During the Holiday Season opportunities to express our appreciation abound.
What will you do with those opportunities?
Will you say the obligatory words and make the expected gestures – a business as usual approach to appreciation? Or will you take these opportunities to stretch yourself to truly make a difference through your appreciation?
Appreciation has two very important purposes – to let someone know you care and to let them know they matter.
With these two objectives in mind consider how you can transform your practice of appreciation from “business as usual” to acts of generosity and leadership.
Here is my “recipe” for appreciating people in a way that will enrich both you and them. The ingredients are Action, Quality and Impact. Stir them all together with heart and authenticity and be prepared to be inspired.
Action
What did someone do that stood out for you as a special and distinct expression of this individual? And be specific – specific to the individual or team. If it sounds like your appreciation could apply to a lot of people or any great team then you will know specificity is missing. [click to continue...]
“Character is what happens when life scratches itself onto your soul.”
from It’s Not About You by Bob Burg and John David Mann
It’s Not About You is a compelling story that doesn’t just talk about the kind of leadership that resonates in today’s world; it shows you what it looks like in action. It is filled with simple yet rich distinctions and brings the wisdom to life through a well crafted story.
For me the story demonstrates the power of letting go of what we want for ourselves, and even what we want for others, and stepping into the world of what others want for themselves. Ultimately that is the source of our influence.
Letting go of thinking we do know or should know what others need and what is right for them is perhaps one of the biggest challenges leaders face today, especially those who have risen through the ranks in more traditional organizations.
Ultimately our true source of power may come from recognizing, despite our best attempts, we cannot control what others think or believe, nor can we control their choices. In the end the main character demonstrates the antithesis of what I would call the “used car salesman”. It is his journey to this realization that makes this book full of insight into ourselves. [click to continue...]
When we don’t trust the people we work for, it can be very difficult to lead. When trust is lacking we are more likely to try to figure out what “they” want and how we can play it safe than we are to speak up, step up or stand up in any noticeable way.
When we don’t trust our peers we are likely to build a virtual fortress around our particular silo of responsibilities. Once again the focus is on protecting ourselves and our turf.
When trust is lacking, fear is present.
Protection is the typical strategy for dealing with people and situations in which our trust is weak. We may not even feel particularly afraid. In fact the better we are at protecting ourselves, our people and/or our turf we may just experience an illusion of safety rather than the fear that is pressing on us to take protective action. We may even experience the satisfaction of winning every time our protective maneuvers pay off.
Consider the real value of trust, however, is not ultimately that we feel safe to be where we are. [click to continue...]
