For Leaders, change has manifested as a challenging uphill battle with intensifying competition for market share, volatility in the financial markets, and escalating uncertainty. All causative factors of increasingly demotivated employees and plummeting innovation. Most of our hours are spent on putting out fires and holding onto what we've got for dear life. Now more than ever before, understanding this change is key to harnessing its power.

The Shaman at Work

By falling victim to the prevalent contagious cultural malaise of disillusionment, discontent and disenchantment, many of us have invited the Shaman into our work lives. His ideal environment is a workplace which, although flattened, has become soulfully barren and rigidly constrictive, where commitment and joy are all but gone. Employees are asked to do too much with far too little, so their goal is just to make it through the day-and get out!

This 40 year-old's comments capture the essence of what's happening in the work-world. "I just got the promotion I've been dreaming of-a substantial raise, a new title and more responsibility. Am I happy? No way! Instead of a 60-hour workweek, now I'll have an 80-hour workweek! I want a life!"

Over 80% of people in the US dread going to work on Monday morning. In Europe the percentage is even higher.
—	Gallop Poll

The malaise is corrupting our system, showing up at work as poor productivity, lackluster innovation and loss of purpose. In our lives its presence is heralded by steadily increasing occurrences of addictive behaviors, (such as substance abuse and thrill seeking), and a widespread viral dis-ease that manifests through Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia and other autoimmune system breakdowns.

All living systems, when perturbated or shaken up enough, will breakdown into dissipative entities - and fragment. We are in the midst of a massive societal shake up that is impacting everything - industry, business, society, and government. Systems that once worked are now breaking down.

Recent headlines tell the story of the quaking shifts in financial services causing reverbations around the globe:

• JP Morgan gains Bear Stearns wealth unit
• UBS said to be preparing for possible investment bank sale
• Credit crunch dents billionaire fortunes
• Analysts predict private banking pain

The paradigm shift rate is now doubling every decade. Surprisingly few people account for that idea in their projections.
—	Ray Kurzweil World Future Society

Renaissance Leadership - Pioneering Through Change

I'd like to believe that our organizational powerhouses are radically reorienting their operating systems; demonstrating their own accountability and respond-ability by putting people, the environment and sustainability first and foremost. But it takes gutsy leadership to bring a sputtering outmoded top-down, "silo" system into balance…are our current leaders up for the challenge?

My mentor and beloved teacher, Dr. W. Edwards Deming, used to say, "95% of all problems and failures in business are system failures-they have nothing to do with the individual manager or worker. Only the leader can change the system." To make a difference in business, leaders must first make a difference in themselves and genuinely 'walk their talk'.

A top Senior Executive who is a mover and shaker in the profit world observed "Not one of my top quality of life "must haves" are in my current position! And I've given my whole life to this job. Now what do I do?" To answer her question broadly, those in power must establish an intrinsic purpose for themselves - a vision based on the credo of "adding value" for the long term. Once their personal vision is established, they may do the same for their organizations.

Given a big enough 'Why', the people will create the 'How'.
—	Nietzsche

Change is the Air

When I speak to professionals like you who are ready to change their world, I find that while there were variations in each grouping, in terms of position, (eg, Baby-Boomer CEO's and self-made Entrepreneurs, (solo or firm,) senior managers of large organizations and community leaders, etc.), academic background, ethnicity and lifestyle, there were startling commonalties. The overwhelming majority of the audience were "mid-lifers", between 40 and 65 years of age, who revealed that they, like much of our society, have succumbed to the cultural malaise of disillusionment, discontent and disenchantment. All came looking for answers, some came looking for the right questions to ask.

Reality Bytes - in Mid-life!

Although folks of all ages are in the process of questioning their quality of life and seeking purposeful work, the majority of us are firmly rooted in mid-life. Mid-life is a typically the time when we begin to turn inward, seeking a new paradigm or transcendental cause in which we can anchor the second "half" of our lifespan. Our lives become unstable and intensely uncomfortable as we recreate and replace existing paradigms, moving "beyond" what we have known. Although frequently stressful, this transition gives us the opportunity re-invent, innovate and to access our as yet untapped potential. Demographically speaking, the number of mid-lifers is approaching a critical mass. We have the "people-power" necessary to effect global transformation. Leveraging the "possibility" of our personal transitions with our collective power will produce sustainable and mutually beneficial outcomes.

During my one of my teleseminars, one woman's comments mirrored her cohorts concerns, " I'm 41 and I'm finished! I can't get a good job!" Another chimed in with "I'm a 52 year old top-level executive and I feel washed up!" A 57 yr old on the senior management team shared, "I'm at the top of my game in the change management arena, but no one else in the company shares my views, now what do I do?" Then a man who loves his work offered, "I'm 63…without working, I have nothing! So what's next for me?" Regardless of age or position, all of these professionals wanted to move past their resistance and progress along the change continuum, learning and re-learning how to live their lives in new and fulfilling ways. Common questions from those on the change continuum are: "How can I make a difference?" and, "How do I need to change or grow to really make my future work?"

It's not just how much you know, but how soon you know it.
—	Karen Sands

Where are YOU on The Change Continuum?

Clueless… Considering… In the Midst… Nearing Completion… On the Other Side…

Continuous change allows our lives to grow and unfold naturally. At a deep level we may "know" that change is necessary and either "go with the flow" or resist, becoming temporarily or chronically "stuck". Others have no idea that change is needed or even that it is coming!

Discontinuous change is triggering unprecedented transitions for each and every one of us, right now, in our work lives, at home, societally and culturally. Many of us suffer through these transitions in silence, agonizing in isolation over "what's next".

Awareness, gained through self-assessment, can alleviate our suffering, if not our symptoms. By determining where we are and what we're facing, we can be better prepared and equipped to weather the storms of change when they touch down.

Undergoing a personal transition or "course correction" is challenging. Not only must you conduct ongoing self-assessments to determine what you want, you must then go out and get it! The growing awareness and need for course corrections has created phenomenal growth in the businesses of Coaching and Mentoring. Having an objective, experienced guide when traversing the slippery slopes of transition helps many people rappel through their life re-invention with far less bumps and bruises.

Self-Assessment - A "Quality" Life's Foundation

Anyone committed to his or her future success and fulfillment must conduct regular self-assessments. Human beings are self-correcting systems. We self-correct by knowing what's going on at any given moment. Self-assessment is like a litmus test indicating whether we are in or out of balance, it checks for causal factors that lie outside our normal range of highs and lows. By removing or correcting these "outliers", we will consistently increase the quality of our lives and re-connect to what really matters.

Traumatic transitions come as a result of not being aware! When we are buried in the day-to-day minutia, disconnected from the "big picture", change seems to come "out of nowhere". By taking the time to become aware and "tune in", we will hear our SoulSpeakSM and will be re-directed to our core values. This soul connection will become our personal guidance system, helping us re-claim our purpose, re-ignite our passions and move more easily from transition to transformation and finally, transmutation.

After assessing where you are and determining where you want to go, creating a checklist will help you bridge the gap. Continual awareness of the present coupled with clear goals for the future will give you the foresight and wisdom to become a Renaissance Leader. Having designed your own future you will be able to help others chart the courses of their destinies. You can help people prepare for turbulent weather, by creating a forecast, so they won't be continually buffeted by the winds of change.

Doing Your Self-Assessment

Conducting your own self-assessment is as simple as taking your temperature. You simply Stop, Look and Listen - then take a multifaceted reality check of your mind, body and soul. Several assessment tools are available to aid you in this process. You can self-direct your self assessment using my Future Works' QLQ Assessments, or you could seek out professional assistance from a masterful guide: a certified Master Coach (MCC) or a certified career counselor who specializes in transformation and reinvention.

Renaissance Leadership for Global Change

We, as individuals, a society and a planetary system, are entering another evolutionary stage. Our mid-life is a time for re-evaluating where we are and where we are headed. Most of us are entering a time of turning inward, re-connecting to nature and living by fundamental values as old as the Ten Commandments.

True to Erickson's critical tasks of adult development, this is a time of life when we must choose between frustration and generativity. My clients, from Baby-Boomer CEO's and self-made Entrepreneurs to Media Executives, Community Leaders and Service Professionals, Artists and aspiring Generation X'ers, all crave the opportunity to Make a Difference. Each of them comes to satiate an excruciating spiritual thirst. All are seeking ways to express their soul-felt visions for the future, integrating adding value with material success. Spaceship Earth's likelihood of survival depends on all of us harnessing our awesome power and pulling together.

Shifting our behemoth organizations and our more entrepreurial brethern from a "win-lose" to a 'we are in this together' mind-set will take time, a lot of time. Rather than wishing and waiting for them to move from 'emergency to emergence', we need to build new models and make the personal changes that will usher us into the new paradigm. It appears that those who by-pass the existing system are creating such models. Who is better qualified to lead the way but the 'Movers and Shakers" who lead our organizations and are at the helm of our entrepreneurial enterprises.

"In times of renaissance, when the landscape of future history stands vast and open before us, we have a rare opportunity to put our imagination to work reinventing ourselves and our civilization"
—	Jean Houston

Making Your Future Work!

For the past 30+ years I have focused on individual and collective transitions and transformations, helping people overcome challenges, make changes and maximize their quality of life. My company, The Future Works Institute, is devoted to "Making Your Future Work". I would be delighted to partner with you and/or your people to chart your course, expose your mission, inspire your vision, and powerfully launch YOUR future. Please call me at 1-203-266-1100 to schedule an assessment or a coaching session.

"You can wait for the future to happen, or you can shape it."
—	Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group