Category: Motivation

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Called To Serve

It’s Election Day in America… which is the most wonderful opportunity for citizens to have an impact on our nation. With so much frustration and turmoil happening all around, many feel their voices are unheard, that no one is listening. One thing is certain: the greatest gift – and responsibility – of living in a free society is to exercise your right to vote. If you need any reassurance or perspective on how important that is, just think about all the Iraqis who had their index fingers inked last year.

This election arrives particularly close to home for our family. Last summer my wife made the decision to run for a position on our local school board. After 12 years of helping our children navigate through public schools here, she felt the calling to participate in the leadership process. Ours is an open election in which you blindly declare for a specific seat, regardless of where you live in the district. As it turned out, she has no challengers – while another open position has three people vying for votes.

It was one of the special moments of my life when last week during early voting I cast my ballot for Kathy Handler, TISD Board of Trustees, Place 1. I would have voted for her even if we weren’t married. She’s a great listener, logical… a consensus-builder who seeks to find solutions rather than point out problems. She’ll do great.

Whether you’re running for political office or a regular citizen like me – with one vote and one voice – everyone is equal today. This is your opportunity to speak loudly… even if you’re the only one who hears how you feel.

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Ships Passing

Earlier this week I stepped on an empty express elevator in a downtown high-rise occupied by a single large company, and behind me came an employee pushing a mail cart. Even though this is a tall building – and I’m only there about five days each month – our paths have crossed several times. He said hello and offered a smile.

After pushing the button to take us down to the ground floor, I asked, “How long have you worked here?” He answered, “A long time.” I said, “How long?” He looked up at the lighted numbers counting down from 46, paused, turned back to me, grinned, and said, “This week is 30 years.”

The elevator stopped, the door opened and he exited while offering a nod, focused on delivering letters and packages to their recipients. I headed to the parking garage, thinking, “There’s someone who seems at peace.” Then it occurred to me that I didn’t ask the gentleman’s name and know nothing else about him. I didn’t even think to wish him a happy anniversary.

Chalk this up as a missed opportunity… another lesson learned. Next time we ride the elevator together, I’ll be sure to ask him to share a story. I’m guessing his perspective would be quite enlightening about my client.

So, here’s the question for you: Who’s the person in your building who might brighten your day with a story? Perhaps it’s time for a visit.

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Depths of Exploration

Gloria Stuart passed away recently. She was 100… born on the Fourth of July in the year our nation celebrated the 134th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. She was a beautiful actress during the early years of ‘talkies,’ and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. Then Gloria quit making films to raise a family. Fifty years later she reappeared, playing the aging role of Kate Winslet’s character Rose in Titanic, and became the oldest person to be nominated for an Academy Award.

“When I graduated from Santa Monica High in 1927, I was voted the girl most likely to succeed,” she said. “I didn’t realize it would take so long.”

Stuart touched movie watchers when Rose tossed the ‘Star of the Sea’ sapphire into the ocean at the end of the film. It was a symbolic gesture that served as an exclamation point and soft landing following the intense drama surrounding the depiction of the sinking of the unsinkable ship.

She also should serve as motivation for everyone who wakes up in the morning tired and weary from daunting challenges. After all, if Gloria Stuart – who appeared in films with Boris Karloff, Charles Laughton and a seven-year-old Shirley Temple… all before 1936 – can deliver a wonderful performance as she approached 90, shouldn’t all of us be able to make it through the next day with a little more energy in our step?

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A Look Back In Time

One of the necessary skills for being a sports television producer is having the ability to back-time a broadcast off the air. That means if your designated off-time is 4:58:30 p.m. EDT and it’s 4:55:08, you have to quickly recognize you have 3:22 to conduct an interview with the player of the game or winning coach, get in the last two 60-second commercials, and have the announcers smoothly wrap up as you count down, “5-4-3-2-1-black.”

Having lived that life from 1981-’95, I find those particular talents come in quite handy in the business world. First, I’m seldom late for anything. In sports television, you’re judged on two things: how you got on and off the air, and what the other three hours looked like. It’s pretty much 50/50 on the grading scale, so you learn to be on time and on your game. Second, I break down big projects into small pieces and typically get them done as scheduled. That ability likely comes from knowing that in a football game you had four commercial breaks each quarter, so you learned to think and communicate in terms of ‘here’s what we’ll do during the next segment.’

You don’t have to have worked in television to become more efficient. The key to improvement is to adjust your approach to think in terms of the clock counting down. The moment you walk in the door you’re losing time. So plan your day accordingly… schedule specific tasks and commit to getting them done. Remember, you can never gain back a single minute, so treat each one preciously. You’ll become more adept at moving forward and within no time you’ll be judging yourself as an A+ in productivity.

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Small Step, Big Results

Part of my coaching work with executives consists of conducting feedback interviews with 10-12 of their supervisors, peers and direct reports. This provides insight into the perceptions of those who know the person being coached in a working relationship. Typically, three or four underlying behaviors arise that clients seek to improve during our coaching sessions.

While it’s better to have a detached third-person – like a coach – explore areas around what are Susie’s biggest strengths, where are ways Billy can be more successful and describe John’s communication style, you can do this on your own.

Choose a few folks who you interact with on a regular basis and ask them to sit down and share how they see you… giving them permission upfront to be candid. Listen closely to what they’re saying, taking a few ‘headline’ notes without being absorbed in capturing every word. Be sure not to react to anything you hear. This isn’t an exercise in right or wrong, good or bad; it’s exploratory research and a chance to learn.

These conversations should last less than 15 minutes. End each one by asking is there anything else I should know that would help me be a better leader? Then simply say thank you. There’s no need to accept, reject or negotiate any of their viewpoints. After you talk to everyone review your notes and look for patterns where you could do better. Chances are if there’s something you need to change more than one person mentioned it. Choose two or three that are important to you, and put together a self-improvement plan.

Circle back to tell each person how much you appreciate his or her helping you, and share the first things you’re going to address. This lets them know it wasn’t just a conversation that ended without action. Finally, select one person to serve as your accountability partner to ensure you stay focused on achieving change, and schedule brief ‘check in’ updates every few weeks for several months. Soon you’ll start seeing a better you.

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