“When at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each one of us, recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state,
our success or failure in whatever office we may hold will be measured by the answers to four questions:
- First, were we truly people of courage – with the courage to stand up to our enemies and the courage to stand up, when necessary, to our own associates?
- Secondly, were we truly people of judgment of the future as well as the past – of our own mistakes as well as the mistakes of others – with enough wisdom to know what we did not know, and enough candor to admit it?
- Third, were we truly people of integrity – who never ran out on either the principles in which we believed or the people who believed in them?
- Finally, were we truly people of dedication, devoted solely to servicing the public good?
Courage – judgment – integrity – dedication.
These are the historic qualities of the leader.”
~ President John F. Kennedy

When you are called upon to lead, how will you answer the questions?  Will you stand strong with courage, judgment, integrity, and dedication, or will your efforts fall short?  Seek every day to reach your highest potential, for yourself and those you work with and you will find that your organizations and your efforts will be more successful, healthy, and built on foundations that can withstand the inevitable changes we all face throughout our careers.  Even more importantly, by modeling these qualities, those around you will be inspired to behave in the same way; and isn’t that the sort of place you really want to work?

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of change that seems to be constantly going on around us.  If you ever doubt that, live in a house with 4 adolescent boys, as I do, and try and follow what is going on in their lives from day to day. I promise you, the speed and magnitude with which things change will boggle your mind.  On the same track though, we are presented with virtually endless amounts of change in our professional lives.  Many of us have had several jobs in our careers, even if they are all within the same organization.  Or we may have experienced a fundamental change in the organizational structure where we work so that we report to someone new and now have to adjust to the way this person manages.  Regardless of the types of change we are talking about though, the important thing to bear in mind is not so much the change itself, but how we react to that change.

As you find yourself in situations of upheaval or change, whether good or bad, you will often find yourself becoming exceptionally stressed, tired, and unable to focus.  The key is to find ways to mitigate the impact of the change on the other aspects of your life.  Find things you enjoy doing, get away from the situation for awhile, or work to discover the opportunities in the new environment.  Whatever the case, for your own well-being (and as my wife will attest, for the betterment of those around you), focus on getting the lessons you can out of the change and you are likely to be more successful in managing the stress and emotion that accompanies it.

Dare to Choose

• Choose your attitude every day
• Choose how you will interact with colleagues
• Choose How you will interact with customers
• Choose to make a difference
• Choose to speak up when you see a change that needs to be made
• Choose to grow and excel professionally

Find It

• A vision comes alive only when it is personalized by those who work in the vision community.  This happens when each of assumes responsibility for finding our IT inside the vision.
• What are you doing to create your vision?
• To what are you truly committed?
• What is your role inside the vision of your community or organization?
• What does success look like?
• How will you support others and ask them to support you in keeping from backsliding as you make progress toward your goals?

Live It

Every day we are presented with countless opportunities to recreate our vision…vision moments.  Once we have found our role in the vision, we must commit to living it by living fully the naturally occurring vision moments.

Every day, commit to dedicating your efforts to defining and advancing the vision you are creating and in supporting others in their efforts to strengthen the vision.

Coach It

By creating an atmosphere where it is not only ok but our responsibility to give and receive feedback, we make the daily adjustments necessary to keep the vision strong.

Principles of coaching

• Coaching can occur at any time, in any situation
• Coaching can occur by anyone to anyone, it is not specific to hierarchy
• Coaching is not a punitive action, but instead a supportive engagement between two people working toward a common vision
• Coaching must go on continually for individuals and organizations to continue to grow and improve.

Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is?

Curly: This. [holds up one finger]

Mitch: Your finger?

Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean shit.

Mitch: But what is the “one thing?”

Curly: [smiles] That’s what you have to find out.

I have been reminded of that conversation frequently lately as I have watched people around me go through some amazingly difficult times at work.  A major layoff hit their organization, and them personally.  Watching them, I was struck by how some of them were able to more easily roll with the punches, while others, seemingly, were decimated by the events.  Finally, one day, while working with one of my clients, it hit me.  While I certainly agree with Curly’s assessment that we each have to find that one thing inside of us that ignites our passion, there is yet one other characteristic that is necessary for anyone to be successful; the one factor that, if absent, will complete eliminate the possibility of growth, change, and success.  HOPE!

“Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope”

Take away hope and you completely take away a person’s motivation and strength.  A person who feels their situation is hopeless and who sees no possibility that things can change and improve will simply give up.  Human beings thrive on hope.  We continually hope and dream of better circumstances.  It is what drives us to take on new challenges, learn new skills, and attempt things that may seem impossible.  The simple hope that we can accompish these things keeps us striving for more.

I am convinced that the greatest thing we can do for those around us is to cultivate hope.  Focus your energies on what is possible, rather than what is not, and you will find a world of opportunity opening up.  A good friend of mine likes to say “Do what you can, not what you can’t.” When the walls are crashing in around you and you are beginning to lose hope that you can dig your way out, “Do what you can…” and undoubtedly others will follow.  It is unbelievable the strength that just this little amount of hope can bring to you and those around you.

Our agency recently announced some of the most severe layoffs in its history.  As you can imagine, this has caused an enormous amount of unrest and pain throughout the organization.  Some of the folks losing their jobs have been with the agency for 20 years or more.  It is a painful and heartbreaking time, but unfortunately one that could not be avoided.

It would have been easy for our executive leaders to hide behind the veil of budget cuts and simply hand down the mandate of these layoffs.  One person in particular though demonstrated exactly what it means to be a true leader.  Our Deputy Director came around to speak personally with each of the individuals directly affected by the layoffs.  He had no personal agenda other than to touch base with them, see how they were faring, and to find out how he could be supportive.  This process has been exceptionally difficult for him, watching people he has worked with for years struggling and having to go through such a difficult time.  His professionalism, patience, and willingness to really listen and be compassionate as they shared their fears and frustration was invaluable.  Throughout, he maintained his composure and let people vent, express their feelings, and share with him their fears.  He put no time limit on any of these conversations and it was clear that he was there for them.  I happened to overhear one of these conversations and was moved to email him afterward to commend him on his strength as a leader.  At the time I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was about the encounter that made me see leadership, until I overheard one of the (laid- off) staff who was involved in the conversation remark, “He has this amazing ability when you are talking with him to make you feel like he is 1000% present and that you are the most important person in the world at that moment.”  What more is leadership than engendering a sense of value and worth in those that work for and with you so that they are encouraged to do their best, even amidst the worst of circumstances?

 Contact Touchstone Career Coaching for a free job search strategy consultation and to begin developing your career vision.
503.970.6869
chuck@touchstonecareercoaching.com