Karl Edwards presents Working Matters

Tag: perspective

  • Loving Monday: Create Your Own Fresh Start

    loving_mondaySometimes you just need a fresh start.

    Where’s the reboot button for that problematic project? Who’s hiding the eraser for that series of unfortunate mistakes?

    This Monday, why don’t you and I create our own fresh starts?

    No, the problems on the project aren’t going to disappear. No, there aren’t any erasers to make mistakes go away.

    But it is always possible to start over. To begin again. Begin anew.

    Begin anew on a small scale. Approach this week with a different attitude or from a different perspective. Shift your approach or your responses.

    Begin anew on a large scale. Admit to the team that you were wrong. Let go of a cherished strategy. Go back to the drawing board.

    A fresh start doesn’t ignore the problems and stumbles to date, but learns from them. The difference I’m suggesting lies in making a perspective shift.

    As the new week begins, do you perceive yourself going back into the fog, the mire, the problems and difficulties? Or do you perceive yourself choosing to create a new beginning in spite of the fog, mire, problems and difficulties?

    The shift in perspective will shift how you choose to deal with all that bedevils you.

    When life gets extra complicated, messy, and/or difficult, one strategy worth considering is to create a fresh start for yourself.

    Let me know if you’d like some help.

    On your side,

    – Karl Edwards

    Loving Monday is a weekly column designed to encourage us to step into our weeks with an intention to show up authentically, engage fully, and choose to make it a good week for ourselves. Explore past columns here.

  • Listen In -> Employees… What Are They Good For? #1: Expense or Asset?

    You’ve met them both.

    One is the leader who views their employees as an expense to be minimized.

    The other is the leader who views their employees as an asset into whom to invest.

    The one is most often at odds with their team. Cracking the whip to make sure no one is slacking off. Squeezing out every last drop of effort, delaying promotions, denying vacations, and doing their best to protect the company from the unfortunate necessity of needing more hands and feet to get the job done.

    The other leader is grateful to surround him or herself with a complementary set of skills, experiences, working styles and passions.

    This leader is most often working in concert with their team. Building on strengths, strengthening weaknesses, expressing confidence, extending trust, and celebrating aggressive goals achieved.

    Working with people, of course, has both its ups and downs. What is significant though is the beginning lens through which you choose to views these problems and opportunities.

    Are your employees are an expense to minimize or an asset to maximize?

    The lens you choose will have a radical impact on how you deal with four common employee problems.

    Employees… What Are They Good For?
    Week 1: Expense or Asset?
    Week 2: The Problem of Finding Good Employees
    Week 3: The Problem of Retaining Good Employees
    Week 4: The Problem of Poor Employee Performance
    Week 5: The Problem of Stagnant Employee Progress

    What lens do you use when addressing employee problems? 

    Listen in.

    Each week the conversation will continue. Catch up on the entire series here.

  • Loving Monday: Popcorn and Perspective

    loving_mondayOur important issues always feel big. That’s as it should be.

    Sometimes they feel bigger than everything and everyone else. That might become a problem.

    Yes, it is awful when someone burns the popcorn, and the entire office smells horrible, and you can barely keep from gagging much less get your work done.

    No, uncovering the mystery of who is the negligent and insensitive popcorn burner is is not something to interrupt a manager’s meeting with.

    I begin with a smaller and possibly silly example to point at that issues get their importance relative to the issues around them.

    Perspective derives from proximity.

    This photo of the person holding the sun is an exaggerated example in the other direction.

    From where we stand, the person is obviously bigger than the ball of light in his hands.

    Our problems, challenges and opportunities are always big because they are ours. (Let’s give ourselves that much.)

    But can we also walk over to another vantage point and look at the issue from that perspective?

    The perspective of a busy co-worker, the perspective of our supervisor, the perspective of a tight budget, the perspective of the worried client, the perspective of a competing project, etc., etc.

    The ability to walk over to a variety of vantage points and look at an issue from different angles is key to keeping our issue in perspective.

    We don’t have to make our issue smaller in order to make room for the others, but we may need adjust how, when and with whom we approach it.

    On your side,

    – Karl Edwards

    Loving Monday is a weekly column designed to encourage us to step into our weeks with an intention to show up authentically, engage fully, and choose to make it a good week for ourselves. Explore past columns here.

  • Loving Monday: Smiling Out Loud

    loving_mondayToday calls for a good laugh.

    I don’t know what it is. I’m in an inexplicably good mood, and I want to joke around with everyone in the vicinity.

    Best is when I get to laugh at myself. An idiosyncrasy, a silly mistake, some aspect of showing up completely human when the workplace expected a machine. When I can laugh at myself it frees others to let down their guards and laugh too.

    The only way to make sure the important things stay important is to remind ourselves that they are not THAT important.

    Humor is my secret perspective-restoring weapon.

    It seems like more of a secret than it really is, because it is so counter-intuitive. Most people can’t even imagine cracking a smile in a tough situation much less poking fun at it.

    Humor is my favorite and most effective tool for keeping a cool and sharp head when things get crazy busy, far too intense, or reactions spiral out of proportion to what’s actually going on.

    And of course, a good laugh is refreshing. Like a cup of cold water on a hot day, smiling out loud throws an surprising and exhilarating splash of joy into our faces.

    Startled, we join in the lightness of the moment, appreciate that we’re all human and on the same team, and then get back to work.

    Yes, today calls for a good laugh. And so do a good many more.

    Loving Monday is a weekly column designed to encourage us to step into our weeks with an intention to show up authentically, engage fully, and choose to make it a good week for ourselves. Explore past columns here.

  • Loving Monday: Coping with Rain

    loving_mondaySome days it rains.

    Born and raised in Southern California, I am not a natural fan of the rain. While I understand its nourishing, generative, and cleansing attributes, I generally consider it an intruder, a nuisance and an unfortunate complication.

    Some days, though, it rains.

    There is no escaping it. There is no wishing it were otherwise. There is no pretending it has no impact.

    What do you do when it rains?

    Stay inside and suspend your plans? Bundle up and trudge on through?

    I am learning a third way… to welcome the rain.

    While certainly not my preference, rain is occasionally my reality. I can face my reality and make the most of it, or I can bemoan my reality and painfully endure it.

    I can choose to transform the situation into an opportunity, or I can choose to blame the situation for holding me back and ruining my plans. The choice is mine.

    How will you respond if it’s raining when you arrive at work? The choice is yours.

    Some days it rains.

    Loving Monday is a weekly column designed to encourage us to step into our weeks with an intention to show up authentically, engage fully, and choose to make it a good week for ourselves. Explore past columns here.

  • Loving Monday: Go For It!

    loving_mondayGo for it!

    My, that was easy to say.

    Some words are easier to say than to do.

    Go for it! is an enthusiastic, high confidence encouragement to dive in without hesitation or reservation.

    Commit. Invest. Push. Give it everything you’ve got. Operate with abandon, joy, zeal.

    As I said, easy to say. Not always easy to do.

    There are times when we’re weary. There are obstacles we encounter along the way. Not everyone is encouraging in either their words or deeds.

    As much as we may desire to “Go for it!” our reality is sometimes dimmer, slimmer or grimmer. (No corny rhyming intended, though I must admit I’m smiling.)

    Sometimes we need someone to shout “Go for it!” as a reminder, as an exhortation to action, or as a walk-up call.

    Sometimes we need to tell ourselves to “Go for it!” so that we don’t miss out, settle for less, or get into a rut.

    Sometimes the easy words are needed as a catalyst to the more difficult action.

    So to you I say, “Go for it!”

    You are a gift… even if you are currently weary.

    You have a contribution to make… even if you’re having trouble seeing your way forward.

    The complexities of today are a part of your life as much as any of the idealized futures you are building for yourself.

    So, “Go for it!”

    On your side,

    – Karl Edwards

    Loving Monday is a weekly column designed to encourage us to step into our weeks with an intention to show up authentically, engage fully, and choose to make it a good week for ourselves. Explore past columns here.

  • Loving Monday: Raising the White Flag… In Victory

    loving_mondayIt’s okay to surrender. Really.

    Not all battles are adversarial conflicts in which there is a winner and a loser.

    Could it be possible that on some occasions the smartest course of action might be to surrender?

    That to win in in the big picture would mean to admit that you’ve lost in the current scene?

    How on earth can admitting defeat be a victory?

    When you need help.

    When you’ve got too much to do or need skill sets that you yourself don’t have, it’s smarter to surrender.

    It’s a victory to recognize your limits. The sooner you get a handle on what you can and cannot contribute, the sooner you can surround yourself with the people, skills and resources necessary to get the job done and done well.

    The defeat comes in pushing yourself until you burn out, make a costly mistake, (more…)

  • Loving Monday: Begin With an Ally

    loving_mondayReality can be harsh. Reality includes angry bosses, frustrated clients, and co-workers who don’t carry their weight.

    You, of course, will face all these realities with poise and grace, because you are a secure leader who is comfortable with the whole spectrum of work realities.

    Having said that, though, you don’t need to begin your week with your worst problem.

    You don’t need to have the first thing you hear to be insults, complaining, or criticism.

    Try starting the week spending time with an ally.

    Go for some coffee together. Take a walk around the premises. Meet for breakfast before coming into the office.

    Choose to make the first thing you hear be compliments, encouragement, acceptance, respect, and expressions of support.

    Reinforce in your soul that you are a gift with the input of someone who is on your side.

    It can be a good friend, a trusted co-worker, an admiring fan, a supportive supervisor, or an adoring significant other.

    The point is to begin the week with the positive, excellent truth about yourself.

    From this solid foundation, you will be better equipped to face your mistakes, confront unexpected problems, and sort through the myriad of mixed messages that one encounters in a messy and complex workplace.

    Pause and put a call into an ally right now. Begin the week with the truth.

    On your side,

    – Karl Edwards

    Loving Monday is a weekly column designed to encourage us to step into our weeks with an intention to show up authentically, engage fully, and choose to make it a good week for ourselves. Explore past columns here.

  • Quote to Consider: Steve Jobs on Living True

    quote-to-consider“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”  Steve Jobs

  • Loving Monday: Detour to the Friendly Voice

    loving_mondayThere are a lot of voices around us.

    The boss voice telling us to get busy. The employee voice asking us to make a decision. The co-worker voice requesting assistance.

    We hear critical voices second-guessing our choices. We hear fearful voices resisting our initiatives. We hear angry voices attacking our motives.

    Each voice articulates something worth listening to and much more that needs to be ignored. We spend a lifetime learning to discern between what has substance and what is the speaker’s personal issues spilling out all over us.

    Getting our week off to a good start involves beginning with a friendly voice or two.

    Someone who believes in you. Someone who is already on your side. Someone who has demonstrated that they want good things for you.

    These people are a rich source of encouragement, affirmation, compliments, and confidence.

    Not that we are going to these people in search of the unsolicited pat-on-the-back. (Though that is certainly an idea worth exploring.) We are choosing, however, to begin our weeks with the truth about ourselves. A positive truth about ourselves that we can do something with.

    We are setting our perspective for the week in terms of our capabilities, our strengths and our potential. Beginning with a friendly voice in our ear, we are better situated to face the obstacles, the conflict, and the mistakes we encounter along the way.

    We cannot inoculate ourselves from the dark voices or the difficult events that arise in the course of a week. But we can be well-grounded in all that is solid and constructive in who we are.

    Why start the week with someone yelling at you or complaining to you, if you can take a small detour and find a friendly voice to enthusiastically greet you, affirm you, or appreciate you?!

    On your side,

    – Karl Edwards

    Loving Monday is a weekly column designed to encourage us to step into our weeks with an intention to show up authentically, engage fully, and choose to make it a good week for ourselves. Explore past columns here.