Completing the Year by Carol Zizzo

Over twenty years ago, I participated in the trainings offered by Landmark Education Corporation (LEC). The trainings offered me the tools to examine my life experiences and what I had to say about them. I also learned to identify beliefs I had adopted from those experiences and to consider whether they were still serving me. If not, I could work on ways to leave these beliefs behind or create new ways of seeing them. If these beliefs were still serving me, I could carry them forward in ways that enhanced my leadership and my life. Through the trainings of LEC, I also learned how to complete the past.

Since that time, I have developed a practice of completing my year by writing myself a summary letter at the end of each year. I reflect upon the previous year’s accomplishments and failures. I consider unfinished business details or difficult situations that I may have avoided during the busyness of day-to-day work. I note my appreciation of others; assess my overall health and the vitality of my relationships. Reflecting on my year in this way often fills me with compassion for our shared humanity and empties me of what will not be needed in the year ahead.

Harvard Business School business theorist and professor Chris Argyris’s model refers to this activity as “double loop learning.” Double loop learning points to the importance of leaders and organizations taking time to reflect on their past decisions and to create new ways of doing business. Using data and feedback from the past, taking time to identify and question current assumptions that are influencing business decisions keeps individuals and organizations healthy and learning.

As a team practice, we complete the year as part of our company’s annual December retreat. We reflect on the past year’s business results, accomplishments and setbacks. We take time to acknowledge and appreciate the ways in which each team member has contributed to our success.

If a practice of completing the past year seems like it would serve you as a leader, or your team, here is a simple process to consider.

1. Schedule some quiet uninterrupted time.
2. Gather your calendar, journals, notepads or any other means of helping you remember the key events of the past year.
3. As you identify and reflect on these events, ask yourself the following:
• What happened this past year? (Describe the experience and how you experienced it/them)
• What did I learn from it?
4. Record your responses in a completion summary letter.
5. If this is a group process, engage these same questions via a thoughtful team discussion.

Remember, keep learning and expanding. It is one of the keys to success.

Accessing Gratitude for All Things

by Dede Henley

I recently heard the story of a boy standing in a barn, in a stall filled shoulder-high with manure. He’s shoveling away, whistling happily. His friend asks him how he can be so light-hearted with such a miserable and daunting task. He replies, “With all this sh*t, I figure there must be a pony in there somewhere!”

It’s easy to forget to be grateful and optimistic, especially when events, circumstances or people seem difficult or challenging. We don’t consider that everything that enters our life bears a gift. The challenge, of course, is it to look for that gift.

After the death of our beloved daughter, Carly, we have struggled to find what there is to be grateful for. Some days, it seems there is nothing. And yet, life continues to deliver grace to our door. A neighbor walks up with a warm loaf of pumpkin bread, tears in her eyes, and says, “We love you.” A rainbow appears at the end of the storm over near Vashon Island. The beautiful golden leaves of fall hang on longer than ever. I stumble upon hours of video of Carly, singing and being her beautiful self. A client offers me patience and deep generosity.

Consider that any difficulty can be a gift, and that the greatest fruits come when you can begin to feel grateful—even on the most difficult and challenging day—using everything for your own growth and development. Experiences we call “negative” often bring us the greatest teachings. Experiences of pain can help us develop empathy. Challenges can help build character. 

Research shows that gratitude is beneficial to your health (McCollough, Emmons, 2003). In this study, one participant group recorded a diary of daily events, while another group wrote down unpleasant experiences, and a third group wrote down a daily record listing things for which they were grateful. The gratitude group was more likely to help others, exercise, and complete personal goals while reporting more determination, optimism, alertness, energy, and enthusiasm.

It is interesting to note that this study also found that people who take time to deliberately record their gratitude were more likely to feel loved, and found more kindness reciprocated to them. The grateful people were grateful regardless of whether special events happened in their day or not. In other words, they did not just have moments of gratitude, but grateful attitudes.

An attitude of gratitude is welcoming. It resists nothing. Its arms are wide open saying, “Yes, this too.”

How can you develop an attitude of gratitude? With practice. Take time, each evening before you drift off to sleep, to think about the things for which you feel grateful from the day. Remind yourself about what is good, and end your day on a positive note. Make some notes in a journal. This positive attitude seems to carry over from one day to the next. 

Every time you are frustrated, overwhelmed or sad, remember: there is a pony in there somewhere!

Little Big Things by Shanon Olsen

In Tom Peters’ latest book "Little Big Things" he states the following:

(1) Organizations exist to serve. Period.
(2) Leaders exist to serve their people. Period.
(3) A team well-served by its leader will be inclined to pursue Excellence.

In the teams we work with we encourage our leaders to strive for excellence, to engage in ongoing development, and to choose that which would best serve their team and organization. By moving to a paradigm of "service" we step into a place of contribution, appreciation and the experience of being on purpose. We have found that this is often what people long for, knowing that what they spend their energy on matters. By shifting our language, we can shift our experience of life. Tom Peters redefines the use of three words: Serve, Service and Servant.

"Serve." This is what you do everyday for your team, your organization, and your community. Energy could be expanded or restored by simply asking yourself "How will I serve today? In our course called "The Power of Collaboration," we teach that effective collaborative teams have a compelling purpose for working together. A compelling purpose is the larger reason to do what you do. When a team is aligned on their "Compelling Purpose," energy, enthusiasm, and productivity rise.

"Service." Service is what you provide. It could be called a product, a widget, a task, a process. Most of us provide service to someone or something. Tom Peters describes service as beauty encapsulated. Imagine seeing what you provide as service, and therefore beauty. This could be a fun place to serve from!

"Servant." We are servants to all sorts of things in life. Often we unconsciously become servants to things that drain us. We are not talking about this type of servitude. We are speaking of choosing to become a servant. By coming from a place of choice, being a servant allows for deep commitment, full buy in, and the willingness to do what is needed for success and excellence. Being a servant to what matters most, is a great use of your energy and time.

As you look to 2011, we challenge you to take three actions:

1. Work with your team to create a compelling purpose.

2. Look to see what agreements can be made that will support your team in coming from a place of service.

3. Consciously choose where you will be a servant leader. Identify the best use of you.