TrustTells

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...

• Give away trust to others freely.
• Win with modesty and lose with dignity.
• Debate vigorously, on the facts, without making it personal.
• Treat others respectfully, even when they may not deserve it.
• View every other person as a unique child of God.
• Engage openly and freely with others. 
• Express gratitude pervasively. 

With that rubric in mind, we can now look in the mirror...

ForceMultipliers

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:

• When many participate and few observe (not the other way around).
• When there is safety for dissent and open discourse (not fear and reprisals).
• When options and autonomy abound (not standardized behavior and action).
• When communications run in all directions (not just top down).
• When brevity is the golden standard (not endless blather).
• When kindness and respectfulness are the rule (not the exception).

May the Force Multipliers be with you...

EnergyIgnition

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...

• They make us feel impactful.
• They allow us the safety to fail upward.
• They draw out of us our best strengths/talents.
• We have agency in the relationship or intended outcomes.
• The time and effort we invest in them feels like it boomerangs.

Mirror time: How and how well do I ignite the energy in others?

It is not happenstance. Rather, it springs from choices we make.

De-Focus

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 ...

• Make the most impact.
• Reach our fullest potential.
• Realize our most worthy goals.
• Energize ourselves and those around us. 
• Serve the most folks in the most meaningful ways.

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. 

Gitter-r-Doners

Leadership occurs whenever two or more people are involved/engaged in some kind of relationship. 

Whether we're in relationship with only one other person or with tens of thousands, our thinking, intent, and behavior influences that of "the team" (ourselves included) and, thus, the outcomes we achieve.

Think of it as the Gitter-r-Doner effect.

Some of the best Gitter-r-Doners I've observed follow a very pithy script:

• CLARITY - Keep the direction our team is going worthy and simple. Tattoo and bumper sticker worthy messaging increases clarity and coordination. 
• TRUST - Having trust among and between the individuals and organizational teams is worth its weight in gold. Transparency, vulnerability, and honesty are priceless as trust generators and sustainers. 
• PEOPLE - All the fancy tools and technology in world cannot replace committed humans. Investing in the people is the surest way to positive achievements.

Enacting that triad is not so much exact science as it is art. And, yes, we can begin improving our craft as Gitter-r-Doners today...

Today'sLearning

When I worked as a school principal and later as a superintendent I would often see students on the bus line at the end of the day. I would regularly ask this question of them:

"What did you learn today that you didn't already know?"

Too frequently they could not think of anything. Which led to a short conversation about learning.

It's not a bad question to ask of ourselves, regardless of age, at the end of the day....

What did I learn today that I didn't already know?

MissedOppMitigation

I have observed a lot of leaders over the last five decades. Some do an OK job of "staying open and staying legal." The literature aptly describes this as "satisficing." Good enough is good enough.

A few of the leaders I have observed, however, are masterful at their work. For them, good enough is NOT good enough. Part of the skill set of those folks includes their ability to see and seize opportunities that present themselves. 

From watching those Opportunity Maestros, here are some of the things they do in that regard:

• Their eyes are always on the horizon, gauging the trends, the changing landscape, the shifts.

• They are prolific networkers, building relationships beyond their profession, wheelhouse, and age cohort.

• They foster cultures that support and reward risk taking with the team.

• They personally own "the failures" while giving credit to others for "the wins."

• They mine both soft and hard data relentlessly, from all directions, then make consequential decisions based on those data.

• They work mightily to embed adaptability into both the processes and the people. 

Continuous LEARNING is the assumed mindset of those Opportunity Seekers. 

Look at the horizon. What see you?