"...Friendship is Always an Act of Recognition" - John O'Donohue
Greetings -
I hope you, your family and friends are all well!
This week found me in Austin for several work opportunities and, most importantly, to spend time in the company of wonderful friends. It has been great to hang out live and catch-up! I am heading back to the Bay for a few days before we set off on our next adventure.
We kick-off with a thoughtful commentary on connectedness, friendship and the importance of the "Platinum Rule" - topics near and dear to me, especially so this past, fantastic week connecting with these outstanding folks.
Spotlight Article
With the rate of change unyielding and the ability to meaningfully thrive in uncertain environments challenged, teams can find themselves at significant inflection points. To effectively transform to meet both near and longer term organizational priorities, teams need to strategically evolve their connectivity of and support for each other. That evolution starts with each individual and coalesces into a shared commitment to value, trust, support, recognize and treat each team member as they would like to be treated. "...Feeling connected to our colleagues elevates productivity, reduces turnover, and fosters better teamwork. As such, it’s [friendship] a powerful and underutilized tool for creating high-performing teams...By utilizing insights from the science of close connections to promote bonding, teaming, and productive collaborations, any leader can fuel their team’s need for relatedness and elevate performance."
This edition continues to feature multiple pairs of reading and listening perspectives. Topics include: coping with uncertainty, increasing energy effectiveness, harnessing the power of language and defining and adhering to boundaries. Diverse in content and sourcing, these pieces offer a variety of perspectives that piqued my curiosity and desire to learn more.
As always, happy reading and listening!
Be well, take good care of your families and community.
-kj
Articles
MIT Sloan Management Review: The Problem With Certainty. "The emotional desire for certainty often keeps us from seeing other perspectives and understanding how decisions get made."
Harvard Business Review: Our Brains Were Not Built for This Much Uncertainty. "Understanding how we’re wired can help us set expectations and stay motivated."
Harvard Business Review: When Lower Intensity Leads to Higher Results. "Many professionals spend most workdays laboring at medium intensity. In contrast, elite endurance athletes spend most of their time working at low intensity — running so slowly it almost appears lazy — and a little time training at high intensity. They reject medium-intensity work, because it has limited payoff. Professionals can learn from this training regimen."
Harvard Business Review: 4 Ways to Manage Your Energy More Effectively. "Life isn’t a sprint. It’s an ongoing journey. And to stay high performing, healthy, and happy both inside and outside of work, you need to have staying power. Look closely at how you work and follow these tips to ensure that you’re working effectively, productively, and within your bounds."
Behavioral Scientist: The Magic of Knowing When to Use Concrete vs. Abstract Language. "When trying to make language either more concrete or more abstract, one helpful approach is to focus on either the how or the why."
Behavioral Scientist: How Much Does Our Language Determine Behavior? "David Shariatmadari explores how the language we speak impacts the way we see the world, and our behavior in it."
Blog Posts & Opinions
The Guardian: How to set healthy boundaries – and stop letting anxiety and guilt get in the way of living your life. "Whether it’s family expectations at Christmas, ground rules in a new relationship or the demands of working from home, people are always overstepping boundaries. But how do you establish a limit – and then stick to it?"
McKinsey and Company: Re:think. "The immediate need for operational excellence."
Scientific American: How the Psychology of Silicon Valley Contributed to a Bank Collapse. "Venture capitalists and start-ups don’t mind losing money, but dealing with a bank run is a whole different story."
TED Talks
TED: How great leaders take on uncertainty. "In a constantly changing world, it's impossible for leaders to provide employees with the assurance they want, says Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud. Her solution: lead with humanity and flexibility...Sud discusses her experience connecting remote employees worldwide, addressing burnout and adapting company practices for the needs of the next generation. Hear her vision for the future of work and ideas on how to be a leader that empowers others."
TED: Your 3-step guide to setting better boundaries at work. "Know you should establish clear limits at work but not sure how to do it? Here are a few strategies from relationship therapist and author Nedra Glover Tawwab that can help you feel more empowered and less overwhelmed, both on and off the job."
TED: How to be a team player -- without burning out. "Collaboration in the workplace is more important than ever -- but it's making us less productive in some ways. Here's what collaboration pioneer Rob Cross says is driving us to take on way too much -- and how we can reclaim our time and our peace of mind."
Arts, Music, Culture & Humor Corner
designboom: Ai Weiwei Making Sense Exhibition. "Ai Weiwei recreates Claude Monet's water lilies using 650,000 LEGO bricks."
KelloggInsight: Pump Up the Jams and Feel Powerful. "The right background music can affect how you construe information and your willingness to take initiative."
The New Yorker: Cultural Comment: The “Dazed and Confused” Generation. "People my age are described as baby boomers, but our experiences call for a different label altogether."
Nautilus: The Real Magic of Rituals. "We might call them superstitions or spells, but they genuinely drum anxiety away."
The New Yorker: Daily Shouts: Dating App Filters I'd Actually Use. "Check this box to filter out all reptile owners."
Reflections
"Friendship is a sheltering tree." - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
A Morning Offering
by John O'Donohue
I bless the night that nourished my heart
To set the ghosts of longing free
Into the flow and figure of dream
That went to harvest from the dark
Bread for the hunger no one sees.
All that is eternal in me
Welcomes the wonder of this day,
The field of brightness it creates
Offering time for each thing
To arise and illuminate.
I place on the altar of dawn:
The quiet loyalty of breath,
The tent of thought where I shelter,
Waves of desire I am shore to
And all beauty drawn to the eye.
May my mind come alive today
To the invisible geography
That invites me to new frontiers,
To break the dead shell of yesterdays,
To risk being disturbed and changed.
May I have the courage today
To live the life that I would love,
To postpone my dream no longer
But do at last what I came here for
And waste my heart on fear no more.