The Positive Energy Workplace

A couple of weeks ago, at the Inc 500 Conference in DC, I was having dinner with my good friend and colleague Ari Weinzweig (co-founding partner and CEO of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses and early adopter of Bootist Leadership) when I felt like I was going to choke. It wasn’t the company (—or the company :)—) but rather a delicious fresh piece of organic spinach that had lodged itself halfway down my throat and halfway in my mouth. You may know the feeling – halfway down, half way up – and you have to make a choice, take another bite, swallow it and hope for the best OR pull it back up and spit it out. I felt like I was going to gag, but instead of choking it up all over my dining partner, I opted to gulp it down and hope for the best. It went down, but with tears in my eyes, and recovering from my “near death” experience, we started to laugh at how swallowing fresh organic spinach and almost choking is a lot like organizational change…well any change for that matter.

First off, it’s uncomfortable. At first you feel like you’re gonna gag, your eyes may tear up, it may be hard to communicate to your peers, and your gag reflex makes you want to choke it up, spit it out, quit. Problem with that is that if you do any of these, you gave up too fast, the spinach doesn’t get digested, the organizational change doesn’t happen, and you’re back to square one – possibly having to gobble it down again (and maybe with a better strategy, but who’s to say?) Second off, it’s green – organizational change is green for a couple of reasons – 3 that I think of now are – it’s new for everyone, it’s got to have time to grow like grass, and it’s not always a pretty color. Third, if you throw it back up, you’ve made a big mess, and it’s probably better not to have started eating it in the first place, plus your dinner companion and employees may be less likely to believe you’ll follow through the next time.

Do you play front and center or from behind and to the side? Do you engage your team mate directly to help him “up his game”? Or do you do it through others? The coach, the other players, the water boy? Where does your energy go when you think about giving feedback (up, down, out, in)? What’s the energy you hold when you provide it?

I get to work with people on feedback quite a bit. Giving it. Receiving it.

Fearing it. Loving it. Making sure it is in service of. Cleaning it up so it’s not personal. Cleaning it up so it actually helps. All in service of creating better results, better relationships, smarter collaboration, safety for risk taking, and ultimately cultures and leaders that inspire trust and the best results possible.

As always, I notice trends. I notice when people are careful. And why. When they pull their punches. And why. When they sabotage the feedback. And why.

When they avoid it. And why. When it gets totally distorted. And why. When it’s productive or not. And why. It’s a simple, yet complex game. And one that is important in creating trust and good results in your organization.

The past couple of weeks have been very busy over here. First off, I moved into a new office - with an official "client retreat space" - which we’re calling "Bootist Headquarters". Here I can work with my clients and small groups in a very comfortable and productive setting. I'll also be able to host clients when they come into town for their private retreats with me. (In fact, the first one is coming in from the East Coast next week! She's a very special client and I'm thrilled to have her be the first in the new digs!) The new pad is in downtown St. Charles, right by the river, and surrounded by things that make me very happy; so far, so good.

I was in my Bikram Yoga class this a.m. and as often happens parallels for Bikram and Bootism™ shot up throughout my compressing, stretching, sweating, and breathing. The instructor today said --- “If you’re not pushing yourself hard enough, you’re not getting the full benefits of doing the work.” To which my mind went to…”Yes, and if I’m going to spend the 90 minutes doing it, I might as well get the full benefit and push lovingly hard.” (My personal aha here was that I’ve been slacking in the last couple of classes – letting my mind wander, not pushing myself to the full extent, etc. - and wondering why my progress has slowed down, and why I wasn’t enjoying it as much…hmmm…mystery solved.)

I woke up this morning feeling grateful. Appreciative of everything and everyone I have in my life. Good things. Great things. Even challenging or "hard" things. Grateful for all of it. Little things, big things; a hot cup of coffee (good coffee, not crap), Ugg boots on a chilly Fall weather morning that's here in August (go figure, and grateful for the break from the heat), my messy office that's going to get cleaned today (ahem!), leadership (cuz it makes things happen - and gratefully so!), engaging relationships, family, friends, little sisters, clients, colleagues, my business, life lessons (which gratefully repeat themselves over and over again until we "get" the learning!), and the list goes on. Basically all of it.