Part 3
Field Guide-The External Practices

Introduction

The four External Practices are what you have to do to lead change well. They are intimately related to the four Inner Capacities described in Part 2, and change will flow once you have mastered them. This is because we found that they are strongly related to leaders being able to create change and movement in the system around them, without the leader having to shoulder all the effort-remember, we are after more effort-less change here.

They are also an interconnected system that works in balance. We know from the study of "complex adaptive systems" (any system that has multiple interacting component parts holding a shared purpose, and that can continually innovate and adapt to its environment-like most organizations need to today) that they contain an equilibrium, a balance between the forces for structure/stability and the forces for disruption/disorder. Too much structure and you get stuck; too much chaos and you fall apart.

So, great change leaders also balance out these two opposing forces, and the four External Practices represent this equilibrium:

• Attractor and Container provide structure/stability.
• Edge and Tension and Transforming Space provide disruption/disorder.

As you read through the following descriptions of the four External Practices, remember therefore that all of them interact with the other, so be curious about them and how you may make the best mix for your leadership. There is also one practice negatively correlated with success, Leader-Centric. Too much of this behavior will therefore detract from your overall ability to lead big complex change well.

Attractor

Attractor-Definition

Meaning matters: leaders who have this practice create a magnetic energy in the organization that moves people into new directions. They do this by creating a shared intention, atmosphere, spirit, and meaning for the change that serves a higher good. With it, people get a deep sense of the direction or "North Star" that guides the change, and can translate that into their own role and task. They see and feel that their leaders hold the entire purpose for the change effort as their own; it matters to them, and is in their hearts.

This skill creates a pull toward purpose.

If you are exhibiting this practice, you:

• Connect with others at an emotional level, embodying the future intent of the organization.
• Tune into day-to-day reality, seeing themes and patterns that connect to a wider movement, and from this you co-create with others a compelling story for the organization.
• Use this to set the context of how things fit together, working the story into the life of the organization so that every conversation and decision "make sense."
• Visibly work beyond your own personal ambition to serve a higher purpose, the organization, and its wider community.
• Are consciously aware of your own leadership, and you adapt this for a specific purpose.

Reflect-how would you rate your own leadership in this practice?

Attractor-Why Important in Leading Change?

When you have deeply held and shared purpose, the why, people can endure most of what life throws them, the what. When you practice Attractor leadership, you will be able to:

• Create alignment and movement toward new paradigms.
• Make people feel part of an exciting endeavor.
• Remove ambiguity and unleash creativity.
• Create unity, coherence, stable structures, and a sense of belonging.
• At the same time, enable people to stay open to mystery and uncertainty..

Attractor-Your Leadership

If you rate yourself high in Attractor, then it is more likely that you are very easily able to create a compelling story for the change, and you weave this into all your communications. This story will have a real felt sense of purpose and mission, and you are able to express the story using language that reflects the day-to-day life of your organization and the customers and wider society that it serves. This is because you are likely to walk around your organization, tuning into conversations and significant events, and from this you co-create with others your evolving story-you don't use abstract language or simply launch your vision as a one-off activity. People will feel that your own personal purpose connects very strongly to the collective mission, and you will come across as authentic and serving others beyond yourself.

If you rate yourself low in Attractor, then you might want to ask yourself, "What is my leadership for? Who and what am I serving in this role?" It is hard to create purpose in your organization if you have not first considered your own personal purpose and intention as a leader. You may also wish to consider how and where you spend your time-how often do you get out to your customers, to your frontline staff, to those impacted by the change? And when you are with them, how much of this time do you spend intently observing events, capturing small stories that you can use to spread your message about the change?

Maybe you find yourself too often in advocacy, rather than inquiry, mode. Consider also your language and how you present your vision for the change-maybe you need to steer clear of PowerPoint presentations and glossy communications and simply speak from your heart about why the change matters to you.

Attractor-How to Cultivate

Here are some activities that could help build your capability in practicing Attractor leadership.

• Study what makes a great story, and create one for your change: it should contain passion and emotion, contain both heroes and bad guys, and always have a transformational quality-life is different at the end of the story.
• Consider also using images and metaphors to illustrate your change-anything that is simple, creative, and memorable that people can use to identify the change with.
• Make sure you create this compelling change story with others, so that everyone feels part of the movement.
• If you have not done so already, create your own personal purpose statement as a leader, and practice sharing that with others-encourage others to do the same, and from that you will start to build a deep sense of shared purpose across your team and organization.
• Get out and about! Create regular, designated time during which you will walk around your organization, meeting stakeholders and having no agenda other than tuning into what seems to need to emerge new in this situation. So, refer to what it takes to cultivate in particular the Inner Capacities of Staying Present (Part 2) and Tuning Into the System (Part 2).
• Attractor leadership is also about choosing how to be, so look up what it takes to have the Inner Capacity of Curious and Intentional Responding (Part 2) in order to help you with this practice.

• The Business Case for Purpose (Harvard Business Review Analytics Services, Harvard Business Review, 2015)
• Hooked: How Leaders Connect, Engage and Inspire With Storytelling (Gabrielle Dolan and Yamini Naidu, 2013)
• A YouTube clip by Stephen Denning on storytelling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RipHYzhKCuI

Notes to Self-Attractor

Edge and Tension

Edge and Tension-Definition

Truth is a turn-on: leaders who have mastered this practice are able to clearly name what is, talking straight. Moreover, they can move toward and amplify disturbance in order to shift the organization's capacity to perform to its potential. They do this primarily by naming reality and confronting tough issues, especially strongly held assumptions and ways of working that are acting as a handbrake on the change. While all four External Practices are needed, Edge and Tension was the one most correlated with successful change leadership.

This skill is about amplifying disturbance.

If you are exhibiting this practice, you:

• Are seen to be telling it as it is-you describe reality with respect yet without compromise.
• Have constancy in times of turbulence; you do not withdraw from the tough stuff; you keep people's hands in the fire.
• Can and do spot and challenge assumptions. You create discomfort by challenging existing paradigms and disrupting habitual ways of doing things.
• Set the bar high and keep it there. You stretch the goals and limits of what's possible.
• Do not compromise on talent. You pay attention to getting and keeping "A players."

Reflect-how would you rate your own leadership in this practice?

Edge and Tension-Why Important in Leading Change?

When you practice Edge and Tension leadership, you will be able to:

• Create urgency and momentum to...