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The Extravert/Introvert Conundrum Today’s blog is inspired by the sometimes complex interactions between extraverts and introverts and a most hilarious clip from Big Bang Theory. Enjoy!

The fallout of showrooming

I was shocked to hear about Best Buy closing a number of stores across Canada. It used to be that working for a large organization offered some job security, but no longer. Given that Best Buy has named this “stage” of their transformation Renew Blue (apparently in response to the growing trend of showrooming) why is it that employees showed up to closed stores as if this was something no one saw coming?

Some leadership lessons here methinks …

Learning as a way of being

So, how to sum up my learning over the last 30 days? It has been an interesting blend of looking over the wall to what’s possible and looking in the mirror to find my own sense of self, creativity, possibility. More specifically:

1. There is a yin, yang to this challenge – discipline to do a blog every day, but staying open and receptive to whatever might show up that day.

2. That while I gathered ideas from what was going on around me, I had to focus inwardly to capture that visually.

3. That while I looked over the wall for feedback (sometimes obsessively), ultimately I was so energized by what I was doing that regardless of feedback, I wanted to continue.

4. That my desire to explore whatever is next for me professionally and personally has been blown open by this challenge!

5. That I may have finally put a few gremlins to rest about my artistic abilities (this after I’ve lost count of how many classes over the years have left me feeling like a complete twit … just ask Dave!)

6. That I have a pretty interesting summary of January, 2013

Thanks Matt Cutts for your brilliant TED video and everyone who has been cheering me on.

Here’s to the next 30 days!

Feedback is like oxygen

“So what have you learned from doing this 30 day challenge and what’s next?” asked my friend and gifted visual recorder colleague Lisa.

“Well, let me think.” Long pause.

“That you need feedback!” Dave exclaimed.

“I do not!” As that would be needy. Another long pause. “Well maybe a little …”

“Why don’t you use your 30th blog to ask people for some feedback?” Lisa quickly sketched out today’s visual. (Thank you Lisa!)

And so I am, but with some hesitancy, because of course what if the feedback is not what I want? I hear the adult educator in me coaching the oodles of learners with whom I have worked over the years urging them to put feedback in perspective and learn from it, blah, blah, blah …

And as for what’s next, I have already decided I am going for another 30 days as something seems to be happening for me (more on that tomorrow when I list more of what I have learned.)

Unlike my other attempts at blogging, I LOVE doing this. In fact, I would rather do this than any other work I need to do to make a living. Gulp …

The price we pay for multi-tasking I am so guilty of multi-tasking and one of the things I’ve learned from my 30 day visual blog challenge is the power of focusing on one thing. I’ve learned many other things but will save that for tomorrow, as that is day 30

Eureka moments

I have been thinking a lot about creativity lately and, in particular, the conditions that lead to great ideas. I have always intuitively believed in the eureka moment (not sure why, perhaps as it’s a romantic notion and I am a romantic Of course, as luck would have it, I stumbled across Steven Johnson’s animation of “where good ideas come from.” Alas, there it is … are your ideas a eureka moment or a collision of small hunches? I guess I will have to let go of my romantic notions as mine are the latter

Being curious

Yesterday I blogged about an amazing group of people who are making great things happen in Victoria. The word that came up over and over throughout the day was curious, and I observed that this was a pretty curious group and that their curiosity led to some amazing results. The room also buzzed with excitement and energy. This doesn’t always happen when we work with groups. Sometimes we spend a lot of time trying to chip away at the brick walls in people’s minds. What’s your curiosity quotient and how does that impact the teams you work on?

Worlds colliding

Today got away on me and I’m not entirely happy with my visual, but … it’s getting late and I am trying to get over perfectionism Today I had the happy honour of working with some pretty amazing Victorians from all walks of life as part of our once-a-quarter initiative. They are planning a most spectacular festival that has the potential to transform Victoria, Victorians, and anyone who happens to visit our fair city the week of September 9, 2013. Keep an eye on the VIATeC website for this exciting festival!

Losing the plot

Having decided to do a number of things differently this January (this 30 day visual challenge but one of them), I got to thinking about what it is that contributes to a lack of self management and meeting goals I have set for myself, and here is what I came up with for me:

Lack of reflection time and rushing here and thereToo much TVToo much fiddling with technologyScheduling too many meetings too close togetherDrinking/eating too much

The last one bites as those who know me know I am a big foodie and winey (is that a word?)

Here’s to a little less of these things and a little more self management this year

The values/creativity conundrum

Yesterday I posed a values situation … well not entirely as it was also about creativity. I think we often fail to come up with creative solutions when we think values are at risk of being compromised. We also fail to come up with creative solutions because we are thinking in the “tyranny of the OR.” We need to embrace the “genius of the AND” (Collins and Porres), and bring forward our very best “integrative thinking” (Roger Martin).

So from that perspective, here is how to have everyone’s needs met!

(Oh and just to be fully transparent myself, I chose the little old lady as that seemed to align best with my values around compassion and service.)

Putting your values to a test

What would you do if you were driving your lovely 2 seater sports car on a very hot still day and while stopped in traffic noticed the following three people at a bus stop?

Your best friend. You often give her a lift in to work as she works at the hospital right next door to your office.

A little old lady who is clearly in trouble. She’s bent over and looks just about to keel over. She reminds you of your own Mum, who is also old and frail.

The love of your life —- hopefully. You have been in love with this person forever and things just never quite work out … perhaps this time … but no … what about your best friend and the little old lady in trouble?

What do you do? Answer with discussion tomorrow!

Being Vulnerable - Part III

Sunday and Monday I blogged about Patrick Lencioni’s 2010 book, Getting Naked, and the first two fears that block consultants from building client relationships and loyalty. The third and final is fear of feeling inferior which leads to consultants putting their own needs before the client. The remedies are to honour the client’s work, make everything about the client, do the dirty work, and take a bullet for the client.

Being Vulnerable, Part II Yesterday I blogged about Patrick Lencioni’s 2010 book, Getting Naked, and the first fear that blocks consultants from building client relationships and loyalty. The second is fear of embarrassment, which can keep people from sharing their best ideas with clients, and admitting to mistakes. The remedies are to ask dumb questions, make dumb suggestions and celebrate your mistakes.

Being Vulnerable, Part I I just ran across Patrick Lencioni’s 2010 book, Getting Naked, and thought his message that consultants need to be vulnerable particularly relevant given today’s business environment. I completely related to the three fears that block consultants from providing excellent service to their clients and will be profiling one a day. Today’s blog is the fear of losing business which causes consultants to avoid the very things that ultimately build trust and loyalty. It can be remedied by entering the danger (speaking up in high risk situations), telling the kind truth, giving away business and consulting instead of selling.

The Tragedy of Lance Armstrong To say I have mixed feelings about being glued to Oprah’s interview with Lance Armstrong is an understatement. To say I have mixed feelings about the interview itself is another one. As an ex high school English teacher, I can’t help but think of the great Shakespearean tragedies. Today I am most struck by his comments about surviving cancer and how his fall from grace compares to that. While he did recover his physical health, will he ever recover his integrity and heal his emotional and psychic health or will he live out the tragedy storyline? I guess only time will tell.

What leadership learning animal are you?

I LOVE, LOVE Dan McCarthy’s blog on the 4 types of learning leaders, and have taken some liberty in creating additional animals for 2 of his types. I take a risk in this blog as I am moving beyond the comfort of the landscape, stick people

Which type are you, the ostrich who has no skills and doesn’t want to learn, the eager beaver who may not have a ton of skill but wants to learn, the know it all dinosaur who refuses to learn, or the continuous learner hummingbird who has endless energy, purpose, curiosity and stamina?

The good, bad, and ugly about teams While it was fun to draw today’s visual about dysfunctional teams (perhaps it was cathartic ;)), I am happy to say there is also good news according to a research study into teamwork by the University of Phoenix. Chad Brooks reports that 95% of people believe teamwork is a critical skill in today’s workplace, but that:

40 percent of those who have worked on a team in the workplace have seen a verbal confrontation among team members, while 15 percent have seen an argument turn physical 40 percent of workers have watched as one team member placed the blame on another for something that went amiss 32 percent have worked with team members who started a rumor about another employee in the group

Clearly we can all learn more about healthy teamwork!

Creating space for silence

Great leaders know when to create time and space for silence. They pay attention to the emotional energy of those around them and manage their own discomfort with ambiguity, lack of closure, and emotion laden situations. They let things unfold instead of driving to an artificial sense of closure.

Observed in Hawaii “What is that crazy woman doing?” I said to Dave, as we approached the coordinates for the cache. He didn’t answer, as he was preoccupied with reading the hints for the cache. The woman continued to look intently at the ground beneath the tree and then sat down and looked even more intently at the ground, picking something up and examining it every once in a while.

“She looks homeless, poor thing. Probably been out all night, strung out on something or other.” In a few minutes, she got up and wandered down the street.

“I think the cache is just over here,” Dave said and he started rummaging in the bushes. I went over to where the woman had been and started looking at the ground.

“You two look like you are wandering around looking for wiliwili seeds,” a man walked up to me and said.

“What in the heck are wiliwili seeds?” I asked cautiously, letting my paranoia get the best of me and thinking we had wandered into the middle of a tourist scam. I grabbed my purse tighter and was glad I had left my credit cards and precious technology in the hotel room.

“They are little seeds that fall off this big tree you’re under … only at certain times of the year. They are bright red and people collect them to make jewelry,” he replied. He bent down and picked one up. “Here’s one. They are becoming quite rare and jewelry makers are finding it harder and harder to find them.”

Hmmmm … mystery solved. I felt like an eejit (as Dave would say). How quickly I forget the things I teach about checking one’s assumptions!

Overheard in Hawaii

I have been a passionate Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) qualified facilitator for over 20 years and am always on the lookout for great stories to understand type differences. This particular sensing (S) – intuition (N) exchange happened on a beach in Hawaii. I would love to hear any type stories you have!