Subtraction

I don’t know about you, but I often feel a tremendous amount of pressure. Professionally, people are counting on me to do a good job. Personally, my family, friends, and the organizations I support want me to deliver consistently. I also have my own goals and aspirations that get added to the long list I’m already managing.

That feels like a lot.

What can I subtract? At first I thought it would be a series of hard decisions about what to drop.

Acutally, it’s been quite the opposite. I’ve added things that help me understand my long list much differently.

I’ve locked into a morning routine that has made a tremendous difference.

• Up at 4:00am
• Gym
• Walk
• Prayer
• Scripture
• Daily bible study
• Attempt to learn Italian for fun

Then my work day begins.

It may sound counter-intuitive to add to my day instead of deleting to ‘simplify everything.’ Candidly, it is. Yet the results have been important and meaningful.

I have dropped a few things to make room for my mental health though, including:

- slowing down on overcommitting

- removing the need to be constantly busy or active or achieving results every minute

- allowing others opinions of me to get much less headspace 

I’m adding another important piece shortly…more on that later. For now, I’m curious, how do you manage the pressures in your life?

Thanks for being here.

Jay

pic

From This Day Forward

New goals…

New commitments…

New expectations of ourselves…

New limits on what we will accept from others…

New mindsets about how we will work and play and live…

…from this day forward.

Our society is big on declaring new ways to live and work and be. 

Actually, that feels like a hell of a lot of pressure.

What if instead, from this day forward…

- we tried our best

- we reached out to someone who might be hurting

- we didn’t try to reinvent ourselves simply because a social media post was bold and brash (and most likely hiding massive insecurities)

- we chose kindness first

What if that was more than enough?

Thanks for being here.

Jay

pic

They Can’t Afford You

Time to level up.

You are a talented, experienced professional. You know what you’re doing and are bright enough to know when you need help and aren’t afraid to go after it and deliver for your organization.

Candidly, if you weren’t there your organization would suffer.

Let’s level up another step.

Think about the community where you live. There are many not-for-profit organizations that do incredible things right in your backyard. Somehow they make a difference despite the massive challenges they face each day, not the least of which is being able to hire the best talent.

This is where you come into the picture.

Can those organizations afford to hire you? No, they cannot.

Would those organizations benefit massively from your expertise? Yes, they absolutely would.

Final step.

My ask today is that you identify a not-for-profit organization in your community that aligns with your personal values.

• Contact them
• Get to know what they do
• Volunteer your time
• Join their Board of Directors
• Make a difference beyond the four walls of your employer (which also builds your employer brand as a community-minded organization)

Are you willing to take that step? Or, is it easier to say that you’re “just so busy that you don’t have any extra time?”

One last thing…I do practice what I preach. I am privileged to serve on the Board of Directors of the Children’s Cancer Center here in Tampa, Florida. Click the link to learn about the incredible impact the Center has on the lives of children and families navigating pediatric cancer and chronic blood disorders.

Thanks for being here.

Jay

pic

15 Years of Excuses

This blog turns 15 years old on Saturday.

After more than 1,000 posts I’ve been asking myself…is there anything left to say?

Then I look around…I listen to colleagues, friends and clients. 

I hear the struggles and see the stress they’re under to make a difference and lead through unbelievably difficult times. 

I see new leaders emerging each year who are trying to be relevant in the confusing and complicated world of work.

Is there anything left to say? 

Yes, indeed. There is so much more.

Cheers to the last 15 years…and to the many years ahead of holding ourselves accountable.

Thanks for being here.

Jay

pic

All at Once…All the Time

Leadership was the only option.

When I was young I couldn’t see myself being in any roles except leadership. I wasn’t entirely sure what that would look like, but I knew it was meant for me. And from the time I was young I seemed to end up in those roles, whether it was ‘with the boys’ or on a sports team or the various garage bands I played in.

As an adult, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to serve in leadership roles for more than 30 years. That makes me sound old, but candidly, I don’t feel it. Not yet anyway.

My youthful aspirations did not include the realities of leadership pressure to:

• Do it
• All the time
• All at once
• Manage the never-ending scrutiny
• Ignore the eyes of others always watching, and sometimes judging safely from a distance
• Achieve the future-state that is obvious at times yet requires so much patience
• Appreciate the tremendous satisfaction of seeing members of your team succeed when you know they’ve worked so hard to improve themselves

If we’re honest with each other, we place a tremendous amount of pressure on ourselves to do everything, all at the same time, every day.

I’m not sure that expectation makes sense. What do you think?

Back to it then.

Thanks for being here.

Jay

chit

pic

Are You a Difference Maker?

We often get so caught up in our corporate meetings, earnings pressure, regulatory deadlines, Board cycles, and the seemingly endless tasks that seem so important in the moment but don’t actually matter at the end of the day, that we forget about another priority that should actually come before all of the others.

Making a difference in someone’s day.

• Text someone to let them know you are thinking about them
• Check-in on a friend, particularly one of your ‘strong ones’
• If you’re fortunate enough to still have a parent among us, facetime them
• Ask your team members about their life outside of work
• Schedule time to volunteer at a not-for-profit that aligns with your values
• Do something other than focusing exclusively on your job

Our professional lives are an important part of our life…but they are not our whole life. 

Thanks for being here.

Jay

pic

The Ultimate Force Multiplier

There are an endless supply of ‘experts’ who claim to have the secret ingredients to a successful leadership career. Some are more relevant than others; some are more credible than others; most put a spin on the message to attempt to claim their continual stream of solid, never miss a step, always perfect insights that we all should follow.

Hmmm. There sure are a lot of experts out there who apparently have never had a bad day.

For those that feel the massive burden of leadership the quest to continually learn is a noble one. Distilling down to what’s best for you from many sources is a strong way to keep your mind sharp and open to new ideas you may not have considered. 

Today I offer something you may have overlooked in your quest for ongoing growth.

At the end of the day it is you that makes the difference. Not this blog, not my book (or any blog or book for that matter.) You can not learn to ride a bike by reading about it. You can’t learn to speak Italian without practicing over and over again. And you certainly can not become the leader you ultimately can be without doing something. 

The ultimate force multiplier you are searching for is within you.

Take a few moments today to consider how much you bring to the table already; and, how you can integrate all of the interesting things you’ve read about into becoming the best leader you can be.

Thanks for being here.

Jay

pic