Leadership Notes -- Thoughts on Leading People and Making a Difference in Organizations

Word count this issue: 496

Estimated reading time:  3:30 minutes

Good morning from the Maple Leaf Lounge at Vancouver Airport. My early morning flight has been cancelled and I am still not sure I will get to Castlegar, which is fogged in, again. Such is travel in BC in March. I am very fortunate to be able to spend my waiting time in the comfort of the business class lounge here. Most people are not so fortunate.

My good fortune has got me thinking about humility. There is an interesting tendency appearing in the research about wealthy people being less empathetic. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-hutson/the-rich-are-differently-_b_2990395.html Part of this may be related to the narratives wealthy people tell themselves about their own unique and individual success. (here is Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s famous take on the subject, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcFDF87-SdQ ) Simply put, the wealthier I am, the more likely I will see myself as different (and more deserving) from others and that I will have a story about how my individual skills, gifts and strengths got me to where I am.

Take me for example; I sit comfortably ensconced in the Maple Leaf Lounge at YVR, with access to free food and drink, large seats, wi-fi, and TVs. When I board the aircraft later today I will be one of the first on and off the plane and my luggage will be one of the first off the plane as well. This is all due to my “status” as a frequent business flyer. I can easily fall into the assumption that this is all about me. I would be wrong. I so appreciate all of the perks that come with this status, but I need to keep in mind that other people have been working hard and making sacrifices themselves in order for me to be here. The airline employees who are part of a massive network that make air travel so safe and easy.  My team mates in the organizations I serve who ensure that I show up in hotel meeting rooms to find the right boxes with the right stuff at the right time; or who have worked long hours to design and build interventions and processes that make my job that much easier. My friends who all too often listen to me as I tell stories of late and cancelled flights, even though this is the first problem flight I have had in 20 flights so far this year. And of course my family, past and present who have had to make decisions, solve problems, deal with stuff while I have been flying back and forth across the country. While I enjoy the perks of my ‘status’, I did not get here alone. And neither did you.

May this week be filled with discovered humility and gratitude.

Leadership Notes -- Thoughts on Leading People and Making a Difference in Organizations

Word count this issue: 323

Estimated reading time:  2:30 minutes

Good morning from an overcast Vancouver. Thank you so much for all of your well-wishes and thoughtful notes about my Mum’s death. They were all appreciated. 

I’ve been thinking about rest recently. I mentioned today to a friend that I had 3 meetings cancel today due to the flu bug going around. She offered that perhaps the universe was telling me I needed to rest. She is a very wise woman indeed.

And I do need to find time to rest more, especially these days. I sleep very well, often getting 8 hours, and according to my wearable device, 4 - 5 hours of deep sleep. The emotional stress I am experiencing due to my grief is taking its toll though, and I find myself a little shorter with people, a little less patient. I know I need to rest. After a meeting later today about my Mum’s estate, I will do just that.

My reflection on this point for us as leaders is, beware of the “staying busy” syndrome. We may not be thinking consciously about the emotional stressor, whatever that might be, but we are processing. Our hearts and minds are hard at work, and they need us to rest to do their jobs properly. 

Here are three ways to build in more restful activities to your day:

Go outside and read for pleasure at lunch. (No, monthly reports do not count.)

Rather than coffee or tea, drink water in meetings. (I can do more if this for sure!)

Take a nap. Seriously, 20 minutes on a sofa will make the word of difference to your brain, especially when you are in the midst of a stressful time. 

May this week find you a little more rest than last week, for your sake and for those around you.

Leadership Notes -- Thoughts on Leading People and Making a Difference in Organizations

Word count this issue: 400

Estimated reading time:  3:15 minutes

Good afternoon from Vancouver!

I’ve been reflecting on how our emotional state can affect not only ourselves, but those around us. Our emotions are, according to the peer reviewed research, contagious. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-wise/201606/emotions-are-contagious In short, if I am in a bad mood in the office, my team and colleagues will pick up on it, and it will spread. 

There are times when I do get frustrated, I am angry, or sad. I know I should not be pushing those away because they can fester inside me. And surely, a “happy, all is well in the world” perspective is a little too sweet. So, what are we to do?

Here are three elements to keep in mind:

1. Because our emotions are contagious, it is important to experience our negative emotions as privately as possible. Live through them, but not in public. Go for a walk, take some deep breaths, call a confidante, but don’t take your “stuff” out into the office, or frankly, take it home to your family.
2. Focus as much as possible on gratitude. For example, I have found that being grateful in airports can change my experience of security and airline personnel. I simply show up in the line up with gratitude for the amazing system that works so well, so often and for so many people, and suddenly my mindset changes and interestingly enough so does my experience with other people.
3. Have compassion for yourself. If you are frustrated or sad, be ok with that. You have a right to your own experiences, and there is nothing wrong with your emotions. (Keeping point number 1 in mind). It might help for example to be curious about what the trigger was; sometimes it’s obvious, but other times we can be triggered without really knowing what happened. Ask yourself about what the trigger could have been? What it might have been caused by. And interestingly, by engaging the thinking part of our brain, the emotional responses will likely be calmed down.

May this week be one filled with alone time, gratitude, and compassion for self, to make us all that much more effective as leaders.

Leadership Notes -- Thoughts on Leading People and Making a Difference in Organizations

Word count this issue: 314

Estimated reading time:  2:30 minutes

Hello from Vancouver. I hope that wherever you are today, geographically, spiritually, physically or emotionally is good.

I am sorry to have missed last week’s Leadership Notes. My Mum died on the 25th of February, and I chose to leave it for a week. She was a remarkable woman with many gifts, and like all of us some wonderful quirks. I was in fact raised by Mrs. Doubtfire. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fi_4ycnxRI 

There is line in the book of Genesis during the call of Avram, before he becomes Abraham, the ‘father’ of Judaism, and Islam. The Creator says, “...I will bless you and make you name great, so that you will be a blessing.” (Gen 12:2) My mother was a blessing, and she instilled in each of the three of her children that we be blessings to the people we encounter. My brother and sister do that effortlessly, and I work hard at it. I have a model that helps me remember what this looks like at work. 

Some of you may recall that I have a background in improvisational comedy. There are few rules when improv actors play together on a stage, and one of them is that we are there to make the other person on the stage look good.  In other words, I am a blessing to the other actor, and they are a blessing to me. Imagine what our workplaces would look like if each of us were simply a blessing to our co-workers. If our one focus everyday was to make the other person look good.

You and I are blessed, and are called to be a blessing to others. May we have a week filled with blessings for others.