Jazzing Up Leadership

Hello, O' Brilliant One, and welcome to Resilience@Work! ?? In this newsletter, you'll receive exclusive tips and powerful tools derived from our groundbreaking research, the State of Working America Report –?Thriving in Resilience and Brilliance, release your brilliance, achieve resilience, and thrive in every aspect of life. I'm thrilled to have you here and hope you find inspiration within the words below to unlock your full potential. Don't forget to order my new book, Resilience@Work , and check out the white paper for our research . Enjoy!

In the complex symphony of today’s business world, where change, chaos, and uncertainty often compose the background music, embracing the theme of “Unstoppable Together” is vital. Imagine leadership as a jazz ensemble, where each leader’s contribution creates a harmonious melody amid the cacophony.

This is an invitation to immerse yourself into transforming leadership complexity into clarity through the resilient rhythms of connecting, caring, and coaching. It’s about accelerating into a new reality where we embrace “Vuja de”—seeing the familiar in unfamiliar ways—and moving steadfastly from complexity to clarity.

The Jazz of Resilience and Unstoppable Unity

Connecting with Improvisation:

• Leaders, like jazz musicians, excel in improvising through unpredictable scenarios, creating a sense of “unstoppable together” among their teams. As Jane E. Dutton and Emily D. Heathy articulate, “theories of human behavior in organizations need to take seriously the quality of connections between people to understand why people flourish or flounder and to unpack how they affect organizational functioning.” This connection is about transforming the complex web of human interactions into clear, purposeful collaborations.

Caring as a Harmonious Undertone:

• One of my mentors is Dr. Jean Watson, a scholar in Caring Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder. I learned from her that business caring is like the harmonious undertone in a leader’s jazz band. Caring about each team member’s unique needs fosters an “unstoppable together” mindset, shifting from the complexity of individual challenges to the clarity of collective strength and well-being. Team members are seen, valued, and understood.

Coaching with Syncopation:

• In the words of Marshall Goldsmith, “The greatest challenge for successful leaders is to stay successful.” Coaching, akin to syncopated jazz rhythms, is about maintaining this success rhythm through continuous learning and adaptation. It’s about guiding the team from the complexities of their roles to the clarity of achieving collective excellence and being “unstoppable together.” I’ll never forget bumping into Dick Nunis, former chairman of Walt Disney Attractions who was hired by Walt back in the 1950s. A friend invited me to a private cocktail party. I had just left the mouse house and still had pixie dust in my eyes for my new venture. He said, “Simon, never forget that the Disney name always sells.” It’s not the start of a venture, but it’s the consistent effort to keep going and finding new chords to play.

Leading with Vuja de and Clarity:

• Adopting a Vuja de approach means viewing familiar business challenges through a new lens. It’s about leading teams from the complexity of well-trodden paths to the clarity of innovative solutions and uncharted territories. I was listening to a podcast the other day and the host quoted Charlie Munger, business partner of Warren Buffett. Mr. Munger said he would only invest in companies that fell into his own circle of competence. I thought about it and realized that when you are in your circle of competence, the reason you thrive is because when everyone is zigging, you are zagging. You learn to thrive instead of survive, because you don’t see opportunities with your eyes, you see it with your mind.

The Resilience Crescendo: Unstoppable Together

• True resilience in leadership is about composing a narrative of growth and opportunity amid adversity. It’s about channeling the energy of difficult endeavors into a driving force that propels the team forward, transforming complexity into clarity, and embodying the spirit of being “unstoppable together.”

Leading with resilience in the rhythm of jazz is about harmonizing the art of connecting, the melody of caring, and the rhythm of coaching. It’s about being the conductor who turns complexity into clarity and sees the potential in every new turn.

Spark Your Day

? Are you ready to be the best leader you can possibly be?

Join me on May 15th for our free virtual Management Development Day! From 11:30 AM EST to 12:15 PM EST/8:30 AM PST to 9:15 AM PST, we will dive into key findings from our groundbreaking research, personal brilliance, and how to inspire resilience and brilliance as a leader.

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