In 1911 two explores set off to be the first team to reach the South Pole and return. Roald Amundsen and his team reached the pole first and returned alive. Robert Falcon Scott and his team did reach the South Pole but perished on the return journey home.
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Over the last several weeks I have pondered ways that I can add greater value to those who read my post. In my work I use and am exposed to several tools to help me to be a better leader. I want to start sharing those with you.
The tool I’ll share today is called a “trigger diary”. I learned about this tool from my good friends Simon and Fiona at Purposeful Change. But first some context.
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My family and I love to go hiking. Regardless of where we hike, if there are rocks on the trail you will inevitably discover cairns along the path. For those unfamiliar, a cairn is a stack of rocks on top of each other balancing in a statue like shape. They are beautiful, peaceful, and often look impossible or against the laws of nature.
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Last week I attended a Growth Summit and connected with one of my good friends who has run a 200-mile race. I have always been in awe of her ability to run that race – the physical endurance required seems virtually inhuman. The even more challenging part of training she told me was the mental training. Then in the context of both physical and mental growth she shared the following formula.
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The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect nearly every individual on the planet in some form or another. This has required a different approach to leading people. In my interactions with leaders, I have uncovered a perceived tension between caring for team members and keeping those same team members accountable for business results.
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A few weeks ago, I was in the home of a man with many talents. Carl can fix just about anything with his hands and is incredibly talented in music. By every measure I can think of, he is a leader. I learned something that day that still sticks with me.
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Recently I was pondering on how I want to do so much more than I’m currently doing. There are great opportunities in my role at work where we can make a big impact. At home, there is much I want to do with my wife to raise our children. I feel I am happier than I have ever been in our marriage and yet I can see we can be even better and stronger. All of this combined with the fact that I believe there is more contribution inside of me that is not being shared with the world, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed and feel out of balance. I find myself asking if I’m spending time on the things that really matter most.
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I have come to discover that I enjoy uplifting and powerful musicals. Near where I live there is a small community theater that rotates popular musicals and my wife and I took our kids to The Sound of Music. I will say without shame that I love that musical and hope my kids will come to learn to appreciate the arts, music, and the amazing talent required to pull off these productions.
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A few years ago my wife and I had a conversation about a family motto that was inspired by the book How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton Christensen. In the book Clayton shares a motto they had as a family to build and strengthen their family culture – Christensens are kind. Simple and easy to remember.
The motto we have for the Nicholls family is:
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You may be like me where some days you get to the end of the day and you think – what have I accomplished? What good have I done? Did I spend my time on the right things? There are no easy answers to these questions. I wish there was a formula to follow but it is not that simple because everyone has a different life which means the measures of a meaningful and impactful life are different for each person on the planet.
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I teach and invite people to act. Proud husband, father and amateur pizzaiolo