Blurred Vision

I visited my optometrist this week for a checkup, a ritual occurring about once every two years. It’s generally an uneventful visit with light banter about how things are going, a review of my past history, questions about any current vision problems, and a battery of tests that have grown as I age. When it came time for the doctor to inspect my eye with his scope I was told my pupils were too small and would require dilating. Anyone who has experienced a similar problem knows what is coming. Eye drops are applied (with an immediate burning sensation) followed by other drops to sooth the discomfort. Then it becomes a waiting game for the medicine to artificially enlarge one’s pupils.

The most annoying effect of this simple procedure is the blurred vision that results, a condition that remains for at least four hours. There is also a greater sensitivity to light that accompanies this temporary handicap. I managed to select a new pair of eyeglass frames and drive home safely following the procedure, but the impact of less than perfect eyesight was pronounced.

Leaders of large and small enterprises can be affected by blurred vision. I’m not referring to the momentary sight problems I experienced at the optometrist. These issues are often deeper and can have long-term impacts on an organization’s health. Distorted vision isn’t always a product of outside influences and may not readily appear on the company’s balance sheet or income statement.

So what might cause a leader to lose their focus? Sometimes it’s as simple as allowing one’s ego or arrogance to control direction and decisions. The wishes of employees and other followers are ignored as management blindly pursues a power and control agenda, driven by the need to win. A lack of planning can also cause blurred vision. Too many organizations react to what is happening in the marketplace rather than stepping back and assessing the right course of action. It takes discipline to analyze data, create strategies, and execute them well. Another factor is our need for instant results. When the economy slows, everyone reacts by slashing budgets (sometimes indiscriminately) to produce the bottom line results we have come to expect on a quarterly basis. That may offer short-term rewards but could hamper efforts to respond when the cycle begins to improve.

The cynic in me sometimes feels as though leaders never learn their lessons. I watch politicians use failed policies from the past to launch new initiatives. Business leaders still choose the last quarter of each year to shed workers so their books look better for yearend reports. Managers dump more work on already harried staff without a sense of compassion for their current stress levels. Where is the honest admission that these leaders suffer from blurred vision? What is wrong with confessing one doesn’t always have easy answers to problems? Why can’t new thinking be applied to solve our most pressing problems? My eyesight returned to normal a few hours after my appointment. If only a new pair of glasses could correct the blurred vision of our national and business leaders. I wish it were that easy.

An Attitude of Gratitude

This has been a challenging year! It’s certainly not what many people expected when 2009 kicked off with the inauguration of our nation’s first black president amidst promises of hope and change. The problems we face are enormous – trillions of dollars in government debt, record unemployment, a health care reform package being passed through Congress in spite of opposition by a majority of Americans. Perhaps you, or someone you know, has lost their home to foreclosure or is currently unemployed as we approach the national holiday designated as a time of thanksgiving.

It is natural to feel stress and anxiety when difficulties are real and personal; when the problems are so large and daunting. Few of us think words of gratitude at times like this but perhaps that is just the prescription when hope seems lost. Might this year’s Thanksgiving season offer an opportunity to reorient our view of the world and our own situation?

As someone with a strong faith perspective I am amazed by the many expressions of gratitude found in the Psalms and other Biblical texts. These ancient writers often wrote their words of praise and thanksgiving in the face of adverse and challenging circumstances. There were no “rose colored” lenses obscuring their view of the world. Instead the focus on gratitude, in spite of problems, seems intentional; a kind of therapeutic approach that changed the writer’s attitude about what they were experiencing.

What might happen if we followed their example in the midst of anxiety and began thanking God for the things that are still going well in our life? What would your list include? I’m thankful for a loving family, a supportive spouse, a large group of committed friends. I’m grateful for good health, food and shelter, a steady job. I’m thankful for quiet morning walks and the beauty of dew on the grass. My list could go on and on. Each of us can think of items large and small for which we are appreciative.

If every day was spent acknowledging what we already have to be grateful for might our stresses and burdens grow lighter? If we paid attention to the small acts of kindness that come our way might our relationships grow stronger? If delight, wonder, and awe became part of our daily landscape once again, would it make a difference in how we experience life? Could an attitude of gratitude be the secret to enduring these especially difficult times? Thanksgiving 2009 seems like a good time to test the premise.

Mirror Image

I’m always surprised at how few people seem to like their image as reflected in a mirror or displayed in a photo. Perhaps it’s because these seemingly objective objects are portraying things we would rather hide from view. In my case that would be a receding hairline and a “Peachey nose” (that’s the side of the family where I inherited my generously proportioned proboscis). For you it may be those wrinkles around the eyes, a double chin, or ears that protrude beyond where you would like. It’s hard to accept what we perceive as embarrassing biological features or scars that society deems offense.

To make matters worse our reflection shows up on almost any highly polished surface we encounter—car windows, stainless steel pots, watch crystals, even the eyes of our loved ones. Unfortunately many of these objects offer poor, or distorted, likenesses that make the mole on our chin twice as large or our beautiful smile seem grotesque. If you have ever ventured into a carnival house of mirrors you know how easy it is for our likeness to be manipulated beyond recognition.

It takes courage to accept the imperfect reflections that mirrors and photos represent. After all, they can only attempt to replicate the physical features on display and often fail because of poor lighting or settings (in the case of a photo) and bad workmanship or design (in the case of a mirror). A more experienced photographer or a finer mirrored surface will likely produce a different result. We may still not like the outcome but that is a different matter.

In the workplace, employees often reflect the qualities and values of company leadership. Not unlike the mirror and photo analogy I just described, these behaviors may seem distorted to managers whose view of their leadership abilities is overstated. Could it be that those who follow us really do act based on what they see us doing and saying? Don’t we have company policies and processes to ensure consistent behavior and quality service for our customers? It’s sobering to think that those we manage are simply reflecting our own bad behavior.

When my son was small he often mimicked my actions as I mowed the lawn, threw a baseball, or tied my shoes. At an early age we learn from the example of others and most of the time this practice is a useful tool for personal growth. We also know our children mirror the bad habits we engage in like smoking, drinking, and swearing. The workplace is no different and adults continue to mimic behavior that is viewed as acceptable by those in authority.

While there are no leadership mirrors in the office to remind us of our blemishes and imperfections, the people following us may represent the best reflection of our efforts we could ask for. Pay attention to what you see them doing. Be honest with them when you make a mistake. Show them the places where you still need to grow. Isn’t it time to acknowledge the role we play in how others see themselves? As leaders, your own mirror is a good place to start.

Free from Fear

What are you afraid of? It is a question I have posed on a number of occasions this past week in the work I do with business and community leaders. What am I afraid of? This is a question I would rather avoid. Both questions are important because fear is real and it often rules our lives. From the smallest anxiety to the terror of a phobia, like heights or mice, fear paralyzes and controls. It keeps us from being free.

As a youngster growing up on a farm I must have been oblivious to the dangers around me. I remember climbing in the haylofts of our barn, getting up close with the animals (many of them much larger than I was), and learning to drive farm equipment before I had a valid driver’s license. While my mom would caution me to be careful she never prevented me from venturing beyond the safe confines of our yard to explore the “dangerous” place that a farm can be. I’m not suggesting that climbing to the top of a silo didn’t cause my heart to race a bit faster than normal, but fear didn’t stop me from doing the things I loved or wanted to try.

School and relationships seemed to change my ideas about fear. Suddenly I was faced with the need to be accepted and liked; the need to compete and succeed; the need to not appear to be afraid. And yet I was afraid. I’m sure there is some psychological term for what I experienced, but to me it felt like the pit of my stomach had turned to stone. Why were these things suddenly so important? Why, as I write these words, do I still sense some fear?

Leaders underestimate the power of fear in the workplace. Perhaps I should also say some leaders wield that power like a loaded weapon. Threats of layoffs, retribution, or being criticized prevent many of us from speaking up, trying new things, or even acknowledging our anxiety. There is a terrible emotional price to pay when fear imprisons us in this way. Sometimes it will cause us to snap and the results can be devastating.

Many of my current fears are based on those past experiences from my childhood and teenage years. Even though I am a different person now, I have learned to project those fears onto the situations facing me today. To get beyond this emotional barrier I must separate the energy of fear from the content of my experience (as Deepak Chopra suggests in his book, “Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul”). I can choose to believe the past still matters, or let it go and see a different outcome.

Leaders would do well to ask themselves, and those they lead, “what are you afraid of?” When we are calm and feel safe we can examine the fears that haunt us. We can learn to change the “self talk” that fans the flames of fear. We can help each other to see that fear isn’t a reflection of weakness. Leaders can model vulnerability by talking openly about their own fears. By creating a calm, safe place and redirecting the energy of our anxieties we may discover freedom from our fears.

Saving Daylight

It’s the first Sunday in November and, if you’re like me, last night you completed what has become an autumn ritual…you turned back your clocks by one hour to save some daylight. Of course in March of 2010 you will turn your clocks ahead by one hour, again to supposedly preserve daylight. I guess by now you know this ritual is all just sleight of hand. No daylight has been spared, just shifted to accommodate our society’s need for more leisure time in the summer months.

The idea of saving daylight has probably been with us for generations. According to Wikipedia there is evidence that ancient civilizations adjusted their daily activities to the sun by dividing daylight into 12 equal parts regardless of how long the day was. Instead of pretending to “save” daylight they actually just chose to use it more practically and wisely. I guess we became too sophisticated to recognize this practical approach and instead time became locked into one hour increments forcing us to look for other ways to accommodate our need for more sunlight.

While serving as an envoy in Paris, Benjamin Franklin is credited with suggesting the concept of Daylight Saving Time (DST). What he actually wrote was a satirical challenge to his fellow Parisians, admonishing them to get up earlier in the morning so they might save money on candles. Franklin, as you know, believed early risers to be more “healthy, wealthy, and wise” than folks who slept late. If DST is a ploy to get the lazy among us out of bed I’m not sure it has served us well.

Wikipedia credits the idea of modern DST to a New Zealand entomologist, George Vernon Hudson, whose shift-work job gave him leisure time to collect insects, and made him aware of the value of after-hours daylight. I’m not going to offer the details of how a bug-lover in 1895 could convince his fellow countrymen that altering how we refer to time would benefit so many other people. Yet, over the years since then, many countries around the world have adopted this practice by jumping clocks ahead in the spring and jumping them back in the fall.

Debating the benefits and drawbacks of DST would require a much longer posting. It is purported to save energy, improve the economy, and impact public safety and health. Naturally the studies find evidence on both sides of these issues…a good thing for those receiving grants to study DST. I’m inclined to think more practically about why DST is practiced and think politics has more influence than these aforementioned advantages. When government can control some aspect of our lives there is little incentive to change the system.

I didn’t choose to write about DST because I wanted to start a revolution. Part of me is glad that my early morning walks will be a bit brighter. Part of me is mad that opportunities to rake leaves and mow grass after work have been taken away. Perhaps I’m conflicted as to why leaders, in general, feel such a need to control. We love the routines of work and play; the rhythms of order and schedule. Maybe that’s why DST will always be with us. It is our chance twice each year to act like we can control time, even though we know that no daylight was really saved.