Rituals are collective habits. They provide symbolism for our culture. They're almost like social tattoos.
Why are rituals so important in promulgating our culture?
A well known tenet in the field of psychology is the rule of reciprocity. In essence: "I'll give you something, then you feel compelled to return the favor, somehow." We see this strategy deployed all the time, particularly in sales and con schemes.
The idea of reciprocal bounceback is compelling, but it's grounded in egocentricity. The bedrock of servant leadership, however, is just the opposite. Rather than giving with intent of return, servant leadership is service with an outward rippling effect.
Not only does that outward rippling occur, it gets magnified by those influenced by the servant leader.
Think of it as ripplefication.
GO!
Our society often measures human worth in how much we accomplish, how much money we make, what titles and awards we accumulate, and how big of a splash we make.
Often lost in that rat race is the importance of connection and engagement with those in our sphere of influence.
We make choices about how we spend our minutes, hours, and days. When we look at our past, those cumulative decisions reflect how we have spent our lives.
A life spent truly noticing others, authentically engaging with them, learning from them, being fully present to them might well prove to be the most productive of lives.
We get to choose ..... this minute, this hour, this day ..... this life.
Poker players are always looking for the "tells," the little clues in an opponent's posture, moves, voice, eyes, or demeanor that suggest the quality of the cards they hold.
Trust Tells help us determine who we can trust. It's much easier to trust people who...
Organizational work can be kind of a drag. It doesn't matter if your organization has a membership of three, or three hundred, or three thousand, or three million.
Some well known things that make an organization feel and perform more effectively and affectively can be thought of as Force Multipliers. What might those things be?
Some examples include:
Some people energize us. Some do not. What's the difference?
Some work energizes us. Some does not. What's the difference?
Some energizers we realize, from both people in our universe and the work we do...
We focus. On something. Continually.
Most of the time we focus, out of habit, on that we deem urgent: getting to work on time, finishing that project, organizing our day, meeting a deadline .......
Not as often, however, do we focus on our own strengths. It is through our strengths that we have the highest prospects to ...
On the flip side, when we choose to focus on our weaknesses, OR those of the folks with whom we work and live, none of that bulleted menu above becomes reality.
What we choose to focus on, or DE-focus on, matters. It's a choice. A daily choice. A consequential choice.
