Copies in file, laptop, server, cloud.
Karl Edwards
Blog
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Listen In -> Playing Favorites #4: Favoring Certain Policies and Procedures
“The purchase order is on the computer, why do we still need to distribute four hard copies?”“You have to get these two approvals before I can look at your request.”
Some policies and procedures served a specific and necessary purpose when they were first implemented, but they make absolutely no sense now.
The boss is hesitant to make any changes, because since those policies or procedures were put into place for a reason there will be some unforeseen disaster if they are no longer present.
Maybe an efficient streamlining initiative would result in less control for a key decision-maker which they don’t want to give up.
In this week’s show, Claudia and I look at the cost of playing favorites with certain policies and procedures.
Could you be holding on to methods and practices that no longer serve their intended purpose?
What might enforcing the status quo be costing you?
Listen in.
Just now joining the conversation? Catch up on the entire series here.
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Loving Monday: Who’s Got Your Back?
Who’s got your back?It’s a challenge to stay fully engaged and keep working hard when we feel we’re on our own.
We need friends. We need fans. We need allies. We need cohorts. We need cheerleaders. We need partners. We need loyalists.
We need to know that someone is on our side.Who is that person for you?
Who’s got your back when you’ve made a mistake and need an advocate?
Who’s got your back when you need a leg up, an encouraging word, or some cover from criticism?
Whose name comes to mind for you? Anyone?
If no one comes to mind, then consider building a couple closer relationships. It doesn’t have to be anything major or intimate.
What you want is to begin building rapport, comfort in conversation, and trust in communication.
You will be surprised at how much trust expressing interest is what someone else is doing will earn you.
Going it alone is going the hard way.
Who can you show some support to today?
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.
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Quote to Consider: Summing Up Commuting
“Commuter – One who spends his life in riding to and from his wife; a man who shaves and takes a train, and then rides back to shave again.”E. B. White
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Karl Shares Six Words… #47
Creativity punished as insubordination yet again.
Karl Edwards
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Movie Review: Finding Joe
I saw a wonderful movie recently and I want to use it as an excuse to send you over to my new personal blog… both because it’s been a number of years since I’ve published a moreÂ
personal set of reflections and because the movie is as pertinent here on Working Matters as it is there.
The movie is Finding Joe, and I recommend it highly. Click here to read my review.
The blog is called, Karl on Life, and is me thinking out loud about the rest of life… which also matters as much as—if not more than—Working Matters.
– Karl Edwards
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Listen In -> Playing Favorites #3: Favoring Certain Technologies
Every technology has its loyal fans. I’ve never worked on any computer but a Mac.I believe my bias is based in fact. I want my employees doing their jobs not learning how to use their tools.
But what if I were spending a premium on computers because they were cool?Some of us feel locked into our technology choices because of the magnitude of the initial investment. We let better solutions and technologies that come along pass us by because we can’t deal with the awkward reality that the world changed before we got our money’s worth.
In this week’s show, Claudia and I explore how we play favorites when it comes to the technologies we choose.
When does our loyalty to a brand exceed its merits in comparison to another?
Are we making the best leadership decisions on these huge investments if we’re playing favorites without even knowing it?
Listen in.
Just now joining the conversation? Catch up on the entire series here.
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Loving Monday: When Showing Up Involves Taking a Risk
Most all of us will show up bodily at work today.But will we be there in spirit?
With business leaders being as embarrassingly insecure as they are, there can be enormous risk in fully showing up at work.
To enthusiastically contribute one’s skills, talents, gifts and passions in many workplaces is to inadvertently remind one’s supervisor that they do not possess those same attributes.A few—might I add, smart—leaders celebrate having team members whose skills complement their own.
Most, though, seem distressingly threatened.
Hence the tragic risk of showing up fully.
I have a friend whose initiative, creativity, and hard work ethic is being interpreted as aggression, arrogance, and an effort to make others look bad.
Go figure. Is it his job to make his boss feel more secure? Of course not.
But can he ignore the reality that someone with more positional power than him keeps misreading his style and contributions? Absolutely not.
Some of us end up laying low, if not hiding, in order not to ruffle feathers or be misunderstood.
Everyone loses when this happens.
How can you  be both true to yourself and take into account the perception challenges insecure leadership poses to your efforts?
How can you both muster the courage to show up fully at work and also participate in the shaping of how those efforts are perceived?
Such are the risks of choosing to show up in spirit as well as in body.
The risk may not pay off. Such is the unpredictable nature of other peoples’ insecurities.
On the other hand, the risk may both earn you the respect of your supervisor and set a healthier tone for an entirely new way of working together.
You’ll never know until you try. You already know that waiting for your supervisor to change is futile.
We need to you to show up today. Do yourself and the rest of us the favor of taking that risk.
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.
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Quote to Consider: Earth-shaking Sensitivity
“Keep the other person’s well-being in mind when you feel an attack of soul-purging truth coming on.”Betty White
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Karl Shares Six Words… #46
Title-only promotion meets stiff smile.
Karl Edwards