Trail winds to the right,
Closed at first, and then open.
Beautiful.
A lovely hike today at the William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge just outside of Corvallis, OR. Such a lovely day. I added a few more of the pictures I took below. And, well, that was my one thing this afternoon.
Have a lovely Sunday everyone.
Alright in the last entry, My One Thing: Creating Alignment in Our Lives, we discussed vision and goal-setting. And, in this entry, we will discuss.
Of course, both objectives and priorities, must be connected to your goals, and vision, so we’ll also take a look at how to connect them all.
Ready? Good. Here we go.
First, let’s use a goal that is actually part of my work today. A very practical example. Here we go.
Alright, we’ve got a goal set. Now, let’s discuss objectives.
Where goals can be set for long-term planning, and short-term planning, in the context of this conversation we are using a long-term goal.
Our focus then is to go from our long-term goal to day-to-day activities that will connect back to our long-term goal. Creating objectives can help us do that by breaking our goal up into smaller pieces, which we can achieve in a shorter period of time.
Let’s take a look at an objective for our goal.
There we go.
Because our goal is to increase connection, collaboration, and unification of noncredit organizations throughout the state of Oregon within the next 2 years, we need an objective that will, well, basically, help us get there.
In this example, creating a consortium within the next year can do just that.
Alright, now we’ve got a 2-year goal, a 1-year objective, now we need some priorities.
Priorities are typically set for a shorter duration of time. They can be set for a day, week, month, and even a quarter. Alright, let’s create some priorities for our objective.
It is possible in this example, that both of these priorities can be achieved within quarter 3, however, to illustrate the example, I’ve chosen to spread them out.
The important point is that we now have a goal, objective, and priorities that are all connected. And, they all have timeframes allocated to them, so we know if we are on or off track. Important.
Once priorities are created, it is time to create next actions.
Creating next actions, or action items, or next steps, is really about identifying the work that needs to be accomplished to meet your priorities, which then means, yep, that you are meeting your objective, and moving closer to attaining your goal.
Let’s create some next actions.
There we go.
Now, you’ll notice that I did not create the next actions for priority number 2. The reason this is so, is that that priority is for quarter 4, and, as we complete the next actions to meet the number 1 priority, we will learn more.
Meaning, that the second priority might shift a little by the time we get to the end of quarter 3. Normal.
Recapping, we now have a 2-year goal, 1-year objective, a priority for quarter 3 with next actions, and a priority for quarter 4 with next actions still to be identified.
Before we get to the system part of our conversation, which, of course, is one of my favorite topics, let’s discuss results and metrics a little.
It’s important in all goal-setting activities, personal and professional, to identify a way to measure progress. The measurement can be quantitative or qualitative. Both are needed and necessary.
In our conversational example about the noncredit consortium, we can create a couple of ways to measure our progress. First let’s reset the goal. Here it is.
Now, let’s set a result and a metric.
We can even take a deeper dive with this result, by creating actually percent increases we expect, such as:
Once you have your results and metrics, we need to think about how to gather the data to measure the metric. In this example, we would utilize the systems the various organizations use to gather their student service data.
Alright, we’ve now covered goals, objectives, priorities, next actions, and results and metrics. Let’s now take a look at how these components work together to create a single system.
As you all know, I love white boards. And, yes, I’ve created two simple white boards to help us visualize the linear information provided in this post. Here we go.
In this first white board we can see I’ve used a relationship ecological system to display the connection between the self, team, organization, and community, and a vision, goals, objectives, priorities, and next actions.
They function the same way.
As we develop as a leader, we take in information from the team, organization, and community, and we give information back out the same way. It’s completely reciprocal and, well, quite lovely.
Similarly, when we create a vision, and set goals, objectives, priorities, and next actions, they inform each other. For instance, the vision informs the goals, objectives, priorities, and next actions. Just as our next actions will inform our upcoming priorities, objectives, goals, and the vision, as needed.
Pretty cool.
Okay, one more visual. Here we go.
In this simple illustration, we can see a similar pattern. The vision is the anchor, as the self is in a relationship system, and informs our goals, objectives, priorities, and next actions, which, in turn, informs our upcoming goals.
Wow, that was fun.
That concludes the second and last installment in My One Thing: Creating Alignment In Our Lives.
You can use these tools in your personal life, just as you can at work. The most important thing is to create a vision for your future self; and; to work towards the realization of that self by taking actions each day that align with the self you see yourself becoming.
Remember, you are the only one that can make that future self a reality.
Slowly, the rain falls,
we rejoice in the moment.
And then it is gone.
I await, the next moment
Feeling frenzied with delight.
A meadow landscape,
Flower, just like a skyscraper.
Bee alights, then night.
Photo Credit
You’ve written
Before, and yet
No more,
Now,
I dangle a letter
To lure you back,
Though,
Unsure I am,
About the portended
Future
Will our existence
Be reminiscent
Of the letter
In hand?
Now a grandstand
An audience to
Itself, suspended
Mid air
A trifle, and flare,
Of opportunity
Encased in
Red
Just like the roses,
I gave you
When
We
Wed,
And you shook your
Head, in favour of a
Nod instead
And, though
I bled with anticipation
There really is
No mysterious
Cause
For my withdrawal
Only the wonder
Which I see
While in
Bed
As thoughts of
You
Give way to dreams,
Which are sometimes
Pleasant, and
At other times not
So, so,
Dear, give way to
My hearts present
Which is adorned, and
Ready to give way
While you stay
Away,
Only know I’m here
Which is where
I’ll remain
Until that day,
When you return,
And walk through that door,
Taking the note, now
Dangling no more,
And read about
The love that’s flourished
While you were gone,
Now holding hands, like
Time never elapsed,
As we await the dawn.
In response to the WDYS #65 prompt from Keep it Alive, by Sadje.
I often wonder,
what it is about
thunder
that causes
such a
mysterious
sensation,
from deep within.
There are times
when I’m smitten
with a grin,
as I
ponder and reflect
upon
my life as a child.
Thinking
about the thunder
that would rain down
when we least expected
it.
And then?
Running,
hiding, and trying to find
a place to not be affected
by it.
And, as I write that last
stanza, it occurs to me,
the “it”
in compilation, is unseen
and hidden from view.
A mysterious, and, yes,
often ominous feeling,
even when the thunder
was not dealing it’s clatter.
Hiding under bed,
waiting, worrying, and
unofficially praying for a stead-
fast reprieve
form the hidden noise.
And, oh, what a joy!
When finally released
from the deluge
of noise,
which overwhelmed
my every sense
until, finally,
yes
poise,
did return.
And, I could crawl
out
from underneath,
and, once again,
breathe in
the
salty air
from the rain,
which did just fall.
Oh, thunder, you
are oft criticized, and
yet, are a part of
Nature, so I
do surmise,
you are elegant
in your ways.
And, I do always
pray, for a return
of the rain.
So if you must
also return,
very well,
I will prepare
as needed,
and,
see you thunder,
on the other
side of
the
season.
Blades of grass splinter,
A raven flies overhead.
Not separate. One.
Photo Credit
Well, as I mentioned in my last entry, last week was the first week of the term, and we were busier than we have been since the pandemic started.
I’ll have more to write about that in a minute. First, let’s take a look at the writing that occurred this week.
There we go.
It was great to put a period on the lengthy second installment of the Leadership Series. In installment 3, we will look at creating and developing teams. Will be fun.
Alright, and next week?
Well, I already have another Haiku scheduled, as well as a Tanka poem. I also have an article on intention and the last installment in My One Thing: Creating Alignment in Our Lives.
I also have some new ideas, which I’ll get to writing about in the next month or two. Here are a few of those ideas.
Alright, how about birthdays.
Well, my oldest son turned 21 this week, and my youngest will turn 17 in May. Phew. It is hard to believe, and then not, that these boys are so grown.
I am so impressed with who they are becoming as young men, and am so proud of them both. A lucky father, am I.
Alright, Justin’s birthday was this past week, so he was over Saturday night, and I made a spinach salad with baked tofu (breaded with panko and slightly fried), and brown sugar butternut squash bread.
Both were super tasty, though I will write that the bread was a little sweet for my tastes. Here is the recipe for the bread, and a couple of pics.
Fun!
As I already mentioned, last week we had our busiest week of registration since the pandemic started. Of course, this also means that the team was super busy, and, each of them, at different times and at different levels, experienced overwhelm. Yes, me included.
On Wednesday it occurred to me, though not for the first time, that we are all inundated with stimulation, and it occurs differently inside of the pandemic. Meaning, many of us are on technology more than ever before; and it is needed and necessary to move our work forward.
However, being aware of creating quiet space is also needed and necessary. I think it is needed more now than ever before, and necessary to keep us centered and in balance.
Thus, I sent the team the following message on Wednesday. Subject line: Please read today: Taking the time needed.
Hi all,
CORVALLIS, OREGON, 2021
Phew, what a busy week!
I am so impressed by each of you, by the work and possibilities we continue to create for our community.
A record number of registrations continue to come in!
And, just as our record number of registrations is a beautiful thing to see and be a part of, we have all felt, in some way this week, overwhelmed by the work we are engaged in.
I’ve said what I am about to write, in just about every meeting this week.
We all need to create time to put the work down, and just be. Be outside in the sun, if it is sunny as it is today, be in a quiet space in our homes, be, well, wherever you can create time for yourself that is away from technology and stimulation.
I am asking each of you to continue to create this time for yourselves when needed. You will see on my calendar today at 1 pm, a walk scheduled. I will be away from my computer and phone for 45 minutes.
Please do the same when you can. It can be 10 minutes, 20, or longer, just take that time, and be.
Great work this week, team!!!!!
Jeff
Now, I’ve written before about being overstimulated, and being overwhelmed is similar, and, in fact, can function the same way.
We all need time away from everything and everyone.
As you move throughout your week, I invite you to create this time for yourself. Create time for yourself, to be with yourself. Just for you.
And, take that time to breathe, witness all that surrounds you and is within you, and just be.
Have a wonderful week.
When’s the last time you had a difficult conversation? If you are in a relationship with, well, anyone, it is likely you’ve had a difficult conversation recently. They are a part of being in a relationship with someone. Yes, difficult conversations are needed and necessary in the workplace, and they are also needed and necessary in our private lives.
It is through the most difficult conversations where growth for the people inside of the conversation becomes possible. When we avoid these conversations, nothing really happens. Actually, if anything, when we avoid difficult conversations, the relationships we have are built upon a shifting foundation.
Meaning, unstable, and unreliable. Why?
Because, we’re not being true to how we think and feel when we avoid things that are difficult; and, difficult conversations are not removed from this truth.
Many people struggle with having these conversations, just as I once did. Truth. And, yes, they are hard. I’ve had many in the past three years, and, yet, there is also something beautiful in the experience of being in that difficulty with another human being, and creating a way forward.
Alright, let’s first consider two concepts, which occur prior to the difficult conversation, and then a very simple, pun intended, as you will soon see, strategy, you can employ inside of a difficult conversation. Ready? Good. Here we go.
Even in the language, I’ve used thus far to describe a difficult conversation can appear binary. Meaning, either the conversation is in one way difficult, or the opposite, not difficult.
It is important to understand that difficult conversations, like all things in life, live along a continuum. This means that there are many types of difficult conversations, from, let’s say, conversations that are easier, yet still sensitive, to conversations, which are much more difficult.
We can think about them living along a straight line that continues forever, with sensitivity on the far left, and, in a workplace example, a corrective action conversation on the far right. In between?
Many types of conversations. Yet, regardless of the type of difficult conversation, there are several steps we can take to make sure we are ready. The first? Making sure you are clear and that what you understand about the context you are witnessing with the person you need to have a difficult conversation with is true.
What do I mean by clear and true? Let’s take a look.
Once you are clear and know that what you are seeing is true, you can deploy a very simple strategy to conduct a difficult conversation.
And, yes, I chose this acronym intentionally, as some people find themselves attracted to language. Meaning, they like to use a lot of language when in conversation with someone.
However, using more language than is necessary and needed in a difficult conversation will only make the conversation more difficult and less clear. It is very important to keep things simple.
Wow. That was fun.
Alright, there are several strategies you can employ prior to, during, and after a difficult conversation.
Remember, these conversations are needed and necessary. Really and truly. When we take the time necessary to create safe contexts where difficult conversations can occur, we are paying forward a part of ourselves, and helping someone else move forward in their life. And guess what?
When you create these contexts, you also learn more about who you are as a human being. Always. In every difficult conversation, I’ve ever had, I have always learned more about myself and my own development.
And that, my friend, is movement, and it is beautiful.
I sit
Transfixed
By your beauty
Behold,
The sparkling movement
In your form,
Just like the day
I was born,
I am always
Mesmerized, and
At the same time
Surprised
At the way
You linger,
In my imagination
It’s
As if
My plate
Is full of magic paper
Which
You are fed
Until there is not a shred
left,
And,
I turn my
Head, and wonder
Where you went, or
Who
You may send
In your
Stead
The whisper
Of
Your glow
And the magnificence
Of
The smoke
That billows out
From your coals
Of life, for they
Do suffice, to continue
Your magic, until,
Of course,
There is no
More, and, yes,
That can feel
Tragic
Yet, you’ll
Be there in the dawn
Because your
Sister, is awaiting
In arms, to rise
Up
And provide
Us a new day,
And, upon this,
I can now lay
At your feet
For you’re the fire,
The existence,
Of my life sweet
Develop. Inspire. Transform. 