The Positive Energy Workplace

The quality of our relationships, partnered with our willingness to be real, take risks and be vulnerable, dictates the quality and results of our leadership. Our willingness to be real, take risks and be vulnerable makes us human and relatable. Our care, attention and nuturing of people and relationships makes us worthy of trust and being related to. Creating trust - true trust - in relationships is key. High quality relationships are built on that trust. Leadership is about relationships.

We are in the midst of an exciting, nerve racking and pivotal time right now. I see this in the economy, in business, in leadership, in politics, in families, and in peoples' senses of purpose and personal values. There's a lot happening. On one hand I notice a lot of complaining, blaming, making excuses, and fear. And on the other hand, I see a lot of positive and productive percolation, reflection, and action. I notice a lot of dismissing "hype" and inauthenticity, and instead, see people really looking at what matters, what's real and what's the bigger purpose - in business and in life. And I feel the buzz. Can you feel it?

I see it as a real opportunity right now. 2010 has been referred to as the year of "making it or breaking it" - meaning it's the year to DECIDE what will happen for each of us. Do we "give in" and succumb to "more challenging times," do we get sucked in to "story", do we blend in, go "beige"? OR do we get into action, ask different questions, work our mindsets and create a new way of "being" in business, a new way of engaging with people, and a new level of energy and success? It's a decision point year. How and what are you deciding?

Using 3 very different and specific examples of people choosing how to move through their lives and businesses right now, I've written an article sharing 3 things to help you explore these questions and your own situation in order to help move your mindset and your organization in the right direction.

Some of the work I do with clients is hard to "put in a box"/get a handle on/make it really tangible. Afterall, when I work with people, everyone's different, and it's not like I can say "here is this gadget I'm going to sell you." Or "here's exactly what you'll have when we're done with our work." It's actually quite the opposite; the client determines the "gadget" and what we have at the end - by getting really clear and then achieving his/her specific outcomes they wish to make in our work together. No one is the same. It's not an exact science. Just about 100% of the time they get more than they bargained for and find things they didn't even know they could work on, and that add tremendous value to their lives and leadership. The whole point of the work is to help them become even more effective at being THEM. Finding their truth. Following their path. Increasing their influence (both externally and internally - important!) And leading in a way that is congruent for them. You can't put that in a box.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm getting ready to sign off for a couple of days of family, food, fun, movies, games, some nice runs along the river, and some "me" time. Every year, with gratitude being one of my favorite energy producing leadership and connection tools, I write something about it for my clients and subscribers. This year I'm sharing it on the blog as well. All I can say is this...if you've got gratitude, lead with it. If you don't think you do, look for it. And if you aren't doing so, express it. And soon. And more. After all as Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) once said "Silent gratitude isn't very much use to anyone."

If you’d like the full article (as well as additional articles) make sure you opt in on the box on the right. In the meantime, enjoy the poem below. Thanks for being here, have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and let’s get ready for 2010. "See" you next week!

Leading With Gratitude Poem - Anese Cavanaugh

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.