The fine art of being patient
Patience was the subject of our most recent practice along with the below quote from Edward G. Bulwar.
"Patience is not passive; on the contrary, it is active; it is concentrated strength"
This got me thinking about the speed at which I do things and I have to admit that my approach is very much to sprint until you can’t anymore which, I am now beginning to realise may mean that I am missing out on something. This is particularly pertinent considering that I have spent the quiet summer months reminding myself that I must be patient because in fact not everyone is beavering away at their desks trying to meet my deadlines but are in fact, probably sunning themselves in Spain.
Whilst travelling across London to various meetings recently, spending time in cafes, schools, businesses, boardrooms and even Dorothy Perkins, I have been forced to trust that despite the fact that other people have other demands on their time, if I am patient, at some point, on the whole, they will make the time. It is then that I need to be ready to sprint and not to be in a heap on the floor out of breath and out of ideas. I have to allow time for the opportunities to appear and to materialise as much as to hunt them down and force a conclusion.
But, how do I ignore the overwhelming desire to get those ticks on my list and to instead allow things to develop, perhaps not on my timescale, in a way that could produce something that is beyond what I could have expected to get?
I think it is at this point that you have to trust yourself as a leader, trust the work that you have done and take part in the fine art which is being patient.
Tuesday 26 August 2008
Friday 1 August 2008
The people you meet, the places you go, who you become
“I am who I am because of everyone.
I am my mate who never speaks and the one who won't shut up. I am my older sister and unfortunately my younger brother. I am all the girls I've kissed, and all the ones I will. It’s the people we meet and the experiences we share that make us who we are.”
Orange current global advertising campaign
http://www.i-am-everyone.co.uk/
I saw this advert recently while out and about in London meeting leaders to invite to join the next emerging leaders programme in November 2008. I was in the middle of the daily grind thinking about a million and one other things: targets to hit, objectives to meet, 1:2:1 meeting to hold, team meeting to organize. However, as I sat on tube it got me thinking. Not about all the boys I have ever kissed (although that was a lovely walk down memory lane), but all the people I have ever met and the experiences I have had to date that have in some way helped form me as a person, a professional and a leader.
In the last two weeks I have met two leaders who have reinforced Orange’s idea that we are sum of the experiences and the people we have encountered in our lives. I’d like to share their stories with you…
The first shared with me her story of how she set up her own business and now runs an organization with 140 staff in 2 countries. What was really interesting about the conversation with her was the story she told about the three places she had worked before deciding to strike out on her own. She painted a very vivid picture of 3 completely different organizational and leadership cultures and what she learnt from operating in all three. The first was a place of true inspiration and inclusion, the directors knew all their staff and talked to them daily – not just about work but about everything else as well. The second organization was extremely hierarchical, the senior management didn’t even talk to their people at the water cooler / in the kitchen – the attitude was “why would I, (s)he is only the (fill in the blank here for whichever job role). The final organization was a poor imposter of the first. The directors outwardly professed to run an inclusive culture, but didn’t walk the talk internally. What she took away from these 3 experiences was a really clear idea of how she was going to lead the people in her own organization – adopt the good and reject the bad from her role models.
The second leader talked more generally about the dark times in his career: when things were really tough, things went badly, he made mistakes and failed. His point was that you have to experience the dark in order to fully appreciate the light.
What it made me reflect on a number of interactions in my life. There are three people who I would like to acknowledge:
The dark times, when I have really struggled, have made me a much stronger person, a better professional and well-rounded leader. The stress, disappointment and despair at the time, and perhaps the fug of the immediate aftermath, have often masked the overall learning and overall benefits. A holistic health practitioner once told me “you are stronger than you realize”. I think of him every now and then, and his words of encouragement, especially when I am going through a dark patch. Thank you, T.
Someone special, but sadly all too briefly in my life, told me a story of when he was in the regular British Forces and through a circuitous route found himself signed up for the weekend training course for the Parachute Regiment. On the assault course section of the programme, he was really struggling. Other trainees were dropping out left right and center and he knew he was lagging behind and wasn’t going to make the qualifying time. And yet, he decided to stay, to finish the race, knowing that he was going to be the last one to cross the line. When I’m going through it, I think of him and whisper to myself – “finish the race, no matter what”. Thank you, J.
A couple of years ago I went on a Laughter workshop, the programme was run by a wonderful woman who really refreshed and reinvigorated my lust for life and laughter. Her own story was one of overcoming mental health problems, including a period of hospitalization, out of which experience eventually emerged a successful business, teaching people the art and benefits of laughter. Thank you, K, for relighting the dying embers, and for being a delightful human example of trusting your inner voice and self, and that the right path will emerge over time.
I suppose the at the route of it all is one word choice: the choice of experiences you let into your life, the choices of the people with whom you chose to interact, the choice of what you take with you from each interaction, the choice of how respond to every interaction, the choice of who you want to be.
Another extract for you from the Orange campaign…
“I am an encouraging family, four dragons who said no and The Prince’s Trust who said yes. I am manufacturers who laughed and 400 retailers who didn't. I am the kids who say 'I want one', and the parents who say 'okay'. I am happier families at airports. I am Rob Law inventor of Trunki, the ride-on suitcase for kids.
I am who I am because of everyone.”
http://www.i-am-everyone.co.uk/
I am my mate who never speaks and the one who won't shut up. I am my older sister and unfortunately my younger brother. I am all the girls I've kissed, and all the ones I will. It’s the people we meet and the experiences we share that make us who we are.”
Orange current global advertising campaign
http://www.i-am-everyone.co.uk/
I saw this advert recently while out and about in London meeting leaders to invite to join the next emerging leaders programme in November 2008. I was in the middle of the daily grind thinking about a million and one other things: targets to hit, objectives to meet, 1:2:1 meeting to hold, team meeting to organize. However, as I sat on tube it got me thinking. Not about all the boys I have ever kissed (although that was a lovely walk down memory lane), but all the people I have ever met and the experiences I have had to date that have in some way helped form me as a person, a professional and a leader.
In the last two weeks I have met two leaders who have reinforced Orange’s idea that we are sum of the experiences and the people we have encountered in our lives. I’d like to share their stories with you…
The first shared with me her story of how she set up her own business and now runs an organization with 140 staff in 2 countries. What was really interesting about the conversation with her was the story she told about the three places she had worked before deciding to strike out on her own. She painted a very vivid picture of 3 completely different organizational and leadership cultures and what she learnt from operating in all three. The first was a place of true inspiration and inclusion, the directors knew all their staff and talked to them daily – not just about work but about everything else as well. The second organization was extremely hierarchical, the senior management didn’t even talk to their people at the water cooler / in the kitchen – the attitude was “why would I, (s)he is only the (fill in the blank here for whichever job role). The final organization was a poor imposter of the first. The directors outwardly professed to run an inclusive culture, but didn’t walk the talk internally. What she took away from these 3 experiences was a really clear idea of how she was going to lead the people in her own organization – adopt the good and reject the bad from her role models.
The second leader talked more generally about the dark times in his career: when things were really tough, things went badly, he made mistakes and failed. His point was that you have to experience the dark in order to fully appreciate the light.
What it made me reflect on a number of interactions in my life. There are three people who I would like to acknowledge:
The dark times, when I have really struggled, have made me a much stronger person, a better professional and well-rounded leader. The stress, disappointment and despair at the time, and perhaps the fug of the immediate aftermath, have often masked the overall learning and overall benefits. A holistic health practitioner once told me “you are stronger than you realize”. I think of him every now and then, and his words of encouragement, especially when I am going through a dark patch. Thank you, T.
Someone special, but sadly all too briefly in my life, told me a story of when he was in the regular British Forces and through a circuitous route found himself signed up for the weekend training course for the Parachute Regiment. On the assault course section of the programme, he was really struggling. Other trainees were dropping out left right and center and he knew he was lagging behind and wasn’t going to make the qualifying time. And yet, he decided to stay, to finish the race, knowing that he was going to be the last one to cross the line. When I’m going through it, I think of him and whisper to myself – “finish the race, no matter what”. Thank you, J.
A couple of years ago I went on a Laughter workshop, the programme was run by a wonderful woman who really refreshed and reinvigorated my lust for life and laughter. Her own story was one of overcoming mental health problems, including a period of hospitalization, out of which experience eventually emerged a successful business, teaching people the art and benefits of laughter. Thank you, K, for relighting the dying embers, and for being a delightful human example of trusting your inner voice and self, and that the right path will emerge over time.
I suppose the at the route of it all is one word choice: the choice of experiences you let into your life, the choices of the people with whom you chose to interact, the choice of what you take with you from each interaction, the choice of how respond to every interaction, the choice of who you want to be.
Another extract for you from the Orange campaign…
“I am an encouraging family, four dragons who said no and The Prince’s Trust who said yes. I am manufacturers who laughed and 400 retailers who didn't. I am the kids who say 'I want one', and the parents who say 'okay'. I am happier families at airports. I am Rob Law inventor of Trunki, the ride-on suitcase for kids.
I am who I am because of everyone.”
http://www.i-am-everyone.co.uk/
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