Autumn, the season of change has arrived. And with that, a pondering of change, your view of change. What determines your attitude toward change? Beside ease of change, your opinion of change may depend on whether you have control over it, or the degree of participation you have into making that change. And, still there is always choice for a third option, taking control of what you can.
Look how far you’ve come. Without mistakes in your past, you couldn’t have the history to bring you to where you are today. You understand humans are imperfect. That’s why we are continual students. When we make mistakes, we learn more – than from doing something right the first time. From failing, we grow and stretch and challenge ourselves. When you make a mistake, would you prefer someone with compassion teach you where you went wrong so you don’t repeat the same thing twice, and you learn? How about when the tables are turned, would you also be as compassionate?
Can a conversation with a grocery store team worker, make you see and experience the joy and encouragement created out of this global pandemic? When life changes because of circumstances beyond your control, you can choose to see it as an opportunity to recalibrate, redefine and rework your plans for the future. The global pandemic connects us all as one people, regardless of age, culture, country and beliefs. Organizations are transitioning, the environment is flourishing, and families are spending quality time together. What do you choose to see and do with this special moment in time?
How can you be consistently authentic and true to your values? One of the things I admire so much about Millennials and Gen Z’s is their devotion to fairness and inclusion. It’s one of the reasons I enjoy working with them. According to Inc. Magazine Winter 2018/2019, a survey done by MUSE of Millennial bosses, their top priorities are humanist in nature. They include “creating positive work cultures, forging strong relationships in person and caring for the whole person, not just the worker.” Do these translate to non-work or personal life situations? If you are being genuine when you speak of those beliefs and those are truly your heartfelt standards for living, they would.
“Building people up” (being supportive and offering knowledge) is how people are able to reach their potential. Everyone needs the caring, focus, and teaching during those times of self-doubt, loss of direction, confusion or inexperience, we all have. Support and education are essential for you to fully blossom. Have you experienced training that was helpful to your work and maybe even the way you view the world? Berry Gordy, founder of Motown, used training skillfully within the Motown organization. He knew how to balance rules with growth offering people freedom to change and develop, grooming them to become even better, and giving them a chance to be heard.
Conflicts and disagreements were quick to happen with some younger professionals I’ve worked with, not through their wanting to be rude, but in their attempts to jump to connect dots. They wanted to move quickly; on to the next thing and press ahead. In doing that, however, they weren’t realizing they were missing full conversations with people. Instead of waiting, listening and asking questions, they were making assumptions around a conversation. Wanting things to move quickly, they were cutting people off from fully expressing their views. A satisfying conversation never actually happened then. How we worked through this? And, a tip from Tom Hanks.
What is a satisfying and beneficial response? It’s a response which lets you know you’ve been heard, viewed and treated with respect. This means both sides are heard and treated with respect. Here are three examples that would have closed the cycle of on-going requests and been satisfying to both people.
An emerging professional wants to be recognized and supported as they are still learning. They have an expectation that they will be seen by their boss in the ordinary course of working together. Is that assumption realistic? Does that person also shoulder some of the responsibility for making that happen? The other side of last week’s blog: https://susangoldbergleadership.com/do-you-know-me/
With gratitude to the 16 young leaders who let me into their honest opinions. I asked them, “What is the respectful environment that allows you to perform at their best? Describe it.” These are the responses I received.
Employees rate the number one desire to receive from their boss and other leaders is to be treated with respect. Mutual respect in an organization allows a company to operate optimally, to shine. How do you show respect? How do you encourage respect? One easy way to energize a team.
