Blue Bridge Leadership

Executive Coaching, Career Coaching, Training, Leadership Development, Professional Development

Why Leadership is Like Coffee

By

Ahhh. I love a piping hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning. Well, and mid-morning and afternoon too. I’m no coffee connoisseur, but I do know a thing or two about the black stuff, or in my case the light tan drink of wonder.

I won’t go so far as to say that real leaders drink coffee, but I will tell you that there’s a comparison that can be made:

Leadership is like coffee.

There’s good coffee and there’s bad coffee. Likewise, there’s good leadership and bad leadership. What do I mean by that? Like coffee that tastes cheap and bland (bad), there are leaders who lead badly. Instead of being the visionary who inspires and engages their people, they utilize a style of command and control. However, people work best when they are able to use and develop their strengths, and when they have choice in how they accomplish the organization’s objectives.

There’s good enough and then there’s gourmet. Okay, I’ll probably get a lot of flack for this, but I enjoy Folgers coffee. For me, it’s good enough. It’s not as delicious as, say, Starbucks, but it’s better than the dollar store variety. Leadership, too, can to some extent be good enough. The law of diminishing returns means that the effort and time it would take from becoming a very good leader to an outstanding leader may not be worth the effort. The additional results would be minimal. So ask yourself if you are a good leader and if perhaps that is good enough. And if you want to be “gourmet,” what will the costs be?

You get what you pay for. I don’t want to pay for a $4 cup of coffee, but I do realize that I get what I pay for. Alluding to the point above–good enough versus gourmet–what are you willing to invest in your leadership style and capabilities? Outstanding leaders will pay the costs: taking time away from other priorities, taking risk, becoming self-aware and looking at oneself with a critical eye, and creating change for the sake of results.

It wakes you up and keeps you up. Coffee will get you moving when you’re in a lull, and will keep you working. Great leaders also know how to get their people moving and keep them moving forward. They inspire their team, motivating them go above and beyond all expectation. Leaders produce the vision and align their teams toward that vision. They provide the perk that jolts them awake, driving passion and purpose toward the common goal.

Brand means something. Who doesn’t know the brands Folgers, Starbucks, and (here in Grand Rapids) Biggby? These companies have spent big bucks and spent countless hours around the table designing their brands. Similarly, leaders have their brands. I’m not referring to the companies for which they work; I’m referring to their own reputations. As a leader, what brand are you creating for yourself? Are you a go-getter, risk-taker, results-oriented leader? Is your brand (reputation) people and culture-centered? Are you known as an excellent listener, or reputed for your coaching skills? Remember that your brand is designed by you, and you must invest regularly to maintain it.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I want to be remembered as a leader unique–no average Joe here (pun intended). My questions to you are 1) Did I miss a comparison between coffee and leadership, and 2) How are you currently developing yourself as a leader? Please comment in the box below.

20 Ideas for Random Acts of Kindness

By

Recently in my group coaching program, The Year of Living Adventurously, my participants decided to declare our “Community and Impact” month a month for random acts of kindness. They decided that instead of focusing on their own personal goals for making a difference within the community, they would each focus on acts of kindness. Then we would get together to compare notes.

So what is the purpose of committing to acts of kindness? First, you will learn a lot about yourself. You’ll see just how difficult it is to step outside your comfort zone to meet the real needs of others. Second, you’ll realize that awareness is key to kindness. Thus, you’ll have to slow down, rather than allow your life to whiz by, without a thought to how you can impact others. You’ll also discover that generosity takes practice. As marred humans, we tend to be self-absorbed. Through these acts, your personal growth and development will flourish.

One of my participants said that this month changed her life. For example, she brought gourmet coffees to her co-workers on several occasions (they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her). She wrote little love notes to her husband (he thought he was being  harassed by some other woman!). These random acts of kindness helped her get outside herself and made a difference in the lives of those she touched. She, too, was blessed in return.

Do you want to know what kind of impact you make on others? Or can make on others?

Take on the challenge yourself.

If you’re ready to take on the challenge, here are some ideas. Again, the point, however, is that the acts are random. While some acts of kindness can and should be planned, you’ll also want to become aware to the world around you. When you do, you’ll see that there are endless opportunities to help your fellow human beings.

Ideas for Random Acts of Kindness:

  1. Pick flowers from your yard and bring them to a neighbor.
  2. When at a restaurant, pick up the tab of another patron.
  3. You have to make dinner anyway, so why not make an extra serving or two and drop it off at an elderly neighbor’s house.
  4. Empty your co-worker’s trash.
  5. Clean the microwave at work!
  6. Compliment a complete stranger.
  7. Take a homeless person out to lunch.
  8. In the grocery checkout lane, let the person behind you go first.
  9. Buy chocolates for your grumpy boss.
  10. Wash the outside of your neighbor’s windows.
  11. Write a card for a friend you haven’t connected with in a while.
  12. Make a list of ten reasons why you love your spouse/child/mother…Give it to them.
  13. Listen deeply to the one who loves to ramble on.
  14. Acknowledge the efforts of someone who works hard.
  15. Write a thank you note to someone who has made a difference in your life.
  16. Offer to mentor someone.
  17. Have a real conversation with a homeless person.
  18. Pick up trash in the parking lot.
  19. Leave a note with an inspiration quote on car windshields.
  20. Humble yourself and pray with someone about their challenges.

I suspect that if you commit to doing one act of kindness daily for a month, you will develop a new habit, which means you won’t have to try so hard. You’ll not only make an impact on the lives of others, but your life, too, will be forever changed.

Share your stories! What acts of kindness have you done? What was the impact? What things do you plan to do? Put your comments in the box below.

From Dreamer to Leader: Passionate Visionaries

By

Leaders are not born. They are developed. They are just like everyone else, except they have chosen to move outside their comfort zones in order to pursue their vision. They are the explorers, the pioneers, those who are willing to put sweat and passion into their ideas, the courageous who are willing to embrace disappointment and two steps back if it means eventual success.

Are you a leader?

Or do you have a thickly-drawn boundary around yourself, indicating your safety zone? Are you willing to embrace change if it means making the impact you desire?

Or are you just playing around?

With life.

You can do what you wish, of course. But there’s a dreamer inside all of us. The differences between a dreamer and a leader are wishful thinking versus planning, failing versus succeeding, imagining versus doing. Are you ready to lead? Or are you sleeping your days away?

So what does the visionary in you want to do? When you think of leadership, who comes to mind? Put your answers in the box below.

Forget the Carrot and Stick: Give Leaders the Garden

By

You know the old carrot and stick routine. Employees should be rewarded with carrots and disciplined with the stick. Carrots for good behavior, great performance, outstanding service, and leadership qualities. Sticks for failure, disruptive behavior, slowness, and mediocrity. But…

What if you gave leaders the garden?

That’s right. The whole garden instead of just the carrots. Being somewhat of a gardener myself, I can tell you that gardening is hard, yet rewarding, work. There’s initial envisioning and planning to do, determing the layout, examining the dirt, picking the choice plants, sowing and tillling the land, eliminating pesky critters, checking the fruits of the labor, and reaping the harvest. A carrot is nothing. But a whole garden that required thought, sweat, and loving care? Ahhh. Talk about pride!

So what does this have to do with leaders and those aspiring to leadership?

What’s motivating is not the carrot but the whole garden.

Employees state, time and again, that they don’t want just the salary that comes along with a job. They want the opportunity to grow and develop their skills and talents. The only way this can be accomplished is by giving them the work of the garden–from creation to harvest, from imagination to result.

Employees want a say when it comes to designing goals and projects. They want a part in the planning and execution. They need–get this–the opportunity to fail. When you hand over work to your people, and allow them to own it for themselves, they become motivated and inspired.

When people own for themselves the work that they do, especially when the work aligns with their talents and passions, the results go beyond what was hoped.

True leadership is not about management but about inspiring and motivating others toward a common vision. By giving people the garden, they’ll never go hungry again.

Leaders as Pioneers

By

Leaders are not born. They are developed. They are just like everyone else, except they have chosen to move outside their comfort zones in order to pursue their vision. They are the explorers, the pioneers, those who are willing to put sweat and passion into their ideas, the courageous who are willing to embrace disappointment and two steps back if it means eventual success.

Are you a leader? Or do you have a thickly-drawn boundary around yourself, indicating your safety zone? Are you willing to embrace change if it means making the impact you desire? Does what you want matter so much that it’s an internal part of you? Or are you just playing around?

With life.

You can do what you wish, of course. But there’s a dreamer inside all of us. The differences between a dreamer and a leader are wishful thinking versus planning, failing versus succeeding, imagining versus doing. Are you ready to lead? Or are you sleeping your days away?

So, leader, what does the visionary in you want to do? When you think of leadership, who comes to mind? Put your answers in the box below.