Are those you are tasked with leading acting like people or sheeple? That is to say are they energized, thinking on their own, engaged and leading as well, or just blindly following.
Want big results, quit ‘bossing’ and start leading. Change the sheeple atmosphere into a people atmosphere and you will see positive results in engagement and outcomes.
In the past couple of years I’ve had the interesting opportunity to do some work for very different entities. A couple have been grassroots, focusing on attacking ‘big food’ or big industry. They have been excellent examples of how easy it is to manage people’s thoughts and behaviors by providing information, some for the good and some for the not so good. It is extremely interesting to me in a world that can leave us all fairly jaded on occasion how easy it is to still manipulate us.
Now I’m not passing judgment on anything, simply sharing that when we take others’ words as truth we may or may not be led down the primrose path. All this is to say, it is not enough to believe what your reading or watching as truth…do your own research. Simple solution, is the source credible? Is the source balanced?
For example, Benjamin Lorr in his book ‘Hell Bent’ takes a look at his and others practice of Bikram (hot) yoga. Interestingly he notes the man responsible for it’s creation is an insult hurling, narcissistic, Rolls Royce driving man. He talks of folks having strokes possibly as a result of hot yoga, etc. He also speaks of his own practice of Bikram. Interesting isn’t it? The developer of hot yoga, which may or may not be beneficial and/or harmful, only needed to popularize it.
Same line of thinking goes along with many other popular ‘movements.’ They don’t necessarily need to be truth or fact based, merely properly marketed and/or popular. That is both a sad and scary proposition. I know of folks who have made it onto national t.v. and who have done so through pure manipulation of information. Suffice to say, I too should have done my homework rather than buying into the hype.
I’ve learned my lesson, quite a valuable one at that. My advice to you is twofold. Just because someone is attacking big business does not mean their intent is necessarily good or necessarily truthful. There are a lot of opportunistic folks out there waiting to prey upon you. We all love an easy answer. We all love the idea of altruism, someone fighting the system. But more often than not if you look into the source and look up some additional credible research you will find, unfortunately, you’ve been led down the primrose path.
Do your homework. Get the facts. Go from there.
I received my first yoga book a little over twenty years ago. It was traditional and before videos and classes were all over the place. The beauty of it was that since yoga was not super popular yet it was still about shaping your own practice, not competing with others or being goaded into doing more than you would otherwise do.
Life is a lot like a yoga class. It is about shaping your own practice and path. It is about knowing beyond a doubt that the one truth that always has been and always will be is there is strength in backing off. Let me emphasize that one more time, there is strength in backing off.
Strength in backing off comes in many forms. It is keeping your mouth shut when it would feel ever so good to drill someone into the ground who may even deserve it. It is showing others respect in their work, their processes and their pace, even if it doesn’t match yours. It is being open to the idea that you may not actually have the best pace, plan or idea and listening to others. Maybe you do…maybe you don’t…but you will never know unless you are open to backing off long enough to see the outcome.
Life like yoga is about your journey and contribution. Not about what others perceive your journey and contribution should be. I smile every time I think of those out there meditating and practicing yoga while driving those around them into the ground. I smile because I can see those who ‘vibe’ they are seeking, say Buddha, Jesus, the Dalai Lama or just the ‘flow of the universe’ in their class or workplace wondering just what in the world is going on with them. Yoga just like life is about balance.
What is your truth? Hint, I asked for “your truth” not someone’s version of what you should be or think or feel. Not how you feel you should respond to others or how you feel pressured to respond to others.
Defining “your truth” serves you and the world in two ways. One, it helps you weed out what and who really doesn’t fit into and/or on your path/in your orbit. For example if your boss’s belief system and reality is different than yours, that is okay, respect it, but begin to find a place that fits you and your beliefs. This may mean making some sacrifices in other areas, etc., but if it is your truth and path, I promise you that you won’t mind.
Secondly, defining your truth is a reality check. If you say you believe the best type of person or situation, place or thing that is great, but it is also a reminder that “your truth” is not the truth of everyone around you, around the world and it certainly isn’t universal.
All this is to say, when you speak and walk the walk of your truth you will end up among others like you making your life a pleasant journey. To do otherwise equates to the simple analogy of a square peg in a round hole. Management alert…if you are a manager, or leader you must be very cognizant that while you are leading others, your truth must be for the good of the many, not the few (as in you and your opinions alone.) Your truth must be in line with the organization’s mission.
Of course it isn’t as easy as it sounds. To truly live fully you need to remain open to others and their thoughts, feelings, etc. While you have your own belief system, perhaps you may still learn some great new things along the way.
Are you sharing your opinion or judging? If you are a leader and/or boss, criticism, judgment and disappointment have no part in your success plan. That is if you want to be successful.
What should be part of, all of your plan is evaluating where people are so you can meet and guide them from their perspective, developing them, not judging them.
I’m not crazy about end of the year review lists, etc. I believe regardless of the day the level of importance you give it the level of importance it will have. Unfortunately we don’t always feel we are making a positive impact. Here is the good news, if you are trying, you most likely are. Even better you are most likely impacting people in ways you will never know about. So pay attention every day and do your best to provide some good.
I love the fact that people in 95 countries have viewed my blog. Countries I may never go to and people I may never know. I love even more that they have had a positive impact on me by merely viewing my work.
You don’t have to change the world to make an impact. You just have to try to contribute something positive, be it in the form of writing, art, speech, etc. It doesn’t need to be perfect to be appreciated.
I’m not sure who the person/source at laughitout-v on tumblr is who created/posted the picture I’m including. I am sure however that it has made a difference to me.
Asking vs Telling… Which do you believe will receive the more cooperative response?
When you ask you are pulling knowledge from another. When you tell you are pushing knowledge at another. So again, take a wild guess on which creates the better dynamic, especially if you are trying to work with others and build relationships. And here is one last helpful hint if you haven’t landed the answer… When was the last time you thought it would be awesome to have some shove their knowledge in your face?
So maybe you do or don’t know the story of Jonah and the whale. Here is a great minute and a half Veggie Tale’s clip of Jonah refusing to hear the message and get on with the gettin’ on of going down the path he is called to travel, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyscPsmXJqg . It will make you laugh as we all have had the same moment of pure resistance.
Here is the thing…on some level we all do the “Jonah” for various reasons. Maybe it is because what we are called to do may not fit with where we stand today. Or maybe it is because what we are called to do won’t be comfortable for others to hear. There are a bazillion reasons we don’t do what we know we are here to do.
The glitch comes when we don’t do what we are here to do, for whatever reason, and then wonder why we aren’t happy or successful or loving our life. The answer is simple…you are here and you do have a calling. Maybe you are thinking right now you don’t know what it is. Chances are, you do and you’ve just put it out of your mind/heart for one of the bazillion reasons most of us do. I’ll have another post soon if you really can’t seem to access it.
The downside here of the “Jonah” life is your life will not be all it can be if you don’t embrace what your calling and your core truly are. In fact you may chase the “normal” for a long time and feel you are doing everything right, yet wonder why everything seems to be going wrong and/or why you aren’t fulfilled. Sound familiar? The upside is, as soon as you do embrace your authentic life and put the work into it…you will be golden!
We have the propensity to want to take control of things. The important thing to remember is there is a difference in between control and contribution. Taking control can often lead to stagnation of a project. Letting go of control allows a project to move further faster as there is more energy and input. If the project fails to move without you controlling it the next question becomes ‘is it your priority, or do you need to lay it down and walk away’.
Just a side note…controlling and leadership most certainly are not the same thing. If you are a leader, you most likely are contributing and not controlling.
You are not perfect, but you are in good company as no one is. Trying to project perfection in an imperfect world is a fool’s errand. It will exhaust you and confuse others. People benefit from being able to relate and/or learn from your challenges. You make yourself more accessible to others empowering their growth by being authentic rather than projecting false perfection.
You are not perfect. And that is what makes you great!
