Strategic Serendipity

How can one small word strike fear in the hearts of many.  I applied for a independent contractor position teaching yesterday and received an e-mailed rejection today.  At first that little gremlin that lives in my head said "See, I told you so!" But seriously, it is just an e-mail.  From someone who probably knows nothing about me because 10,000 other people probably applied for the same one job.  (Shhh, that is the story I am telling myself tonight.) Mia Hamm said "Failure happens all the time.  It happens every day in practice.  What makes you better is how you react to it." So once I got through the disappointment and the rationalization, I realized how quickly they both passed.  Why, because then I got to the point where I realized I had put myself out there for something I was interested in and now had a contact.  So I wrote another e-mail (one I hope will be answered) about what skills I could enhance to be competitive for future open...

I received this e-mail from Change.org in the mail today...talk about one simple act - way to go Henry! My name is Henry. As you may not know, after considerable expense of my time and money and at some cost to the peace in our home, I planted over a thousand flowers at Washington DC's Dupont Circle Metro North Station. Metro ordered me to stop. If I stop, the flowers could die before they bloom. I was stunned and saddened that I would face “arrest, fines and imprisonment” if I continued to tend to the thousand flowers I planted at the Dupont Circle Metro North Station. Out of the goodness of my heart, last Fall I planted over 100 bulbs in the very same neglected garden squares. Months later they bloomed, sharing their joy and beauty with fellow Metro Riders. This Spring I returned. I weeded and two trash bags were filled with more than 300 discarded cigarette butts, shards of glass, wads of gum, tree branches and assorted fast food restaurant garbage. But Metro do...

When it comes time for mid-term or annual reviews there are obviously things a MANAGER needs to tell an employee.  But if you are a good LEADER you have consistently given in-the-moment feedback on the things that the employee does well and the things the employee does not do well.  And so the annual review becomes a practice in "busy" work for both. So how does a LEADER effectively use the reflective time called the "annual review" if both the employee and the leader know all the nuances of that piece of paper?  Admit it is just a formality, shake the employee's hand, sign the necessary paperwork, and send the employee off with a new assignment?  Possibly.  Or the leader can use that time in a way that will serve the employee, the leader, and the organization for the next six to twelve months. Here is a proposed agenda for leaders who want to maximize the annual review time with high-performing employees: 1.  Welcome the employee to the office. 2...

I am constantly carting around a toddler and a stroller full of stuff and possibly a bag or two on my shoulder.  Getting on and off the bus is the worst.  Many times, someone will grab something to "help" and not realize that they are making it harder (that bag you just grabbed is hooked to my stroller and now the stroller is being pulled out of my arms while I am trying to hold the baby and scan my card to pay for the bus ride).  The other day, when I got off the bus stop, there were two military men who  watched me get off the bus, open the stroller with one hand (if you are buying a stroller this is a MUST requirement), and put the baby in.  Afterwards, they laughed and said they were going to help but realized I had it under control.  I actually knew from the minute I saw them stop talking and look up that if I needed help I could ask, but the fact that they waited to see if I needed them or not meant more to me. That is not to say, do not help people...

You know my opinion that when it comes to professional development , you get out of a program what you put into it.  So now you get my opinion on the single most important element of personal/professional development. 
SELF AWARENESS 
 What is it?  Self awareness is knowing your strengths and how to maximize them, knowing your weaknesses and how to buffer them, knowing that you have blind spots and being open to feedback about them, and being willing to do the necessary reflection and work to constantly improve yourself. I have observed so many people in leadership development programs (1 hour to 18 month) listen to an amazing instructor describe an action, reaction, or career derailer and immediately speak up and identify someone else who has that quality.  You would not believe how often, that person has the same quality.  However, they often even follow up with because of my experience working with that person I make a point to not do this.  Awkward....