Whole Leaders, Wild Trust

CHAPTER 3The Systems and the Souls: Bridging the Visible to the Invisible

We were never meant to choose between building the mission and tending the soul. Trust begins where the blueprint meets the heart.

If you had to pick between getting results or caring for people, which would you choose and why? If you had to choose and you couldn’t game the question into doing both, which would matter more? It’s a frustrating question because most of us want both.

What do we know about leadership and organizations after decades of research on their effectiveness and growth? A healthy and high-performing organization is one that has a strong focus on both the visible and the invisible—the process and the people. The visible things include the operational systems, the budgets, the mission statements, the products, the machines, the resourcing, and the job descriptions. And the most visible thing of all, results. If we are to run effective and high-trust organizations, we must see results. But results aren’t enough. We must also focus on the things that are more difficult to see. The invisible things include the thinking, the feelings, the wellness and fulfillment of the people, and everything that occurs within and between us as human beings. If we are to run effective and high-trust organizations, we must also focus on the things that are more difficult to see.

While the invisible parts of our efforts are often considered the soft side, it is more accurately described as the harder side. ...