Four “P” Principles of “Passion Power”



Four “P” Principles for Leading with “Passion Power” ™:

Being “Purposeful-Provocative-Passionate-Playful” – Part II

Part I of this three-part series, “A Four “P” Interactive Model for Expanding Personal Energy, Professional Creativity and Organizational Synergy,” introduced the “Passion Power” matrix-model. The Four “P” Model provides a verbal-visual framework for understanding the working relationship between a leader’s cognitive mode and motivational mood including how mode and mood affect a capacity for being strategic and empathic. The 2x2 interaction of “Cognitive-Affective” (Informational Mode) and “Gravitas-Comedia” (Motivational Mood) yields four concepts: “Purposeful-Provocative-Passionate-Playful.” A leader’s ability to be Four “P” also has a powerful impact on team energy and collaboration. Collectively, these mode-mood and Four “P” dynamics are the foundation of “Leading with Passion Power.”

Each “P” term of the matrix will be highlighted by: a) examining a key definition or synonym, b) using obvious and subtle word associations or quotations, and/or c) applied case illustration. Hopefully, this will put conceptual flesh on the Four “P” skeletal system. (Or, if a vegan, add meaningful fiber to the same.) The terms inside the matrix cells or boxes are familiar, yet some of their meanings or associations may prove “out of the box” – surprising and, hopefully, both enlightening and invigorating. Grappling with these mind-mood action states – their psycho-motivational essence and applied potential – means expanding your “personal energy, professional creativity and organizational synergy.”

Box 1. Cognitive – Gravitas = “Purposeful”

1. Being Purposeful. For me, when thinking about “leadership,” being “Purposeful” involves both motivational intention and focused action along with the meaning surrounding intention and intervention. For example, regarding a particular experience, what are your short-term/long-term or micro/macro objectives and behaviors? Next, what is the psychosocial and cultural symbolism of these same goals and action steps as well as their practical significance? To better understand the importance of these “purposeful” questions and to place them in a richer context, consider these key leadership dynamics:

a. Breadth and Depth. A purposeful leader enables individuals to examine the parts (for example, members of a group) and assess how these parts or people – their roles and relations – interact to form a whole or a team. That is, such a leader is able to see the mutual influence of trees and forest. He or she recognizes and works with the motives and methods of both parties – team motivator and team member. The individual who possesses and shares genuine “understanding” of the head and the heart for many “helps experience make sense” (to play on an eloquent Bayer Aspirin advertising slogan). In addition, the purposeful articulation of the personal experience of a leader or a speaker is often a prime source for audience learning and inspiration (i.e., the modeling effect), intimate connection and the nascent development of trust.

b. Mission-Motivated vs. Messianic. Of course, some leaders are less into promoting down to earth or empathic objectives and strategic collaboration and more into selling a lofty or life-changing vision, a grandiloquent revelation or mission-ary statement that may be more like a sense of purpose on steroids. Alas, there’s often a fine line between vision and hallucination. (And believe me I’ve tripped over that line and fell hard on my derriere numerous times. Fortunately, I believe there is a correlation between having a hard head and a hard butt. And another silver lining: hard-earned humility often lessens the likelihood of becoming a visionary butt-head!)

c. Responsive to Feedback. In fact, the savviest leaders are not blinded by their ego or egoals, i.e., having goals that are designed and driven more by pride and egotism than by openness and productive opportunism. Purposeful leaders create learning and sharing structures and processes that evolve through time, error and consequent experience. These individuals obtain information and ideas by asking questions and have a history of responsiveness to audience or team member feedback. The instructional and interactive objectives and plans of a dynamic leader or manager are often significantly modified during the course of a project, in the middle of a program or even as an action sequence is unfolding. Evaluation does not only come after the fact. Might we say that paradox is at the heart of “evolutionary purpose” – a capacity for “flexible intention?”

Here are two quotations illuminating higher order “Purpose” through a seemingly paradoxical perspective that encourages daring and humility along with trial and error learning; each also values means and end. The first is from a law firm executive; the second is a Stress Doc maxim:

1) Strive high and embrace failure. For the head of a law firm, no matter the project, his goal was a 100% success rate, yet he understood this ideal was frequently elusive. His mantra exalted concerted effort and bold persistence along with learning from mistakes over the illusion of perfection; battle-tested insight was prized over “one right way” shortcuts and seductive yet short-lived control.

2) I don’t know where I’m going…I just think I know how to get there. This aphorism suggests that for achieving an important goal or reaching a key destination, there is value in meandering purposefully. That is, new insight or opportunity for learning and discovery may require “letting go” of the familiar or getting off the beaten path and taking time for exploration. Of course, this mindset requires a tolerance for some uncertainty and a good deal of patience, as well as (men…pay attention here) knowing when to ask for directions.

And Jonas Salk would likely agree, especially supporting the notion that the journey is often as vital as the destination. And he embraced determination and imperfection. The famed mid-20th century scientific pioneer believed that, “Evolution is about getting up one more time than you fall down, being courageous one more time than you are fearful, and being trusting just one more time than you are anxious.”

Finally, these quotes do not simply illustrate “evolutionary purpose”; they illuminate the distinction between having knowledge and possessing heartfelt understanding if not hard-earned wisdom.

An Exercise in Being Purposeful and Playful

Of course, such purposeful understanding is not only built through hard work. It can also be experienced through a form of play that allows participants to generate some initial chaos out of order and then achieve some creative order out of chaos. Let me illustrate. My most popular workshop exercise places participants (usually employees and managers) in small and diverse teams, e.g., members of different departments, people of varying experience levels, age, race and gender, etc. Within ten minutes, the teams are challenged to discuss and list the sources of stress and conflict in their daily workplace operations. Using the same time frame, the members now have to come up with a unified group picture – a visual metaphor – that captures the individual stress perspectives as a coherent theme or story. (And invariably, many are either anxious or perplexed at the idea of visually capturing individual stress issues as a unified visual image, i.e., this is the “chaos”-inducing stage of the exercise.)

The purpose of the exercise goes beyond giving people a chance to vent. Actually, the exercise challenges people to transform their tension and frustration into creative expression and team collaboration. During “show and tell,” people are always surprised by the imaginative images, e.g., a dinosaur stalking a plant as workers scatter in fear while their CEO is distracted by a circling plane (flying being a near daily choice of escape from business problems and his own burnout). Participants are also surprised and reassured that the pictures usually reveal common themes of frustration or concern. Individuals and departments are not alone; dysfunctional or isolated departmental silos perhaps can be reorganized or, at least, be reconnected. (Remember, misery doesn’t just like company…it especially seeks miserable company. ;-)

However, there are three other strategic purposes to this exercise that go beyond psychological venting, shared laughter and team building:

a. Strengthen Organizational Culture. First, the exercise speaks to the ever-present yet often background issue of organizational culture, perceived safety and degree of open communication. When employees see that management allows them an opportunity to blow off steam (in a real yet non-malicious and creative manner) and that their leaders value the feedback, the usual result is an increase of trust. (Of course, I might initially coach and coax management toward this state of enlightened leadership.) The exercise strengthens ”we are all in the same boat” camaraderie and a sense of community.

b. Lay Foundation for Future Problem-Solving. The exercise also allows separate teams and the group as a whole to generate problem-solving strategies based on issues identified and illustrated in the aforementioned team pictures. And these problem-solving lists are turned over to management (or, even better, to a management-employee “save the retreat” matrix team) for future strategic consideration.

c. Make All Part of the Show. And finally, by having teams engage in creative design and large group “show and tell,” that is, enabling others to become the show, I’ve become an “orchestra leader.” My motivational role and purpose is to help others bring out their best music and then have participants receive kudos from their colleagues. (And I truly believe we all have an inner six-year old who wants to hold up a drawing and fairly shout, “Hey mom…look what I did!”)

Box 2. Cognitive – Comedia = “Provocative”

1. Being Provocative. What’s the first thought that comes to mind when you read the word “provocative?” Is it someone who is sensually enticing or, perhaps, someone who is intentionally irritating? Reasonable responses, but let’s look at the half full side of this semantic equation. Did you know that “provocative” is derived from the French word provocare – “to call forth”? Certainly a competent leader or educator wants to stimulate and draw out, confront and excite a variety of thoughts and emotions, motives and actions. He or she wants to “arouse curiosity” if not generate “discussion or controversy” amongst the audience members. Such a leader believes in harnessing the “Five Provocative or Arousing ‘A’s”:

a) Attention – awakening an audience, that is, quickly getting people to “stop, look and listen”

b) Anticipation – having participants or group members both engaged in the present and starting to wonder, “What’s next?” or “Where is this leader headed?” while having the audience on the edge of their seats

c) Animation – stirring people’s juices and hopes or evoking tears of grief and laughter, challenging conventional beliefs, firing the imagination and motivating a sense of adventure as well as a desire to pursue a common (team-or community-oriented) and uncommon (demanding, novel or original) mission. At another level, the root word of “animation” also comes into play. A provocative leader attempts to connect with a person’s “anima,” his or her more genuine Self and not just with the surface “persona”

d) Activation – both individually and in groups, providing participants with the training and tools for generating plans and for insuring that action steps are taken to identify common goals, collaboratively and creatively solving problems, reaching objectives and pursuing dreams

e) Actualization – when individuals and groups on a consistent basis are tapping into their deeper essence, energy and spirit in order to evolve in a more holistic manner and to engage creatively with their social and material environment, then a process of self-actualization is underway.

Clearly, the provocative leader or motivator challenges people to expand their perceptions and deepen their insights, to make surprising connections, and to “think outside the box.” A positive provocateur is not afraid to generate tension and use controversy as a motivational tool, especially to excite thought and movement “beyond one’s comfort zone.” For example, the provocative tool of choice for the esteemed 20th century pragmatic philosopher, John Dewey, was “conflict.” The founder of American public education declared:

Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. It

shocks us out of sheep-like passivity. It instigates to invention and sets us at

noting and contriving. Conflict is the sine qua non of reflection and ingenuity.

From Conflict and Contradiction to Quick and Clever

And this creative notion of conflict joins forces with the mode-mood pairing of “Cognitive” and “Comedia” in a surprising medium – a “Provocative” communicational technique called “wit.” Now I’m not claiming that to be a Four “P” leader one must be an Oscar Wilde-like wit or a wordsmith evoking gales of laughter from an audience. (Though I do believe people are often more open to a serious message that is gift-wrapped with humor.) For this model, wit relates to seeing and creating uncommon cognitive possibilities and conceptual pairings. More specifically, wit is “the quick apprehension and apt expression of the connection of analogous properties (that are) seemingly unlike.” Consider this playful example, from the comparative punch line in one of my “Shrink Raps” ™ (a contradictory witticism in its own right):

The boss makes demands yet gives little control

So you pray on chocolate and wish life were dull

But office desk’s a mess, often skipping meals

Inside your car looks like a pocketbook on wheels!

Linking the messy insides of a car and a pocketbook is a witty comparison. Wit cleverly relates unexpected ideas, images and patterns. In addition, especially for our purposes, wit integrates the seemingly contradictory, as in differentiating and then transforming the apparent oppositional qualities “Cognitive-Affective” and “Gravitas-Comedia” into a unified “Passion Power” model.

Interface of Wit and Wisdom

Actually, Mark Twain, the esteemed man of letters, captures this broad cognitive and comedic, surprising and paradoxical essence of wit. Twain ingeniously observed: Wit is the sudden marriage of ideas which before their union were not perceived to have any relation. However, being paradoxical or incongruous does not only fuel the provocative and the playful. Grappling effectively with conflict and seeming contradiction may be essential for intelligent and wise leadership. Consider this quote by the esteemed (and certainly conflicted) 20th century novelist, F. Scott Fitzgerald, an observation that has been echoed by many in the arts and sciences. (And with the Four “P” Model in mind, I have substituted the word “leader” for “intellect.”)

The test of a first rate [leader] is the capacity to hold two opposed ideas in the

mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. For example, one

should see things as hopeless yet be determined to make them otherwise.

And this grappling with paradox, with battle-tested opposition and battle-tempered optimism may well sow another “Passionately Powerful” ingredient of leadership – ‘”the public face of wisdom” – or what Stephen Hall calls “responsibility to the collective future, offering a kind of moral inspiration to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people.” (Stephen Hall, “The Older and Wiser Hypothesis,” The New York Times Magazine, May 6, 2007, p.58.): There is a Yin-Yang quality to wisdom. It “is founded upon knowledge, but part of the physics of wisdom is shaped by uncertainty. Action is important, but so is judicious inaction. Emotion is central to wisdom, yet detachment is essential.”

Still, oft times, that formative ingredient for the bridge between hopelessness and determination is a blend of both mighty struggle and mindful “letting go” along the paradoxical pathway of symbolic if not spiritual death and rebirth. These poetic lines penned years ago make a fitting transition from a “cognitive-comedia” analysis to the “affective-gravitas” box”:

For the Phoenix to rise from the ashes

One must know the pain

To transform the fire to burning desire!

Box 3. Affective – Gravitas = Passionate

1. Being Passionate. Passion! What does it evoke? Intensity, heat, steaminess…the “s”-word: “soap opera?” No, of course it’s sex? Actually, we in Washington, DC know the “s”-word for passion…It is “Senator.” (Or it was until Bill Clinton ruined my joke.) Interestingly, if you have a good dictionary the “s”-word for “passion” is neither sex nor senator…it’s “suffering,” as in the Passion Play. This relates to the sufferings of Jesus or, more generically, to the sufferings of a martyr. (Imagine all this time I never knew my Jewish mother was such a passionate woman!)

a. Suffering, Passion and Power Connection. So what’s the connection between “suffering,” “passion” and being a powerful leader or motivator? For me it’s fundamental (but beware a passion that has any motivational speaker or leader becoming a self-righteous or obsessed, “I know the one truth” fundamentalist. Remember, there’s that fine line between vision and hallucination). Actually, grappling honestly with your pure pain, with your deepest emotional memories (for renowned English author, John Fowles, his “electric current”) means being plugged into your power source. (Also, there is the classic adage of the existential philosopher, Georges Santayana: Those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are condemned to repeat them.) Personally, feeling and facing the emotional breadth and depth of my past – no matter how painful – means living more fully in the present and living more fearlessly for the future. Ultimately, you make decisions from the heart (and gut), not just the head.

b. Passion and Leadership. And people feel and are touched by your pain, energy and courage. As Francois La Rouchefoucald, the 17th century French classical writer, observed (quoted in Kay Redfield Jamison’s Exuberance: The Passion For Life, Random House, 2004), “Passions are the only orators which always persuade. They are like an act of nature, the rules of which are infallible; and the simplest man who has some passion persuades better than the most eloquent who has none.” Jamison, meanwhile, underscores a dynamic commander’s ability to unite a divided or dispirited group, organization or nation: “In times of adversity, inspired leadership offers energy and hope where little or none exist, gives a belief in the future to those who have lost it, and provides a unifying spirit to a splintered populace.”

c. Leadership and Letting Go. Yet despite the connection and reciprocal energy transfusions between leader and followers (or maybe because of the same), a passionate and wise leader, one who values personal integrity and uplifting humanity, likely will need time and space to grapple with his or her demons of the deep and the dark. Such introspection is often necessary for a dynamic leader not to succumb to self-serving grandiosity or a messianic complex. Personally, to transform pain into “passion power” is often a leap of faith. If I pause and courageously gaze into and meditate upon that black hole and, often with the help of tears, my fog recedes and the dark clouds disperse, then that restless, haunting “night of the soul” may magically open up a luminous path of natural healing and hope. As I once observed:

Whether the loss is a key person, a desired position or a powerful

illusion, each deserves the respect of a mourning. The pit in the

stomach, the clenched fists and quivering, jaw, the anguished

sobs prove catalytic in time. In mystical fashion, like spring upon

winter, the seeds of dissolution bear fruitful renewal.

Surviving the dark night, at times in solitude, sometimes with support, frequently yields a new dawn of purpose and direction. (And support, of course, can range from the psychosocial to the biochemical.)

d. Humility and Integrity. Trial and error (and if you survive, even trial and terror) is often the source of both penetrating insight (especially about the abuse of power) and passionate humility. And I use the phrase “passionate humility” knowingly. While acknowledging and honoring humility, you must also overcome a constricting self-consciousness and listen to your inner cry – from a need to present an authentic self to a need for individual space or to right an injustice. Achieving real freedom – both psychological and physical in nature – requires “blood, sweat, tears and joy” struggle. Consider this “higher pain-higher power” passage from the 20th century pioneering poet, e.e. cummings: To be nobody but yourself night and day in a world that is trying to make you like everybody else, is to fight the hardest fight you will ever fight…And you never stop fighting.”

So harness and share your pain and passion and embark on a journey of self-definition and self-discovery along the imperfect lifelong path of learning and leading:

Remember, an error of judgment or design rarely consigns one to a position of incompetence; such miscalculations more likely reveal inexperience or immaturity, perhaps even boldness. Our so-called failures can be channeled as guiding streams – sometimes raging rivers – of opportunity and experience that widen and deepen the risk-taking passage. If we can just immerse ourselves in those unpredictably churning yet ultimately rejuvenating waters.

Rebuilding Fire and Spirit: The Social Worker Story

So how can you bring more passionate energy to life’s roles and responsibilities? How can you resurrect your personal and professional spirit? Here’s one example. During a break in a Practice Safe Stress Program, an experienced social worker approached me about her interest in doing public speaking. People have told her she has a flair for communicating with groups. When I encouraged her to choose a subject that evokes feelings of passion, her immediate reply: “That’s what everyone says.” But alas, she claimed she wasn’t feeling passionate about anything right now; she couldn’t focus on a particular subject. She likely was dealing with “third stage” burnout – “cynicism and callousness.”

This woman intuitively understood that to rediscover her fire and soul she needed to shake up her career puzzle. And she was challenging me to dig deeper and share something tangible and meaningful. Now really focusing on her heartfelt and existential plea, I responded with a series of suggestions and questions, ultimately helping us both find the proverbial pass in the impasse? Consider these strategic points:

1) identify a source of or an experience related to major personal pain or trauma and/or life-identity challenge or crisis (recall how the Latin root for “passion” relates to “suffering”)

2) reflect broadly and deeply on how this experience impacted you and significant others?; what were past-present-future fears, frustrations and fantasies exposed or cultivated by this trauma or challenge?

3) how did you not just cope but fight through the warring external dungeons and dragons and internal self-doubts and demons?

4) what did you learn from the initial or ongoing trials, failures and successes? What aspects of your life – substance and style, mind-body-spirit – were transformed? Also, what growth processes still remain; what research and learning must continue? And how does your story relate to another individual trying to make sense of his or her life or struggling to discover a life purpose? And finally,

5) how will you organize this newfound understanding in your head and heart and how will you share this hard-earned and soulful wisdom with others?

And suddenly the light went on. This seeker had a pregnant concept to ponder, nurture and pursue. She stated that she would credit me for her launch once she’s on the national speaking circuit. In fact, with practice and persistence, along with a healthy dose of such attitude and her new rekindled spirit, she just might make it!

So sing out from the stage. Let inspired expression be the medium for releasing your passion and truth and for helping others realize their fervent and fertile desires. To quote my workshop title – “Ignite Your Fire, Inspire Their Focus.” Your passionate essence becomes food for thought and fuel for the heart, nurturing spirits within and without.

Box 4. Affective – Comedia

1. Being Playful. As a way of introducing the final “P,” let’s stop and consider the emotive transition from “Gravitas” to “Comedia.” Is there an “Affective” link between being “Passionate” and “Playful?” Consider the contrast of “play” and “work.” While the former can be strenuous, for example, playing a competitive sport, true play always retains the objective of “amusement, diversion or enjoyment.” In fact, I recently changed the descriptor of a “Practice Safe Stress” training program from workshop to “playshop.” Yet there’s a reason why child psychologists often deem the play of a child equivalent to work.

a. Multi-Functional Play. More than just being a light-hearted pursuit, play has been one of the greatest enterprises for exploring, socializing, bonding and unifying throughout the evolutionary history of the animal kingdom. Play has many functions: a) gives individuals an opportunity to learn group norms and boundaries, b) allows for innovatively expanding and challenging rules and procedures, c) encourages skill development and the exercise of the imagination, d) may be a learning laboratory for emotional development, maturation and creativity in the realms of work, friendship and love, and e) frequently builds a sense of individual and group identity and short- and long-term camaraderie as well as fostering trust and teamwork. And play infused with laughter seems to magnify the above psychosocial and cultural processes. Of course, play can also turn into an aggressive “winner take all” or “win at any cost” pursuit or obsession. (Think steroid use in a variety of athletic arenas). The “playground” starts morphing into a “battleground.”

Yet, even in the most serious, fragile and painful moments, humor and laughter may come out and play. Consider this quote from one of the pioneering geniuses of comedy, Charlie Chaplin:

A paradoxical thing about making comedy is that it is precisely the

tragic which arouses the funny. We have to laugh due to our

helplessness in the face of natural forces and in order not to go crazy.

b. Multifaceted Nature of “Play.” Play is certainly a protean concept, frequently taking on new shape, size and substance. For example, despite a spontaneous understanding of the word, I never realized how many common expressions begin with or involve the word “play.” Nor could I imagine how the varieties of expressions with their different connotations speak to the skills and strategies of the versatile leader and performer. Consider these examples: “play upon” (words or another’s emotions), “play a role” or “role-play,” “play it by ear” (that is, having a capacity for improvisation or, for example, by truly listening to your team’s and audience’s needs and interests as your project or program unfolds), and “play the fool” (often knowingly and for strategic advantage). I especially like this usage: “play a trick on.” Based on my experience, being “mischievous” or a tad “devilish” – two of Roget’s synonyms for “playful” – can be very engaging qualities that, ultimately, spark or tickle others out of their comfort zones. Also, many people embrace or long to act out their impish, slightly naughty or roguish inner child (e.g., think adult Halloween costumes). Or admire or envy, if only secretly, those who do.

Certainly, a dynamic leader or presenter wants to give “full play” to his or her mind and emotions – whether play involves “range, liberty, license or freedom” (within “PG” or, perhaps on occasion, “R”-rated limits). And even the phenomenon of the “play of light and shadow” can be an analogy for the rapid movement or sudden ebbs and flows within and between our two basic dimensions – “cognitive–affective” and especially “gravitas–comedia.” (And as a presenter and motivator I also freely move back and forth between serious and humorous lecture, exercise and group discussion, hopefully generating both shared high energy and poignant reflection.)

Closing Story

The “Four ‘P’s of Passion Power” have been outlined as a 2x2 matrix. While perhaps an ideal model, these performance and leadership concepts and applied strategies have been evolving for me over the course of more than two decades as a therapist and coach, OD/team building consultant, workshop facilitator and motivational speaker. This educational and motivational schema is battle-tested! My head and heart-felt belief is that when a presenter or leader blends and expresses the “cognitive and affective” along with a capacity for “gravitas and comedia” then, to invert “the bard,” an interactive stage or arena ripe for human drama comes into play. Leader and audience or troops, manager and employees or educator and students are set to generate dynamic chemistry, engage in fresh and focused communication and mutually generate a transitional space. This space-time interface is alive with possibility. Both parties can authentically engage and energetically define and design specific relationships within a “high task and high touch” world of learning, imagination and creative activity.

“Passion Power” at Work: Healing Organizational Wounds

Finally, consider this Four “P” enactment with an organization in crisis that surely was built on “Purposeful-Provocative-Passionate-Playful” pillars. The intervention definitely captured the essence of synergy: the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts! Naturally, this is especially true when the parts are contentiously divided. Nearly twenty years ago, I was consulting with a federal court that was automating their record keeping process. Management had not solicited much input from employees directly impacted by the technical changes, especially involving a key administrative form. The employees were not just anxious about an uncertain future but were also angry for being bypassed in the decision-making and implementation process. In the employees’ minds their professional status and experience were being ignored or discounted. And not surprisingly, there was passive group resistance to the change.

Memos and motivational exhortations were having minimal effect when an epiphany began percolating. In a meeting with top management I noted that we missed the boat on the front end, but I believed we could get back on. But we had to stop simply defining employee behavior as resistance to change. We needed to appreciate and truly understand their sense of loss of control and even a loss of identity, along with the understandable hurt and anger. We needed to grasp the reality that a new learning curve often generates anxiety and, perhaps, a diminished sense of self-confidence and competence. Once I recognized their state of grief, achieving a starting point was possible: "Let's have a forms funeral." Suddenly, we had a live public forum in which a common reality could be acknowledged and emotional intensity be openly aroused and shared. This proved a lot more effective than a typical – whether formal or informal – gripe session. We gave employees a stage for: a) mourning the loss of the old data processing system, b) expressing frustration with management's unilateral process and c) articulating concerns about the upcoming changes. And the stage eventually became a forum for shared laughter around common frustrations and even a sense of celebration. (An Irish wake comes to mind, or perhaps using the dying to celebrate the living.)

Analysis: So pairing organizational loss and change with the dynamics of grief yielded an imaginative and provocative analogy, one with real life application. (As a change agent, might we say I was “living by my wits”?) The idea of a forms funeral that allowed for group and community grieving, including acknowledging employee pain and management missteps, helped build a communicational bridge. Giving and accepting critical feedback enabled both parties to reach an understanding of the problem dynamics, to begin rebuilding trust, to gradually let go of past hurts while engaging in future decision-making dialogue, and to achieve hopeful closure. Now all levels in the organization recognized that the whole had to be part of the problem and part of the solution.

The double-edged nature of the funeral analogy became apparent: a forms funeral allowed the organization to lay to rest, genuinely and respectfully, a painful and contentious past while creating an opportunity for a new way of collaborating – with mutual “give-and-take.” Clearly, our funeral was a two-way – management-employee, past-future – “rites of passage.” By thinking provocatively and acting imaginatively, a more cohesive and responsive Organizational Phoenix rose from the administrative ashes of unilateral decision-making. We had transcended the proverbial “box”…obviously now we were thinking and living “out of the coffin!”

Finally, the closing segment of this series (Part III) will use the Four “P” Model as a jumping off point for becoming not just a dynamic leader but also a Purposeful-Provocative-Passionate-Playful “Motivational Humorist.” Hopefully, tools and techniques to help you and your group lead a life infused with “Passion Power” and to help one and all…Practice Safe Stress!

Mark Gorkin, LICSW, “The Stress Doc” ™, is a keynote and kickoff speaker, training/OD & team building consultant, psychotherapist and “Motivational Humorist.” He is the author Practice Safe Stress: Healing and Laughing in the Face of Stress, Burnout & Depression and The Four Faces of Anger: Transforming Anger, Rage, and Conflict into Inspiring Attitude & Behavior. The Doc is AOL’s “Online Psychohumorist” ™ and pioneer of a USA Today Online “HotSite” – – recognized as a “workplace resource” by National Public Radio (NPR). For more info on the Doc’s speaking and training programs, email stressdoc@ or call 301-946-0865.

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