Dialogue Dilemma #2

[steve gardiner]

A highly interactive group participated in the Forum’s second Dilemma
Dialogue, “Doing Versus Knowing- Aligning Values and Actions”.
Facilitated by John Harvey, the questions posed to the group were
taken from the work of Doug Lennick, author of “Moral Intelligence:
Enhancing Business Performance and Leadership Success”, who will be
joining us at Silver Bay this July.

Doug has a very informative website: www.lennickaberman.com

Here are just a few of the comments from the dialogue. Please feel
free to add your thoughts or pose additional questions so we can
continue this productive conversation online.

Your professional work needs to be aligned with your values

The largest determination of success is an internal sense of self-
efficacy. If you don’t
have this, it cuts off creativity. So, we need to take care of our
own mental
processes.

One person said that it occurred to him that he could no longer stay
in a profession
where he taught healthcare processionals how to deal with diseased
people- his values
were moree attuned to teach people how to avoid getting sick in the
first place. He
made the shift in careers. At first, he was “poorer, but happier”.

Sometimes you have to leave an organization. Misalignment with values
can creep
up on you until it smacks you in the face.

When you are in transition, it is very important to have an
“accountability partner”-
someone who will tell you the truth.

There is a challenge when you’re in transition- how do you balance the
need for a job
with self- fulfillment? How much do you hold out for what you really
want?

When in transition, this environment calls for creativity to {land the
ideal job that is aligned with your values}. It is hard, but not
impossible. For example, there are stunning opportunities in the
green economy. Or perhaps you need to find opportunities to
collaborate with others.

We can take a lesson from chaos theory. There are 3 directions to go
during a crisis: stay the same; get worse, or get better. There is
always an option for growth.

You need to visualize where you really want to be. Keep I mind, if
you do accept a new position—it’s a journey, the next job isn’t
necessarily the end.
Being with the right people is 80% [of making a job decision]. That’s
why “reverse interviewing is so important.

Job descriptions represent 40% of the job- you can fashion the job.

Note: after a few more comments, John walked the group through Doug
Lennick’ s Alignment Model. Rather that do it an injustice by briefly
highlighting here, there is a great one page depiction of the model on
Doug’s website: www.lennickaberman.com

Please check it out—see how you are aligned with your “Moral Compass”.

Thanks to all who participated in the Dialogue.

And, please add your comments or questions to this page.

See you tomorrow with some brief thoughts from Dilemma Dialogue # 3


Steve