But, who is this breeze?
What if the breeze could be you?

If you had the chance to be the breeze in someone’s dawn, would you take it?
Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In the garden,

a lone unusual flower blossomed at the end of a branch.

Snapping a shot, I tweeted:

“TakeThisMoment #Leadership #Thought:
Go ahead, go out on a limb. Something good will blossom.”

This tweet about leadership resonated and was retweeted, but held a secret.
Photo credit: Jackie Yun | JackieYun.com

Then a breeze blew in

from @szark_1 , not a follower of mine but a follower of @ghani_b who follows me and I him.  Quietly responding to me and @ghani_b, @szark_1 tweeted:

“what looks so beautifully is a strong poison ‘Datura’“.

Some time ago, the breeze fluttered in the air

as an ex-colleague tentatively asked: “Did you know there’s a job opening posted that sounds just like your job?  A friend asked me about it. I wasn’t sure if I should call you …”.

Years before that, I felt the breeze

as I was saying goodbye to my boss who was retiring, as he uncomfortably relayed: “I think you should know that HR doesn’t think you are senior management material.  You’re too detailed oriented. They will block any promotion request.”

Each breeze is different, yet shares core values and a vision. 

I have seen breezes who are matter-of-fact and gentle, unsure and shaky or slightly stiff.

The striking commonality is their gust of courage, assuming personal risk to deliver a message that can help you. They are willing to suffer the possibility of your disbelief, defensiveness, anger or even the ending of a relationship in the hopes you will be prepared and better equipped for the road ahead.

Breezes are powered by Leadership, Responsibility and plain-old Caring.

Ask yourself … 

Am I a breeze gone still 

or 

Am I willing to be the “breeze at dawn that has secrets to tell”?

Be the breeze and say what needs to be said.
Photo credit: Jackie Yun | JackieYun.com

 Write to me and let me know if you are willing.

#TakeThisMoment to reach out. ~ Jackie Yun. 

p.s. Thank you to all the breezes who have appeared in my life.  My gratitude abounds!

“What Would Jackie Do?”

Don’t Get Stuck When A Difficult Leadership Situation Pops Up!
Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

subtitled: “An Inspired Guide to Distinctive Living”.  If I were to follow the wisdom of Jackie O as outlined in the book, I could know what to do and bloom!

My old roomie would raise her eyebrow if she knew that some on my team asked that same question: “What Would Jackie Do?” — thinking Jackie Y instead of Jackie O — not for “distinctive living” but rather to figure out how to handle difficult work situations.

It was an effective crutch for their leadership (glad it worked!) and an ego boost for me (we all need that sometimes! ~ thank you, team!!), but …

As a leader, you don’t want to be the crutch for people long term. 

You want people to graduate from You! 

You want to see the core values you set for the organization become their own — internalizing these so they become leaders in their own right and make decisions from their minds and hearts.

Mission statements can be a helpful guide, but how memorable and inspiring is yours? (If yours is like mine was, it’s time to review and update. Some tips in this article from Business News Daily.)

For a simple approach with needed internal heart fueling power …

Try the “3 Words Exercise” 

Chris Brogan, CEO of Owner Media Group and NY TImes Best Selling Author, created this exercise for personal growth and as “something that would work within our thought process daily”.

Here’s how to get started.

Select Sign Post Words For You & Your Team 

You can do this yourself or invite your team to participate.  I like team participation — you’ll get the connection and dialogue going upfront!

Your words can be goal-oriented, based on values, a way of being and/or doing.  Your words can be a verb or noun or adjective.

You can start any time of the year.  Don’t wait for January.  If January has passed, no worries — just get started!

Chris Brogan suggests: 

Pick three words that can be packed with depth.

Pick words that will be your own.

Negative words aren’t especially helpful. It’s really hard to rally to a word or mission that starts with “Don’t.”

Jackie’s Caution: 

“Don’t Choose Corporate Buzzwords!“

Buzzwords are too impersonal and boring.  They’ll slide out of your brain in seconds.

You want words that you and your team will embody, words that will get down into the cellular level, words that will make your mitochondria sing!

Real Life 3 Words From Real Life People

Dorlee Michaeli (www.socialwork.career) Transformed Her 2015 3 Words into Art!
>> Let Your 3 Words Inspire You & Your Team. <<

To find fruitful, juicy, nourishing words; spur your imagination via the 2015 Three Words chosen by Chris Brogan for himself and from my Twitter Friends who are not only veterans at this, but have blogged their commitment.  You can click on the string of three words next to each 3 Word author for more detail.

Plan, Leverage, Fabric – via Chris Brogan (@ChrisBrogan)

Devour, Poetry, Luxuriate – via Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter (@ValueIntoWords), Master Resume Writer (1 of 27 Globally) and Glassdoor Career and Workplace Expert.  Jacqui introduced the “3 Words Exercise” to me several years ago.

Fresh, Discoverable, Discourse  –  via Hannah Morgan (@careersherpa); Job Search, Career and Social Media Strategist and Contributor to US News Careers.  Hannah’s post is where Jacqui was introduced to this exercise! Love the connectivity.

Clear, Reach, Embrace – via Dorlee Michaeli (@SWCareer), Social Worker and Social Media Consultant, Founder of the Social Work Career blog.  Dorlee, not only came up with 3 Words, but illustrated it. Yes, that’s Dorlee’s artwork that’s the lead-in for this section of the post.

My 3 Words for 2015

Aspirations Grow via The 3 Words Exercise
Image courtesy of domdeen at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Sometimes the three words will come easily to you.  Like grace, gratitude and growth in the closing of an email to a friend near the cusp of the new year where I mused that these could be my 3 words.  But, the alliteration of “G’s” became an alliteration of “A’s”:  Apollo, Abundance and Aliveness.

No need to fret because both sets of words work and any that you choose will work, too!  These words work for one’s personal life and corporate life — because aren’t we integrated beings?

Apollo.

In junior high, I was immersed in the adventurous tales of Greek and Roman gods.

Apollo is the god of light, poetry, music, healing, and prophecy.

A reminder that we thrive not through one thing, but many.  Reach out, discover the new, and incorporate that into our being.  Be deliberately interdisciplinary — personally and in the corporate world.  And don’t forget that NASA got us to the moon via Apollo 11.  Let that motivate us to sharpen our skills beyond the edge.

Abundance.

In her article, “Four Words to Seem More Polite”, Olga Khazan asks: “If we humans are locked in a nasty, brutish, and short struggle for resources, why would we stop to give a hoot about each other?”

Such an implacable, cold, iceberg of a world that we live and work in!

What if we were to see the world from an abundance vantage?

From the abundance vantage, the world becomes a bright expanse — a lush, green, giving field — and our actions warm and become nurturing and empathetic.

“Empathy is considered by many psychologists to be essential to cooperation, problem-solving, and to human functioning in general” per Olga.

Precisely what we need in our personal and the corporate world.  Abundance is a good word.

Aliveness. 

Life and work can be mundane as the drip-drip-drip of daily tasks that gnaw at us.  We forget we are alive and …

Aliveness is energy… It’s the energy that moves a relationship from the status quo to something grander and much more expansive, something that makes our hearts beat faster, our minds, and our eyes open wider than ever before.

Everything is of interest to a person who is truly alive, whether it’s a challenge, a loving moment, a bucket of grief, or a glimpse of beauty

~ Daphne Rose Kingma

Work makes up at least one third of our lives and one half of our waking hours.  We cannot be alive if we’re not feeling the aliveness at work.  Let’s pledge to bring this energy to our work situations and know that your energy will transfer to and transform others.

You’ve Got to be the Farmer of Your 3 Words!

Living your 3 words means you’ve got to till the soil, water the roots, and provide the nutrients.

Different farmers use different methods.  Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter uses post-its and you’ve seen how Dorlee Michaeli puts her three words into art.

For the Corporate World:

• Plant the seeds for the 3 Word Exercise at your All Staff Meeting.
• Celebrate the harvest of your team’s 3 Word leadership success stories.
• Fortify by practicing difficult work / leadership situations with your team using your 3 Words for guidance
• Embed the 3 Words into individual performance planning and goals and/or into corporate bonus plans.
• Cultivate the 3 Words into everyday conversation.  They can become your trigger words like the rubber band around your wrist that you snap, but this wouldn’t be hurtful.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

What are your thoughts and reactions to this 3 Word Exercise?

Would you be willing to give it a try?

Are there other alternatives that you would recommend?

Hope you’ll leave a comment.  

Do Tell me about your 3 Words, whether it is for yourself or your team

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

#TakeThisMoment to strengthen your inner guiding star.

Your Leadership demands it ~ Jackie Yun

It’s Your Leadership Responsibility.
Strengthen Your & Your Team’s
Inner Guiding Star.
Image courtesy of suphakit73 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

p.s.  In case you are curious …

My 2014 three words:

Flowers – Encouragement to do what’s important with grace and beauty because life is fleetingly short.

Heart – Reminder to live from the heart because the heart can be an equal partner with the head, even in seemingly mind-dominated situations.

Enrich – A daily ask: Am I enriching others by my actions? Am I enriching myself?

My 2013 three words:

Awesomeness – Owning it within, appreciating it in others and in the world

Art  – Making a point to look at things differently, be creative, plus curate a bit of beauty into everyday life

Jump –  Be bold, enjoy the feeling of flight, and a much needed reminder to exercise.

Cheers to You and Your 3 Words for Leadership & Living!

An unrelenting torrent of projects needs your guidance, a storm of less than delighted (i.e. irate) customers expects answers from you, and a pile up of high priority demands from your boss and the executive suite screams for your attention.

When can you find the time to thank your hard working team?

You don’t have to let Team Appreciation fall into the jaws of the Work Sharknado!
Image courtesy of iosphere at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Don’t let the Work Sharknado blow your appreciation intentions into disarray.

Counterattack with this simple one-word approach:

“Re-purpose”.

Re-purpose Your Time! Execute on Showing Your Appreciation.
Image courtesy of KROMKRATHOG at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Execute on this and you’ll be able to give yourself back the time you need to show gratitude to your team. Here are 3 imminently do-able suggestions — these will also net some side benefits that’ll take you and your team’s effectiveness sky high.

1. Turn Your Office Hour into A “Thank-You” Office Hour

Your Office Hour: Perfect Venue to Show Your Appreciation!
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

For your stream of office hour visitors, start each conversation with a word of appreciation. Don’t let the issue of the day cloud over and make you forget to express your appreciation!

On the flip side, (yes, hard to admit) there were quiet times during my weekly drop-in office hour when I wasn’t reeling anyone from the team in. Maybe this happens to you, too?

Don’t succumb to temptation to use that time to attend to your own work (I know the temptation myself!). Re-purpose those minutes into productive staff appreciation time.

Fill out your company stationery or a few blank note cards (which you’ve bought previously and stashed in your desk) with your sincerest “merci” to a team member or two. Then personally deliver these notes straight to the recipient!

No stationery? You forgot to buy note cards? No worries. Text or call instead. Email can do in a pinch, but it can get lost in that ocean of an inbox, even if the email is from “the boss”.

Ready to cast your net wider?

Take your entire office hour on tour!

Get Out of Your Office and Say “Thank You” Directly to your Team.
Image courtesy of iosphere at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Science and plain old observation contend that saying “Thank You” face-to-face is powerful.

Get out of your chair. Sail out of your office. Visit those shyer members of your team who don’t make it to your weekly office hour.

Ask what they need and how you can help. Find out what excites them about their job or what keeps them up at night. And say “Thank You”. If you’re stuck on how to say “Thank You”, here are suggestions from me and from Leaders such as you.

Your “Office Hour Thank You Tour” will not only provide you with a way to successfully execute on your appreciation intentions, you’ll experience these collateral benefits, too:

• Uncover Hidden Challenges: You’ll understand better what challenges your team is battling, meaning you can provide spot-on, bull’s eye guidance. You may even find challenges you didn’t know existed and be able to address these before they become unmanageable.
• Increase Communications: More team members will be encouraged to drop by your “in-office” office hours because they’ve gotten to know you and see that you don’t bite! As Lolly Daskal tweets: “It’s important for your organization to see you as human.” and your office hours on tour will help with that.

LEADERSHIP TIP: It’s important for your organization to see you as human. ~@LollyDaskal #leadfromwithin #leadership #quote

— Lolly Daskal (@LollyDaskal) December 17, 2014

• Get Healthy: Studies have shown sitting may be as detrimental as smoking! You’ll be setting an example for having a healthy body, healthy mind and healthy mood — all benefits of being a “walking meeting” adopter.  More info here from CBS News.

Your Office Hour is an hour dedicated to your staff.  Re-purposing this time to focus on actively showing your appreciation makes sense.

2. Dedicate 10 Minutes from your Direct Reports Meeting to Write Thank You’s   

Give Your Management Team Time to Show Their Appreciation!
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If you are having difficulty executing on your appreciation intentions, most likely your Direct Reports are too.  Help them because that’s what bosses do.

Carve out the first 10 minutes from your Direct Reports Meeting and ask each of them (and yourself) to write Thank You’s to your team members.

Giving staff appreciation the #1 spot on your meeting agenda gives it the priority it deserves — and ensures execution of your appreciation intentions.  Bring those blank note cards from your desk to share, in case your Direct Reports forget to bring theirs.

Here are the benefits to adopting this approach:

• Doing More In Less Time: When you have to get all the usual business done with 10 minutes less time, your Direct Reports Meeting will become more efficient and focused.
• Knowing Your Team More Deeply: When you’re writing Thank You’s, you can’t help but talk about the recipient of your note. You and your Direct Reports’ pride in your organization will naturally grow!  Learning more about each team member in your organization is helpful for performance review time when all are vying for that small budget of salary increases and those few high ratings on the curve.
• Living The Power of Empowerment:  You may not realize it, but you and your Direct Reports are implementing a culture change (a culture of appreciation!).  You’ll discover that you can effect significant change, even if you and your Directs aren’t the CEO and his/her Directs.  A lesson in empowerment at its best!

3. Transform Your “All Hands” Meeting into An “All Hands Thank You” Meeting

Empower your team to show appreciation to each other. Start at Your All Hands Meting!
Image courtesy of jscreationzs at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Why limit the thank you’s from you and your Direct Reports?

Get everyone into the act.  Set aside time at your next All Hands Meeting for an appreciation exercise.  Better yet, dedicate your entire All Hands Meeting to this!

Your appreciation exercise can be as simple as asking each neighboring team member to express a “thank you”.  Preface this with some examples and start the exercise with you and your Direct Reports.

Or get more elaborate and model your appreciation exercise after the popular Secret Santa Gift Giving Exchange.  (Note: You can do this exercise any time, not just in December!)

Instead of leaving presents, Secret Santa leaves notes of appreciation.  Secret Santa may not know his/her recipient but don’t let this deter any Secret Santa. You and your Directs or other managers and your admin staff can help with that.  In the reveal at your All Hands Meeting, Secret Santa would bring one last note or token of appreciation.  You, as the host of your All Hands Meeting, would supply the snacks to make this event celebratory.

The Benefit?

Showing gratitude becomes fun — and a demonstrable core value!

• You’ll find those Secret Santa notes of appreciation pinned up at desks around the office.  How cool is that?  Long past the event, team members will be reminded of their value and contribution from their peers. Your entire team’s spirits will be lifted.
• Highlighting appreciation in your All Hands Meeting tells and shows your team that this is a core value for your organization — and by extension, you’ll be embedding this core value within your future leaders. This will be a gift that keeps on giving!

Ready to Re-purpose & Turn Intentions into Tangible Thank You’s?

Examine your own schedule for time to re-purpose.  Turn your found time into appreciation action.  Your team will be swimming in gratitude and you and they will be taming the Work Sharknado into your pet goldfish.

Appreciation Rules! – Not the Work Sharknado!!
Image courtesy of kjnnt at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Let me know how it works out for you. Love to hear your thoughts on your re-purposing results and your ideas! Please do share in the comments and please remember…

#TakeThisMoment to find the time because

leadership is more than intention

~ Jackie Yun

You can be scary good at job search!

Within these 4 Halloween songs lie tips that’ll help you take the veil off the darkness of your job hunt. Have a listen while I decrypt these for you, and when you give these tips a try, you’ll no longer feel that job search is like a gravedigger digging into unyielding, frozen ground.

1. “Monster Mash” by Bobby Pickett

For you, the living, this mash was meant too
When you get to my door, tell them Boris sent you.

Then you can mash, you can monster mash
The monster mash and do my graveyard smash
Then you can mash, you’ll catch on in a flash
Then you can mash, you can monster mash …

Yup, you gotta do the Monster Mash (i.e. Networking).

Just sending your resume to Monster.com and answering job ads won’t bring your job search to life like meeting up with Boris, Igor or Drac (a.k.a. the employees and managers who work where you’d like to work). Imagine if you got to know Boris and they/your targeted employer invite you in because Boris sent/recommended you, just like in the Monster Mash song?

Your mind swirls as murkily as the nasty brew stirred in the witch’s cauldron because you’re not sure how to find the hiring manager (or employees) of your targeted employer. No worries because Donna Svei (@AvidCareerist) walks you through a very practical (and successful) process in her post: “Hiring Manager Inactive on LinkedIn? Four Terrific Options!”

As weird as it may sound, the Halloween party you’ll be attending (whether it is an adults costume cocktail party or kids trick-or-treating alternative) is a Monster Mash opportunity. Strange place to make a connection, you say? Not as strange as you may think. What if I told you that I had gotten a teacher apprenticeship at a entrepreneurship graduate school through the airport massage guy?! Read more by clicking here.

2. “Somebody’s Watching Me” by Rockwell

I always feel like somebody’s watching me
And I have no privacy
I always feel like somebody’s watching me
Tell me it is just a trick …

Creepy as it may feel, this is exactly what you want when you are in job search.

You want recruiters, human resource managers and hiring managers (even colleagues and acquaintances) crawling over your social media profiles.

Hannah Morgan (@careersherpa) writes that “Companies are checking you out online, so why not use these tools to enhance your qualifications?” (Bold letters and underline are mine for emphasis.)  Hannah gives you 10 solid reasons why you should be engaged in social media in her post: “Social Media Can Help Your Job Search”.

Let me add that you’ll have ghost-like presence without social media. Employers may wonder if you have something to hide or if you’re not able or willing to grasp the new and are chained to the past. Get onto LinkedIn as a first step and as you raise your confidence, maybe you’ll even do as Hannah suggests and converse with your targeted employer via social media!

3. “Spooky” by Atlanta Rhythm Section and by Dusty Springfield

Love is kind of crazy
with a spooky little girl like you

(or little boy, per Dusty Springfield)

Spooky

Spooky. spooky

Spooky. spooky…

We’re all spooky, I mean “unique”, and finding the love means researching to find the best-fit position and employer for you.

You know that you should be checking the employer’s websites and social media accounts, getting onto sites like Glassdoor.com and networking.  If you can, extend your research reach (think Edward Scissorhands or Wolverine). Research extension can prevent a huge mistake.

A client called me, more excited than a kid emptying his/her Halloween candy bag after the night’s haul, about a possible target employer. Initial research gave a thumbs-up to this consumer goods company. Taking research further by becoming a customer of the company revealed an unwieldly online purchase process and an end product not quite meeting my client’s requirements. My client’s work values of “getting it right the first time” vs. this company’s values of “fail forward quickly” aren’t a mesh. This company was taken off the target list.

4. “Ghostbusters” – Ray Parker, Jr.

Who you gonna call?
(Ghostbusters)
Who can you call?
(Ghostbusters)

You want “Your Name” inserted for “Ghostbusters”…

when it’s time for the Hiring Manager or Human Resources to make that call and you want to be sure that you can be eerily easily contacted.

Everyone does a witch cackle when the career coach says “Be sure to double check your resume to ensure your contact information is correct.” Truthfully, incorrect contact info happens more frequently than bats flying to you know where. We can all get zombie-like after pouring over our resumes. Consider these scenarios:

• Have you recently customized your LinkedIn URL?
• Have you recently decided to use your cell phone number instead of your land line?
• Have you recently changed your email id to separate your job search inquiries from your personal email or to have a more professional sounding handle?

Most everyone will check the first page of his/her resume, but have you checked the second page and any addendum pages? Ask a friend, who is as detailed-oriented as Dr. Frankenstein to give your resume the once over and specifically ask him/her to peer closely at your contact information.

Don’t forget to check your email signature, social media profiles (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) and personal business cards. If you are using a header template for your cover letter, please check that as well.

Ready to Be Scary Good in Your Job Search?

Do let me know If you’ve managed to winningly wrestle the job search wraith by wielding these job search tips. And please do share your favorite Halloween song or job search suggestion.

If the job search wraith is still escaping you, no need to wail or scream, I’m here to assist! Know that while I’ve had a bit of fun with this Halloween themed post, I understand that job search is difficult.

#TakeThisMoment to push away fear and doubts with positive action! ~ Jackie Yun

Here’s to Halloween and to your job search success!

Johnny Jump Ups Cheer Away Your Winter Reluctance and Let You Jump into Spring!
Photo credit: Jackie Yun | JackieYun.com

This is my haiku offering to Carol Varsalona (@cvarsalona). She tweeted me an “invitation to find the connection between digital photography and poetic expression”; asking me to submit a photo and original poetry to be part of her “Reflect with Me, April Awakenings Literary Event”.

And from that …

On Day 3 of #100HappyDays
I celebrate leaving my cocoon!

In a cocoon, there is no dancing, no walking, no breathing, not even a wink of the eyes. It is comfortable and sleepy; an intense and very familiar home.
When we begin to examine that comfortable darkness – look at it, smell it, feel it – we find it is claustrophobic.
We want to stretch out and walk, dance, even jump.
from Chogyam Trungpa, “Shambhala, The Sacred Path of the Warrior”.

Though afraid to Jump.

I pushed off the reluctance

To write Spring haiku.

It wasn’t simple.

Reluctance with its comforting scent of status quo can tug hard at me.

Even when I know all the benefits of jumping and I want to jump, the cocoon calls.

“Jump” was one of my 2013 #Threewords.  I wrote about it in the comments of Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter’s post.  Thank you, Jacqui (@ValueIntoWords — Master Resume Writer / Sailor), for introducing me to the #ThreeWords concept.

But, I did not jump at Carol’s invitation.  I tweeted to her that I was not a poet.

Does reluctance pull at you in the same way?

My advice:

When reluctance pulls,
pull back fiercely;
pull it out like unwanted weeds
by asking these 2 Q’s …

(Q1) What am I protecting?

Is it Fear of failure? Fear of not being good enough? Fear of being vulnerable?

All three of these fears reared up when Carol asked me to submit a photo and poetry offering.

My first protective response was to share a true poet’s work — Stan Stewart’s (@muz4now) poem, “Spring: contemplating the black bear”. [Click through to read and feel the renewal. The poem begins intriguingly with “Hibernation is not really for the sleep.” ]

Although there was goodness in my protective response (Carol and Stan are connected now), it didn’t move forward my own personal growth.

(Q2) How Can I … ?

Once you’ve dug deep and named what you are protecting, you can devise your growth plan using David M. Dye’s (@davidmdye) question “How Can I …?”.

In his post: “The Question Every Great Leader Asks”, David explains that:

With those three words, you:

➤ Return focus to your own power and ability to act.

➤ Tap into the energy of your prefrontal cortex (the part of your brain that problem-solves and plans).

➤ Vastly increase the odds of finding a solution (because you’re looking for them!).

➤ Take responsibility and ownership for the one thing you can control — yourself.

I asked “How Can I …”

• Prepare myself to write poetry?
• Make this easier?
• Open up to vulnerability?

The answers gave me a trellis on which to grow:

• INSPIRATION came from from Barry Zweibel (@LeadershipHaiku) who writes leadership haiku such as –> When problems arise / your initial reaction / empowers, or not. #Leadership #Haiku [As an aside, Barry is looking for a publisher for his haiku. Can you help?]
• INSTRUCTION came from how-to-write haiku posts on the Internet. If you are feeling inclined to get started on poetry, read Carol’s post: “Why Write Poetry”.
• ENCOURAGEMENT from Carol’s tweet (“Jackie, everyone has words to give flight. Just send some thoughts & I will format it for you.”) which I embraced like sunshine to fuel the growth, the stretch.
• MENTORING came through @SWcareer (a TwitterFriend whom I admire greatly — a Marketing Executive turned Social Worker) via her poem, “Overwhelmed”. If she could be so open and vulnerable, could I not write a small haiku about Spring and share it? [ Ahh, silly me getting worked up!]

*** While you are there perusing Dorlee’s blog, stop and read another one of her poems: “How Does a Person Know Her Own True Self?”. Enlightening!

Carol took my offering with care and planted it in her post: “April Awakenings”.

I was delighted to see the garden of poets that Carol had gathered from mutual Twitter friends:

• Kumud Ajmani (@ajmaniK) — #Spiritchat Host and Founder of CFD Nexus,
• Samantha Hall (@Samantha_S_Hall) — Associative Thinker,
• Tom Rhodes (@tomj_rhodes) — Proud Parent and Grandparent,
• Emelia Sam (@EmeliaSam) — Soulgasm seeker and HuffPost blogger and of course,
• Stan Stewart (@muz4now) — Musician and Poet — and
• Carol Varsalona (@cvarsalona) herself — Lifelong Learner, Co-Moderator of NYEDChat.

Click and discover more about these creative and kind people through Twitter, their blogs or websites; let them infuse you with their fragrance of encouragement and ideas — you will be intoxicatingly uplifted.

It Does Tickle-My-Fancy to See a Garden of Sweet Poets & Friends!
[Johnny Jump Ups a.k.a. Tickle-My-Fancy]
Photo credit: Jackie Yun | JackieYun.com

My final thoughts:

Don’t let reluctance lull you back to sleep.

Don’t let reluctance lull someone you care about to sleep.

Help them make the Jump!

Be that influencer. Be that motivator. Be the fertilizer.
Just as Carol did for me.

#TakeThisMoment to realize there is poetry within you to be shared. ~ Jackie Yun

Leadership is Giving Yourself & Others A Lending Hand & Some Heart’s Ease.
[Johnny Jump Ups a.k.a Heart’s Ease]
Photo credit: Jackie Yun | JackieYun.com

Your Thoughts?

• Do you have a story about reluctance and jumping?
• Have you written poetry that you would be willing to share here?
• What feelings came up for you as you read this post?

And what do you think about the #100HappyDaysChallenge?  If you feel inspired to participate — jump in!

Take The #100HappyDays Challenge.
from 100happydays.com

Love to hear from you!

Texas Chewie Pralines from Lammes  

and 

Salted Brown Butter Texas Pecan Brittle Chocolate  

from The Chocolate Makers Studio?

“Yum-O” as Rachel Ray would say.

“There’s nothing as cozy as a piece of candy …” ― Betty MacDonald
Photo credit: Jackie Yun | JackieYun.com

 On Day 2 of #100HappyDays 

Sweets are on my happiness radar.  

I’m the type who asks for the dessert menu before ordering the entree.

My favorite holidays are Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween and  Christmas.  (Chocolate, anyone?)

And My Advice to New Leaders: 

“Lead through a Bowl of Candy”

My candy bowl was filled with Reeses®, Snickers®, 3 Musketeers®, Milky Ways® and more.

A bowl of candy can become one of your best and favorite leadership tools.  Here’s why: 

• It’s Your Lifeline to What’s Really Happening!

Entice your team with a sweet candy energy boost (admittedly not the best nutritiously; substitute fruit if you like! — we used to have Wednesday fruit day and it was quite a hit) and that’s when you can corral them with a friendly chat about the real goings-on and take the pulse on whether your guidance is needed.

Bonus tip:  Put your candy bowl strategically just outside your office for those who are too shy to actually come into your office.

• It’s Your Permission Slip to Take A Break! 

Are you and your team guilty of consistently working through lunch and breaks?  Your candy bowl sends a subtle and continual message to your team that it’s okay to pause and get refreshed.

Bonus tip:  It’s a reminder for you, too.  When did you last get up from your desk and stretched?

• It’s Your Excuse to Do a Walkabout! 

Go ahead, grab your candy bowl and get to know your team on their turf.  For us introverts, the candy bowl is our ice breaker and don’t forget to pass out those candies as a “thank you”.

Bonus tip:  If you’re stuck about what to say, these “three words” would be welcome.

• It’s a Reminder to be more Human!

Sweets bring out the smiles, the warmth and all manner of what’s good with being human.  You can use the candy bowl as a trigger to check in periodically and ask yourself: “Am I leading with my values as a human being?”.

Bonus tip:

A corollary question is “Have We Moved Past The Tough Guy Image?” — the topic discussed at this past Sunday’s #PeopleSkills Chat on Twitter, hosted by Kate Nasser (@KateNasser).

This tweetchat is one of my favorites and there’s good learnings for new and established leaders from the #PeopleSkills community.  Join in on Sundays at 10:00 am ET and find out for yourself!

CAUTION: All good, only if you pass the intention test!

“I give myself a piece of candy, a glass of tea and some free time to enjoy- that is how I honor my hardworking and appreciate my struggles” ― M.F. Moonzajer
Photo Credit: Jackie Yun | JackieYun.com

With all this talk about sweets, I hope you don’t think an intervention of sorts is needed for me.

Brené Brown, Ph.D., LMSW, research professor at the University of Houston, reminds us that what can be a comfort can also be what numbs us to the world.  There’s a difference between having 1 ounce of chocolate vs. a dozen Hershey’s kisses.

Know your intention when you indulge.

Today, my happiness isn’t from partaking from the Lammes Pralines and the Salted Brown Butter Texas Pecan Brittle Chocolate (I haven’t had even one bite!).

I’m happy because these delights represent:

➤ Friendship:

What better way to welcome new neighbors returning to Austin than to share something one loves and in this case, something made right here in Austin?!!  Hope they’ll enjoy!

➤ Pleasant Life Randomness:

Just noticed these candies look just like my granite counter!

 Over to You.  

Do you have a favorite sweet candy, leadership tip, or thought about the ‎#100HappyDays in a Row Challenge you can share?

Take The #100HappyDays Challenge.
from 100happydays.com

I’d love to hear from you in the comments and please…

Life can be sweet.

#TakeThisMoment to engage and be engaged.

It’s up to you! ~ Jackie Yun

It’s in the details.  

Lovely, delicate, intriguing details.  

… On Day 1 of #100HappyDays … 

The details are the harbingers of happiness

from my garden to my heart.

When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment ~ Georgia O’Keeffe
Photo credit: Jackie Yun | JackieYun.com

I say: “Hurrah to Being Detailed-Oriented!” because

• The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life. ~ William Morris
• It’s the little details that are vital.  Little things make big things happen. ~ John Wooden
• This is what customers pay us for — to sweat all these details so it’s easy and pleasant for them to use our computers. ~ Steve Jobs

I say: “‘Being Detailed-Oriented’ is NOT the answer 

to that job interview question:

‘What is your greatest weakness?’”.

• Be happy that you notice the details.  Give your skill its rightful place.  Honor those details.

#TakeThisMoment

To Celebrate the Details of Life!

~ Jackie Yun

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In coaching clients, I tout the benefits of “awareness” and

the need for a practice of awareness.

When my TwitterFriends

➤ Jessica de la Davies (@DaviesBooks)

➤ Timothy Hughes (@Timothy_Hughes) and

➤ A.R. Karthick (@arkarthick)

tweeted:

“Can You Be Happy for 100 days in a Row? 

Take the Challenge”

~ 100happydays.com

Take The #100HappyDays Challenge.
from 100happydays.com

I knew this was just the practice I needed for myself.

• Over the next 100 days, I will take a photo each day that commemorates something that made me happy.  I will share each photo with you though not necessarily daily.
• For this practice, I will engage with gentleness and flow.  I’m hoping to transform my task-master self into becoming comfortable that results can come about in a more spacious way.
• I see this practice helping me live My Three Words for 2014, a yearly ritual that Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter (@ValueIntoWords) introduced to me:

➤ Flowers: Encouragement to do what’s important with grace and beauty because life is fleetingly short.

➤ Heart: Reminder to live from the heart because the heart can be an equal partner with the head, even in seemingly mind-dominated situations.

➤ Enrich:  A daily ask: Am I enriching others by my actions? Am I enriching myself?

• I know I’ll be able to “claim” something valuable at the end of these 100 days. I’ll be curious whether I’ll experience the same “goodness” that others experience. Per 100happydays.com, people claimed to:
  •  Start noticing what makes them happy every day
  •  Be in a better mood every day
  •  Start receiving more compliments from other people
  •  Realize how lucky they are to have the life they have
  •  Become more optimistic
  •  Fall in love during the challenge (?! — my comment)

Will you join me in the #100HappyDays

journey of discovery?  

➤ Choose to be a participant yourself.

➤ Be part of my cheering squad by sharing your thoughts in the comments.

➤ Your company would make me happy and grateful!

To me flowers are happiness ~ Stefano Gabbana
Photo credit: Jackie Yun | JackieYun.com

Special Shoutout:

Thank you, Jessica, Timothy and A.R. for making me aware of #100HappyDays!!

All of you and Jacqui have given me many happy moments with your enthusiastic support of my various writing endeavors. Love being connected to you all.

How will you respond to the Tsunami that awaits your Leadership?
Image courtesy of federico stevanin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

T S U N A M I !

Crushing, demolishing, relentless.

Then, miraculous

L I F E !

The son, focused on getting his injured mother to safety amid destruction,

purposely ignores a whimper.

Until his mother speaks.

“What if that boy was Simon or Thomas?

You would want someone to help them…

Even if it’s the last thing we do.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Those words of extraordinary heart-centered leadership are from Maria Belon, the real-life mother who wrote about surviving the 2004 Tsunami that hit Thailand.  Her book is the basis for the movie: “The Impossible” and the powerful “Even if it’s the last thing we do” scene:

From which a question emerges for us as leaders:

When the tsunami-at-work hits, 

Will you lose or elevate your leadership?

Your Leadership Can Soar — Even When Facing Untenable Constraints
Image courtesy of njaj / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The call-to-action for today:

#TakeThisMoment

to reflect and prepare deep from within.

Practice and Repeat.

~ Jackie Yun

Reflect, Prepare and Practice To Gain Leadership Strength
Image courtesy of James Barker / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Notes:

After seeing “The Impossible” on DVD, the “Even if it’s the last thing we do” scene wouldn’t leave me.  I wanted to blog about it to remind myself about not losing one’s leadership when faced with untenable constraints, but couldn’t get it done.

Then I saw this article, “How To View Constraints as Blessings in Disguise” by Rajesh Setty.

Serendipity and catharsis meet!

• The title itself is an inspiring tip for leaders facing that tsunami-at-work.  Rajesh’s article begins with a focus on writing and segues into a 5-step plan for seeing constraints as blessings from a life and business perspective.
• Rajesh writes about the 50 word mini-saga format.  Trying it, I overcame my blogging impasse and that’s how a 50 word mini-saga became the opener for this post.
• In my post’s call-to-action, the request to dig deep is not easy.  People get stuck.  One way to get unstuck is to approach this from a seemingly unrelated construct.  For example, if you journal, try Rajesh’s 50 word [constrained] mini-saga format.  The idea is that this can trigger you to get to that place where the mind, heart and gut can have an honest conversation — then you can dig deep.

Please let me know what you think.

The comments section is open, awaiting your thoughts.

Are You Being Authentically You, Like Ginger Zee?
Photo From Ginger Zee’s Twitter Bio

Did you catch Ginger Zee doing a snow angel as part of her weather segment on Good Morning America?

She’s not shy about showing her fun and exuberant personality.  She’s being authentic and this engages her audience.

I’ve written about Ginger Zee before in my post, “Makeover Your Too Technical Resume”.  Ginger is my muse for good reason.  Since my post, Ginger’s gotten a promotion from the Weekend Edition of Good Morning America to the Weekday Edition of Good Morning America!

And that prompts me to ask you and my coaching clients…

Are you like Ginger Zee? 

Or are you suppressing the authentic you in your job search?

Many of us are hiding ourselves.

Take a look at the majority of LinkedIn profiles or listen to the typical answer to the interview question: “Tell Me About Yourself”.

It’s a robotic litany of roles, dates and skills.  Assembly-line, boredom-inducing sameness from one candidate to the next.

Are you feeling your mind drift?  Is the gray matter in your head turning more gray, tipping into the blackness of zone-out?

Guaranteed that’s what happening with the hiring manager’s mind.

You Are More Than Roles, Dates and Skills

You say “Sure, I know I need to highlight my accomplishments, not just roles, dates and skills”.

You’ve Got The Job!
Image courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Absolutely, right — accomplishments are key.

But, reciting dry facts and figures and even awards and recognition aren’t enough.

The beef is still missing (paraphrasing that iconic Wendy’s Hamburgers commercial) — and the beef is you.

Let’s say you’ve made it into the final round.  It’s between you with your accomplishment of a 35% increase in productivity and that gal with her accomplishment of a 45% increase in productivity.  Will she beat you out for the position?  Will that 10% be the deciding factor?

As a former hiring manager I can attest that what can count more is you being you and getting a resonance going between us.

If you can do that, the extra 10% achieved by the other candidate will be looked at as a rounding error — and you’ll be able to say “I’m so excited to accept your offer!”.

Here’s The Best Way To Get “YOU” into Your Job Search…

-> Tell YOUR stories.

You can use the helpful SOAR format (i.e. describe the situation, obstacle faced, action you took, and the result), but…

Be sure these stories are told from the authentic you perspective (from your heart!).  Heart stories tie and bind the storyteller with the audience — and in this case, your audience is the hiring manager.

Stamp Your Story With Your Authenticity & Your Heart!
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Believe me when I tell you that your stories will resonate.  Try these for example:

• David vs. Goliath (such as you changing management’s mind on a critical decision, you winning that huge sales against those industry giants, you and the team with little resources exceeding goals and expectations, etc.)
• Superheroes saving the world (substitute “superheroes” with “you” and “world” with your project or customer or production problem, etc.)
• Personal Redemption (we’ve all had something we’ve had to overcome at work, share yours.)

And there are many more stories you can tell. In your telling, invite the hiring manager into:

• your struggles, your learnings, your approach.
• how you connect, communicate, convince.
• what are you most proud of in your career
• your professional passions.

Imagine speaking like Floyd Lee (Head of the Army’s Pegasus Chow Hall) when responding to “Tell Me About Yourself”:

I’ve waited for this job all my life, and here I am in Baghdad… As I see it, I am not just in charge of food service; I am in charge of morale.

Floyd has passion and he doesn’t hide it.  Chip and Dan Heath wrote about Floyd in their book: “Made to Stick — Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die”.  Floyd is memorably sticky.

And if Floyd were to continue his answer by describing his accomplishments…

* This vision manifests itself in hundreds of small actions taken by [my] staff on a daily basis… The remarkable thing about Pegasus’ reputation for great food is that Pegasus works with exactly the same raw materials that everyone else does [all the other chow halls]. …One of the soldiers who commutes to Pegasus for Sunday dinner said, ”The time you are in here, you forget you’re in Iraq.”

* These words written by Chip and Dan Heath, found in their book, “Made to Stick”.  Italics, underlining and words added within brackets are by me.

It Feels Good to Be You & Others Feel It, Too!
Image courtesy of 89studio / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Don’t you think Floyd would be “The Candidate” that a hiring manager would want on his/her team?

Lesson here is don’t shy away from the color and richness of who you are and how that has helped you to accomplish all that you have accomplished.

Feel good about being you.

Other people will feel it, too, because people mirror other people’s feelings.

Proven through neuroscience.

Do You Have The Courage To BE YOU in Your Job Search?

I want to hear you say “YES” — in all caps.

It’s not easy, I know. Perhaps, Brene Brown’s thought about authenticity will be helpful to you, as it is to me.

Being the Authentic You Takes Courage!

This is from Brene’s “Gifts of Imperfection” e-course, part of Oprah’s Life Classes.  I’m currently taking the e-course and was inspired to do so by @DorleeM.  I’ll be writing a post after the e-course completes. But wanted to share this specific and applicable wisdom from Brene in this post today. So gather up your courage and…

#TakeThisMoment to be the authentic you in all life situations. ~ Jackie Yun

Including in your job search!!

What are your thoughts?  Do you have a story about you that you’d like to share or some encouragement you’d like to give?  Please do tell in the comments below.

Still unsure about being the authentic you in job search or how to do so?  I’d like to help.  Please reach out to me.  Connect in the comments or send me an email (jackie @ jackieyun.com) with your question.

I disagree.

There is still power behind empowerment.

Empowerment is still a Bright Idea!
Image courtesy of KROMKRATHOG at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Review this definition from BusinessDictionary.com and see for yourself.

“A management practice of sharing information, rewards, and power with employees so that they can take initiative and make decisions to solve problems and improve service and performance.

Empowerment is based on the idea that giving employees skills, resources, authority, opportunity, motivation, as well as holding them responsible and accountable for outcomes of their actions, will contribute to their competence and satisfaction.”

Empowerment is a Basic Tenant of Good Leadership.  

My question to you, as executive to executive, leader to leader, manager to manager —- do you empower your people?

Before you blithely say, “I certainly do!”.  Tell me how you would answer the following 12 questions to see how you fare.

If you still don’t agree about the power of empowerment, please humor me.  Spend just a few minutes to answer these same 12 questions and see if you feel differently.  You might be missing out on having a more effective, efficient and happier team.

12 Questions To Gauge How Much You Empower Your People

1. If someone on your team makes an appointment with your boss for a 1:1 meeting just between the two of them, how do you feel?

2. When your people make a decision, what is your reaction? Do you consistently overturn their decision or make tweaks?

12 Questions – Are You an Empowerment Enabler?
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

3. Have you hired anyone who is stronger than you as a leader?

4. Would you let your team handle Severity 1 situations including regular reporting to your boss, your boss’ boss and key clients without your intervention?

5. Have you recommended anyone on your team to be promoted to your level?

6. What is the level of your directs’ budget authority?

A corollary: Do they understand your organization’s financials and actively decide together on how to meet their own organization’s and your overarching organization’s financial goals?

7. Have you asked and allowed your directs to run your organization’s All Hands meeting?

8. Would you feel comfortable if your directs determined your org chart?

9. Do you enforce rules more or values more?

10. Do you share issues with your people or do you protect them from those challenges?

11. If your people were asked to rate you on how you’ve empowered them, what would they say?

12. Do you feel empowered yourself?

Empowerment Needs to be Nurtured and Modeled by YOU.

If you feel some unease as you answer these 12 questions, that’s an indication you need to get started.

Go ahead.  Begin.  Take a step …

#TakeThisMoment to create an empowerment moment for someone or even for yourself. ~ Jackie Yun

Empower Someone Today!
Image courtesy of hin255 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Please share that empowerment moment in the comments.  Your momentum will inspire other leaders.

Stuck about how to start?  You can begin by sharing these 12 questions with your team as a discussion prompt and for their self-reflection.  Ask them to #TakeThisMoment to create an empowerment moment — and then another and another and another.

Finding more questions to ask? Love to hear them.  Let’s keep the list growing in the comments.