It's Time to Breathe and Serve

In 2004, I was a facilitator at the Parliament of World Religions Conference in Montserrat, Spain. During the sessions, people began to share some of their painful life experiences and we all felt a collective stress. A stress that seemed to stop progress.

As I stood up to speak, I invited everyone to recognize what we were each feeling. Immediately, people realized that we were all experiencing the same thing and this common understanding instantly created a new feeling of peace in the room. I challenged everyone to consider one commitment they could make to serve the community assembly. It was a "collective breath" that enabled us to shift our focus from ourselves towards others and we were able to move forward. Afterwards, the graphic artist that recorded the session showed me how she captured my presentation (see the image above).

Now, it seems as though a global stress has stopped progress. We all struggle with our own real challenges and we hope that we can survive the economic crisis. The problem: We think we are all alone -- that somehow, we must go through all of this by ourselves. This isolation and stress combines to stop our progress.

May I suggest that it is time to take a collective breath? More importantly, if we are to get back on track, we must start to think how we can be of service to others and realize we are all in this together. What can you do to get things going again? Who can you serve today?

Happiness NOT Allowed

In uncertain and stressful times like we are experiencing now, it is easy to be discouraged. The news floods us with crisis after crisis (never explaining how we seem to survive each news cycle of new problems). Unfortunately, this daily grind of bad news, fear mongering, and crisis creating has made people scared and angry.

Lashing out at others seems to have become the prescription de jour. While it is a fleeting way to feeling better, people don't know what else to do. So, the anger, accusations, lashing out, and fear go around and around in a cynical cycle all the while people desperately hope to find some happiness.

Just this last week the Social Security Administration had a conference and training for 600+ of their employees. The media lashed out at them for frivilous spending and people jumped on the band wagon shaking their fingers madly at the ghastly administration that would dare have a conference. Isn't it interesting that it is hard to be happy for others when we feel down ourselves? Even more interesting I find is that we often try to pull them back down to where we are in misery rather than trying to lift others up.

In this down economy is happiness NOT allowed? Why have we allowed anger and fear to consume us? Why do we frown when others succeed? Why can't we be happy that the Social Security Administration is trying to build the morale and skills of their workforce? Why must we be mad because they had fun in the process?

One more example from this week: Another government agency recently posted (and then retracted the posting) for speakers on humor in the workplace. They wanted someone to show their employees the value of being happy, but once the Congress heard about it, they retracted the request. Apparently, even Congress gets jealous if someone else is trying to find happiness. Of course, the criticism is surrounded by excuses and it justifies the anger even further.

I challenge us all to rethink where we are headed. Instead of making anger and fear the status quo, let's change the dialogue and create the happiness we all desperately seek. Instead of tearing others down, let's build them up.

Happiness NOT Allowed? Since when was that such a good idea?

To Recognize Means to "See Again"

To "see again" is to reframe and understand something that you may have seen before but not understood. To recognize gives us a second chance to see it again. Oftentimes, giving us the opportunity to see something we missed, or to appreciate all over, or to be reminded of those things that are most important.

While flying home from a presentation last week, I was reminded of those things that are most important -- again. And, as usual, it took someone else to remind me when I least expected it. It all started when I found myself sitting next to a young Navy Sailor and he was obviously upset. I didn't say anything as we sat down, but about an hour into the flight he started to talk.

"It just doesn't make any sense," he said, "he shouldn't have died."

[Pause]

He continued, "I'm escorting my friend home today."

I immediately realized that the coffin that was loaded on the plane in Detroit was this young man's fallen friend -- a fellow Sailor.

I listened for a while and then I thanked him for working hard to serve honorably as he and his fellow Sailors all accepted the risks and possibly the ultimate sacrifice that seems to come all too frequently.

When we landed in Salt Lake City late that night, the pilot announced that he would like to show proper respect by asking us to all wait while the body of the fallen soldier was unloaded under the watchful eye of his friend. We all sat in reverance and silence as the coffin was gently loaded onto a cart that was draped with an American Flag.

I went home with gratitude in my heart that I could hug my family.

Here is to the family and friends of the fallen Sailor . . .

When has recognition provided an opportunity for you to "see again?"

How Do You Encourage Engagement?

"More than 500 staff at Keihin Electric Express Railway in Japan are to be subjected to daily face scans by "smile police" bosses reports the Canadian paper "The Globe and Mail." Employees will be put through a facial scan that detects the quality of their smile and then they will receive immediate feedback on whether it is good enough. In fact, if their smile is found lacking, then the software will suggest "you still look too serious," and "lift up your mouth corners." Furthermore, "employees will receive a printout of their daily smile, which they will be expected to keep with them throughout the day to inspire them to smile at all times."

What are they thinking? Seriously.

Would you feel more engaged if you were treated this way at work?

Have you ever worked for a company that justified terrible behavior under the false banner of "engagement, loyalty, or collaboration?"

Unfortunately, we've probably all experienced some silly company policies that attempt to control and "encourage" our behavior. The truth is that it is insulting to everyone that is subject to these latest management fads (ironically, the executives that came up with the latest plans are often immune from the policies).

Maybe the real solution is too simple . . . or too hard . . . or simply too daring, courageous, or too unconventional, but let me put it out there anyway: TRUST, RESPECT, and RECOGNIZE.

TRUST that your employees will do right by you.

RESPECT them for their opinions and abilities.

RECOGNIZE that they are professional adults that simply want to achieve their dreams of a better life -- just like you.

You may be thinking, "What about those that abuse the trust? What about those that don't deserve respect or don't act like professional adults?"

My response: How much time to you spend worrying about the small percentage of non-performers as opposed to the amount of time you spend with your best producers? Are you losing great talent because you focus on the wrong things and maybe even the wrong people?

Come on! Instead of treating our employees like the latest lab experiement, let's make work a great place to be and our employees will naturally be more engaged and happy to be there.

Now that is something to smile about!

Two Months Reflecting on Bad Bosses

We're only two months into the new year, and I've already spent 20 nights in hotels and traveled to many cities all over North America. Tonight, I'm in Boca Raton, FL, and this month I still have presentations in Seattle, WA; Myrtle Beach, SC; Athens, Greece; Boston, MA, Sarasota, FL, and Salt Lake City, UT -- then, I'll start thinking about April. Why do I write about my travel schedule? Because I meet a lot of people all over the country that resonate with the message that we share about the way employees need to be treated (and appreciated) at work.

Despite my best efforts however, I find that some people hang on to the "good ole days" when we didn't need to praise a person for working. I also find that the people that are typically most defensive during a presentation are the people that everyone else hopes is listening (aka the person who needs the message the most). During breaks or after a presentation, I often get people that come up to tell me their stories -- stories that often include horror stories about their bosses.

The other day someone came up and simply said the letters "R-H-I-P" and I clearly didn't understand what he was saying. He then told me that those 4 letters are regularly used by his boss to remind him of his position at work. Still sensing my confusion, he finally told me what it stood for: "Rank Has It's Privileges." "Everyday," he continued, "my boss comes into my cubicle and says those 4 letters R-H-I-P, and I just bite my lip and put up with it."

What kind of boss do you work for? Have you ever had a similar experience? Does it make you feel like doing your best? What if your boss works hard to take credit for everything (unless it is bad)? Do you have a boss that is insecure?

Typcially, I find that angry managers really have bad self-esteem and they constantly need to cut others down in order to build themselves up. David Maister, a management consultant, recently stated the simple truth that "good managers help others to succeed and that they don't need to score all of the goals on their own." Good managers know how to celebrate when their employees succeed -- in fact, they coach their employees towards that success -- even when someone else scores the goal!

Let's face it, we all have insecurities and self-doubts that come out in different ways, and even our bosses will suffer. The question is: What are the business results when they simply work on tearing people down to bring themselves up?

What is Your Motive?

Some managers like to give feedback just to show people who is boss. What is your motive when you give feedback to employees? Is it to change behavior and improve performance, or to simply remind them that you are their superior?

Research says that people like to know where they stand. Employees like to be connected to the purpose and mission of the organization. Generally speaking, we all want to feel that we've given the best part of our lives in something that will actually make a difference.

As managers, our biggest duty should simply be to reconnect people with the organization's mission and purpose on a regular basis. By letting people know that we appreciate their good work and communicating that it does make a difference, we motivate employees to give their best on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, many bosses simply view their job as the enforcer and fire fighter. So, they spend much of their time consumed with things that distract from the bigger responsibility of motivating employees.

What is your motive when speaking to employees? Are you connecting and reminding them of the mission and purpose of their work, or simply letting them know who is boss?

The Insulated Manager

Why is it that bosses generally remain insulated from the employees they manage? While speaking to one such manager on the plane today, she simply admitted, "Being out among the employees required at least 4 hours of my day and it usually created a whole lot more work as a result." While we know that employees want better communication and interaction, we (managers) ultimately find it easier to simply stay in our offices and avoid at least some of the problems that face us on a daily basis. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we don't deal with the problems or issues of the day, indeed most managers say that they spend most of their time with problems and putting out fires -- which is exactly why they don't have time or energy to go out and find anymore than they already dealt with that day.

Is this management strategy (or coping mechanism) the best way for managers to spend their time? What is the alternative? What do you do to manage the daily requests and still find time to spend time with your employees on the front line?