Change Leadership

How Often do you Stop and Smell the Roses?

How Often do you Stop and Smell the Roses?

In the U.S. it’s summer time, a time to get outdoors, enjoy the fresh air (when it’s free of wildfire smoke), barbecue, spend time with family and friends, and vacation.  The thing is, just because it’s the time for this doesn’t mean it happens.  The question is how often are you stopping and smelling the roses?

Perhaps you think you’ve been doing this, and the reality is actually different.  Or perhaps you’ve been consciously avoiding doing this.  Click Read More to see:

  • If any of these things are frequently happening to you

  • What stopping and smelling the roses really means

  • Why doing this matters

  • What you could be missing out on and how you will feel if one these things happens

Putting Your Politics Ahead of the Organization's Mission?

Putting Your Politics Ahead of the Organization's Mission?

Watching the historic drama of Kevin McCarthy lose the House Speakership 14 times over four days, brings organizational politics to mind.  What makes this drama historic?  This is the first time:

  • In 100 years it took a House Speaker more than one ballot to be elected

  • In over 160 years it took a House Speaker more than nine ballots to be elected (he took 15!)

As change agents we all encounter politics, whether in a corporation, non-profit, a family business, or the government sector. The question is, how often are you engaging with them and putting your politics ahead of the organization’s mission?

Click Read More to see what putting your politics ahead of the organization’s mission can look like and what doing this could be costing you in your career.

How Accurately are you Reading Communications?

How Accurately are you Reading Communications?

As you prepare for the holidays doing your gift shopping, decorating, baking, planning, cooking, and more, it can feel like a very busy or even stressful time of year.  And when you’re busy, you may be more prone to hurry through your to-do list.  On that to-do list is probably several communication items, whether it’s responding to emails or texts, an invitation, a proposal, deciding what your response is going to be to a recent presentation at work, or some other communication item.  The question is, how accurately are you reading these communications before responding to them?

Now your first thought may be, “of course I’m accurately reading them.”  And, what if this thought is actually untrue at times?  Click Read More to see if these situations ever happen to you and what misreading a communication may be costing you.

How Often do you Put Your Money Where Your Mouth is?

How Often do you Put Your Money Where Your Mouth is?

Way to go to Yvon Chouinard and his family for putting their money where their mouths are (i.e. putting money towards what they say they care about)! And talk about being change agents, and in Level 7 energy (for those familiar with Energy Leadership)…wow. Who is Yvon Chouinard? He is the 83 yr old who founded Patagonia in 1973, the American company that manufactures and sells outdoor clothing.

What did the family recently do that shocked the business world? Click Read More to find out and ask yourself these questions to see how financially committed you are as a change agent.

How Often are you Deceived by Appearances?

How Often are you Deceived by Appearances?

As the world mourns Queen Elizabeth II’s death, I wonder how much does the world really know who she was. For example, did you know the below?

  • At the age of 18 she spent 5 months as a mechanic and army truck driver towards the end of World War II despite her father saying she should not pitch in

    • This made her the first female royal family member to serve in the military

  • She loved cars, had quite the collection, and had a special fondness for Land Rovers

  • One of her most memorable evenings was with her sister Margaret when they joined the massive crowds celebrating the end of World War II on May 8, 1945 in the streets of London

  • She never attended school, she was completely taught by private tutors at home

How about these?

  • She was actually related to her husband Philip, they were third cousins and she bought her wedding dress with WWII ration coupons

  • Queens don’t have to pay income or capital gains taxes, yet she voluntarily did so since 1993

  • Until recently she used to drink gin before lunch, wine with her meal, and a dry martini and / or a glass of champagne every evening before bed

  • She had a great sense of humor, a talent for mimicry, and could imitate the sound of a Concorde Jet Landing

Surprised by any of the above? If yes these are great examples of how appearances can be deceiving.

Over the course of my 20+ years as a change agent, I have seen time and time again someone judging another simply by what they see or experience from the person on the surface. The question is, as a change agent / leader, how often are you deceived by appearances? Wondering how to assess this? Click read more to see how often you do these.

How Well do you Apologize?

How Well do you Apologize?

How often does the below happen when you apologize to someone?

  • The person has their arms crossed

  • You receive an eye roll from the person

  • The person says nothing or they get upset

  • A big exasperated sigh escapes the person’s lips

  • The person has a look of irritation on their face

If you’re a change agent / leader and the above frequently happens when you apologize, whether it’s in your professional or personal life, it’s time to admit to yourself, you could improve how you say I’m sorry. Especially if you’ve been doing any of the below when apologizing:

  • Explaining why you did what you did

  • Defending your actions or making excuses

  • Following the words “I’m sorry” with the word “but”

  • Not actually feeling remorseful

  • Neglecting to ask how you can make it up to the person

Read on for what you’re actually doing if any of the first four items above fit, and how you can effectively apologize going forward.

Be Seen, Be Heard, Be Effective in Bringing about Change