PXL 20210329 173645567PORTRAIT2Spanish fans, or el abanico, remain important culturally in Spain. Locating them in America, however, is something I do more with my fingertips (typing into a search bar) than with my feet. Until this week.

ValfamVPValfamVValfamTCAtryptasemia logoSingings for the Birds 100 tall

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valutivityvlogo1color tinyFor the past 40 days, my family has taken care of 3 crabs. Managing Eco-Earth and sand habitats, supporting fresh- and saltwater environments, and monitoring eating habits takes research, time and even expense. (We even try to give our crabs a little ocean-spray “tide” in the evenings.) As the first pets we’ve had in years, these critters have reminded us what it means to nurture. Nurturing just might be one of the most undervalued concepts in leadership. And that could be a problem, because nurturing is a critical component to the DNA of servant leadership.

ticket_to_obama_speech

On Friday, September 9, 2011, my 12-year-old son and I attended President Barack Obama’s speech at my alma mater, University of Richmond in Virginia. He discussed his Jobs Plan, as a follow-up to his similar pitch to both houses of Congress the previous night. President Obama demonstrated a change management technique I call acquiring “emotional change agents,” individuals who will respond to an emotional appeal and voluntarily become ambassadors for change.

 

brussels_sproutSometimes change tastes just as bad for the change leader. This is a true personal flashback from May 2010.

Change management has meddled in my family life. That brings us to our current change crisis, one we change managers call “Desire.” After one is aware of a need to shift behavior, he or she needs to Desire the new end result, providing them the necessary impetus to change.

 

trojan_horse

Consider this a cautionary tale for savvy leaders and human resources executives considering incentives.

Once, I received a significant gift from the Fortune 200 company where I worked, to celebrate a key milestone in my performance. So far, so great! Cool

They sent me a celebratory letter, in a leatherette box, with a link to a website, where I was supposed to enter a code to receive a sizeable gift certificate. So far, so good… Laughing

But the website didn’t exist. So far, so…what??! Undecided

 

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