Leadership Seeds

By the time spring comes, most people are sick of winter.  We get to shed our winter boots, bulky coats and clothing, and the gloom of winter. We look forward to springtime. It’s a time when we are ready for sunshine and something new-a time of planting seeds (seedtime) and creating beauty.

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Collaborating with Others-Part 2

In part one of Collaborating with Others, I discussed two levers that impact collaboration; physical space, and online tools.  Physical space had mixed reviews in terms of how well it encouraged collaboration, some found it to be less conducive to cooperation, while others liked the open space concept to promote teamwork.  

Online collaboration was generally positively received and found to be good for organizations from a profit, efficiency, and worker satisfaction point of view.

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Collaborating with Others-Part 1

Experts discuss the lost collaboration opportunity now that COVID has people working from home. They mention the good old days when people would gather around the kitchen, the water cooler, or the coffee machine to chat, share, test ideas, and collaborate.  Mostly, staff would catch up on how the weekend was, what was happening with the family, what people were watching on Netflix, or any other streaming platform. While the catch up might not touch on workplace issues, the benefit of the chat was getting to know co-workers on a more personal level and developing a relationship. It is the development of the relationship that makes for easier collaboration. 

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Be Deliberate: Make your Mind Up on Purpose

What do I mean by this?

We get to decide how to respond and act, by being deliberate about our choices.

Being deliberate and making up your mind on purpose, means that you have guiding principle(s) for how you live your life.

Emotionally intelligent leaders actively practice being deliberate about how they will react and respond. When they decide to do something, they don’t let distractions, setbacks, and noise get in the way-they focus on what matters, whether it is personal or professional.

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The Power of One: Make a Real Difference

When I think of the power of one, I think of the honeybee and what one bee is able to accomplish:

  • One worker honeybee lives approximately five weeks.
  • One worker honeybee visits 50-100 flowers during a single flight from the hive. 
  • A honey bee produces about one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its life time and a bee colony can produce 80-100 lbs of honey in a year.
  • An average hive must fly over 100,000 miles to produce two pounds of honey.
  • Honeybees are responsible for pollinating 80% of all vegetable, fruit, and seed crops in the United States.
  • Honeybee pollination contributes $14.6 billion yearly to agriculture

Individually and collectively a bee contributes to agriculture, food production, the economy, and our well being and health.

If bees can contribute so much in their short lifespan, think of the human potential.

Everything starts with one; one idea acted upon that becomes a reality to change something in the world. History has given us great examples of individuals who have made a positive difference in history, with one idea, one thought, one action. Think about Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and the good they have done in the world. The power of one also applies to individuals that have ravaged the world and contributed to death and destruction. 

Many of us want to make some kind of a positive difference during out lifetime -I think it must be built into our DNA. The difference doesn’t have to be world changing-it can be as simple and complicated as breaking a generational pattern in a family.  Be assured that the difference we make in our corner of the world will have a ripple effect.

Maybe you are skeptical… think about the boss you had who treated you with respect and valued you. Did that motivate you to do better? What impact did it have on your work, self worth, and relationships? Think about the impact that boss had on others on the team if they also felt respected and valued. Did their work, self worth and relationships improve? What in turn happened to the productivity, satisfaction and well being of the organization? It likely improved.

Every new year brings new hope; to do better, be healthy, accomplish more, spend quality time with family and friends, and so on. Some people will make resolutions; others will make plans. I challenge you to think about the power of one-YOU- What difference do you want to make in the next year?  Make it whatever you want. See the difference in yourself and see the ripple effect on others. Track it, see what your metrics show.

If a bee can make a difference, so can you.

May 2023 be a most excellent year for you!

Photo by Slashio Photography on Unsplash

Clear out the clutter

There is something about cleaning out clutter. Some people are great at maintaining a clutter free life. I don’t know any of those people. I go through clutter free periods, but then the clutter builds again.

I always feel better after I’ve removed clutter.  I have a habit of saving things, just in case-you never know if you will need another wooden spoon. Another spoon? No problem I’ll just put it in the drawer with the other unwanted spoons and items from around my home.

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Positive Steps to creating a civilized workplace- Part three

Positive Steps

Recap

In the first post of this series, I talked about working in an uncivilized workplace and the impact this environment can have.  In the second post, I shared research findings on this subject, to show why this is a matter that requires attention by senior decision makers.

Workplace incivility is costly to employees and employers. Organizations that have an uncivilized environment experience high turnover, more absenteeism, lower productivity, and higher levels of workplace harassment and lawsuits.

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