{"id":40576,"date":"2022-01-14T18:09:53","date_gmt":"2022-01-15T02:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/?p=40576"},"modified":"2022-01-14T18:10:04","modified_gmt":"2022-01-15T02:10:04","slug":"leadership-rapture-or-rupture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/gov-talk\/about-gov\/education\/leadership-rapture-or-rupture\/","title":{"rendered":"Leadership: Rapture or Rupture?"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.14.4″ background_image=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/1-8.jpeg” custom_padding=”0|0px|0|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,2_3″ admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”|auto|19px|auto||” custom_padding=”467px|0px|0|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.14.4″ text_font=”PT Sans||||” text_text_color=”#ffffff” text_font_size=”72″ text_line_height=”1.1em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”785px” custom_margin=”-98px||0px|||” custom_padding=”||168px|||” text_font_size_tablet=”52″ text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

Leadership: <\/b><\/p>\n

Rapture or Rupture?<\/b><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”149px|0px|1px|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,2_3″ column_padding_mobile=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.9.0″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”1200px” custom_margin=”0px|auto|0px|auto|false|false” custom_padding=”20px||20px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”0px|||” custom_padding_phone=”” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”1200px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/david-ivers.png” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” disabled_on=”on|on|” _builder_version=”3.23″ custom_margin=”-45px|||||” animation=”off” sticky=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text disabled_on=”on|on|” _builder_version=”3.27.4″ text_font=”PT Sans|on|||” text_text_color=”#02b875″ text_font_size=”20″ text_line_height=”1.2em” header_text_color=”#000000″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” max_width=”140px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”20px||0px|” global_colors_info=”{}”]DAVID IVERS<\/span><\/a>
\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text disabled_on=”on|on|” _builder_version=”3.27.4″ text_font=”PT Serif||on||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”16″ text_line_height=”1.4em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” max_width=”140px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”20px||20px||true|” global_colors_info=”{}”]David Ivers is from Sydney, Australia. He is a qualified Primary and Secondary School Teacher. In total, he has served on school leadership teams for 16 years in senior leadership roles.
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.14.4″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”24″ text_line_height=”1.5em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”720px” custom_margin=”-18px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”28px||16px||false|false” text_font_size_tablet=”” text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

\u201cHAPPINESS is not a goal, it is a by-product.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eleanor Roosevelt (1960). You Learn by Living. New York. NY. | Harper. p95.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As one year comes to an end and another has begun, our thoughts rightly turn to the year ahead. Against the background of a continuing pandemic, an ongoing trend known as \u2018The Great Resignation\u2019<\/a>, and uncertainty around health protocols, financial issues and career concerns, it is only right that people discern the pattern of future events. Some questions on the mind of many no doubt (as seen in \u2018The Great Resignation\u2019), is: \u201cTo what extent is it worthwhile for me to get out of bed and go to work? Will I still enjoy it? Is it still meaningful? Will I come home happy with my day\u2019s work?\u201d The quote from Eleanor Roosevelt is relevant to these questions. A person\u2019s happiness should be a by-product of their day and that day obviously includes workdays. The rest of the quote from Eleanor Roosevelt gives further insight for us at the start of the new year.<\/p>\n

\u201cHAPPINESS is not a goal; it is a by-product. Paradoxically, the one sure way not to be happy is deliberately to map out a way of life in which one would please oneself completely and exclusively. After a short time, a very short time, there would be little that one really enjoyed. For what keeps our interest in life and makes us look forward to tomorrow is giving pleasure to other people.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Eleanor Roosevelt (1960). You Learn by Living<\/a>. New York. NY. | Harper. p95.<\/p>\n

The paradox that Eleanor Roosevelt refers to is effectively a \u2018roadmap\u2019 of a route that leaders should not be taking if they want to retain their staff, especially their good staff. The \u2018roadmap\u2019 that they should follow is at the end of the quote. Your staff should go home, happy with a day\u2019s work done well and looking forward to doing it again the next day. If people loathe getting out of bed and have an utter disdain for the journey to work because of the chore that the workday will be, then something is seriously wrong and it suggests a toxic workplace culture that needs to be addressed to some degree of urgency. If their day doesn\u2019t regularly bring them rapture (defined as joy), then the employer must worry about the rupture it will cause. For leaders, they should take notice that the only difference between rapture and rapture is the letter \u2018U\u2019, which means the difference is \u2018YOU\u2019. In short before lodging, all the problems at the feet of the staff, seriously examine yourself and the role you played in creating the toxic culture that permeates the organization. Start by looking at your competitor and their retention rates. If they\u2019re keeping their staff against the backdrop of \u2018The Great Resignation\u2019, clearly, they are doing something right.<\/p>\n

Sitting in a juxtaposition to rapture are notions of rupture. Anthropologists, Martin Holbraad, Bruce Kapferer, and Julia F. Sauma working on \u2018Ruptures and Discontinuity in Times of Turmoil\u2019, highlight that ruptures have the potential to bring about value and obviously change and reassessment, stemming from an often serious disconnect to what has previously been known, understood and familiar.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe unsettling effects of rupture understood as a radical and often forceful form of discontinuity, are central to current perceptions of a world in turmoil. How far might a sense of rupture \u2013 of a world that is serially breaking with itself \u2013 be an occasion to transform conceptions of social and political transformation? And how might the ruptures and fissures that lie at the heart of such experiences of turmoil instigate a break in the way we think about them?\u2026While rupture operates as an inherently negative moment \u2013 a critical cut or \u2018switch-point\u2019 (Weber 1930) that instigates a significant break with existing conditions \u2013 by the same token it can act as a positive or dynamic impulse towards escape, redirection, reconstitution, and sometimes renewal. In our conceptualization, then, ruptures are moments at which value emerges through a break with something.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Martin Holbraad, Bruce Kapferer and Julia F. Sauma (2019) \u2018Introduction: Critical Ruptures\u2019 in Holbraad, M., Kapferer, B. and Sauma, J.F. (eds). 2019. Ruptures: Anthropologies of Discontinuity in Times of Turmoil<\/a>. London: UCL Press.<\/p>\n

The important thing to note here, for both employers and employees, is that a rupture in the organizational corpus, can lead to something positive, to what the authors above named as: \u201cescape, redirection, reconstitution and sometimes renewal.\u201d That COVID19 has created and even hastened the environment, the perfect storm in which these ruptures of discontinuity occur and reoccur would be an understatement. Where this has and continues to occur within organizations that were already undertaking a change process, the magnification of this rupture and the \u2018angst\u2019 it would likely create could be enormous. The question for leaders of organizations around the world is simple. Do you want your team to experience rapture or rupture? One assumes that the answer is rapture, that is joy and happiness, not just of a day\u2019s work well done but of seeing oneself as part of something much bigger. Having a deep understanding that what you are doing at the individual level is to give energy to the synergy of the team and the organization, is in itself rewarding. If happiness is the external manifestation, then joy goes more to the inner tranquil contentment that a person might find. This may well be found in the sense of dignity, that comes from being part of something meaningful. This means moving out of the head and into the heart. It leads us to the notion of \u2018leading with the heart in mind\u2019. Mark Crowley in his groundbreaking work \u201cLeading from the Heart\u201d captures this extremely well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been led to believe the mind is the highest form of intelligence possible and rarely think to consult the heart as we work to motivate people to perform. We\u2019ve groomed our leaders to be intellectual, to subordinate feeling, and to purposely marginalize their hearts. But this mind-driven belief system is flawed. It disconnects leaders from the people they lead and profoundly limits their effectiveness. This is because emotions are an innate \u2013 and human \u2013 quality found in all people. Emotional energy is the true motivation of the human spirit; it\u2019s the force of life. Emotions create action and, with positive emotion, people are virtually limitless in what they can achieve.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Mark Crowley. (2011). Lead From The Heart (eBook).<\/a> Bloomington, Indiana: Balboa Press. p15.<\/p>\n

The point here might be obvious but still needs to be made. The danger with \u2018The Great Resignation\u2019 and the pandemic, is that they can be used as the reason not to do certain things. For example, leaders that say: \u201cit\u2019s hard to be across what the staff is doing and affirming them when everyone is working from home.\u201d The reality is that in a world where cliches such as \u2018think outside of the box\u2019, \u2018being agile\u2019 and \u2018problem-solving\u2019 are often heard buzz words but when circumstances come along and dictate that the \u2018modus operandi\u2019 of those buzz words are needed, then the time to \u2018talk the talk\u2019 has ended and the time to \u2018walk the walk\u2019 has arrived.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ background_color=”#f7f7f4″ custom_padding=”0px||0px|” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_3,1_3″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”1″ make_equal=”on” column_padding_mobile=”on” module_class=” et_pb_row_fullwidth” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” width=”100%” width_tablet=”100%” width_phone=”” width_last_edited=”on|desktop” max_width=”100%” max_width_tablet=”100%” max_width_phone=”” max_width_last_edited=”on|desktop” min_height=”594px” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” make_fullwidth=”on” custom_width_px=”680px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2-8.jpeg” title_text=”Pencil,Light,Bulb,3d,As,Think,Outside,Of,The,Box” show_bottom_space=”off” force_fullwidth=”on” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.14.4″ custom_padding=”||0px|||” animation=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ background_color=”#efefe9″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/3-7.jpeg” title_text=”Business,Man,Writing,Leadership,Skill,By,Crossword” show_bottom_space=”off” force_fullwidth=”on” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.14.4″ animation=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text disabled_on=”off|off|” _builder_version=”4.14.4″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#818178″ text_font_size=”24″ text_line_height=”1.4em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”1.2%|10%||10%||” custom_margin_tablet=”|10%||10%” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”0px|||||” text_font_size_tablet=”” text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

For leaders, it is worth remembering, the difference between rapture (as joy) and rupture (discontinuity) is U (you).<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″ text_font=”PT Sans|on|||” text_text_color=”#888888″ text_font_size=”12″ text_letter_spacing=”2px” text_line_height=”1.2em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”20px||11.4%|||” custom_margin_tablet=”20px|||” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}”]DAVID IVERS
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ custom_padding=”0px||0px|” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”4″ column_padding_mobile=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”1200px” custom_padding=”0||0px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”0px|||” custom_padding_phone=”” use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”1200px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.14.4″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”20″ text_line_height=”1.4em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” min_height=”2200px” custom_margin=”-73px||11px|||” custom_margin_tablet=”40px||0px|” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|tablet” custom_padding=”84px||1px|||” text_font_size_tablet=”” text_font_size_phone=”” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

There are a few things the leader can do to steer the organization towards rapture rather than rupture. Mark Crowley identifies 4 things that could easily steer the ship in the right direction.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Hire People With Heart: Build A Highly Engaged Team <\/em><\/li>\n
  2. Heart To Heart: Connect On A Personal Level <\/em><\/li>\n
  3. Empower The Heart: Maximize Employee Potential <\/em><\/li>\n
  4. Inspire The Heart: Value And Honor Achievements. <\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Mark Crowley. (2011). Lead From The Heart (eBook).<\/a> Bloomington, Indiana. | Balboa Press. p64.<\/p>\n

    It might seem like a simple and fairly straightforward list and at one level it is. That said, this is a daily set of activities and gives rise to 4 questions to ask yourself each day as you, the leader, sit down to put the \u2018To Do List\u2019 together for the day. Consider: How will I further create a highly engaged team today? What can I do to connect on a personal level with the team today? Where are the opportunities to maximize employee potential today? When will I be able to value and honor employee achievements today? My bonus question to all of this is: Why, as a leader, will I be able to look back on the week that has been and be able to say, \u201cI made a really positive difference in the team and the lives of team members this week!\u201d<\/p>\n

    Much of this comes back to the mindset of the leader and indeed to the understanding that the leader has of what leadership is. Tom Peters in giving an address to the Australian Institute of Management (now the Institute of Managers and Leaders – Australia and New Zealand) on the work of Peter Drucker, puts the need for the leader to have a real sense of what they are meant to be doing, this way.<\/p>\n

    \u201cOrganizations exist to serve. Period. Leaders live to serve. Period. Passionate servant leaders, determined to create a legacy of earthshaking transformation in their domain (a 600-square foot retail space, a 4-person training department, an urban school, a rural school, whatever), must necessarily create organizations which are no less than cathedrals in which the full and awesome power of the Imagination and Spirit and native Entrepreneurial Flair of diverse individuals is unleashed in passionate pursuit of a jointly perceived soaring purpose (e.g., worthy of bragging about 25 years from now to your grandkids) and personal and community and client service Excellence.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    Tom Peters (2018). The Excellence Dividend<\/a>. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. p136.<\/p>\n

    Thankfully, there are a few things a leader can do to create moments of rapture rather than rupture. Consider ways in which you, the leader, might allow people to see your \u2018humanness\u2019 as well as your sense of humanity. A sample list might well include the following.<\/p>\n