As you return from a lovely long weekend (hopefully all true), notice your good and bad habits perhaps exaggerated by the gift of more free time. The Black Friday sales blew up my inbox and I realized I was scrolling for a very long time each day this weekend. I must admit I bought a new humidifier and a couple of stocking stuffer gifts. Note to self: delete, don’t open. >
Ah, the work-arounds we create when we are avoiding the conversation! A team member was telling me about an interaction where he was treated rudely by email. Before he addressed it directly he had an email interchange with another colleague asking for advice. He wrote a careful reply and received no apology, just a righteous justification. Is he going to address it directly with a phone call? No. He is avoiding the conversation. >
What an interesting week! Twitter falling apart, tech companies laying off, inflation stabilizing but high, stock market going up, mid-term elections going calmly – so much happening. Add to that the continuing Russian defeats, meeting of global leaders over climate change and Xi and Biden about to meet in Indonesia, Hard to know the best way of managing amidst the uncertainty. >
Watching a beautiful sunrise this week, I stood in awe at the window and just breathed deeply. Totally in the moment, I did not plan my day, I did not think, I just took deep breaths and looked at the sunrise. SO simple, right? Take 5 minutes and just be in the moment. >
Fall is a time of transition. Daytime gets shorter, temperatures drop. This year seems more transitional with inflation, midterm elections, the war in Ukraine. SO much going on outside that we cannot control. It seems like a good time to focus on what we can control – focus on the fundamentals. >
Late for a meeting I suddenly realized that I had been clinching my stomach for a very long time – maybe an hour. I took several deep breaths and pushed them through my belly. Ahhh! That felt better. Do you clinch your belly, your fists, your shoulders, your breath? >
Have you ever thought of using improvisational techniques (explained below) to improve the communication, the engagement and culture of your company? Vistage Speaker Chris Nielson brought them to my groups this week with great enthusiasm and success. Once engaged it is easy to connect, but how to engage? >
Many of us are on a continuous journey to get better. When you have a lot of people who work with you, it can be much more complicated to improve the company. You may be known for rushing in, making suggestions for improvement and rushing on to the next area. Or you may patiently ask for suggestions and the room goes quiet. Start with “what’s bugging you?” Pick one thing and come up with a fix. >
Watching the scary, dangerous, horribly damaging hurricane Ian devastate Florida and beyond was tragic. Many people will never be able to come back financially, and from the emotional trauma of this event. The only good thing was to see all the people who reached out to help – to see community in action. >
This has been one of the toughest weeks I’ve had in 30 years. Perhaps you noticed that I did not post last week. I was knocked out with COVID and sleeping 20 hours a day. It got worse on Monday and I went to the ER where they gave me IV fluids and assured me I wasn’t going to die. I had become crazy dehydrated. Just rest and drink fluids. >