Sheku Kanneh-Mason dazzled us with his beautiful cello solo at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle last weekend. It’s always inspiring to experience such talent! Sheku delivered his performance beautifully, with confidence and poise.
It turns out that he is one of seven talented classical music siblings. CBS Sunday Morning featured the family in its most recent broadcast and encourage you to see the replay here.
It’s always good to get away to have a change in perspective. This doesn’t need to be a vacation; it can simply be a venue or environment that is different from your usual ones. By being in a different place, you’ll be able to experience things a little differently when you return to your routine.
Why is this important? We become increasingly insular with the day in, day out sameness. That’s why something as seemingly mundane as taking a brief walk can remove you from the sameness and expose you to something fresh.
The good news is that anything that is a shift from your regular routine can accomplish this. It may be driving a different route to or from work. If you ride public transportation, you can get off one stop earlier and observe what those extra blocks have to offer. You can even meander into a store that you’ve never walked into before.
These simple activities interrupt the patterns that are locked in your brain and open you up to new thinking and perspective. Even a small movement can make this happen: just getting up from your desk and moving around can be beneficial.
In fact, I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “Sitting is the new smoking,” When we’re out of our chairs, it improves our health!
Even better, take a short walk in nature. This is especially important if you’re a city dweller and concrete sidewalks are your idea of the great outdoors. Nature has the benefit of soothing your mind, so it’s a wonderful way to take care of yourself. You may not be able to do this every day, but try to fit in some nature time during your week.
Engage in these small changes to benefit from fresh perspective, which ultimately helps your mood and productivity. Share this with your staff, by the way, especially if they’re glued to their desks, day in and day out.
Have a great day!
Discriminating leaders are often quick to find mistakes and slower to find the positives. After all, in your desire for excellence, you strive for the best outcomes. How you communicate these things, however, can make a big difference between affirming and disorienting your employees.
Example: A team member completes a large, high-profile project with a few lingering punch-list items. Praise the success of the overall project and keep the punch-list items in proper perspective. If you put your emphasis on the unfinished items and minimize the overall project, you’ll do a disservice to your employee.
When is the best time to jump in as a manager? If there was an easy answer, we’d be able to magically apply a formula that would predict the perfect moment. Nice idea, isn’t it?
Managers often struggle with this timing. If they enter too soon, they become micromanagers. If they wait too long, they may be too late and the employee may have made a big mistake. Each situation is different, which complicates this question.