Strategic Serendipity

Did you put together a list of New Year's Resolutions?  When you were putting it together, did you think "if I can just achieve this, I will be happy?"  Have you felt that enthusiasm start to fade as "life" takes over and those resolutions get pushed to the bottom of your to do list?  Already thinking about doing a New Year's Reboot (no, really, from here on out I will do X.)?  Are you willing to consider a slightly different approach? Here's my recommendation to you… Download the unabridged Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh from iTunes or Audible.com, order the book from Amazon.com or BN.com, or pick it up from your favorite books store.  Whatever you do, don't put getting the book on your list of things to do later.  Do it and check it off as an item complete.  Print this article and keep it with you while you are reading.  For extra credit - grab a notebook and start your professional development journal with your reflections.  (Discl...

How many times a day do you say "thank you?"  How many times a day do you hear "thank you?"  As I started teaching my toddler son to say "please" and "thank you" I realized that I began saying it more even when he was not around.  Then it occurred to me that I hadn't been saying it enough.  So I started saying it even more around others. And then I had an experience where a simple thank you changed a person's attitude (for the good).  And I realized the power of a simple thank you in a work environment (as a federal employee) where morale seems to be at an all-time low (at least in the fifteen years I've been around) and people seem quick to snap at one another and "say" things (either in person or via e-mail) that you never would have heard in the workplace twenty years ago.  (And no, this is not a generational issue as it is all generations I am hearing it from.) After last Friday, just another day of serving as everyo...

When I started working for non-profits twenty years ago, the guiding principle for everything was "Would we be embarrassed if this ended up on the front of the Washington Post?"  It is a simple rule, but it works. Let's face it, there are times when you can explain why you are doing something with very logical, rational, productive, and economic reasons and so you feel like it might be okay to go ahead.  Honestly, my rule is even if I can explain something I do not want to put my organization in the place of needing to explain anything.  If I have to explain it for people to understand, it probably is not the "right" course of action. So why are we seeing so many things on the front of the Washington Post that are embarrassing to individuals and organizations?  Do they not know about this simple rule?  Or is sheer fear for organizational survival (and individuals to survive in an organization) pushing people away from this rule? Think about your staff. ...

I am struck by the number of amazing leaders I hear lately saying "there is nothing I can do to make things better for my team given the climate in which we work today."  Times are difficult, particularly in the federal sector where employees are facing furloughs, an increased workload, or both.  But how can you expect to maintain or increase employee engagement when you yourself are slowly disengaging either through burn-out or personal advancement disappointments? Albert Einstein said, "Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others, it is the only means." If you expect your team to weather the storm, you better be the first one in line with an umbrella and a raincoat.  Seriously. When leaders say there is nothing that can be done, they convey that they have given up.  Why would an employee keep pushing forward when their leader has given up? Does this mean that you should start pumping the soundtrack from the broadway musical Annie through...

I will admit that as a mother of a 14 month old son, I have been indoctrinated into the world of Thomas the Train. Given my other interest of leadership development, however, I think I view it from a unique perspective. For those unfamiliar with the little blue train, his ultimate goal at work is to be "really useful."  Do any of us really want anything different. Accomplishment makes us proud of what we've done and energized to do more. It makes us engaged. So is keeping employees engaged as simple as making them feel, acknowledging that they are, and constantly challenging them to be "really useful?"  What are your thoughts?