Ask an Expert. Patricia Wheeler: Executive coach, leadership consultant

Submitted by Patricia Wheeler on May 29, 2012 - 12:20pm.

Up from the Hub archives. Originally published 2007

Patricia Wheeler is an executive coach and consultant who helps smart people become better leaders. As Senior Partner in the Levin Group LLC, she has spent 15 years specializing in organizational systems dynamics and coaching senior leaders. A distance-learning expert, Patricia uses an action-oriented and results-based approach to coach teams within global organizations, leading to increased synergy and bottom-line results. She is also a member of the Alliance for Strategic Leadership, a global network of senior executive coaches and consultants founded by Marshall Goldsmith. You may ask Hub member Patricia a question or leave her a comment using the 'add comment' link, below:

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Behavior Modification

By Charles Richardson on July 14, 2008 - 4:15am

Dear Pat: I am involved in the energy business. The issue/problem is how to get people to understand that we must change our approach to the management of our assets or resources. I am not a tree hugger but a concerned citizen and executive of a company that is launcing a global initiative, that involves both fossil fuel and renewable energy. Is this a task that is simply to large. Should we waite for heads of state and industry leaders to do what they have not been doing or what? I have children and grand children. How or what we leave them concerns me. Kind regards, Charles

Behavior modification and leaving a legacy

By Patricia Wheeler on July 25, 2008 - 3:49am

Charles,

Thanks for this great question! It would be a grave mistake to wait for industry and political leaders to take action about preserving our assets and resources. Great change often starts at the grass roots level.

How can you help others in your sphere of influence see and understand your perspective and the need for change? How can your unique perspective guide others toward a sustainable future for all of our children and grandchildren?

What stories can you tell that crystallize your message? Remember, data is often forgotten unless we make it "sticky." Stories add sticking power to our messages.

I'm with you, Charles! Remember that important change can begin at the grassroots level and it's up to all of us to drive this issue to the tipping point....it's likely that then and only then will most industry and political leaders take action.

Best regards,
Patricia

not a tree hugger

By Richard Spencer on July 14, 2008 - 12:52pm

I tried to post this just now, but it didn't work. This will be a highly abbreviate version. So in short... It's a problem. We live in a closed system with limited resources. There are too many people consuming too much and too many people wanting to consume more. The world's resources and assets need looking after better. We could rely on the natural laws of systems and hope that things will sort themselves out. For example - fuel costs are spiralling. Eventually demand will fall, we will adapt and balance will be restored.. In theory. However while governments with all the best intent protect consumers from the real pain, the problem won't be solved quickly enough. So there is a job to do and someone needs to do it. The job is to provide better stewardship for or management of global resources and assets. Whose job is it? Relying on heads of state doesn't seem to be working - everything moves at an extreme snails pace with more conferences, conventions, committees, long-range objectives and very little 'action today'. I would love to be involved, but fear that my influence and expertise would prove at this stage to be handicaps (less so my passion). Richard Branson is doing some useful work in this area, Bill Gates might also be - and I guess these two people would be a good place to start. So off the top of my head (for the second time), here's a couple of suggestions: a) describe the vision in an exciting and attractive fashion and find someone to lead us there. This would take time and I fear that for it to succeed, we would end up needing all the rich people to give up stuff - which let's face it isn't ever really going to work. b) put forward a new-age Robin Hood or Bond-style villain to take over the world and put those richest people through an enforced and painful fast. Redistribute wealth. Become a martyr. Then everyone can be wise after the event (hang on, isn't this Communism..) and say that they saw this was the only way to solve our blind selfish consumptive ways. Clearly I am not Pat.. what is your global initiative?..

A Hard Question

By David Straker on July 14, 2008 - 8:43pm

This is the squillion dollar question, I think. Who's going to save the world?

In a smaller sense, but a similar problem, I work in change in the public sector. Whenever a change is proposed, there's always a million people (at least, it seems) who want their say, and most seem to have (or think they have) the power of veto. So, if you try to keep all the people happy, then nothing changes. To actually make changes sometimes you just have to do it and take the flak. So I listen, and sometimes say 'here it comes' and sometimes just do it.

So can somebody just grab the resources and say 'you're not having any more until you're more careful?'

Tricky question. If you grab the oil, you'll soon be staring down a gun barrel. Likewise if you grab the cash or any other resource.

In the end, the world will solve it's own problems. If we can't manage it, then it'll manage us. War, famine, pestilence, and all that.

The Truth - What is it...

By Kate Moor on July 14, 2008 - 10:48pm

I support David’s view by the way regarding change. You listen, you support and then you state; this is what we are now going to do – get over it. Sounds harsh I know but you can not please all of the people all of the time. We all have our own vested interests. I believe we need to move beyond the hype and panic that is being spread at the moment and to really look at what is happening in the world. Climate change; there is no firm evidence of this. There have always been cycles and always will be. Reminds me a little of the Y2K panic. First things first; we have known about the potential looming oil crisis for many, many years and we ignored it or we allowed our politicians and big business to ignore or to manipulate the reality. There are alternatives and it doesn’t mean we all have to go back to the dark ages. The food shortage is a myth in my book. Example the Canadian government is paying pig farmers $225 per pig to slaughter and dump the carcass. Note we are not sending the surplus to starving people in Africa or the like. We are dumping the stuff. This happens all around the world. We do not distribute food evenly and in many instances when we do it inflow is stolen or controlled by despotic leaders. In fact the right to food by the populace was vetoed as a right by some world leaders at the UN due to the fear of law suites from third world countries. We have allowed big business to take over control of our natural resources; grain/seeds, water, power – the things we need to live. We did that because by and large people are apathetic until it is too late. No one is going to ‘save us’ except us. The question is; are people prepared to do something and if yes where do we start? Kate

the outcome of communism is

By esben deven on July 15, 2008 - 4:08am

the outcome of communism is no government. Humans have not 'evolved' to the point where such societies can exist. If humanity does, then these questions will be moot. For now, we have selfish short-sighted animals grabbing for what they can (for the most part). The solution may well turn out to become resource scarity which will spark war resulting in population reduction to the point where the cycle can begin again. No I am not pessimistic about the prospects for humanity. I dream of a different world. Unfortunately nothing has really changed in 10000 years, so I don't suspect there is a going to be a radical shift soon. "People hardly ever make use of the freedom the have. For example, the freedom of thought. Instead they demand freedom of speech as a compensation." Soren Kierkegaard

radical shift

By Richard Spencer on July 15, 2008 - 8:49am

have to agree with all the general agreeing going on here.. in summary David "the world will solve its own problems" Kate "are people prepared to do something and if yes where do we start" cali "I don't suspect there is going to be a radical shift soon" so it sounds like something needs to happen and inevitably will happen - like the earthquake that removes tension in the earth's plates or the mid-afternoon chocolate bar that satisfies a craving. It could be a global problem-solving event, a populist revolution, or ... well nothing - assuming we are apathetic or insufficiently evolved. Could we make it better? What kind of leadership does it take to catalyse a new phase of cultural evolution? What does it take to lift people from their apathy? Should we be satisfied with sitting back, saying that even though the world is far from perfect, there's nothing we can do about it?

Just start

By Kate Moor on July 21, 2008 - 6:50am

Kate

Richard, in answer to your questions. Could we make this a better world? Yes, I believe we can but firstly we have to clearly define what this better world should look like. Should we keep this simple and say no one on this earth should go hungry or die unnecessarily from either famine or war? That would be a start. What type of leader does it take? One who can move beyond self and be prepared to suffer for the greater good of mankind. We have been very fortunate over the last week in having the Pope visit Sydney for World Youth Day (should I say a week of festivities). Regardless of your religious persuasion his message was one of the needs to heal the world. We need more leaders to come out and say that. We need leaders in the media who will promote messages that lead to the betterment of the world and mankind rather than dramatic self interest that happens now. Should we be satisfied sitting back and doing nothing? We all have our own conscious so I can’t speak for anyone else but I am not satisfied sitting back and doing nothing.

One small step from the Governor of The Bank of England...

By The Architect on July 15, 2008 - 8:51am

We need shifts in behaviour at all levels that multiply up to have a cumulative effect, don't we, rather than waiting for big top-down radical initiatives (though we need those, too).

Putting our own brakes on our need for more - the upward consumer spiral of consumption and demand - or at least setting a ceiling to it and leading by example from the top is one step. Mervyn King, Governor of The Bank of England, is an example. He just signed a new five year contract in which an independent review body recommended his salary go up by a hundred thousand pounds a year (about a million US dollars over the five years of the new contract).

He rejected that part of the contract and went instead for an inflation level two and a half percent a year increase, which he is locked into for the next five years. Leaders taking personal decisions that put their own interests second to the needs of the wider community is a key starting point. Of course, economists can then argue that weakening the demand by showing personal restraint means less growth in the economy. But, is constant growth always a good thing anyway? That seems exactly what we need to rethink.

Charles!

By Richard Spencer on July 15, 2008 - 8:51am

what's your global initiative?

"But, is constant growth

By esben deven on July 15, 2008 - 1:01pm

"But, is constant growth always a good thing anyway?" Very important point Architect. I have for as long as I can remember viewed the measurement of economic health via growth as invalid. What in nature constantly grows? Cancer can, but the end result is consumption of the host and thus its own ending. My view is that when we look at survival at a basic level, scarcity is what kills. I think this "hard wired" into the human. There is evidence for this in psychological research. A result of this is a varying desire to insulate from scarcity which has become ingrained in out economic models. So the question is how do we bring about a change that runs counter to human nature? I certainly dream of a different approach but I have a difficult time explaining it. "People hardly ever make use of the freedom the have. For example, the freedom of thought. Instead they demand freedom of speech as a compensation." Soren Kierkegaard

Agreed

By David Straker on July 15, 2008 - 7:55pm

I agree -- a blind focus on growth can be very stupid.

There are too many companies whose growth focus has led to decline. Short-term growth, long-term failure. Duh.

Any organisation needs two things: survival and growth, but in that order. Survival is a long-term thing and needs a long-term view. This should be a concern for the board who should rein in any over-zealous growth plans. It's a core purpose of governance.

We have the power to create change

By Kate Moor on July 16, 2008 - 1:48am

“This should be a concern for the board who should rein in any over-zealous growth plans. It's a core purpose of governance”.

It should David but all too often isn’t. However we do have power and we can if we chose play an important part in the change process that is required. The question, are we prepared to do it.

If we want business as an example to change and to behave in a responsible manner we have the power to do that. We don’t have to buy products from companies that do not operate in the best interests of whole. Unearthing the responsible companies from the not responsible can at times be difficult but if we are serious and we take the time to do our homework you can identify who they are. The same applies to working for businesses that are recognised as being globally aware and concerned.

As shareholders if we can’t change the board strategy we can at least make the decision to invest or not.

If our media doesn’t present a balanced view once again as an example we can make the decision to buy their products or not.

I was discussing the greed in sport with my husband recently. It is shameful in a world where millions of people are living below the poverty line that we pay sports men and women millions of dollars a year to entertain us. That said we create the demand ourselves. We can change that. If we stopped going to games, we stopped watching TV or buying sports magazines the revenue would soon dry up.

We can broaden our horizons and educate ourselves; take an interest in global events. We can read and share information. We can identify and connect with like souls. Many voices are better than one voice.

We have the power to drive change if we wish to do that. Sounds lofty, I know but we can all be leaders and collectively we can work toward a better future. It takes courage to stand up and be counted and it takes discipline and dedication. But at the end of the day it is up to us – do we want this badly enough? Or is it easier to just let someone else do it.

Kate

Indeed we have

By Moin Zafar on July 16, 2008 - 1:12pm

In agreement with Kate, we must emphasise on the need to trim our high end demands from everything around us. In short we have been selfishly short sighted for all these years. We have been kind of just concerned with our own impeccaple Arrow trousers or an Armani Suit or an Omega Oyster... and have never bothered to even think about (in all truthfullness) about the majority of the world's population which doesn't have even a set of so called proper clothing to call their own. While the so called fortunate amongst us have been having our refrigerators overflowing with a weeks supply of the world's best brands of food stuff (which in particular even if we don't get for an year the heavens are not going to fall) yet on the other side we have those so called unfortunate people who are dying of hunger in multitudes every hour. While we pay those exorbitant medical bills for getting the naturally bestowed alignments of our teeth changed slightly to help us look even wierd yet we have millions dying on the other side in absence and need of the most basic survival drugs. Such analogous list is unending and so is our resolution not to treat our short sightedness even after a brief gush of tears now and then.... and to never ever let show our self centred cores to the specialists..

Well ... we have a problem at hand..

We have ourselves

We are the problem..

Why blame the governments and politicians and organisations and cartels...

It is we that all such institutions or organisations are made of..

Politicians are being chosen, paid and fed by us...

We run the companies and corporates...

We are the force...

Whether we are having a negative impact or a positive one on the world at large is for us to decide.

We are crying hoarse over the suddenly realised scarcity of consumable fuel because we are used to our sedans and limos making us reach our offices and golf courses and casinos and malls and where not... but all this while we somehow failed to be bothered enough to think and do something about people who through out their life were mobile if at all, on just two legs (.. and if one happens to know a litle about the land mines in Afghanistan, and about the shelling in Iraq and precision shootings in Palestine and wars in Somalia.... then even two legs intact and moving is a LUXURY)

And because we are used to uninterrupted power and billions of watts all shining to make us feel better in our own ways whether its night or day, while more than a quarter of the world or may be even more still does not have electric power when we are booking tickets for the first flight to mars and moon...

We need to educate ourselves to tame our-unbridled-selves otherrwise NATURE has its own tremendous and very subtle ways to sort things out.. and we are witnessing few such ' ways' crossing our comfortable paths right now.

More than anything else let us educate our children to respect the right of every human being... they will be the LEADERS of tomorrow and they need to know this basic rule that no body is end all and be all in this world.. we need to clear our vision for the future by first rubbing our own eyes.. we have been in the dreamworld for too long now that even a sense of discomfort is making us shiver and think about next generations

Have we ever thought why a 'marine' never ever gets bogged down by such thoughts.. well its because he/she is used to harsh realities of life, the rules of discipline, the respect for each individual, the camaraderie et al.. A marine in all probability is not so selfish. He knows he can carry on even if there is no limo to pick him up and carry all over. He has been in the dark and hence is not afraid of someone threatening to pull cord

remember Biblical saying.. Live and Let Live ???

We have been living the first part to our imagination's content.. but somehow have been oblivious to the latter half

Hope I haven't sounded very harsh, but then we do need to think strongly now... before it is even late.

Agreement....well....mostly

By Colin Scowen on July 16, 2008 - 6:45pm

Hi all,

fantastic discussion here, passion is one of those things that helps to inspire people to follow.

But, let us remember that when we are talking about leadership (whole point of this site, after all), we are talking about being able to make a change, a small change, to have others put their faith in the decisions and values that we live by. The famous and the infamous leaders that we have as examples did not suddenly aquire thousands of followers after one great speech, they found a few, then a few more, then a few more.

To get into the details of this thread, consider, as an example, the use of oil for gasoline. Yes, there was fantastic demand in the 60's, when the west was in love with the car, no one knew the dangers of lead and CO2. Now, we have a different situation, we know the fuels are a finite resource, we know that the emmissions are bad, and we know the health problems that can ensue because of the use of fuel in cars. Now, companies and people in the west are making changes to that culture, some more than others. BUT, demand is still growing, markets for cars and fuel are still expanding. They are expanding in places other than the West. These areas are also blameworthy in this. Their culture is also driving the earn, spend, earn, spend, buy, buy, buy phenomenon.They are still being lead to the same place we were in a few decades ago.

Such change as is required to make this place better for our children needs to be lead, lead by those who can afford it, not by those who cannot. Lead by those who can see the problems that are coming, not by those who cannot. But, we will have to lead those who cannot see these things, without letting them get dragged through all the bad things. Would you expect to teach people about how bad landmines are by taking them to the edge of a field of landmines and saying 'I already walked across there, so you could too' ? No. How often have you seen children wilfully do something they have just been told not to do just because they have been told not to do it, by someone who knows it's a stupid or dangerous thing to do?

It is not enough for those of us who can see, who can afford, just to say, 'ok, I'll stop now' or 'ok, you should stop now'. The requirement must be not to stop people wanting what we have, but to make them want different things. Clockwork radios are an example of this. If you can make people want clockwork radio's rather than battery or mains driven ones, then you are leading them away from the need for either the rarer metals in modern batteries, or the consumption of oil and coal to generate the electricity used to power them. The passion for this sort of change should not be directed at ourselves, should not be directed at corporations or governments, it should be directed at the role models that are looked up to by those who can't afford, who can't see all the problems.

I can't solve the world's problems, and I am not in a position to influence the visible and famous role models. But, I can be a role model for a few people around me, I do have two clockwork flashlights, and I am going to install solar panels on my roof to power my heating and lighting. Maybe one of those around me will become famous, maybe not.

Back to Charles' original question, IMHO, get some visible figureheads involved, who already have major followership, international 1st, 2nd and 3rd world followership. (This is your equivalent of bringing a tiger into the boardroom.)

Colin.

(Would be interested to know if anyone has ever woked out the carbon footprint of producing a single solar panel and then factored that back into the environmental impact of not using that solar panel to generate electricity for 20 years. Do you save more in the long term by making and using the solar panel, or not.)

more agreement

By Richard Spencer on July 16, 2008 - 2:56pm

agreeing more with the agreement.. and noone is being harsh. yup - the world's not great and it's our fault yup - we are the problem and we are also the solution yup - today's children are tomorrow's leaders yup - to deliver, we should serve the need (isn't this how Michael Jackson pens a #1 song?) We can act as individuals, we can "be the change we want to see in the world" - but it is probably going to be too little too late at this stage. If we could picture a (very near) future where one thing has changed that we feel would make the biggest difference, what would it be and how can we achieve it?