Words

 

What if the words you spoke appeared on your skin like tattoos, would you still be beautiful?

 

Wow.  Think about that.  I totally stole this from a social media post, but I did so because it really struck me.  What about the words I yell during a Longhorn football game?  Then there are words that run through my mind and out of my mouth when frustrated in traffic.  There are so many words I think and say that I would hate to have tattooed to my arms.  Words are powerful, but oh so easy to throw around.  We should think about this more, consider our choice of words before we open our mouths.  Next time you are about to embark on a cursing rant just envision all those lovely words tattooed on your skin!  Scary…

Be An Example

 

There is plenty of advice being passed around out there these days. Social media has created a lot of experts and it facilitates an increased amount of opinion sharing. Much of that has no tangible actions associated with it. Advice and opinions need to be replaced by lives of example. We know that humans learn by the examples they see and interact with daily. It is true of our children, our co-workers, and followers. A life lived by example is a life of influence.

 

There is nothing wrong with genuine, sincere, and well-meaning advice. I wish it was all that way. If you really want to impact someone’s life, don’t just tell that person, show them by how you live your life.

 

Remember, a pint of example is worth more than a barrel full of advice.

Leadership Doesn't Change

A lot has happened over the last four years, especially in just the last 12 months, but what has really changed? In some regards what is really important has not changed much at all. The below MMM could have been written today. It was actually published four years ago on February 6, 2017. The ingredients for great leadership have not changed and are even more important today.

Leadership Today

 

After just one month of 2017 and two weeks into the term of a new President, we find our country to be in interesting and challenging times.  Our political and social landscape is changing, seems incredibly delicate, and is actually very contentious.  The world of social media has forever changed how information is disseminated and opinions are formed.  That is not necessarily a change for the better.  We are quick to make judgments; we fail to research facts; we condemn too quickly.  It is way too easy to be extremist and hateful from the safety of an iPhone or keyboard.  We also think it takes too much time to truly listen, educate ourselves and fully understand issues.  The issues are passionate, significant ones.  The extremely divided opinions on many of these topics is both surprising and totally understandable.  But remember, varying viewpoints, backgrounds and beliefs are what makes this country great.      

 What does all of this mean for those striving to be great leaders?  Let me suggest…

·         Be bold but thoughtful

·         Ensure that passions and convictions are well supported by facts

·         Drawing lines in the sand and jumping to conclusions are short sighted behaviors

·         There is power in being positive even in debate

·         Every thought or opinion, political or otherwise, that crosses one’s mind does not have to be posted to social media

·         Don’t believe, nor become enraged by, everything you read on the internet or social media

·         Be careful of the momentum of the bandwagon; groups with common beliefs often feed off themselves without considering differing viewpoints

·         Most importantly…  Listen, truly listen with the intent to understand.

A Time to Lead

What happened last week at the capital of the United States of America was appalling and disheartening.   The violent and lawless acts that took place there do not represent the values on which this country was built.  I felt like I was watching news coverage of a foreign country, much like I felt during the violent riots last summer.  We are all are entitled to our own opinion about the causes and political aspects of this incident.  We are also entitled to voice those opinions and peacefully demonstrate in support of them. 

As leaders, how do we respond to this?  It is critical that we lead against the divisions that are being perpetrated in this country. The national media feeds upon us being a divided people. It makes great news to depict drastically different viewpoints, develop momentum behind both sides, and exaggerate our divisions.  It is too easy to get caught up in the spin!  This just results in people jumping on one side of a polarizing topic and spewing hatred and accusations.  It is so easy to hide behind the keyboard and ride a wave created by media.  Social media content that serves no purpose other than expanding the divide is all too common.  We can control the breadth and depth of our divisions. 

As a people we are reluctant to take the time necessary to learn all sides of an issue, much less the facts.  I know that facts can be hard to find and I am not suggesting that we all sing Kumbaya together anytime soon.  I am merely suggesting that we need to be careful of letting the media drive the narrative. It is possible to maintain your own viewpoint while still respecting another’s opinion.  It is also possible to formulate an opinion without referring to, or posting on, social media.  Disagreement does not have to lead to expansive divides, accusations, or hateful behavior. As leaders we must encourage education, objectivity, and the understanding of all sides of issues.

I have a great friend whose beliefs about national politics vary greatly from my own. We respect each other’s opinions, listen to one another’s thoughts, and take the time to learn why we feel differently about political topics.  Our first response is not hatred. It is not a verbal attack via social media, and it is not a line in the sand that defines our relationship.  Our friendship has grown because of our ability to respectfully discuss our viewpoints without divisiveness, even though neither of us has changed our position. Differing opinions do not have to lead to hatred.  Listening to others’ beliefs does not have to result in name calling, accusations, and ridicule.

Leaders are purveyors of hope. I have said it before, a responsibility of leaders is to provide hope. That could not be truer than it is today.  Those we work with, those we lead and those we love, all need to be hopeful.  There are plenty of reasons for hope, but that hope must look past our media driven divisions.  That hope requires objectivity and open mindedness.  It needs great leaders.  America is still the greatest country in the world.

Wherever you are today and wherever you lead tomorrow, lead with hope, lead with objectivity, lead against divisiveness, and lead with love.

Regarding the Special Edition MMM last week, here are a couple of follow up thoughts on my suggested responses…

Be thoughtful and intentional with social media posts, and be careful about what you believe on those forums.

·   Consider the old adage, “think before you speak”, a similar thought process should be applied to social media posting, “think before you hit enter”.  There is a lot of misinformation out there, as well as just plain useless information.  Impactful social media posts are grounded in facts and well thought out opinions.  We need more of that and less one-word shares of attention getting false information.

Educate yourself with facts from a variety of sources

·      We know that many media sources are full of biases and agendas, as such we need to broaden our sources to gather various viewpoints.  Educating yourself by researching topics and verifying stories takes time, but it is necessary.  Take the time. Educate yourself.

Be blessed…

How do you define success?

Success is defined by each of us in different ways.  It should be a very personal definition, not shaped by others' opinions, the media or society.  It should include components of faith, family and helping those around us.  Success should be viewed as a journey and not a specific destination. It likely changes over time and with age It does not have to include financial or materialistic goals, although it may.  Success is simply a recipe for contentment.  What is your definition of success?  Below are a few good keys in my mind...

• Be comfortable with who you are
• Leave the world a better place
• Be a positive influence
• Tell the truth
• Get mad but don't be stupid
• Be a giver not a taker
• Seek God
• Be kind
• Have and accept grace
• Be humble

Emphasizing the Negative?

As a society it seems like we tend to focus on the negative and not the positive.  We seek and point out flaws and failures way more actively than we do accomplishments and successes.  I know that I am guilty of this.  It is something that I have recently made a decision to try and change.  A conscious effort is required to be positive and look for the good things in life all the time.  Some people are better at it than others.  But for some reason the world around us seems to make it harder.  The media is certainly no help.  So much of the news is driven by negativity, failure, fraud and corruption.  Even the weatherman is working against us.  Why is it that a 70% chance of sunshine is communicated as a 30% chance of rain?  We might find ourselves a little more pleasant to be around if we sought out the positive more often than the negative.   

Be positive.  Be blessed…

Words

What if the words you spoke appeared on your skin like tattoos, would you still be beautiful?

Wow.  Think about that.  I totally stole this from a social media post, but I did so because it really struck me.  What about the words I yell during a Longhorn football game?  Then there are words that run through my mind and out of my mouth when frustrated in traffic.  There are so many examples of words that I think and say that I would hate to have tattooed to my arms.  Words are powerful, but so easy to throw around.  We should think about this more, consider our choice of words before we open our mouths.  Next time you are about to embark on a cursing rant just envision all those lovely words tattooed on your skin!  Scary…

Focus

Maybe it is my age, hopefully it is also the technological world we live in, but I have a hard time concentrating for an extended period of time.  There are too many distractions.  It’s incredible how quickly we learn of news events in this world of social media, smartphones and the internet.  Then there is the rest of the generally worthless information we can access immediately!  Interruptions are constantly available at our fingertips.  How important is it to overcome distractions and be able to focus?  It is critically important for success. 

Times may have changed in regards to how we access news and information and what we do with it.  One thing that has not changed is that results are all that matter.  If we are not producing results in our professional life we are not succeeding.  That is largely true at home as well.  Use your time wisely.  Do not let the distractions of our instant gratification world distract you.  

“The ability to concentrate and to use your time well is everything if you want to succeed in business; or almost anywhere else for that matter.”

-Lee Iacocca