Karl Edwards presents Working Matters

Tag: change

  • Listen In -> Visionary Leadership with Marion Skeete #3: Inspiring and Catalyzing Change

    Are you as tired as I am of hearing leaders complain about resistance to change?!

    The leader is always right and the people are always wrong. It’s the leader’s job to effect change by bringing the people running gratefully out of their “wrong” and into the leader’s “right.”

    Anyone who voices any practical or conceptual problem with the leader’s vision is labeled, “resistant to change.” It’s as if the story was about the leader!

    Enter Marion Skeete of LegacyMakers International for week three of our discussion on Visionary Leadership.

    What if the story, in fact, belonged to the community?

    What if the unfolding future was comprised of the real life unfolding stories of the individuals, families, teams and organizations that leaders serve?

    What if the only conversations about the future that might really result in change were those conversations that included the people who were themselves maturing into those changes?

    Vision would not be something dreamed up by the leader in isolation and announced one day, but something already transpiring that the leader observes and articulates in such a way that helps the community interact, engage, and embrace.

    What if catalyzing change involved nurturing an already existing ember, rather than pouring fuel on a damp wood and striking a match?

    Listen in.

    Just now joining the conversation? Catch up on the entire series here.

  • Quote to Consider: Where Change is Needed Most

    quote-to-consider“Everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself.”

    Leo Tolstoy

  • Loving Monday: Typical Monday Morning?

    loving_mondayTypical Monday morning.

    Feels like a fresh start, though nothing has changed.

    I‘ve changed.

    I’m rested. (This week.)

    I’m hopeful. (I’m more aware of my opportunities than my hurdles.)

    I’m in motion. (Out of bed, sitting at my computer.)

    Typical Monday morning. Or is it?

    Which is more significant? That the challenges around me remain or that I have changed?

    I suspect it is the change I observe in myself.

    Problems we will always have. Always. Some things never change.

    How we choose to engage them, though, holds no limit. Ever. Infinite variety of possibilities.

    So do you put your efforts into changing the circumstances of the day or the person experiencing those circumstances?

    Typical Monday morning?

    I think not.

  • Loving Monday: Stretching… Just a Tiny Little Bit

    loving_mondayI do a chin-up every Friday.

    Okay, maybe not a championship exercise routine, but, in an unexpected way, I actually am getting a tiny bit more exercise than I was previously.

    My daughter and I go out for breakfast just the two of us once a week. After eating we take a walk and pass a set of chin-up bars at the local park. Hence my unplanned but now regular pause for a chin-up.

    What’s interesting is not that I’ve arrived at any great discipline here, but that I’ve chanced upon a small but real change to which I now look forward. While running the entire exercise course at the park feels out of reach, painful, and would necessitate what seems like a gargantuan adjustment in my schedule to incorporate, I’m actually doing my small, playful weekly chin-up.

    What if we started each week at work by trying one small change? One tiny little stretch outside our comfort zone.

    Remove the pressure of having to take on wholesale, gigantic, systematic change. Go for something attractive, fun, simple, at hand.

    One small adjustment. One tiny experiment.

    Offer a compliment to the first person you see. Before taking your seat, throw one item away. Call one contact you haven’t spoken to in over a year just to say hi.

    Only on Mondays. Only once. Don’t push to expand. Just enjoy watching what happens when you stretch a tiny little bit.

    (Check out this related post, Try Something New.)

  • Listen In -> Strategic Planning #2: Shaping the Future

    In these fast changing times, is planning worth the effort? Won’t the world be completely different before we get very far along toward our long range goals?

    In this week’s podcast conversation, Claudia and I look at strategic planning as a tension between control and change. No we don’t have the control leaders used to enjoy when the pace of change was slower. But neither are we at the whim of the forces around us.

    We’re excited because the opportunity to show up and make a difference is huge. Are you excited about your planning efforts?

    Listen in.

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  • Recession as Change Opportunity?

    Well it seems to be a toss-up among the economists whether or not the U.S. is in a recession. Of course, the semantics are lost on anyone who has already lost their job.

    I hope you are not struggling with the fear and anxiety of job loss. If you are, then let’s get together and talk.

    Sometimes it takes something difficult to force us to take action on something good. I want to suggest that a tight job market may actually be a opportune time to rethink your career direction.

    Instead of passively hoping against hope that you don’t lose your job, take control and use the opportunity to reimagine your professional possibilities. It’s the difference between a posture of worry and paralysis versus a posture of composure and choices. Same ambiguous situation, completely different experiences of it!

    Passion FinderIf you don’t have a copy of our Passion Finder yet, it is an excellent tool for times such as these. Take a look at it now. Get a copy for a struggling friend.

    And, of course, I am available to help you take a more intentional look at your job and yourself.

    On your side,

    – Karl

  • Question of the Week

    What is involved in helping your team adjust to the loss or addition of key members?

  • Listen In -> Bad Resolution Recovery #3: Half-Hearted Intenders

    “Oh, did another year go by before I tackled my New Year’s resolution?”

    Our third resolution maker is the “half-hearted intender.” This person may love the annual tradition of setting New Year’s resolutions, but ends up returning to life as usual with little change to show for the exercise.

    In this week’s podcast discussion, Claudia and I appreciate the strengths of the easy-going, take-life-as-it-comes type of person and offer a couple of suggestions for moving forward on your resolutions without having to morph into some sort of driven maniac.

    Listen in.

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  • When Realism Morphs Into Cynicism

    A strength of the cynic is their grounding in reality. Sure, maybe to a fault. But let’s not lose this gem no matter how hidden by the crusty exteriors.

    When it comes to wanting change (e.g. making a New Year’s resolution), the resolution cynic actually has the most potential for choosing something within reach.

    The disappointment with resolutions may come more from buying into the cultural norm of setting lofty aspirations, rather than from any flaw in the practice of an annual self review.

    If you are fed up with resolutions, you may find it helpful to return to your roots, so to speak. What will work? What can I act on today? What are the obstacles and how will I address them?

    Instead of giving up and blaming the resolution process when things don’t work out, trust your intuition and take a step back into a more grounded reality. It’s a harsh place, but you are comfortable there and would benefit from approaching change one harsh step at a time.

    What do you think?

    Listen and participate in the entire discussion on Bad Resolution Recovery here.

  • Listen In -> Bad Resolution Recovery #2: “Don’t Bother” Cynics

    “New Year’s Resolutions are bunk!” (Usually screamed in even more colorful language.)

    At the other end of the spectrum, there are those of us who have given up on New Year’s resolutions. “Why set myself up for failure?” we ask ourselves.

    In this week’s podcast interview, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the attitudes of this group of cynics.

    The risk, of course, of not scheduling a regular season of self-reflection and change is that in our busy lives we may not get to it at all. That’s a big downside! We may have thrown the proverbial baby out with the bath water.

    Join us in the discussion. I think you’ll be surprised at what we can learn from the “Don’t Bother” cynics!

    Listen in.

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