The stories we are told about what leaders have done and what peers have done have a strong impact on the way we will behave.
What leaders have done shape our view of what is acceptable.
What peers have done make the acceptable desirable (and achievable) for us too.
Instead of leaving your organization in the arbitrary hands of internal gossiping and politicking, use stories strategically to guide behavior.
You need to be able to discern between different shades and understand that most of what is good happens in the middle.
You can support a candidate even if their thinking does not match yours 1:1.
You can have a conversation with someone even when you do not share the same view of the world.
You can be committed to a project even when it’s a cause of stress and disappointment.
You can love someone even if your heart does not beat faster every time you see them.
You can appreciate a person even though you would not give them certain responsibilities.
Idealizing and romanticizing is the enemy of contentment.
Care is something under your full control that can give you an immense edge.
It works on three levels, which are deeply intertwined.
Care is not easy and it cannot be faked.
And when you care, you become unstoppable.
Reporting on tens of different metrics give one of two impressions.
Impression #1 – You are shooting in the dark. Since you can’t agree on what success means, you are just tracking and reporting everything in the hope that some of the numbers will look good on your deck to the board.
Impression #2 – You are going to cheat. Many metrics mean infinite interpretations, and something tells me that the one you are going to deliver today is not a story of failure.
Next time you are preparing a report, make an effort to avoid both.
The best time to raise a concern about something is not the moment you realize there is a concern.
At that time, the concern is instinctual, raw, primitive.
Stay with it for a while. Elaborate it, write it down, think about it. And after some time has passed, if the concern is still there with you, go ahead and express it in the best possible form.
It’s never easy. It’s just worth it.
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