Tragedy happens every day. Sometimes we hear about it. Often we read about people in the newspaper that we don’t even know and sadness overcomes us. A tragedy happened last week. It involved people that I knew and while no one will ever know the real reason it happened, so many people are grieving about the outcome and trying to make sense of it all.

Three individuals were killed inside a place where people are taken care of. Three really good people! There were lots of rumors swirling about layoffs that had occurred, pending layoffs, reducing shifts and difficult economic times inside this place that seemed to cause one individual to react. Who knows what difficulties were outside of this place for this individual? No one has answers, and in reality, having answers doesn’t do much to relieve the sadness that has touched everyone. Employees still have to go to this place and perform the duties that they do to continue taking care of patients and their families the best way they know how. They have support from employee assistance resources and from each other, which helps. Each employee will grieve in their own way and manage to get through the days and weeks ahead.

There may never be a way to avoid a situation such as this and we will never be able to control everything, but in the world today, we need to be communicating more, not less. I often wonder with the economy the way it is today, why there aren’t more organizations holding focus groups, department team building activities, and employee assistance resources tapped into the group level on the front end of difficult times. Each of these activities creates an opportunity for employees to share what they are feeling and going through. Often, more focused communication on how to get through tough times together as a team helps people to see that they aren’t alone in all of this. If this tragic event can bear any good, it would be for organizations to talk about what happened and create more opportunities to open up and share thoughts, feelings, worries, etc.
I can’t imagine what the families are going through. We send off our loved ones to work/school certainly not expecting anything like this to happen.

Makes me hug mine a little bit tighter….

John Wooden said, “Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best you are capable of becoming.” Success isn’t about awards or trophies. Success isn’t perfection. “Success is happiness in your heart because you try 100 percent to be your personal best.” Success should touch every part of our lives… mentally, morally, physically and spiritually and it is something that we should go after each and every day. Success is in each and every one of us.
I often speak when I am doing a training session about the number of hours that we spend working (i.e. the job that we drive to every day, the work that we end up doing on the weekends, etc.). We spend more hours at work or doing work than anywhere else. And I often ask the question during these sessions, “So, how much do you love your job and what you do?” I follow with the question of, “On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being best) how eager or energized are you about doing your job or going to work every day? There is usually a mixture of responses. Wouldn’t we all want to shout out “10” every day? Can you see in others when they are a 3 or a 4? How is success created where 3’s and 4’s permeate the environment?
I want 9’s and 10’s every day! And you should too! I hope that my 9’s and 10’s rub off on others as I move through the day and through life. I want others to do the same for me. I am very blessed to have the opportunity to connect with individuals, teams and organizations to pull out the motivation to get to success. So, how do you create success for others? How do those 9’s and 10’s rub off on others? It is those relationships, based on integrity and trust that are key components in creating an environment where people are willing to go the extra mile…. all of the time.
On a recent trip back from New York, I was in the ladies room at JFK. As I approached the sink to wash my hands, I noticed that the counter was wet everywhere. I tried not to lean into it with my purse and bags. The female attendant came over and wiped the counter dry for me. She looked as if she was having a “3” day. I thanked her. I finished and walked over to her, touched her shoulder, looked into her eyes and said, “Thank you. You are doing a great job!” I thought her smile was going to jump right out of her body. And I wondered when the last time someone had acknowledged her work. It seemed so simple to me.
Wooden says, “The most important profession in the world is parenting. The second is teaching and everyone is a teacher to someone.” We all have the ability to impart a little of what we have learned along the way to someone else. And we should!
Webster defines a teacher as one who “gives instruction and guidance with a specific end in mind until rapid and successful execution of assigned duties and tasks is assured.” A great leader, teacher and coach will bring individuals along the path to achieve competence. The success is bringing the individuals to be part of a team. Even when they don’t think they want to be.
I speak to managers about leadership and coaching and the awesome accountability of developing others to their fullest potential. You’ve been there…. You have taken someone, whether it is a colleague tackling a new piece of technology, a subordinate that you are teaching a new skill to, or a student that you are mentoring toward their future. When you see that success in that individual, how does that make you feel? It’s amazing! For me, there is nothing better! That is Wooden’s “doing the best of which you are capable to enable others to do their best.” It goes full circle! It melts your butter!
I met with a manager on one occasion who shared with me that she had been put into a manager role and she really disliked managing people. She didn’t want to deal with their issues and concerns, she didn’t like 1:1 or team meetings and she really didn’t like meeting with her staff to do their annual performance evaluations. I thought about her staff and wondered how their needs were being met. How and when did they get feedback? How did they build a relationship with their manager? Did they know that it was supposed to be different? I wondered how many would stay and for how long under her leadership.
She shared with me that she had a great team; very talented and a group that would do whatever needed to be done. I paused and asked her, “Do they know that’s how you feel about them?” She assured me that they knew. I asked her again, “Do they know that’s how you feel about them?” As she looked at me, I said, “Tell them!”
Mother Theresa said, “A day lived without doing something good for others is a day not worth living.” Doing good for others bring joy and happiness. It feels good! The opportunity to be a teacher, leader and coach is a serious commitment. So grab a hold of it with all that you have. Your best is needed each day – especially if you are the leader.