A season of successes.

May 18th, 2012

Beverly Hillbilly Jed Clampett would reckon to commence something everyday. But for those who don’t use language like “cee-ment pond,” commencement is linked typically to the milestone of graduation.  And there’s a lot of that going around my circle of family and friends.

My gal-pal Ruth’s daughter graduates tomorrow from Boston University. Next Sunday I’ll be one proud and happy parent watching my son’s commencement ceremony at Wesleyan University. And the weekend after that my niece will receive her high school diploma in Austin, Texas. So it’s time to party! To celebrate academic accomplishments and feel excitement about a future filled with all they imagine for themselves.

Some mighty wisdom is shared in commencement speeches. There’s Steve Jobs’ address to the 2005 graduating class at Standford. Or the not-really-written-by-Kurt-Vonnegut “wear sunscreen” speech that went viral in May 1997.

But I have to confess that my three most memorable pieces of advice come from a favorite educator, the fictional Miss Frizzle, of Magic School Bus fame, who said “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy.”

Have fun class of 2012!

 

Photo credit: FreeDigitalPhotos

The better the listener, the better the leader.

May 11th, 2012

I’ve kept the same laminated note card on my desk for almost 20 years. I picked it up at a Steven R. Covey presentation called “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” That’s also the title of the book he published in 1989 – one of the top five best business books of all time – and it’s the header on my little card listing the seven habits.

 

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood” is Covey’s Habit 5. And it popped up in a great piece this week on cbsnews.com’s MoneyWatch, titled “The Number One Skill,” by Mary Goodman and Rich Russakoff. But before you get to their list of six easy tips to help you go from poor listener to great listener, be prepared to answer which of the five bad listening habits you might be guilty of. (That first one is a killer.)

And then, when you’ve listened effectively, when you’re ready to respond thoughtfully and be understood, remember that the tone of your voice often communicates more accurately what you’re thinking than your words do.

 

Take control of what matters most.

May 4th, 2012

 

Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. – Lewis Carroll

Outstanding leaders know the power of a positive mental attitude. They have developed habits of thought that tap into and leverage the energy of their own minds. They have learned to direct their thoughts to whatever it is they want to achieve. For them, everything is possible. They know their priorities are attainable. They envision what they want, plan for it, and then align their organizations to accomplish it.

Take control of the only things that really matter to your success: your thoughts and your attitude.

 

 

 

 

The 5 basic principles of leadership.

April 27th, 2012

The Inc. magazine article I posted a  link to Tuesday on Facebook – Geoffrey James’ “8 Core Beliefs of Extraordinary Bosses” – found its way to my inbox today via email from DailyGood.org. Its arrival prompted a search in the Brain Food blog archives for my 2010 post on the basic principles of leadership. Some ideas are just worth repeating.

The Basic Principles

  1. Focus on the situation, issue, or behavior, not on the person.
  2. Maintain the self-confidence and self-esteem of others.
  3. Maintain constructive relationships with your employees, peers, and managers.
  4. Take initiative to make things better.
  5. Lead by example.

Whether you’re a boss, manager or team leader, being a good leader isn’t as much about skill as it is about the behaviors and attitudes that build trust and inspire others. There are two questions about you that matter most among the people working with you: Can I trust this person? Does s/he care about me? Your application of the basic principles should make it easy for them to answer in the affirmative.

 

 

 

 

 

Happiness is all the rage.

April 20th, 2012

Walking to an appointment yesterday, a little girl in a stroller passed me singing loudly “I’m so happy because I’m free.” The day before I sat on a subway train across from an ad banner with the headline “Sustainable Happiness,” promoting a 10-week course on how to discover the principles that lead to freedom and happiness. And earlier in the week I received an email invitation from author Shawn Achor to attend his weekend-long Happiness Advantage Retreat at a resort in upstate New York.

I’d been participating in the “Track Your Happiness” research project via an iPhone app for a couple of weeks, so I wasn’t surprised that the happy evidence of my mindset was popping up everywhere I turned. I signed up to participate, because I was curious about the questions I’d be asked that would rate my happiness levels. Not surprisingly, they’re similar to the questions I suggest my clients ask themselves occasionally throughout the day. Questions intended to sample their own mindset and gauge how their thoughts relate to how they feel.

What we think about and how we feel shape our physical experience. And happiness signals a strong energetic force. It’s an indicator of the positive energy that allows us to focus. And it’s been proven to trigger motivation, creativity, productivity and lead to success.

Take some time during the day to check in on your own mindset and energy. Ask yourself: What am I thinking about right now and how does it make me feel? Am I judging myself? What am I expecting to happen? What do I want to happen?

Happiness is in. And that’s a good thing, because happiness leads to success. I hope you’re eager to be in on that.

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