Unplugged & Renewed

Spring is a time of renewal. Even with snow on the ground, it is exciting to see buds on the trees and the hearty crocuses pushing up through the frozen ground!  What a good time to reflect on what really is important.  We are all so busy trying to keep ahead of the projects on our plates so why not take a minute or an hour or a day or a weekend to relax and enjoy your favorite relaxing activity?

Recently I welcomed spring with the beginning of my weekly “Sabbath” – a trip to our local farmers’ market which started a week early this year.  It’s in town every Thursday morning and since I am an entrepreneur, I have the luxury of taking 30 minutes (almost) every week to browse and buy fresh fruits and vegetables.  I see summer friends (the vendors who bring their goods to market). 

I refer to this weekly ritual as my Sabbath because I use the opportunity to call a time out.  This adventure grounds me each week and refreshes my outlook. I’d like to say that the experience is unplugged, but now with technology, many sellers can take payments on their smart phones or other devices. 

Then there’s the annual ritual of spring cleaning. Where did that term and tradition originate? It doesn’t matter. It goes along with the idea of renewal.  After being cooped up with windows and doors shut tight during the winter, there is something to be said for opening up and breathing in clean, fresh air in spring.  

After a winter of writing, both Barbara and I have engaged in this ritual by spending some time to clean our respective offices. It’s been refreshing to get away from the computer and turn attention to tidying up our work spaces. Ironically, I found myself throwing out several old electric cords – symbolically becoming unplugged. 

Spring is a great time to take a good look at how and why we do things, not just at home but in our organizations.  What a great opportunity to meet with staff and talk about what’s working and what we might change. It’s a good time to bring a Sabbath into your organization, for its health and the health of its employees. Perhaps do something outside – a picnic or softball challenge at a local park – so you and your staff can re-energize. 

If we slow things down a bit and refresh, won’t it bring more creativity and innovation into your organizations?  I think its worth considering.

Asking the Right Questions

I love asking questions. That’s probably why my favorite part of my job as a HR professional is interviewing people.  I love to hear people’s stories. I enjoy hearing what they believe and what’s important to them.

And, I think most people like to tell their story.  Scott Eblin, author of Overworked and Overwhelmed: the Mindfulness Alternative, recently posted a blog about the importance of getting to know the people we work with—not just who they are at work but what they really care about. He posed the question “What difference would it make if you could find the person behind the professional?”  He thinks if we knew our co-workers better, we’d be more trusting and productive

One of the ways to get to know the people we work with is to ask questions.  Eblin described a process that Pat Lencioni uses, where he asks people to respond to three questions about their childhood. Lencioni says this works because everyone was a kid once! The questions are:

• Where did you grow up?
• How many siblings do you have?
• What was the biggest challenge of your childhood?

Eblin also shared ten other questions you can use to get to know someone. These questions are taken from the Museum Hack website:

• What’s your favorite place of all the places you’ve traveled to?
• If you were immortal, what age would you choose to stop aging and why?
• What was the worst job you ever had?
• If you could choose any two famous people to have dinner with—who would they be and why?
• If you could change places with anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
• If you could instantly be an expert in something, what would it be?
• If you could eliminate one thing from your daily routine, what would it be and why?
• What was your favorite game as a child?
• What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
• When you die, what do you want to be remembered for?

Do you agree that if you know people a little better, it might help your working relationships? If so, let us know what works for you and we’ll share it with our readers.

News from the Farm

Every Wednesday during the off-season from my local Farmer’s Market, an e-mail entitled “Farm News” arrives in my inbox. It’s a weekly reminder from a farmer who makes deliveries of meat throughout the winter. I always read it, even if I’m not placing an order that week, because it always contains an interesting story about life on the farm – a life I’ve never experienced! Of course, running a farm is no different than running another type of a business, and the farmer is the leader. And so there are leadership lessons to be learned. 

Recently he spoke about clearing away the green briars, multi-flora roses, and cedar trees from an old fence line.  Over the years he’d patched up the old fence, adding bits of new wire here and there, tying broken strands together with baler twine, and occasionally setting steel posts to shore up rotting wooden ones. The patchwork approach was no longer working, and a new wire mesh fence had to be installed. The lesson was about recognizing when something old needed to be disrupted or replaced. How many times in organizations do we need to conduct cost-benefit analyses and decide whether to replace a piece of equipment, install a new system, take a new approach, or introduce a new product or service?  

Speaking of new products and services, another week the farmer spoke about cross-breeding two rare breeds to produce hogs that have excellent grazing characteristics as well as superior taste. He explained how the slower an animal matures the better it tastes, and most rare breeds are slower to mature. Who knew!

Then there’s the “critter management” side of farming when he spoke about introducing a new ram into the flock of sheep. Like any new introduction, it takes a bit of time for everyone to get used to the new guy, so he closed everyone up in the sheep shed Saturday night - a bit of forced socialization. He had a similar experience last summer at the farmer’s market. He excused himself during my purchase to take an urgent call. The hogs had gotten out and invaded a neighboring property (another reason for a new fence?) and he was involved in crisis management. When I asked him the following week how the hogs were doing, he said they were penned up. I interpreted this as a time-out or disciplinary measure!

As in any industry, there’s always something new to learn, and I particularly enjoyed the post where he spoke about loving to see other farms and farmers and learning from others who face the same challenges.  Life-long learning…

Of course there’s never one definitive way to approach the challenges of farming operations, and there are many different ways to solve the same problem. In another post he described how lambing season is handled differently by different farmers, according to their management objectives and resources. While the methods described are very different, they all have their places and reflect the personalities and resources of the shepherds involved. A great example of situational leadership.  

There are examples of good leadership in every industry – we just need to look for and be mindful of them. I am grateful to my farmer, Jim Bourne of The Lamb’s Quarter in Calvert County MD for making me mindful of these leadership lessons.

Boundaries – Not Walls

Once upon a time, the lines around public and private were clear. Certain things, personal issues, weren’t discussed or disclosed in a public, much less a business setting. Modern technology has blurred those lines and the respect for boundaries is eroding. Boundaries and individual privacy are currently being chipped away in the modern world, not just on social media but in other forums and situations as well.  

Once, while meeting with a client, she closed the door to her office behind us. No sooner had we sat down when there was a knock on the door and it immediately burst open.  The individual didn't wait to be invited in or be greeted by my host.  He started talking with no regard or respect for my client’s privacy nor the business she was conducting.  She could have been engaged in a discussion of a sensitive or proprietary conversation.  The intruder didn't seem to care.  

In the lobby of another client’s building, I observed and heard an employee talking on her cell phone, having what sounded like a personal call.  As soon as she turned the corner I heard her scream an expletive, presumably into the phone.  All I could think was, "What if I were a client of this firm.  Would I think twice about my business relationship?"  I only hope someone counseled her.

In another public setting I had to endure listening to a woman on her cell phone making multiple calls regarding her brother's estate.  I learned more about this perfect stranger than I cared to know.  I’ve overhead confidential business conversations taking place in airports – information being shared that should not be disclosed in public.  Private conversations should not be held in public!  

Organizations should take heed of this trend. These types of situations can have detrimental effects on organizations. When boundaries are not clearly defined or are violated, the result could be an unhealthy working environment with poor performance, reduced morale and motivation, workplace bullying, harassment and legal liability.

Business leaders should reinforce this behavior and lead by example. Insist on professional courtesy in the workplace – behavior that cultivates mutual respect and consideration for others. To paraphrase a poster I once saw on public transportation:  “Not everyone cares what you’re having for dinner!”