What Inspires Me?

What inspires me is to know that I make a difference in the world, that what I do matters.  I get satisfaction in being the best I can be, at whatever I’m doing.  It matters to me to be a good person, and a hard worker.  It matters to me that I can make my boss’ life easier.  It matters to me that my boss is successful, that I have prepared him/her the best way possible.  If it’s developing the PowerPoint presentation, or arranging the all-employee meeting, if I do a good job, my boss looks good.   

When I’m feeling bored, or tired of working for a negative boss or with cynical people, there are a few things I try to regain my inspiration.  They include:

1.      Emptying my mind about the frustration I may be feeling, or about the annoyance I may be feeling towards co-workers who are being cynical about our dysfunctional organization.

2.      Let go of expectations about what “should be.”  I cannot change what should be if the organization’s management doesn’t recognize a problem.

3.       Let go of anger about what may or not be fair.  Fairness is relative anyway. 

4.     Build my own confidence.  I think about someone who inspires me, and remember the reasons that the person thinks highly of me, why they respect me. 

5.     Make a list of my strengths.  I can do more than I think I can.  Sometimes writing things down is confirming.

6.     I can energize myself by thinking differently.  Energy and enthusiasm are related to related to high levels of inspiration. 

7.      Energizing myself can follow when I try something different.  Talk to different people, call someone instead of sending an e-mail or an instant message, do something spontaneous. 

 If you want small changes in your life, work on your attitude. But if you want big and primary changes, work on your paradigm.

-   Stephen Covey

What is Your Purpose?

To develop a career path, one has to know themselves, and understand their significance in the world.  Understanding this significance can contribute to the gifts we give to others.

To identify vision and goals, there are several questions to think about.  Some of these thought-provoking questions are:

1.       What makes you feel good about yourself?

2.       What do people ask you for help with?

3.       If you had to teach something, what would it be?

4.       What activities make you lose track of time?

5.       What makes you smile?  Activities?  Events?  People?

6.       What do you regret not doing, being, or having in your life?

7.       What are your deepest values?

8.       What causes do you strongly believe in?

9.       Think about your skills, talents, or gifts.  How could you use these to help others? 

10.   What are your favorite things from the past to do?  What about now?

Creating a personal mission statement may be an effective way to creating a life of purpose.  A personal mission statement can create clarity and a sense of purpose.  A personal mission statement is based on the 2^nd habit of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, called “begin with the end in mind.”

A personal mission statement can also be called one’s personal “constitution,” for how one wants to live.  A mission statement can help bring insight into major, life-directing thoughts and decisions.  Writing a personal mission statement isn’t done overnight, it develops over time with deep introspection and lots of concentrated effort. 

“Writing or reviewing a mission statement changes you because it forces you to think through your priorities deeply, carefully, and to align your behavior with your beliefs”
                                                                   - Stephen Covey

 

Formal vs. Informal Authority

What is more important, formal or informal authority?  Or is one more important than the other?

Formal authority is granted when one is promoted to a leadership position, typically by a more senior level person from above.  Formal authority is granted due to one’s position.  Formal authority may be related to a position on the organization chart.  The formal leader has the power and control, and oversees decision making, directions, and staffing decisions.  The formal authority leader has responsibility for people below their level. 

Informal authority doesn’t come from being promoted or nominated.  It is usually bestowed upon someone by other people in the group or organization.  It’s granted for a number of reasons: trust in the person, personality, their expertise, characteristics, or charisma.  An informal authority leader can wield more “power” than the formal authority leader because they play a critical role in the functioning of the group or organization.

So which type of authority is better, formal or informal authority? 

People don’t follow titles; they do what they’re told to do but are just following orders.  They may not be following orders because they want to but because of fear of repercussion.  Formal authority is necessary when implementing strategic goals or organizational initiatives.  With informal leaders, people are making the choice to follow a leader.  With formal leadership, if given the choice, people may not follow the ‘leader.’ 

A formal authority leader would be wise to enlist the help and assistance of leaders with the informal authority as the informal authority leaders have earned the respect already of the team members. 

What Does Thriving Mean?

Common themes exist for organizations that thrive, such as democratic leaders and defined values.  Employees in thriving organizations are typically emotionally healthy and happy.  People are coached, not supervised.  People are valued for their skills and contributions, not seniority or position.  Everyone works together to design the future, and employees feel a part of the discussion.  Problems are viewed as opportunities.  Position and authority are replaced with leadership and development.  People say what they will do, and walk their talk.  Change is something that is caused, not something “done” to you.  People are passionate about their work.  Companies that embrace change, drive the change, and reward “curiosity.”  Employees that are curious are more creative and more likely to strive for developing innovation.  Team members all share a common vision, where each person is energized to find solutions to problems.  Mistakes aren’t bad, they’re part of the learning process.  Conflict is not discouraged and is used to positively make things better. 

Leadership Change Situations

Many years ago I worked in a “pool” of staff analysts.  We were assigned a particular director to work for and support.  I was new into the group, and was assigned to a particular director that was well liked.  I enjoyed working for this individual.  This director, shortly after I joined the group, took another job, and I was to be assigned to another director.  There was one director in particular that was not very well liked.  He was…downright mean.  The other staff analysts in my group all had a turn with him, and being new, it was now my turn.  I went into the situation with a sense of optimism, and that what had happened to the other staff analysts wouldn’t happen to me. 

This director had a support staff of four people.  His office administrator, his business operations support person, his finance support person, and me, as his staff analyst.  This director rarely gave clear direction, was often inconsistent with information, and did not exude patience when being asked clarification.  During one of his staff meetings, he spent 45 minutes railing on his support staff, in front of 6 of his senior managers.  We each got a turn listening to him tell us how inept we were, how we didn’t do quality work, etc.  It was very embarrassing, listening to him rant on and on.  No one said anything, not his senior managers, nor any of his support staff.

After this meeting concluded, I waited about an hour, and then went into his office and asked him if we could talk.  I closed the door, and proceeded to tell him that I didn’t appreciate being talked to like that, how embarrassing it was, and that if he had a problem with the quality of my work, that was between he and I.  I was nervous to be holding this kind of conversation, but I maintained my composure.  He listened to me, apologized, and then, at the end of the conversation, when I stood up, he asked for a hug.  I just looked at him and said “you must be joking, right?” and turned around and walked out the door. 

What I learned from this situation is that it’s okay to stand up for myself.  I learned to not sit and stew about being treated poorly.  HR had received prior complaints about his erratic behavior before this situation.   They knew he was a loose cannon.  After the situation I experienced, suddenly he “retired.”  It’s my belief that he was encouraged to leave.  What I wish would have happened was that his bad behavior would have been dealt with prior to my being assigned to him.  Experiencing what I and the rest of the support staff, plus the senior managers, had witnessed could have been avoided. 

Personal Values and Change Resistance

An organization’s culture directly impacts how employees react to change.  The problem is not change itself, it’s how employees deal with it.  Leaders can influence how their employees feel about changes occurring within their work environment.  Employees resist change for a number of reasons:

·         Not understanding the need for change

·         Poor communication

·         Another passing fad

·         Not being consulted

·         Changes to routines

·         Not thinking they have the ability to adjust

·         Change is inconsistent with the employees’ values

·         Risks outweigh the benefits

Objections to change can be managed from the start if they are anticipated from the beginning.  Factoring in employee resistance can reduce the amount of distress employees experience. 

Resistance to change can be obvious and apparent in a culture of trust.  Employees experience openness, transparent communication.  When employees feel engaged and empowered, they feel safe telling the boss their reservations and hesitations about proposed changes.  When change is introduced in this type of environment, lots of discussion and employee involvement occurs. 

Winning steps to incorporate organizational changes include:

·       Start early with communicating the situation and need for change

·       Make a compelling and urgent case for the need for change

·       Not only approach the rational side of employees’ thinking, but approach the emotional side.  People are more likely to buy in to change if they connect to the reason behind it.

·       Anticipate objections and take proactive actions to help employees understand the need for it

Managers vs. Leaders and Adaptative Change

MANAGERS	LEADERS
Focus on things	Focus on people
Do things right	Do the right things
Plan	Inspire
Organize	Influence
Direct	Motivate
Control	Build
Follow the rules	Shapes entities

Managers work with specifics, such as budgets, planning, setting targets, established detailed steps, allocates resources, processes.  These are the specific, tangible elements that can solve the technical problems.  Leaders devise strategy, set direction, and create vision.  Managers solve the technical problems, whereas leaders deal with the organizational culture and how to convince people to do what they want, and to like it.  Leaders get people on board with their strategy, by selling their idea to people.