November 2020
Influence Each of us can influence our workplace for the better and grow professionally. The topic of influence has sold millions upon millions of books, and it’s the theme for this month’s newsletter. First, know yourself, which is essential for any reflection on a leadership skill. For instance, what’s most important to you, what gives you satisfaction, what challenges you and what is the change you want to make? Understand your credibility in your organization and field of work (expertise, reputation and integrity). Be clear about who you want and need to influence (it’s not always the same thing). Finally, know how you ‘show up,’ your presence. WHAT WE’RE READING AND LISTENING TO It’s okay not to be okay. Positivity turns toxic when we feel compelled to put a positive spin on tough times and dismiss the negative, reports Allyson Chiu in The Washington Post. Guilt and shame creep in and we miss opportunities for useful reflection. We might do this to others, too. Research suggests that people who tend to not label feelings as good or bad have better mental health in the long run. When Nothing is Normal: Managing in Extreme Uncertainty. A new McKinsey & Co article has advice about managing through any novel, long-lasting and large-scale change. Watch for optimism bias (‘It can’t get so bad’). Plan like it will. Question assumptions that have become your organization’s facts because new information will keep emerging. Consider new operating models that are reactive and durable. Take advantage of new opportunities. WORK WE ADMIRE Camphill Communities in the United Kingdom offer independent residential and day schools, specialist colleges of further education and adult communities for people with learning disabilities, mental health problems and other special needs. Their approach is to recognize and nurture an individual’s abilities and qualities as the foundation for a fulfilling life. I wish I had a gap year to go volunteer. QUOTE OF THE MONTH “You don’t have to be a ‘person of influence’ to be influential. In fact, the most influential people in my life are probably not even aware of the things they’ve taught me,” Scott Adams, comic strip creator
September 2020
Strategy Talk Whichever hemisphere you live in chances are you are in that “I’m back” state of mind. I know I am, after taking off August (mostly) for the first time in my professional life. This is a good moment for leaders to talk about the big picture and how their organization’s purpose (the ‘why’), vision (the ‘what’) and mission (the ‘how/strategy’) applies. Consider designating one week for conversations about how each and everyone’s daily work matters in this framework—and ideas for removing hurdles to implementing the strategy. Who facilitates these conversations will depend on your organization’s structure and culture, for example informal team leads or formal managers. Don’t forget the role employee resource groups, labor unions and staff associations can have in this process. The goal? Strategy is everyone’s business. Build clarity about goals, priorities, trade-offs and opportunities. WHAT WE’RE READING AND LISTENING TO Learning from the future. J. Peter Scoblic has a timely essay on strategic forecasting (Harvard Business Review). “At the very moment when the present least resembles the past, it makes little sense to look back in time for clues about the future. In times of uncertainty, we run up against the limits of experience, so we must look elsewhere for judgment.” To imagine multiple futures (scenario planning that is built into an organization’s regular planning cycle) equips teams to “sense, shape and adapt” in the years to come. How to bounce back after losing a job. Gwen Moran has a quick take on resilience (Fast Company). Focus on what you can control such as updating your budget, eating well and exercising. Take time to think through what’s just happened to you, try not to rush into decisions. Identify your “recovery team” (friends, colleagues and family). Remind yourself of your skills, talents and accomplishments—you are you, not your job. Help others, it gets us out of our heads and builds a sense of gratitude. WORK WE ADMIRE #BeThe1To is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s message for National Suicide Prevention Month in the U.S. Research suggests people who are thinking about suicide feel relief when someone asks how they are doing in a caring way. The NSPL has lots of resources for talking about suicide. #BeThe1To … Ask. QUOTE OF THE MONTH “Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen,” Brené Brown, Research professor
June 2020
Steady Leadership How do we stay steady in feeling, thought, word and action? This is especially relevant to leaders in even the flattest of organizations where all eyes are on them. Attend to the basics. Am I grounding all my communication in the corporate vision and principles? Are the words and actions of our executive team aligned with the vision and principles? What weaknesses will we shore up and what strengths will we amplify? What’s our next adaptation? Above all, check in with what keeps you, as a person, in balance and able to see your next move. “The Trough,” a short poem inspired by the Great Lakes region in North America, is my go-to—you can watch Judy Brown read it on YouTube. WHAT WE’RE READING AND LISTENING TO I’m re-reading “What Color is Your Parachute?” the classic job-searcher’s manual by Richard N. Bolles updated for 2020. I adapt some of the exercises in my work with clients to dig deeper into what they want from their careers. It has lots of practical information as well. WORK WE ADMIRE This is a bit niche. Actor Richard Grant, who co-starred in the tragic-comic film “Withnail and I” as an alcoholic, failing actor, recorded infamous lines from the film on his mobile phone during lockdown. The tweets started around March 20 and these little videos have been part of my resilience routine. What a joy. QUOTE OF THE MONTH “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel,” Maya Angelou, 1928-2014, poet.
April 2020
To plan or not to plan? I’m a planner. It helps me be productive and ensures I make time for fun. So, it has been interesting to read the advice to plan ahead by only a couple of days or weeks during anxious times. While context is everything, here are some questions that work for teams as well as individuals when the future is uncertain. What do I want to do? What do I need to do? What professional and personal boundaries will I establish to help me? What’s the first step? By when? What will progress look like? How will I take care of myself along the way? I have posted some resources on my web site. Please also let me know if I can provide some additional support to you and your teams. WHAT WE’RE READING AND LISTENING TO Integral Communications Group, an innovative “employee activation agency,” has a toolkit to “establish and run healthy, connected, and productive teams” released in weekly installments. I particularly like the process for creating a team charter. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and I’m re-reading ‘Forgotten: The Untold Story of D-Day’s Black Heroes, at Home and at War,’ by my friend and colleague Linda Hervieux. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in how people lead themselves through extreme adversity. The social and military history are equally fascinating; the storytelling is superb. WORK WE ADMIRE Obstetric fistula is a childbirth injury that leaves women and girls incontinent and often shunned. At least 1 million live with untreated fistula in Africa and Asia, according to The Fistula Foundation, which provides funding and training for local medical teams to conduct what is a relatively straightforward surgical repair. The foundation has earned four stars from Charity Navigator for 14 years in a row. QUOTE OF THE MONTH “Taking action means saying ‘no’ to indifference … It is a choice: whether or not to support a woman, whether or not to protect her, whether or not to defend her rights.” Dr. Denis Mukwege, 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner and fistula surgeon
February 2020
Do we have to? Procrastination is a frequent coaching topic. Many people come to coaching to get more done. Yet, our brains are wired to focus on short-term rather than long-term rewards, and we get in our own way. Productivity hacks such as pairing a dull task with something pleasurable or improving time management are useful and important—let’s go further. I’ve referred clients to a piece by Charlotte Lieberman in the New York Times, where she writes procrastination is about regulating our emotions. While our first reaction might be, ‘Editing this spreadsheet is boring, I’ll get to it tomorrow,’ we can instead ask, ‘What else am I feeling? Not smart enough, undervalued?’ With the answer can come awareness and self-compassion. Lieberman cites a study in which students who forgave themselves for having procrastinated on an exam procrastinated less before the next exam. And don’t forget to try a productivity hack. WHAT WE’RE READING AND LISTENING TO Organizational psychologist Adam Grant “takes you inside some truly unusual places, where they’ve figured out how to make work not suck” in 19 WorkLife podcasts (with transcripts). Binge away. WORK WE ADMIRE I have pre-ordered the final book in the Tudor trilogy by Hilary Mantel, ‘The Mirror and the Light.’ March can’t come quickly enough. Mantel’s previous books in the series were vivid, alarming and compassionate explorations of leadership, power and (a very un-Tudor term) self-actualization. QUOTE OF THE MONTH “Don’t think about the start of the race, think about the ending,” Usain Bolt, 1986-present, eight times Olympic champion, 11 times world champion, triple world record holder
January 2020
IT’S 2020, NOW WHAT? If you’re thinking about changing your professional field (or you know someone who is), consider this. Be patient with yourself. It can take people at least two years on average to move from “I want something new, but I don’t know what” to embarking on a different career (it took me four years). Be experimental. You might decide after speaking to a dozen lawyers that becoming a litigator is not right for you after all. But along the way you’ve probably gained insights into what motivates you, which you can apply to your search. Be organized. For example, invest in a coach (no surprise there) or do some research. Jenny Blake’s ‘Pivot: The Only Move that Matters is Your Next One’ is a pragmatic approach to making a plan for people who want a change or are confronting unwanted change at work. One more thing: be good to yourself. WHAT WE’RE READING AND LISTENING TO Have you been in a job interview and felt stuck between nodding politely when you disagree with a panelist and saying what’s on your mind? Coach and author Caroline Stokes passed on useful tips and insights in Harvard Business Review. My favorite: the way an interviewer responds to your respectfully stated and non-judgmental different point of view can reveal whether the organization is right for you. Renowned couples’ therapist and author Esther Perel (‘Mating in Captivity’) is turning her attention to workplace relationships in a new podcast, ‘How’s Work?’ It premiered in November, featuring two friends who went into business together, after flying as a crew in a U.S. Navy jet in Afghanistan and Iraq, and are now thinking about going their separate ways. A December podcast looked at starting over after a layoff. Reflective, useful and thought-provoking. WORK WE ADMIRE Tim Harford, aka The Undercover Economist, author and Financial Times columnist, is writing one book review per week this year. Tim connects ideas from different fields in a way that can stir my (sometimes dormant) creativity. Choreographer and dancer Merce Cunningham had a 70-year career. He was a ‘fierce collaborator, a chance taker, a boundless innovator …’ according to the Merce Cunningham Trust. I watched a documentary film about his work this month. I loved his observation that he was inspired to bring together what legs can do in classical ballet with what torsos can do in contemporary dance. QUOTE OF THE MONTH “The only way to do it is to do it.” Merce Cunningham, 1919-2009