regina Williams explore this poem by contemporary African American poet Lucille Clifton. Together, they look at JMJ’s leadership distinction of “leadership can come from anyplace and anyone, regardless of their authority level.”
“There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Social Activist and Baptist Minister
The conversation provides you an opportunity to look and reflect on how leaders set the tone and culture in organizations, how dangerous leadership can be and the opportunities available for leaders to create a physiologically safe space for people to speak up and act in the moment.
Related Resources
Podcast: Driving a Virtually Inclusive Culture Psychological safety is an absolute imperative and foundational in promoting inclusion and diversity.
Episode #4: "Cutting Loose"
In this episode, JMJ consultants Kelli Bettenhausen and Kathryn Schindler, explore the poem “Cutting Loose,” by American 20th-century poet William Stafford. Together, they look at the leadership skill of empathy and the concept of breakdown to breakthrough.
“The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.” Charles Du Bos, French critic of French and English literature
Empathy is a critical skill for effective leadership. In this podcast, you have the opportunity to look at your capacity for empathy. Empathy is the ability to deeply understand another person’s experience, perspective and feelings. This allows you to develop the skill of being able to walk with and bring your people alongside you to the new future you envision. We also talk about the concept breakdown to breakthrough and about the possibility of breaking out from the traditional ways things are being done within your organizations and be in the full possibility for a breakthrough at any moment. Become a subscriber to the series using your favorite podcast host or listen to it below. Please, share your own thoughts, reflections and learnings. We would love to hear them.
Related Resources
Podcast: Leadership Quality of Empathy How do Leaders create a psychological safe environment and what is needed to create that type of environment.
Episode #5: "The Guest House"
In this episode, JMJ consultants Kelli Bettenhausen and Kathryn Schindler, explore the poem “The Guest House” by 13th-century Sufi mystic poet Jalaluddin Rumi. Together, they look at JMJ’s leadership distinction of “expressing appreciation” and how it is essential in maintaining a “holding environment” for working on the most challenging issues.
“Everyone’s telling the truth. Everyone’s truth is partial. No one has the whole picture” Ken Wilber, American Philosopher and Writer on the Integral Theory
This conversation gives you insights into the leader you want to be when interacting with all your people around you and how expressing appreciation is essential for accomplishing the unpredictable future the leader has taken a stand for. Become a subscriber to the series using your favorite podcast host or listen to it below. Please, share your own thoughts, reflections and learnings. We would love to hear them.
Related Resources
Podcast: The Lost Art of Appreciation Discover the art in the language of appreciation and find out why appreciation in the workplace is so important to the health of your employees and your business.
Book: Mastering Leadership by Robert Anderson This book radical shifts the understanding of extraordinary leadership, thoroughly describing the sequential stages of leadership mastery and maturity.
Episode #6: "Walking Meditation"
In this episode, JMJ consultants Kelli Bettenhausen and Kathryn Schindler, explore the poem “Walking Meditation” by Thich Naht Hanh. Together, they look specifically at the leadership activity we introduce to clients called a “Listening Tour” and why it’s an essential leadership skill and activity.
“Those who are closest to the problem are also the closest to the solution, but furthest from the resources and power.” Louis L. Reed, Director of Organizing and Partnerships for Dream Corps JUSTICE
This conversation gives you insights into becoming the visible and effective leader you want to be; why it’s essential to engage with your people working on the frontlines of your business, all before implementing new policies or decisions that affect their world of work. Become a subscriber to the series using your favorite podcast host or listen to it below. Please, share your own thoughts, reflections and learnings. We would love to hear them.
Related Resources
Book: Humble Enquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling by Edgar Schein Communication is essential in a healthy organization. But all too often when we interact with people especially those who report to us we simply tell them what we think they need to know. This shuts them down.
Episode #7: "Equality and Justice"
In this special episode, in honor of Martin Luther King Junior for justice, peace and righteousness, JMJ consultants Kelli Bettenhausen and Kathryn Schindler, along with special guests Arya and her mother Amy Hanf discuss ‘Equality and Justice poem written by Arya.
“It is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people. ” Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., American Baptist Minister and Civil Rights Leader
This conversation gives insights into intentionally developing leadership skills for the next generation through leading by example and role modeling the behaviors that you have pledged as an organization. Become a subscriber to the series using your favorite podcast host or listen to it below. Please, share your own thoughts, reflections and learnings. We would love to hear them.
Episode #8: "For a leader"
In this final, Season One episode, JMJ consultants Kelli Bettenhausen and Kathryn Schindler, along with special guests Rick Bair and Mark Guest discuss the poem “For a Leader” written by the Irish poet, John O’Donohue. Mark and Rick have extensive experience both as employees themselves of multinational corporations and with JMJ’s global clients. They each continue their developmental leadership journeys as they share their stories of the leadership growth they have witnessed and participated in during this podcast.
““No organization is large enough to hold a human being.” ” John O’Donohue, Irish poet, author, priest
and Hegelian philosopher
This conversation is full of insights about the ever-evolving nature of the developmental journey that leadership is and the qualities that anyone in a leadership position would hope to develop and possess themselves. We hope you have enjoyed our first series and may Leadership for you be a true adventure of growth. Become a subscriber to the series using your favorite podcast host or listen to it below. Please, share your own thoughts, reflections and learnings. We would love to hear them.
Wrap -Up Episode Season One
A Wrap-Up episode of season one, JMJ consultants Kelli Bettenhausen and Kathryn Schindler, along with podcast editor and “voice,” Ryan Lovchik reflect on the first season of “What Does Poetry Have To Do With Leadership?. Together they share their personal best moments and a sneak preview into Season Two
Thank you for listening and joining us on this journey with “What Does Poetry Have To Do With Leadership? podcast series. We hope you have enjoyed the series as much as we have and may Leadership for you be a true adventure of growth.
Become a subscriber to the series using your favorite podcast host or listen to it below. Please, share your own thoughts, reflections and learnings. We would love to hear them.
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