Wright:  Who is your audience?

Pitts:  Everyone who’s been derailed by any change or crisis or confusing circumstance and who is willing to engage in self-discovery, study, and skills-building to attain the life they desire for themselves.

All of us achieve personal and professional success, and celebrating those successes comes easily. All of us endure personal and professional losses, and most of us struggle mightily trying to endure and overcome. With The Phoenix Challenge I hope to reframe the notion of “struggle,” shifting to a paradigm of “easy acceptance with grace.”

What I suggest isn’t new thinking. It’s a restatement of teachings that come to us from mythology, philosophy, and religion; from art, music, poetry; and from daily living and interaction.

I’m offering a synthesis of what I’ve learned from my own and others’ experiences, encountered throughout my professional and personal life.

Those who are self-aware will immediately understand The Phoenix Challenge. For these readers I’m affirming what they already know either directly or intuitively, and this chapter is a refresher. It’s a re-charge, with perhaps a slightly different image as they tweak the kaleidoscope.

For those who are not so self-aware, or those who reject the importance of self-awareness, the value proposition in reading on is this: if you commit to read with an open mind, I’m certain I can ignite a spark of realization (1) that the shoe fits: there is no challenge you’ve experienced that is unique to you; and (2) if you’re willing to sincerely accept The Phoenix Challenge, you will enrich your life experience and move closer to your sense of achievement, accomplishment, and fulfillment: closer to self-actualization.

Wright:  So what exactly is The Phoenix Challenge?

Pitts:  Simply this: willingly allow ourselves to “crash and burn” so that we can “rise again” in better, stronger form.

The Phoenix Challenge is about hunkering down in times of struggle and going through rather than avoiding the pain. It’s about accepting what is, seeking to understand the opportunities that lie within, around, and as a result. It’s about enduring chaos to understand what ultimately will bring enrichment. The Phoenix Challenge is about letting go in order to renew and transform.

When I agreed to this interview about discovering inner strength, the image that immediately came to mind was that of a stunning bird rising from ashes. I recalled a scene from the World War II film, Flight of the Phoenix. I pictured Yosemite’s flames; recollected clients’ circumstances. Without hesitation I connected Discover Your Inner Strength with the mythological phoenix, and knew that this would be an essential topic to explore with our readers.

In various mythologies, the phoenix is a sacred bird that at the end of life descends to build a nest of twigs that it ignites. Flames consume the phoenix, and in the throes of death the bird transforms into new life, a more powerful and more beautiful magnificence. In Chinese mythology the phoenix represents virtue, power, and prosperity. And in some myths, the firebird’s tears heal all wounds. “Universally, fire is regarded as a spiritual symbol of awakening….a purifying force that can be constructive or destructive, depending on how we use it.” Angeles Arrien, The Second Half of Life

The Phoenix Challenge invites us (individuals, teams, organizations) to be that mythological bird which uses the flames as a constructive force for transformation. At times of challenge, we must consciously and intentionally allow ourselves to descend to the depths, enduring the chaos, in order to ascend as someone stronger. The learning, while we’re descending to our inner selves, yields enlightenment, and that enlightenment produces our enrichment.

The myth plays out in all aspects of life. Siddhartha becomes the Buddha; Christ rises on the third day. In their symphonic music, Death and Transfiguration and Concerto Elegaic, Strauss and Rachmaninoff delicately render the descent and ascent. The Japanese poet, Masahide, declares: “The barn has burned to the ground. Now I can see the moon.

We see the myth in all of Nature. As with the fires of Yosemite, lightning ignites flames on African plains, scorching thousands of acres of earth, and the extreme heat germinates within hours new plant life. The emperor moth evolves over years, until in its final stage it dissolves completely, then flies from the cocoon as a creature of stunning beauty. In another context, Katrina offers lessons that we hope, someday, will save lives and cities. These represent immutable laws in nature that we can embrace and learn from, exemplifying the essence of The Phoenix Challenge.

Jane Hamilton’s A Map of the World can easily be your story or my story of mistake that leads to tragedy; guilt that begets depression and threatens loyalties; perseverance that generates ramrod strength and new-found marvels of relationship.

In my career and life experience; in conversations with family, friends and colleagues over the years; in my research, and my study, I know this to be true: meeting challenge head on, determining to accept with grace, and to understand and learn will yield great wisdom and a renewed sense of achievement and accomplishment—a new kind of pride in personal competence.

Deep in the wintry parts of our minds we are hardy stock and know there is no such thing as work-free transformation.  We know that we will have to burn to the ground in one way or another, and then site right in the ashes of who we once thought we were and go on from there.  Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run with the Wolves

Wright:  Please give us some examples of what The Phoenix Challenge looks like for us.

To learn more, contact us.

Lake Erie College Center for Leadership & Professional Development: Experiential Learning with Horses – Developing Human Potential for Positive Change  Level 1, 2, 3 Certification   Faculty:  Jackie Stevenson – Spirit of Leadership

EAHAE – European Association for Horse Assisted Education:  HorseDream Train the Trainer Workshop – Gerhard & Karen Krebs; David Smith

PATH – Professional Association for Therapeutic Horsemanship International:  Train the Trainer Workshop – Barbara Rector

EGE – Equine Guided Education:  Train the Trainer Workshop – Arianna Strozzi

Embodied Presence & Somatic Awareness:  Workshop – Jim Kepner, Jackie Stevenson, Denise Tervo from Case Western Reserve University & Gestalt Institute Cleveland

Becoming an Effective Intervener:  Gestalt Institute of Cleveland

Affiliates

Clients Supported HorsePlay HP² 

Leadership Teams, Operations Teams, General Staff, Private Groups & Individuals

SE Michigan  Cavallo Farm – Ypsilanti  http://cavallofarm.net/facilities.html

Mid-Michigan-Lansing  Fox Brush Farm – DeWitt  http://www.foxbrushfarm.com/

Traverse City  TN Farms (Old Mission Peninsula)  http://www.tnfarms.net/

Petoskey-Charlevoix-Harbor Springs  Bay Harbor Equestrian Center  http://www.bayharbor.com/equestrianclub/

• Professional Coaches Association of Michigan  http://www.michigancoaches.org/events/breakout_sessions.php#Optimize
• Grosse Pointe Magazine – Dec-Jan Issue Page 12 http://www.grossepointemagazine.com/archive
• The Family Center Ask the Experts http://www.familycenterweb.org/index.php/calendar at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial http://www.warmemorial.org/
• Natural Awakenings Pet Magazine http://issuu.com/naturalawakeningseastmich/docs/napet-winter2012?mode=window&pageNumber=15

Audiences appreciate the simplicity of 5 Practices (Slow = Fast, Be Present, Pause-Reflect-Choose, Less = More and Small = Big) that cultivate mindfulness, enhance results & relationships, and promote intimacy, wellness and resilience.

We tailor content to unique needs of participants, supporting

• Personal Growth
• Leadership Development & Executive Coaching
• Team Building/Enrichment
• Communication Skills
• Conflict Management Skills, with the companion Thomas Kilman (TKI) Conflict Mode Assessment

and more!

Blended Coach-Mentor Role:  I offer ideas for your thoughtful consideration, and tools to support learning.  My role, and my intent, is not to “direct” your thoughts/actions, but rather to ask probing questions, offer a perspective for you to explore and reflect upon, giving you the benefit of my experience, my expertise, my thoughts, my curiosity.  Hopefully, you seek out the wisdom of others as well.  In the end, you choose your course of action.

Your Engagement: 

• Exploration/Study/Reflect/Practice:  Your growth/development requires that you take initiative to explore, study, reflect and practice.  Every minute of the day you’re in “learning” mode, even when doing “hands on” tasks.
• Demonstrate Understanding:  It’s imperative that you “put meat on the bones” of your words.  It’s not enough to “say” the words:  what’s most important is the meaning behind the words, and “walking the talk” of the words.
• Use The Tools:  Ask yourself…  How am I utilizing the tools offered?  What do I do daily/weekly to keep the tools at the forefront of my thoughts/actions?  How am I practicing with others?  With the team?

To be a good leader requires energy, effort, focus, and commitment  –just as in any role.  The key driver of success for a great leader is the ability to optimize relationships in order to achieve results.

Guidelines for achieving Results/Relationships:  OUR VALUES.

Results:  Leaders are responsible to deliver strategic results, which requires

• a “vision” for team direction
• strategic thinking & planning, with team member (and other stakeholder) collective input
• collaborative implementation by the team, including the leader rolling up sleeves and pitching in to be “hands on” when strategically/tactically necessary
• commitment
• accountability:  to self, to others.

Relationships:  It’s essential that leaders

• build effective relationships (trust/respect) with each individual member of the team, as well as the team as a whole
• role model the behaviors desired
• empower each team member to be and do their best
• engage in effective discussions to surface different perspectives (conflict) in order to make optimal decisions.

Messaging:  HOW you say/do something is critical to success.  Complete thinking of your messaging approach will help you to be most effective with what you choose to address.  It’s essential to think through  –from all angles:  What?  Why?  Who?  When?  Where?  How?

• What’s the Agenda:  Purpose/Outcomes?
• What are the Key Messages (e.g., your vision of change, roles, responsibilities, timing, etc.)
• Why the Key Messages are important/relevant
• Who needs to hear the information
• When/Where is change anticipated/initiated
• How  you “show up” as the Leader (“Leadership Presence”)

…to deliver the message:  energy, timing, words, body language

… to support, leverage, expand current learning (tools, models)

…to reap the greatest value by engaging the Team in discussion to ensure clarity, buy-in, commitment, results.

Many admit to avoiding conflict, trusting that in the long run things will work out.  I know the feeling. I was pretty good at avoiding myself, until I realized that the problem nibbled constantly at my ankles and psyche.  If I wanted to be effective, then I needed to reframe my view of conflict.

Lencioni’s 5 Dysfunctions of Team really crystallized it for me.  Now we use this very simple and powerful model to build optimal team performance.  Conflict is an ally; a tool for growth:  business results and personal mastery.

And the Thomas-Killman Confict Mode Instrument is a “keep it short and simple” tool to help people understand that they can CHOOSE how to engage in conflict depending on the situation and the relationship. Choices…  It’s liberating to know I don’t have to stay stuck in one behavior that doesn’t serve every situation/relationship.  (See “Our Work” posts – 5 Practices:  Pause-Reflect-Choose and 5 Practices: Be Present.)

Recall those rare moments when you were truly engaged with someone  –a colleague, child, friend, and yes, of course your pet.  Something remarkable was occurring during that engagement:  a deep connection with indescribable feelings/sensations; a near “absence of thought” in your own brain as you simply absorbed the words or sounds or behaviors of the other.

A Zulu greeting seems to capture the essence of what it means to Be Present.  When encountering another person, the greeting is “Sawu bona” (I see you).  The other responds “Sikhona” (I exist).  Until you “see” me (fully take in my being), I do not exist.  Ain’t it the truth:  if you’re not paying attention to me, then I might as well NOT exist, eh?

Imagine!  How rich and robust and remarkable our experience would be if we were fully present with each other.  And let’s add presence with Nature as well.  (I just breathed deeply with relief as I wrote those words.  And glanced skyward to see a prism of rainbow colors reflecting in far away clouds).

By being present we experience the enormous and wondrous power of the moment.  And if it’s a difficult moment, our presence enables us to share the reality with the other (instead of banging heads forcing different realities.)

Here are some quick tips:

• Attune to your body.  You “know” things in your body 5,000 times faster than your brain can translate.  That gut feeling?  It’s signaling the greater truth.
• Attend to your body language and tone in presence with others.  Body language comprises 50% of communication; tone 43%.  Words are worth only 7%.  Wow.
• Ditch the phone while walking with your child, your friend.  A new client  –top tier executive in a large organization– actually met with me with her phone turned off!  “I never have it on when I’m talking with another person.”  Another wow.
• Listen so intently that you can argue the other person’s point of view with passion.  (Thanks, Nancy Badore, my brilliant mentor.)
• Trust that the moment is what it needs to be.  Set aside the distractions; they’ll return if they’re important, I promise.
• Theory U is grounded in the notion of “presence.”  (See post in Optimizing Human Potential)
• Check out Peter Senge et al and the book Presence:  Human Purpose and the Field of the Future.
  

I wonder…  Do accidents (as in mishaps) simply occur out of nowhere, or are they the result of distractions  –not being fully present?  Hmmm.

Theory U* Summary Overview

*Based on the work of Otto Scharmer:  Theory U:  Presencing Emerging Futures

MIT Sloan School of Management News Briefs — July 2005  This article is republished courtesy of MIT Industrial Liaison Program’s MIT technology insider, where it originally appeared. The article was written by Eric Brown.

Using his experience working with some of the world’s most accomplished leaders and innovators, Otto Scharmer shows in Theory U how groups and organizations can develop seven leadership capacities in order to create a future that would not otherwise be possible.

Tapping Our Collective Capacity
We live in a time of massive institutional failure, collectively creating results that nobody wants. Climate change. AIDS. Hunger. Poverty. Violence. Terrorism. Destruction of communities, nature, life — the foundations of our social, economic, ecological, and spiritual well being. This time calls for a new consciousness and a new collective leadership capacity to meet challenges in a more conscious, intentional, and strategic way. The development of such a capacity would allow us to create a future of greater possibilities.

Illuminating the Blind Spot
Why do our attempts to deal with the challenges of our time so often fail? Why are we stuck in so many quagmires today? The cause of our collective failure is that we are blind to the deeper dimension of leadership and transformational change.

This “blind spot” exists not only in our collective leadership but also in our everyday social interactions. We are blind to the source dimension from which effective leadership and social action come into being. We know a great deal about what leaders do and how they do it. But we know very little about the inner place, the source from which they operate. And it is this source that “Theory U” attempts to explore.

The U: One Process, Five Movements
When leaders develop the capacity to come near to that source, they experience the future as if it were “wanting to be born” — an experience called “presencing.” That experience often carries with it ideas for meeting challenges and for bringing into being an otherwise impossible future.

Theory U shows how that capacity for presencing can be developed. Presencing is a journey with five movements:

1.    As the diagram illustrates, we move down one side of the U (connecting us to the world that is outside of our institutional bubble)

2.    to the bottom of the U (connecting us to the world that emerges from within)

3.    On that journey, at the bottom of the U, lies an inner gate that requires us to drop everything that isn’t essential. This process of letting-go (of our old ego and self) and letting-come (our highest future possibility: our Self) establishes a subtle connection to a deeper source of knowing. The essence of presencing is that these two selves — our current self and our best future Self — meet at the bottom of the U and begin to listen and resonate with each other.

4.    Once a group crosses this threshold, nothing remains the same. Individual members and the group as a whole begin to operate with a heightened level of energy and sense of future possibility. Often they then begin to function as an intentional vehicle for an emerging future

5.    and up the other side of the U (bringing forth the new into the world).

Seven Theory U Leadership Capacities
The journey through the U develops seven essential leadership capacities.

1. Holding the space of listening. The foundational capacity of the U is listening. Listening to others. Listening to oneself. And listening to what emerges from the collective. Effective listening requires the creation of open space in which others can contribute to the whole.

2. Observing. The capacity to suspend the “voice of judgment” is key to moving from projection to true observation.

3. Sensing. The preparation for the experience at the bottom of the U — presencing — requires the tuning of three instruments: the open mind, the open heart, and the open will. This opening process is not passive but an active “sensing” together as a group. While an open heart allows us to see a situation from the whole, the open will enables us to begin to act from the emerging whole.

4. Presencing. The capacity to connect to the deepest source of self and will allows the future to emerge from the whole rather than from a smaller part or special interest group.

5. Crystalizing. When a small group of key persons commits itself to the purpose and outcomes of a project, the power of their intention creates an energy field that attracts people, opportunities, and resources that make things happen. This core group functions as a vehicle for the whole to manifest.

6. Prototyping. Moving down the left side of the U requires the group to open up and deal with the resistance of thought, emotion, and will; moving up the right side requires the integration of thinking, feeling, and will in the context of practical applications and learning by doing.

7. Performing. A prominent violinist once said that he couldn’t simply play his violin in Chartres cathedral; he had to “play” the entire space, what he called the “macro violin,” in order to do justice to both the space and the music. Likewise, organizations need to perform at this macro level: they need to convene the right sets of players (frontline people who are connected through the same value chain) and to engage a social technology that allows a multi-stakeholder gathering to shift from debating to co-creating the new.

Theory U Encourages You to Step into the Emerging Future.
Examples of these seven Theory U leadership capacities can be found in a num ber of multi-stakeholder innovations and corporate applications. The Presencing Institute is dedicated to developing these new social technologies by integrating science, consciousness, and profound social change methodologies.  http://www.presencing.com/

The predominant discussion  –and we’re seeing this play out more and more: gender gap differences in communicating.  Phone conversations are disappearing; a meeting  nearly impossible. Instead, the preferred mode is a flurry of email-text exchanges that contain only bits and bytes of information, and often mislead and confuse.  Not to mention that they’re typically written in haste, and while multi-tasking, which means divided attention.

There’s no conversation to fill in the blanks, clarify meaning, enrich context with nuances of voice and mannerisms, emphasize intent.

Ug.

Instead of saving time, the email/text flurry takes more time in attempts to “get clear,” and in the end all we have is a relationship with a keyboard!

When you seek PAA to explore infinite possibilities of partnering for your success, don’t be surprised when we ask: “May we set a date to meet?”  or “Let’s have a phone conversation.”  And we do Skype!

PS – Curious:  How effective is communication (and getting optimal results!) in your workplace?????

It’s May, and for any American fan of Thoroughbred racing that means one thing: the Triple Crown. The first of the races, the Kentucky Derby, was run May 1, followed in short order by the Preakness Stakes on May 15 and the Belmont Stakes on June 5. What better time, then, to compare notes on management with famed horse trainer D. Wayne Lukas?

No one has trained more winners of Triple Crown races than Lukas—his 13th victory with Commendable in the 2000 Belmont Stakes tied the record of training legend “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons. And that’s just the beginning of a long list of accolades attached to his name. His 17 Breeders’ Cup wins make him the all-time winningest trainer in that prestigious series of races, too. In 14 different years, he has been the top trainer in the United States in terms of earnings; his lifetime earnings are now approaching an astonishing $250 million.

Although Lukas’s accomplishments are undeniable, he remains a controversial figure in his industry. Early on, he bucked long-standing traditions and came up with a program unlike any other trainer’s. His willingness to ship horses across the country to compete in fields where they had better chances of prevailing meant more victories, happier clients, and a reputation for success that brought him even better horses. The virtuous cycle, as many of Lukas’s fellow trainers have learned, proved tough to beat.

But what wisdom can a horse trainer offer to a corporate manager? Let’s start with the fact that the very word “manage” has an equine origin. It comes from Latin, by way of the Italian word maneggiare, meaning “to handle, to train horses.” Beyond that, consider that Lukas’s challenge is to spot talent early and develop it into world-class form—despite the fact that the talent in question can be headstrong, sensitive, or, yes, even lazy. But does the connection go any further than etymology and metaphor? To find out, HBR senior editor Julia Kirby asked Lukas about his business model, strategy, client management—and, most of all, what it takes to cultivate winners. Their edited conversation follows.

Julia Kirby: To what extent are winning racehorses born rather than made? How much is your job about strategy—choosing the course for the horse—and how much is it about changing the horse by developing its talents?

D. Wayne Lukas: The most important ingredient, and a lot of people forget this, is the horse himself and his God-given talents. One of the biggest assets a trainer can have is a good eye in the selection process. Some people just have a knack for finding the unproven yearling at a sale, privately, or on a breeding farm. And I’ve been around other people who I thought were pretty good horsemen per se who just can’t see it in the young ones. You have to have a certain amount of vision—it’s like trying to find the next Michael Jordan in the eighth grade.

Now, once you’ve got that established—you’ve got a horse whose conformation is good, whose bloodlines are good, and who looks the part of the athlete—the next step is to develop his full potential. You have to be able to give him what he needs to get to the winner’s circle.

Q: And how do you determine what he needs?

A: First, you have to find out what he does best and what he can do best. Is he a sprinter? Can he run a middle distance? Does early speed confuse him? Or does he like early speed, and that builds his heart up and makes him bolder? Horses that prefer to follow, you sometimes have to train them to lead; those that want to lead, you sometimes have to train them to follow.

What makes it so interesting is that they’re all different. What works for one doesn’t work for another. The biggest thing when you’re training horses is to be very observant. You must pick up on the little things. Everybody’s doing the big things; everybody is going to nail the aerobic heart rate and get the lung capacity up; they’re all going to get things right condition-wise. We all use the same feed companies, and the same veterinarians are available to everybody. And we all use the same blacksmiths, pretty much. So what’s the difference between one guy winning and the other guy just being there? It’s the small things. I can tell by looking at my horses if they’ve lost three or four pounds in two days without weighing them. Every little sign of their lack of energy or overenergy has to be observed and programmed into your thinking about what you will do the next day.

And you have to keep trying different things. That’s one of the things that marks our program: We never give up on a horse. We just keep trying and trying. We’ve got lots of cases to prove that. One example is Spain, who had had a very mediocre career when I got her. She had earned nothing. Now she’s the all-time money-winningest filly in the history of the breed. And the horse I won the Kentucky Derby with in 1999, Charismatic, was pretty much a failure early on in his career. I couldn’t get any kind of production out of him at all. In fact, it got to the point that I even ran him for a claiming price—twice. That meant, according to the rules of the race, that we put a price tag on the horse and anyone who was willing to pay the price could walk away with him. And nobody took him. That’s how poor his form was. But I kept trying different things.

Q: What eventually did the trick?

A: I finally said, “I think this horse is fat and lazy, but I’m going to get him dead fit. I’m going to ask him to do things that he wouldn’t dream of.” And I bore down on him, I drilled him, I treated him with tough love, if you want to call it that—and suddenly I had a fine-tuned athlete that went on to win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness and almost won the Belmont. [...]

Q: When you’re dealing with people, do you sometimes think they’re just like horses? Does it seem like it’s the same set of issues?

A: I think so. You have to know when to back off and when to bear down. When to kick ass, when to pat them on the back, when to hug them, when to chew them out. I think my assistants would tell you that they’ve never had their parents speak to them in the way I have on occasion. But they can make a lot of mistakes and I’ll overlook them. The only thing I really cannot tolerate is a lack of effort. And I don’t tolerate that very well with a horse, either. When it gets to that point, I have to say, Look, this horse is wasting my time. Let’s run him for a claiming tag. Or, this kid is wasting my time. I’m going to send him over to Baffert’s barn.

Q: What’s the thing you’re proudest of?

A: Well, we hold almost every record in racing, but in the past four or five years we have gained a reputation for turning out top assistants. At this point, I’ve got about eleven former assistants out there that are very successful in the business. And it’s getting so, if they come out of our program, people are just gobbling them up. In fact, they’re starting to gobble them up even before they get out of the program.

See, there’s no computer program or video you can buy that demonstrates how to train a horse to win the Kentucky Derby. There just aren’t any how-to books. It’s a trial-and-error, learn-by-experience profession, and a lot of it is handed down. But the problem is that a lot of the great old-timers don’t teach. They never have. My coaching background—I spent ten years as a teacher and a basketball coach—lets me do a lot more teaching than my colleagues.

Make no mistake: I’m competitive with all the trainers out there. This is still a game of experience, and I like to kick their asses whenever I can. I go after them every day—and I like to keep score, too, because that’s what motivates me. But to be truthful, I think the legacy is probably going to come down to turning out all those superstar young guys. Now we’re becoming just as famous for them as we are for our champions. I never thought that was where it was going to go, but it seems like it’s heading that way.

Excerpt reprinted with permission from “Passion for Detail: A Conversation with Thoroughbred Trainer D. Wayne Lukas,” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 82, No. 5, May 2004.