I Get by with a Little Help

Happy Thursday all,

You may notice that I have been happier on the calls yesterday and today?  Well, it might be because the house is done and we are very slowly moving in.  Some of you have asked what I am enjoying most in the new house.  

Four things to come to mind (right) Pantry, (left top) Wine Fridge, (left middle) Wet Room, and the (left bottom) Portico!  Oh, and a real bed!   

The days of acorns hitting the trailer at 3am that sound like a rockslide are over (at least, I hope).  

I also celebrated my 27-year anniversary with my company yesterday (actually 29 years – 2 years as a consultant).  Yeah!  Sharing what I posted on LinkedIn below.  

I mostly want to thank each and every one of you as YOU are those amazing, talented people who make our company a great place to work.   From Linkedin:  “As I pull out my badges from the years, I feel so incredibly blessed to have worked in challenging roles across technology, data, supply chain, risk management with amazing, talented people who encouraged me to continuously learn and grow.”

I Get by with a Little Help

Years ago I brought in Anne Warfield, Impression Management, to do Outcome Thinking training with a brand new group I was asked to manage and I was struggling with connection and building trust.

The team (7 managers) was tired and they had come from a place where they were not appreciated, overworked, or blamed because of this did not understand their own value nonetheless they had others value their work.

Anne Warfield met with me the months before the in-person training was scheduled and asked why I came to her, what I wanted to accomplish from the training, and what I hoped the team would walk away with.  

This week, in the moving/packing process, I opened up the book from the training and found my notes from those first calls.  I won’t bore you with the notes, but share them with you the outcome.

Anne was able to facilitate a series of authentic conversations within the body of training.  She walked the team through body language (including private video/consulting for each), and how to structure a message to be heard (using real-life examples), but the most important thing was how to remain calm and focused in order to be able to be strategic.  

The session with Anne was brilliant.  My new management team both learned and felt listened to.  And it was made possible because of Anne’s amazing facilitation based on six planning meetings.  would have taken months of trust-building to achieve. 

Finding the book was perfect timing and a great reminder that sometimes, you need to call in help … whether it be an expert, a leader, or a partner.  There are times when sheer tenacity alone is not the right answer. 

Are you facing a big issue or challenge?  Consider bringing in an expert.  Sometimes someone with a different lens from outside counsel can help overcome.   

Happy Thursday all,

-srt