Ever since I read the book Good to Great this quote by former Pitney Bowes Executive Fred Purdue has resonated with me…
“My job is to turn over rocks and look at the squiggly things, even if what you see can scare the h_ll out of you.”
My definition of a squiggly thing is this: Anything that is breaking down people, relationships, organizations, processes, systems and/or results.
[Tweet ” Have you ever tried to ignore, hide from, or argue with a squiggly thing?”]
As I reviewed my blog posts from 2014, I thought about the people and the situations that inspired each one.
And I realized that although I’ve often said that people don’t need a title to lead, I’ve said that imagining people at all levels of an organization that have a lot to contribute. (Like the often overlooked janitorial staff or frontline employees.)
This year my eyes were opened as I realized how much we talk about leadership in the workplace and how often we ignore the need for leadership in our daily lives.
Several times throughout the year, I met people with vision, talent and time that aren’t engaged in life, and aren’t as fulfilled as they could be. (Often emitting a mix of frustration and surrender.)
This week has been filled with the wrapping up of several projects, the planning of future projects, and the packing of suitcases for a much-needed break.
And in that space, I’ve been pondering the past few months.
This fall was a season of EXTREME TESTING. (Only the teacher forgot to warn me that the tests were coming so I didn’t get to study. And truthfully, I didn’t realize how much testing was occuring – until things slowed down and I paused to reflect.)
It’s worth noting that although the tests were different, one theme was repeated over and over again: When I’m under-fire ~Do I really practice what I say I believe in and write about? (A sampling of some of the tests are listed below on the left, previous articles are on the right.)
I live in a place that looks like this:
I crave places that look like this:
Our current environment sometimes feels like this:
I crave environments that make me feel like this:
Have you ever tried hard to change a situation?
Have you ever gotten frustrated when change doesn’t seem to be happening?
And in the midst of that frustration… Have you ever had anyone slap a victim label on your forehead?
Years ago I was dealing with a situation like that at work. When I shared that frustration with an executive… He told me that I needed to stop being a victim.
I was shocked.
I thought I had spent the past three years doing everything in my power to take ownership of a reporting process that was a potential risk to the company – a risk that was growing as the organization grew.
I had involved several key-stakeholders, I had shared concerns, I had collaborated on how to handle the present situation.
…And I consistently believed that one of them would take the necessary steps to create change before this process had to be repeated again.
How was it possible that my efforts to be an owner were perceived as being a victim?
