Given that denial is one of my favorite coping mechanisms, it might seem odd that I would ever pick up a book about meeting “the demands of reality.”

But here I am. Again.

I feel like I’ve been wrestling with this book, Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality, since it first came out in 2006. It seems that when learning needs to go deeper than simply acquiring new competencies, that time (read years) and practice (read many mistakes) are involved.

Hence the rationale for working through this challenging piece together here on “Thought Leaders Unpacked.”

For many of us there is an unnoticed disconnect between our job performance and our self-understanding. When we think about work, we think about the tasks, responsibilities, goals, processes, and deadlines involved. We don’t have tools for considering how we ourselves might be a part of the problems we are trying to address.

When thinking about ways to help our employees work harder and smarter, we seldom include our own behavior in the mix of factors contributing to their shortcomings, challenges, or motivation levels.

A mirror and a map. Where can we find a mirror that will help us take a look at ourselves? What maps are available to help us navigate a more centered, realistic approach to developing our own character at work?

Join me in conversation each week as I post my reflections on one chapter of Integrity. There is no learning like learning from each other.

Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality

• Introduction: Why Integrity Matters
• Character Dimension 1: Establishing Trust
• Character Dimension 2: Oriented Toward Truth
• Character Dimension 3: Getting Results
• Character Dimension 4: Embracing the Negative
• Character Dimension 5: Oriented toward Increase
• Character Dimension 6: Oriented Toward Transcendence

Forward this post to someone you think would benefit from our discussion. Every voice matters.

Each Friday I post my reflections from one chapter of Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality by Henry Cloud.

We launch our first “Thought Leaders Unpacked” discussion series today with a look at The Gift of Work by Bill Heatley.

For many of us spirituality and work operate in separate, unrelated compartments. But what if your work were an integral expression of your faith?

What if you weren’t asked to change the subject to evangelism or early morning prayer groups or promises not to take office supplies home in order to think about what it means to be both a faithful employee and a faithful believer?

Join me as I delve into this insightful piece. I’ll be posting my thoughts chapter by chapter, and hope you will interact with your own comments, insights and opinions.

Contents

1. Changing Our Minds About Work
2. Kingdom Living
3. Redefining Success
4. You Are Here: God As Our Reference Point
5. Not a Trivial Pursuit
6. Training as a Disciple of Christ
7. The Nucleus of Change

Get your copy and read along!

Clay Shirky, The Penguin Press, New York, 2008.

By now you are well aware of my penchant for writers who affirm, confirm and otherwise provide research to back up my own assertions.

As we at Bold Enterprises help you empower all people in your company, regardless of power, titles or places on the organizational chart, Clay Shirky examines the impact of the social dynamics taking place on the web on power and getting things done. With interesting results.

Interesting because it is not merely people who are already in a working relationship who are experiencing new effectiveness with the power of the web behind them. That’s old news.

But people who would never have had opportunity to meet much less collaborate are finding each other and making a difference in matters that are important to them.

Who’s choosing these matters of importance? No longer the bosses and others with positional power. They don’t even figure into the equation, except maybe as a source of resistance.

You and I are choosing these issues of personal and corporate importance and connecting with those who can help us and whom we can help as well.

You need to check out Here Comes Everybody and get acquainted with our world of change, chaos, unlimited relationships, and the strange and wonderful forms of effectiveness that are being created moment by moment.

Daniel H. Pink, Riverhead Trade, New York, 2006.

Whether you’re stronger as a right or left-brained person, I think you’ll find the skills Daniel Pink highlights both insightful and helpful.

He introduces six “senses” associated with right-brain activity that he believes are key to leadership success in the future. Design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning.

Whether these skills come to you naturally or not is not the main value of this piece. The more important question is whether or not you are open to learning new ways and means of interacting with others, recognizing and confronting problems, seeing and moving toward the future.

If so, then Pink’s categories will be a helpful starting point for setting some strategic personal development goals. If not, then be aware that he believes that right-brainers will rule the future!

Click here for more detailed information.

Flip: How to Turn Everything You Know on Its Head—and Succeed Beyond Your Wildest Imaginings

Peter Sheahan, Wm. Morrow Publishers, New York, NY 2008.

In the spirit of enjoying any piece that affirms my counter-intuitive tendencies, I believe I have come upon a treasure.

“There is nothing more important in business today than an action orientation.” If that quote isn’t what you and I have been working on together in developing a “bias toward action,” I don’t know what is. Instead of making big changes, experiment and adjust while moving. If we are coaching together, I will be wanting you to read this book.

At the other end of the spectrum, Sheahan asserts that control does not come from controlling, but from equipping and empowering others to act. He also shares how to personalize business relationships and find marketing niches where no one else is looking for them.

More beneficial for its paradigm shifts than for any practical specifics, you’ll go away with a fresh and clearer set of lenses through which to evaluate your efforts.

Robert I. Sutton. Business Plus. New York, NY. 2007.

Why do some people get away with treating others with disdain? Why are they so often in positions of power and authority? What can we do about it?

I’m having so much fun with this book, that I haven’t even finished it before telling you about it. This is one I wish I had written myself. It is surprisingly refreshing to have the assholes among us identified openly.

My favorite part is that Sutton calculates the “Total Cost of Assholes.” The difficulty of quantifying the costs of lousy management has long been a loophole for these horrific leaders. When they slash bonuses, the bottom line seems to improve instantly to their “credit.” The loss of morale and the departure of key team members doesn’t show up as directly or as quickly in the accounting reports.

Not merely an attack on the creeps in our ranks, this book is a practical response to those who would have the workplace be different. Make sure you’re not being as asshole yourself, and get new ideas for surviving those who are.

Check it out. Helpful and fun at the same time.

Greg Ogden. Intervarsity Press. Downers Grove, IL 2007.

If I could trace the most significant influences in my personal and professional journey, Greg Ogden would be at the top of the list.

And so I am especially excited that he is back with another formation tool, Leadership Essentials. Focused on developing emerging leaders in character, influence and vision, this new tool provides a simple structure for anyone wanting to build into the life of another.

Instead of imposing an ideal (read unattainable) model of leadership on us, he lays out a process which engages our individual formation stories.

The process provides structure and content for the personal and relational dynamics to take on a power all of their own. The benefits to each person’s leadership maturity increase directly and exponentially with the level of energy and love invested.

Designed for those who share a Christian spirituality and find the Bible a vital resource for life direction, personal health and vocational reflection.

If you find yourself resorting to the “over commit the good-hearted” method of leadership development, here is your ticket to change.

It was precisely such a personal and dynamic investment that transformed my own life. I recommend you find another leader or two and accompany each other on this experience.

Don Silver. Adams-Hall Publishing. Los Angeles, CA. 2007.

Ever wonder how why some kids seem astute with money and others are still paying for the last two things they bought? For that matter, how do so many of us get to adulthood and still feel like slaves to our lifestyles instead of the other way around?

You’ve got to pick up Don Silver’s High School Money Book. It is a practical guide to a broad array of money issues. It is written is short, pithy sections that are easy to digest and perfect for the young adults in our lives whose attention spans are often shorter than a television commercial.

My favorite sections are the ones on credit and investments. The value of money over time can work powerfully for us or against us whether we’re saving or borrowing. Don spells it out in a clear, straightforward style.

I was fortunate to have parents who equipped me to function in this money-based society of ours. Not all are so fortunate. Give your kids (or even yourself) the gift of financial fluency.

I am back into this classic with a vengeance. I am working with one client’s executive team on a reading program and am being renewed in my passion for lifelong learning.
I believe systems thinking is crucial to agile leadership, but is often dismissed as just so much consultant-speak. Peter Senge brings the theory down to specific habits one can practice and hone over time. These are not one-size-fits-all gimics that you have to squeeze yourself into. Senge offers insightful thinking, organizing and relational tools to enhance who you are as a leader.

Joseph H. Bragdon, Society for Organizational Learning, Cambridge, MA, 2006.
If you’ve been feeling that the traditional political and economic categories fail to explain or enhance work and life as I have, this book is for you. Joseph Bragdon offers a revolutionary perspective on thriving and surviving in a capitalistic context. He calls it Living Asset Stewardship and not only delivers a helpful thinking framework, but works through the practical implications as well. For those of us weary of the idealists and extremists preaching at us from the sidelines.