The Radical Act of Listening

Finding Strength In the Midst of My (Our) Winter of Discontent

Author

Lisen Stromberg
May 07, 2024

So Far, 2024 Hasn’t Gone As Planned

Hello leaders,

Oof, what a winter.

As you may know, at the start of the year I sold the majority of my share in PrismWork to my co-founder, Corey Jones, and stepped down from my role as CEO. Corey is now leading the business and creating a new and exciting path for our work. Go, Corey!

Since then, I've been on a "radical sabbatical" (shout out to the indomitable Daisy Auger-Dominguez who coined the phrase and who used her own “radical sabbatical” to write her new book, Burnt Out to Lit Up. It will be a must-read when it debuts later this year).

I wish I could say it has been all fun and games, but it hasn't. Between the untimely death of my father-in-law and the heart-breaking diagnosis of a fast-growing cancer - and subsequent cancer surgery - of my own father, coupled with concerning mental and physical health challenges of extended family members, and my own vicious bouts of both influenza and Covid (yes, both!), 2024 has started out so differently than I imagined. 

To quote, Maria Popova, the genius who curates the Marginalian each week:

"I had to remind myself that we were never promised any of this; that it is hubris and self-importance and almost touching delusion to expect an indifferent cosmos to bend to our will, our wishes, and our plans; that meeting the universe on its own terms is the end of suffering."

Maria Popova

While I heartily agree with Maria, I have found that the end of my own suffering has been to listen. Listening in a world that celebrates talking and telling (sometimes even yelling) has become a radical act; one that takes practice, stillness, and much humility. 

This winter I listened…

…As students in my Stanford class on modern leadership - high level managers who take time out of their busy careers and lives to show up each week from around the world -  shared their challenges and ambitions as leaders in these complex times.

…As senior female leaders joined me for a discussion on the changing dynamics of power in the workplace and how to use the power they do have to be a force for change with their teams, their clients, and in the world at large. 

…As the executives I advise expressed frustration, confusion, and exhaustion with the dueling pressure to deliver bottom line results while their colleagues, customers, and the communities in which they operate are demanding they deliver far more than profits. 

One shared with me the following: “I’ve had to lay off scores of team members and we’ve canceled so many mission-critical, purpose-aligned initiatives during a time when our profits are at an all time high. It just doesn’t make sense. It’s not sustainable.” 

He’s right. It's not. 

When I was doing research for Intentional Power: The Six Essential Leadership Skills for Triple Bottom Line Impact, I heard again and again from executives who expressed a dawning reality: the responsibility is on business, and its leaders, to be THE force for good.

Why? Because other institutions are failing humanity.

The global rise of autocracy means governments are increasingly neglecting - and, in many cases, harming -  their citizens. AI, deep fakes, and nefarious interference, means the media can no longer be reliably trusted. NGOs are doing, as they always have done, their best to fill in the gaps, but it is never enough. This means business must step up. 

As the Edelman 2023 Trust Barometer reported, “Business is the only institution viewed as ethical and competent…By a six-to-one margin, respondents want more societal involvement by business on issues such as climate change, economic inequality, and workforce reskilling.” According to Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, “The increased perception of business as ethical brings with it higher than ever expectations of CEOs to be a leading voice on societal issues.” In other words, the pressure on today’s leaders is unprecedented and undeniable.

As I come out of my radical sabbatical, I don’t know where my next role will be. I don’t know in what ways this will require me to pivot to ensure I continue to be a force for positive change. I do know I want to continue to focus my efforts on cutting-edge impact research, workplace culture assessments, and modern leadership development, teaching, and advising, because I know these are key to the transformations we want and need.

I am committed to continuing on my mission to foster equitable workplaces where each and everyone of us can do out best work for the benefit of all stakeholders including customers, shareholders, employees, and our precious planet. Given the state of the world and workplace, I feel a sense of urgency as never before. 

So, leaders, I am here to help…and listen. 

I’m offering a free 30 minute consultation to help strategize how you can use your power - yes, you have it! - to move from success to significance for your own benefit and for the benefit of your teams, your company, your customers, your communities, and our climate. Learn more about my approach to executive advising here.

Yes, I am listening, but I am also speaking. I am so grateful to the many companies who have brought me in for a discussion on modern leadership and intentional power. You can find a snippet of a recent conversation below:

Interested in having me come to your company or group to speak about power and how you can harness it to drive change? 

Book me here.

I’ll be continuing to write about the leadership issues I see facing you each and every day. My goal with this Modern Leader Letter is to give you solutions, ideas, and insights on how you can be the change we want and need you to be. I hope you’ll stick around. Of course, feel free to unsubscribe if your inbox is already way too full.

I’ll also be posting regularly on LinkedIn, Instagram, and my new favorite platform, Threads (Couldn’t stay on Twitter after Elon ruined it) - come find me and let’s connect. 

Lead on!

Lisen

P.S. May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Deepa Purushothaman, my co-collaborator on numerous articles for the Harvard Business Review including this one that will be republished in HBR’s upcoming book, Overcoming Overwork (due out on August 6th), recently posted on LinkedIn that we must remember that the “model minority” tropes that Asian Americans suffer can be silencing. We can’t listen if some of us are silenced.

For more insight on the experiences of Asian Americans in the U.S., check out this great research from Pew.

P.S.S. May is also Mental Health Awareness Month. Please take time for yourself so you can find your own invincible summer.

I’m Also Listening To…

  • Leaders struggling to understand the impact of AI. I attended a local Private Directors Association event to address the challenges and opportunities we private board members face when it comes to generative AI. The attendees were flummoxed - as are so many leaders everywhere. This is why my co-collaborator, Dr. Natalie Petouhoff and I are designing a course on The Power of Human Centered Leadership in an AI World this fall. Email me here if you would like to be notified once registration is open.

So, leaders, what are you hearing? Tell me…I’m listening.