Tag Archive for: Inspiration

A CULTURE OF BELONGING: Re-Engage, Renew, Refocus Your Team In A Post-Pandemic World

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American philosopher, William James, said, “there lies within every being a place where, when connected to it, we feel deeply and intensely alive. At such moments there is a quiet voice inside that says, ‘This is the real me.’”

After completing the Authentic Leadership Academy this week, I agree as it was truly an experience of being ‘deeply and intensely alive’ for me.

Over sixty like-minded leaders from all walks of life and from all types of organizations came together virtually for three days. We shared a commitment to make a difference in the world and to amplify our impact by supporting each other to connect with our authentic selves.

A diverse group of people who would not have been able to connect like this in-person shared a unique learning experience in a virtual space. There were amazing stories, tears, laughter, and pure joy as we built an authentic community. I left incredibly inspired by the humanity, courage, and wisdom that emerged during our brief time together. We all left knowing that none of us are alone.

When we departed, we weren’t just leaving a virtual event, we were leaving a community. I left inspired with a renewed belief that the work of a leader is to turn a group of people into a community. It’s that simple and it’s that complex.

COVID-19 has accelerated the evolution of work and the re-examination of our lives. The new workplace reality is that organizations need to be more flexible in their approach to work. Many workers are emerging from the pandemic with greater independence and autonomy over their career and life choices. To attract and keep the best people, organizations need to adapt to these evolving expectations.

But the Academy last week reminded me that whether we’re connecting virtually, in-person, or in a hybrid environment, people really haven’t changed much. They have the same need to belong, to be a part of something beyond themselves, to be working toward a shared vision, and to contribute something meaningful in the world. And our workplaces still serve as an important tool to make that happen.
Here are three strategies to re-engage, renew, and refocus your team in a post-pandemic world:

1. Integrate flexibility with accountability. People will undoubtedly be across the spectrum as far as readiness and commitment to return to the office. Some are yearning for the office environment where they have routine, work/life boundaries, and meaningful and creative connections, while others love being at home with the independence and freedom it permits. While flexibility will be the new norm in a hybrid approach, there must be accountability. The work still has to get done and some in-person interface will undoubtedly be required for creativity and collaboration. While lots of work can be done remotely, some work, to maximize potential, has to be done in-person. The key is to work toward a flexible, accountable structure that works for everyone. Remember: leadership isn’t about always being pleasing or making things easy for people. You have to push and challenge as much as you grant grace and respect the need to feel safe. As the old saying goes, “If it’s not good for the hive, it’s not good for the bee.”

2. Ensure values alignment. Historically, values have been driven from the positional leaders of an organization. The boss tells the employee what the values are and what the expected behaviors need to be. The new world presents an opportunity to collaborate more meaningfully with your team members. Listen carefully to what people’s personal values are and explore a win-win relationship so that both the organization’s and employee’s values are aligned. There is potential for higher engagement and inspired employees who know you care about their work and where it fits into their lives – and that you care about their lives beyond work.

3. Create a platform for authentic contribution. People ultimately aren’t inspired by what they get; they are inspired by what they give. We are all unique and have something important to offer. Rather than simply giving people a job to do, be committed to know the gifts and passion of every person under your care and devote yourself to supporting the expression of these unique abilities in a way that contributes to the organization and those you serve. Everyone has a story, and when you can create an environment that brings that story to life, that ignites their inner flame, you’ll never have to spend another day motivating anyone. If you aren’t empowering passion and building capacity in others, you aren’t leading. Every person needs to be able to answer the question: Why do you matter here?

AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP  Bringing Your Best Self to Work

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The year was 1970. My dad was waiting in line in our town’s only hardware store to pay for a bag of nails. The wooden floors creaked. Musky smells surrounded us. We bought just about everything that we needed to run the farm, from binder twine to paint thinner to fence posts at that store.
I didn’t want to be seen with my father. I pretended not to know him as I stood to the side. He started his usual cheerful banter with the clerk, oblivious that people were lined up behind him.
My father had recently been discharged from a psychiatric facility where he had spent the past several weeks recovering from an episode of what was then called manic depression. The situation felt weird and strange but somehow normal and confusing. I was worried that he was going to start to get inappropriately excited again.
As a fourteen-year-old teenager, who was trying to figure himself out and not stand out, I snuck out the front door and climbed into our rusty old 1954 GMC pick-up. We never locked vehicles in those days.
When dad finally exited the store and got into the driver’s seat, I slunk low so I couldn’t be seen. Dad knew what was going on, but he never said anything. We quietly drove through town. I never sat up until we were out on the highway.
What I wish today is that I could have just one more ride home with my father in that old truck. But this time I would sit up high and proud beside him. I would tell him how much I admired his courage to face his illness and not be ashamed to be who he was. I’d tell him that my anger toward him was my way of saying that I was scared. I was scared that he wouldn’t come home from the hospital. I was scared that I’d be like him. And I would tell him how much I appreciated his acceptance of me that day. And I would tell him that I was sorry for judging his kindness as a weakness.
But that was beyond what my fourteen-year-old inarticulate, insecure self could do. I Iet embarrassment get in the way of knowing who I truly was – or who my dad was.
Whenever I tell this story, it amazes me how people immediately respond with their own stories. It never fails to happen. We all have experiences that can, if we are willing and create the space, become a gift we carry on our journey. The more we open up and share, the more authentic we become and the more relatable we are to others.
Being authentic is a way to bridge the barriers so prevalent in our world today. When we show who we truly are, what inspires us, what we believe in and care about, we connect with others. Indeed, if we are committed to making a difference, we have to truly see those we serve. And to fully see others, we must first allow others to see us.
Here are a few suggestions for leading authentically:
Be at peace with yourself. It’s been said that we don’t see the world as it is; we see the world as we are. We can’t give what we don’t have. Authentic leadership hinges on the understanding that who you are as a person and how comfortable you are with yourself is where you make your most valuable contribution. Being authentic doesn’t mean you fall apart when things get tough. In fact, quite the opposite. It means you are comfortable with who you are so you can be poised – clear, calm, and compassionate under pressure. Being comfortable with yourself is an endearing and compelling quality. The more present you can be for yourself, and the more peace you have with yourself, the more able you are to inspire and influence others.
Grant Grace. This week my friend, Dianne McConnell, invited me to the virtual launch of her wonderful book, “Could It Be Grace?” It is the story of her journey through the love and loss of two of her beautiful children. During the launch there were some technical and timing glitches but when we looked at each other through our screens, a sense of reverence, humanity, and lightness overcame the little anomalies. As face after face populated the screen of Dianne’s loving and supportive community, I instantly felt warmth and joy. Technology may have made the connection possible, but it was the emotions – authentic and palpable – that made it real and inviting. It was a moment of grace, which was most appropriate, given the title of the book. Whether we are on screens or on the phone or in-person, adapting to the post-pandemic reality, we are all stumbling forward together. Authenticity asks of us to bring our humanness and caring to everything we do. Let’s decide today to grant each other some much needed grace.
Stay humble. There’s a great story about Winston Churchill when he met with a flight sergeant being honored for bravery during World War II. The sergeant had the courage to climb onto the wing of his bomber plane at 13,000 feet to extinguish a fire in the starboard engine. But meeting Churchill in person scared this officer so much he couldn’t speak. Churchill noticed and said, “You must feel very humble and awkward in my presence.” The flight sergeant agreed. “Then you can imagine,” Churchill continued, “how humble and awkward I feel in yours.” Humility is a true evaluation of conditions as they are. It’s about embracing the humanity in us all. While we all have unique circumstances and make unique choices within these circumstances, no one is above another. Anyone who thinks that the letters or the titles behind their names or the size of their office makes them more important or more powerful than anyone else, is sorely misguided.
Authenticity means taking a risk to show others our true selves. It’s uncomfortable and carries with it the very human fear of not fitting in. But the greater risk is being inauthentic. The best part of being authentic is that you don’t have to maintain a front. You will please some and perturb others, and none of it will concern the truth of your being. And when you do your part to create an authentic workplace, it will be a place worth working in.

CIVILITY AMID DIVERSITY  How To Rebuild Trust in A Fractured World

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As Canadians, we were collectively shocked and dismayed at the spate of divisive behavior across this country recently. And now, the crisis in the Ukraine has given our situation in Canada a new perspective. The disunity in our country appears to be indicative of the divisions in our communities, our workplaces, and even our families. It’s been said that a crisis doesn’t determine a person; a crisis reveals a person. Although I’m not sure that we are not any more divided today than we have always been, the dissection has been exposed and amplified.
We used to be able to leave our political, religious, and personal value differences at our office and front doors. But in the pandemic, policies that govern our behaviors with the intent to protect us, have inadvertently divided us.
In short, politics and personal values are now in our face. As teams are balancing a return to the office with remote work, the challenge in front of us is how to rebuild trust in a fractured world.
To rebuild trust requires deep understanding of each other without the need to correct, fix, or “straighten out.” You must get beneath the surface of opinions, positions, views and even values, and connect with the deeper emotions to begin healing what divides us. It’s critical to shift the goal from agreement to understanding. You don’t have to have the same values to value someone. What you do have to do is separate the person from the issue.
Here’s a little model I learned from teams who are debriefing and recovering from trauma. It’s called the SELF model:
Story. Everyone has a story from the pandemic. Let’s take the time to understand each other’s stories that are coming out from the past two years. We just don’t know what people have been through.
Emotions. The past two years have been a form of collective trauma. What emotions have been a part of your experience over this time? What have you had to give up? Where have feelings such as self-doubt, loneliness, fear, excitement, clarity, or anger been a part of your reality? What have you done with these emotions?
Loss. Since the beginning of the pandemic we all lost something and are going through the grief process to some degree. Here are a few losses: our health, a loved one, some of our freedoms, spontaneity, rituals in gatherings like funerals and weddings and church services. I’m not making a judgement. I’m simply stating the obvious and facing reality.
Future. The future depends on the decisions we make today. How will we rebuild? What do we need to feel safe and supported? What needs to be let go of so we can create an opening for change? What do we need to say good-bye to? What decisions need to be made? (e.g. to let go of blame and judgement and resentment; decide to be a contributor instead of a consumer, a builder rather than a destroyer)
A crisis is too significant to be wasted. Let’s embrace this time of difficulty and allow the pain to break us open so a stronger, wiser and kinder self and a better world can emerge.

Caring is Everything: Getting to the Heart of Humanity, Leadership and Life

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Charles Dickens, author of the famous, A Christmas Carol, said, “I have always thought of Christmas as a good time, a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time. It’s the only time in the long calendar of the year when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely and to think of people around them as fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”
A Christmas Carol was published 178 years ago, and I sincerely hope that we can take Dickens’s wisdom and apply it to our hectic lives today. We are all inspired by random acts of kindness, even on a small scale. But does our caring have to be random? What if we decide to be more intentional in our actions? What if caring means illuminating the difference between impulsively floating along and intentionally navigating a more satisfying course through life?
Intentional caring is what I believe sets great leaders apart from the rest. Over the past nearly four decades in the leadership development field, I have met some incredible leaders who care about the people they serve. They care about their communities. They care about the work they do. And they care about the impact they are having on the world.
Caring has a pervasive, enduring influence on the wellbeing of those around us. Authentic leaders know this. Caring impacts who we are as people and the places we work and live. So, when considering caring intentions for the coming holiday season, I want to propose that we make a to-be list instead of a to-do list. Here’s mine for today:
1) Be Kind. In Charlie Mackesy’s book, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse, the mole and the boy find themselves having a conversation one afternoon.
“I’m so small,” said the mole.
“Yes,” replied the boy, “but you can make a huge difference.”
At that point the mole asked the boy what he wanted to be when he grew up.
“Kind,” said the boy.
Be kind. Now that’s a worthy goal for any of us.
2) Be Connected. Some incredibly caring leaders have crossed my path this past eighteen months. One such leader, Trevor Muir, CEO of Surepoint Group has used this time to build a stronger company and a stronger community. When 2020 came around, “the stability of everything his organization knew was gone,” reported one team member. “Uncertainty and fear loomed in every corner. Isolation and lack of work grew rampant as the pandemic dug in for the long haul and put everyone there to the test.” ‘Trev’ humbly responded by navigating his company through it with compassion and an unwavering commitment to the people and communities they operate within. Among so many other things, he considered the mental health of his employees and delayed layoffs as he recognized that being in isolation removed many coping mechanisms people would typically access in a pre-pandemic world. He decided to continue celebrating the holidays and had gift bags made for every employee full of items sourced from local businesses within each branch location. People felt valued and loved that these baskets helped support local businesses within their communities. Trev used the pandemic to listen with people, to be attuned to their mental health challenges, and to build community through connections.
3) Be Curious. This week an Amazon driver mistakenly drove past our snow-covered driveway and onto our lawn, where he got stuck. Spinning his tires on the ice, he dug ruts in the grass. I’m embarrassed to say that I stormed out the door yelling at him, which didn’t solve a thing. It only created more anxiety for both of us, resulting in deeper ruts in the lawn as he “tried harder” to get out and an embarrassed driver who left, I imagine, feeling horrible about himself. I wonder how the ordeal would have turned out if I took my own advice and brought curiosity rather than hostility to the circumstance. A caring way to de-rail an activated stress response is to get curious. While being angry may have been an understandable response to this situation, getting angry only made it worse. Curiosity transforms anger into understanding, opens the door to empathy and compassion, helps solve the problem more effectively, and lowers your blood pressure. And it’s free.
If you talk with any organization responding to the mental health challenges in their community, you will know that this has been a tough two years to say the least. Addiction, family violence, and suicide prevention lifelines are all experiencing an increase in calls. Suffering, I have learned, looms largest when we try to go at it on our own. Marginalization is what happens whenever we feel that we don’t belong.
I want stress two things: You are not alone, and it is okay not to be okay. Please reach out for whatever support you might need now. There are amazing resources around and generous people who want to be needed. “Help” is truly the bravest thing we can say.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR HUMANITY?

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At the end of WWII, the United Polish Relief Fund appealed to the Canadian government to deliver penicillin to Poland. In October and November of 1945, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) managed to deliver five tons of penicillin to Poland, the only humanitarian flights the RCAF would be able to make into the Soviet Bloc until after the Cold War.

On one of these humanitarian missions, the Fortress 9202 crashed into Eggeberg Hill, near Halle, Germany, killing all five RCAF members on board. My mother’s first husband, and father of my dear sister, Kate, was one of the pilots on that fateful flight. They sacrificed their lives for their country. They died for humanity. Watch a short video recounting their story. (Flt.-Lt. Donald Forest Caldwell, Mountain View,AB; Flt.-Lt. Edward Pattern Harling, Calgary, AB; Squadron Leader Alfred Ernest Webster, Yorkton, SK; Flt.-Lt. Norbert Davis Roche, Montreal, QC; Sergeant Edwin Erwin Phillips, Montreal, QC)

Martin Luther King Jr. once said that an individual has not started living until they can “rise above the narrow confines of their individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” Rising above our self-serving desires and problems and looking toward a contribution to the community isn’t just good for the community; it’s good for your own well-being and mental health.

As we approach another Remembrance Day in Canada, may the memory and honoring of our veterans serve as an inspiration to rise above the “narrow confines of our individual concerns” and to lift our eyes to the horizon of humanity. Let the death of these five men, along with all who served and sacrificed, serve as an inspiration as they placed the call of humanity above personal danger. To expand on the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “Let’s make a career of humanity … and you will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country and a finer world to live in.” The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand in times of challenge and controversy.

We remember and we will never forget. But let’s not just be touched on this Remembrance Day. Let’s be inspired to act differently. And then let’s look around, roll up our sleeves, and get to work making this world a better place.

MENTAL TOUGHNESS IN AN AGE OF ENTITLEMENT

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“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”  – Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

We all have the ability to choose how we react in our circumstances and given the situations we now find ourselves in, it is helpful to fortify ourselves so we choose wisely. I offer some suggestions to strengthen your mental toughness to help you thrive through these challenging times.

For the past eighteen months through the weariness of COVID, I have been inspired by studying the lives of those who stayed strong and compassionate through the hard times. An impressive example and role model is Nelson Mandela. The longest stretch of Mandela’s twenty-seven years in prison was his eighteen years on Robben Island where he endured harsh conditions in a cell block constructed for political prisoners. Each prisoner had a single seven-foot square cell with a slop bucket, around a concrete courtyard. They were allowed no reading materials and worked crushing stones with a hammer to make gravel in a blindingly bright limestone quarry. He endured and emerged to be one of this century’s most influential leaders.

In addition to being inspired by such stories, I’ve gained strength by becoming a more thoughtful observer of my own life through this journey. Here are six lessons I have learned about mental toughness in an age of comfort and entitlement.

1) Start with a compelling vision. When my father agreed to be my track coach in high school the first thing we did was establish an inspiring goal. As a former nationally ranked gymnast, he could see I didn’t have Olympic talent. But that didn’t stop him from challenging me to have a dream of making the Canadian Olympic team. He would say, “the purpose of having a dream is not to achieve your dream; it’s to inspire you to become the kind of person it takes to achieve your dream.” A compelling vision gives you a reason to have mental toughness. I didn’t get out of bed at 5:00 am to run ten miles in a freezing snowstorm. I got out of bed at 5:00 to prepare for the Olympics. What is your compelling vision?

2) Embrace the grind. When I look back over my sixty-five years, I recognize that the hardest and most frustrating times in my life were also the most formative. Challenges in life are unavoidable. If we help our children accept difficulty as a part of life and instead of making it easier for them, support them through it, they have a greater chance of success as adults. Children who learn to handle their own problems are also the ones who are more apt to thrive as adults. The Chinese saying, “Chi Ku Shi Fu” (eating bitterness is good fortune) highlights the idea that there is the opportunity for wisdom and growth amid misfortune. While we don’t have control over the situations that life will bring to us, we do have a choice of how we react to them. Life is tough. When you can accept and embrace that fact, life is no longer quite so difficult. The 40% rule, first coined by David Goggins, explains that when your mind and body are starting to tire and you feel like giving up, you’re only at forty percent of what you are truly capable of achieving. My dad said it this way: “Don’t pray for the world to get easier; pray instead for the you to get stronger, and then get to work.”

3) Be in it for the long game. Twenty-seven years in prison teaches you many things, but one of the lessons is to play the long game. According to Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk To Freedom, Mandela was impatient as a young man. He wanted change yesterday. Prison taught him to slow down, and it reinforced his sense that haste often leads to error and misjudgement. Above all, he learned how to postpone gratification. Many of us are used to the opposite. Because of our aversion to discomfort, we confuse instant gratification with expressing ourselves. Getting through this pandemic with mental toughness means letting go of our need for immediate relief and trusting – with a firm resolve – that we will come through this – and we’ll be better for it.

4) Find your hidden power by focusing on what you can control. Epictetus, the Greek Stoic philosopher, walked with a limp as the result of years of being chained up as a slave. Great thinkers like him knew that the only thing you ever really have control over are your deliberate thoughts. You can’t control other people, you can’t control your situation, and you can’t always control your own body. So, the only thing you do have control over is your emotions, thoughts, and behavior—the essence of mental toughness. A hidden power from within is harnessed when we spend our time on things over which we have complete control: goals, values, and what we do with our thoughts.

5) Keep your heart open. Mental toughness isn’t the same as cold, callous grit. Mental toughness is more like tender courage. It’s realizing that it’s not determination but acceptance that demonstrates strength: letting go of the resistance and the war. And it means finding ways to express kindness at every opportunity. An entrepreneur with anxiety and depression whose business has taken a hit through the pandemic called me last week in an entirely different mood. He was confident and inspired and told me how one morning that week an elderly stranger pulled up beside him and asked for directions. After he found the directions on Google Maps and tried to explain to the stranger how to arrive at his destination, he could tell how confused this poor man was. So, my client then had him follow him as he drove there. This simple act of kindness made his whole day. It’s kindness – not cruelty – that’s going to get us through this.

6) Plant a garden. Even on a remote island, Nelson Mandela needed a place where he could be with himself and find strength. The early days on Robben Island were bleak. The wardens were coarse and abusive. The work was backbreaking. Prisoners were permitted only one visitor and a single letter every six months. So, Mandela decided to plant a garden. In his autobiography, he goes to great length to talk about the meaning it had for him to go through the arduous work of creating a garden amid the obstacles of a prison system, and then carefully nurturing it. It was not a place of retreat but of renewal. “Each of us,” he later explained, “needs something away from the world that gives us pleasure and satisfaction, a place apart… You must find your own garden.”

If you are interested in getting more of my perspective on living through this pandemic with greater mental strength, please join me for my complimentary webinar on Tuesday, October 26th:

Register for 9 AM Mountain Time  

Register for 5 PM Mountain Time