Keep On Truckin'

Today's post isn't about a CEO or Fortune 500 company. It's about an 11-year-old girl who didn't make her school softball team. Her response to the news speaks volumes about her character and provides a lesson for us great big adults about creating opportunity out of so-called failure.

Instead of walking away in defeat, our young hero very intuitively got what was important: engage, don't avoid. She understood that if she wanted to achieve her goal - playing softball - she needed to maintain relationships rather than shy away from them, and she had to get back in the game rather than accept defeat.

Here's how she did it: A natural relater, it was important to her to first congratulate the girls who did make the team. Then, she went to the coach - in uniform - to ask if she could just practice with the team. The coach agreed. Just a few weeks later, the coach has been putting her into games. The girl who didn't make the cut is playing on the team. And, she's doing it because she didn't let rejection define her or limit her options.

We adults have plenty of reasons to be avoidant these day: layoffs, demoralization at work, lack of clear direction, distracted leadership, and of course, general financial malaise. As our young friend demonstrates, it really isn't the problem that defines us, it's what we decide to do with it that matters. Avoidance isn't the answer; Leaning in and engaging is.

Tell me about a recent defeat or let-down, and how you did, or would, overcome it.

Everyone's a Hater

One of my clients, a creative agency, used to have an amazingly collegial and inventive culture. Until last fall. Now, even the most committed employees hate their jobs. With downsizing, roles have changed, the mood is glum, the fun is gone. Things just aren't what they used to be. For anyone.

Organizations shouldn't be counting on their top performers and usual champions to maintain momentum. These people are just as derailed as everyone else. Even the most senior leaders - and business owners - are off their game.

In a moment when our collective impulse is to scramble for new business, or to just look busy, it's time to pause.

Pause and reflect on what's really important, to get grounded in your values as an organization and as individuals. Ask yourself and others why you do what you do. Breathe deeply and get grounded in yourself.

Think of what you could create if you were starting new. Because the world is different. So, we have to be different than we were before. As Marshall Goldsmith says, "What Got You Here Won't Get You There."

How do you think we can get people to start loving their jobs again?

So...Now What?

When I ask clients about their talent development, diversity, and other culture-building initiatives these days, they're at a loss for words. Across industries, they don't know what the priorities are: should they be involved in these extracurricular activities right now, or just stick to their core jobs?

Employees don’t want to be seen working on initiatives like diversity recruiting or culture-building events because they don’t want people to think they have time for anything nonessential to the business. And, in every case, I hear about leaders being too busy trying to keep the ship upright to tell their people what's important.

I understand the plight of leadership in these tough times. Huge pressure to cut costs to the bone, let go of people they'd much rather keep, and just plain survive. It's genuinely lonely.

But, if leaders don't tell their people where to focus, strategy becomes subject to interpretation, and a lot of productivity gets lost. (And, psst, leaders! If you tell your people what you need, you might even feel less isolated.)

So, now what? How do we get leaders to tell us what's important?