Walk Away and Ask for Help

Have you ever felt yourself shut down and think no solution seemed plausible? There never seems to be enough time, money, resources, people, sunlight, matching socks, peace and quiet, food, good shows on TV, shelter, budget, gas in the tank. Though new socks every morning would be sweet!

At times, we put ourselves into a corner and begin to read the new reality as our only choice. "We have no budget for that" replaces "is this a good idea?"

Maybe it's time to replace no’s with some how’s. 
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Ready, Set, Go...

Have you ever been in a situation where you have to tackle a new task or refine an idea or meet a deadline but been unsure where to begin? That’s obviously rhetorical because we all have but the trick is how we successfully get out of that first key step to move forward.

It’s often been said leadership is about results but those results have to begin with an idea that must be advanced and refined before we can deliver it. But how much think time do we allow in our day to even get any of done? Our biggest hurdle is often us and in our inability to get started.

Here are some ideas to get us moving forward.

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't.
Henry Ward Beecher

There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth;
not going all the way, and not starting.
Buddha

Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.
Walter Elliott

Now is the operative word. Everything you put in your way is just a method of putting off the hour when you could actually be doing your dream.
Barbara Sher

The beginning is the most important part of the work.
Plato

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today
and make a new ending.
Maria Robinson

The idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic behind it.
Seth Godin

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
Chinese Proverb

The starting point of all achievement is desire.
Napoleon Hill

I haven't failed. I've found 10,000 ways that don't work.
Thomas Edison

Even though the future seems far away, it is actually beginning right now.
Mattie Stepanek

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment
before starting to improve the world.
Anne Frank

Let's start!
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Work Life Imbalance

We've all heard the phrase; “leave it at the door”, which is a warning that when you’re at work, you should focus on work. But we're human and we work with humans and we have lives and issues and sadness and joy and events and those aren’t easily shut off.

In the last year, I know of a couple who finalized their divorce, someone who lost their spouse, a couple who had to say their final goodbyes to their beloved pet, someone who lost a parent, and many people who lost their job. It’s a bit tough to be a robot in those situations. It's unrealistic to expect life not to seep into our work.

Bring your life to work.

Leadership is not daycare but we are not machines. To tell people to ignore their world isn’t realistic. Sure, we have to be mindful that deadlines need to be met, but the human condition can help our professional pursuits. Many claim a life/work balance is important but few act on it.

Allowing your team to bring life to work can open up possibilities. It can unlock their minds to include situations outside of their work environment. It can create free discussion and brainstorming that may help solve issues that are too close to the team because they’re trying to apply work related tactics. It can create a more malleable atmosphere which will be more enjoyable and efficient.

Bring your work to life.

This can panic some leaders who are used to conformed enterprise where co-workers focus linearly on actual tasks within a confined agenda. Change is scary and it’s much easier to manage rather than guide people to work freely and use all of their human experience during work hours. This is not to suggest your company becomes a free-for-all but nothing in work or life needs to be zero-sum.

We all want to be loved, noticed, and appreciated. We have fear and dreams; hopes, and plans. We all want to belong and feel purpose. We are them, you are me, they are us. It's not as difficult as it may appear. And a small shift can create the positive growth you may have been seeking by reminding everyone to focus on their job.

What happens in life affects what happens at work.
__________________________________________________________________

Where Do I Start?

Have you ever been in a situation where you have to tackle a new task or refine an idea or meet a deadline but been unsure where to begin? That’s obviously rhetorical because we all have but the trick is how we successfully get out of that first key step to move forward.

It’s often been said leadership is about results but those results have to begin with an idea that must be advanced and refined before we can deliver it. But how much think time do we allow in our day to even get any of done? Our biggest hurdle is often us and in our inability to get started.

Here are some ideas to get us moving forward.

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't.
Henry Ward Beecher

There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth;
not going all the way, and not starting.
Buddha

Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.
Walter Elliott

Now is the operative word. Everything you put in your way is just a method of putting off the hour when you could actually be doing your dream.
Barbara Sher

The beginning is the most important part of the work.
Plato

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today
and make a new ending.
Maria Robinson

The idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic behind it.
Seth Godin

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
Chinese Proverb

The starting point of all achievement is desire.
Napoleon Hill

I haven't failed. I've found 10,000 ways that don't work.
Thomas Edison

Even though the future seems far away, it is actually beginning right now.
Mattie Stepanek

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment
before starting to improve the world.
Anne Frank

Let's start!
__________________________________________________________________

Always Remember

Today is Remembrance Day in some parts of the world, Veterans Day in others, and the reason for any days like today is our fault, our conflicts, our disagreements, our doing. War is unthinkable yet daily and countless millions of lives have been torn apart by it since we began to walk this great earth. We started it, we can stop it.

One of the most powerful human emotions is hope so let's hold on to that a bit tighter today as we remember all who gave the ultimate sacrifice for conflicts that were avoidable and senseless. Today is about them and perhaps there will be some day when the need for such conflict is eradicated.

We can always hope.
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Kneale Mann | Leadership Strategist, consultant, writer, speaker, executive coach facilitating performance growth with leaders, management, and teams.

wikipedia

Where Do You Start?

Have you ever been in a situation where you have to tackle a new task or refine an idea or meet a deadline but been unsure where to begin? That’s obviously rhetorical because we all have but the trick is how we successfully get out of that first key step to move forward.

It’s often been said leadership is about results but those results have to begin with an idea that must be advanced and refined before we can deliver it. But how much think time do we allow in our day to even get any of done? Our biggest hurdle is often us and in our inability to get started.

Here are some ideas to get us moving forward.

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't.
Henry Ward Beecher

There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth;
not going all the way, and not starting.
Buddha

Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.
Walter Elliott

Now is the operative word. Everything you put in your way is just a method of putting off the hour when you could actually be doing your dream.
Barbara Sher

Distant fields always look greener, but opportunity lies right where you are.
Robert Collier

The beginning is the most important part of the work.
Plato

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today
and make a new ending.
Maria Robinson

The idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic behind it.
Seth Godin

The beginning is always today.
Mary Wollstonecraft

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
John Wooden

Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success.
Dr. Joyce Brothers

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
Chinese Proverb

The starting point of all achievement is desire.
Napoleon Hill

I haven't failed. I've found 10,000 ways that don't work.
Thomas Edison

Even though the future seems far away, it is actually beginning right now.
Mattie Stepanek

Never consider the possibility of failure; as long as you persist, you will be successful.
Brian Tracy

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment
before starting to improve the world.
Anne Frank

Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather that it shall never
have a beginning.
John Henry Newman

Let’s get started!
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | Leadership Strategist, consultant, writer, speaker, executive coach facilitating performance growth with leaders, management, and teams.

backofthepacker

Lead Through Doodling

It begins before we can speak and, in some cases, continues for life. People do it in public, in private, at meetings, in airports, at family gatherings, or any other place where a writing implement can be found. Great ideas are discovered through it, strategic plans are mapped out by it, businesses have been created from it.

Sunni Brown is the leader of the Doodle Revolution. In her TEDTalk, Sunni explains why we must continue to doodle.

You may need some paper and a pen.


__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | Leadership Strategist, consultant, writer, speaker, executive coach facilitating performance growth with leaders, management, and teams.

Sunni Brown | TED

Political Lessons

The U.S. political chatter is heating up this week with the Republican Party taking the first swipe with their convention in Tampa and the topic of leadership returns to the forefront. Imagine if your direct report talked like those at the podium about generic promises to change vague issues with dynamic language that hold very little meaning.

Now think about your career or your business and imagine what it would be like to stand on your own record and your own ideas. If they work, take the credit. If they don’t, own the blame. That happens never in politics so let’s look at the real world for lessons.

Back to Reality

It’s easy to point to politicians and poke holes in their theories and fuzzy memories but how often does it happen in our everyday lives? Do you own it when you mess up? Do you avoid blaming others to take the focus away from you? Do you show compassion to those who make mistakes and collaborate with them for solutions?

How can we better work together and show leadership in solving issues, building companies, growing people and improving our world without blaming others for all the problems and taking credit for all the victories?

It's up to us to show our leadership through our actions.

Kneale Mann

chesspieces

Bringing Work to Life

We've all heard the phrase “leave it at the door” which is a warning that when you’re at work, you should focus on work. But we're human and we work with humans and we have lives and issues and sadness and joy and events and those aren’t easily shut off.

In just the last couple of months, I have known of a couple who finalized their divorce, someone who lost their spouse, a couple who had to say their final goodbyes to their beloved pet, someone who lost a parent, and three people who lost their job. It’s a bit tough to be a robot in those situations. Stuff happens to all of us in our lives so it's unrealistic to expect it won't seep into our work.

Life Imitates Life

Leadership is not daycare but we are not machines. To tell people to ignore their world isn’t realistic. Sure, we have to be mindful that deadlines need to be met, but the human condition can help our professional pursuits. Many claim a life/work balance is important but few act on it.

I was on a client call recently discussing the power of collaboration. I asked each person to outline one or two specific examples where it helped a project they worked on, then outline where it played out in their everyday lives. It showed the human side of high potential leaders and provided context to how each were wired and brought themselves (not just their work experience) to each relationship and project.

Free Your Mind

Allowing your team to bring life to work can open up possibilities. It can unlock their minds to include situations outside of their work environment. It can create free discussion and brainstorming that may help solve issues that are too close to the team because they’re trying to apply work related tactics. It can create a more malleable atmosphere which will be more enjoyable and efficient.

This can panic some leaders who are used to conformed enterprise where co-workers focus linearly on actual tasks within a confined agenda. Change is scary and it’s much easier to manage rather than guide people to work freely and use all of their human experience during work hours. This is not to suggest your company becomes a free-for-all but nothing in work or life needs to be zero-sum.

Sharing Your Life

Something I like to do is to check with people on their highlight of the week. It can be work related, family related, or life related. Give it a try and you'll notice a measurable shift in your company.

We all want to be loved, noticed, and appreciated. We have fear and dreams, hopes and plans. We all want to belong and feel purpose. We are them, you are me, they are us.  It's not as difficult as it may appear. And a small shift can create the positive growth you may have been seeking by reminding everyone to focus on their job.

What happens in life can help what happens at work.

Kneale Mann

istock

It's Never Enough

I was on a client call recently and the tone was clear, she didn’t feel she had enough time or resources to carry out the solution we had identified together. It became the barrier to every discussion point.

She began to think she simply didn't have enough time or money. Looking at how to solve the issue was replaced by a flat out no. Any option – free or otherwise – was dismissed in place of her current constraints. In her mind, a solution was unattainable.

Life Imitates Life

Have you ever felt yourself shut down and think no solution seemed plausible? There never seems to be enough time, money, resources, people, sunlight, matching socks, peace and quiet, food, good shows on TV, shelter, budget, gas in the tank. Though new socks every morning would be sweet!

At times, we put ourselves into a corner and begin to read the new reality as our only choice. "We have no budget for that" replaces "is this a good idea?"

Walk away. Ask for help. Give yourself some time to replace those no’s with some how’s. Try a new route for a change.

Kneale Mann

image: getty images
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Reframing Ideas to Create Magic

I showed this video to a colleague last week. It is inspiration of creativity, imagination, ingenuity and our ability to see around a seemingly impossible problem to find an even better solution.

Our impatience can stop us from crushing the box and starting over. The pressures of making revenue numbers are often the very catalysts to decimate creativity. And as you look around to your team, your colleagues, your friends and your customers, you may be surprised how close the solution can be if you pay closer attention.

Will you take the escalator or the stairs?


Kneale Mann

visual credit: anca4vlad

The Power of Doodling

It’s as universal as breathing. It began in our childhood and remains a part of our lives today. It happens on planes, offices, dining rooms, boardrooms, hotel suites and bathrooms. It happens alone, with others, in private and in public.

The history of the doodle stems back to the dawn of our ancestors. It has been the genesis of some of our finest concepts, theories, inventions and solutions. It is the seemingly mindless act of drawing aimlessly while in a meeting, on the phone or any other place we humans hang out. And there is a powerful and sound business reason we need to continue to doodle.

Sunni Brown is a business owner, creative director, speaker and co-author of Game Storming. She’s best known for her large-scale live content visualizations, and she is also the leader of the Doodle Revolution. In her TEDTalk, Sunni explains why we must continue to doodle.

Grab some paper and a pen while you watch.


Kneale Mann

visual credit: TED