Unaverage Leadership

The Power of Passion

My father has lived alone the past two years and has just recently started to see a wonderful woman. The other day, he made this statement to me: "Vacuuming and dusting the house is not so bad when you have a good reason for doing it." He has a new passion for life and it has changed his perspective at all levels (he was married to my mother for 40+ years, the only women in his life until two years ago).

I am sure that all of you can relate to the feelings that my father is experiencing. It is truly amazing what happens to individuals and organizations when passion has been lost. Daily tasks become burdensome, we start to question why we do what we do, and cynicism comes alive. Our energy seems to leak away and we feel like we can never make any headway.

Why is it that organizations and individuals loose their passion for life? It is fear, lack of knowledge and getting stuck in the rut.

It is safe to stay in the rut or routine of life or work. We know what to expect and it is simple. As time goes on the safety is comforting, but everything starts to dull and tarnish as we continue to do the same thing. Gaining new knowledge can change this. New knowledge allows us to change perspective and gives a new luster to the former dulled and tarnished tasks.

The lesson, as my father would advise, is to face yours fears and take the first step. There is knowledge to be gained everywhere. Break out of the rut once in while to truly see what life has to offer.

Find your passion and you will find a new way to live life. 

Recession 101

The other day I saw a billboard that had this message:  "Recession 101: Self Worth Beats Net Worth".  What a wonderful message in these trying times.

I have had several conversations in the past weeks with people who feel tired, worn out, beat up, and defeated.  The constant pressure is tearing down their self worth.  They are giving their best efforts to keep their businesses alive and profitable, but they feel like they are dropping the ball.

Many organizations say that their people are their greatest asset.  I fear that even those that truly do care about their people are beginning to cave in to the pressure of this recession.  The constant bombardment of bad news makes it difficult for individuals to feel like they are making a difference.

I have a "feel good" file that when I am feeling down or frustrated, I pull it out and read the kinds words that have been given to me by my friends, peers, customers and supervisors.  It usually takes about five minutes of reading and I am on my way to being refreshed.

If your organization is feeling the pressure of the economy and the moral is low, you may try a "feel good" event.  Conduct a meeting where all you talk about is what you have done well.  Get people talking about all of things you have done right.  You will be amazed at how it will give new energy to your organization and make it a brighter day for all.  We all can use a little help sometimes in remembering that we are good people and have done great things.

Its All About Perspective

Have you spoken or heard the phrase "Walk a mile in my shoes and then you will understand?" This saying clearly explains the power of perspective.

Understanding the perspective of individuals, work teams and the organization is critical when implementing change.  In many cases organizational change has unintended consequences for failing to appreciate the perspective of those impacted by the change.

You may think that everyone is in the front row ready to take action, but there are most likely groups that are in fear of the front row.  Understanding others perspectives is like peeling an onion.  It will take some time, it may well stink, the stink may linger and may not go away easily, and there could be tears involved.

Making the decision of what is right or wrong is not easily decided until you can appreciate why a person is the way his or she is.  This appreciation takes time, effort and patience.  

It will not eliminate hard decisions, but it will lead to a stronger culture based on respect, responsibility and acceptance.  Remember, we each have our own skeletons in the closet!