When we focus on not failing, fear rents most of the space in our mind, and we see monsters in need of slaying everywhere we turn. We lose track of the original vision that propelled our actions, and the sheer act of working becomes at best a passionless exercise and at worst, drudgery. Here are some thoughts as you head into the new year on rediscovering your sense of purpose in the workplace.
I’m as guilty as the next person of finding the impending resetting of the calendar a cathartic cleansing, where the failures of the past year are suddenly washed away and replaced by the empty and unknown space filled with promise and time stretching out in front of us. There is something remarkably powerful and alluring about the chance to start-over, right wrongs and vow to do things right the next time around. Resolutions start out as good intentions early in a new year and often end up as regrets later. As a leader, you cannot afford to fall victim to the boom and bust cycle of annual resolutions. Here are eight key questions to resolve about your own leadership practices.
Given the state of things in our world, perhaps for just one season, Dickens’ ghosts can shift their attention away from Scrooge and focus on a few of those truly deserving characters hiding in positions of leadership inside our organizations and governmental institutions. Here are just a few of these characters in need of a visit from the Leadership Ghosts of Past, Present and Future:
It’s all too easy for us to get caught up in the political swirl and self-limiting behaviors that characterize the culture of many of our organizations. It’s a mistake. We have to learn to fight the gravitational pull of malaise and mediocrity that pervades our teams, or we risk being part of the problem.
In my experience, the management teams that lead the best performing businesses are those that incorporate at least three key strategic questions into almost every operational and status discussion. The gross majority of the dialogue in an organization is about How, and Who and When and the important What and Why issues are left for strategy meetings and other “high-level” discussions. While understandable in the hectic pace of the workday, the shortage of these important What and Why discussions reinforces a dangerous form of operational myopia, where the underlying and unspoken assumption is: If we simply get this done, we’ll be better off as a firm
Leadership Caffeine: The Critical Importance of Cultivating your Cultural Intelligence. Note from Art: this is the first of a series of Leadership Caffeine posts encouraging your development of the critical skills required for success in today’s world.
Note from Art: It’s a great time of year to think of the people doing the heavy lifting for you. What better gift than one filled with ideas, inspiration and a call to action in pursuit of great results. Any and all of my profits from the book sale here will be donated to a local Chicago-area Food Pantry during this Holiday Season.
Note from Art: I run this list every Thanksgiving…not because it’s convenient, but because the thoughts are heartfelt and unchanging. Those who serve by leading have many reasons to truly be grateful for the opportunity and for those who support them every day. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Recognize that the most difficult points in our leadership lives are profound moments of truth that define us going forward. We either face them, embrace them and grow stronger from them, or we let them beat us. A half-measure in the face of a profound moral or ethical call is failure of the highest order.
The November Leadership Development Carnival is now live at Great Leadership. Dan McCarthy, the Blogger in Chief at Great Leadership provides a wonderful public service for all of us with his hard work in pulling together and producing these events. Check out this month’s bountiful harvest with 45 different writers selected for inclusion. And remember to thank Dan…on your way out!
