15 Minutes a Day

Archive for the ‘Life’ Category

One of the biggest challenges I have found in both my current and past jobs and in other organizations I have been involved in has been what’s called “leading up.” This means leading your supervisors or other superiors. When one is not in a position of authority, leadership becomes a challenge because some of those you are trying to lead or influence are not obligated to follow you. This can be a frustrating experience and may lead some to think that they need to get a promotion before they can become a leader. This is not true.

I just finished listening to the Audible.com version of The 360-Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization as read by the author, John C. Maxwell. I enjoyed listening to it and Mr. Maxwell reads it very well. Mr. Maxwell gave advice on how to lead your supervisors, peers, and subordinates in a manner that is inoffensive to all three groups and yet still gets things done. It seems that what some forget is that leadership is a matter of influence, not force or position.

Learning how to build influence has been a tough lesson for me to learn, but I think I might finally be getting the hang of it. I’m not talking about learning to manipulate people or win at office politics. I am talking about building a reputation for yourself as a subject matter expert (SME) and proving that expertise over and over again. In part, leadership is an exercise in constantly improving yourself so that you can work on helping others improve themselves, their situations, and the organizations you work in.

While leading from the middle can be tricky, Mr. Maxwell’s book is full of examples of middle leaders who have had an effect on all levels of their organization. While I don’t agree that some of Mr. Maxwell’s examples are positive examples of leadership, I do agree that they are correct. He uses former Vice President Dick Cheney as an example of a 360-degree leader. I agree that Cheney is a leader, but not one that leads for the betterment of everyone. His influence and decisions have led us down a path that has caused environmental, social, and economic disasters that now must be corrected while Mr. Cheney sits back and shrugs his shoulders. I would encourage Mr. Maxwell to pick more positive examples in the future.

Are you a middle or 360-degree leader in your organization or community? Please share your story and challenges here. I’d love to know how you are handling the issues mentioned here.

I’ve been back from Year 3 Residency for a bit over a week now and I’m pretty nearly feeling human again. I got sick with a cold or allergies while I was in Phoenix and that is finally clearning up. I spent several days sleeping quite a bit and recharging before heading back to work.

My husband and I also celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary!!! We went to a Sacramento RiverCats Baseball game (which we both love to do!) and Mark had them put a message on the board for me (see the photo). RHMILY means “Remember How Much I Love You!” He got a great big “Awwww” and a kiss from me as I scrambled to pull out my camera. It was a wonderful day!

I started a new class last night. It’s called “Organizational Diagnosis and Intervention.” Do you have any idea what this is about? I’m not sure yet, but I’m sure it’s important. I just haven’t taken the time to read the syllibus or do the reading yet. That starts tonight! I’m sure this has to do with dealing with troubled organizations. I can think of a few organizations I’ve worked for where a class like this would have been helpful.

I think I’ve reached an alternatively weary/exciting part of my doctoral program. There are some days (hours/minutes/seconds) when I am tremendously excited about the fact that I only have four content classes and my dissertation project left to do and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. There are other days (hours/minutes/seconds) where I’m extremely tired and keep wondering “What was I thinking when I signed up for this journey?” I look at the “light at the end of the tunnel” and am sure it’s an oncoming train.

I am hoping that the excitement will go back to being the predominant feeling so I can push through to the end of this process and graduate. In the meantime I keep putting one foot in front of the other and doing one task or assignment at a time. My dissertation mentor, Dr. Holley, has assured me that my dissertation project is now doable and my timeline is reasonable. Now I just need to pitch it to the folks that I want to study…

Anyway, life proceeds apace. I’m back at work and am still training a new coworker who is coming along nicely. He starts teaching training classes tomorrow (under my watchful eye). Hopefully by July he’ll be able to take half of the training chores off of my plate and let me concentrate on other tasks.

My husband and dogs are great! I think Shasta wishes I’d walk her more often. Come to think of it, I wish I could walk her more often. Now that the weather is starting to improve I hope to fulfill her wish. I think I’ll start by taking both Roobee and Shasta to a nearby dog park.

Mark is as loving and supportive as ever! I really couldn’t do any of this without him. He keeps me going and helps to recharge my batteries on a daily basis.

This week for me has been one of clarity (at work an on my dissertation project) and of loss (either a friend of mine or family members of friends). Work and school have been moving along nicely. I’m feeling better about doing my dissertation project and starting to see the faintest glimmer of a light far off in the distance in this tunnel I am traversing. Work is developing all kinds of possibilities, but we’ll see what pans out.

I lost a family friend this week. He was 73 and it sounds like his body clock just wound down and stopped ticking. That’s not a bad way to go for someone who gave as much to his community and touched so many lives as “Mr. Hutch” did. His time ended and he…just…stopped. I went to his funeral and was not surprised to see how many people came to pay respects and support his family. He was a humble and influential man in his community and touched my life in ways I’ll never forget.

I also learned that the son of a friend of mine from Toastmasters died after a long and troubled history with drug addiction. His mother is a friend and really tried to help him overcome his addictions. She is mourning and I mourn her loss. I think her life will improve as she moves further from the loss, but the hole he leaves will remain.

I also learned about the death of a former coworker. I went to his funeral and I grieve for his family. Especially for a very young daughter who will have to grow up without her daddy.

It’s been hard this week to focus on my dissertation project with all of this going on. However, it does keep me moving forward and thinking positively. I had a professor explain the academic process to me once in the following way:

1. AA/AS = a time for students to figure out their homework:party time ratio
2. BA/BS = a time for students to figure out where the library is on campus
3. MA/MS = a time for students to learn to use the library and all of its resources
4. Ph.D. = a time for students to contribute to the library

I’m excited to be at the stage in my academic career where I will be contributing to the library soon!

Image Credit: Retrieved on February 21, 2010 from Jonesville, Virginia – Horse Hollow

Lesson Learned on Wednesday, February 4, 2010

Time to decompress and think things through is important to physical and mental well-being. Yesterday I went home after a busy day with lots of meetings, fixed myself a drink, and curled up on the couch with my English Pointer who has the power to make me fall asleep. We snuggled and dozed while I “watched” the news and drank my drink.

By the time 8:00 p.m. rolled around I was relaxed enough and unwound enough to be able to think about what I had to do for school. I pulled my computer up onto my lap (the dog had taken herself off to bed by then) and was able to plow through my school work and felt that I had really learned and accomplished something. It was a wonderful feeling!

I see too many of my co-workers working through lunch or late into the evening and then wondering why they are exhaused or unable to think clearly. They cannot think clearly and are tired because they don’t take time to refresh themselves. Down-time is a foreign concept to them. When illness or injury strikes it takes them longer to start feeling better. Is there really anything (outside the medical and law enforcement professions) that is so important it can’t give you time to take an hour or two for yourself? Does everything really need to be done RIGHT NOW? Your thoughts…?

Image Credit: Retrieved on February 5, 2010 from Phil’s Favorites – by Irene.

One of the folks I follow on Twitter suggested writing down a lesson learned each day and then reviewing every Monday. I like this idea, so here goes…

When commuting on Amtrak – I went from Sacramento to San Francisco and back – keep carry-ons to a minimum. Preferably a backpack. Today I took a backpack and a computer case. It was too much for the limited space I had. When I go back in two weeks, I’m going to pack everything into one backpack.

Image Credit: Retrieved on February 3, 2010 from NY Daily News.