Leadership Matters

(Gregg Breinberg and the P.S. 22 Chorus, photo by Rosier/News, Linda)

P.S. 22 is a public elementary school in New York City. It's a regular school educating neighborhood children, just like schools around the country. In their midst, they have a great music teacher, known as Mr. B. If you haven't seen the videos of their 5th grade chorus floating around, you can view some of them on YouTube. What makes them different? Mr. B encourages the children to "not fake it, feel it." They have "felt it" all the way to worldwide fame. In fact, they sang on the Oscars last night. This group of 5th graders are getting a wonderful experience, but they are not just an exceptional class of 5th graders. Mr. B has been in this position since 1998, creating a wonderful chorus year after year.

Every leadership position matters. Every leader can have an impact on their sphere of influence. You don't need the most glamorous leadership position, you can make a difference where you are. It doesn't always lead to a trip to the Oscars, but it always had the potential to change a life. 

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Appreciation

(The cast of The Drowsy Chaperone. Photo by Bella Muccari.)

I just completed a run of The Drowsy Chaperone at an off-off-Broadway theater. It was the first New York City revival of the show since the original Broadway production. But that was not what made this production remarkable. In a risky business such as show business, there is sometimes more emphasis on the business than the show. Not this time. Everyone from the producer to the artistic staff to the crew to the actors really, truly loved the show. This energy resulted in a great production, great reviews, sold out houses with people lining up outside in the cold to get tickets, and visits from original Broadway cast members and even one of the writers. Love and passion for the show actually resulted in more business.

This love and passion carried us right through the final performance. The end of a run can often go one of two ways: it can feel like a funeral or it can feel like a relief. However, the end of The Drowsy Chaperone felt like a celebration. We celebrated the show with a song written and performed by the actress playing the title character. We talked about what we loved in each others' work onstage and offstage. We watched from the wings to support actors in scenes we were not in. It was a whole day of appreciation for one another and for the show we had created together.

Where could you show more appreciation for others in your life? Why not do it now?

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Travel Tip Tuesday: Distinguish Between Similar Containers

Although I travel almost nonstop, I haven't included travel tips in this blog on a consistent basis. Thus, I have declared Tuesdays to be Travel Tip Tuesday.

When I travel for less than a week, I don't check a bag and I generally don't want too many liquids with me to fit into the plastic bag for airport security. The liquids involved in my face cleaning system come in these convenient sample sizes that I use for travel. I can make each sample last a few days, but reading the fine print to distinguish between the three steps can be a challenge early in the morning before I put in my contacts. I have solved this dilemma by cutting the top of each one in a different pattern: a wave to wash, a diagonal line down to cut down impurities with toner, and a smooth straight line for smooth moisturizer.

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Opportunities

I recently had occasion to go to a department store makeup counter. Makeup counters are generally on the first floor of department stores where there is a lot of foot traffic. I realize that the people who work in those areas end up answering endless questions that aren't about makeup: Where is the bathroom? What time do you close? They develop a shield that protects them from the crowds. The shield may have grown too solid because when I wanted to buy something, they hardly noticed me. They were all congregated and talking to one another. I almost walked away until one woman turned around, smiled and said hello. She ended up with a commission from my purchase. As she rang up my sale, her coworkers were all still complaining to one another that sales were slow that day. It was easier to complain than to do something to fix the situation.

What opportunities might present themselves if you turn around, smile and say hello?

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I recently passed a thresh hold: I now have more than 1000 Twitter followers. For those who are unfamiliar with Twitter, the updates from those I follow come quickly and all appear together in one long, every changing stream of information. Talk about TMI: Too Much Information. The things I might really have wanted to know were getting lost in the shear volume of tweets.

That all changed when I started to use lists. I divided the people I follow into five lists based on how I knew them or the content of their tweets. My entire Twitter experience changed. I could view a list with only the updates of artists or solopreneurs or Lutherans (or interesting people, that's one of my lists). With fewer tweets on a list, the more useful information rose to the top. I was able to join in conversations, when before it had just been a firehose of useless facts and links.

By organizing and drawing boundaries around the information, I actually learned more. What do you need to organize or draw a boundary around in order to make the entire situation more manageable?

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Excellence vs. Perfection

A photo I took on my "excellent" trip to New Zealand, 2007

Do you need to do everything perfectly?

Perfectionism may seem like a good thing until you realize the ways in which it either pushed you to exhaustion or prevents you from even starting. Some perfectionists know a task can't be done perfectly, and so they don't want to do it at all. They procrastinate. Eventually, the task cannot be avoided, and so the perfectionist quickly does the task in a far from perfect manner. Then the perfectionist has an excuse: "well, of course it isn't perfect, I didn't have much time."

The fear of it not being perfect actually results in a lower quality outcome.

Only God can attain perfection. The rest of us need to settle for excellence. Things that are excellent are a better reflection of your best work. It will result in something 98% great instead of whatever you could come up with at the last minute, which is probably only 47% great.

Sound familiar? Let's talk.

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Giving more out of thankfulness for those I serve

"I just want you to know that your blog continues to inspire and make me look at things differently." - Kristine, MBA in Human Resources

"I just had to tell you that your latest blog post was not only very well written but very true and meaningful.  I hope it caused others to pause and reflect." - Karl, Social Worker

I want to take a moment to thank all of the faithful readers of my blog, whether or not you have ever sent me feedback. Without you, I may as well write in a private journal each day. With you, I am motivated, inspired, and constantly thinking about what might help you in the future. For that, I am very grateful.

Because I am always thinking about new ways to help you, I have created a whole new way to offer coaching: interactive online e-courses. They are an economical, effective way to improve your life on your own schedule. Each e-course meets for four weeks and includes

• videos of me and other experts
• worksheets to download
• discussion questions and challenges
• online interaction with me and other participants.

I created these courses with my blog's audience in mind, although I encourage you to invite new people to our conversation if you believe they will benefit. The first session has two courses to chose from: 

1. Personalize: Who are you created to be?
2. Organize: How can you create more order in your life?

I will add more courses throughout the spring. For now, let's start with these and see what we think. Yes, the first time through the technology might be rough, but the content is solid and came easily as I created these sessions. I am excited about what they each have to offer and can't wait to get started. Please join me. Find out more and sign up at my website.

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Who do you need to thank for your success? Thank them today.


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