The Positive Energy Workplace

"I just don't think they can do it without me." I was having dinner with a client of mine who was talking about his frustration about how slowly his team was moving an initiative forward.

"Why do you think that?" I asked.

"It's just the sense I get. I feel like I need to be more involved in it so it's done the way I want it." He wasn't clear on why his team wasn't stepping into more of a leadership role and taking the initiative they needed to take in order to rock this project.

Give acknowledgements, not compliments. An acknowledgement speaks to who the person "is" and who they're "being", whereas a compliment speaks primarily to what they "did". "Good job George on getting us ready for that client meeting, you did an awesome job leading it."—is nice... But, "George, I really saw your dedication, courage, and care for the client and what we're all up to and it made a big difference on everyone's experience, ultimately landing us that work."—is way better.

Recently I helped a client get ready for an intense conversation with his team. There'd been some big stuff happening in their division, not all of it great. He had a "state of the union" to deliver as well as some requests. His concern was that if he didn't handle it well, he'd create a mess, not have any clean next steps, waste time, and ultimately demoralize the team. He was nervous.

I get questions from subscribers and participants all the time about random things that relate to leadership, presence, energy, collaboration, dealing with their mom, changing something that they're afraid to change, etc. All sorts of Qs. I try to respond to every single one. Sometimes these Qs inspire articles. Sometimes an exercise. Sometimes a post. You just never know...

Today I thought I'd start sharing some of these in simplest form with the intention that there just might be something gold in here for you. If this is helpful to you, and you like this format, let me know—like it, share it, whatever your fancy—and I'll keep doing it.

I get phone calls almost every week from people who are brilliant, in high positions, making great money, super talented, awesome ... but ... They're not quite having the impact they want to have. For some reason, it's just not happening.