Resonant Networks

There are so many times when people don't recognize our genius.  It can be deeply demoralizing or you can choose to move in a different direction.  One of the most challenging lessons when you're doing meaningful work is that not everyone will like, understand or respond to what you're doing.  This can feel like a personal slight when you're following your dreams because you're exposing your true self to the world in order to live an authentic life.  Here are ten ways to move past those who don't "get" you.

Have you ever worked for a kind leader?  What was it like?  Do you practice kind leadership?  I train leaders and I’ve observed many types of leadership styles and their effects on workplaces.  Leaders frequently fall into two broad categories:  Those who think they have to control their employees and those who think they have to be their best friend.  Each approach generates predictable results.

Leaders who feel a need to control employees thrive on giving orders and getting a lot of tasks done but their employes are rarely happy.  The misconception controlling leaders operate under is that you can’t get results unless you’re very demanding and on top of everyone all the time.  On the other side of the spectrum are the leaders who want to be friends an who often run a chaotic, drama-permeated organizations which ironically, also leave most employees unhappy.  The belief they adhere to is that you have to be liked to run an organization.

Perhaps you've worked for someone who inspired you to do everything but succeed.  Some leaders have a special knack for creating hostile workplaces full of uninspired and miserable employees just waiting for the day to end.  Why does this happen?  One of the major reasons is that many people in leadership positions mean well but have not yet figured out what it takes to create vibrant and productive organizations where people are treated well.  So they keep making the same mistakes over and over, hoping that someday they'll get different results.  Here are ten of the major leadership mistakes that are happening in workplaces worldwide as we speak.

1.  Not allowing employees to think for themselves and make decisions autonomously.
2.  Not being able to let go of the need to control people.
3.  Working out personal problems on one's employees.
4.  Being completely disorganized and having no semblance of a plan.
5.  Creating chaos and consternation by always being in crisis mode.
6.  Not setting a positive example of how to behave properly in the workplace.
7.  Assigning duties constantly and randomly with no clear expectations.
8.  Not listening and talking too much.

One of the most overlooked tools to help leaders and organizations overcome challenges is brainstorming.  We tend to want to jump to quick fixes whenever some kind of problem arises in our workplace.  Brainstorming allows leaders and employees to examine any issue from a variety of perspectives and develop solutions based on richer information and more varied options.  Here are some practical tips to help you brainstorm effectively.

1.  Welcome and write down all ideas.
2.  Do not judge or give opinions on the idea.
3.  Stay away from debating the merits of any idea.
4.  Don't worry whether the idea seems practical or not.
5.  Encourage everyone in the room to share one idea.
6.  Thank people for providing input.
7.  No idea is too outlandish or strange.
8.  Try not to lead the ideas in any certain direction.
9.  Invite a wide range of people to brainstorm.
10.  Keep brainstorming sessions brief.

During my training seminars the theme of how to fix workplace problems arises frequently.  We tend to be fixers in our culture and, from an early age, we are taught to confront any problem with an immediate fix.  This greatly affects how we deal with challenges in our workplaces.  If a colleague asks us for help or just wants us to listen to him or her we often jump to an unsolicited fix.  When employees talk with us about our behavior we frequently react by looking for a fix rather than learning more about ourselves.

We do a whole lot of fixing and not as much thinking and reflecting.  This leads to an approach to workplace interactions where everyone reacts to everything rather than pausing a bit and doing some thoughtful planning beforehand.

While I like resolving issues as much as the next person it’s also important to devote some attention and importance to just working on things without fixing them immediately.  The next time someone comes to you with a problem in your workplace, consider the following possibilities:

1.  Listen without interrupting or offering advice.

2.  Give yourself permission not to fix anything.