We live in an age of greatly opposing forces. On one hand, we find ourselves in the midst of ever-increasing knowledge, capabilities, and access. On the other hand, stubborn thinking and selfish acts continue to place serious limits on our potential for growth.
Fred Keller, the CEO of Cascade Engineering, the company that I work for, has helped me form a good starting point for understanding what it means for 21st century leaders to be valuable and effective in these complex and often turbulent
times. Paraphrasing concepts put forth by thought-leader Otto Scharmer, I have heard Fred say things along the lines of "we must encourage the adoption of values that benefit not only oneself,
but benefit the whole system, including oneself." On this notion I elaborate to include values such as:
·
honesty;
·
sincerity;
·
empathy;
·
creativity;
·
mindfulness;
·
conscientiousness;
·
objective
reasoning;
·
critical
thinking;
·
open-mindedness;
·
universal
collaboration;
·
emotional
intelligence;
·
deliberate
action;
·
commitment to
the personal and professional development of others; and
·
a desire to
affect change for the betterment of all life on earth.
Together, these core
values inform the necessary approach of contemporary leadership. Leaders, new
and seasoned alike, ought to realize that they are a part of a global
ecosystem, and that their role is to provide opportunities that enable the
personal and professional growth of as many people as possible, thereby
collectively closing the gap between the aspirations and realities of people
across the globe. This idea of whole system advancement is already being
propagated with a particularly compelling and esteemed leadership model
referred to as, “servant-leadership.” Robert Greenleaf (1904-1990) first coined
the term servant leadership. The Robert K. Greenleaf Center for servant-leadership
continues his legacy, its website stating:
“A servant-leader
focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to
which they belong. While traditional leadership generally involves the
accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid,” servant
leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of
others first, and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.”
One person who embodies the
values of servant-leadership is Muhammad Yunus, a global figure who was also introduced to me by Mr. Keller. Yunus is the founder of Grameen Bank, a bank for the poor in Bangladesh. “Grameen” is the Bangla word for
“village,” or, “rural” so, the literal translation of “Grameen Bank” into
English is along the lines of, “Rural Village Bank.” As stated on their
website, The Grameen Bank is dedicated to achieving the following objectives:
extend banking facilities to poor men and women;
eliminate the exploitation of the poor by money lenders;
create opportunities for self-employment for the vast multitude of unemployed people in rural Bangladesh;
bring the disadvantaged, mostly the women from the poorest households, within the fold of an organizational format which they can understand and manage by themselves; and
reverse the age-old vicious circle of "low income, low saving & low investment", into virtuous circle of "low income, injection of credit, investment, more income, more savings, more investment, more income".
Since its founding in 1979, Grameen Bank has proven to be
effective in achieving its objectives. This excerpt from the “introduction”
page on their website provides insight into the philosophy, structure, and
operations of the Bank:
Grameen Bank has 2,565 branches serving over 8,349,000 borrowers, 97% of them women. 90% of Bank’s shares are owned by the borrowers, the other 10% is owned by the Bangladeshi government. These millions of loans provide micro-financing for “micro-preneurs,” enabling beggars, and rural people who once had next-to-nothing, to start successful, sustainable enterprises for them benefit of their own families and communities.
“Grameen Bank (GB) has reversed conventional banking practice by removing the need for collateral and created a banking system based on mutual trust, accountability, participation and creativity. GB provides credit to the poorest of the poor in rural Bangladesh, without any collateral. At GB, credit is a cost effective weapon to fight poverty and it serves as a catalyst in the overall development of socio-economic conditions of the poor who have been kept outside the banking orbit on the ground that they are poor and hence not bankable.”
Grameen Bank has 2,565 branches serving over 8,349,000 borrowers, 97% of them women. 90% of Bank’s shares are owned by the borrowers, the other 10% is owned by the Bangladeshi government. These millions of loans provide micro-financing for “micro-preneurs,” enabling beggars, and rural people who once had next-to-nothing, to start successful, sustainable enterprises for them benefit of their own families and communities.
Yunus is internationally recognized for the change
he has affected in Bangladesh, and for his conception of Social Business. Yunus
believes that the focus on making money is the most critical flaw in our
current business systems, and he maintains that although important, it should
not be business’ sole purpose. When
asked about the difference between social enterprise and social business in an
interview with Time Magazine editor, Rana Foroohar, Yunus simply states:
Yunus draws a clear distinction between social enterprises, and social businesses when he goes on to elaborate that while social enterprises may be oriented toward social goals, they still pay dividends. Social businesses pay out NO dividends, with all profits going directly back into the company. Transcribed from the same interview with Foroohar:
“social businesses are created to solve problems, not to make money.”
Yunus draws a clear distinction between social enterprises, and social businesses when he goes on to elaborate that while social enterprises may be oriented toward social goals, they still pay dividends. Social businesses pay out NO dividends, with all profits going directly back into the company. Transcribed from the same interview with Foroohar:
“We can create a different kind of business, which is not money-centered, but which is solution-centered – which is still a business, but a business to solve problems in a sustainable way – the money can remain in the system and continue… I am calling it social business. Social business is about the solution of problems, it runs as a business, but the profit stays with the company – no dividend – so, it is a non-loss, non-dividend company to solve social problems.”
I believe that the
adoption of Servant Leadership and Social Business will both work to rapidly accelerate
change to a meaningful scale. Servant Leadership is something that all leaders
can begin practicing immediately, and because Servant Leadership is simply a “way-of-doing”
and “frame-of-mind,” the barriers-to-adoption that exist are not tangible
infrastructure, or even bureaucratic, but exist fully within oneself. It is
important to overcome self-serving constructs and paradigms, selfishness, stubbornness,
becoming actively aware of the dangers of saying and thinking things like, “because
that’s the way it has always been done.” Becoming a servant leader is something
that anyone can simply decide to do, and the more people that decide
to become Servant Leaders, the better off the entire system will be.
In my current role at
Cascade Engineering, I am exposed to Servant Leadership on a daily basis, there
is a strong emphasis placed on the personal and professional development of all
people within the company, I am very grateful to work at a place that "walks the
walk" when it comes to the “people” aspect of being a Triple Bottom Line company. There is a lot to believe in here. It was within the walls of Cascade Engineering that I was introduced
to both Servant Leadership, and Yunus’ Social Business. I had the honor
of collaborating with Fred Keller, in developing the
visual presentation that accompanied his TEDx Grand Rapids talk, earlier this
year. During the process of developing the presentation, Mr. Keller opened my eyes to many concepts, frameworks, and insights regarding sustainable business
and leadership.
In his TEDx talk, Mr. Keller says, “The seminal concept is to be able to move from a system where the key thing is the advancement of self, to a system where the key thing is the advancement of all – the whole system.” I agree with this notion, and believe that the adoption of this approach and mentality is ultimately the single most significant choice that can be made - the advancement of the whole system truly embodies what "thinking for tomorrow" is all about. With Servant Leaders like Mr. Keller who are driven to empower, inspire, and guide the next generation, I am confident that the "handing of the torch" will ensure a brightly lit future.
In his TEDx talk, Mr. Keller says, “The seminal concept is to be able to move from a system where the key thing is the advancement of self, to a system where the key thing is the advancement of all – the whole system.” I agree with this notion, and believe that the adoption of this approach and mentality is ultimately the single most significant choice that can be made - the advancement of the whole system truly embodies what "thinking for tomorrow" is all about. With Servant Leaders like Mr. Keller who are driven to empower, inspire, and guide the next generation, I am confident that the "handing of the torch" will ensure a brightly lit future.
