Creating Identities

By Dr. Marlene Caroselli

How can you creatively use language to demonstrate leadership?
Let us count the ways…

WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE NATION IS GOOD FOR THE ORGANIZATION

It was poet John Ciardi who asserted, "Tell me how much a nation knows about its own language, and I will tell you how much that nation cares about its own identity." If the word "organization" is substituted for "nation," Ciardi's observation has just as much merit. Of course, he is not the first to recognize the inter-connections between language and leadership.

In John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address, he pointed out that where power corrupts, poetry cleanses. And Max DePree, the CEO-turned-bestselling-author ( Leadership Is an Art), speaks of the dangers of corporate entropy. Such entropy is evident, he maintains, in "a loss of respect for the English language." And Tom Peters, as quoted in The Language of Leadership, asserts, "A leader has only his or her language (the language of words and consistent, supporting deeds) as a 'tool.' To say that language is everything for the leader is not overstatement. It is fact."

THE CREATIVE LEADER AS BRIDGE

If the Welsh proverb is correct in claiming that whoever would be a leader must also be a bridge, then today's leader--at the nexus of two millennia--is in the perfect position to bridge the old and the new. And because the year 2000 is not a once-in-a-lifetime event but rather a once-in-twelve-lifetimes event, it affords unique opportunities to explore history by exploring language creatively. As a living bridge between the past and the future, you function, in a sense, like Janus, the Roman god who appeared on ancient coins with a dual profile--with one side looking to the year that just ended and the other looking toward the year about to begin. (The month of January is named after this backward/forward looking god.)

How can you creatively use language to demonstrate leadership? Let us count the ways. You could sponsor a competition for individuals or teams throughout the organization. Ask them to engage in the kind of tribal storytelling Max DePree speaks of. In other words, have them record the anecdotes that best reveal what the company stands for. What person, in what position, in what year, saying or doing what thing best captures the corporate identity or the "irreducible essence" on which the organization was founded?

What incident best reveals organizational values? What customer story best reflects brand loyalty? You could have one prize in each of several categories. More importantly, though, the collection of stories could be collated in a scrapbook and proudly kept in the lobby for viewing by internal/ external customers as well as suppliers and other visitors.

There are other ways, too, to build a verbal time capsule to bridge this momentous epoch. Consider what the Rochester chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) is doing. At an upcoming meeting, attendees will work in groups to discuss/ develop/record their ideas, using certain literary constructs as a guide. One group, for example, will work with chiasmus, or the turnaround phrase, such as Jesse Jackson's unforgettable assertion: "I was born in the slums but the slums were not born in me." Or Jimmy Carter's conviction that "America did not invent civil rights. Civil rights invented America." Or Mardy Grothe's warning, "Never let a fool kiss you or a kiss fool you."

Here's how Dorothy Madden, founder and owner of ORGANIZE IT! in Rochester, New York, expresses one of the tenets on which she has built her business, a business that helps people lead more productive and balanced lives at work and at home. "If you build relationships on trust," Madden asserts, "you can trust the relationships you build."

METAPHORIZE YOUR MISSION
Perhaps the one word that will best characterize life and business in the 21st century is the word "change." And no less prominent a leadership-guru than Warren Bennis had this to say about change, "If I were to give off-the-cuff advice to anyone seeking to institute change, I would ask, 'How clear is your metaphor?'"

Ask each department to identify themselves via a metaphor that bespeaks excellence or speed or trust or whatever competency it most prides itself on. Is it the ability to overcome obstacles? If so, a metaphor might emerge like that of Peter Silas', CEO of Philips Petroleum: "We can no longer wait for the storm to pass. We must learn to work in the rain." General Colin Powell referenced power when he spoke of Iraq as a snake whose head the American forces were determined to cut off. A final example comes from author Robert Rosner who raises this philosophical issue: "We put all our eggs in our workplace basket and wonder why they get scrambled."

Mary Lou Lunt, president of both the Rochester chapter of NAWBO and of her own company, Arteffects, Inc., which specializes in the art of effective communication, uses the metaphor as well as she describes today's business woman. "The scales of time demand balance. Without it, life becomes intolerable." She then goes on to define this important word: "Balance is when you can confidently sit in a board meeting with a brooch covering your daughter's kool-aid spill and a pair of soccer shorts under your skirt so you can coach your son's game with little delay."

Another creative verbal option is to create an alliterative phrase yourself and use it everywhere. A good exemplar is General Electric's CEO, Jack Welch, who continuously emphasizes "speed, simplicity, and self-confidence" as the hallmarks of business success.

THEREFORE..... No matter which language constuct you employ--and there are dozens available to you--if you combine creativity with high purpose, you should find expressions that will help you and your organization define their identity in the clearest possible terms. Once identity has been established, success is sure to follow.

Leadership Is an Art By Max Depree

Copyright © 2000 Dr. Marlene Caroselli. All rights reserved.

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