It used to be enough. You would start a business with some great idea or product. Build it up, employ workers, they would come and do their job, and stay for years. With a good product and some clever marketing your business would find success.

Those years are gone and business has come of age.

The 21st century is more demanding on Corporations, CEO’s and managements. Consumers and employees demand so much more. It’s no longer just about what you do, it is very much about how you do it and why. If the business does not align with their values or sense of what a business should and could be, they are going to walk right out that door, regardless of what kind of deal you offer them. Right in to the hands of another employer or provider who they feel “fits” their sense of what “feels right.”

You have a choice. You can just think that they have a problem and blindly fight the losing trend or you can stop and have a look at it. What is it that is really required of businesses and corporations to really succeed in this more “conscious era?”

Consumers are voting with their wallets.

The rise of B-Corporations is a prime example. People are demanding much more of the products they buy and the companies that produce them. In fact, a study conducted by research firm McCrindle on behalf of Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand, found eight in ten shoppers would be more likely to purchase a product that supports someone in need over one that did not have a charitable aspect.

We can see evidence in this in companies such as “Thank You” a company that directs all of its profits into charitable avenues. Here is a business model built around that deep-down desire we all have to make a difference. They could see that there was a worldwide need to for clean fresh water and that Australians were buying bottled water by the truck load. A perfect idea was born by putting the 2 together and the Thank You business was embraced by the consumer. 

If I’m going to buy a product and the choice is there to buy one with a social conscious, then of course that is the one I’m going to buy.

Thank you has a strong commitment to a world without poverty and the consumer is embracing them and aligning themselves with their values.

Stealth Leadership is an approach to leadership that promotes community in the business opening up the opportunity for the team to grow and develop. It brings a new sense of vision and passion into the everyday lives of employees, managers, CEO and all stakeholders. It empowers each person to work at their skill level, to embrace their own passions and grow within the business.

Being a Stealth leader can be like be a gardener. You prepare the soil ready for your seed. The ground is weeded, turned over, fertilised, the seed planted and watered. You nurture this little seed with the vision of it becoming a mighty tree. It might be a fruit tree or a massive elm tree. Whatever it is you see and dream about the potential of what you have planted.

As the tree starts to sprout and take shape you then have options. What kind of tree are you going to allow this tree to grow into.

Are you going to take to it with the pruning shears, are you going to control and tame it take shape just exactly your way? Or are you going to let it grow and develop to become what it is this tree wants to become?

A good question. The type of leadership that a business has will shape the future of the business, just like a gardener shaping the tree. If you prune and shape the tree continuously, taking control at every turn, controlling exactly what happens every day, what are you going to get? A Bonsai. So, if you’d been hoping for a big shady tree or an abundance of fruit, this isn’t going to do it, is it? The tree’s growth and development has been severely limited. It will never be any bigger than this tiny version of itself. It doesn’t matter if it was the biggest tree ever in existence, if it’s growth has been limited like this, it might just be 30cm high.

Maybe you want your tree to grow, but still want to control the way it grows, so it does it “my way.” I want my tree to be this shape and fill this space. Then you might take to it with Espalier and grow a flat tree against a wall. Yes, your business is growing and bearing fruit, but it is always going to be a flat tree against a wall -limited.

Suddenly you have a vision of what the tree could become and start at it with the pruning shears, chopping away at this branch and that branch, clearing off the new growth, so that it will look all pretty in the garden, with Topiary. How many businesses do this. There it is, new growth, new possibilities coming along and chop, no, doesn’t fit the image, or the idea of the leader. Healthy branches maybe closed down, because simply, no we want to focus in this direction.

Or, we can grow our tree and allow it to grow and develop the way it is meant to. Allowing new growth to come forth, reaching up to the sky or out to the furthest limits. It produces new seeds, new opportunities. Branches sprout forth where you don’t expect them to. You watch it and ensure that it has all that it needs to continue growing and be healthy. Sometimes you might need to prune a little, to clear off dead branches or ensure that it doesn’t have an insect infestation, but most of all, you nourish it, feed it, water it and give it the space it needs to grow.

Businesses like this are the ones that are forging ahead, who dominate the scenery. They are innovative, they are in the forefront of the consumers mind. They are the businesses that are out there changing the landscape of what it means to be a business in the 21st century – a business with social conscious, that creates not just a business, but an ecosystem.

When you let a tree truly flourish, grow and reach out to be all that it can, it isn’t just a tree. It really can become an ecosystem. As it grows, it sprouts more and more seeds. If you continue to nurture the environment, you start to notice seedlings appear all around. Here you have the potential, of not a tree, it has the potential to become a whole forest.

So, the question is; do you want your business to be a bonsai or a forest?

It may sound like I’m suggesting a step back and do-nothing approach to leadership, but that isn’t so. Just as a good gardener doesn’t leave the growth and health of his garden to chance, neither does a stealth leader. The gardener needs to be aware of the conditions, the opportunities for growth and the possible threats to new and continuous growth. They trust the tree to know it’s best path and that if allowed to shot and sprout in different directions it will take full advantage of the light and the nutrients available to it. The gardener is aware of what it needs. If a branch isn’t looking too healthy, they will find out why and look at the options for it. Sometimes dead or sick branches need to be removed. Sometimes insects need to be controlled or maybe a fungus that may cause damage. However, this gardener doesn’t see it as their job to spend hours cutting back and controlling the tree. They have a whole garden to tend to – not just one little tree. And maybe what they really want to be is not a gardener but a forest ranger.

Community within business

Community, let’s look at the word. Common unity. A community is a group of people who have something in common that brings them into unity; into a oneness where they can work together, be together, grow together.

This is vital for a business who has the intention to grow, to be visionary and to make a mark on society and the world – to live out its ULTIMATE IMPACT.

As we have seen with the tree example, to grow into its greatest potential a tree needs to have growth in all areas, where each branch, twig, leaf has the opportunity to fulfil its full potential of reaching out and fulfilling its true purpose. This is the same with people.

Building community in the work place is fundamental to the survival and growth of the 21st century. When people have a sense of belonging they feel safe and needed. Here is where they are able to grow, develop and initiate new ideas that can lead towards the business living out its true greatness and have its ultimate impact on the world.

When we create community within a business, we remove limitations from our growth potential. We nurture and empower each individual to embrace their own potential and in this the business finds its greatest potential.

The facts that research, by Gallop, shows us is that at least 75% of all Australians are disengaged and/or dissatisfied in the work place. This really is a sad state of affairs. Well, what does this mean to business? People are going along to work, day in day out, just doing the minimum of what they have to do. Just do the work. They have lost interest in pursuing anything further in the business. They don’t offer ideas or suggestions. They don’t really care about the customer service or whether the business is super successful, just as long as it keeps going as it is so they get their pay packet at the end of the week. Growth of the business is not their concern. They are just going to do exactly what they are paid for and nothing more.

Research conducted by Michael Henderson, cooperate anthropologist, shows that 7 out of 10 businesses aren’t reaching their highest potential. The similarities in these 2 figures, to me, are hardly a coincidence.  A business has no chance of reaching its highest potential – of having its ULTIMATE INPACT, if its employees aren’t engaged in what they are doing and able to be fully engaged in the process of growing the business.

Every person has this inbuilt need to make a difference, somehow, in the world. We strive for it, we look for it. We want to feel fulfilled in life. It is only when we find this are we able to give something our all. We are committed to the process, we want to see it succeed and we will do what we have to do to make it happen. When each person can get involved in a UNIFIED VISION they are able to make it their own. They can develop their own passion around it and feel empowered to develop their own skills and talents so that they can make this happen.

They begin to feel like a valuable part of the community. They feel that what they have to offer is an important as the next person. As each person starts to develop they want to work with others because this UNIFED VISION is what it is all about – seeing that come to fruition.

What does it take to build Community within Business?

Clearly what we first need is a shared purpose or vision – the UNIFED VISION of what the ULTIMATE IMPACT of the business can be. When everyone in the business shares and is able to see what the highest potential is we have the makings of a community. By sharing in the discovering what the ULTIMATE IMPACT of the business is, it awakens something deep within the community. They are no longer just doing a job, they have something powerful to work towards. This is something that they can embrace, that they find a sense of fulfillment in. The business no longer has a boring vision and mission statement of “we will be…” it now has an ULTIMATE IMPACT statement, “we impact the world….” that captures their imaginations of who they can be, the lives that they can change, that they as individuals and as a community can and will make a difference in the world.

It is easy enough for a leader to walk in and say, this is my vision and this is what we are going to do. A good leader usually does have a vision of what is possible, but the Stealth leader is more than that. The Stealth Leader is one who grows visions AND people. They understand that the greatest visions and ideas come when people work together and allow their thoughts and ideas to unravel together. When the put aside their own personal agendas and can start to see the sparks of inspiration forming amongst them. Here is where new and unthought of visions come forth and reveal infinite possibilities and just what the ULTIMATE IMPACT can be.

A leader with a vision, that doesn’t allow for the ideas and input of the team, is one who is growing a Bonsai tree or Topiary, at best. The Stealth Leader opens up to nurture the environment and allows the growth of a whole forest.

How do we change this? Well Simon Sinek says “Start with why.” I believe we have to go “Beyond the Why.” We have to search deeper and find our true sense of “This is what I must do.” Sometimes this can appear to defy all logic and sense of reason. We need to clearly know that this is what I am here for; this is what I am capable of doing, this is how I can make my ULTIMATE IMPACT on the world.

Then, in business, we also need to be able to see how the business can have its ULTIMATE IMPACT. When your team gets to experience this depth of understanding and are involved in its development, they become emotionally involved. They want to see it succeed. They feel a greater sense of purpose in their work. They too want to make their ULTIMATE IMPACT, in your business.

When everyone is working at this level, your business can’t help but make the mark. Your vision is clear; you can aim directly at your “bullseye”. Your business is now expressing itself as a truly unique identity.  It is making a big difference and people notice, customers become in tune with the message and the positive energy of what is happening.

This is the beginnings of creating a sense of community in your business. Now everyone has the same goal, the same purpose. You share the direction, you are all emotional involved in the outcome. People want to grow so that they can help make this happen. They now have something to believe in.

When teams start to function with purpose and desire to make a difference, magic happens. Here is where new visions for what can be start to emerge. Where the future starts to unfold. Add to this the beauty of each person feeling a sense of ownership to new projects, greater commitment as a whole begins to flourish.

We are all on the endless quest to find that something that will make us feel good, that will give us a sense of purpose and feeling that we are making a difference. When a business or corporation offers this to its employees and consumers, it is on a winner.

There is, of course, more to having a shared purpose to creating a community, but it is the starting place. We need to also be able to work together, to feel safe, that we belong and that we are respected.

The exploration of the ULTIMATE IMPACT statement, is a journey BEYOND THE WHY. It involves looking and uncovering more than just the purpose of the business. Through opening up to the stories and experiences of those in the team, a new appreciation for the business and each other occurs. The life and story of the business as its own identity starts to emerges. As a leader, we see the business in one way. We may have had the vision and feel that the purpose is “A”, but when we start to listen to what others have lived and experienced through this evolving being of a business, what is actually revealed to you is that there is another purpose that is far greater than you have ever been able to see. There may be other uses for your product or services that you were unaware of. You may discover that your product brings people together or that it inspires or motivates individuals to form community.

A business is started with a vision. As one person (or maybe 2 or 3) what you can see is specific and well, limited to your vision. We can look at as many different ways and opportunities that can arise from it, but we can’t see or foresee every possibility. It is only when things start to come together and others become involved that the full picture can start to unravel itself. While it is of value to start with this vision to get things moving, if we are fixed on this being on the only way, the only possibility, may be a bonsai or topiary business. When you start to open up to others and their ideas and experience then we can start to see the vision of the whole forest, reaching into new ground, new areas that we never could have ever imagined.

In the uncovering experience more than just the ULTIMATE IMPACT is revealed. We start to see the important values that are lived out in the business – the true drivers and unity creators of this community. This is diving BEYOND THE WHY, and helps to draw people together further as they start to feel aligned with each other and the business. You start to discover the themes of values that really get people involved. We might find that the community shares values of excellence, compassion, collaboration, ambition or it could be anything. But these are not manufactured or “wanna-be” values, but the ones that are being lived out each and every day. This gives them so much more power in influencing how the community within the business operates and develops. They are already ingrained in the everyday. Once we can bring them out into the light, they can then truly have influence on unity and direction of the future.

Values can, and very often are, pretty words on a wall that no-one really understands or takes notice of. They are there for show, but have no guidance as how to live these out in daily life. Values have the power of giving guidance of how we engage with each other within the business and also our customers and society. They have the power to give bold influence to our ULTIMATE IMPACT.

Incorporating PRINCPLES OF EXCELLENCE into your business gives everyone a guide as to how to live out these values, how to treat each and how to act and react to consumers and society. Having our values, is just the starting place. For example, if you have a value of integrity, what does it mean, if it is just sitting on a piece of paper. How do you live with this every day in your business? How does it affect the way that you communicate and collaborate with all stake-holders? Imagine you have this mapped out in a way that specifies that when we are dealing with a consumer, we always respond and act with integrity to our product and to the individual. Your employee on the phone with a disgruntled customer, now has some idea of how to respond. They don’t need to come to you every time. They know that the integrity of the product is important and that they must respond with integrity, this is all outlined for them. As long as they stay in integrity they know they are doing the right thing by the customer and the business.

Having a clear set of values that speaks to everyone and has been expanded into setting out the PRINCPLES OF EXCELLENCE sets parameters where everyone can feel safe and valued. They know what is expected of them, they know how to behave, they know the rules of engagement with each other that allows a community to grow and develop into a forest.

STEALTH LEADERSHIP 

                Being the leader who seeks no followers.

Stealth Leadership is about creating an environment where people can grow and collaborate to create their ultimate impact together.

I just recently realised that what I do is “Leadership”. Why that would be a new discovery, I don’t know. It is such a major part of my life, my continuous experience from around the age of 18 that I just hadn’t given it a thought. No matter where I go, I end up in Leadership roles. It’s just the way it is.

So, with over 30 something years of experience in leadership you would think I would have lots of followers. Well, if I do, I don’t know who they are. That is not my style of leadership.

My father taught me about leading from behind. That leadership isn’t about being the person up the front, but being about guiding people and lifting them up to find their own greatness. While this is what he talked about, I now see from my own experience how he actually lived it out.

When I take on a leadership role I feel I take it from its whole being.

Sometimes you need to be out the front directing. Other times you need to be by their sides, by teaching. Then you might be on the side lines cheering them on, by coaching. Then you move behind them and are there to support them and whisper to them words of encouragement, by mentoring. I have this feeling of lifting up and underpinning the whole group or team and being for them whatever it is they need me to be. Recognising that what they need in this moment may be different to what they need in the next.

It is not about me and any sense of my own power or greatness, it is truly how can I serve this group of people at the highest level and help them to recognise and achieve their own greatness. I don’t want them to follow me, but to follow their own guidance and to discover their own potential. I like to go into “stealth” mode as much as possible – being the frame to their Picasso. You know it is there but it’s not the focus.

When we think of the word “Stealth” we immediate think of Stealth aircraft. They are sleek and elegant in their design and action. Quietly, they go about their business, they pick up on everything that is going on around them, without notice, without announcing themselves, and make a big impact. To be a Stealth Leader is not about spying on people, but quietly and elegantly being where they need to be. Offering support and providing the right kind of leadership when it is needed. It is not about being seen themselves; it is not about collecting followers and persuading people to agree with them and definitely not about being the centre of attention. It is about being aware, consciously lifting up people to being the best they can be. It’s about creating an atmosphere of co-operation and communication. It’s about holding the space where each person can shine as an individual, while working together as a team to bring out their highest future potential as one. Stealth Leadership is the essence of being conscious and graceful leader. If you look very carefully you may find the Stealth Leaders among us are not the “official leaders’, but the ones who work tirelessly for the betterment of all.

Most of my Leadership experience comes from my church involvement. Being a church that relies of volunteer ministry there is a heavy emphasis on growing leaders. Here I was given the opportunity to grow in confidence and ability in speaking in public and developing leadership skills. I also came to understand that as a leader one of the most important roles is to help others to find their strengths and give them opportunity to explore and develop them.

As a Pastor, one of my first lessons was that my role was not just to keep a program going. It involved so much more.

Give people the opportunity to serve and to grow as individuals and also as a team. Providing leadership opportunities and training: Building a community spirit of harmony and cooperation: To be on service to the community, to provide the opportunity for a spiritual home, and also to be of community support in any way we can: Ensure that the program is what will be of greatest benefit to the congregation and community: Custodian of the property and ensure that all those who used the building where being served: Being the liaison between church and community, congregation and church headquarters: Be able to evaluate all this and look for new opportunities: And of course, to be the spiritual leader, to be there to provide for the needs of the individual and congregation. All of this and so much more, I learnt that leadership is not being up front and seen, it is more about serving and helping others to be able to fulfil their own commitment and desire to serve at their highest potential.

The aim of being a Stealth Leader is to move into the leading from behind angle as much as possible, to be the mentor. You have given your team all of the tools, you have ensured that they know what to do and that they have the skills necessary. Now it is time to let them run with it. The greatest value will come from your people when you can hold yourself back and give them the opportunity to create new ideas, explore, make mistakes and ultimately solve the solutions in their own way.

The truth is, you can’t be everything. Each person on your team has a different perspective and a different set of skills. No-one person is better than the other, they are just different. The greatest leaders of all time are always those who recognise their own limitations and see that when they work with others, the limitations disappear. Working with others completes the picture and opens up to infinite possibilities of where one idea can go.

A Stealth Leader has the ability to step back and allow others to shine. To allow them to find the solutions, to gather the information and make the conclusion. Your job is to hold the space. Create an environment where people can come together, have a sense of belonging and safety that empowers them to unleash their most creative genius and make the UNIFEID VISION a reality.

It is not about feeding them new ideas and giving them direction. It is about asking the questions, that expands their thinking and moves them from good to great. It is helping each one of their team explore and develop their own personal ULTIMATE IMPACT, that they can then focus in to the ULTIMATE IMPACT of the business.

There are 2 things that the traditional concept of what a good leader is, expect of leadership; that of, having a vision and being a decision maker. While a Stealth leader usually does have a vision, and can easily make the hard decisions, they see that their ULTIMATE IMPACT on their team/business comes when the don’t inflict their vision and ideas on them. They see their role as being the catalyst for new ideas, new visions to develop that are greater than that they could have come up with on their own. They see themselves as equal partners with the team. Instead of telling the team which direction to take, they inquire, they ask questions, they delve into the concepts with the team, which opens the ideas and thinking process to go even deeper and create even greater ideas and methods.

At the end of the process they don’t stand up and make the final decision. If the team doesn’t agree, then there is room for more improvement. How can we meld these ideas into one or what can we take from here and add to there to make this even better? What will it take to create something that everyone will agree on.

Yes, there are times when decisions have to be made, but it is the skill of a Stealth Leader to be able to recognise when they have to make it or when there is further room for growth and development of the team and the innovations.

Maybe most importantly, the Stealth Leader has to have patience. While in business we have deadlines which are vital, the Stealth Leader also recognises that we need to sometimes take our time in allowing the greatest ideas to develop, be tried, for mistakes to happen and for even for the whole idea to be scrapped and start again. It takes patience with individuals, to guide them in the process of coming up with their own answers and solutions, rather than just telling them what to do.

If you want to grow a Bonsai, it is going to take your whole time shaping and pruning that one tree. If you want to grow a forest, you have to let the branches take responsibility for their own direction and growth. Yes, you can guide them, but you have a whole forest to grow, you don’t need to be fully immersed in every single detail.

Where ideas emerge

We live in this time of profound disruption. If a Business is serious about “growing a forest” it needs to be in the forefront of change. but we keep going around in circles. We look in our heads and to the past for solutions. This is not where they are and as long as we keep doing this, we are going to keep creating the results that no one wants. We are not moving forward. 

We search for our why to inspire us. But the answers lie deeper. Where we need to look is to the future for tomorrow’s solutions today. We need to go Beyond the Why. We need to let go of our own agenda and allow the future to emerge; to listen to the business, as its own identity, and hear where it is wants to go.

With the traditional business structure, people have lost touch with who they are and what it is that they truly want. My experience in working for someone else, lead to a great disconnect of my spirit and heart with my head. There was no room for spirit or heart in the board room. Don’t stop and listen to what that still small voice is telling you, make a decision and act right now! It was all about profit and getting the product out.

I could not bring my whole self to the workplace. I had to leave behind who I was and who I really wanted to be. I had to leave behind my spirituality, a big part of me. There was no time for me to be me. As the pressures and stress levels rose, I was starting to fall apart.

As I looked around me, it was clear that I was not the only one. Everyone was operating from this space, which causes the stress levels to increase. I was travelling 1.5 hours each way to work, on a packed train filled with people going off to their dreary jobs, all dressed in black, as if they were in mourning. This was happening everywhere. I wasn’t having much fun. But then no-one was. I looked around me in the workplace and it wasn’t just me. It was everyone else. The who we were, was locked away, never to be brought out in the workplace. Everyone else was struggling just as much as I was. It seemed there was no level of happiness or fulfilment here. Everyone was “stuck” in the day to day rut of just keeping the business going. The stress levels were high.

Here is where I found the divide that I believe creates the situation that we have. People are completely disconnected from who they really are, from their greatest longings that give them that sense of fulfilment: To be valued, to give value, to really make a difference in the world.

While we are disconnected from our heart and our spirit, we are not able to listen to where the future is leading us. Instead business is going around in circles, looking in our heads and at the past for solutions. This is not where they are and as long as we keep doing this, we are going to keep creating the results that no one wants. We are not moving forward.  This is a major factor in why 70% of companies are not reaching their full potential. People are not connected with who they are and therefore not able to connect with that greater sense of their selves where they can access that creativity and problem-solving ability that we need.

We continue to look for the why’s of what we are doing, hoping that it will inspiring us, but I believe what we need, where we need to go is beyond the why. We need to connect back into the heart space and our spirit that feeds us.

Dr Stephen Post, founder of the Institute for Research of Unlimited Love and author of “Why Good Things Happen to Good People” has scientifically proven that when we are able to make a difference in the lives of others and in the world, we are happier, healthier, more productive and more creative

If we can heal the great divide between heart, head and spirit in the business world, we will have a more innovative, creative business along with happier, healthier more productive employees and a business that naturally makes an impact on the world. A win on all sides!

Creating an environment where everyone feels safe to be open and express their true selves is the first step in this process. After all, do you really want a lot of yes people or do you want to grow your business and fulfil your dreams?

It takes listening, really listening, not with your ears, but with your heart. Listening and observing what is really going on. Who are these people you surround yourself with every day? What are their stories, what is it that drives them? What is it that they need to connect with their own purpose within the business and for them to feel that they are making a difference?

Working with developing the community environment is certainly the first step. We have given people a sense of purpose with a UNIFIED VISION of the ULTIMATE IMPACT the “community” can have, they feel a part of it. They have joined in a recognised their shared values and have created together the PRINCPLES OF EXCELLENCE, so they all know they can contribute safely and have the guidelines they need to work within the community.

We are now ready to explore BEYOND THE WHY.

“We did not put our ideas together. We put our purposes together. And we agreed. Then we decided.” - Sacred Book of Mayans

We all have some sort of understanding about that small still voice that speaks to us. When in your quiet moments of reflection or through a sudden spurt of inspiration, you are lead into new places and new ideas.

When something new emerges that is really calling to your heart you can find that in all logical sense of your own life there just isn’t a why. It is something greater you feel you must do, for others benefit, not yours. Here amazing things happen and your life can be transformed along with others. It is “beyond the why” and we move totally into altruistic motives. It is not for you, it is for someone else. Here you can make a real difference.

Once you have this type of certainty, there is no turning back, you have heard your calling and you have to give it your all, nothing else will do. Nothing else will give you a sense of fulfilment. You just have to go beyond the why.

We all know that when a group of people come together for a common purpose that the results can be more powerful, more successful and go further. What do you think would happen in a business or organisation if we could multiply the energy and power of going beyond the why?

Now getting everyone on the same page to work on a new project, develop new innovations or solve systemic problems can be problematic in itself. Everyone can have their own agenda or one person has come in and said this is what we are doing and even explained why. It can be a complete disaster. However, what if we all get out of our head space and start listening to our hearts and our higher selves, as one? What if we all doing it together and connect into the collective wisdom of each and every one of us? What if there is no longer multiple why’s, multiple agendas and instead they all moulded into one? Then the listening, the deep listening, flows and takes us into a new place together. A place where new ideas come forth, new innovations start to take shape and old problems are resolved with new systems and pathways.  The highest future possibility emerges.  Here we connect with the true soul of the business and what it is calling us into being.

What would this mean to businesses and organisations?

At this point we have really understood what the situation is, whether it be a problem with in the business, a new program or product to be developed or some way that you want to make a big difference in the world. You have seen it with new eyes, looked behind every corner. Listened to what is really happening.

Together you have come to something new. A new solution or ideas that everyone has participated in. When people feel heard and that they have been able to share in the development of an idea, everyone owns it. Everyone feels excited and passionate about bringing this idea into fruition. It is time to allow something new to be born. It is time to act and to create.

The developing of innovation can be likened to the seasons. Summer is the season for basking in the sun, we can look around and see all that is. We can appreciate the goodness and hard work that we have done to get this point. However, if we stay in this place we cannot continue to grow.

Autumn

Autumn is a time of reflection. It is time to look back at what has taken place in the past year and take stock of where you are, what you have learned and how things are coming together. It is time to give thanks for what is and time to start letting go to allow the new to come forth.

In terms of becoming more innovative, a time of reflection is required. What do we have to work with? What have we done that was successful? What lesson did we learn? And what opportunities presenting themselves. It is time to do the research, gather in the information and get an idea of the current full picture. It is a time for observing and listening to what is happening all around.

So, look, listen and learn during this time. Gather all your harvest for the on-coming winter so you are ready and stocked up to go. You are preparing the soil for new seed to be planted.

Winter

As we completely let go and surrender into the darkness, new seeds and growth can be prepared. It is a time of rest and allowing nature to prepare for the new life to come.

A study was conducted of the world’s greatest living minds and they were asked about their process for coming up with new ideas. They all had the same basic process that served them time and time again. It is in the letting go and listening to where the future is guiding them.  This is the winter process.

As we move into winter, it becomes a time to start letting go. Letting go of what hasn’t worked, letting go of the things that may be holding the development back. Letting go of our agenda.

Letting go of our agendas is vital if we are to really take full advantage of what new ideas and inspirations are going to reveal themselves to us. We may be guided to go on a completely different tangent. If we are still hanging on to old ideas and models, we might just miss out on reaching that highest potential.

We let go of what was and allow the new to be planted with in us. We need time to reflect and renew ourselves. As we allow ourselves to go into the silence of letting go of what was, new ideas start to generate. When we do this as a team even greater visions of what can be come forth. As the group start to dialogue about their ideas, new ones grow on top of each other, they are expanded and the vision begins to grow into limitless possibilities.

There comes a point where no-one can pinpoint where an idea has come from as it is in the process of working together that the idea has spring-boarded from. Here we can recognise the importance of the PRICNIPLES OF EXCELLENCE, as individuals in disagreeing with others, they need to feel safe in expressing themselves, they need to feel safe in the discomfort of dialogue that may get heated, as ideas evolve and develop. However, the result is that everyone feels that they have had a part in creating this and they are all passionate about making this come to pass. They have an emotional investment in ensuring that the best of this comes through. Now it is time to put it into action.

Spring

As spring takes hold, new life begins to blossom. Seeds are spread, fruit start to develop and new growth can be seen shooting all over the place.

We have new ideas to work on.

It is important to get some action happening as quickly as possible and do some trials on whatever has been decided upon. Of course, some planning is required, but if you spend too much time in planning and none in testing, you end up putting all your eggs in one basket with nothing to show for it. Make it a priority to get it started, trialled and tested. Then the process of evaluating the idea can take place quickly. You can see what might and what might not work. In this process you can improve and make changes you need as you go. You aren’t 100% invested in having ideas work at this stage. You have more room for error and mistakes to occur and new ways be trialled. Inevitably, something won’t work. You need to be prepared for this and give permission for failure to happen. It is in the failure that we learn and develop new and greater ideas.

Summer

Agriculturally, the crops are in full growth. They are reaching the pinnacles of maturity and coming closer to the harvest time. This is where we see the full fruits of our labour.

Our new ideas have taken hold, our new inspirations have turned into fruit. Our “tree” is spreading out as a full ecosystem of life. It is vibrant and alive. As we bask again in the sun, taking in all the glory, it is time for us to reach out appreciate the 4 seasons of our growth cycle. Enjoy the sun, for a moment, then it is back into the Autumn time of gathering and reflecting.

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