Etiqueta: development

Curiosity killed the labels

Publicado en attitudeEtiquetado como , , Deja un comentario

Or when the need or desire to learn more frees us

We all tend to label people. It is human. It makes life easier, keeps everything in some kind of order for us. This is this, he/she is … And it gets more important if we are the kind of person that likes every single thing in its place.

But when we label people three things happen. Firstly, we spend a lot of energy classifying, deciding what the other is or seems to be while finding new adjectives that keep him/her tagged. Secondly, as we have decide to put them in a specific place we close the door to difference, we tend to isolate from the rest. Our comfort zone, our comfort group. And, lastly, we may feel that we know a lot, that there is no need to be taught anything new. If this happens, we can be walking the unlearning path, towards stagnation.

When you decide to learn, your curiosity grows. The more you know, the more you need to explore unknown lands. Then you start caring less about who and more about what. The time dedicated to label people reduces significantly. Listening increases. Of course, this does not mean you need to agree on everything the other says and thinks. It means you are more open minded. You are freer, there is less need to sort things, to have everything classified. All the effort is focused in expanding your knowledge.

Once you tag less, you hear and understand, then, you are able to adapt your speech to different listeners. New conversations arise, a whole new horizon is ahead of you. But also, you save a lot of energy, complete focus on developing yourself, following YOUR own way, caring less about what others do, think and say.

Not easy to stop categorizing all of the sudden. Being curious, helps. Maybe, that one you thought was YYYY can tell you so many things about what you are interested in. Remember, you can label but at the same time you are being labeled too.

 

Rafa, thanks for recommending me «Meditations by Marcus Aurelius». Awesome lecture.

 

 

 

About projects, presentations and theater plays

Publicado en team, trainingEtiquetado como , , Deja un comentario

When preparing for an opening you have no room for improvisation

Imagine that in four months there will be the opening of a new theater play.

The script is finished, now it’s only necessary to essay:

You, the scriptwriter, you, the actor. You perfectly know what is about, investigated and learned during the writing process. 4 months can allow you to get closer to perfection. There is still some room for improvisation.

You, the director. Every day during four months you are close to the scenario. You know what the results need to be and how do you want it to be played. Orders, instructions are given.

You, the producer. You know it has to be nicely played. You read the script and liked it, made it happen. It is not possible to be there, to see the evolution day by day.

Now, same scenario with a small change. The script is not finished, it’s written while the essays progress:

You, the scriptwriter, you, the actor. You are learning along the writing process. After the four months, there will also be some room for improvisation.

You, the director. New pages are given to you and you need to understand and adapt to the actors that are on the stage. You are almost learning at the same time your actors do.

You, the producer. The initial idea was attractive. Now, only trust and some visits to the theater can guarantee there will be good results.

Sometimes we see some improvisations on the stages, sometimes. This comes after a long learning path. It doesn’t matter what part you took on the preparation. Only if all participants learned or knew enough, only then, improvisation would improve the representation. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be natural, it could probably be a complete disaster.

Learning, knowledge, practice. Basics that in the end, allow people to sort some difficult situations, enjoy some unplanned time slots during presentations or to simply just prepared themselves at the very last minute. Hard work and preparation is what is behind what we sometimes think, was only some funny improvisation.

Boss leadership & umbrellas

Publicado en teamEtiquetado como , Deja un comentario

Some tips to differentiate the two types of bosses: a true one or just someone with a job title

Imagine a sunny, nice day and two umbrellas, one small (individual) and another very big, so big that a whole team would fit under it. Let’s take a look at which one would be chosen and how by bosses.

True/entitled type of boss

A true boss, leads while taking care of his team, he/she is a reference, is someone to learn from. He can somehow anticipate the future, look up in the sky, observing, noticing changes and fixing a strategy a road map. Then he acts consequently, ensuring that all the team knows where to go and what to do. If it starts to rain, when pressure goes up, he opens the umbrella He sets up the best organization for the team so all people can fit inside the same perimeter, not being left alone and out of the protection of the umbrella’s shadow and protection. and ensures that work goes on but no one is directly exposed.  He/she teaches how to observe, improve. He is a referent. Once a possible successor shows up, from time to time, will delegate allowing him to hold the umbrella.

The «named», assigned boss

He/she has a small, umbrella, somewhere. Doesn’t have much clear what is going to happen or where to go once it starts raining. When the rain finally arrives, he uses the umbrella, to protect himself by letting his/her team find the shelter (if there is any time) by themselves. Will not teach, neither guide. He will not lead, only make sure that he doesn’t get wet from the rain. If there are other umbrellas, it can be possible that are taken away from the ones that hold them. Your fault, not mine.

There are lots of people who «get» a team, who coordinate a group of people. Being a «true» boss includes behaving as a leader, holds the pressure just the way it’s needed, develops each of the members, and over all this, he cares about HIS/HER people.

If you are boss, how do you handle umbrellas? And how do bosses you know handle them?

 

The 3 Cs of Trust

Publicado en Actitud, Iniciativa, Sin categoríaEtiquetado como , , , Deja un comentario

La confianza se gana poco a poco, a través de nuestros actos en cada una de las tres dimensiones que la conforman y requiere del largo plazo, pero se puede perder en un instante. Pero, ¿En base a qué se construye y cómo la perdemos? La confianza descansa sobre:

  1. Capacidad (Aptitud)
  2. Carácter
  3. Comunicación

Os sonará su descripción o cómo agrupamos los actos que las identifican porque hemos hablado de algunos de ellos en diferentes posts.

En primer lugar encontramos la dimensión de la capacidad. Ésta construye alrededor de aquello que te hace único, que con el tiempo te convertirá en un experto. Sucede o se construye cuando reconoces las habilidades de los demás, la realización de un trabajo bien hecho, incluyes a los demás en la toma de decisiones y/o promueves el aprendizaje a tu alrededor. Es en esta dónde se forja el «seguro que sabe cómo hacerlo»

La segunda, el carácter es aquella que construimos sobretodo al principio de las relaciones, en la que demostramos que buscamos el ganar-ganar, cumplimos lo que decimos, delegamos  y/o gestionamos adecuadamente las expectativas. Es la que demuestra con actos y palabras alineados. Sabrás que has alcanzado su máximo nivel, cuando se piense en ti por ser una persona «en la que se puede confiar, lo cumpliráa»

Y, finalmente, la dimensión comunicativa se construye desde el momento en que empezamos a compartir información, admitimos nuestros errores, damos y pedimos feedback sincero y no participamos en rumorología alguna. Has llegado a un alto nivel de esta dimensión cuando se cuenta contigo por la confidencialidad y porque dirás si algo es correcto o no. Es el momento en el que se puede pensar de ti: «si lo dice…. me lo creo».

Cuando las tres dimensiones no se practican de manera consistente (tema que hemos sacado en más de un post) es cuando la confianza empieza a tambalearse. Y cuando se rompe, normalmente nos retiramos, nos separamos. Y nos cuestionamos ¿Es este el sitio adecuado para mí? Creí que encajaba, que tenía lo necesario. Quizás estaba equivocad@.

Aquellos entornos dónde se ha perdido la confianza tienen unos niveles bajos de energía, pasión y creatividad. Está en nuestras manos el cambiar, romper este círculo si creemos que todavía es posible hacer algo o movernos si realmente, la confianza no va a regresar.