my genuine love for MONDAYS
and how I got there
the thing I miss most about not working
is my 1-1 connections
with my team
every MONDAY
the celebrations & learnings
from the previous week
the catching up about the weekend
tuning in to each other's headspace
about what's ahead for this week
in the fall of 2018
I presented at Pella's leadership summit
and in this post
I'm going to share pieces of that with you
including the bitmoji visuals 😏
we interrupt
the regularly scheduled program
to caution you
regarding the qualifications
of the next presenter
strengthsfinder discovered lots of
maximizer
individualized approach
and ideation
but! caution!
too much of anything
//even a good thing\\
may cause impairment
extra caution if mixed
most relevant to today's programming
shared success reveals
she may self-justify
deselection of non-preferred tasks
and
she often lacks a disciplined approach
so
consider yourself warned
she, I
am not an expert authority
on this topic
of maintaining a disciplined approach
in fact
I present to you
out of MY NEED
to insulate
decades
of patterned weakness behaviors
but my strength
of self-awareness
has taught me
to always be on the lookout
for tips, tricks, and analogies
and I want to share with you
a few ah-ha moments
that have improved my approach
August 2017 at #GLS17
the Global Leadership Summit
//my annual non-negotiable
professional & personal energizer\\
the speaker opened
with the topic
of annual goals and performance reviews
and I nearly disengaged
a year seams SO LONG
and SO FAR AWAY
kind of like
when I trained for my first 5k
there's so much we don't know
so much that could change
between the start and the end
of a year
of a month
even of a week
I pride myself on being
spontaneous
adaptable
and therefore
I self-justify
not having nor wanting
a 5-year or 3-year
or even a 1-year plan
But!...
based on his tone
I hadn't given up on this speaker
quite yet
I sensed he was going somewhere
maybe somewhere relevant to me
he said
we should NOT scrap the value
in establishing annual goals
But!...
then he said
let's shift our approach
to running the year as
** 52 1-week sprints **
rather than like a long muddy cross-country meet
sounds like how
I successfully trained for a 5k
just get to the next stop sign!
he advised
to every week
to touch base
about near-term "work"
suddenly such a simple suggestion
ignited my energy
for leading myself and others
differently
better
and I moved all my touchpoints
to MONDAYS
all my touchpoint 1-1s
used to
intentionally
be on Wednesdays
aka
it was logical
a midweek check-in
for me to listen, answer, ask
recalibrate with 2 days yet to go
but suddenly for me
this idea of MONDAYS
was brilliant!
on MONDAYS
the energy is fresh!
I'm delighted to be starting a new week!
we have the whole week ahead!
good or bad
last week is behind us
MONDAYS are great days
to celebrate wins from last week,
shore up any gaps,
adjust for anything new,
and start strong
start strong!
sequences of short sprints!
control what you can!
stay focused on maximizing each week!
finish strong!
celebrate, shore up, adjust!
repeat!
win the week!
win 52 weeks and you win the year!
at the state track meet
spring of 2018
this analogy got legs
//pun intended\\
what I do in life
is a very similar cadence
to that of my oldest son
who became
a state champion 400-hurdler
hurdling
COMBINED WITH
an open 400 meters
is a grueling event
with athletes sprinting at full pace
before having to launch themselves
over an obstacle
trying to maintain balance and form
so that
they can repeat the process
in quick succession
and cross the finish line first
400 hurdles
became my son's favorite event
because of the high level of courage,
focus and intensity required,
and the pride of knowing
that few want to do it
I liken a year to the 400 hurdles
the distance is too short to pace it
probably the longest distance
you can still all-out sprint
there are known obstacles
that are tall enough
to weed out
the weak in spirit from trying
but low enough
for worthy rivals to show
what is absolutely possible
NOPE!
hurdles are not meant to stop us
NOPE!
hurdles are not designed to trip usif we spend too much time in lifetrying to find outwho put the hurdle in our way?and what their motivation was?we will have less focus and energyfor running the actual race
NOPE!
this may seem obviousbut the hurdles must not be movedonce the race has begun
hurdles are there
for us to get over!
but it's not about
comfortably leaping over the hurdles
it's about
barely clearing them
and getting grounded
as quickly as possible
to generate energy
for the next hurdle
MONDAYS
are all about getting grounded!
regardless what happened
up to and at the last hurdle
regardless if you knocked it down,
almost fell,
or face planted...
it's all about generating energy
to sprint
to the next hurdle!
each hurdle
is a predetermined critical priority
that must be achieved
in order to meet the goals
so on MONDAYS
you're locked into the starting blocks
and you just go!
you go!
And!...
you empower those around you to go!
hurdling is a metaphor for life
you must
get over the hurdles
keep running
and commit to finishing strong
professional hurdlers
study their event, their job
know yourself
know your timing
experiment
experiment with different stride lengths
and different stride cadences
but don't lose sight
that the 400 hurdles
is part of a team sport
track teammates
cannot come off a bench
to give you a breather
but their best in practice
beside side
makes you find your best
it's about more than
you competing in
and winning your event
it's about positioning the team
each week, every meet
for the most points possible
on the track
little things make a big difference
notice & celebrate & recalibrate
the seemingly small things
nothing is impossible
don't despair or stop
even as the slowest qualifier in prelims
odds stacked against you
from lane 8
...
victory in the finals
is achievable
when you start strong
maximize each sprint
consistently get grounded
after each hurdle
and finish strong
so,
rethink your MONDAYS
experiment
find people to support you
in becoming consistently better
celebrate small victories
do your homework
meet deadlines
speed up where possible
acknowledge the competing variables
from your vantage point
be prepared to adapt
to strains that happen
on or off the track
and for those weeks
where each hour of the day
can feel like a new hurdle
sequential sprints
is helpful there too
win the day
be resilient
and relentless
to "win each week"
for 52 consecutive weeks
52 1-week sprints
that start on
MONDAYS
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