Gifted Leaders

The Gratitude Exercise - One Year Later

“The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things.” – Henry Ward Beecher

It was a year ago - Nov. 21, 2007 to be exact - that I wrote that I was going to do Martin Seligman’s “gratitude exercise” for a two week trial period ...

1. Set aside 5 free minutes each night, preferably right before bedtime.

2. Think back over the previous 24 hours and write down, on separate lines, up to 5 things in your life for which you're grateful.

3. Do this daily for 2 weeks, and if you find it helpful, incorporate the practice into your daily routine.

I did find it helpful and I have incorporated it into my daily routine - in fact, I haven’t missed a single day since starting.  Interestingly, I’m finding that I’m now listing hardships and personal challenges as things that I’m grateful for since they force me to learn and grow.  And most recently, I retook Seligman’s Optimism Test and found that my score was significantly higher than when I first took it prior to beginning my gratitude journal.

It’s definitely true: our well-being depends far more on our attitude toward our circumstances than on the circumstances themselves.  And one way to insure a positive outlook, regardless of our circumstances, is to focus on what we're grateful for!

As we celebrate Thanksgiving in the US this week, what better time to answer the question, “What are you thankful for?” and to make this part or your daily routine.

Foster Horizontal Leadership

“No knowledge ranks higher than another; each is judged by its contribution to the common task rather than by any inherent superiority or inferiority. Therefore, the modern organization cannot be an organization of boss and subordinate. It must be organized as a team.” - Peter Drucker

Here’s an excerpt from the November 2008 Gifted Leaders e-Newsletter:

Because no one person has all the answers to every question that may arise within the orchestra, NYC-based Orpheus Chamber Orchestra relies on horizontal teams to tap the expertise of all of its members. Members of teams within Orpheus naturally reach across organizational boundaries to obtain input, act on opportunities, solve problems, or make decisions. Says violinist Martha Caplin, “When I talk to another performer or another musician in the group, it’s on an equal level. It’s absolutely crucial that we all have that attitude.”

Not every team is an effective team, though, so members must take positive steps to ensure their team’s effectiveness.  Here are a few things that contribute to effective teamwork within Orpheus:

1. The purpose and mission for the team are clear and understood by each team member.
2. Members' team roles are stated, agreed upon, and understood.
3. All members work an equal amount doing real work in the team.
4. Members pay attention to how they work together.
5. Outcomes drive the purpose of the team.
6. Deadlines are stated and respected.
7. Teams receive demonstrable support.
8. Teams are accountable to the organization and its leaders.
9. Each team knows its interdependence with other teams and does everything to support those other teams.

These rules are valid for any team, not just those within Orpheus.

“The best way to foster leadership is to treat people like leaders. And how better to do that than by building organizations like Orpheus where everyone feels in charge? Orpheus members share responsibility for many functions that most organizations assign to individual leaders. It seems counterintuitive, but by not appointing one leader for every new initiative, you might actually be helping your people make beautiful music together.”
- Jeffrey Pfeffer, Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business

The Fringe Benefits of Failure

"We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated." – Maya Angelou

"Success is falling nine times and getting up ten." – Jon Bon Jovi

I’m learning more and more to be comfortable with set backs and failures ... to even be grateful for them.  The key is to see them as opportunities to learn and to develop perseverance and character.

I found a great illustration of this principle in the July 2008 issue of Leadership Excellence.   The editor’s note referred to a great speech by author J. K. Rowling.  Speaking at the Harvard commencement she shared the following story:

"Why do I talk about the benefits of failure?  Because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential.  I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energies into finishing the only work that mattered to me.  Had I succeeded at anything else, I might have never found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged.  I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea.  And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.  You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable.  It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - you then fail by default."

Are you succeeding at the right things?  What opportunities do you have to leave your comfort zone and be willing to risk failure?  What does failure have to teach you?

Vote for George

“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein

Something does need to change in this country, but I’m starting to wonder if it’s likely to come from the existing two-party system.   How can we shift the prevailing “either/or” political debate into a “both/and” dialog?  It seems to me that the best ideas for solving the complex challenges of todays’ world aren’t likely to come from a single person or political party.  After all, as Ken Blanchard says, “one of us isn’t as smart as all of us.”

Call me idealistic (I am), but I’d love to have someone like George Washington to vote for ...

On April 30, 1789, George Washington, standing on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York, took his oath of office as the first President of the United States.  "As the first of everything, in our situation will serve to establish a Precedent," he wrote James Madison, "it is devoutly wished on my part, that these precedents may be fixed on true principles."

Wow, a man of character!

To Washington's disappointment, two parties were developing by the end of his first term.  Wearied of politics, feeling old, he retired at the end of his second.  In his Farewell Address, he urged his countrymen to forswear excessive party spirit and geographical distinctions.

George, we could really use your wisdom right about now!