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Lessons from a Singing Frog

1/13/2016

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Over a long weekend, I met up with a group of small business owners in a tropical and luxurious vacation rental for an annual VIP retreat I co-lead. The pool-side banter was predictable -- business expansion, struggles with staff,  marketing strategies -- but the business talk didn't last long.  In the warm evening air, everyone was hearing -- well, something.

Among the chorus of tropical sounds coming from the ferns and coconut trees surrounding the pool, one stood out. It was familiar, but then again, maybe not.  It was lively and loud, and it sounded like there were a lot of them.

​The conversations halted as the group's attention turned into a collective curiosity about this particular contributor to our tropical soundtrack.  The initial consensus was that it had to be a bird, and we wondered aloud what species was offering such a vigorous song, especially now that the sun was setting.

After hearing our guesses, one member of the group put an end to the mystery. “Ah, el coqui,” she said with a knowing grin. “Those aren't birds, they're tree frogs. They sing ‘co-qui, co-qui’ and are native to the island."
"In fact,” she added, "if you take them off the island they will no longer sing."
​“... if you take them off the island they will no longer sing.”

How sad, I remember thinking, feet dangling in the water. I imagined a frog with the innate ability to sing being transplanted to another environment and the song going silent. That would be tragic ... and it struck me human beings function in much the same way.
Changing the environment dictated
​the frog’s ability to do what it was born to do.


Are human beings any different?

Each person on your team possesses unique skills, mindsets and strengths that can be unlocked and plugged into your core business. Given the right conditions, these abilities emerge naturally and people can’t help but perform and make contributions. Each person – no matter how grumpy or apathetic on the outside – wants to use those gifts rather than letting them sit idle and atrophy.
Leaders access untapped potential in their workforce
​when they create conditions for their people to sing.

Engagement goes up and additional capacity is discovered when each person adds their voice to the collective chorus. If your organizational song sounds rather one-note, then you’re leaving resources and morale on the table.

Take a look around your office.  Who on your team isn't singing? What changes can you make today to get them singing again?

​Questions:
  • Are you singing? Is your environment one that allows your natural strengths and abilities to be utilized?
  • What change can you make today to shape your workers' environments to bring out the song in each of them?
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Put the Markers Down...

1/2/2016

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Smart phones, watches, computers, calendars and best-of lists have alerted us that yet another year has concluded and a new one has begun. Many use this a natural opportunity to pause, reassess and set the course for the coming year. But before being seduced by a freshly scrubbed, blank whiteboard that tempts you to add more to your organizational priority list, consider this experiment - take things OFF.  

Despite his death over a decade ago, Peter Drucker's influence in the world of management persists to this day. His contributions are perpetually relevant, and one aphorism comes to mind as a counterintuitive and powerful insight for this reflective time of year:
“If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.”  
Peter Drucker


​Your time, energy and literal waking hours in a day are finite. Adding something new means shifting resources away from something else. New goals mean old ones have to go if they want any chance at survival. It's not rocket science ... it's just math.

Do yourself and your company a favor in the new year and reflect on this classic Druckerism.  By all means, debrief 2015 and begin making the necessary adjustments for 2016. Dream. Create. Put all of it on a timeline and determine the metrics. Fill up as many whiteboards as you like, just give equal consideration to what comes off of the list as to what gets added.

Questions:
  • What will you stop doing in 2016?
  • Where resources are being expended that - if stopped - could be redirected to achieve new goals?
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    Jennifer Hooten

    Founder of Re-Engage Consulting, blogging about advancements in healthy human systems for more effective organizations.


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