Do you smile? I mean really smile. Well that’s probably the wrong question. It’s a question about being happy in your leadership.
If you are then you’ll smile. That’s contagious and the team will notice and it’ll pass around like a virus. I’ve very rarely got bad service or not have a problem solved when I’ve got a smile.
Average age 79.3 and they're all smiling - are you?
Not a fake one, but one that comes because of what’s going on inside.
So smile this Monday for leadership. If you can’t then we’ll keep working on it. Come back here soon!
I’m role-modelling with some new headers on this blog that change when you refresh.
Stephen
ps It’s Mum at her 80th in April with her siblings and spouses.
I just found this draft blog sitting unfinished. Well, not just unfinished, not started apart from the title. So I wondered, what could it have been about? Any clues? It was drafted on 19 April and looking back at my calendar, I had a farewell lunch and a meeting with Restorative Justice Waitakere to discuss an upcoming governance workshop that I subsequently delivered. It was a Tuesday so I might have gone to the movies so maybe it was to do with that.
Friday afternoon is often a day for catching up on things that have slipped by in the rush of the week, so I’ve been doing some of that today. My team have been very busy getting ready for next week’s Strategic Thinking for Leaders workshop and it’s almost ready. Good feeling.
This week in one of my client meetings, the client said that they were interested in leadership development – the soft stuff, real leadership development for real people. Eureka! Something has changed lately in the language I am hearing from potential clients. Strategy is important, but leaders are wanting authentic leadership development and expressing that in the language. Like I heard this week.
So that’s what the blog’s about. The uncommon language of leadership development. Often expressed as desired but when you dig, it’s management that’s talked about – getting the job done. Leaders need to do both, but focusing on authenticity will be a very special place to start and create followers. The management of getting the job done will likely follow too.
My last meeting of the week this morning was discussing a two-day senior lead-team retreat to be held next month: “So you want to do a half day of strategy at the end don’t you?”. “Actually I don’t now, let’s keep the whole time for real leadership development. We can do the strategy later after we understand ourselves and have a team vision”.
Uncommon language, slightly more common this week. Perfect!
Are you here? Or will you be gone by the first paragraph? It’s a long weekend coming up and by the look of the offices around here, I’m the only one not in it yet. One of our participants told me in no uncertain terms today that I was to sort out my work-life balance and not work in this long weekend, so I’m going to blog now. At this moment.
I had a nice dinner with Dad last night in Mt Eden. As we talked I realised we were very much in the moment. Respectful, interesting (well he was anyway), listening, allowing time for our thoughts to properly process, and gaining great insights. The biggest insight for me was to realise how seldom we are truly in the moment.
With the long weekend upon us now’s a great time to practice being present with loved ones. You might be rushing down the motorway, off to a favourite destination, a big hurry to pack, all sorted and off. When you get there, don’t rush the three days. And if you’re coming back early to “beat the traffic” I’d be asking who you’re trying to “beat” on a holiday. Or even worse, “beat” someone to finish the holiday! Congratulations (excuse my sarcasm) you “won” the race to finish the holiday!
The present is, well, curiously, right now, not in the future.
Dad and I had that much waited for future moment in the present last night.
Someone said at the end of the Authentic Leadership Course that they were looking forward to going back to work to try out the new insights from the programme. Others said that they were sad that a good thing had come to an end, well sort of, as the commitment was to stay connected. The journey of leadership development can include a programme when new insights are discovered, experienced in action and plans made for the future. For many, deep changes are promised and implemented. I know this from the many communications that I receive from participants after the programme.
Coming home for me after 4 days away, emersed in the work on the course, I was tired. I made a commitment to myself to get more sleep, possibly to enable the boundary between work and home to be clearer. Hence, doing a blog at home early evening! Is this work, or is this home? I mean pleasure. It must be pleasure, in fact it is because I often blog in the evening. The feeling I get from it is one of peace, fulfillment and plain good old-fashioned satisfaction.
So what promises are you making on your leadership journey? Whether you were on the Authentic Leadership Course or not, how will you implement those changes? Who will notice? Just the team at work, or will you bring it home for the better?
Never has there been an opportunity to bring work home that isn’t bringing the work home, and gives to home and those we care about.
If you implement what you planned at this juncture of your leadership journey, you’ll be happier for it. More authentic I reckon and that will not just make your team at work more productive and satisfied. You will be too. And you’ll bring that home. For much good for those that mean everything to you.
It’s nice to come home.
Stephen
ps here’s Richard Kerr-Bell, one of the Centre’s Leadership Coaches out on our Leadership Walk on Wednesday
Stephen Drain's Leadership Blog 