Have you ever caught a whiff of a smoky haze coming from down the hall? …The kind that indicates something is not quite right?
Occasionally a fire alarm even goes off, but it is quickly silenced.
…But if you follow your nose the smoke gets thicker around another titled leader’s door.
Yes – I’m asking about a titled leader that may be a level or two below you, may be your direct report, your peer or even your boss.
A variety of conversations over the past few months have me focused on expectations.
As a result I’ve historically struggled to be on the receiving end of poor service, and really struggled to work with titled leaders that don’t care about anything but meeting minimum standards.
So imagine living life in a place where:
I read the story below several years ago and really struggled with it…
A young woman sang a solo in front of a large audience. Her vocal technique was splendid, her intonation excellent, her range significant.
Coincidentally, the man who had written the piece of music she sang was sitting in the audience. When the young woman finished, the person sitting beside the composer leaned over and said, “Well, what do you think of her?”
Softly the composer responded, “She will be really great when something happens to break her heart.” ~ C. Swindoll
“Really?”
My heart pushed back ~ “Why does something have to break your heart before you become really great?”
Part of my brain argued with the thought and then shut down.
…A few years later, I walked through the most significant struggle in my life…
When we moved to The Sandbox, I promised to share our personal change journey – believing that even titled leaders are people with real lives that have only one constant in their lives… CHANGE! As expected our experiences have included examining urban legends, facing fears, laughing, crying, and crazy amounts of growth! Sometimes I hold the experience for awhile processing, healing, or trying to figure out how to share it with you. I wrote this in May of last year and stumbled on it earlier this week…
Before we moved across the ocean we really struggled with lots of decisions.
One of the biggest ones was wondering if we should bring Brutus, our 10-year-old White German Shepherd.
I was recently on a call with a friend that is dealing with at situation that is impacting her family and needs to change. She’s done everything she can think of to communicate their needs, to ask for consideration, and to influence that change but nothing seems to be happening.
As we visited I thought of a story I heard years ago about two children that were teased every day at school by a bully. In spite of their pain, their families encouraged them to be courageous, to speak truth and to be kind and loving in in their responses.
After an especially challenging day at school the two children were hurting, frustrated and discouraged.
So the little girl’s father took them on a trip to a construction site. They sat at a distance and watched as a man hammered on a large boulder. Repeatedly he hit the massive stone with no apparent results.
…And then in one sudden blow the boulder crumbled into hundreds of pieces!
The children were amazed, and wondered why that one blow broke the rock and the others didn’t.
The father explained that with each blow the rock was breaking inside – even though the exterior showed no evidence of what was happening inside.
Today we honor the life of a man who consistently modeled that change can be obtained with persistence, thought, discipline and love.
Martin Luther King Jr. spoke these words AFTER his home was bombed…
We are not advocating violence. We want to love our enemies. I want you to love our enemies. Be good to them. Love them and let them know that you love them.
As we honor his life I can’t help but to think about…
Below are links to tools to help you be that change and prepare for the boulders you will face:
Image credits: iStock, Historical Stock Photos
