Season’s Greetings

With the full holiday blitz just around the corner and all the joys and stress that come with it, some days life can feel a bit overwhelming. There are work events and home events. There are school events and neighborhood events. There are family expectations, and personal expectations. And, of course, there is holiday baking, decorating, shopping, and wrapping that all needs to happen in and around all of these things. In short, the wacky wild holidays are just kicking into high gear. 

So, what is a leader suppose to do? The work deadlines and customer service stuff does not go away. If anything, it just gets a bit more nuts during this time of year. Next, staff schedules become wonky (a new, official consulting term), and everyone wants something so that they can keep everyone in their immediate and extended family happy. 

After decades of doing this work, I am smart enough to know that there is no magic solution. There is no one thing that solves all such problems. However, there are some core practices that can help. First, turn to your faith and engage in daily prayer and meditation. Having a calm and quiet core helps. Second, recognize that physical exercise, even during the holidays, can help reduce the tension during high stress situations that often come with the season. And finally, practice gratitude and grace as you take each day and each moment that unfolds before you. Remember that everyone is doing the best they can with what they got and what they know. 

The holidays are a special time. They can be the foundation for life long memories and connections. Invest your time and energy in making this holiday season special and meaningful for you and for those you love. And on the days it gets a bit crazy, step back, take a deep breath, and remember: This too shall pass. 

I look forward to sharing many more Monday Thoughts with you in the New Year. Until then, I send you and yours my warmest holiday wishes.

Geery Howe, M.A. Executive Coach in Leadership, Strategic Planning, and Organizational Change

Leadership and 2024

Joel Kurtzman in his book, Common Purpose: How Great Leaders Get Organizations to Achieve The Extraordinary (Jossey-Bass 2010), writes: “Strategic leaders are people within organizations who plot the course... Strategic leaders generally can think far into the future...The best of these people understand where the future is going and how to get there.” He continues, “The role of operational leaders is quite different from those of strategic leaders. Operational leaders make certain the trains run on time, the manufacturing processes are adequate, the logistics systems work, the technicians are well trained, and the the trucks are where they are supposed to be.... like strategic leaders, operational leaders are vital to an organization’s success.” For Kurtzman and many other authors, both strategic leaders and operational leaders, who are often called management, are mission critical to successful execution over time. 

Whether one is strategic or operational, the key is to understand something very important that is frequently missed in the rush to get things done. What the best leaders understand is that leadership does not happen in some distant time period when we have our lives all together and in perfect order. It does not take place once we get everything and everyone all together. Instead, the moment for leadership happens when things are messy. Sanity and goodness may not always be present. However, this is the moment when we must rise up and be a leader. It is not “doing” leadership as a thing to get done, but instead it is a moment when we can choose to “be” the leader. And in that moment of leadership, it is our wise choices and our wise actions that will make the difference

For I have learned one thing by working with many leaders over many decades. We become a leader inch by inch, moment by moment, step by step, working with our minds and our hearts. And as we move forward, we need to take responsibility for our own state of mind before telling others what their state of mind should be. The mantle of leadership rests upon our shoulders and we can be strategic or operational depending on the situation before. 

This week and from now until the new year, I challenge you to be the leader that I know you can be. Take responsibility for your inner clarity and then make wise choices and take wise actions. Now is the time to make a positive difference in the world and within your circle of influence. 

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