Corky McReynolds, PhD, CPF
April, 2017
 
In our world of non-profits, we often hear the word Vision in the context of leadership and strategic planning. The word Vision conjures up a mystical and magical place that perhaps only a few select can achieve, but that is not the meaning of Vision in leadership or strategic planning. This article, Sustainable Leadership Captures a Vision, explores the meaning of Vision and its application to leadership and link to strategic planning.
 
Vision is a desired image of the future. It is not a fantasy or mystical or secretive. A Vision in the context of sustainable leadership is not an unrealistic dream but a point in the future that to achieve will require effort, resources, determination, energy and brilliance. A Vision is what we want to become, a point when we have achieved our purpose, a point in time where we have reached our goal. A Vision can start with an individual, or with many, but to reach the Vision requires everyone involved to support and focus to achieve the Vision.
 
It is a myth that the top leader in an organization is the source of the Vision. Yes, that can happen and often societal causes start with the Vision of one or two founders. This can be referred to as Founder’s Vision, and at the initial start of the cause is indeed a Vision about the cause, rather than about the development of a non-profit organization. Sometimes this founding vision results in great early success that creates the need for a formal structure that leads to the creation of a new nonprofit. There is another term, Visionary, and in the context of this article a visionary truly can see the desired image of the future for a cause but may not have the leadership skills to navigate the founding vision to success. The cause continues and organizational structure follows but it may stagnant under the direct influence of the founding visionary. There is a distinct difference between a Visionary and a Leader. Not all Visionaries are leaders and not all leaders have natural visionary skills!
 
Sustainable leadership captures a vision, but the leader does not necessarily have to be the creator of the Vision. It is the responsibility of the leader to capture, articulate and develop a culture with resources to reach that Vision.
To capture a Vision, sustainable leadership creates or enhances a culture that:

• Challenges the status quo.
• Creates systems for strategic thinking and acting.
• Recognizes that Vision is only achieved through strength of the people in and that support the organization, not just the leader.
• Develops and/or supports skilled teams to reach consensus on the Vision.
• Aligns resources to reach the Vision.
• Evaluates progress toward reaching the Vision

 
 
There can be more than one level of Vision. The highest level is societal. World peace is an example, in fact many would state this is not a Vision, rather a dream. In this context let’s define it as a societal vision. An organization can place this vision in their plan’s or statement of believes but it is not under the direct or sole influence for that organization. In this case, perhaps the vision is an aspiration. The second Vision level represents a long range desired image of the organization and the impact it will have for being successful. There are no boundaries to the timeline for this level of vision and it can range from 10 to 500 years. The third level of Vision is part of a strategic planning process that identifies key prioritized organizational goals it needs to achieve to reach its mission. These statements, never just one, and are written as proactive, desired images of the near future, usually 5-7 years.
 
There is a difference between Mission and Vision. A Mission defines and establishes why the organization exists and a Vision places that mission into the future.
 
Sustainable leadership captures a Vision through strategic processes with dedicated energy. A Vision or a set of vision statements are a must for all organizations. Without a Vision, and the organizational resources to reach them, an organization may have a mission but lacks strategic alignment to reach that mission.
 

Corky McReynolds, PhD, CPF

Sustainable leadership begins with understanding ourselves, but how do we do that? What do we need to know about ourselves to become sustainable leaders? We need to know our view toward our environment. Environment being the people around us, our preferred workplace, how we interact, relate and communicate with people. We need to understand what drives us and how we prefer to act on tasks, how we view teams and how we view reward. These and many other attributes and characteristics make up our core being; things we bring with us into a leadership role.
 
Sustainable leadership development begins understanding what we bring to the table that will affect our behavior and growth to successfully adapt in any environment. The first stage of development is what we already are, our core being that makes up or preferred behaviors and attitudes. We need to understand and grow from that point. The second stage of development is building our skills to be successful and sustainable leaders in the role we have or seek.
 
This blog focuses on the first stage of sustainable leadership. Fortunately, there are many types of tools based on a variety of theories that can be used to learn more about ourselves.
We will look at three theories and their related instruments that are popular in today’s workforce. There are many others; some that are not grounded in academic work, some that are accepted as theory but are just activities, and some are based on pop culture. The three theories discussed here have different levels of academic strength but all have strongly associated and popular instruments that transfer into practical applications.
 
The purpose of each of these theories is to explain, “In a systematic way to understand human behavior” (Inscape 1996) and each are grounded in some track within the field psychology.
 
The Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is based on the theories of Dr. Carl Jung. A plethora of books have been written and is generally known as Jungian Theory. MBTI measures how we renew our energy, either Introversion or Extroversion; how we take in information, either Sensing or Intuition; how we make decisions, Feeling or Thinking and how we go about living our daily lives, Judging (structured) or Perceiving (unstructured). (Briggs 2015) When combined, the respondent receives one designation from each of the four areas. For example, ENFJ. Through a facilitated workshop and resource materials an individual or a team can share the results to understand oneself, understand the differences in others and potentially use to improve workplace communications, workplace environment and strengthen teams.
These same potential uses are also true for the instruments.
 
The Personal Profile System (DiSC) is based on the theory and work of Dr. William Marston, also a psychologist. This instrument measures four different areas and is closely aligned with temperament theory (Keirsey 1984, 1998) than the psychological preferences theory of MBTI. MBTI has a possible 16 different types and although the DiSC is four, the results are arranged as a flow chart that clearly illustrates the dynamic nature of each of the elements. The DiSC does not address Introversion and Extroversion which I believe is a crucial factor in developing sustainable leadership. Through a comprehensive self and optional group report and a facilitated workshop respondents can gain insight into their personal results and its applications in the workplace.
 
Strength-Based Psychology is a theory developed from the life work of Dr. Donald O. Clifton who developed the Clifton Strength Finder. Today a variety of authors have captured the theory and have developed instruments for different purposes. Perhaps the most popular being Strength Finder 2.0.  (Rath & Conchie 2008). This instrument helps a respondent discover a set of attributes and factors that when grouped identify categories of strengths as applied to leadership. There are some common attributes in Strength Finder with both MBTI and DiSC, however, I would choose MBTI or DiSC first for core personal and professional growth then would recommend Strength Finder as a follow-up tool for leadership development.
 
How do we build application and impact from the results of these instruments? In an action science project with three different organizations we found an initial one-time exposure did have some application for individuals; however, it was not transferred into the workplace. After a second workshop, a few months later, the use of the results increased among staff, mostly one on one or supervisor to employee. A third exposure with specific activities helped bring the results and applications into team and group work.
 
Each of these instruments are tools for growth. It is up to us to use and row from them. They do not explain everything about us and regardless if your results are exactly like the person sitting in the next office, everyone is still different. Each of these tools look at common attributes and do not measure intelligence, socio-economic background, life experiences or education.
 
Each can contribute to understanding ourselves and that concept is critical to sustainable leadership.
 
References
Keirsey, David (1984) Please Understand Me 5th edition, Prometheus Nemesis Book Co. Del Mar, CA.
Keirsey, Davis (1998) Please Understand Me II, Prometheus Nemesis Book Co, Del mar, CA.
Inscape (1996) A Comparison of the Personal Profile System and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Research Report. Inscape Publishing. Minneapolis, MN.
Myers, Isabel (2015) Introduction to Myers-Briggs Type 7th edition. CPP, San Francisco, CA.
Rath, Tom & Barry Conchie (2008) Strengths-Based Leadership. Gallup Press, New York, NY.

Sustainable Leadership builds capacity for the individual and the people in the organization. Building Capacity is a term often used in the non-profit world and often misunderstood. A recent popular blogger questioned the value of trying to build capacity when it is the final impact, the core vision, that is trying to be achieved.  The attitude is, just do it. The problem with that argument is that it separates the Cause from the Organization. If one has a Cause, a core vision of something that needs attention, then that person can in fact, just do it. A core vision is usually established by an individual or small group of people who have a big idea. The problem begins when the Cause starts to attract attention, followers and supporters through its success. Suddenly the cause needs some structure and the core visionary wakes up one morning and the Cause is a 501c3.
 
Over the years I have observed the core visionary becoming the founding director and after a couple of years the organization flounders, the core vision becomes muddled and internal troubles begin. How can this happen? The core vision is sound and the energy of the core visionary is still very passionate for the Cause. The problem begins when to become sustainable the Cause now needs some structure but if all of the attention is given to the Cause and not the sustaining structure, the core vision is in trouble.
 
A core vision must be shared with others and if it requires some type of organizational structure to become sustainable then the act of building capacity must take place. The new 501c3 needs a transition plan as soon as it is proposed to transfer the structure of the organization from the core visionary to a sound strategic plan and dedicated group of people. Let the core visionary be the energy, face, and passion for the Cause and let the capacity of the organization become sustainable through best practices in non-profit leadership and management.
 
Leaders recognize their strengths and their limitations. If a core visionary wants to be solely dedicated to the Cause, then they need to let go of trying to build the structure or at least understand that is not their interest. The core visionary needs to surround themselves with talented people who support the sustainability of the Cause. I have observed core visionaries who fundamentally understand the need for supportive people but tend to surround themselves with supporters just like them. This action does not result in a sustainable organization.
 
Building capacity for an organization is as necessary to a cause as good nutrition and exercise are to a healthy body. To stay healthy, we must be proactive with actions, not just wish for the best health because we believe in it. The same is true for a healthy organization.
Sustained leadership builds capacity for an individual leader and builds capacity of the people in the organization. Future blogs will explore the skill sets leaders should have in order to build capacity so the Cause is sustainable. 

​Sustainable leadership is never about one individual. Any popular book that touts the remarkable feats of just one person, as the leader, fails to recognize that a leader is one of many in an organization. An organization is a group of people and systems that are trying to achieve something. A leader should have positive influence with the people and systems but one person cannot claim to be all, do all or change all. When a leader, as one person, thinks they can or should do it all; this is based on a misperception of power and the concept of power can go one of two ways.
 
Leaders who think they have the individual power to change a system not only fool themselves while most likely trying to do so by capturing and keeping power for themselves. This is referred to as selfish or personal power. By trying to capture more personal power to make the difference they seek, they in fact will fail over time. Capturing and keeping selfish power cannot achieve sustainable leadership. Selfish power results in staff alienation, mistrust, withholding valuable resources, protecting turf, favoritism and selected communications.
 
A leader does seek power, but it is not personal power they seek, but power that truly makes the difference. This is referred to as social power and today we know it as empowerment. Unfortunately, the term empowerment is an often overused and misused concept; but it does accurately mean that a leader will distribute any power attained back to the people in the organization. Social power is built on trust which every successful leader and organization must have as a value and practice. Social power is sharing information, aligning resources, building a positive culture, delegating responsibility, developing skills within others, accountability and establishing multiple means of effective communications. Sustainable leadership is inclusive therefore the practice of empowerment is spread throughout all levels within an organization.
 
Empowering others results in a workforce better prepared to move forward and be successful. It is this workforce community that defines leadership rather than by the individual in that position. Sustainable leadership is never about the individual while individuals in authoritative positions may not be sustainable leaders if they view themselves as the greatest source of power in the organization. Sustainable leaders are those that realize the need for and practice empowerment.

 
Sustainable Leadership is a set of core attributes that are a part of any leadership development, practice or position. Principles for sustained leadership include four core attributes and four supporting attributes. Last month I presented the four core attributes of leadership that represent the characteristics of a leader, regardless of the type of organization or the situations the leader may encounter. These four core attributes are not situational and do not change. A leader may change positions or may change organizations, even professions, but these attributes remain. To practice sustainable leadership the core attributes must be demonstrated and as discussed last month, shared.
 
The four core attributes of leadership are:

• Vision is Vital: The sustainable leader has, or can develop with others, a clear desired image of a successful future for the organization and can align resources to that direction.
• Passion for People:            The sustainable leader demonstrates the value of people collaboratively aligned toward a vision and practices methods to empower those in and those that support the organization.
• Passion for Purpose: The sustainable leader embraces the purpose of the organization and has sense of high values toward the mission.
• Living is Learning: The sustainable leader seeks continued learning and transfers life experiences to practice.

Think of the four core attributes as larger spheres that are connected by skill sets. The leader uses skills to transfer the core attributes into practice. Skills that leaders use can change over the course of time and situations. Think of the four supporting attributes as smaller spheres that are always a part of sustainable leadership, but within those spheres there are specific skills that are subject to change.
 
The four supporting attributes for sustained leadership are:

• Content Skills: The sustainable leader needs to have a high level, if not mastery, of the content area that the organization serves. Many of our organizations have multiple content areas and the leader cannot have mastery in all but must have an affinity on how each of the areas should work together. A challenge for new directors is to realize that what they may have in content expertise is no longer what is needed to be a sustainable leader.
• Management Skills: Skills in business, personnel and budget, to name a few, a critical in any organization but the leader does not have to be an expert in any one area. The sustainable leader knows what role they have in management functions and aligns people in positions with the specific areas of expertise that are needed for the organization.
• Process Skills: Skills in team development, meeting and group process skills and strategic planning are all processes the sustainable leader must possess, at least, a working knowledge and abilities. Other staff positions or outside consultants with mastery levels of processes can be obtained for those needed services.
• Systems Perspective: The sustainable leader gets to know and connects to the culture of the organization and understands how that culture (which may need to change) is connected to the community and/or its parent organization. A systems perspective is the ability to see and the priority to practice connecting oneself to the cultures of the organization with the community it serves.  

 
Sustainable leadership is constant but the skills we use can change. Let’s continue to explore the application of skill sets for leaders in mission-based organizations in future blogs.

Sharing: Critical for Leadership Success
July 2016
 
Sharing our knowledge and experiences is critical to our leadership success. Fortunately, the sharing of knowledge is a core value in our profession, whether you are working as part of an organization, independently as a consultant, or in career transition.

After serving forty years as a director of two nature-based organizations, last year was my first Association of Nature Center Administrators (ANCA) Summit in the role of an exhibitor and sponsor rather than as a fellow administrator. I was no longer an active administrator but an entrepreneur, an independent consultant with a table display in the exhibit room. It felt different to me and after a few hours I was missing the frequent opportunities to share leadership experiences with my fellow colleagues, which often occurs in the hallways, benches, and sometimes bars throughout the Summit. We called these unplanned and frequent sharing experiences, the Beernut sessions. The exhibit area was quieter than expected, and my desire to interact and to continue learning from others by sharing our leadership stories made me realize how important the culture of sharing is to ANCA.  ANCA is all about leadership growth and sharing our challenges and successes so it made sense to me to reintroduce the core principles of leadership and the how the concept of sharing is critical for leadership success.

The original research in our profession, Attributes of Leadership Among Environmental Education Center Administrators (McReynolds, 1993) was published in Directions as part of a five part series and the articles can be found in the members only section of the ANCA website.  Since that time there have been adaptations to the model and some tweaking of some of the details but the core principals of leadership remain relevant and critical for leadership success.

In the spirit of our sharing for leadership success, I have described each of the core principles, including how important sharing is for each of the attributes to be successful in our professional growth and for those we are serving as leaders.

The four core Attributes of Leadership with the concept of sharing are:
Vision is Vital- Vision is a desired image of success and leaders can either create and easily see that image or know how to embrace a vision that has been collectively created. Vision is a point in the future that we seek and leaders can align resources to attain that vision. Sharing is critical for success because a vision unshared is a vision unattainable. A vision alone remains undone while a vision shared and embraced can become a reality. As a desired image of the future, the vision is grounded in reality rather than as a dream. The leader knows that as soon as a vision is created (by whatever methods) the very first step is share the vision and begin to build support to that vision. A leader with a vision that tries to attain that vision alone will not be successful.

Passion for the Purpose- Leaders have a strong sense of purpose to the mission and causes which drive them. Leaders will lean on the purpose as reminders of why they are doing what they do and to rebuild their commitment during their most trying challenges. It is the big picture view, the dedication to that purpose that allows the director to focus their energies. Sharing the purpose is critical for leadership success that will result in the preparation and empowerment of others to continue the work for the purpose. We call this mentoring and can happen in a variety of ways, from parents getting outside with their children or teachers in the classroom to directors working closely with their staff.

Passion for People- Leaders have a strong commitment and passion to the development of the people around them. A leader recognizes a vision and the purpose cannot be accomplished alone, however, that is not what is driving the leader. A leader is driven by a sense of responsibility to those around them. This can be addressed in many ways, depending on the personality of the leader, but sharing this passion for people is critical for leadership success. As a leader, sharing this passion for people can be accomplished at work, family, community and our profession. The result of sharing is a sense of joy and pride for the leader and personal and professional growth for the people around them.

Living is Learning- Leaders are constant learners with the ability to transfer and apply new learning into the workplace. Leaders establish and promote a cultural for learning. Sharing in the workplace is critical for leadership success. If new learning is not shared then the organization might benefit in the short term, but the people in the organization will not benefit in the long term. Leaders empower others to share their new learning which helps the individual and the organization place the new learning into practice. Knowledge is power, but unshared remains selfish power. Knowledge shared is empowerment. Leaders, as continual learners, seek and practice new learning that results in empowerment.
This year I will be back as an exhibitor, sponsor and speaker. I look forward to interacting with old friends and new colleagues. Consider the exhibit area as an important to our sharing culture as the sessions, mealtimes and Beernut discussions. The spirit of sharing in our profession is alive and well so share your stories and there might even be for a bit of chocolate for you.
 
Welcome to the LeadTeam blog. Here I will focus on conversations about leadership that can impact our organizations and us as individuals. My goal is to feature thoughtful, timely and practical tidbits based on research and experiences in the field of non-profit management and nature-based organizations.

I look forward to sharing in this new way and I welcome your participation. If my posts spark interest in you, please feel free to reach out and let’s connect to discuss! I’m also very interested in interviewing others in the profession and sharing their insights with our community.