Good morning from Vancouver!
We’ve been exploring the following leadership attributes from my reflections in Australia this summer;
Presence
Present Moment = Wonderful Moment
Slowing Down
Attention and Listening
Honouring Self, Others and the Place
Gratitude
Compassion
Solitude
Over the next weeks, I’ll expand a little more on each of them.
For this week, we’ll look at “slowing down.” My experience in the world of work is that being busy is a badge of honour. Imagine your own thoughts if, after you asked a colleague how s/he was, they replied, “I’ve had the most fascinating morning, watching this spider build her web.”
Slowing down is about being focused. It is about being clear and here. Some of the most fun moments for me in Australia were in Melbourne. It is a city filled with cafes, in fact it makes Vancouver look like a caffine desert. Early on my first afternoon, feeling hungry I walked into a Starbucks and stopped. “What am I doing here”, I asked myself, “I can do this at home!” I turned around and there was a café called ‘Mister Close.’ http://misterclose.com.au/
Here, for me was an example of the power of ‘slowing down,’ (as ironic as it may be to talk about caffine and slowing down in the same paragraph!)  Slowing down is about being aware enough to change the default settings in our lives. If I am ‘busy’ all the time, I’m going to fall into patterns that are simple, efficient and pleasant, like going into a Starbucks day after day. By slowing down, I might just find another place, a new opportunity that is exciting, different and fun.
Now that I’m home, I sometimes catch myself walking too quickly, and gently slow my pace down to look at what’s around me. I’m finding new perspectives, new vistas in a city I thought I knew like the back of my hand. And that of course has got me wondering about the ‘slowing down’ that leaders need to do. What are we missing in our teams and organizations as we walk quickly between meetings, not wanting to be late. What about setting your schedule so that you build in 5 minutes more between meetings, and use the time to do some leadership by strolling around (LBSA)? (Those of you who have some grey hair will remember Tom Peters’ line from the 1980’s “Management By Wandering Around (MBWA), that actually became “Management By Walking Around”. I thing Peters was right with the word ‘wandering’, and it is that sense that I’m trying to capture in ‘strolling’) Take some time each day to wander, to stroll around your area, and see what new perspectives, new vistas, new webs of interconnectivity  you might find. 
May we each find time to slow down a little this week.