LEARN A LITTLE:
Chameleon Droppings Are Worse Than Mouse Droppings In Any Organization
Walking around a large organization, you are likely to see all kinds of things—people working, people on cell phones, memos on bulletin boards, coffee pots, and in the fall when you least expect it, you might even see mouse droppings from the little rodents seeking shelter for the winter. To some people this is alarming and cause for great worry.
Worse, in my opinion, are the instances in which you find chameleon droppings in organizations—any organization.
Such droppings won’t be on the floor, but rather you will find them in memos, emails, on the tables of conference rooms, and sometimes even in the recycling bins.
Interestingly enough, an immature chameleon poops almost every day while a wary, experienced, and older chameleon may only poop every five to seven days.
Organizational chameleons take on the appearance of speaking, accepting, and practicing corporate values, but in reality, they are only blending into their environmental background. Usually, that appearance is the most striking in the presence of their supervisor.
What is amazing is how long a selected appearance or color can be maintained. Some skilled chameleons are able to keep the desired coloring for up to fifty weeks or at least until their boss goes on vacation. Other chameleons revert to their natural colors when the fad fades or fellow chameleons select another color.
The reality is that some employees do in fact embrace the corporate value system and are whole-hearted in their acceptance and practice. Others, unfortunately, here described as chameleons, only change their appearance, not their hearts. They accommodate the beliefs of those in charge but never really commit to the substance of the desired outcome, whether it be servant leadership, integrity, or simply helping others.
Chameleons, once identified, are best caught and released outdoors so they can find another organizational home.
LAUGH A LITTLE:
REFLECT A LITTLE:
Proverbs 12:25
“Worry weighs a person down,
An encouraging word cheers a person up.”
READ A LITTLE
The Power of Positive Leadership
Jon Gordon 2018
This book, written by the author of one of my favorite books, The Positive Dog, shares many helpful insights to those who would aspire to be positive and create a positive organizational culture.
Being positive doesn’t come easily to everyone, but indeed the research being done in positive psychology reveals the fact that optimistic organizations have a performance advantage over their competitors.
It’s important to shed negative thoughts—we all have them but what we do with them is critical to positive leadership.
Gordon shares the secret of Dr. James Gills who on one occasion ran back to back triathlons with only 24 hours in between the races. When asked how we did it, he gave the best advice I’ve ever heard. He said, “I learned to talk to myself instead of listen to myself.”
He gave himself words of encouragement rather than listening to all the negative messages coming in—being too old, too weak, or too tired to continue.
If you are interested in developing your skills as a positive leader and inspiring others, you need to read this book.
