Valentine’s Day provides a good opportunity to think about the subject of love at work. Historically, the word “love” has been largely left out of conversations about the workplace, as if it doesn’t belong there. That belief is crumbling as we have learned what it takes to sustain a successful enterprise. Positive and healthy human relationships are now clearly acknowledged as a critical variable for success, not to mention for meaning and satisfaction. In their great book, Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes and Barry Posner end their 400 pages with these final thoughts: “The best kept secret of successful leaders is love… Leadership is not an affair of the head. Leadership is an affair of the heart.”

Food for Thought ~

Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One-Minute Manager and a host of other books, has been a leading figure in contemporary management and leadership training for 30 years. I recently heard a live interview with Ken, and when asked for his “bottom line best advice” for leaders, this was his reply: “Love is the answer. Now what’s the question?”

Question of the day ~

Does love have a place at your place of work? Does your company culture encourage treating one another with kindness, respect and appreciation?

Building on the theme I introduced last week re: the benefits of “risking” your ego/pride, let’s explore why that might be worth the perceived risk. In two words ~ happiness and effectiveness. Lance Secretan, the former CEO of Manpower, Inc., writer for Fortune magazine, consultant and author, makes a distinction between our “social self” that uses the external reference points of career/status/success/appearance/love as measures of worth vs. our “essential self” that establishes our self-worth using the internal reference points of our deepest desires, our character, and the ways we use our gifts and talents.

Food for Thought ~

For those of us in leadership positions, the implications are significant. Simply put, people admire leaders who inspire them. As you become more authentic and allow your work to be a reflection of your essential self, you become more inspiring and increase your effectiveness as a leader. Inspiration is the essence of leadership.

Question of the day ~

What’s your ratio of social self to essential self references? As a leader, are you as authentic as you would like to be?

We think of risk-taking at work as occurring most often in the financial or strategic realms. On the personal level, there are also emotional risks inherent in working with others. Perhaps the most formidable are the perceived risks that affect our ego, our self-image, our pride.

Food for Thought ~

What might risking our ego look like? Here are just a few examples: asking for help … reaching out to someone … admitting you don’t know something … offering a creative idea that’s new/different/controversial … expressing a minority opinion publicly … doing something you’ve never done before and you’re not good at it … admitting you made a mistake or you were wrong … making a proposal for something you care about or want. For some, simply acknowledging others is perceived as a risk.

Question of the day ~

How comfortable are you with “risking” your pride? What benefits might you experience if you were to expand your pride’s comfort zone? In what ways might it also benefit your organization?

Last week’s message encouraged you to set goals for yourself and your company. Setting goals helps us focus on what’s important. To focus means to select from a field of options, to prioritize. When we focus on a few meaningful goals, our energies and resources are concentrated and the likelihood of getting the results we want is multiplied.

Food for Thought ~

We may find it difficult to focus for several reasons. First, we don’t slow down, take time to reflect, and think through our choices. Second, we are fuzzy about our values or conflicted about our priorities. And third, we are concerned about “leaving something out” or think we can “do it all.” Ironically, we get more of what we want when we focus.

Question of the day ~

Do your goals excite and inspire you? Are you clear on your values and priorities? What are you focusing on this week, this month, this year?

This is an opportune time to set your intentions and goals for the coming year. Give yourself and your company the advantage of thinking about what’s important to you and what you can do to move toward your desired future. People and organizations that set goals are more likely to achieve what they want. It’s that simple.

Food for Thought ~

The time that it takes to reflect on your priorities and then articulate a set of goals is a fraction of the time that can be lost throughout the year from a lack of focus. If you are part of an organization, this is multiplied exponentially, and the risk of wasted effort and unproductive use of resources becomes significant.

Question of the day ~

Have you made time to set goals for the coming year, both personally and for your organization?

“Now let us welcome the new year, full of things that have never been.”
Rainer Marie Rilke, German author and poet

Rilke reminds us that welcoming the unknown future can be an act of confidence and trust. The more we can embrace what is yet to be, even though it is unseen, the greater our capacity to revel in the unfolding of our lives. Going a step further, I believe that we can take an active stance in shaping the life we want for ourselves and our organizations. In effect, we can participate in creating our future. Helping companies create more of what they want has always been the essence of my business.

Food for Thought ~

One of the attributes of a good leader is confidence in his or her organization’s ability to effectively meet the challenges and opportunities ahead, both known and unknown, while remembering that credibility as a leader comes from honesty and not false bravado.

Question of the day ~

If you are a leader, what attitudes and behaviors are you demonstrating as you begin the new year? Do you inspire confidence and optimism about your company’s future?

This new year’s edition marks the beginning of my second year writing these Minutes. Welcome back, faithful readers! Warm greetings, new subscribers! May your coming year be ripe with possibilities and promise.

We humans have created various methods to measure time. One of these systems is the 12 month Gregorian or “Western” calendar which has been the de facto international civil calendar for some 500 years. With the year 2010 coming to a close, I have been reflecting on endings. One of the premier thought leaders on the subject of transition and change is my friend William Bridges, a brilliant author, educator, and consultant. He reminds us that making good endings is the best way to prepare for new beginnings in our lives and our organizations.

Food for Thought ~

Changes and transitions begin with letting go of something. We can’t fully move on to the new place/job/opportunity if we are still emotionally tied to the past. Letting go often means recognizing a sense of loss. As a leader, acknowledging loss and creating opportunities for closure will allow your organization to move on more effectively to the new beginnings that await you.

Question of the day ~

Are you currently facing any situations that represent a significant change and/or transition? What do you need to let go of in order to have a good “ending?” As a leader, what structures can you create to facilitate this process?

Because it’s so important, and because most of us are so unused to this concept, I am repeating my reminder to take a moment (or two) and acknowledge your personal achievements and private victories throughout the past year. It’s incredibly valuable to recognize and appreciate your own accomplishments! Pause to enjoy them and let yourself feel the sense of satisfaction. Either stop right now for a “self-appreciation break” or look at your calendar and schedule an appointment with yourself to dedicate a block of time to this exercise.

Leaders will also want to conduct this practice with their teams and their organization. It will deepen your capacity to realign with your values and priorties and refuel you for meeting new challenges. Please don’t neglect this important step in the cycle of achievement. You earned it! And please let me know the results of your personal or organizational “accomplishments audit.”

Today, December 21st, is Winter Solstice, the beginning of Winter in the Northern hemisphere. It is fascinating to me partly because it has been observed throughout millennia and around the world in virtually every culture. Different meanings and traditions have evolved, but it’s noteworthy for its universal place in our collective human history. For me, it’s a time to observe the return of the light, as the days begin to gradually lengthen, and to reflect on light as a metaphor for insight, awareness, and clarity. What does this time mean to you?

Wishing you Happy Holidays, and please, let your light shine!

Peace at Work

We all want Peace on Earth, and the place to start is with what’s closest to us: ourselves, our families, and our places of work, where we spend 60% of our time. In the workplace, we can practice compassion, kindness, understanding, and patience. We can move away from gossip, making assumptions, hasty judgments, and blaming. If trends and fads can “go viral,” how about peace?

Let’s all do our part for peace.

Remember… THINK LOCAL, SHOP LOCAL, BUY LOCAL

FOR EVERY DOLLAR spent at a local business, 45 cents is reinvested locally. For every dollar spent at a corporate chain, only 15 cents is reinvested locally. Focusing our economic activity locally creates local jobs and contributes to the health of our own community. Shopping locally and doing business with locally owned companies is a very important act of economic responsibility. It’s something we each can do individually. Our own friends, neighbors and families benefit, and we can play a valuable role in supporting this remarkable place we are fortunate to call home. For more information about local companies and organizations, how you can be a part of supporting local businesses and the difference it makes, visit the website of GoLocal Sonoma County.

One of the best books on leadership in recent years is Good to Great by Jim Collins. He presents six key concepts that, in his view, comprise the gestalt of going from a good company to a great one. I have been addressing the subject of optimism in my recent Minutes, yet even more is required of great leaders. One of my favorite aspects of this book is Collins’ description of what he calls “The Stockdale Paradox.”

You must maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, AND at the same time have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.

Food for Thought ~

Whew! And thus, a great leader must have the capacity to hold the truth of that paradox: to honestly see and accept the reality of the situation, and at the same time, to believe with absolute conviction that a successful outcome will be found. That’s a very highly developed form of optimism.

Question of the day ~

Are you currently facing any situations that require the capacity to hold both sides of this paradox?

In last week’s Minute, I wrote about how practicing gratitude improves our ability to see opportunities. By focusing on what’s good and valuable in our lives and at work, we strengthen our “opportunity recognition” capabilities. Extending that theme, one of my favorite aphorisms has always been the concept of making lemonade out of lemons. In the world of work and leadership, that translates into finding the opportunities within the challenges. Every business has difficult situations to meet, and our attitudes toward those situations can significantly influence the outcomes. Even though it may look bleak, if leaders believe a solution or an improved position is possible, then their company is certainly more likely to create a successful outcome

Food for Thought ~

This principle is so central to my work with clients that I made it the tagline for my business: “Turning challenges into opportunities.”

Question of the day ~

What is your response to challenges? Do you see them as threats or opportunities? What are your fundamental operating beliefs?