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A note from me

Hi Folks!

I’m writing this from The Hague in quite a rush as Mary and I are also packing for a short trip to Venice. This is a joint birthday and anniversary gift to each other from each other. We will be following an art history program organised by a lovely group called ‘Art History in Focus’ set up by a curator from the National Gallery in London.

Many years ago, our first trip to Venice afforded probably the most romantic moment in my life. I was returning from a business trip on our anniversary (Valentine’s Day!) and, when landing at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, was greeted by Mary as I exited the plane. I was delighted but very surprised as she was “airside”, and she gave me an envelope. As an artist, Mary makes me an artistic creation to celebrate our anniversary every year (apart from once, but that is another story for another time) so I opened it and it essentially said, “Trust Me”.  

At this point, friendly KLM staff whisked us through the airport to another plane about to depart. Mary had coordinated all this with my PA and KLM, and we were soon in the air. I had no idea where we were going until the pilot announced our approach to Marco Polo Airport in Venice. Awaiting us at the airport was the private launch of our hotel, which took us out across the water.

It was very dark with a cloudless sky and full moon. Eventually, we began to see the wall of the city looming in the distance. The boat tracked this wall for some distance and then darted through a small archway into the city itself. We were plunged into the midst of moonlit, deserted, decaying splendour. It took our breath away. We stood together in the boat holding hands in the cold February night air and both knew we were both feeling the same sense of awe and wonder together. So romantic!!!

I trust that this trip will be equally nourishing as we are fed with a deeper understanding of the history and artists of Venice.

I’ll also soon be preparing for the next experiment with the Dodo webinar which will be hosted for the fourth time on LinkedIn on Friday October 4^th at 14:00 UK time (15:00 CET). There was some good engagement last time, and I hope I’m learning to run these sessions better. I’ll again give an in-depth perspective on a topic followed by a good Q&A session. I’ll also aim once more for a shorter 45-minute duration which is easier for people to fit within their lunch hour. For folks in other time zones, I hope the shorter duration also makes it easier for you to digest, and also for people accessing the recording rather than the live webinar.

This is also an opportunity for you to pose questions or comment on recent, or any, Newsletter content or any topics related to leadership, strategy, scenarios, energy transitions, or the current affairs I comment on. You can find the link to attend the webinar below:

The Dodo Club Webinar 04/10

I hope you enjoy it!

My Bi-Weekly Guide

Legacy Mentality (and Art)

In the last Newsletter, I stepped out from our ongoing series on the features of High-Performance Teams to bring a systems thinking perspective on a destructive political dynamic that is becoming increasingly prominent. In this Newsletter, I return to the previous theme.

One of the five features I highlighted in Edition 21 was the development of a legacy mentality in a high-performance team, which I illustrated with anecdotes about the Ferrari Formula 1 racing team from the early 2000s, led by Ross Brawn and Jean Todt.  

I mentioned that, ‘High-performance teams develop a sense that they are involved in something that is significant with a strong link to a deeper purpose, and that also helps prioritise ongoing attention towards supporting longer-term objectives. The mentality of Todt and Brawn was not focused on a single race or even a single championship, but on developing a team and string of cars to win multiple back-to-back championships.’

You’ll note, I hope, the reference to ‘purpose’ in this summary paragraph. This is a specific topic addressed in Edition 13 of the Newsletter as part of the series on Strategic Character. It shouldn’t be a surprise that there are rich links between the topics addressed in the Dodo Club!

In considering a work of art to spotlight in this Newsletter, my first thought was Picasso’s, ‘Guernica’ which is the most powerful ‘horrors of war’ image burnt into my psyche and, I hope, the psyches of many others. This is a painting with a strong legacy and a powerful purpose.

However, given my upcoming trip to Venice, I was also drawn to another well-known painting by one of Venice’s most famous artists, Titian or Tiziano. This is, ‘The Venus of Urbino’.

This shows a young bride about to be dressed to take part in a Venetian ritual of the time when a woman formally consents to marriage, so it is definitely a painting ‘in the moment’. But the imagery also reflects the Renaissance preoccupation with the ancient classical period, e.g. Venus, classical goddess of love, so it builds and comments upon that past. And the Titian painting itself has inspired more recent artists to reflect and amplify themes and even poses from it, such as 300-years later when Manet painted and exhibited his controversial (at the time) ‘Olympia’. 

Still today, both these paintings stimulate difficult and uncomfortable questions about the ‘male gaze’ and racial stereotyping. I admire both paintings, but I don’t do this without reservations. Their influence lives on. 

Similarly, the whole concept of ‘legacy’ has at its core the appreciation of influences over an extended arc of time. And, in several ways, it is a glue that binds together the other highlighted features of high-performance teams.

1. Legacy Mentality – the Arc of Time: 

   In considering current priorities and activities, it is very helpful to look out 5 or even 10 years and think about what will still feel significant to you and the team then. What will feel satisfying, and what will have left a mark in an area of significance to the team? Will a noble purpose have been successfully served? Also, given the inevitable turnover in team membership, what are you doing now that will still be valuable for the team to do in 5 years’ time? Is this a new approach and, if so, have you institutionalised it so it doesn’t just fade away as the team changes?
   

2. Connection to Strategic Narrative:
   The strategic narrative expresses something of the common purpose of the team. Considering the legacy the team seeks to build will enrich the narrative, and the narrative will, in turn, help build that legacy. 
   

3. Connection to Credible Performance Feedback:
   Is the feedback being received by the team helpful in assessing progress in building the legacy? If not, what should the team be looking at to receive this guidance?
   

4. Connection to Positive Emotional and Creative Energy:
   Are steps that help build or secure the legacy being recognised and celebrated? Is the legacy mentality being driven into the team and inspiring it?
   

5. Connection to Learning Ethos:
   From all the activities of the team, from all the feedback, from all the energy, are the types of lessons being learned ones that will genuinely contribute to building the legacy?  Is the team able to stand back and review all this ‘stuff’ so that it can learn and adapt to be able to build its legacy?

Question of The Fortnight

Every fortnight I’ll be asking a thought-provoking question in hopes of sparking interesting and enlightening discussion.

I’d love to hear your response! You can do so by simply responding to this email.

Today’s question is:

Where have you experienced a legacy mentality within a team, and has this been a helpful characteristic? 

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