Change Masters Incorporated - The Blog
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This is my favorite line from one of my favorite poets, Mary Oliver, who died earlier this month at 83-years-old. It keeps me looking higher and bigger every time I read it. Thank you, Mary, for all you gave the world.
Carol Keers – Executive Presence Tip
Mary Oliver gave one of her few interviews with by Krista Tippett of On Being. [Link to Podcast.]
A Harris Poll of 1,000 USA workers revealed employees see communication issues dragging executive performance down. Leaders are so busy that they focus on tasks rather than having the emotional intelligence to better engage the people they are supposed to be leading.
I do not talk with leaders who are bored because they have too much extra time on their hands. They are looking for a “time-expansion-machine” that will expand an hour to 90 minutes. If someone has found that time-expander, they have not told me. So we are stuck with 60-minute hours and 24-hours days. What is missing?
Doug Lennick is a very successful executive, mentor, and author who shares great wisdom. He said, “The reason we do not get what we want in our life is because we let important things get in our way.” I thought I was supposed to focus on the important things! Doug’s message is, “We need to focus on our KEY things in life rather than the important ones.” Key things are things that we must do and only we can do them. We can delegate or drop most important things that are not key.
If you look at the survey list of issues by employees, and match it to the key activities, it is not hard to imagine that the leaders of those employees are not focused on key activities. They are letting the “important” things consume their life and ignoring the key things.
The last chapter of our book “Seeing Yourself as Others Do – Authentic Executive Presence at Any Stage of Your Career” is on Inspiration, Motivation and Praise. Most clients recognize they can be significantly better at this, and want to be better. By focusing on KEY activities and the importance of relationships, everyone can improve the score they would receive if their employees were part of another Harris Poll.
Many of my clients have grabbed onto the KEY activities concept and dramatically improved their ability to manage themselves and lead others without the need for a time-expander.
My client, Dave, was consistently happy and fully engaged in life. He loved his Harley Davidson motorcycle. He rode it to Key West and the Rocky Mountains. He fully enjoyed great meals and entertainment. He loved his wife and family. He managed to do all this while being the CFO of a successful business. He did not fit my stereotype of a CFO. So much for stereotypes.
In addition to the individual coaching I did with Dave, I worked with the entire executive team for two years to totally revamp their business structure and processes. In addition to monthly meetings, we had several multi-day off-sites at locations around the country. The group had high intensity discussions and differences. Dave fully engaged. It was always about the topic and what was best for the company in a positive way. Bottom-line … I spent a lot of time with Dave. He was always happy. Not fake happy; he seemed truly happy.
I share this story because I think most people would like to have a love of life that is not crushed by the stresses of the day-to-day. Dave shared his story that I think can be helpful to all of us in dealing with life’s challenges.
Dave had a serious heart attack when he was 49 years-old. He was in cardiac intensive care. He appeared to be unconscious but he could hear. There were all the machines and monitors making noises. Thinking Dave could not hear, his doctor was talking to his wife at the foot of his bed. The doctor told his wife that it was very unlikely Dave would live through the night.
Dave did not want to die. He prayed continually though the night saying, “God, if you give me one more day …I will cherish it and be thankful for every good or bad thing it brings me.” To everyone’s surprise, Dave was alive the next day. He continued his prayers. He continued to be thankful.
The way he summarized the experience to me when I met him was, “Every day above ground is a good day!” He believed it. He lived it. His positive attitude rubbed off on others … including me. I hope it helps you, too.
