Fast forward to 2011 at The Four Seasons Restaurant in New York City. Frances Hesselbein, whom Peter Drucker said is the “greatest leader he had ever known,” and I (Sarah) are sitting to have lunch for the first time since we have met. A wonderful discussion ensues of life, work, and purpose.
Mid-lunch, Frances looks me directly in the eyes, puts her hand on my arm, and asks me poignantly, “What is it you see when you look out the window that is visible but not yet seen by others?” I stop. This is a question that does not have a quick or rote answer. It asks me to examine my view of the world and I find no easy answer pops to mind. A few years later at lunch again with Frances, I am finally able to formulate an answer that makes sense to me, and that answer is my chapter in this book. Frances’s answer is her chapter. Marshall’s answer is his chapter. And so on …
With its title taken from a favorite saying of Frances, “Work is love made visible,” the idea of this book came about in November of 2016, after a lovely dinner with Frances. The United States was just about to elect its 45th president. Change and uncertainty were in the air. Everyone had something to say about the future, outcome, and implications should either candidate be elected; in essence, everyone was looking out the window.
When change is happening it’s hard to be passive, even if we are not (as Peter Drucker would say) the person with the power to make the decision. We look at who is making the decisions and the actions being taken and think about how we could do better. Yet, for most of us it is impossible to reflect upon the entire system and envision a better path of action for the whole of society. So, we do it in parts, each of us holding a different view, and then through dialog with our friends we try to integrate those views as much as possible into a working, functioning vision. Integration requires teamwork, participation, and leadership – all of which we must learn to do if we are to succeed as a global society.
So, when Frances and I met that fateful day in November, her question, “What is it you see when you look out the window that is visible but not yet seen by others?” rang loudly in my head. What I see that is invisible to others is my unique gift to society, my area of concentration, my purpose, my expertise, my inherent knowledge, my call to service.
How can each of us recognize what we see when we look out the window? In our earlier years, most of us would have no idea how to do this and many have never even given it a thought. We are not taught to do this when we are growing up or as we go through school, and if we aren’t one of those fortunate people who knows their calling from an early age, we can spend years living lives without direction and purpose. Then again, for those more established, who may have stumbled upon or chosen a path, it may be time for a change. How do we decide our next steps, how do we know which direction to choose, how do we know if it will be fulfilling and meaningful in the next phase of our lives?
We, the editors and contributors to this book, think this should be part of the learning that all of us receives: how to recognize our call, our gift, our purpose, at any point and at different points of our lives. It is crucial that each of us understands how to identify our purpose in order that we can focus our studies, make our decisions, choose our passions, and play our part in the societal system toward what drove Peter Drucker to do all that he did, create a functioning society. One route to accessing this understanding is to answer for ourselves Frances Hesselbein’s insightful question.
And therein lies the twofold purpose of this book: (1) to teach individuals to ask themselves Frances’s question and discover their purpose, passion, and calling, and (2) to illuminate the inherent gifts that each of us has so that we may contribute our talents to the advancement and healthy functioning of our global society.
To help us fulfill our book’s purpose, we have asked some of today’s and tomorrow’s greatest thought leaders to give us their answers to the question: “What is it you see when you look out the window that is visible but not yet seen?”
This question, so profound and provocative, requires us to explore our deepest thoughts, concerns, fears, and hopes for our society. And, for those of us who are contributing to this work, it also challenges us to offer encouragement, ideas, and solutions for what we see.
On a global scale, there is no better time than now to collectively connect to our purpose. We need to ask ourselves: What is our purpose and how can we as a global society work together toward a bright future for all, despite our differences?
In the United States, for instance, during the past decade, we’ve seen our country divided over who will lead us and how we will be led. This division caused a standstill in our movement forward as a society. How many times have you heard, “It’s impossible to get anything done in government”? This standstill has led many people to have to choose a side, whereby rather than working together for the benefit of all, we are hoping our side will win so we don’t lose what’s ours. This is a purpose. However, we don’t believe it’s a common purpose that serves all of us, as we explore and define it in Work Is Love Made Visible.
As individuals, finding our purpose, understanding our calling, grappling with and committing to what we inherently know that others may not and to serving that purpose, can be the challenge of our lives. It can also be the opportunity of our lives. We look to those who understand their purpose and who have made it their life’s work, to role model for us what it is to live a life that has meaning. Thus, in Work Is Love Made Visible, we start the conversation by asking some of the world’s greatest thought leaders and leaders of the future to tell us what they see and how this vision shapes their lives, their decisions, and their contributions.
Our book is structured into five parts based on the leadership philosophy of Frances Hesselbein.
Part I: Leadership Is a Matter of How to Be, Not How to Do. Leadership is not about title or destination; it is about our character. Good leaders have strong characters. What does it mean to be a great leader?
Part II: To Serve Is to Live. For those called to serve, the joy and responsibility of being of service goes beyond our current condition or place of employment.
Part III: Defining Moments. Defining moments are those experiences we have when we become aware of something of which we previously had no consciousness. These moments shape our character and are the inspiration for many of our choices in life.
Part IV: Be Ye an Opener of Doors. What does it mean to open doors – for ourselves and for others – through which we can walk together toward a shared and positive vision of the future?
Part V: Bright Future! In this section, we share our hopes for tomorrow and solutions to challenges arising today that will lead us toward the bright future that we envision.
You can read this book one chapter after the next in order, you can peruse the Table of Contents for writings from your favorite thought leaders, or you can jump to a section that strikes you, for instance, Bright Future!, and read the authors’ ideas, thoughts, and contributions on this subject.
Work Is Love Made Visible comes at a time in human history when working together toward a cooperative future is critical. We recognize that such working together requires us to share our insights into what we see as our greatest challenges and opportunities as a global society and how we can address these issues going forward. Working together requires us to look out the window and see what is not yet seen by others, to share what we see with our fellows, to listen to others as they share their views, and from this build a healthy, functioning global society based on inclusion and cooperation.
Note
1. www.forbes.com/forbes/1997/0310/5905122a.html.
Acknowledgments
We are deeply grateful to Peter Drucker, whose simple observation, “I don’t predict. I just look out the window and see what’s visible but not yet seen,” is the foundation of this book.
We would like to thank all of our wonderful contributors whose unique and thoughtful answers are leading us toward a bright future, as well as the publisher for bringing
this book to its audience, and to all those behind the scenes – editors, production staff, and copyeditors – who have helped bring this work of love to life. And we are extremely thankful to our families, friends, teachers, and mentors for their support and encouragement throughout our lives and especially in the creation of this book.
Special thanks from Sarah to my dearest friend and inspiration, Frances Hesselbein, to Marshall Goldsmith, Laurence S. Lyons, Nathan Lyons, Taavo Godtfredsen, Doug Baker, the George Washington University, and to my wonderful and supportive husband, Monty Brewer, without whom this book truly would not have been possible.
About the Editors
Frances Hesselbein
From her Pennsylvania beginnings as a volunteer Girl Scout troop leader to her rise as the CEO of the largest organization serving girls and women in the world – the Girl Scouts of the USA – Frances Hesselbein has always been mission-focused, values-based, and demographics-driven. For her transformation of the Girl Scouts in the 1970s, former president Bill Clinton awarded Frances the country’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. For more than 25 years, Frances has been at the helm of a very small but strong organization based in New York where she continues to train a new generation of leaders through leadership education and publications. She is chairman of the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum, part of the Graduate School for Public and International Affairs, Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership at the University of Pittsburgh, and editor-in-chief of Leader to Leader. Frances is the recipient of 21 honorary doctoral degrees, the author of 3 autobiographies, and the co-editor of 30 books in 30 languages. Frances has traveled to 68 countries representing the United States, and Fortune magazine named her one of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.”
Marshall Goldsmith
Dr. Marshall Goldsmith is the world authority in helping successful leaders achieve positive, lasting change in behavior: for themselves, their people, and their teams. He was recently chosen as the inaugural winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Leadership by the Harvard Institute of Coaching. Dr. Goldsmith is the only two-time Thinkers50 #1 Leadership Thinker in the World. He has been ranked as the World’s #1 Executive Coach and Top Ten Business Thinker the past eight years.
Dr. Goldsmith is the author or editor of 38 books, which have sold over 2.5 million copies, been translated into 32 languages, and become listed bestsellers in 12 countries. His three New York Times bestsellers are Triggers, MOJO, and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.
Dr. Goldsmith is one of a select few executive advisors who have been asked to work with over 150 major CEOs and their management teams. He is a fellow in the National Academy of Human Resources and winner of the Lifetime Achievement in Teaching Award from the Institute for Management Studies. His work has been recognized by almost every professional organization in this field.
Sarah McArthur
With more than two decades of experience in publishing, most prominently as a writer, editor, and writing coach, Sarah McArthur is continually striving to enhance her knowledge and expertise about the rapidly changing business of publishing and to share it with those who have a message to spread.
COO of Marshall Goldsmith Inc. and Founder and CEO of *sdedit, Sarah’s fields of expertise are management, leadership, and executive and business coaching. She manages the daily operations at Marshall Goldsmith Inc. and has co-authored and co-edited numerous books including, Coaching for Leadership: Writings on Leadership from the World’s Greatest Coaches with Marshall Goldsmith and Laurence S. Lyons and The AMA Handbook of Leadership, co-edited with Marshall Goldsmith and John Baldoni (chosen one of the Top 10 Business, Management, and Labor Titles of 2010 by Choice).
In addition to her own works, Sarah has played significant roles in many other book projects including Marshall Goldsmith’s New York Times best-seller Triggers; all three editions of the best-selling management classic Coaching for Leadership; and Marshall’s Amazon.com, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal #1 best-seller, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.
Sarah holds a Masters in Publishing from George Washington University and a BA in English and Environmental Studies from the University of Oregon.
PART I
Leadership Is a Matter of How to Be, Not How to Do
In her work as a leader and writer, Frances Hesselbein reminds us that leadership is a matter of how to be, not how to do. Leadership is not about title or destination; it is about our character. Good leaders have strong characters. They are mission-focused, values based, and demographics-driven. They manage for the mission, for innovation, and for diversity.
In the first part of our book, our contributors use this definition as a stepping off point to explore leadership through their unique perspectives: what it is, what it isn't, and how to be a great leader in this time of massive change.
Frances Hesselbein leads the section with a recounting of the influence of Peter Drucker on the development of her own brand of leadership. She discusses the importance of mentorship and of clearly defining one's leadership values and principles. Marshall Goldsmith then takes us on a brief walk through the evolution of leadership from the days of cave people to the professional managers of today by revealing common characteristics of leaders of the past and then sharing seven key trends for leaders of the future. Dave Ulrich advocates viewing your organization from the outside observer perspective of an anthropologist studying an unfamiliar culture. He describes the wisdom of shifting how you look and listen at your organization and the value of considering different perspectives, demonstrating how this can lead to far greater insights and effectiveness for human resources professionals and leaders. Whitney Johnson applies the image of waves to S-curve models, extrapolating from their uses in describing disruptions – new product innovations and ideas in markets – to the analysis of human disruptions in the patterns of our careers and lives. She emphasizes the need to “catch a new wave” on a fairly regular basis and offers suggestions for navigating wave cycles. Patrick Lencioni shows how engaging in some serious self-reflection about what leadership truly means to you and your own sense of identity can reveal some often-difficult truths, but ultimately opens a path to greater satisfaction and effectiveness. Taavo Godtfredsen identifies some tangible action steps that leaders can take to better scale their intentions with their actions so as to optimize their impact on members of their teams. And finally, Susan Scott contemplates the role of obsession in entrepreneurship and leadership and identifies the key obsessional ideas that fueled the creation of her company, Fierce, Inc.
1
My Journey with Peter Drucker
Frances Hesselbein
From her Pennsylvania beginnings as a volunteer Girl Scout troop leader to her rise as the CEO of the largest organization serving girls and women in the world – the Girl Scouts of the USA – Frances Hesselbein has always been mission-focused, values-based, and demographics-driven. For her transformation of the Girl Scouts in the 1970s, former president Bill Clinton awarded Frances the country’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. For more than 25 years, Frances has been at the helm of a very small but strong organization based in New York where she continues to train a new generation of leaders through leadership education and publications. She is chairman of the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum, part of the Graduate School for Public and International Affairs, Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership at the University of Pittsburgh, and editor-in-chief of Leader to Leader. Frances is the recipient of 21 honorary doctoral degrees, the author of 3 autobiographies, and the co-editor of 30 books in 30 languages. Frances has traveled to 68 countries representing the United States, and Fortune magazine named her one of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.”
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We transformed the organization using his principles.
Six years after coming to New York to serve as CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA in the late 1970s, I received a letter from John Brademus
, then the chancellor of New York University, inviting me to a dinner at the University Club to hear Peter Drucker speak. I had never met Peter Drucker but had read every book he had ever written.
I knew that in such a large group I would not have an opportunity to meet him, but I would have the opportunity to hear him live – Peter Drucker, the great thought leader who had influenced the volunteers and staff in the largest organization for girls and women in the world.
The invitation read, “5:30 p.m. reception.” Now, if you grew up in western Pennsylvania, 5:30 is 5:30; so when the evening came, I arrived on time, walked into the reception room, and found myself alone with two bartenders. I turned around. Behind me was a man who had just walked in. He said, “I am Peter Drucker.” (Obviously, if you grow up in Vienna, 5:30 is 5:30.) I was so stunned that instead of saying “How do you do,” I blurted out, “Do you know how important you are to the Girl Scouts?” He said, “No, tell me.”
“If you go to any one of our 335 Girl Scout councils, you will find a shelf of your books. If you read our corporate planning and management monographs and study our management and leadership structure, you will find your philosophy,” I replied.
“You are very daring,” Peter replied. “I would be afraid to do that. Tell me, does it work?”
“Superbly well,” I told him, adding, “and I have been trying to get up enough courage to call you, and ask if I may come to Claremont and have an hour of your time?”
Peter said, “Why should both of us travel? I’ll be in New York next month, and I will give you a day of my time.”
Before we met again, Peter studied us at the council level – on the ground where the girls and leaders were – as well as our circular governance and management systems, and declared the Girl Scouts of the USA the best-managed organization in the country. “Tough, hardworking women can do anything,” he said. I wasn’t sure about tough, but hardworking, yes!
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