Tag Archives: understanding seasons of change

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Dealing with Change: Both Wanted & Unwanted

Will it kill you? Or will you thrive?

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Once upon a time, I hired a fun-loving woman with great recommendations, strong experience, and impressive tenure. (True Story!)

Not long after she joined our team she began to struggle.   Things that she thought would be easy to learn were harder than normal, which chewed away at her confidence, which made it even harder to learn, which ate away even more confidence. Sometimes when we spoke privately, tears flowed.

At one point she shared that in her last role she was so confident that she would put on a pink feather boa. And when she wore it – everyone knew a special announcement was going to be made. Here she wanted to be her authentic self, but was afraid…

Each time we spoke, I would remind her:

  1. She was grieving. (She had just left a role that she knew backwards and forwards and upside down in a place where she felt understood, appreciated and loved and moved and started a new job.)
  2. She really was smart, capable, fun and wanted!
  3. She was focusing more on her mistakes and emotions than on what she knew she could bring and that was causing her to struggle harder.
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Continuous Improvement: Cures The Two-Year Itch

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Several years ago I had a long but fun job interview. In that interview I was honest with my prospective employer about my strengths, my passions and my need to be challenged.

I pointed to my historical pattern of two years of achieving in a role, before I got bored and needed to learn something new and needed to make a greater difference. (Which usually meant I moved on…)

The interviewer smiled and nodded and shared that he had the same problem. …Until he came to work in this company…

He had my attention.

I had his attention.

And I got the job.

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Have you personally witnessed leadership in a crisis?

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Current events and a class I’m taking have me thinking about how people lead in a crisis.

So I reached out to my network and asked:

  • Have you personally witnessed great leadership in a crisis?
  • If so what did you see, feel and experience?

The answers I got back were fascinating.

  • One person told a story of a life and death experience.
  • Everyone else shared a work-related experience that impacted them emotionally and sometimes physically.

Think about that for a minute…

In the face of horrific current events in our world – work related crises impact so many more lives!

And just in case you are tempted to dismiss work-related experiences as something that could be called a crisis, check out how Webster defines the word:    noun cri·sis \ˈkrī-səs\: plural cri·ses  \ˈkrī-ˌsēz\:

  • An emotionally significant event or radical change of status in a person’s life
  • The decisive moment
  • An unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending; especially : one with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome

Before I share their stories, I’d love to hear your stories as well.  Please share!  

 

  • [Tweet “Have you personally witnessed positive or negative leadership during a crisis?”]
  • If so what did you see, feel and experience?

Leadership meand understanding others

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How brokenness can make you more effective

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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…

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Endings and Beginnings

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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.

Expat DogOne of the biggest ones was wondering if we should bring Brutus, our 10-year-old White German Shepherd.