Month: July 2023

leadership dot #3990: smile file

July 11, 2023July 8, 2023by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

My friend, Jim Sturm, directs the Looyenga Leadership Center at Minot State University. He required his LEAD 201 Collaborative Leadership class to read my dots and then write their own dot as an assignment. (I love that!) For the rest of the week, I’ll be sharing some of their work.

Today’s dot was written by Hannah Peterson.

No matter the season you find yourself in, encouraging words from others are life-giving.

Since my first semester attending university, one of my professors encouraged everyone within my social work cohort to create a smile file. The smile file should contain notes that you have received from others, lists of songs that boost your mood, pictures, etc. I have two smile files: one that is tangible and one that is digital. My smile files have thank you cards, little notes from my social work cohort, colleagues, and supervisors, screenshots of encouraging texts, and links to motivational videos, etc.

On the days when you find yourself needing motivation, you can pull up your smile file on your computer or the tangible smile file and begin looking through the positivity found within. The recharge of positivity you get will begin to radiate to those around you. When working in collaboration, find ways that you can add notes, thank you cards, pictures, etc. to someone else’s smile file!

leadership dot #3989: cyclical

July 10, 2023July 8, 2023by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Last week as I listened to the amateurs setting off round after round of fireworks, I looked online to see which holiday had the most visits to the emergency room. I thought it might be the Fourth, with burned limbs or worse. My friend thought it would be Thanksgiving from equally-challenged amateurs trying to deep fry turkeys.

It turns out that they’re all bad. Kids get hit by cars on Halloween. People forget to take their meds amidst the December holiday festivities and travel so have heart attacks or relapse with disease. Drunks crash on New Year’s Eve. People fall on the ice in the winter and get heat stroke in the summer. And so it goes. The emergency room is open 24/7/365 because there are emergencies 24/7/365.

It reminded me of my friend who works at a church and often says: “Sunday happens every week.” There are no “weeks off” in the church world or cycles where they can shut down and take breaks.

Many positions do operate in cycles — that either ramp up (accountants at tax season) or that flex in intensity (teachers in summer) — providing variation to the rhythm of the work. But for those who operate in continuous industries, it’s important to create artificial relief and tend to employee wellness. The doors may be open 24/7/365, but those who work there need intentional closures for self-care as well as having time to think. Strategy is hard to develop among sameness or stress.

leadership dot #3988: overrun

July 9, 2023July 7, 2023by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I was eating ice cream in an outdoor seating area and my attention was drawn to how overrun it was with weeds. There was no grass to mow and the entire seating area was rocked — and apparently, the owners assumed that meant no outdoor maintenance. Such was not the case; the grounds badly needed attention.

The disarray of the outside distracted from the pleasant experience and made me wonder if inside maintenance was as lax. Had the kitchen been ignored as well?

It’s not enough to produce a good product. You must pay attention to all aspects of your brand — from service to messaging, to printed assets, and yes, even to the weeds. Shoddy details will overshadow the whole every time.

leadership dot #3987: prep

July 8, 2023July 7, 2023by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

One of the saddest things I have seen lately was in the Dollar Store which featured Test Prep booklets for Kindergarteners and first graders. The covers were formatted to look like prep courses for the SAT or GRE even though these were for little kids. When I was in Kindergarten, all we did was color and learn the alphabet and I think I turned out fine.

I have a first grader living next door and I think he should spend his time on the silly stuff that he is doing rather than using a workbook to prep for testing. He’s trying to cut a piece of a downed tree so he can sell it for $5. He’s throwing water balloons at his sisters. He’s scaring the dickens out of me as he uses a “flinger” to whiz tennis balls for the dogs.

Let’s hope these books were in the Dollar Store because no one bought them elsewhere. I’m a big believer in education — and I’m a big fan of pure kid-ness as well. Stop the prep and pressure and let the little kids just play.

leadership dot #3986: messaging

July 7, 2023July 6, 2023by leadership dots by dr. beth triplett1 Comment

Outside a hotel was a small area where flowers and brush were planted. The hotel won’t win any awards for its elaborate landscaping but it made the most of the site by including a sign that reads: “Pollination in progress.” This signaled to guests that the overgrowth and selection of plants were intentionally designed to attract bees and birds.

You may understand how things came to be as they did but explicitly communicating to others can increase shared understanding and connection. Explaining why the garden is how it is. Including artist information or the backstory of a piece of art. Communicating the history or meaning behind some of the artifacts you have in your office. Explaining the “why” behind your decisions or actions.

Messaging makes most things better.

leadership dot #3985: obsolete

July 6, 2023July 4, 2023by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I just got new eyeglasses and suddenly, the ones I wore every day for two years seem useless. The prescription didn’t change that much but I haven’t had the “old” ones on since the day I brought the new ones home.

The same thing happens when I buy new athletic shoes — the pair I was perfectly happy wearing into the store now seems haggard and ready to retire. It also happens with cars — mine seems to age a decade as soon as I drive onto the lot — and televisions, as my old one now seems to be the size of a computer monitor.

I’m very conscious of this bias-toward-new and regulate the things I expose myself to that may tempt me to replace “fine” with “latest.” I don’t need to peruse in the Apple store lest my iPhone 11 suddenly pales next to the fancy new 14. I’m not going to open houses or home shows. I especially need to stay away from office supplies.

Consider your propensity to be seduced and perhaps limit your intake of temptations. Don’t do that demo of the latest and greatest new software unless you’re really in the market. Scroll through the ads on your social media feed that offer must-have products that will make your life easier. Have a cycle of planned replacements for your big purchases and ignore those impulse buys.

Things that are perfectly acceptable can seem obsolete far sooner than they actually are.

leadership dot #3984: ambivalence

July 5, 2023July 4, 2023by leadership dots by dr. beth triplett1 Comment

Yesterday, I needed to do a return at TJMaxx but wasn’t sure of their holiday hours. I checked the website and it said closing at 9:30 pm regularly and holiday hours the same as usual. I wasn’t convinced that was accurate, so I called. An automated message said that their normal hours were a 7 pm close but no mention of holiday adjustments. I called again and punched the series of prompts to actually speak to a human — only to learn that they were closing at 8 pm (instead of the normal 9:30 — so both the website and phone message were wrong). Aye!

When I went to the store, I mentioned to the assistant manager that there was confusion with their phone recording. “Oh, those were our Covid hours,” she said. Period. Not “I’m sorry for the inconvenience.” Not “I’ll get on it and fix that right away.” Nada. She didn’t verbally say: “Too bad, so sad,” but that is what she communicated.

Managers often wonder why their employees don’t deliver great service or go the extra mile for customers. This is why. If employees don’t see service practiced or a diligent work ethic implemented by those in leadership roles, they act the same way those in charge do. If you want stellar behavior, it starts with modeling it yourself.

leadership dot #3983: plus one

July 4, 2023July 3, 2023by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I used to think that being a regular voter was all I needed to do my part as an engaged citizen. I no longer believe that is enough.

As we celebrate Independence Day today, I have been thinking of all that it takes to make a democracy function. So many tasks require citizen engagement, and few people even think about stepping up to help with the civic grunt work. Up your involvement this year by voting plus doing one more thing for democracy.

Examples of “plus one” involvement include:

Volunteering to serve on a local government board or commission
Donating to voter turnout organizations
Securing signatures on a petition to get an issue on the ballot
Counting absentee ballots or working as an election precinct official
Hosting a volunteer who is doing fieldwork for a campaign
Running for local office
Writing postcards to encourage voter turnout
Showing up at a governmental meeting to make your views known
Working for the Census and going door-to-door or farm-to-farm to get accurate counts
Volunteering to drive people to the polls
Tutoring a student studying for their citizenship test

It’s easy to grouse about things on social media and it’s no fun to go around with a petition — but only one advances the democratic process. Today, in between the cookouts and fireworks, take a moment to remember what this day is about. Of course, you need to vote in November but commit to doing at least one “plus one” activity for your community between now and the election. Democracy requires engagement to thrive.

leadership dot #3982: bag

July 3, 2023July 2, 2023by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I recently facilitated a retreat for the student accounts staff at a university. As a pre-exercise, I asked them to come prepared to secretly put three things that represent themselves into a brown paper bag for our teambuilding exercise.

Rather than waiting until the session when I handed out the paper bags, they brought their items already in money bags! It was 100% on-brand for a student accounts department and as soon as I saw them I knew we were going to have a good session.

It was a simple thing and something that cost them nothing, but it was authentic to the work they do. Is there a way for you to easily communicate your brand in such a simple way? I think of my dentist whose business card is a mini dental floss dispenser, or Hallmark that hands out gold crown seals for envelopes, or the Red Cross which only wraps arms with red tape after donations.

Every little thing works together to add to — or detract from — the image you are trying to convey. Don’t discount the impact of the small stuff.

leadership dot #3981: spice it up

July 2, 2023July 1, 2023by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

People think of donating pasta, peanut butter, or cereal to food banks but an often overlooked category of donations is spices. The Boston Food Bank is out to change that and has partnered with the public library as a donation spot to make it easier.

The Food Bank points out that spices add a cultural element to food and allow families to continue their traditions around cooking certain dishes. They also afford an opportunity to experiment by adding flavor to the food and can address a variety of tastes.

The next time you’re out grocery shopping, throw a container or two of seasonings into your cart to give at your next donation. You can help spice up someone’s life in a small but meaningful way.