Brother Richard Hendrick, a Capuchin Franciscan living in Ireland, penned a touching poem about coronavirus. He shared “Lockdown” in a Facebook post on Friday, March 13. Since then, it has gone viral.
Lockdown
by Brother Richard
It’s already the end of January, and if you’re like many people, you’ve been striving to hit and maintain a better stride. Achieving professionals are always trying to go up a notch, and January is the month when it’s most noticeable.
To keep your momentum going, scope out the year and see what you can do to gradually keep your momentum going each month. The key is “gradual”, so think marathon, not sprint.
Sometimes we learn the hard way. You put all your energy into a project, go all the way to the end, only to discover that it’s not going to happen.
You’re disappointed in the outcome, but ready to get back in the saddle and try again.
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?
When you’re stuck, emotions often take over your otherwise rational approach to problem-solving. You may think that a particular task or initiative may be the obstacle, when in reality an underlying emotional hindrance is the real culprit.
Your ability to reframe the emotional issue will help you break through to a solution. The key is identifying the what is really getting in the way. Here are a few of the more common emotional obstacles:
As a leader, you may find yourself giving feedback as frequently as every day. Letting members of your team know about areas of their work that they could improve on is integral to your role.
How often, however, do you find yourself receiving feedback? The likely answer to that is very rarely outside of any performance review that you may receive. When you are in a leadership position, people might find it uncomfortable or out of place for them to give you feedback.
High growth business environments can morph into chaotic messes when you least expect it. As exciting as it can be to be part of rapid growth, leaders who spin around in these situations can lose perspective and tend to focus on the wrong things.
One tendency is to grasp at less important issues because they are easier to deal with than more strategic and essential issues. Those less significant matters are often ones that are in your comfort zone rather than the new challenges that arise with growth. Here are some tips to manage yourself during these times.
This topic was inspired by a conversation during a long ride with a Lyft driver. We were talking about the importance of a good attitude and he commented, “Yeah, I hack my brain every morning to make sure that it’s in the right place.”
I then learned that in addition to driving to make a living, Randy is a full-time college student (graduating next month) and cares for a seriously ill hospitalized parent. He almost flunked out of high school, was considered a loser by counselors, and against all odds got admitted to college several years after high school and is now graduating with a 3.5 average.
You’re sailing along and things are going well, and out of nowhere – POW! – something happens that knocks you over. As you pick yourself up and regain composure, though, it’s important to manage your emotions. As a leader, you’re subject to scrutiny.
The courage you demonstrate at times of distress can even define you as a leader. Think about times you have observed this in others. An angry executive makes it uncomfortable for everyone else. People start to tiptoe around this leader, not wanting to trigger an explosion.
You’re always making an impression, even when you’re not thinking about it. Have you thought about what others may notice if they see you outside of your usual habitat?
For example, a motivational speaker with a wonderful reputation was seen rudely chewing out a hotel clerk on the day of her presentation. The audience members who happened to see this were startled by the disappointing contrast from how she portrayed herself from the platform.