Jackie Yun

You Can Lead (Better) With Three Words

February 28, 2015 — 22 Comments

My old college roomie, years ago, sent me a book called:

“What Would Jackie Do?”

Don’t Get Stuck When A Difficult Leadership Situation Pops Up!
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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.

In Your Growth & Development Culture, Culture Change, Dorlee Michaeli, Empowerment, Growth, Hannah Morgan, Intention, Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter, Leadership, Management, Motivation, Personal Development, ThreeWords

50 Ways To Kindness At Work

September 30, 2013 — 4 Comments

If we don’t lead with kindness, who will?

S. Max Brown makes a good point. Let’s meet his challenge and raise our hands. Let’s bring on kindness at work!

With so many hours of our adult lives spent at work, we would all welcome more kindness, but how to do it?

Implement Those Sandbox Rules To Encourage Kindness at Work

There’s Leadership Wisdom in Those Sandbox Rules!
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Many years ago, our executive leadership and HR rolled out the sandbox campaign. We didn’t realize the good leadership wisdom contained on those wallet-carrying-sized cards sent with fanfare to all employees. We threw the cards away or those of us who were more politically-savvy displayed the cards on our desks, becoming dusty and forgotten until replaced with the next employee engagement initiative.

Laminated on the cards were these simple rules:

Throwing sand is never OK.
Being mean will eventually result in you playing, unhappily, on your own.
No taking of other peoples buckets without asking
No kicking or breaking other peoples sandcastles
Playing nice with others is best.

If we had only embraced those rules!

We do have a second chance. You have a second chance. Did you catch the HuffPost Healthy Living article about the advice from sage third graders (!) on how to ripple kindness throughout the world? I’m gathering inspiration from them.

How about you?

Would you be willing to apply these 50 ideas for kindness from third graders at your place of work?

Try a few today. See the difference manifest in your work world and then try a few more. Note: Words in brackets [ ] are my additions.

1. Smile at a stranger.

2. Say thank you to the bus driver. […or your project manager]

3. Help someone carry her heavy groceries. [What’s on our plates at work can be heavy if we have to do it alone.]

4. Hold the door open for someone else.

A kind note is always appreciated!
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5. Leave a kind note for someone whom you usually don’t get along with.

6. Give your Mom a hug and tell her you appreciate her. [How about a hug for your mentor?]

7. Sing a song to your teacher! [Early in my career, I worked in the “pit”, a communal room full of programmers. We, in the pit, would break out in a pop tune, changing the words to suit our situation. What an energy changer ~ even with songs sung on the dark side! What a relief from the dreariness of the pit.]

8. Let someone else choose the game and play it — even if you don’t like it.

9. Let someone else have a seat on the bus or subway. [Encourage someone else to sit in the good seat at the meeting and let them be heard.]

In Work Life Appreciation, Bob Seaton, Books, Connection, Culture, Culture Change, Empowerment, Environment, Management, Motivation, Pamela Tsukamoto, Relationships, Ronnie Livingston, S. Max Brown, ThreeWords

The Character Based Leader. Instigating A Revolution.

January 20, 2013 — 20 Comments

Are You A Character Based Leader?

It was a kick to the abdomen. Negative energy spiked across the room. The collective shield went up. The message they heard was that they and their work were nothing special. None of their efforts counted. All because THAT word was used at an all-hands meeting to explain the reason for outsourcing.

That word was “commodity”.

Per BusinessDictionary.com ~ A reasonably homogeneous good or material, bought and sold freely as an article of commerce.

And yes, this actually happened!

The outcome (even with outsourcing as part of the plan) would’ve been very different, if our executive had followed Jane Perdue’s advice. Continue Reading…

In Leadership Books, Culture Change, Goal Setting, Leadership, Management, Mindfulness, Personal Development, Relationships, ThreeWords

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