For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. - Sir Isaac Newton

During times of change, it’s normal to feel confused. But the source of that confusion isn’t always what we think. Twenty years ago my company ran a call center for the largest real estate firms and associations in America. With a few dozen people on multiple shifts solving a non-stop flow of problems daily, it was definitely chaotic, but also fun.

One day, while reviewing some reports, I noticed the morning shift’s performance was frequently lower than the evening shift. Same training, same products, same tools. So what would cause their performance to be lower, as a group? I asked my COO.

“Do they need more training?”
“Nope,” she said.
“More supervision?“
“Not the problem,” she deadpanned.
“Better communications skills?”
“Naaah.”
“Well?!” I threw my hands up.

“Look closely at the dates,” she said. “The problem isn’t knowledge or skill or commitment,” she said calmly.

“The problem is you.”
I sat back in my chair.

She continued: “When you show up with the morning shift - after racing through traffic, drinking coffee, listening to talk radio, dealing with bad weather, and inevitably being frustrated with parking - you burst into the office calling for your assistant and racing down the halls. You’re like a whirlwind ...”

“... of chaos rippling across the morning team!”

I sat quietly and visualized the problem. It’s like Newton’s Law, I thought. For every action I put out, an equal and opposite force pushed back. In this case, I put out chaos, and it came back in the form of lower production and disorientation for my people. Instead of energizing the day, I was sending out the wrong energy.

The source of chaos wasn’t the business or the market or a competitor.
It was me.

“What should I do?” I asked my COO.

“Focus on becoming the person your people need you to be, before showing up,” she said.

So I created a new morning ritual: Before entering the office, I stopped and took a deep breath. I imagined the door-handle was a lightning rod: When I touched it, all the hot sparks of my morning would drain away. I’d think about what I needed to say, to do, to focus on; and what ripples I would intentionally send through my mindset, actions, words.

Then I’d be ready to enter – and BE THE PERSON – my team needed me to be.

If you’re wondering how “things” will get better during times of change,
If you’ve ever tried to convince yourself everyone else was the problem,
If you think the answer is a quick fix or cheat-sheet,
If you think the world is happening to you, rather than along with you,

Maybe it’s time to visit with mirror.

And find ways to drain away the chaos you see first,
So you can be the person that “changing times”
Need You to Be.


#AlwaysInspiring