Weekly Posts and Insights
Creating Pragmatic Hope In Your Community
Hope can be a faint glimmer on the distant horizon. It can keep us moving on the journey of community, belonging and love. Hope is a way of thinking - a cognitive process - or as C. R. Snyder called it a trilogy of: goals, pathways and agency.
Yes, hope is also based in emotions and can greatly inspire us to reach the highest heights, however its core is in ‘function.’ We experience hope when we can set realistic goals, when we can stay flexible and develop alternative pathways, and when we believe in ourselves or “agency.”
Building Bridges: The Transformative Power of Hospitality in the Workplace and Communities
Community, a term encompassing our town halls, spiritual centers, workplaces, and backyards, holds diverse meanings for different people. It can signify gathering, progress, workplace teams, civic justice, or merely the coming together of a people. Amid these various perspectives, one often overlooked concept stands out as a powerful force capable of transforming communities from the inside out: hospitality.
Why Vulnerability Matters When Creating A Vision
Relationships matters when creating a vision for your organizations because you cannot create a vision without being innovative, creative and ready for change. Brene Brown once wrote about vulnerability saying, “Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” Vulnerability is the ability to handle uncertainty, to take risks and most importantly embrace emotional exposure. This makes sense. Are you more likely to risk sounding “in left field” if you trust the team you’re with and can be vulnerable around them? Would you mention the “unmentionable” at a board retreat if you trusted that the board members have your best intentions at heart? How can we ask people to tell us their best, perhaps wackiest ideas if they can’t be vulnerable around us?
The 4 Things You Need To Be a Great Remote Leader
When it comes to remote work or some variation of it (hybrid work), the only negotiable is the speed at which we are willing to change our workplaces, not the change itself. Hopefully these 4 elements will give you a head start in adapting your workplace. Don’t wait to go completely remote, these tools work well with traditional workplaces too!
The 3 Big Things You’re Trying to Accomplish with a Strategic Retreat
What are you really trying to accomplish with a strategic planning retreat? Couldn’t a Level 5 leader, to use a Good To Great reference, figure out the risk-taking decisions, gain knowledge of the future, organize efforts, and measure results? So, why then do we gather people together to work on the above definition? Here is why we actually bring teams, boards and diverse people together for a strategic retreat….
4 Personalities on Your Board or Team: Get It Done, Get It Right, Get Along, & Get Appreciated
Do you ever feel like you’re in a team or on a board where you’re mixing water and oil? Some people go hard right, while others go hard left? Even their approach to a topic or challenge is, well, different! Did you know your board or team members have four distinct personality profiles? Using the Lens of Understanding we can identify the Get It Done, Get It Right, Get Along and Get Appreciation personalities on our teams.
How Do We Begin To Evaluate the Success of Organizations?
The list provided is about attaining objective, quantifiable data. It is not about the single opinion of the executive leader, the marketing campaign or the board president. Facts over opinions. True success over the need for money or your vote. Or as Deming is famous for saying, ”In God we trust. All others must bring data.”
Immediate, Real Time, Practical Ways You Can Make Yourself Indispensable This New Year
As a New Year is upon us yet again, here are a few ways over the last decade and half that I have both seen and practiced becoming indispensable in career, professional life and in organizations. These are immediate, real-time, start today ways that can transform you as a leader and any organization, business or side-hustle attached to you!
Harrington's Reading List
This library is a collection of the many books and years that I have spent studying and enjoying a healthy pursuit of excellence. They range from books on creativity, on conflict, on culture to books on marketing, leadership and to my surprise, a lot on grit and resilience. At the top of the page I wanted a quote that I thought universally said what I think of when I think of books and Harrington Brands; I think Albert Einstein said it best: “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” So, please enjoy and of course, if you have a recommendation please let us know! We’re always looking for the next great book to improve.
Using a One Page Strategy To Get People To Buy Into Your Vision
The One Page Strategy (OPS) has helped many pull together strategic and yearly plans and goals all on one sheet. The idea is that by putting it on one sheet you can look at it throughout the year to make progress on those goals. Not only are all your goals and projects on one sheet, it also holds you and your team accountable as you look at it from time to time throughout the year to measure your effectiveness in achieving your goals.