Learn, Relearn, and learn again.

Everything happens for a reason you can either choose to ignore it or ask what that reason is and try to learn from it.

I read this recently in the book "The Energy Bus." It caused me to sit back and think a little bit and how I do not do this enough. When something happens I just plow forward and keep going to the next thing then plow forward again and on and on I go. To get past this and actually learn from this you need to take the time to learn. It is essential that you learn from your mistakes and successes. I don't know what works best for you, but for me it has been journaling about what happened throughout the day and realizing why I was frustrated or why I was excited. I try to make note of what energized me, who frustrated me and why, and anything else I needed to do.
It is much easier to do this when you have the time and everything runs a lot smoother. Before spring I did a great job doing this but as the year went on it got worse and worse. Not because I didn't have time but because I didn't make time. The early victories were the thing of the past and I became too focused on what was in front of me than what was around me. Are you aware of everyone and everything around you more than you are what is in front of you? What is more important: your to do list or your people? Look back on a daily basis but also look back weekly, monthly, and yearly to figure out patterns and learn from them.

Passion What is it?

Passion I believe can be the biggest gift in life, but it can also be the biggest curse. I don’t know what it is like in life to live without passion. Without that constant wanting to do more, without the childlike excitement in things. A lot of times I go overboard and get too excited, but that is what makes it fun. I discussed this part of my personality with someone the other day and they said that is what makes me so good to be around. There is times of burnout but the times of excitement far outweigh those times. I sometimes can’t sleep because I think about how to do things differently and new ideas while I try to sleep and in my spare time. I am passionate about most anything I learn about and dive right in. So is having this type of passion good? Is it immature? Does it always lead to burnout?

Wouldn’t life be a lot simpler without passion? Instead of all the ups and downs and the stress it would be different. Life would be more like a lazy river than a wave pool. You would just float along not getting to high or too low and just taking things in stride. You wouldn’t stick your neck out and try different things you would just do the same old thing. Then if something was blatantly obvious to try you would do that. You would get along with everyone because you wouldn’t argue or take a side most of the time. Wow, how simple life would be.

I don’t know about you but I just the adrenaline rush of passion. Sure I could go through life just strolling along. I would rather spend it going full throttle and getting everything I can out of it and maximizing myself. The risk of a crash or burnout is worth it to feel the adrenaline rush of really getting excited about something and doing it. When is the last time you were so passionate about something you got emotional? When did you care

Micromachines or Transformers, what would you rather have?

Are you a micromanager? Even if you don’t take all the credit could you still be one? Could your business run smoothly without you, or is it so dependent on you it would fall to shambles?

I have asked myself these questions in the last day as problems were getting flung at me left and right and was wondering what the heck has happened, what have I created. What is a manager supposed to do, and is a manager different than a leader?

I am trying to figure out if you can be a great manager and leader at the same time and that is one of the struggles I am dealing with right now.

What do you need to do as a leader to empower your employees and not micromanage?

1. Ask the right questions. Don’t ask yes or no questions ask for thought out answers.

2. Don’t always give them the answer. I know you might no what the correct answer should be but let them make the decision and make it their own.

3. Encourage. Be their cheerleader let them know what they are doing right.

4. Put them in positions to use their strengths. Each person has specific strengths. Find them and then make sure that they are using them.

These are the focuses a manager should have. You should not be the person who solves all the problems. You should be the person people come to when they have problems and you help them think of possible solutions.

Remember the days of playing with toys as a kid. What was more exciting to play with micromachines or transformers? Don’t treat your employees like micromachines. You need to bring out a lot more capabilities that that. You need to treat your employees as transformers who can solve problems and think of new solutions when prodded with the urgency and the right set of questions.

It is not about you as a manager. The best leaders are selfless and don’t care who gets the credit.