Know When It Is Time To Leave

Over the course of my career, I have visited with people in a wide diversity of office spaces. Some of them have been the size of a match box and others have been so big you could play a basketball game inside it and still have room for a couple of bleachers.  Some have been opulent and others have been quite humble. What ever the style of the office space, the focus for me has always been the person.

A couple of decades ago, I sat down to visit with the COO of a very large company who had just announced his retirement. During our time together, we talked about the nexus of culture and strategy. We explored how key systems needed to be upgraded as the expectations of the customers changed. We even discussed how the structure of the company may be the problem for why the company was not growing at a robust clip.

Just before we wrapped up our time together, I asked him one more question, “How did you know it was time to retire?”

He reflected for a couple of moments and then replied, “I knew it was time for me to retire and for someone else to sit in this chair when I realized that the things outside the window of this office were starting to interest me more that what was happening inside this office. I knew then that I did not want to give my team and this company anything less than 100% effort. 

So, I talked with my wife and decided to retire. The people who I work with deserve my best every day. If I am giving less than this and am more interested in what is happening outside this office, be that grandchildren, travel, golf or just wanting to sit with a a good cup of coffee and read the paper in the morning, then I needed to move on.

We are a good organization. There are many qualified and well trained people who can do this job. I am not worried. We have done good things on my watch and we have made a difference. It is now time for someone else to step up and rise to the challenges before us.”

We shook hands and each of went on to our next meeting. And right then and there, I realized I had been given an important truth. I have carried it for many years. One day, it will be time for me to retire and to let others carry the torch moving forward.

This week, be mindful of your life journey. If it is time for you to move on, then do it with grace and clarity. There is a big world out there waiting to be explored.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Take The Steps Two At A Time

Having a home office since 1986 has had its joys and its challenges. For many years, my office was in an upstairs bedroom. My first computer was the one I had used when I was teaching, an old Apple 2C. The monitor sat on a cinder block so it was at the correct eye height and the whole thing sat on a picnic table my wife gave me for my birthday. I had a two drawer filing cabinet and on top of it was my college electric type writer for addressing envelopes and labels. 

For a while we had a single phone line into the house. It was our home line and our business line. My wife or I answered the phone. This worked for a bit but when our children’s friends started to call and talk for over an hour, we realized that we needed two lines into the house. Then, soon after that, we needed another phone line into the house for the newly arrived fax machine.

Slowly, the business grew and slowly we added new things to my upstairs office like a bigger desk and more filing cabinets. When I got a new computer with a real word processing program in it, I thought I had finally made it to the big leagues.

One day, a dear friend and mentor of mine came over for a visit. Sitting around kitchen table together, we visited about my work and his approaching retirement. After listening to all I was doing, especially the multiple days of travel and teaching, he paused and said to me the following:

“You have a lot going on, Geery. This thing you have created has potential and lots of growth written all over it. I could see you doing this for a very long time.

But I want you to remember something. When you go to work in the morning, I bet you take those steps to your office two at a time. You are excited and you are pumped to meet the challenges of each day.

When the day comes that you are not taking those steps two at a time, then sit down and rethink what you are doing. This work will evolve over time. Just make sure you continue, over the course of your entire career, to live and work in such a way that you take the steps two at time.”

This week, I challenge you to create a life where you want to take the steps two at a time. Being fully engaged and eager to make a difference is a great way to live and to work.  

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Burnout Is Real

It happened during the first two years of my teaching. I had just completed teaching a six hour workshop in Storm Lake, Iowa. The local organizer asked me if we could visit after class for a few minutes.

“You were pretty good up there today,” he commented. “People like your stories and they like your warm personality. You sure do give it your all.”

“Thanks,” I replied.

“You need to be careful,” he continued. “This kind of work is not a sprint. It is a series of long marathons if you truly want to make it a career.”

“Say more,” I inquired.

“I used to be a presenter,” he replied. “I did what you were doing. Teach a six hour continuing education class. Drive a couple of hours. Sleep in a small town hotel. Wake up the next morning in a new city and do it all over again week after week after week.

It was a couple of years ago when I realized that the pace of the work was burning me out. I liked the teaching but the constant teaching and the constant travel related details got to be overwhelming.

Then, one day in the middle of a six hour workshop, I realized that what I was saying about stress management, leadership, change and authenticity was not matching how I was feeling or how I was living. The integrity of my words did not match the integrity of my living. I had burned out doing something that I had loved doing in the beginning. 

Let me give you some advice since you are young and new to this work. First, burnout is real and it happens to the best of us. Second, too much of a good thing in the end is just too much. Be careful. Be the kind of person who lives a life that is sustainable not just a flash in the pan success.”

I thanked him for his wisdom and pondered it as I drove a few hours to the next place where I was going to sleep and then teach the following day. And now, nearly 30+ years later, I still keep his wise counsel in mind.

This week, remember burnout is real. It can happen to the best of us. Therefore, seek a sustainable way of living over the course of your entire life. Your family, your loved ones and yourself will be eternally grateful that you did.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

The Burden Of Confidentiality

During the 90’s, I was invited to teach at the University of Iowa’s Annual Summer School For Helping Professionals. This school was designed to help social workers, psychiatrists, nurses, psychologists, counselors and a variety of other helping professions to get all of their continuing education credits in one five day period, plus get university credits along the way.

My class was focused on how to teach stress management skills to patients and clients in clinical settings. Over the course of the week, we were going to learn a wide variety of stress management techniques and different ways to teach them. 

When I first got approached to do this, I was told that my class size would be 20-30 students max. Most professors had 15-20 people in their class for the five days.

So on a Monday morning in August, I went to the student union at the University of Iowa for the new teacher orientation and to fill out the appropriate paperwork to get paid for what I was going to do over the course of the week. After a rousing speech about the importance of continued education by one of the deans and a very nice lunch, each professor was handed a single sheet of paper with the names of their students and told which room they were going to teach.

When they came around to me, I was handed a stack of papers. I remember holding the stack of paper and inquiring to the woman who handed them to me, “How many students do I have?”

She replied, “Currently, you have 60 people and more are signing up right now. I think you will end up with 75 students. And, by the way, you will be meeting your class in the second floor ballroom. There are no classrooms in the Union to handle this size of a class. Good luck!”

Now, there is a huge difference between teaching 20-30 people something and teaching 75 people something. I had planned on the smaller number and now had 30 minutes to recreate my lesson plans for the larger number. When I walked into the second floor ballroom, the place was packed to the gills with people. They kept coming and the organizers kept bringing in more chairs and tables. 

Over the course of the week, I had to practice all the techniques I was teaching so I was not too stretched. I also had a fabulous time working with such engaged people who understood the importance of helping people in a holistic manner.

On the last day as people came up to thank me for a good week, one of the oldest participants hung back until she was the last one to say good-bye. Then, she came up to me, shook my hand, and said, “Not bad. You worked hard up there and you have figured out a couple of things that were interesting too. Still, you did forget one thing. Never go to a counselor who doesn’t have a counselor. The burden of confidentiality is real, and we all have stuff we need to work on along the way. Otherwise, good work this week young man.”

I smiled and she continued with a wink, “Next year when you do this, you will have even more students.” The following year when I repeated the class I had nearly had 100 students!

This week, remember that one of the challenges of coaching and mentoring is the burden of confidentiality. Therefore, make sure you have ample allies and confidants to help you do this level of work.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257