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Read Fiction. Lead Better.

I just returned from a family vacation, and, I confess, I read a fiction book.

Typically I justify time away from work by poring over leadership tomes. So I inhaled this book like a sinful treat.

And then I discovered that my guilty pleasure actually helps me lead better.

According to recent research, even short bouts of reading fiction…

  • improves our understanding of other human beings
  • helps us see the world from others’ points of view
  • reminds us that people hold varying perspectives and beliefs

The act of reading fiction allows us to engage in what researchers call “experience thinking” – our emotional connection to the characters causes us to explain and empathize with their behaviors, even if we don’t agree with them.

How does this help us in the non-fiction world? By increasing our social cognition and strengthening our emotional perception, we become better at collaborating, empathizing, and connecting with others.

Essentially reading a fiction book is training for our human interactions, no different than lifting weights is training for our muscles. Just by reading fiction, we can transform our impact as leaders and as human beings (and enjoy our downtime more).

To see pictures of my recent adventures in London, Brussels, and Bruges, visit our Instagram page at: https://www.instagram.com/lifemoxie/

I Want to Lead Like Willy Wonka

I was born to create the unexpected!” declared Willy Wonka.

After seeing the musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory this week, I have a renewed fascination with the ethereal chocolatier.

As Roald Dahl’s story goes, the greatest candy maker ever awards five children the opportunity to tour his magnificent chocolate factory.

But before they enter, he warns, you have to believe to see.

Interestingly, on my way to the theater, I noticed a billboard asserting, “You have to see it to believe it.” When did cynicism become our default? We steadfastly disbelieve until provided hard evidence. We watch magic tricks searching for ancient secrets. We question people’s motives.

And when we reign with such cynicism, we encourage cynicism in those around us.

As Charlie’s story progresses, four children succumb to their greed, gluttony, addictions, and entitlement. But Mr. Wonka finds a kindred spirit in gracious Charlie who believes in the power of imagination to make a difference.

I want to lead like Willy Wonka.

  • I want to be less cynical.
  • I want to unapologetically create the unexpected.
  • I want to believe to see.

By leading like Willy Wonka, I can rouse the remarkable (the “Charlie”) in the people around me.

I Ride to Get Uncomfortable

I just completed a 783-mile bike ride from Crater Lake to Yosemite.

In previous years, I’ve cycled from SF to NJ, from Key West to Maine, and from Seattle to San Diego.

I love the adventure. I love being outside. I love experiencing the country. I love the challenge. And I love how strong I feel pedaling across the map.

At the core, however, I ride to get uncomfortable.

I’ve learned that when I’m not paying attention, my life tends to drift toward convenient, habitual, and comfortable.

But my world only expands when I’m uncomfortable.

To get uncomfortable, we have to intentionally create it. For me, training every morning, rearranging work, leaving my family, and traversing unknown roads, hills, countless cars, and strangers while sitting on a less-than-cozy bike saddle for hours, day after day, through weather extremes is physically, emotionally, and mentally uncomfortable.

Remarkably, each time I get uncomfortable, my confidence, my courage, and my self-awe surges. And I discover a renewed appreciation for and trust in my team, my family, and myself. That’s always worth a few saddle sores!

What do you do to get uncomfortable and bolster your self-awe?
(Post a comment here and let me know so I can be in awe of you too!)

Fix Those Broken Windows Immediately

Altercations, missed deadlines, defective processes, and empty promises are like broken windows. Left unfixed, they communicate our tolerance for broken windows.

According to the Broken Windows Theory, addressing petty crimes will prevent more serious crimes. Social scientists contend that small signs of disorder actually encourage more widespread negative behavior.

In 1993, Mayor Giuliani put the Broken Windows Theory into action to decrease crime in NYC. He commissioned the city to remove graffiti, clean litter, repair vandalism, and arrest toll-jumpers. By tackling minor disorders with zero-tolerance, Giuliani reinstated order and lawfulness in the city.

We need to put this theory into action with our teams.

If we don’t fix the broken windows, we not only condone them, we encourage greater violations.

By confronting the altercations, enforcing the deadlines, changing the processes, and holding people to their promises, we communicate zero-tolerance for negative behavior and thereby, restore order and justice in the environment.

And, as leaders, the environment is pivotal – it’s the only thing we can create. (We cannot create people’s skills or attitudes; we can only influence those with the environment.)

Consequently, we better be intentional about fixing those windows. Our people are watching.


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Would You Beatbox on Stage for Your Team?

His students call him Cantaffa.

Joe Cantaffa is the Music Instructor at Howell High School in NJ and the Founding Director of the RockNRoll Chorus, a touring a cappella choir.

And he exemplifies the art of leading.

I witnessed him in action Saturday leading a performance of the RockNRoll Chorus on their 2016 tour. But Cantaffa didn’t lead these talented high school students from back stage or from the orchestra pit.

He led them on the stage.

Why? Because a choir member was absent. And they needed someone to beatbox. (Beatboxing: vocal percussion mimicking drum machines using your mouth, lips, tongue, and voice, ex: bum-bum-bum-bum-cha-cha-shush-shush).

As evidenced by his career, Cantaffa’s passion for music is indisputable. But it’s his relentless commitment to his students’ success that struck me as remarkable.

  • He didn’t care that he was twice as old as everyone else on the stage.
  • He didn’t care that he was on stage beatboxing.
  • He didn’t care that the spotlight was shining not on him but on his students.

And he left it all on the stage we could hardly distinguish Cantaffa from his students, or his work from his play.

Are you jumping on stage in a flurry of work and play to help your team be fabulous?

(For more information on the RockNRoll Chorus, go to www.rocknrollchorus.com)

Connecting Splashes to Waves

Our daily tasks are like splashing in the ocean, but our impact is like riding waves.

Mired in emails and meetings, it’s easy to fixate on the splashes and overlook the waves – the significance and meaning of our jobs.

Research shows that reminding people of the importance of their job increases their intrinsic motivation and productivity. That makes sense – the more critical we feel, the more effort we exert, the more we persevere.

As leaders, it’s essential to remind our people (and ourselves!) of the significance and the meaning of their work.

How? By connecting the splashes to the waves.

  1. Visit customers (internal colleagues/departments and external purchasers) to discover how they use a product or service
  2. Ask clients to share the positive benefits (the impact!) of using that product or service
  3. Have people collect and read customer testimonials at each team meeting
  4. Invite clients to share with the team (in person or via video) their success stories from using a product or service
  5. Save and post customer thank you emails and cards

Our splashes are necessary, but we cannot neglect the waves we make. Our perseverance depends on it!

Shifting Consent to Cement

Consent is like mud. It’s unstable and easily affected by circumstances, like the weather. But cement is steadfast and impervious.

When people consent, they may agree with an “OK,” they might even smile and nod, but they do not own that commitment, because they did not create it.

When people are involved in creating a commitment, they own it. And therefore they are more likely to act consistent with that promise by following through and executing in spite of circumstances.

People cement the commitments they help to create.

We can actually facilitate their shift in commitment:

  1. Instead of summarizing everyone’s action items, have people verbalize their promised deliverables to the group.
  2. Instead of sending people a list of responsibilities, have them document their own responsibilities on a project and distribute to the group.
  3. Instead of dictating commitments, have people declare their own commitments in writing and in meetings.

Through active and public declarations, people shift their commitments from wavering consent to anchored cement. And this invariably increases their success in following through and executing, which inevitably fuels their self-respect, self-esteem, and self-confidence.

Less mud, more cement!


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It’s Just a Bullet on a Resume

Our resumes are dotted with bullets. These bullets highlight our jobs – our roles, our responsibilities, and our results.

But we don’t get bullets for dealing with drama, agonizing through murky meetings, navigating difficult bosses, and enduring politics.

We get no extra bullets for suffering. Imagine if we did:

  • Survived bad boss, backstabbing peers, and inefficient corporate policies

Mistakes, miscommunications, and martyrdom happen between the bullets. They only matter when we make them matter.

Every day we get to choose how we function between the bullets: with contention or with intention.

With contention, we are ensnared by crisis, personally offended by others’ actions, victimized by their missteps. We operate as if we don’t share a common goal.

With intention, we are enchanted by possibility and potential, intoxicated by the difference we can make with and for others, regardless of our title. We are cognizant that our interactions are meaningful and collaborative.

Our job is just a bullet on a resume. What we do in between the bullets is actually all that matters.

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