Random Acts of Kindness

CBS Sunday Morning has featured stories in recent years on “Secret Santa”, an anonymous, wealthy, businessman who gives away $100,000 in $100 bills every Christmas. The story illustrates how he lifts the spirits of people he randomly touches, and we feel good just watching it!

Random acts of kindness are unplanned good deeds that are extended without the expectation of anything in return. When you offer a random act of kindness, you feel good and the recipient feels good….a classic “win-win” scenario.

Can People Follow Your Thoughts?

This question may seem a little like mind reading, and at times it is. Leaders who do not clearly articulate what they want are hard to follow, and sometimes it may indeed seem like mind reading.

This becomes even more challenging when they change their mind on a dime and “forget” to tell their teams that there has been a change in direction.

Good Service Should Be the Norm, Not the Exception

I think most people would agree that effective client service is inconsistent. While we may ruefully nod in agreement about this, it represents an opportunity for you and your company to shine.

My most recent vignette relates to nonsense over a prescription refill. This medication recently became available as a generic, which my doctor requested when placing the order.

Indiscriminate Urgency

Have you ever worked with someone who has a constant sense of urgency? Everything is a rush and you frantically try to keep up.

Over time this can become exhausting! Not only are you perpetually in the fast lane, you also need to be telepathic to figure out the real priorities.

“I Just Can’t Do More”

Although you might rarely hear your employees utter these words, if you pay attention, you’re likely to read them in their gestures, body language, and tone of voice. When people are burned out, this is often what they express nonverbally.

People who are otherwise reliable individuals start to slip. They miss deadlines. They forget about important details. They neglect delegating.

The Spectrum of Supervision

There is a broad range on the spectrum of supervision. At one extreme is the hands-off manager, a person who makes an assignment no matter how vague.

At the other extreme is the micro-manager, someone who needs to control every aspect of an assignment.

Where do you fall on this spectrum?

Leadership Musings

Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, was recently interviewed at The Atlantic Festival by Lorena Powell Jobs. He shared highlights from his 15-year tenure as CEO, including some musings on his leadership philosophy.

He mentioned three key principles. First, lead with optimism. “No one wants to follow a pessimist,” he said. Second, take bold steps, not baby steps. Leaders need to be able to take risks, and you can’t take those risks if you’re taking baby steps. Third, relentlessly pursue perfection. Never accept good when you can have great.

Electronic Dialogue

Communication can be challenging, to say the least! When you speak face-to-face, you can see body language, gestures, and hear intonation. If that same conversation is on the phone, you essentially miss the body language and gestures. If that message is conveyed by email, you lose the intonation as well; and if text, it can be even more obscure.

Many people shoot off an email without regard to how the recipient is going to receive or interpret the message. For example, one person I work with reads whatever is visible on the screen of her phone. Her staff knows that everything important needs to be in the first few lines.

Tune into Your Co-Workers

You never know what baggage people bring to work every day. No matter how well things seem to be going, you can bet that something is lurking in the background. You just don’t know what it is.

Some people are great at compartmentalizing and can have productive days even if something personally challenging is happening concurrently. Others will sit at their desks and stare into space, completely unaware of anything going on around them.

Back to School

September has a “back to school” allure, even if you haven’t been a student for years. Not only are we reminded of it by omnipresent advertisements of school supplies and the like, but feelings are conjured from our own memories.

This is always a good time for a fresh start on whatever needs rebooting. Are there goals that have languished? A new project that was backburnered? A special initiative that will energize your team?

Leadership is a Mindset

Tag: leadership