June 2013 The Authentic Leadership Series Personal Leadership Development for the Purpose of Individual and Workplace Transformation The Four Agreements: Leveraging Toltec Wisdom to Help Build Transformational Leaders and Sustainable Business Leadership style is a personal and necessary expedition that often requires trial and error, introspection and guidance. In this ninth issue of the Authentic Leadership Series, I speak with American Public University System Vice President Terry Grant to discuss leadership transformation based on the four principles that define her distinctive leadership style and the culture of her high-performing enrollment management and student support organization. Q: Did you always approach your leadership style this way? Terry: I don’t see myself as being different from any other person on my team. Like them, I’m just another human being trying to get my job done. I don’t believe that there has to be a pecking order. In working shoulder-to-shoulder, side-by-side, we achieve better results. That is not to suggest that this leadership style relieves me of decision-making or other responsibilities. I do have responsibility to and for my teams, but I strive to be a different kind of leader—an authentic leader. For me, authenticity in my leadership style means that I am the same person no matter where I am and that I express the same values no matter what circumstance I’m in. I don’t like to compartmentalize different facets of my life. Too many of us compartmentalize our lives. We project one persona in our civic lives, which is different from the one at work or the one at home. I used to do that, but found that it’s a lot of work and relationships to juggle. It’s neither authentic nor sustainable. I focus on living one life. Terry: No, I haven’t always embraced this leadership style. I was well into my own professional journey when I went through a period of crisis. My career was established, but I was at a crossroads. I was managing people, but I suddenly found myself being assigned tasks that were at odds with my values and belief system. I also was wearing many hats that just weren’t me. I kept wondering—how was I going to manage all of this and still be able to look at myself in the mirror and be happy with what I saw? It was around that time that I happened upon “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz. He’s a genius author. The book is based on Toltec wisdom. The Toltecs were an ancient Mesoamerican civilization that pre-dated the Aztecs. I have to be honest. When I first started reading it I thought, “Okay, this is a lot of mythical mumbo jumbo.” His message is told in a literary way, but it also provided content 1 | American Public University that was applicable to my own circumstances. The more I read, the more it clicked for me. I realized that becoming an authentic leader meant bringing my whole self to every part of my life whether it was at work, at home or in my community. I realized that I could be myself and still maneuver through the world while progressing in my career. I could do it all by practicing “The Four Agreements.” Q: What’s the premise of The Four Agreements and how were you able to apply it to your career? Terry: The premise of Don Miguel’s book is that life is merely an illusion. We’ve heard variations of that adage before. Mark Twain was quoted as saying, “I have had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.” The way we react to issues is often the cause of our problems, not the issue itself. The issue could be work, spouse, kids or finances. I’ve discovered that 95 percent of our problems are caused by our reactions—the stories we ©2013 American Public University Q: How do you incorporate concepts of authenticity in your leadership style? The Authentic Leadership Series tell ourselves to justify or explain something that did or did not happen. This concept is addressed in “The Four Agreements.” We believe what we believe because we’ve agreed to it. For example, I once considered myself to be a high-achiever with low selfesteem. I believed negative things that were said to me or about me. I believed I was too big or too loud or that somehow I was not worthy. On some level, I had agreed that the people who felt that way about me were right and that I did need to feel bad about myself. What I ultimately learned was that we don’t have to agree with all of that. We all have a choice, and a voice, regardless of our roles or titles and being an authentic leader means finding and exercising both in a personal and professionally meaningful way. Q: What are The Four Agreements? I. Be Impeccable With Your Word Terry: The first agreement is a tall order, but to be impeccable with your word means to tell the truth. It’s not gossiping or being negative. It’s being truthful, constructive and in alignment with your values by meaning what you say and saying what you mean. Authentic leadership is about being comfortable with telling people what’s real instead of telling them what they want to hear. It’s total honesty without being hurtful, manipulative, prideful or boastful. In an organization, how many employees are afraid to talk to their manager about their coaching needs? The reality is, it’s okay to talk about what you need and it’s okay to talk about expectations and what is real to you. Words are incredibly powerful. They can create our reality and influence and inspire others to create their realities. So, the first rule is always be impeccable with the words you speak. II. Don’t Take Anything Personally We all work in a team dynamic, which means occasionally, we encounter the spreading of misinformation and gossip. It’s a byproduct of human nature and will always remain a challenge for any leader to ensure that these types of issues don’t erode team confident and trust. Part of my responsibility is helping individuals understand that they should never Personal Leadership Development for the Purpose of Individual and Workplace Transformation take things personally. When confronted with this issue, I often tell others, “If someone says something hurtful, then it says more about the speaker than it does about the listener.” For example, when people are resisting change and they don’t like your ideas, just remember, it’s not about you. It’s about them and their difficulty in adopting change. Your job is to exercise great self-awareness and situational awareness so that you can navigate the conversation or experience things in a way that yields the highest and most productive outcome. Fortunately, our team has averaged a very low turnover; five percent over 11 years when the average shelf life of an employee in our industry is 18 months. We’re by no means perfect, but it’s important for leaders to proactively minimize conflict and the Second Agreement is a key component. We strive to minimize conflict while still continuing to effectively communicate. If there’s something wrong or performance is not meeting expectations, we tell you the minute we see it. It becomes a way of life. It’s not a management theory or a book that has been on the best sellers list for 52 weeks and people forget about it once the next best book hits the stands. We practice and deal with disagreements and issues related to the group dynamic consistently. And it’s a two-way conversation. People sometimes think it’s up to the leaders to do it all. It’s not. It’s all about you, the individual. Not taking things personally—it’s probably the most powerful skill anyone can possess at any level of their personal leadership journey. It’s not always easy; but that level of detachment as an objective observer will help you see things more clearly. III. Don’t Make Assumptions If you don’t understand then clarify, clarify, clarify. People make the most errors when they assume too much because they’re too afraid to ask questions. If everyone in the workplace asked questions rather than made assumptions, most any organization would be much more effective. I believe it’s a leader’s responsibility to develop a mindset and culture of transparency, accountability and trust. Like many other organizations, we have an open-door policy. But it’s much more than that. It’s creating an authentic environment where employees feel confident that they can ask their manager anything. And if a manager is unavailable, rather than make an assumption, individuals should feel they can talk to another leader or mentor without upsetting the chain of command. Unfortunately, these are the types of non-technical, soft skills that training usually doesn’t cover. No one ever taught me not to go there in my head and yet these are the root causes of many human relationship barriers in the first place. Leaders need to develop conversations and build training around focusing on what is actually present compared to what we create based on assumptions. Why is the conversation always secondary when, in fact, the most effective leaders possess the quality of assuming nothing? Often, it’s because organizations have a difficult time measuring the return on investment for leadership development and strengthening of non-technical skills in a way that directly maps to the broader institutional strategy. There’s no single metric you can apply to measure it, but as a leader, you know its importance. IV. Always Do Your Best Be optimistic and remember that you’re going to have varying degrees of what your best day looks like. Your best when you have the flu or are totally stressed will look different from your best when you’re feeling 100 percent and balanced. Doing your best requires a strong sense of self-awareness and situational awareness. As authentic leaders, it’s about constantly checking yourself and encouraging teams to do the same. Too often we let one or two negative issues define the quality of our day which, in turn, affects the quality of our work and work relationships. Rather than categorize a day as good or bad, we should embrace the concept of good days and better days. If someone feels they had a bad day—okay. Reset and try again tomorrow. We’ve created an environment that is comfortable and a team of people that want to come to work. Living this philosophy and setting up a positive space in which to operate will reinforce and reward hard work. I believe this is a crucial part of authentic leadership. American Public University | 2 ©2013 American Public University June 2013 The Authentic Leadership Series Personal Leadership Development for the Purpose of Individual and Workplace Transformation Q: How do you apply these theories so that they’re tangible in the everyday work environment? Terry: Conceptually, these principles make sense, but what do they look like in practice? It’s one thing to discuss them as a leader, but how do you introduce the concepts and tools that make sense for your organization and empower your team members? For us, it started with a formal presentation for the entire team. Now, for new employees, it begins with team orientation. The presentation includes activities that allows them to explore “The Four Agreements,” but in their own lives. It’s critical that as leaders we provide opportunities for individuals to personalize these concepts. I also bring my own personal style to the discussion, and honestly, I prefer to disclose more than most leaders. I talk about both the challenges and the progress I wanted to make in my career. This demonstrates my endorsement and belief in the culture we’re building together as a team. We all play an important role and whether I’m a senior executive or a new entry-level team member, everyone understands that our words and actions have more power than we realize. We walk the talk by making every voice heard. And we’re transparent, so much so, that we encourage others to find materials and personal lessons that are reflective of our mission statements and share them with the team. Q: Does one agreement hold greater priority or value than another? Terry: As leaders we must think holistically and apply all aspects equally. If I focus solely on one agreement, I’m not going to create the workplace existence that I want. Whether or not it’s “The Four Agreements” or another approach, it’s essential that leaders have an authentic strategy that is inclusive and easy to understand so that it’s translatable to any personal situation. Leadership rarely spends the amount of time it takes to really talk about values. It’s not enough to know the lexicon. You have to have these skills developed and ensure you’re developing your managers, which is absolutely critical, by giving them the tools they need. It also takes commitment. We hold ourselves to a different standard and that means we must constantly reinforce our behaviors, training and strategic planning. When we talk about team values, we must refresh and revisit them often. Q: Are there other must-read books that you find are invaluable to workplace leaders? Terry: I recommend “True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership” by Bill George, Peter Sims and David Gergen. I also like “The One-Life Solution” by Henry Cloud. “The Six Secrets of Change” by Michael Fullan is also an excellent guide for dealing with change leadership and honing the skills needed to manage change. “The Four Agreements” by far had the greatest impact on my leadership ability. It helped me build relationships I otherwise couldn’t and it gave me credibility and made me real to my team. I can’t recall anything else that I’ve taught or presented that has had the same level of impact especially considering that people today are hesitant to talk about belief systems and spirituality in the workplace. These things play a role in creating a well-balanced person and a well-balanced life. We have to find ways to incorporate viewing the whole person in the workplace and in ways that aren’t going to make others feel uncomfortable. Not enough of us have dug deep enough into ourselves on our own to do this kind of thinking about how we relate to the rest of the world. It’s hard work, and putting the real you out there can be risky. Authenticity takes courage. 3 | American Public University Terry Grant Featured Guest Terry Grant serves as Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Support for American Public University System. In her role, Terry oversees the operations of the Enrollment Management Department, which includes the Prospect Management, Undergraduate Admissions, Graduate Admissions and International Admissions teams for both American Public University and American Military University. Under Terry’s unique leadership style, her team experiences turnover rates that are significantly below average with many team members averaging tenures of eight years or more. Enrollment has also grown from approximately 10,000 students in 2002 to more than 110,000 in 2013 under her stewardship. Terry has more than 15 years’ experience in higher education and has worked in Student Services, Admissions, Financial Aid and as interim Registrar and adjunct faculty at both public and private institutions. She also served on the Board of Directors of Circle of Hope Therapeutic Riding; a nationally accredited non-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing equine-assisted therapies to children and adults with developmental, psychological or physical disabilities and is a frequent speaker at higher education industry conferences. Terry has a Bachelor of Arts in Behavioral Science from the University of Maine at Machias and a Master of Science in Higher Education from the Goodwin College of Professional Studies of Drexel University where she specialized in Enrollment Management. Michelle Maldonado Series Creator Michelle Maldonado is the creator of The Authentic Leadership Series and serves as Associate Vice President of the Corporate and Strategic Relationships team for American Public University. She is a former practicing attorney with more than 17 years of leadership experience in strategic planning, operations and partnership development across the education, technology, and online media industries. Michelle is passionate about talent development, coaching, and mentoring of professionals to support individual growth and success. Utilizing an authentic and consultative approach, Michelle collaborates with industry organizations to form education alliances that support overall talent and institutional growth strategies. To learn more about how American Public University’s programs and services may help you, please visit: www. StudyAtAPU.com/Solutions or contact Michelle at mmaldonado@apus. edu. James Thompson Contributing Writer James Thompson is Senior Writer and Content Strategist at American Public University with more than 16 years’ experience as a communications leader, marketing copywriter and creative author. He draws insights from his executive experience leading human resources and corporate communications, and recruitment and talent management programs for Fortune 500 organizations. If you would like to receive future monthly issues of The Authentic Leadership Series, please visit: http://onlinecareertips.com/tag/authentic-leadership-series/ ©2013 American Public University June 2013