by Caroline Leach | Apr 21, 2016 | Change, Learning
Could there be anything new about the growth mindset, first articulated by Stanford’s Carol Dweck?
As it turns out, yes.
People Won’t Grow If You Think They Can’t Change was a great post today in Harvard Business Review.
Written by Monique Valcour, the piece applies a growth mindset to how leaders view, interact with and influence the learning potential of their team members.
Did you ever work with a leader who saw more potential in you than you did at the time? Did you ever have have a team member with more potential than they saw in themselves? How did those scenarios turn out?
A good way to think about new frontiers or challenges is Dweck’s TED talk, The power of believing you can improve.
She opened with a story about a Chicago high school where students who didn’t pass a class got a mark of “not yet.” What did that do? It placed people on a learning curve into the future.
What’s your “not yet”?
by Caroline Leach | Apr 20, 2016 | Learning
Heading into Peet’s this morning for coffee, my mind was going a mile a minute thinking about the day ahead. Meetings to attend. Calls to make. Actions to complete.
An unexpected ray of sunshine brightened my morning as I approached the store. A fellow coffee aficionado I’d seen there from time to time shared a thoughtful compliment with me as I walked by.
Wow. It made me pause. It made me smile. It brought a whole new aura to my day.
It reminded me of some wise words from Tony Schwartz, writing about appreciation in Harvard Business Review. “Feeling genuinely appreciated lifts people up,” he wrote.
He was talking about the workplace specifically as he advocated looking for opportunities to notice what others are doing right and being appreciative for their contributions.
This could be a positive twist on “if you see something, say something.” If you observe someone doing something great, take the initiative to recognize them for it. It could be a member of your team, a community acquaintance or the person standing next to you in line.
You never know what a difference you could make in someone’s day.
A colleague of mine, Andy Bailey, role models this at work. “Start every meeting with recognition,” he says. There’s a transformative power in beginning with gatherings this way. People feel more valued, the tone of the meeting is lighter and the time together becomes more productive.
Scott Adams takes the concept further in How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big. “Adults are starved for a kind word,” Adams wrote. “When you understand the power of honest praise, you realize that withholding it borders on terminal. If you see something that impresses you, a decent respect to humanity insists you voice your praise.”
Hear, hear!
by Caroline Leach | Apr 19, 2016 | Learning
Don’t you love a good paradox? Or what seems like a paradox?
In my April adventure I’ve been reminded of a few things.
First is that the key to establishing a new habit is to do it daily. That way it becomes automatic. It doesn’t require a great deal of thought or effort. On day 19 of my adventure, I’m almost at the magical 21 days to establish a habit. Except that science may tell us there isn’t anything special about that number after all.
The elements of my daily dozen that I’ve enjoyed most of all? Posting to this blog. Spending more time with family. Studying Spanish.
Second is that by attempting to do too much, not everything gets done particularly well. Now that I’ve experienced the power of multiple habit formation, I may set one area of focus for each month. One new habit at a time. Smaller, more manageable steps.
It reminds me of what Seth Godin said about N-1. He asks a powerful question. Rather than squeezing in one more thing, how much better could you do if you did one less thing?
by Caroline Leach | Apr 18, 2016 | Learning
Ever feel overwhelmed by a big project? How to scope it? Where to begin?
This is a great time to take a page from David Allen‘s playbook. The creator of Getting Things Done advises to note the next action that needs to be taken.
Because life really is a series of small steps that add up to big things. And somehow, that first action builds momentum for the next action, and the next and so on.
It reminds me of visiting a prospective middle school with my son. The science teacher wrote an acronym on the board: WTDWYDKWTD.
He asked who could tell us what it meant.
Huh?
That’s what he said he was teaching his students to do.
Unfortunately, or perhaps not surprisingly, no hands went up in response.
It translated into “What To Do When You Don’t Know What To Do.”
What a brilliant concept. Because how many of us know exactly what to do, every moment of every day?
Often, though, we know a lot more than we give ourselves credit for. A few questions can help.
- What is known about the situation?
- What is the goal or the problem that needs to be solved?
- Can that be related to a similar scenario?
- What is unknown that would be helpful to know? How could that information be obtained?
- Could a small pilot be conducted to test a theory at how to proceed?
- Has someone faced a similar situation who could give helpful insight?
- What is the worst thing that could happen? How could that be prevented or mitigated?
- What is the best outcome? How could you make that happen?
by Caroline Leach | Apr 17, 2016 | Learning
Why do you work? What motivates you each day? On this Sunday evening, what are you looking forward to on Monday morning?
Work gives our lives meaning. It lets us be part of something bigger than ourselves. It enables us to change the world and leave a legacy. It offers us a way to express and contribute our strongest gifts and talents.
This may be the reason that Why We Work jumped out at me on a recent visit to the “new releases” section of my local library. It’s a TED original book written by psychology professor Barry Schwartz.
Barry’s work on The Paradox of Choice was already familiar to me. I see his theory in everyday life – the fewer options we’re presented with, the easier it is to make a choice and feel that we made a good decision.
His pearls of wisdom about work?
- “Virtually every job that people do can be made meaningful by focusing on the ways in which it improves the lives of customers, as long as it’s done right and done well.”
- “You don’t need to be working for an organization that saves live to find meaning and purpose in what you do. You just need to be doing work that makes people’s lives better.”
- “There really is no substitute for the integrity that inspires people to do good work because they want to do good work.”
- “Often, if not always, people find themselves in work situations that allow them to find meaning and engagement, if they are willing to look for it.”
This reminded me of the millions of customers we serve at my current employer. In addition to entertaining the future, we are connecting people everywhere they live, work and play. That’s what I’m exited about.
Whatever you do, there is greater meaning and purpose beyond your job description. Barry uses the example of hospital custodians who saw their jobs as transcending the requirements to clean rooms. These people saw their jobs as an opportunity to comfort patients and families in their greatest moments of need.
Why do you work?
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