ContinuaContemplation

We often drift into thinking in dichotomies and mutually exclusive terms. As if it's either THIS, or THAT.

Life, however, is rarely so discretely defined. In almost every dimension, we live, think, and behave along continua. We live out our lives in constant fluidity. In essence, our life journey is more like verb than noun.

Some examples:

In relation to our body weight...

Light <<< ---------------------------------------------------------------- >>> Heavy

In relation to adherence to our faith tenets...

KindaSorta <<< ---------------------------------------------------------------- >>> Rigidly So

In relation to effectiveness in our work...

Not Great <<< ---------------------------------------------------------------- >>> Killin' It

In relation to attention to our health...

Too Busy <<< ---------------------------------------------------------------- >>> Full Throttle

In relation to the quality of the relationships with those we love...

Oops, I Forgot <<< ---------------------------------------------------------------- >>> High Priority

In relation to our learning...

Huh? <<< ---------------------------------------------------------------- >>> Steady Upward Press

A similar continuum can be crafted for every piece of our existence. Where we lie at any given moment along those continua is a choice we have made.

We most certainly will make choices anew today. And everyday hereafter.

The richness and quality of our lives is truly in our hands.

GO!

WorkplaceWorthplace

I recently read St. Benedict’s Guide to Improving Your Work Life: Workplace as Worthplace by Michael Rock (2015). 

In this book, MR makes a powerful case that thoughtful leaders can create engaging and meaningful work environments that not only serve customers and employees well, but make the world a better place, to boot. MR makes his case by linking powerful and affectual workplace practices to the tenets of St. Benedict and his accolytes. 

My top takeaways:

-       Presenteeism. A new word to me that means to be there physically, but not really there. 

-       There is tremendous power in respecting the divine presence in each individual and the subsequent connectedness to others, to creation and to God it entails.

-       The three main anchors Benedict establishes are rootedness, ongoing engagement and openness to change, and the deep and inner art of listening.

-       Leaders who pay attention and notice are worth their weight in gold.

-       Above all, there must be trust.

-       Real listening is an act of love.

-       It is the active learner who inherits the future, not the learned.

-       Awareness of the constancy of change and the commitment to continuous improvement are like ying and yang.

-       Excellence is the direct result of our habits.

-       Disinterested management always yields disengaged employees.

-       Workplace only becomes Worthplace as result of intentional thought, practices, and systems. 

My favorite quotes:

“Moreover, the community itself grows and derives excellence from working together, for work allows us to focus on someone or something besides ourselves, and in that way, draws us away from self-centeredness and toward otherness.” (p. 34)  

"Mother Terea said, ‘We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon, and the sun, how they move in silence.’ Silence is not a void that must be filled; it is a friend with whom we can be totally at ease." (p. 53)

“If it falls to your lot to be a street sweeper, go on out and sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Handel and Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’” - Martin Luther King, Jr in New Covenant Baptist Church, Chicago, 1967.

“When organizations pursue excellence, therefore, employees will experience 1) a meaning-based process in their work, 2) a sense of connectedness to colleagues, and 3) feelings of being engaged, doing an outstanding job with what they are doing. All three, especially the sustenance that comes from the experience of transcendence, will build a culture in which excellence can thrive.” (p. 69-70)

This book goes on the recommended list. It's a good 'un.

WishyWashy

It's not much fun being on the team with one of the wishy-washy kind. 

What do they look/smell/feel like?

• NEVER want their name attached to anything.
• Afraid to make a decision.
• Slip out the back door when the hard work begins.
• Won't do anything without asking permission.
• Bite their tongue off before they'll stake out a position.
• Constantly playing to not lose, rather than pressing to win.

Looking in the mirror now.... Not the way I wanna be known.

LearningRequirements

LEARNING, at warp speed, is the default setting for the current workforce environment.

If we're working in a job that does not require us to learn daily, we may dead.

Might get someone to check for our pulse...

LittleBigs

Lots of words have been written about being an effective leader. (Quite a few of them on this blog cite.)

While there are bazillion variables that go into effective leadership practice, I see many superb leaders habitually practice some very simple things:

• They are fully present when engaging with others. 
• They laugh and smile easily. 
• They listen extremely well. 
• They say "thanks" a LOT.
• They do their homework.
• They pitch in and help.
• They show up.

Those little things actually pay big dividends.

Yeppers. We can start today.

HighRoad

There are many paths that lead to success. There are precious few that lead to excellence.

Watching some powerful models of pursuers of excellence over the years, I notice some commonalities:

• They paint a clear picture of "where we're heading" -- the VISION.
• That VISION always embodies a collective greater good.
• They model the ways of thinking and ways of behaving that point toward that VISION.
• They craft achievable action steps toward that VISION, 
• They measure, monitor, assess, adapt those steps, on the fly.
• They hold themselves accountable to fidelity first, and the teams they work with, as well.
• They pour resources into continual LEARNING and continuous improvement.

Excellence up ahead! It's the high road.

We can begin today.

PatternProblems

We often get steeped in problem solving mode. That busyness causes us to be myopic in both the way we view the problem and the way we attempt to rectify it.

Problems are regularly the consequence of faulty systems, patterns of behavior that cause the problems in the first place. Repeatedly. (Ever notice how often we seem to be solving the same problem, again and again?)

So, what the heck can we do about it?????

Some wise leaders I've observed over the years practice the following strategies to interdict the patterns that cause those dastardly problems...

• They force hard conversations among the team that require deep introspection about the upstream antecedents of the problems.
• They keep conversations about problem solving about the work (not the personalities). Topics focus on fidelity of effort alignment with the espoused vision, capacity of the players, commitment of the team, judicious resource allocation, clarity of goals, and lines of responsibility/accountability.
• They push steadily for meaningful action, instead of endless commiseration.

Once we're clear about the pattern(s) of genesis, we stand a much better chance at arriving at real and sustainable solutions.

We can begin today...