Louis CarterFounder and Chief Executive Officer, Best Practice Institute · Founder and CEO, Best Practice Institute - Most Loved Workplace® | Organizational Psychologist | Creator of AI Workplace Intelligence and Employer Branding Platform

Great Leaders Have Core Values (Part 5 of 7)

27 Nov 2017 · 2 min

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2:21

In this segment, Louis Carter argues that internal "noise"—the mental clutter and preconceived notions that cloud perception—prevents leaders and organizations from achieving their greatest potential. He asserts that a deliberate process is required to let go of what we think we know. Carter illustrates his point with the story of Senator George Mitchell, who helped broker the Northern Ireland Peace Accords by forming a committed "nucleus" of individuals who shared a higher purpose and were willing to stay in the room until a resolution was reached. This nucleus, grounded in a shared heart‑and‑mind connection and co‑creation, was able to quiet the surrounding noise and transform a volatile situation. Carter concludes that cultivating such a nucleus within any organization can similarly quiet internal noise and enable profound transformation.

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Louis Carter. One of the greatest things people have that moves in the way of our perceptions is noise. Noise in our heads. In order to move beyond that noise, you need a process. You need a way to let go of what you think you know. So the greatest good can come to you and your organization. I think about a great man who I interviewed and knew a while back named Senator George Mitchell. Senator George Mitchell helped create peace in Ireland. He created the Northern Ireland Peace Accords. He enabled it to happen with warring factions in Ireland at a time when tensions were the highest and conflict was the highest. And the way he did this was to create a nucleus, a nucleus of people who agreed to specific things. They knew that there was something greater than themselves at play. They knew they were doing this for posterity. They knew that if they didn't do it, lives were at stake. The country was at stake. And they loved their children. They all agreed on that one thing. And Senator George Mitchell felt the same way, and he told me, "I will stay here until this is resolved." He stayed in that room until it's resolved. He says, "I will not leave here until this is resolved." And sure enough, that nucleus of people, when they were brought into a room of conflict with so much noise you wouldn't believe it, only believe it from what you see on the news. It stopped. It quieted. We became much closer to our hearts and minds in a way that you could never get without having that nucleus. Through a true heart and mind connection and co-creation with that nucleus of people, you have the power to transform your entire organization.