Flame of Hope

I am too busy enjoying the summer to write content, but not too busy to share what great content that comes my way – enjoy

Posted: 21 Jul 2010 11:01 AM PDT

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Mary Jaksch of Goodlife ZEN.
Do you want to be more productive? Maybe you do, but I’m sure you don’t want to feel stressed, overwhelmed, or unhappy – which happens to many super-productive people. But there is good news:

You can be insanely productive – and still smell the freesias, savor a Pinot Noir, or enjoy a languid hug.

A few weeks ago Leo Babauta said to me, “Mary – you’re one of the most productive people I know. And you still keep smiling and seem so relaxed. How do you do it?”

Most stuff I’ve read about productivity is about doing things differently. Like getting up at 4 a.m. each morning, or drinking eight liters of water a day, or keeping a notebook under the pillow. Sorry, folks – I don’t do any of those things.

High productivity isn’t about doing, it’s about being.

If you want to be highly productive – and still enjoy life – you need to look at how you live, and how you use your mind. Check out the following five suggestions:

1.  Make peace within.
Most people live in a constant state of inner conflict and suffer from a barrage of negative thoughts that sabotage productivity.

Here’s a scenario: Imagine that your car has landed in a ditch. A group of helpers gather, attach ropes and start to pull the car out. Unfortunately, they’re not all pulling in the same direction. Some try to pull the car toward the road, whereas others try to pull it deeper into the ditch. It’s absurd.

That’s exactly what happens when we’re divided within: everything is a struggle, nothing much happens, and it’s frustrating. But what if your mind, body, and soul are all aligned?

When our energy is aligned, we are in a state of flow.

When we’re at peace within, and immersed in the task at hand – without negative thoughts sabotaging our productivity – action becomes effortless. We’re able to achieve much more in less time. And with more enjoyment.

Tip: Wear an elastic wristband. Whenever you notice negative thoughts, change your wristband to the other arm. This will help you to create and maintain peace within.

2.  Go to your edge. Regularly.
Most people use only a fraction of their capacity and try to save personal energy. For example, we’re tempted to rest when we feel tired in order to recover our zest for life. Wrong move! The more energy you spend, the more you have.

Tiredness can signal many things. If you’re healthy, it may mean that you are bored, frustrated, lack movement, or need more oxygen. Or maybe conflict within has sapped your energy. It’s important to go to your limits regularly. Take up running, martial arts, swimming, or other activities – there are many way to exercise vigorously.

Tip: If you feel exhausted or lethargic, go for a brisk walk in order to rev up your energy and restore your spirit.

3.  Take action.
Most people aren’t productive because they don’t take action. They have dreams and even plans – but they don’t follow through. Negative thoughts can derail action. It may be that you have doubts about your ability, or that you listen to others who doubt you.

Tip: Look at what you would like to achieve and ask yourself, “What is the smallest step in the direction of my dreams that I can take right now?” Then take that baby step. Now.

4.  Do what you love.
Think about how you spend your time. Do you enjoy your work, or is it a grind? I’ve changed my life, and what I’m passionate about has now become my work: I teach my Zen students, and also work together with Leo to mentor bloggers in the A-list Blogger Club .

A few days ago my partner David knocked at the door of the little cabin in the garden where I work:

“Mary,” he said, “ do you realize it’s 10 o’clock at night – and you’re still working?”
“I’m not working!” I shot back. “I’m enjoying myself!”

Yes, when the boundary between work and play gets blurred, you may actually work more – but it feels like you’re just having fun.

Tip: Follow your dreams – even if it’s only for ten minutes a day.

Love what you do.
We can’t always do what we love. But we are free to love what we do. From a Zen perspective, there is a way to turn even the dullest chore into pleasurable activity through mindfulness.When we pay tender regard to our present experience – letting go of all thoughts and judgments – even the most mundane action can become pleasurable. Mindfulness doesn’t mean watching yourself, it means being fully present, moment by moment.

Tip: In order to become mindful, notice sensations of the moment. What sounds can you hear? How are your feet connected with the ground? What does your skin feel like?

5.  Finally, a key question you need to ask …

If you want to be productive and still enjoy life, there is a key question you need to answer: why be productive?

I mean, why not just chill out on the couch, eat potato crisps, and watch TV reruns? That might be fine. But what about the oblong box we’re all going to end up in?

I remind myself every morning that life is short and mine may be over by nightfall. That gives me the the desire to taste and enjoy each moment. It also adds a measure of calm urgency because I want to leave a mark upon the world. Do you?

If so, mindful productivity will help you create a life that offers both pleasure and productivity. You’ll achieve more, and you’ll still keep smiling. That smile will light up not only your own life, but also the lives of those around you.

You don’t have to be a super-hero. Simply make peace within and live each moment fully. That’s all.

Mary Jaksch is a Zen Master and blogger. Head over to Goodlife Zen for more of her articles. And visit the A-List Blogger Club.

I have always enjoyed Process Based Management and What makes a Great Boss.  It took me 40+ years to discover that the key to a great job is your boss.  Dr Zimmerman has some great advice and process check for Managers – Enjoy

Dr. Zimmerman’s TUESDAY TIP:

Bad bosses are bad for business.

What Dr. Alan Zimmerman Has To Say About This:

In a well-known Gallup poll of more than 1 million employed U.S. workers, a bad boss is the number 1 reason people quit their jobs.  As Gallup said, “People leave managers not companies … In the end, turnover is mostly a manager issue.”

It’s also a bottom-line issue.  A poorly-led workforce is 50% less productive and 44% less profitable than a well-led workforce.

And finally, it’s an emotional issue.  As Tim Pflieger, the founder of the Team Leadership Center (TLC) in Door County, Wisconsin, puts it, “We are the only species that elects, selects and appoints leaders who are incapable of leadership, and that wouldn’t be so bad, but then we let them hang around … Geese and wolves wouldn’t do that.”  Yes, we let them hang around and stink up the workplace and depress the workforce.

So that begs the question … “What do employees want/need from their leaders?”  I believe they want/need four things.

=>  1.  Direction

Call it vision, purpose, conviction, or direction, people want their leaders to have it.  And they want their leaders to lead them SOMEWHERE better than where they are right now.

Before that can happen, however, the leader has to create the vision, communicate the vision, and sell the vision, so everybody understands it and everybody buys into it.

***Provide direction by “walking the talk”

And a big part of that process will be the leader’s example.  A leader can’t expect people to listen to his advice and ignore his example.  As noted in a book called the “Balancing Act” by Patterson, Grenny, McMillan and Switzler, “The higher you climb up the flagpole, the more others can see your rear end.”

If you’re going to give people “Direction,” if you’re going to have a vision that enlists the full and willing cooperation of others, you’ve got to walk your talk.  After all, your employees are constantly watching you to see if you’re doing what you’re telling them to do.  They’re watching your “Direction.”

One leader thought he had a pretty good way to walk his talk and reinforce the “Direction” he was giving out.  So he purchased an expensive coffee mug with a fancy depiction of the vision statement for each employee.  It was his way of breathing extra life into the vision or “Direction” he was imparting.

***Provide direction by “talking the walk”

What he didn’t understand was that you have to do more than walk the talk … if you’re trying to lead a somewhat cynical or demoralized workforce.  You also have to talk the talk.  You have to explain the intentions behind the “Direction” you’re giving.  Otherwise, you’ll have a workforce that can easily misinterpret your leadership “Direction.”  They’ll read between the lines, inserting meanings you never intended.

That’s what happened in the coffee-mug situation.  Many of the employees assumed the coffee mugs were a thinly veiled cost-cutting device … because the new mugs were a full ounce smaller than the older ones.  They thought it must be an underhanded attempt to get people to drink less coffee.

In another situation, one executive had a vision of greater work-life balance for his workforce, and in his “Direction,” he urged his employees to balance their personal and professional lives, rather than sacrifice their family relationships for their work.  And to lead the way, he decided to take a month off and travel to China with his 19-year old son, who was about to leave the nest.

When the word got out that he was taking the vacation, several employees thought the executive was looking for other jobs.  Others said he was distancing himself from problems that would hit while he was gone, and others interpreted the action in even worse ways.

When the executive caught wind of the rumors, he decided it was time to talk the walk.  At the next all-employee meeting, he talked about the fact he hadn’t taken a vacation in 10 years and the price he paid for that.  He talked about how he sacrificed his family for his job.  He spoke personally about his relationship with his son and their 10-year dream of going to China. He talked about the value of work-life balance.  And then his people understood.

He followed up his trip by encouraging others to get more balance in their own lives.  He supported people who needed to leave a meeting a little early to attend their kids’ soccer game or attend a family reunion.  He walked his talk and he talked the talk.

When you do that, you give your employees the first thing they want and need from their leader.  You give them “Direction” … “Direction” they can understand, accept, and follow.

=>  2.  Trust

It’s the second thing employees want from their leaders.  They want their leaders to be “trustworthy.”  But what does that mean?

***Being worthy of trust

First of all, trustworthiness has to do with integrity.  As stated in the “Army Leadership Values,” integrity is doing what is right legally and morally.

Trustworthiness also has to do with courage.  As the “Army Leadership Values” go on to say, you need to have “Personal courage — to face fear, danger, or adversity.”  Or as Rudolph Giuliani states in his “Six Principles of Leadership,” you must “Have courage.  This is not the absence of fear.  It is the management of fear, of having fear and making the right decision anyway.”

And finally, trustworthiness has to do with candor.  Gut-honest candor.  Giuliani advises, “Communicate honestly and directly to your people.”

***Giving respect to others

So employees want their leaders to be trustworthy, but they also want their leaders to trust or respect them.  It’s the flip side of the same issue.  And sometimes leaders inadvertently disrespect their people and wonder why there’s so much tension and dissension in the workforce.

Roger Chavalier talked about that in “A Manager’s Guide To Improving Workplace Performance.”  He talked about a Coast Guard officer who was leading a group of trainers.  He was impressed by the group’s self-discipline.  They were all there and already at work when he arrived at 7:30 each morning.  To honor their dedication, he began arriving at 7:15, when they did.  Pretty soon, however, his trainers were arriving at 7:00.  The reason?  Their goal was to arrive a respectful 15 minutes before the boss.

Spurred by the desire to be #1, the officer began arriving earlier and earlier until he was getting there at 6:30.  At this point, his group had had enough and started showing up at 7:30, at the last possible moment.  After they all met and talked this out, the leader learned his lesson:  Respect respect.

=>  3.  Hope

It’s easy to say we’re going through tough times right now, but the truth is … we’re always going to have tough times.  And that’s why employees want their leaders to provide this third element … hope.

***Starts with optimism

Employees want a leader who believes a better future is possible.  Employees want a leader that ignites their optimism.  And people are inspired when they hear their leaders say something like Christopher Reeve did after he was paralyzed.  He said, “This appears limiting, but let’s see what can be done.”

That’s exactly the way Giuliani handled the devastating attack of 9/11 on New York City.  In his memoirs he wrote, “Be an optimist.  People do not follow pessimists.  They follow people who solve problems and have hope.”

***Continues with action plans

But hope is more than nice, rah-rah motivational talk.  It’s also fueled by clear step-by-step actions.  As Morten T. Hansen wrote about a Yale University study in “Collaboration,”  a group of students was given information on the tetanus disease, along with pictures of convulsing patients suffering from it. The students were then asked if they thought it was important to get a vaccination to prevent this disease.

Most everyone in the group said “yes.”  Then a portion of those students were given a map to a medical clinic where the vaccine was being administered.  They were asked to review their schedules and find a convenient time to get the vaccination.

When the researchers tracked the number of students who actually got the vaccine, only 3% of those who saw the pictures and said “yes” to getting the vaccine went to the clinic.  But 28% of the students who received the map to the clinic got the vaccination.

The researchers concluded that giving people hope was not enough.   They had to do more than indicate there was a vaccine out there that would prevent tetanus.  They had to outline the step-by-step actions … or the detailed map that had to be followed … before there was much in the way of desired behavior change.

So as a leader, you need to give your people hope, but you also need to show them what they have to do to make that hope become a reality.

And finally,

=>  4.  Results

People want their leader to bring about results.  After all, as executive coach Dan Coughlin puts it, “You’re not paid to do activities; you’re paid to improve results.”

That’s right … improve results … by bringing out the best in your people.  “Your job as a team leader,” says leadership consultant Adele B. Lynn, “is to help people live up to their best intentions.”

And that invariably leads to more training.  You can’t expect your people to do better if they’re not trained and equipped to do any better.

Unfortunately, there are some “leaders” who think they don’t have the time or can’t spare the money to give their people any more training.  They may even wonder if the training is necessary.

I can help you answer that question by asking you two more questions.  Do the majority of your people have talents that are not being tapped in their present jobs?  And are you under pressure to produce more results without hiring more workers?

If you answered “yes” to both questions, you automatically know two things.  First your people have unused capacity … which you desperately need to get the results you want.  Second, it’s time to start developing that talent.

In summary, employees want four things from their leaders:  Direction, Trust, Hope, and Results.  When you provide those four things, your people tend to stick with you, and they perform exceedingly well.  You’re creating an environment where excellence is automatic and prevalent.

One of my clients, Medrad, a medical imaging products maker, puts it very well.  As president and CEO, John Friel says, “I don’t do anything. I don’t make anything. I don’t design anything. I don’t sell anything, so the real work of this company is all done by other people.  My job is to create the environment for those people to be successful, and I believe if I’m out and get a feel for what the real workers are doing, then I think it enables me to do a better job of creating the environment for them.  Employees will know whether you’re living this stuff or not.  They’re very smart.”

Action:

If you’re a leader, ask five of your subordinates to grade you on the elements of Direction, Trust, Hope, and Results.  Ask them where you are the strongest and where you most need to improve.