Matthew’s Blog

I am publishing this long lost article from the unpublished archive of this blog.  The bulk of my work these days revolves around sustainability and corporate responsibility consulting.  Interestingly enough a large part of the leadership required to implement sustainability, transparency, and corporate responsibility requires - Followership. ~Matthew Rochte

Followership – the missing leadership component.

Leadership is not about leadership. Leadership books, business school, and coach training always talk about the leadership skills, the attitudes, and the motivations to get people to do things. They call this leadership.

These “leadership skills” are good things that leaders need to know.

However, having successfully run a triple-bottom-line manufacturing firm for 7 years as owner and coach and having been in leadership positions since age 11, I have discovered an interesting phenomenon about leadership – something we don’t talk about in leadership books nor in coach training and certainly not in business school, but we all are aware of on some level. Leadership, ultimately isn’t about leadership.

Leadership is about Followership.

Who is going to follow you and why?
This missing piece ultimately will determine a leader’s success and continued success. We have become myopic in our dissecting of leadership that we have missed the whole point of leadership. We have focused on the content and the image of leadership rather than the substance. So instead of asking “What makes a good leader?,” lets be coach-like and turn this question 90 degrees and ask – “Who do people want to follow?” or “Who would you follow?”

Think about it.

Who do we most admire and want to be around?
Who do we want to or are willing to follow?

We want to follow people of integrity and people in alignment. We all know when people are out of alignment.  Do we want to follow them? We have twisted our understanding of integrity to mean an image rather than its
core substance. And our leadership training programs tend to mold the “leader” in a way to attract the most number of people rather than alignment of the leader with themselves and the community. These programs therefore create leaders who are attractive but lack integrity, because they lack alignment. They lead for a while, because they look right, but eventually we followers start to see inconsistencies, misalignments, and lack of integrity. We become disenchanted, uneasy and stop following them.

We stop following them because of a breakdown and/or exposure of the misalignment and lack of integrity within the individual..

Be-Say-Do:

So now it is time to look at what we mean by integrity.
Integrity is a matter of alignment.
Integrity is an alignment between ones actions, words, and thoughts.

Be-Say-Do
Being in alignment with one’s being, saying, and doing.

In authentic leadership there is integration and consistent alignment with who you are, what you say, and what you do as a leader. An authentic leader’s actions are consistently aligned with who they are, what they say, and what they believe.

This alignment ultimately makes up who you are. People see it, people know it, people sense it. Because it is real. When all these elements are in alignment you are a leader, a natural leader, an authentic leader, and a magnet for followers.

Some Questions To Ponder:

What do you believe? What Thoughts guide you?
Are you true to yourself? Do you betray yourself?
Do you say what needs to be said or do you say what is safe?
Do your actions/ behaviors align with who you are?
Does what you do reflect who YOU are?
What kind of leader do you want to be?

Author: Matthew Rochte

Article originally published in 2004 in Corvus Enterprises Connected Coach

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Take the 16 minutes to watch this film.

A charming, delightful reminder of the impact we have on others.  And, it is a choice.

Validation: A film about the magic of free parking.

Spiritual Cinema Circle has picked it up and is sharing it on their website as well.

Three years ago at the Toronto Film Fest I saw a delightful film called Millions - A magically realism story as only a 7 year old can see it - about ethics, love, being human, and fortune in more ways than one. I just picked it up on dvd and remembered just how charming it was and realized I never posted the review of it.

Want a magical and lift your spirits movie? Rent or Buy Millions. This was one of my favorite movies of the Toronto Film Festival that year. “A heartwarming story of two little boys, faith, miracles . . . a whole lot of money.” It is a charming story told from the perspective of Damian, a 7-year old boy, who uses imagination, fantasy and faith to make sense of his confusing world. When upon receiving a gift from the sky of a suitcase full of cash he and his practical 9 year old brother need to decide what to do with it. The catch, they have seven days before the money becomes worthless as the British pound sterling transitions to euros. This is not a predictable movie, perhaps the final outcome and moral but how they get there is full of unexpected twists, gotcha moments, originality, mysticism, and heartwarming spirit. A truly lovely film. The score is wonderful, the setting is lush and green, and the little actors are enchanting. You won’t regret it.

Trailer: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3734372633/

PS Keep an eye out for some really cool halos.

I’ve been doing “vision” videos for several of the projects I have been working on. The first is for Eat Your Elephant. This fun little vid talks about taking the first steps toward your dream and invites you to come make it real at one of the One Day Public Retreats at Eat Your Elephant. The next retreat being May 10th - Register today.

Have a dream? Make it happen. Eat Your Elephant

This story came in the mail today and thought it was worth repeating. I do not know its origin.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ‘Tell me what you see.’

‘Carrots, eggs, and coffee,’ she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma The daughter then asked, ‘What does it mean, mother?’

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water , they had changed the water.

‘Which are you?’ she asked her daughter. ‘When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength.

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level?

How do you handle adversity?

Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

In my last post I talked about Malcolm Cohan and his coming to Minnesota.  I also said he was re-editing some of his earlier works.  Well today he just released one of the them.  It’s awesome.   It speaks to what he’s up to.

I just love the backdrop this round.

Malcolm Cohan, Vision Story creator extraordinaire, is coming in from Australia to meet all of us wonderful thought leaders and change magicians! Malcolm is the Visionary who started the ViSION Statement craze on YouTube. Malcolm is helping people create POWERFUL Vision Story/ Statement videos.

I was introduced to this man when George Johnson sent me this link along the lines of “You’ve gotta see this! You’re really going to align with this guy!” Boy was he right!

At the time Malcolm’s website had three really powerful vision stories that just knocked my socks off. One was called “Think It So” and the other “Vision for Humanity. The second made me cry. He is currently redoing those two movies and will show the later at our gathering, but I found a copy of the original Vision for Humanity on google.

George was so inspired that I think he is becoming Malcolm’s business manager. George has a 2 minute talk about why he invited Malcolm to come to Minnesota. view video

Malcolm will be here for about a week where he’ll be meeting with the great thought leader energy that Minnesota attracts and keeps.

COME MEET HIM!

George and I have coordinated, well mostly George, an introduction to Malcolm evening program at Horst Rechelbacher’s (founder of Aveda) newest endeavor Intelligent Nutrients. If you haven’t been there you are in for a real treat! Amazing atmosphere, great food, and conscious business.

It will be from 5-7 Tuesday evening the 5th of June at The IN with free hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS.

Preregister with me if you want to come to the Tuesday evening event so we get a proper head count.

What is a Vision Story/Statement?
It’s an awesome little movie that you make about your future. Write down some very bold statements about what you want, combine this with powerful royalty free images, add in a music track that totally inspires you and there you have your audacious vision of the future.

Want to see some examples click on any of the movies on Malcolm’s homepage, these were all made by students, colleagues, friends of Malcolm.  They are awesome.
http://www.malcolmcohan.com.  If you come to Rocket Ship Minnesota you can learn how to make one too.

Rocket Ship Minnesota Seminar
Malcolm will also be giving on SUNDAY the 10th of June at the Holiday Inn Select (MCA’s new home) in Bloomington from 10am-6pm. Malcolm calls these seminars Rocket Ships because it will take you to a place you have never been before. In this seminar you will learn how to make a ViSION Statement Video and about Malcolm’s “Vision for Humanity.”
To register for the seminar and to learn more about Malcolm goto www.entrevis.com