Category: favorites

leadership dot #785a: the handle

August 18, 2024August 14, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

If you think about work like pulling a wagon, then vacation becomes a chance to stop pulling it. Many people who take time off are able to do so.

But there are others, who even though they aren’t pulling, can’t quite seem to put the handle down.

They may not answer emails, but they read them. They may not call the office but are regularly checking to see who called them. They bring work to read on the plane or a laptop to “get a few things done” while they are away.

Before summer is totally gone and the structure and routine of fall return, take some time to put the handle down. All the way.

Take a lesson from the hit song in Frozen and “let it go”. Even a short break can do wonders if you truly disengage.

Originally published in modified form on July 26, 2014

leadership dot #895a: fostering connections

August 17, 2024August 14, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Here is a match made in heaven: teenagers in Brazil who want to improve their English are having regular web chats with elders in a Chicago retirement home. The Speaking Exchange pairs the two groups for regular long-distance conversations in a brilliant alignment. Retirees have lots of time and stories and Brazilian teens have a desire to hear informal English. It is a genius, low-cost idea that benefits both groups.

Often we think about sharing things, but not people.

How can your organization follow their example and think broadly about a way to meet your needs by pairing with the human resources another group has to offer? When you get to the core of what you are seeking, is there someone out there who may be able to partner with you to provide it?

Could empty-nesters who are sending their last child off to college become foster parents? Maybe there is a group of people willing to help those with mobility issues be able to travel the globe? Perhaps you could match “web pals” instead of pen pals for classrooms to adopt a member of the military?

Have your group brainstorm how to emulate the Speaking Exchange. There are over 7 billion people on Earth. Surely you can partner with a few of them for mutual benefit.

Originally published in modified form on November 13, 2014

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

Source: http://www.mnn.com/forward?path=green-tech/computers/videos/brazilian-kids-learn-english-by-video-chatting-with-lonely-elderly

leadership dot #183a: anticipation

August 16, 2024August 14, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

What tasks out there are worse thinking about vs. actually doing?

I think about how I put off gathering my tax receipts and doing taxes — but once I start, it never is as bad as I remembered it to be.

Drinking bottles of “chalk” always makes the anticipation of certain medical tests worse than the procedure itself.

The finger prick before giving blood often hurts more than the actual donation.

Studying for the DMV license test and waiting in the endless line is usually more aggravating than taking the actual examination.

Getting bundled up to go for a walk in the winter always feels like more work than the walk itself.

And thinking about what I should write about as a blog is much more demanding than the actual writing! I still feel clueless until I sit down and open the program, and then words magically appear.

Intellectually, I know all this. But I still allow the procrastination and angst to eat up more energy than it should. I need to move my “butt to seat” (see #124) more quickly so I can remove my butt from seat more quickly too!

Resolve today to spend less time dreading and more time doing!

Originally published in modified form on December 1, 2012

leadership dot #40a: say goodbye

August 15, 2024August 14, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

It’s a lot easier to get approval/acceptance for change when you frame it as a “pilot”. When people think that something is just being tried out or is temporary, they are more willing to agree to test it.

Most of us have piloted something, even if we didn’t formally label it that way. We’ve said things like: “Let’s give this a go.” or “We’ll see how it works out.” Piloting is how we experiment or test something.

The problem is that mostly we pilot things that we are going to add or start. Try piloting stopping instead. Get off a committee and see if it matters — can you get what you need just from reading the minutes? (If not, you can always go back on the committee!) Stop running X report and see if someone misses it. Pilot a plan to eliminate a form or a process. Does everyone really use all the data you collect and enter?) Test out a bi-weekly meeting/reporting structure instead of weekly and see if productivity suffers. Keep only electronic copies and pilot a “green approach” to no copying/filing of routine work.

Challenge yourself and each staff member to pilot at least one ending strategy. Find something that can be eliminated for “awhile” — and give stopping a try!

Originally published in modified form on July 11, 2012

leadership dot #2163a: non-question

August 14, 2024August 13, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

It is mostly a waste of time when the manager at a restaurant goes between tables and asks diners: “How is your meal?” I’ll bet that they most frequently hear “fine” or something similar. It is a non-question — just something to say rather than a request for a real answer. It interrupts the diner’s meal and I would guess that it pays a little dividend for the restaurants.

Such a lost opportunity!

What if instead, the manager asked: “What is one thing we could do to become better?” or “If you were the manager, what is something you would change?” or even “What was the worst part of your experience today?” These types of questions would force the diners to give more substantive answers and a savvy manager could track (literally or intuitively) the frequency of responses. It would allow them to take action in a way that was meaningful.

Instead of a token public relations sweep through the restaurant, managers would be well served to use the time to truly learn something from those who know them best. Whether of your diners, employees, donors, or clients, make it a point to ask real questions, not those that elicit an automatic, generic (non-) response.

Originally published in modified form on May 18, 2018

leadership dot #92a: salt shaker

August 13, 2024August 9, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

A student employee was asked to cover the lunch shift of the Welcome Desk receptionist. “I can cover until 12:55,” he replied. “I have a 1pm class and walking in late to that is like walking into an active volcano.”

In Week 1 of classes, obviously this professor had established clear boundaries and expectations for behavior. The same principles were described by Danny Meyer in his book Setting the Table. Meyer likened supervision to keeping a salt shaker in the center of the table (i.e. setting expectations of desired action). Customers continually moved it (i.e. tested expectations). The job of the leader was to continually put the salt shaker back to the center through “constant, gentle pressure” about why it was important to be there.

Even if leaders set clear expectations, over time they will be abandoned without continual resetting and articulating the consequences for even a little variance. Coming to class at 1:02 becomes 1:05 and then 1:10. Some leaders believe it is easier to let minor transgressions slip, but by allowing the salt shaker to “scoot” a little each time it will invariably fall off the table altogether.

Think about what the salt shaker represents for you and take care to honor it — over and over again.

leadership dot #93a: here’s to less

August 12, 2024August 9, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Why does the speedometer on my car show up to 160 mph when even half of that is speeding in all 50 states? Why does the tachometer display through 8 rpms when even 5 feels like I’m in a rocket ready for take-off?

I fear that we have this obsession with “more”. It looks better if we have more potential on the speedometer than we use, as if putting on the numbers means that the car could go that fast. It looks better if a company’s website lists thousands and thousands of products, even though it only sells a few hundred different items. Universities list courses in their academic catalog that haven’t been offered in years. Lists of bank fees outline obscure services that are likely never used but portray them as a more comprehensive financial institution.

More is not always better. Don’t fall into the temptation to hype your product or offerings beyond what is reasonably used. It just clutters what we truly use and value.

Originally published in modified form on September 2, 2012

leadership dot #635a: just in case

August 11, 2024August 9, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I was at a gathering yesterday with several baseball coaches and former players. The conversation turned to superstitions and the quirky things they did in conjunction with the game. One pays attention to the color ink in the pen he uses to fill out the lineup card. Another wore a cut-off sock on his pitching arm. One spits into his glove after every pitch. They knew of players who wore the same socks all season (without washing them!). And on it went. It seemed that everyone did something on the off chance it would matter.

Then someone wondered what it would be like if we had superstitious rituals in every profession as there seem to be in baseball. The teacher would tap the marker on the whiteboard three times before writing with it. The office worker could rub their mouse before turning on the computer. A nurse could stand with her feet in a specified position before drawing blood. We had a lot of fun with the possibilities.

Maybe you can do something with this idea: use it as an icebreaker at your next party, develop a superstition of your own to help you get in the right frame of mind to start your work day, or have everyone do it in your group to create some good laughs and team bonding.

If you were to develop the equivalent of a baseball player ritual for yourself, what would it be?

leadership dot #1108a: wide

August 10, 2024August 9, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I recently was in the school supply section of a college bookstore. While it was no surprise that I was roaming the aisles of some of my favorite products, I do so in part because I find something new there every time I go.

Today’s find was a set of legal pads — with the orientation turned landscape instead of portrait. Now why haven’t they thought of this before? It is advertised as allowing you to “work in computer screen dimensions,” something that could be very handy for those trying to replicate items on the screen.

There are likely many applications for a pad that is wide instead of long. Math formulas, a list of quotes, names and addresses, specific website addresses, or reference citations come to mind. The format may be preferable for commuters who are trying to write on their laps while en route or someone who wants a pad that orients the same way as their tablet or laptop.

Just looking at a wide pad forces you to think outside the box and change your perspective. Anything that can achieve that is a good thing!

How can you change the orientation of an everyday product that you use today?

Originally published in modified form on June 14, 2015

leadership dot #103a: in reverse

August 9, 2024August 8, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I have dedicated my career to education and believe wholeheartedly in its worth. I know that education provides many valuable lessons and transforms student lives in ways few other experiences can.

Much of education is measured by the compilation of credits. Students take classes, earn credits, and move forward to the next grade. Obtain 128 of the right credits in college and you graduate. Mission accomplished — yeah! If you never pick up a book again, you still have achieved your goal.

What education doesn’t do well is teach students the concept of negative progress. Most things in life are not like credit accumulation, where once goals are earned they remain yours. Instead, life is more like weight loss or savings — you can continue on a steady path and achieve your goal, but if you don’t continue the behavior that got you there, you will lose all the results that you have obtained. You can’t methodically exercise and eat right; achieve a weight loss goal and then celebrate being “done” and expect the results to stay with you as a diploma does.

It is a valuable life lesson to learn that reverse can happen, and understand how to prepare for it; to know that success is tenuous and that behavior needs to be sustained to preserve it. Education would do well to celebrate the journey more than the destination and to help its students master the lesson of persistent, lifelong effort rather than focus on the episodic endings.

Originally published in modified form on September 12, 2012