Will You Be Invited To The "Council Fire" In 2019?
/By Russ Riendeau, PhD, Senior Partner, New Frontier Search Company
In business, there are some professionals that always seem to be in the mix, in the know, at the big meetings, at the table, on the list, in the finals. These individuals are sitting at the Council Fire.
Will you be invited?
As 2019 has arrived, you are reflecting on your past year's efforts, no doubt. And have you asked yourself how can you can elevate your skills and knowledge to establish yourself in that top 5% of professionals that are invited to the Fire. What does it take to get yourself invited to the "Council Fire?" And why is it so important to be there?
The Council Fire is both long-standing, ancient ritual and illuminating metaphor to consider in your daily work as a business professional--from the sales and management professional, to finance leaders, to CEOs, to HR leaders.
Native Americans, as well as nearly every indigenous tribe throughout the world, has engaged in the Council Fire ritual as a formal governing tool to bring tribal elders together to debate, discuss and incorporate agreements. Even our founding fathers of the Constitution utilized the Council Fire playbook in designing a set of guidelines for fair and ethical debate and deliverance of governing. This ritual of leaders and decision-makers gathered around a fire--in a circle--is standard operating procedure for any meetings of significance since the dawn of man.
Fire--symbolic of ancient wisdom and spiritual presence of our ancestors--is a reminder too, of the need for civility, trust, honesty and willingness to consider other viewpoints in meetings of significance. And, while having a nice bonfire in a copper caldron on the boardroom table overlooking Michigan Avenue, is unlikely, the intended spirit of the fire is ever-present.
How this Council Fire metaphor plays into your daily business revolves around these questions:
· Are you being invited to the Fire?
· Are you the person of integrity, intelligence, trust, confidence, self-aware, wisdom, contribution and patience to earn a seat in the circle?
· Does your current role, your product, your service, your information, have enough significance to be courted and respected at the fire?
· Does what you have to offer carry a heavier value than the competition to keep them at-bay?
· Is your knowledge and wisdom of what you can provide accurate and enlightening--even if you don't ultimately benefit--by advancing the conversation and expanding the knowledge?
· If you are a leader in your company, are you mentoring/training your team to be that person to represent your company at the Fire?
· If you were in the circle, would you invite you to join? Why?
Traits like trust, respect, truth, maturity, reasonableness listening skills, patience, perspective and confidence to speak from the heart, are many of the first responses one may recall, when seeking to label behavior that is justified and respected in the business world and every other situation. Is this you?
Truthful self-reflection on these questions will now give you a broader and more eloquent options of how you can prepare, present, and participate in corporate and customer presentations. You business "pitch" is no longer a "pitch," it is a presentation, a discussion, a conversation. It is a planned, intellectual discourse, not merely a demonstration of features and benefits, goods and services or catalogues. If you are in other leadership roles, it is your opportunity to demonstrate your ability to take a conversation and analysis to the next level. What you and your team are able to create and present as a value-add to a proposal or the discussion must be seen as genuine, intelligent, balanced, well-thought out and superior to what the competition has typically produced to win business. A seat in the circle is earned with the demonstration and introduction of behavior and thought that reflects the real workings of your mission and your company's values.
As we all watch the daily political and corporate events play out on CNN and every news network around lies, secret meetings, high crimes and misdemeanors, we can begin to understand why Americans are more stressed and confused about the direction of the economy and one’s future. We find ourselves looking at blurred lines and legal definitions and less around debate around our moral compass of what’s ethical vs. criminal; what’s reasonable vs. unacceptable; what is tolerable vs. accountable; what is transparent conversation vs. calculated manipulation? We all want to become better in our jobs and pursue worthy goals, so how can we trust that others will accept our intentions?
Respect and treating every opportunity--big or small-- when engaging with clients, customers, vendors, employees and associates is a start. Act as if you were being vetted for an invite to the next Council Fire: because you really are.
Great things will happen in your life, your career and your personal growth if you accept this simple belief and allow the inspiration of the Council Fire to ignite your efforts.