As entrepreneurs, we are all leaders by default; and how we lead is critical in ensuring that everyone we come in contact with gets the best of our true, authentic selves. This is where the act of mattering comes in.

By believing that we matter, and believing that what we have to offer can change lives (and the world) we have already taken the first critical step in running a successful business. When we feel like we matter, we bring our most true authentic selves into everything we do; and this feeling can be seen, felt, and heard within our company.

With the stressors of our modern world, current global pandemic and political unrest, it can be easy (even as leaders) to feel like what we do is insignificant. We can fall into the trap of feeling like we don’t matter. 

How does this happen? 

How can we best remind ourselves that we do matter?

If you were to ask yourself this same question as a five year old, you wouldn’t struggle with this topic at all. Five year olds know they matter, because they were born with that feeling; at one point you were too. 

But somewhere along the way, we were educated out and taught the narrative that we aren’t so special. We were told that our contributions don’t hold any significance. Bringing ourselves back to a place of mattering comes with rekindling the spirit of our five year old selves.

Mattering isn’t about giving out a trophy, it’s not about giving inspiration. Mattering is a call to action. It is a call to action to recognize our deepest human truth, to understand and accept that we were created for significance. Denying this impacts our lives and the world. Denying the essence of our inherent value can diminish our force as we move to change the world.

We don’t question our need for food, water, shelter and air. So why do we question our deepest human desire to know what we do has significance?

Without entering the word because we matter, we are absent as leaders. 

Leaders know they matter, they know they have a role, and that it is their responsibility to matter.

As leaders, how can we affirm with the people that we work with that they matter day to day?

We affirm by asking:

1. Do we emphasize and model that people need to feel seen and heard?
2. Do we make others feel valued, recognized and appreciated?

When people feel that their work is essential; when they feel their absence would be felt, that is when they truly begin to make mattering a practice.

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The rules are simple: when you bring something in your backpack to share, you share not to outshine someone else’s backpack but to invite your peers to ask “tell me more about this.” 

We listen carefully to the thoughts and stories of others in the room. We each get a chance to share what is most important to us. Show and tell is a part of our humanness and sharing our genius with the world.

We are all living in one worldwide show and tell, but we have forgotten the rules. The world is functioning at mass scale under their potential because we are feeling or fearing our insignificance. We don’t know that we matter, so how can we help?

It’s important to understand that accepting our genius and inherent value is simple, but it is not easy. Mattering isn’t just a theme for the year, it isn’t an event, it’s not just on the agenda; mattering is the agenda. Once we accept this, we can begin to incorporate it into every practice in our lives.

Here are six ways to ensure mattering is at the forefront of what we and our businesses do:

1. We must be conscious of the dangers of feeling like we don’t matter in our organizations. 
2. Understand that we are conditioned very early on that complex problems must be solved by complex interventions.
3. Go back to the roots of the communities we serve.
4. Respect, presence and effort is required.
5. Remember that we are not returning to work, we are returning to meaning.
6. Understand that the science of mattering drives decisions- it is cost effective to create a culture where customers and employees want to be present. 

When you understand the conditions of what makes somebody their best human self, you can create magical human moments anywhere.

Call to action: Take some time to survey your business, your colleagues, your friends, your family and yourself on how it feels to matter, and how you can incorporate mattering in every decision made.

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This is a guest post from Jana Scott Lindsay, an educator and learner in Saskatoon, Canada.

This is a cross-post from her blog, Driving Me to Think.

Why is it that we are often our own greatest obstacle to overcome?

I love being a dreamer. Of imagining a world of possibilities that will shape and guide me.

So then, what does it mean to dream big … I mean really?

I hear these words all the time… and yet I am not sure if I really understand what they mean. Or is it I don’t value enough my own desires to actualize them?

That is exactly what it was … until now.

This new year I have taken more than one step into uncharted territory.

Going back to school as a full time student after twenty years was no small feat. No small challenge but in many respects offered the incentive to really dream big.

I have long been looking for a passion that could rival both being a teacher as well as mother and wife. I knew that while I could utterly feel fulfilled in these roles I really felt I owed it to who I am to explore who I hope to become. Envisioning the future isn’t only for the young, but probably most especially, for the young at heart.

Here is where the footsteps of my quest have taken me…

I have found my passion in one of the most unlikeliest of places. I can’t give myself any more credit that the simple fact that I stumbled upon it. Hiding in the shadows of my existence, it has become a part of me without me even knowing it was happening. I have been immersed in this culture and life for years now, but only recently could I see it calling to me with fresh eyes. I know that to dream big is to follow in the direction I am being led.

My passion is the martial art of Muay Thai. The word Muay is derived from the Sanskrit Mavya which means “to bind together”. Those simple words completely encompass how I feel when I am training. I am bound to the learning in a way I never thought was possible. The confidence I feel is only matched by the competence I gain from each new training session. It consumes many of my waking thoughts and, for the first time, I revel in knowing that this learning is a part of who I am. It has empowered me as a learner and given me a focus that compliments every other aspect of my life. Muay Thai has been an amazing teacher … combining humility, assurance, skill, tenacity, and intelligence as part of the curriculum. My own teachers, each and every kru (sensei), continue to offer me the challenge I need to grow in my skill, understanding, and learning. Most importantly, they instil in me the confidence to continue on.

I have never looked back and now truly understand what passion and fire feels like as it burns inside of me. I know that my journey has only just begun … mastery may very well be a minute speck in the far distance, but with discipline and passion as my compass, I know I am headed in the right direction. Someday mastery might very well intersect my future.

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” ~Bruce Lee

And so continues my passion and desire to learn…

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“Collaboration” has become a buzz word that we attach to any process that involves people working together.

This is because we often use collaboration as a synonym for other buzz words that start with C: Cooperation, Communication and Coordination.

In doing so, we miss the most critical element - value creation.

Collaboration describes a process of value creation that our traditional structures of communication and teamwork can’t achieve.

Let’s break it down further and clarify what it really is.

Collaboration has three parts: TEAM, PROCESS, PURPOSE

• Two or more people (Team)
• Working together (Processes)
• Towards shared goals (Purpose)

A group of people using social software together doesn’t, by itself, translate into collaboration.

Technology certainly raises the bar of what is possible, but merely using them does not create value.

I say that because I see schools and organizations struggling to fit social technologies into their culture. Widespread platform or tool adaption is not enough. There needs to be a unified plan, an understanding of what these tools can and can’t do, and more importantly how people are going to work together.

Great tools available can facilitate such collaboration, but even the best tools cannot guarantee that success.

Collaboration:

• Must be embedded in the culture, where a standard and expectation ethic of contribution flourishes.
• People in the classroom or community must recognize they are smarter together.
• People must work “out loud” - sharing is constant.
• People collectively solve problems.
• Together, everyone discovers more innovative ways to be successful.

Now this sounds high-tech, but it happens elegantly every day in kindergarten classrooms, where we call it “Show and Tell.”

We learned how to collaborate in the sandbox with friend and strangers alike - now we get to expand the size of the sandbox and extend the invitation for creation to anyone, living anyplace, any time, anywhere.

This is where and how disruption happens - when you invite people into the room and assure them that their contribution will be honored, they choose to contribute. They choose collaboration.

Tap into a crowd if you believe the most valuable person is the crowd. You must innately believe that smartest person in the room is the room - and that the more diverse room, the smarter it gets.

Collaboration requires unrelenting determination and commitment from those who now understand that the desired result can only be achieved together.

People at any level can make an impact, be a leader, break a barrier. No only can they; they must.

We are smarter together.

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What happens when a small group of passionate people get together to talk about what they feel most passionate about? If you believe Margaret Mead, they can change the world!

Well, hang on, becuase we are getting ready to do some world-changin’ or at the very least, conversation-changin’. I have spent the last year researching, writing, and speaking about the importance of passion in our work and in the world.

No one disagrees with the premise or that passion is a factor in both individual and organizational success. We just have a lot of questions about it.

Questions like:

• What is passion…really?
• How do you define passion?
• How could/does passion change the game?
• How does passion present itself in your work? life? organization?
• What does it mean for you? our students? your community? clients? the world?
• Can passion be “taught”?
• How is passion different than engagement?
• What conditions are necessary for passion to exist?
• Is passion a necessary or a “nice to have” quality?
• What are the repercussions of being a “passion-less” person or organization?
• Can we quantify passion? If so, how?
• What is misunderstood about passion?
• What can we do to change this? move the conversation forward?

These are questions that need to be approached and explored from many angles, so I have invited a diverse group of genius minds to the table. We have award winning educators, bloggers, college professors, children’s book writers, scientists, small business owners, leaders from the education and corporate world, social media gurus and consultants, three New York Times best selling authors, parents, and of course, students!

The conversation will be grand, and I can hardly wait to hear all your perspectives.

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Below you will find the resources I shared. I look forward to continuing the conversation! Contact me at AngelaMaiers@gmail.com

My standard presentation on “Mattering IS the Agenda”

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I have spent my whole career in the presence of genius; surrounded by teachers, leaders and students. Nothing excites me more than seeing someone fiercely own their genius after realizing the world needs their particular talent and perspective.

Genius is the source of our energy and the root of our resiliency. When faced with challenges, it is our genius that helps us overcome them. Yet we live and work in a world where most of us have been conditioned to underestimate, doubt, and even ignore our unique talents and passions.

Our students’ genius is waiting to be unleashed, and we have to be the ones who liberate it. Consider this your personal invitation to do so. We provide a step-by-step guide to help you illu­minate, cultivate, and celebrate the unique contributions you and your students have to share with the world.

By joining this discussion, you are honoring these truths.

• WE matter.
• WE are all geniuses, and the world needs our contribution.
• YOU are the voice students need to whisper in their ears when the world tells them otherwise.
• YOU are the change.

This is for communities of teachers and leaders across the world that have created settings where genius not only survives; it thrives. They are so numerous, I cannot list them by name but I want to point toward them and shine a light on their unwavering belief in themselves and their students. You have my eternal gratitude, love and respect.

I want to extend a very special thank you to all the teachers who have opened their classroom to me, to all the students who have inspired these conversations to be deeper and more impactful and all the change makers I have been privileged to know and learn from.

I would like to express my sincerest appreciation to the entire SMART team. It is such an honor and pleasure to work with people who are not only brilliant and creative but always growing, searching and deepening their commitment to children and to this mission. It is an honor to be your partner and I appreciate you providing a free copy to all who wish to join this journey with us: GENIUS MATTERS

The impact that you make on your students will define much of the impact you make in this world. Together we will find our will and our voice. Together we can and will make the world a better place. Let’s do this, step-by-step, one lesson at a time and watch our brave grow! I can’t wait to take this journey with you!

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What are your hopes and dreams for this school year?

Many teachers ask students this question at the start of every school year. It sets the stage for awesome learning to follow. Posing it to students and asking them to share their responses can have a profound effect on the classroom and community.

Think about the messages inherent in the question:

• what you care about matters at school;
• your hopes and goals are taken seriously;
• you have a say in what and how we will learn.

Taking the time to help children articulate their hopes and dreams sets a tone of collaboration and mutual respect. It fosters reflection and self-knowledge by prompting children to ask themselves questions such as:

• What do I want learning to be like?
• What do I want from the experience of school?
• What matters to me most?
• What am I worried about?
• What am I most excited to learn more about and learn from?
• What am I going to become more awesome at?

Sharing hopes and dreams also creates a meaningful context for establishing classroom protocols and procedures. Once hopes have been articulated, discussions can begin about what “rules” will be needed to help everyone’s hopes and dreams come true.

This is the foundation and the rationale behind Genius Hour and/or Genius Time.

Genius Hour is our promise to students that their passions will matter; that they will do work that matters, and we will make time during the school day for it.

In my book, Genius Matters, I offer 30 days of lessons dedicated to helping students develop into better readers, writers, thinkers and, most importantly, passion-driven learners. To do this well in day-to-day life, students must develop patterns of thinking in which their ability is combined with their inclination to think well and their awareness of thinking opportunities. Students must have not only the opportunity to see passion- driven learning, but also to develop their own passions.

#GeniusMatters happens best within a classroom in which:

• There is time for thinking about our own and others passions
• Rich opportunities exist for exploring passion
• Passion-driven learning is regularly modeled
• The process as well as the products of thinking are valued

GeniusMatters is designed to help teachers collectively focus on the implicit messages about thinking being sent in classrooms and across the school.

Every successful Genius Hour will need some structure. Each day, students are told where to go and when and what to do. We need to teach them to use their independence toward a goal they create themselves, and this will take some structure. For students who initially don’t cope well with a “blank sheet of paper,” share one of my favorite cartoons with them.

As students become acclimated to this new working environment, the classroom may start to feel a bit “messy.” But a bit of mess can be good when students are actively exploring their passion.

Welcome to Genius Hour.
*****
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“Let’s change the world!!”

What do you think when you hear those words?

More importantly, what do your students think?

For most, “Let’s change the world” is a mere slogan, or a battle cry that gets the heart racing and blood flowing. It is rarely followed by sustained action, and is almost never the first step on a path to becoming an involved and informed citizen.

It certainly is not something that we go to school to do.

Why is school not a place for invention, innovation and world-changing? Why is school not an apprenticeship to citizenship?

Why are the stories of our greatest minds always stories of rebels, renegades, and outlaws who scorned formal education? Why do so many famous quotes urge us not to let school “get in the way of our education” or kill our curiosity, creativity and passion?

Do we believe this to be true of our classroom, our school? If so, how are WE going to make our school a place that nurtures curiosity, creativity, innovation, bravery and nobility?

What is our ownness in preparing the next Galileo…Curie…Gandhi…Earhart?

There is value in knowing. There is value in accuracy. There is value in standards.

Yet, there is something mightier than all the grades, scores, awards and certificates, and titles that will ever be.

You.

Standing shoulder to shoulder with others who help you get to the person you were meant to be – the one who changes the world.

You were created for significance. The most dangerous thing to your education and to your life is believing that you don’t matter enough to triumph, to impact, or to do epic things.

YOU ARE A GENIUS and the world needs your contribution.

There is someone in need of exactly what you have and only you can reveal.

Shouldn’t school be the place where you two meet?

Let us change the world, as it was meant to be changed.

Let’s make our students citizen ready.

Let’s do it in school.

Welcome to Genius Hour.
*****
Genius Matters is our free e-book that offers 20 daily lessons for launching genius hour the right way. It also includes advice from educators at the forefront of the genius hour revolution. Click here to download it instantly!

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An important aspect of choosing to matter is discovering what you are most passionate about; what you are willing to commit to.

If we are going to change the world and ask others to do the same, then we need to find and articulate at least one thing that we are fiercely passionate about.

The process of Heart Mapping can be done individually or as a group. Use the following template to get your started as you explore the questions below.

• What makes you happy?
• What do you love?
• What is the most fun you have ever had?
• What memory is your favorite?
• What things or objects are important to you?
• What things in your heart are sad? Make you cry?
• What secrets are in your heart?
• What are your favorite things, toys?
• What activities do you love?

2. What Breaks Your Heart About That?

This single question can cause some to to lie awake at night, wondering what happened to our lives and to our world and for others it can light a fire so bright it propels them to a greatness they never dreamed possible.

Give it a try. Here are instructions created by Karen MacMillan, a remarkable middle school teacher.

• In the center of your heart map, write and/or draw the things that you are passionate about.
• In the next level or circle, write and/or draw what breaks your heart about these things.
• In the final level or circle, write and/or draw your ideas for the ways to resolve these heartbreaks.

Here’s what her students created.

3. Turning HeartBreaks into BreakThrough
The process of uncovering pain points or what we call “mini heartbreaks” is what drives breakthrough innovation.

Instead of jumping into something that we cannot do because it is too big, we tackle mini heartbreaks and search for solutions which uncover the fundamental drivers of new opportunities.

Questions to Consider

• Person – who’s the specific person or people you’re innovating for?
• Activities – what are the everyday things they do, why, and to what ends?
• Insights – what are the processes, tools, or activities that they unnecessarily do or have invented themselves to “work around” the way things are “supposed” to be done?
• Needs – what are the biggest pain points that are the root causes of the problems, unmet needs, or desires? What are the workarounds, things that cause stress or concern, dissatisfaction, or anything else that’s responsible for their “pain”?

Here’s the process in action (Video)

The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to love, to transform, and to be greater than our suffering.
Map Your Heartbreak and find out how strong you truly are.

“If you want to find your passion, surrender to your heartbreak.

~ Umair Haque on hbr.com

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