LEARN A LITTLE:
Pet Peeves or Pet Praises
Some friends and I were having a conversation about the little things that you experience or come across during the day that can really irritate or annoy you. Some, in fact, can be quite petty.
Our continued discussion led to a long list of shared, disgruntling, troubling, bothering or aggravating human behavior. We made the decision to limit our definition to people and avoid including those frustrations involving things, such as slow computers, busy signals or the lengthy waits caused by extremely long railroad trains.
I asked if anyone had a list of positive, pleasing and/or uplifting things that brought moments of joy. No one did, and that’s how this blog got started. I decided to work on developing an alternative to Pet Peeves. Why not Pet Praises?
But before doing that, I decided to make a list of my Pet Peeves and get that out of my system. Here are a few of them.
Pet Peeves
- Drivers who text at intersections so that you don’t make it through the turn signal
- Those drivers in the intersection, who speed up so that you aren’t able to get into the flow of traffic even when there is a car-sized gap
- People who are always late
- People who always have a complaint
- People who are consistently picking up or looking at their cell phone
- People who don’t clean up after their dogs
- People at fast food establishments, who don’t know what they want when they get to the front of the line even after waiting for a considerable time to make their order
- Litterbugs
- People who don’t put things back where they belong
- People who enter an elevator before I can get out
- People who roll their eye
Of course, the goal in these situations is to avoid allowing a little thing to become a big thing and ruin your day.
I have actually spent quite a bit of time thinking about and identifying those usually small scale behaviors people share that are a source of good feelings, a smile or positive motivation. Here are a few of them:
Pet Praises
- People who smile and cause us to laugh
- People who say, “How can I help you with that?”
- People who slow down so that you can enter a lane of traffic
- People who say, “Thank yo”
- People who can craft “work arounds” when encountering obstacles or “brick walls”
- People who compliment others
- People who bring flowers to work
- People who share stories, photos, jokes, recipes or video
One final thought: It’s worth noting that both Pet Peeves and Pet Praises come from strangers as well as from people that we know and interact with on a daily basis.
What I realized in doing this exercise was that my Pet Peeves list was much longer than my Pet Praises list. So, now comes the soul searching that results from my desire to have a list of Pet Praises that is longer than my Pet Peeves.
So, I would be interested in your thoughts. Please feel free to send along some suggestions of positive behaviors that I might add to my Pet Praise list.
LAUGH A LITTLE:
REFLECT A LITTLE:
Proverbs 14:4 (NLT)
Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.
READ A LITTLE
Beyond the Hammer:
A Fresh Approach to Leadership, Culture and Building High Performance Teams
Brian Gottlieb
(Forbes, 2024)
Brian Gottlieb, author of Beyond the Hammer, is a very successful entrepreneur and business owner, who has become a recognized philanthropist, business trainer and popular inspirational speaker.
His book is easy to read and provides worthwhile guidance to those interested in leadership and organizational improvement, whether in the nonprofit or private sector.
The book is essentially written in two parts. The first is a business parable that tells the story of George Warren, a struggling business owner who is beset with many managerial issues, including staff turnover, poor employee morale and angry customers. Fortunately, George meets Marty Gold, a very successful businessman, who becomes his mentor. Marty introduces George to the “Five Foundational Pillars of Leadership.” The parable concludes when George turns his company around and becomes very successful by incorporating the five pillars in his workplace. It’s an interesting story.
The second part of the book explains the five pillars in more detail and offers advice on how to integrate them into an organization.
In the remainder of the review, I will highlight some of the valuable insights found throughout the book. But before proceeding, here’s an opening thought to ponder:
“How people think affects how they feel. How people feel determines how they act. How a team acts defines what a business becomes.”
Pillar #1. Belief Is Transferable
- “A positive belief about yourself will inspire a limitless mindset. A negative belief can be lethal.”
- “Humans are wired to hear criticism louder than they hear praise. This is known as positive-negative asymmetry.”
- “The good news is that whispers of FUD—Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt—that live in people’s heads can be drowned out by a leader’s louder voice of positivity.”
- “In a healthy workplace, colleagues cheer each other on.”
Pillar #2. Leaders Shape Culture Through Purpose and Direction
- Culture is defined as “the attitudes and behaviors of employees within an organization.”
- “Culture is shaped by the lowest level of acceptable behavior in an organization.”
Note: This thought is worth reflection.
Five Ways to Shape Company Culture with Purpose and Direction
1. “Start with Onboarding”
2. “Create an Awards Program”
3. “Weave the Mission into Your Conversation”
4. “Review Team Members According to the Vision Statement”
5. “Use Cause Marketing to Develop Culture”
- “Team members feel inspired when they perceive that they are a part of the greater purpose of an organization, regardless of their role.”
Pillar #3. Leaders are Aware of the Echo of Their Voice
- “Recent studies have shown that as many as 60% of adults in the United States have left a job simply to get away from their manager.”
- “Every team member will determine what type of day they are going to have based on what type of day the leader is having.”
Note: I think this is a helpful thought but perhaps overstated.
- “Managers who are out of touch with their own echo are people that companies pay to watch great talent walk out the door.”
- “Clearly communicating the ‘why’ builds trust and creates team alignment.”
Pillar #4. Leaders Model Their Business as a Training Organization
- “There’s a difference between handing someone an employee manual and modeling your business as a training organization.”
- “Training organizations don’t view training as an event with a start and end date. Instead, it’s a mindset. The value of training is woven into the fabric of the business.”
- “Often when conflict pops up between departments, it’s centered around unclear processes or people not understanding how their role affects the entire organization.”
- “Hire for ETHER—Ethical, Trainable, Hungry, Energetic, and Reliable.”
Pillar #5. Managers Need a Checklist
-
“The Ten Practices of Top-Performing Managers”
1. Is an effective coach and mentor
2. Leads with a team vision statement
3. Practices empowerment
4. Communicates effectively
5. Is KPI focused and accountable
6. Discusses performance and career development
7. Keeps a learning mindset
8. Collaborates with other business units
9. Embraces continual process improvement
10. Praises performance publicly
- “A manager’s actions directly influence the culture of the company and the mindset of the team.”
- “Effective coaches and mentors create a culture of opportunity”
- “Allowing is policy-based. Encouraging is empowerment based.”
And here are my favorite insights:
- “If a team member’s performance needs improvement, you should work together to identify that individual’s ‘opportunity zones.’”
- “A shepherd should smell like the sheep.”