Do you live with intention?
Yesterday, a sales leader that I coach wanted to talk about how to manage the “fire alarms that are going off constantly”. “Dave” said that there is so much going on at work, everyone is running around like crazy and nothing is getting done. It sounded like mice running in a wheel.
We talked about Dave being more intentional with his communications so that his leadership understands the implications of their fire drills, allowing his team to get more focused and move the business forward. With all that is happening in the economy, things will get even rockier. How can we prepare for that?
Be intentional. One big area for Dave to work on is to be more intentional with his time. What about you? Do you take time to reflect, to strategize, to focus? Stop being a mice on a wheel.
#WiseWords
“Intention is more than wishful thinking—it’s willful direction. It is a philosophy of the heart put into practice, a consistency of conscious patterns of thought, energy, and action. Through intention, we see more and create with more clarity, passion, and authenticity.“
Worth the Share
For many years, I have been reading Seth Godin’s daily blog. He often shares powerful insights and helps me to think of things differently. This blog really hit home. It’s a fresh way of thinking about knowledge work and how video conferencing, technology and the pandemic have forever changed what it means to work remotely or in the office.
So many companies want people to come back to the office because C-Suite executives think we must go back to the way it was. They miss the “water cooler conversations.” Seth argues that those hallway meetings were a happy accident of being in the office but making people come back to the office to assuage the CEO is a false reason. Be intentional about how to build culture in this new era. As a leader, what can you do to intentionally build a healthy culture in this remote/hybrid world?
Read Management with Intent to learn more.
And Finally...
Speaking of intention, it is really useful to be intentional with our words. In my July 20th blog post, I used the word “expert” when referring to client’s level of expertise as director of engineering. The word “expert” works for me but it may not work for him. When you think of your work, how would you describe your level of competence?
Are you skilled, adroit, adept or qualified? Maybe you prefer experienced, proficient or able?
When talking about ourselves, it is important to use language that is intentional and authentic.
Be intentional when establishing your remote work policy, in the language you use, in how you spend your time and throughout your life.
Enjoy these last weeks of summer!
Mary Jo