SacredLeadership Blog

Thank you for participating in the Sacred Leadership blog discussion.

The world is at a crucial turning point for humankind.  If we are to thrive and prosper we must focus our attention on the ways in which we can agree and cooperate rather than in a competitive mode in which we focus on the areas in which we disagree and are different.

I have traveled in North and South America, Europe and Africa and my experiences in these diverse places reinforces my deepest belief that our commonalities far outweigh our differences.  All of the people I have met want to live in peace, provide a healthy and prosperous life for themselves and their families and live a life of meaning.

Sacred Leadership recognizes our commonalities.  Sacred Leadership serves the “common good” and a greater purpose.  Examples include nurturing and educating the young, providing for the sick and protecting the vulnerable.  I am sure you can think of many more examples.  There is a more thorough discussion of Sacred Leadership within this web site.

Through this blog I will try to clarify Sacred Leadership through examples that occur in daily life as well as by sharing my personal reflections as we further develop the concepts of Sacred Leadership in practice.

In the end, we hope to encourage dialogue about leadership, first in the United States, and then globally.  A dialgoue that leads to a demand for leadership that serves the “common good”; that is based on positive values such as trust, respect, integrity and compassion, and that focuses on the long term while recognizing our short term needs.

 Please join us in our journey to bring Sacred Leadership into the world.

Many people have asked if I would give some “real life” examples of Sacred Leadership in action.  I have decided to draw my first example from health care based upon two news reports.  The first is from a January 12,2007 Wall Street Journal article (http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB116857143155174786.html)      The second is from ABC News in a report televised on October 17, 2006 (http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2579357).

I’ll begin with the Wall Street Journal article “A Novel Plan Helps Hospital Wean Itself Off Pricey Tests.” In this first case, Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle was being pressured by Aetna Insurance and several large local employers, including Starbucks, to reduce their costs for healthcare.  The hospital has consistently received “top marks for quality and patient safety.” In addition, the medical center adopted some “assembly line methods of Toyota” to improve the flow of patient traffic for those awaiting chemo therapy.  Wait times dropped from four hours to ninety minutes. 

Even with their continuous improvement efforts and their quality reputation, the medical center was forced to look for additional ways to cut costs. They found several areas they could improve upon.  For instance they were able to cut the cost of back pain treatment by nearly 50% while also reducing the wait time for patients.  In spite of these efforts, the medical center is still struggling to meet the cost constraints requested by the insurer and employers.

Now let’s examine the second case which aired on ABC news in October of 2006.  ABC interviewed changes made by Dr. Brent James of Intermountain Health Care System in Utah.  After reviewing treatment result data, Dr. James found that “doctors were far less accurate if they relied on their memories rather than on computer data.” 

Like the Seattle medical center described earlier, Dr. James looked outside the health professions for possible solutions. He turned to the airlines where pilots, like doctors, have a high stake in client safety.  Lives are in their hands.

Like Virginia Mason Medical Center, new approaches were implemented.  “As it turned out, Intermountain Health Care Center was sending 1,300 jaundiced babies home each year because they looked pink and healthy, only to have them return for intensive care. After a new rule requiring all newborns be tested for jaundice before discharge, the number has dropped by 900.”   A new cardiac drug regimine has saved 450 lives a year, and fewer induced deliveries has led to shorter labor, fewer sick babies. Changes in these three areas alone resulted in savings of $15 million. “The experiment proved that higher quality care can lower costs, and doctors can save lives and money by doing it right the first time.”

Regardless of these amazing improvements, Intermountain Health Care, like the first case study, found the profits were diminished because Medicare pays doctors for the quantity of care they provide rather than the quality of that care.

These two case studies highlight the difference between traditional leadership and Sacred Leadership. The Seattle hospital approached this as a business management problem that impacted the bottom line.  Intermountain Health Care focused on patient care.

Where did we see Sacred Leadership principles in action?  At Intermountain the change effort was focused on the “sacred” mission of providing improved health care.  In fact, when Dr. James lectures pediatricians, “he reminds them of why they got into medicine in the first place — to send home happy, healthy babies who keep their parents up at night for the right reasons.”  In other words, he reminds them of their “sacred” mission.

Sacred Leadership demands a laser like focus on a mission to serve the common good - in this case the common good as defined by the patients’ health.  Both cases turned to improved management procedures to improve results but only the mission focused leader achieved dramatic improvement in patient care and dramatic decreases in costs - both outcomes realted to Sacred Leadership.

The other issue highlighted by both of these cases is the failure of the insurance companies, employers and the federal government to understand their “sacred” charge of helping their clients and employees to live healthy and productive lives.  I’ll save that discussion for another day.

I realize that these two examples are oversimplified, but that does not decrease the significance of focusing on a “sacred” mission to serve the common good.  We must all find the “sacredness” in our chosen professions and lead from that very sacred place.

The recent State of the Union address by President Bush has stimulated my thinking about essential skills of the Sacred Leader. My thoughts are influenced by two thinkers. The first is John Naisbett who says that you “…don’t get results by solving problems but by exploiting opportunities.” The State of the Union address, as well as the Democratic Party response, (remember this is not a partisan issue) both focused on “problems” rather than on opportunities.

The second influence is MIT professor, Otto Scharmer. He provides further clarity for my thinking through his research with Senge, Kahane and Flowers in their recent book Presence. Scharmer describes four modes of accessing and understanding our personal and collective experience. Scharmer’s model can assist the Sacred Leader in identifying opportunities and possibilites in any situation.

The first is “downloading”. In this mode we apply old habits of thinking and acting to the current situation. “Downloading” is what Naisbett would call problem solving. “Downloading”  looks to the past and usually repeats past mistakes and leads to the same old results. I propose that ”downloading” is why 70% of all efforts to change (personal or organizational) fail. So, Sacred Leaders are faced with the question, how do we, as Naisbett says, “exploit opportunities”?

Scharmer’s work provides some guidance.  He goes on to talk about the next three modes of operating which move us beyond “downloading”. These modes allow us to go deeper into a process he says “helps the future to emerge”. Using these modes we cross thresholds that help us “exploit opportunites” or as I would put it, “realize possibilities”.

As we move beyond “downloading”, the “seeing” mode enables us to see what is really going on. We move outside our situation and look at it from a different perspective. We may even see our part in the problem situation. This second mode draws its intelligence from an Open Mind.

The enemy of the Open Mind is the Voice of Judgement. The Voice of Judgement asks the Sacred Leader to listen to the past. This voice whispers; ‘this is the way it has always been’; ‘those people always act that way’; things will never change’.

The next mode is called “sensing”. In this mode we move even further outside ourselves trying to understand the situation by “walking in the other person’s shoes”. This mode requires the skill of empathic listening. In this mode we have stopped trying to pursue our own agenda and sit in service to the other’s point of view - trying to gain a deep understanding of the situation from many perspectives. The “sensing” mode draws upon the intelligence of the Open Heart. Leaders often resist this mode because it requires vulnerability.

The enemy of the Open Heart is cynicism. The cynic resists the “perspective of the other” and thereby his own vulnerability. In the “sensing mode” the Sacred Leader’s strength lies in his/her ability to be vulnerable.

The fourth operating mode is “presencing”. This mode draws upon the intelligence of the Open Will. In this mode we connect our highest potential, our highest future self, to our present situation in order to allow the future to emerge.

The enemy of the Open Will is FEAR. The Sacred Leader must overcome FEAR of the unknnown future that is trying to emerge.  The Sacred Leader must embrace possibility.

Using the current political situation as a guide, we can see that leaders and their followers are constantly confronting the enemies of the Voice of Judgement, Cynicism and FEAR. Yet it is incumbent on the Sacred Leader to operate in a constant state of presence - to operate from the deeper intelligence of the Open Mind, Open Heart and Open Will. Only then can the Sacred Leader hope to serve the common good.

Each of us, as followers or leaders, must be alert to the messages we are receiving. Are we responding to the Voice of Judgement, Cynicism and FEAR or are we remaining open to the positive future possibilities that are trying to emerge? It is encumbent upon us all to embrace the positive future of possibility and to reject the call to judgment, cynicism and fear.

Now certainly that got your attention!  But honestly it does have a connection with Sacred Leadership.  Did you know that the average child in the developed world uses nearly 3,000 pounds of disposable diapers by age 2?  Shocking! The March 2007 ODE (www.odemagazine.com) article “Diaper dharma” highlights the work of Swedish lawyer Marlene Sandberg who decided to do something about it. 

“Ms. Sandberg was pregnant with her second child and couldn’t bear the thought of adding to this little-recognized environmental problem.  She began searching for a disposble diaper that contained no chemicals or plastic and would biodegrade naturally.”

She found that none existed and went on to form the Nature Babycare company in the late 1990’s. She has found it difficult to compete with large multinational corporations, but has continued to grow offering her superior environmentally sensitive products at a competitive price. She continues to turn down offers of support from companies that do not share her ideals even though such support would help the “bottom line.”

Ms. Sandberg exemplifies the Sacred Leader by running a values based company that is mission dirven to serve the common good.  We all can learn from her example.

Values are a key component of Sacred Leadership.  When I speak of values, I am referring to fundamental principles such as honesty, integrity, compassion and respect.  These values differ from beliefs which can be more fleeting and influenced by new ideas and ways of thinking.  Beliefs tend to change over time, values are much more deeply held and tend to persist.

The Sacred Leader takes the time to develop a sense of shared values as he/she nurtures the team’s commitment to a mission to serve the common good.  Values become an important leadership attribute and tool that provide guidance in achieving the mission.

Shared values are like:

• Glue:  Values hold people together, especially when difficult times come. 
• A Foundation:  Values provide a foundation that provides stability during growth and VUCA ( VUCA is an Army term describing Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous  environments).
• A Ruler:  Values help set the standard for a team’s performance.
• A Compass:  Values provide a moral compass that shape the decsions of the leaders and followers.
• A Magnet:  Values attract people with like values.
• An Identity:  Values define a team and give it a unique identity.
• Boundaries:  Most importantly, values serve as boundaries for behavior when VUCA strikes and action cannot be defined by the rule book. When values don’t define these boundaries we get scandals such as Enron and Abu Graib.

What are your values as a leader? 

What do your values look like in action? 

What values do you look for in your leaders?

Please share a story that illustrates one of the characteristics described above?

Who am I?  What is my purpose? These are two questions that Sacred Leaders must struggle with as they mature as leaders.

Sacred Leaders must have a very strong sense of self.  Leaders must have a clearly defined and deeply held sense of positive values as we have discussed in previous postings and within the  www.sacredleadership.org web site. Sacred Leaders must also have the moral courage to stand their ground when other forces are acting to move them off of mission or to act outside of their core values.  I am not proposing that Sacred Leaders be unbending, uncompromising or just plain stubborn.  All good leaders constantly evaluate their strategies and their actions and great leaders make appropriate changes based upon these evaluations.  However, Sacred Leaders NEVER compromise their values or the integrity of their mission to serve the common good. 

What is my purpose?  This question is one of the defining questions of humankind.  Our need to answer this question as individuals and as societies is a uniquely human quality.

 Sacred Leaders have a calling to serve the greater good and understand that, at times, the common good outweighs the individual good.  This altruism is a defining characteristic of Sacred Leaders. I am not insinuating that Sacred Leaders must give up all personal needs and desires on behalf of the mission.  Sacred Leaders must, however, feel deeply that the mission is closely tied with their purpose in life.  Commitment is derived from this intersection between the leader’s sense of purpose and the organization’s mission to serve the common good.

This intersection of purpose and mission can become all consuming to the Sacred Leader. Therefore, it is important that the leader develop the capacity to care deeply while remaining objective.  This type of nonattachment allows the Sacred Leader to maintain perspective and to remain open to the present as well as to the future that is trying to emerge.

Think about your role as leader.  Answer these two questions

1. Who am I?
2. What is my purpose?

Let us know your thoughts after you have gone through this process.

Leaders of all ilk are connected by telephone, fax, email, Blackberry’s etc.  How many of you sit in meetings nervously watching the time, checking your email or even leaving the meeting to take calls?  Larry Smarr, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, describes this as, “the meat is in the room but the mind is somewhere else.”  Not a pretty picture but oh so true! This behavior speaks volumes about the leader’s priorities and values.  What unspoken messages are you delivering when you practice the above behaviors?

In some ways it is difficult to escape the constant attraction of instant communication. In other ways this digital connectedness is a response to the loneliness and isolation that is so prevalent in our society.  We yearn for connectedness and relationship but in the rush of our lives substitute digital communication for relationship on the emotional plane - relationship that is heart to heart not Blackberry to Blackberry. The “meat is in the room” but the mind and heart are not.  In our desire to stay connected we often fail to “see” the person sitting right across from us!

Sacred Leaders must find “space” for relationship.  Relationships are key to a leader’s success. But to find this “space” they must first slow down, stop and find silence.  Silence which allows them to first attend to their interior state.  Time to reflect - “Who am I being in this moment?”  “How is my being reflecting my greater purpose and values as I serve the sacred mission of my organization?” “How is my being nurturing and creating relationships?”

Secondly, Sacred Leaders must find silence that permits them to “see” and “sense” the present.  If we are not careful, we can find ourselves moving so quickly that we disregard the present and miss the emerging future.

Sacred Leaders must also creat “spaces” for silence for those they lead.  They must create spaces that Jon Kabat-Zinn says “permit deep and open-hearted listening” within their team. Only through such empathic listening can we build crucial relationships.

Our failure to find time for silence alters our ability to “see” and “sense” things at a deep level before we make a decision.  In other words, our incapacity for silence leads to reaction versus action.  We react before we really understand the situation, only seeing what is on the surface; rather than taking the time to see the entire system at a deep level - allowing ourselves to act in a way that creates an alternative positive future. Seeing at this deep level requires that we slow down and silence our mind - opening our mind and heart to seeing and sensing at a new and deeper level.

Sacred Leaders must resist being “driven to distraction” and find tools that help them stop, see, sense and think - even in today’s hyperactive leadership environment. Take a moment to reflect on the following questions:

Do you create time for silence in your life? How? Be specific.

If yes, how do you sustain that time and how does it nourish your leadership?

If not, how can you create a time and space for silence?

How can you create the time and space for silence for those you lead?

How does this silence create and nurture the relationships you need as a successful leader?

Let us hear from you.

The response to SacredLeadership.org has exceeded our expectations.  Since its official launch in March (2007), the web site has had nearly 35,000 “hits” from 37 countries.  A movement has begun!

We need to keep the dialogue going.  I encourage you to take a chance and comment on and subscribe to the blog.  It is the most efficient and effective way to share our voices with one another. Please share the web site with your friends and encourage them to participate.

Many of you have emailed or phoned me personally to share your excitement for the message and purpose of SacredLeadership.org.  I urge you to share your thoughts with the group by posting to the blog rather than emailing me directly. 

I also encourage you to nominate a leader who exemplifies the principles of Sacred Leadership outlined on the web site.  Details of the nomination process can be found on the “Nominate a Sacred Leader” page of the web site. 

Some of you asked if there is any commercial purpose to this site.  The answer is an emphatic NO!  We accept no advertising of any kind and will never do so. The site is funded from my own resources and from in-kind support from others who believe in the mission. Our intention is that eventually the movement and SacredLeadership.org will be self-supporting.

Thank you for your participation and support.

 Sincerely,

Jim Davis, Founder

Most of us are familiar with the hypothesis of “six degrees of separation” - that we are all connected through a small chain of social acquaintances.  In other words we are only six steps (people) away from every person on earth. I am not sure if the math works out, but in my personal life it comes close.

Sacred Leaders have a different perspective of this adage. We talk about six degrees of connectedness. We don’t focus on how many people “separate” us but rather how many “connect” us. 

In the context of Sacred Leadership, we are connected first and foremost by our common humanity.  Then, as we work together, we are connected by our Sacred Mission to serve the common good.  Leadership often determines if our approach is one of separateness or one of connectedness.  Let me give just one of example. 

Several of you have asked how Sacred Leadership differs from Moral Leadership that has been discussed over the past two decades. The distinction between the two is subtle but very important because the two approaches can lead to two entirely different outcomes.

Although moral leadership can and is interpreted in many different ways, in practice it often leads to separation and devisiveness rather than a connectedness that serves the common good.

Moral leadership is derived from the individual values and beliefs of the leader. When those values and beliefs are confronted by differing points of view, conflict often arises. In the end, moral leadership can lead to perspectives of “right and wrong”; to motivation based upon ”obligation” versus “determination”; to feelings of “separation” rather than “connection”; and, therefore, to conflict rather than productive service to the mission.

Sacred Leadership, on the other hand, focuses on purpose and mission.  Sacred Leadership provides a “space” where we can come together around what we have in common rather than arguing about our differences.

For example, I have never met anyone who did not support the Sacred Mission of caring for and healing the sick.  Even ancient societies had their shamans. However, conversations about health care today rarely focus on that mission.  Instead, our public dialogue focuses on our values, attitudes and beliefs about what should be treated, how it should be treated and who will pay. This approach leads to devisive conflict and no forward movement.  In the end, tens of millions of people (in the USA alone) go without appropriate health care.

The Sacred Leader, in contrast, focuses attention on the Sacred Mission of caring for and healing the sick.  The Sacred Leader asks what the world would look like if we served that mission.  The Sacred Leader provides an environment in which many disparate voices and perspectives are heard and helps weave a common story (vision) of excellent health care based upon our collective wisdom. From this shared story, we develop the collective will and determination to enact the vision and fulfill our sacred mission.  

The recent revelations in the press about veteran’s health care in the United States are just one example of how things can go wrong when we fail to focus on our sacred mission.

Sacred Leadership requires a heartfelt desire to connect with others around our sacred purpose to serve the common good.  It requires that we listen deeply in order to understand the other’s point of view and realize that it is time to stop imposing and start living our truth - our deeper purpose to serve the common good.

Over the past several years, many people questioned my use of the word “sacred” in the context of Sacred Leadership.  They were concerned that it would cause confusion about the purpose of Sacred Leadership, limiting it to a religious audience only. The question has arisen again with the launch of the sacredleaderhip.org web site.

I had been struggling for over a year to find a term that really defined the kind of leadership and commitment to the common good that I was thinking about.  One night I awoke with the answer “sacred leadership” which literally came to me in my sleep. Now I couldn’t ignore that kind of sign!  Sacred has two meanings; the first is sacred in the religious sense; and the second is sacred in the sense of sacrosanct - that is, something that is inviolable, worthy of respect, something that cannot not be done.  It was the second use of the word that defined the “sacredness” of the mission to serve the common good. No other word truly describes the profound importance of of this deep level of service to the common good.

This issue came up in a recent conversation with Dr. Jeffrey McCausland.  Jeff is a retired Colonel in the U.S. Army, former academic dean at the Army War College and visiting professor at the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law and School of International Affairs.

Jeff pointed out that, even in the context of Sacred Leadership, we could look at sacred from both perspectives.  Sacred with a capital “S” referring to the religious use of its meaning and sacred with a small “s” in the context of Sacred Leadership.  He proposed that the possible misunderstanding of the use of the word could in fact have a positive outcome.

Jeff proposed that sacredleadership.org might serve as a meeting space where the two perspectives could come together to find common ground.  Certainly this kind of dialogue among leaders of both persuasions would be more postive than the shrill voices we hear on both sides of today’s secular/religious debate.

This dialogue is most welcome if it allows calmer and more “sacred” voices can be heard as we work together as Sacred Leaders serving the common good.

What do you think?