Dysfunctional Breeds Dysfunction

A colleague was telling me a while back about a dysfunctional organization they were in and how it made them feel…well, dysfunctional. 

I told them:

Never let the organization define you!  You are who you are. 

Honestly, I could see how this situation wore on them.

Then we met up again, and it was like they were a new person. 

I asked them what happened and they said how they made a change in their life and sure enough in a healthy setting and culture, they felt great again!

It’s incredible the negative impact that a bad organizational culture can have on its people. 

But it’s up to you to find the right place for you, so you can be who you are!  😉

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Bar Mitzvah Speech Page 3

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called, “Bar Mitzvah Speech Page 3.”

I wondered to myself how come this bar mitzvah boy didn’t end his speech with the traditional thank you to: my loving mother and father, my dear grandparents, my annoying brothers and sisters, and all my terrific uncle and aunts who came from Israel, Europe, and Canada to be with me here on this special day? There was none of that, and I was puzzled — how can he not thank everyone who made this day possible?

This was a true lesson about always being prepared and resilient, because that is what true empowerment is all about. 

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

My Fun Socks

Just wanted to share some of my new fun socks. 

You don’t always have to take yourself so serious. 

It’s okay to let go and just be you. 

From Dragon Ball Z to Super Mario, I feel so empowered!

Hope you do too.  😉

(Source Photo:  Andy Blumenthal)

Leave The Bad Bosses Behind

So an executive colleague reminded me of something about bad bosses:

People don’t leave jobs, they leave [bad] bosses.

It’s very interesting and so often true. 

Of course, people leave for all sorts of reasons, but one of the most important aspects of job satisfaction for employees is their boss!

When you have a good boss–someone with integrity, good communications, trustworthy, fair, and who empowers, develops, and supports you then that goes a very long way towards positive employee engagement and retention. 

However, when the boss is a bad apple and usually everyone knows it, then there is often a mass exit out the organizational door. 

Occasionally, the organizational culture is bad too, and that attracts those bad bosses, promotes their bad behavior, and keeps their bad butts in the corner office seats–this situation is even worse because bad culture and people are mutually reinforcing. 

For the good people out there, leave the bad bosses behind and never look back. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

The Culture Key To Organizational Success

As I continue to learn more about organizational success strategies, I am coming to understand that the underlying culture of the organization is so very fundamental to its success.

I believe this is especially the case in terms of three critical competency areas:

– Communication – needs to be timely, constructive, multi-directional, and with emotional intelligence.

– Trust – must be be based on honesty and integrity including consistently supporting the success of everyone professionally and as a organization. 

– Collaboration – must be be anchored in respecting, valuing, empowering, and rewarding each and every person for their views and the contributions, both individually and as team members, and in treating diversity and collaboration, as a true force-multiplier. 

If any of these elements are missing or broken then it does not seem to me that the organization will be able to be successful for the long term.

Organizational success is built on ingredients that strengthen the ties of leadership and individuals and that foster contribution as individuals and as team members. 

No amount of smart, innovative, and even hard work, in my mind, will make up for shortfalls in these critical organizational success factors. 

So when planning for organizational success, make sure to build these in from the get-go. 

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Manage As A Mensch

So I was watching Shark Tank and they gave an update on how one of the products, “Mensch on a Bench,” is doing.

It’s selling in Bed, Bath, and Beyond and has exceeded 100,000 units already!

Aside from the doll and book, they are working on Mensch apps, activity kits, and candy bars. 

The founder said, “It is hilarious and heartwarming to see all the different ways that families can incorporate Mensches into their lives.”

This got me thinking about how being a mensch can also be incorporated into being a great manager!

– Treating people decently and fairly

– Empowering them to do their jobs well

– Empathizing with them as human beings

– Appreciating the power of diversity

– Respecting everyone and their points of view

– Recognizing and rewarding a job well done

Unfortunately, there are too many bad bosses out there that micromanage and abuse their people. 

They are arbitrary and dictatorial and never ask what anyone else thinks; they dump the work on their people, but don’t lend a hand; they steal their ideas and take credit for their work; on top of it, they might even then stab them in the back when they’re not looking; ah, forget about showing any sort of appreciation or kindness–it’s dog eat dog. 

Hence, being a mensch first is a management must!

Think about people, not as a means to an end, but as an end unto themselves–they are souls interacting with your soul. 

Kindness, compassion, empathy…but keep your eyes on the important work and mission you are doing.

Get it done together, as a team, collaboratively, and with everyone contributing towards the endgame. 

(Live and) manage as a mensch! 😉

(Source Photo: here with attribution to Bed, Bath, and Beyond)

Feminism For Our Mothers and Daughters

In any language feminism should mean empowerment, equality, and respect for women. 

What’s going on with the election though seems wrong–feminism is not for sale for votes!

Neither gender nor any other demographic factor such as race, religion, color, sexual orientation and so forth, should be used to garner votes. 

In this election, the mud slinging has run the gamut with accusations of “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobia, you name it.“

It would be nice if people would stay focused on the issues and the future of the country and our people. 

While the candidates and campaigners claim that “when they go low, we go high,” the truth is we see things daily going low, low, and lower bringing out tapes and accusers just weeks before the election.

This doesn’t seem to be about true feminism, but about destroying candidates and untold greed for the seat of government power.

In the meantime, while we scare everyone into believing the worst about the candidates, the rest of the world’s issues from national security to the economy is lost in the translation.

Feminism is a truly critical for the fair and proper treatment of our wives, daughters, mothers, sisters, and grandmothers.

What we still see in many countries around the world today is horrifying and abhorrent where women are not only treated completely subservient to men but are abducted, sold, prostituted, gang raped, abused and undergo lashings, stonings, and honor killings. 

But if we let people misappropriate feminism for electioneering, then what will be left for the women that really need freedom, equality, and protection under the law.

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal) 

Good Can (And Will) Overcome Evil

Beautiful video showing that good can overcome evil. 

Next video is where the woman (empowered) takes down the would be attackers herself–with a big time, well-deserved smackdown!

Where on the right track. 😉

Radiate Possibilities

Today, I had the opportunity to see one of the best leadership videos I have ever seen, called “Leadership: An Art of Possibility.”

It features Ben Zander, an Orchestra Conductor who is not just a leader of making music, but of driving people to excellence.

Zander’s passion and energy bring out the best in people–and you can literally see them transformed as their playing comes alive, their faces shine, and they glow under coaching of this conductor extraordinaire.

His leadership principles are:

– Speak possibility–create a shift in being (transformation) by seeing the possibility in everyone, and lead people by empowering, not commanding; help people get in touch with their inner passion, so they remember why they love what they do and why it is ultimately important.

– Quiet the inner voices–communicate that everyone can get an A and everyone has value; assume the best of everyone, eliminate the fear of judgement, barriers, and mindset of “I can’t do it,” so people can genuinely perform.

– Enroll every voice in the vision–make every person feel and realize that they can contribute and make a difference on our journey together; shift from a mindset of pure individuals to that of living in a connected world; like in a symphony– we create a “sounding together.”

– Look for shining eyes and radiating faces–you know you are positively reaching people and impacting them when their eyes and face light up; and you need to ask yourself what you are missing, when you aren’t getting this guttural reaction.

– Rule #6 (“the only rule”)–Don’t take yourself so %@&$! seriously; mistakes happen and life goes on; really feel the joy, relief, ease, spontaneity, and community around what we do.

The art of possibility is a paradigm shift where we move from having an external standard to live up to, and instead move to fulfilling the possibility we can live into.

In essence, Zander’s leadership philosophy is about removing the barriers that inhibit us and releasing our deep inner talents, so we can achieve our marvelous potentials–and self-actualize.

As Zander states: the conductor actually does not make a sound, yet by empowering people, he leads them to make the most beautiful music together.

If you get a chance to watch this video, I believe it is extremely valuable because the passion, love, and energy that Zander demonstrates turns every face into a presence radiating their own joy and excellence–it is truly leadership unleashed.

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Big and Small–Who’s Who?

Yesterday, I go into a store with my daughter to shop for a new iPhone case.

A clean-cut kid–maybe 13 years old–comes out from behind the counter and asks me what I’m looking for.

I chat with the boy for a few minutes about their products and the prices of the various items–and I was genuinely impressed with this kid’s “business savvy.”

Sort of suddenly, a larger man emerges, whom I assume to be the boy’s father.

Making conversation and being friendly, I say to the man, “Your son is a very good salesman.”

The father responds surprisingly, and says, “Not really, he hasn’t sold you anything yet!”

Almost as abruptly, he turns and stumps away back behind the counter.

I look back over at the kid now, and he is clearly embarrassed, but more than that his spirit seems broken, and he too disappears behind the counter.

My daughter and I look at each other–shocked and upset by the whole scene–this was a lesson not only in parenting gone wrong, but also in really poor human relations and emotional intelligence.

As a parents, teachers, and supervisors, we are are in unique positions to coach, mentor, encourage, and motivate others to succeed.

Alternatively, we can criticize, humiliate, and discourage others, so that they feel small and perhaps as if they can never do anything right.

Yes, there is a time and place for everything including constructive criticism–and yes, it’s important to be genuine and let people know when they are doing well and when we believe they can do better.

I think the key is both what our motivations are and how we approach the situation–do we listen to others, try and understand their perspectives, and offer up constructive suggestions in a way that they can heard or are we just trying to make a point–that we are the bosses, we are right, and it’ll be our way or the highway.

I remember a kid’s movie my daughters used to watch called Matilda and the mean adult says to Matilda in this scary way: “I’m big and your small. I’m smart and your dumb”–clearly, this is intimidating, harmful, and not well-meaning.

Later in the day, in going over the events with my daughter, she half-jokingly says, “Well maybe the kid could’ve actually sold something, if they lowered the prices” 🙂

We both laughed knowing that neither the prices nor the products themselves can make up for the way people are treated–when they are torn down, rather than built up–the results are bad for business, but more important they are damaging to people.

We didn’t end up buying anything that day, but we both came away with a valuable life lesson about valuing human beings and encouraging and helping them to be more–not think of themselves as losers or failures–even a small boy knows this.

(Source Photo: here with attribution to Allen Ang, and these are not the people in the blog story.)