What I want to say to each and every one who reads this

When we are helping brave leaders to unboss their organizations, it strikes me that most of them are - as I was for a long time - very focused on what they consider the big things - strategy, structure, governance, innovation, etc. - to get the even bigger things - success, status, wealth, growth, etc. 

Looking back at my own experiences, as well as the many unbossing projects we did with Hifluence and also listening to the stories of other unbossed leaders, I've found that these topics are far less important than we believe.

The underlying lessons learned of every single project I've participated in is to treat others as you wish to be treated yourself. Whatever we are chasing, the only real point of unbossing (and life in general I guess) is simply learning to love. 

I know this sounds cheesy, so I'll explain myself.

Imagine a brief interaction with a colleague. Even if this colleague is being stressed or angry, you choose to smile, you choose to be kind and understanding. After this interaction, a customer calls your colleague with a problem. Because you were kind, the colleague feels better, and so, he or she is more likely to show kindness to the customer and as a consequence the customer feels supported. Both your colleague and the customer go home after work and share their experiences with their respective families. Suddenly your colleagues' family also feels good and they even might be triggered to be kind to their peers as well. The family of the customer also enjoys the story and they feel especially good about your company recommending it to their peers. And so on... 

"It's the ripple effects of the little acts of selfless concern for the well-being of colleagues, customers and suppliers that make up the true value of your (unbossed) organization."

In others words: every meeting, every mail, every encounter in the elevator, every time you come in and out of the office, etc is were true unbossing happens. Every single moment is your opportunity to start a positive ripple of which the impact on your organization is so deep you cannot even imagine it. This is why, also in unbossing organizations, the little things are actually the big things.

Is it really that simple?

Probably, some of you will find this hard to believe. Conditioned by society as we are, we tend to express doubts when we hear this. Sometimes, we even do our best to proof it wrong, or even worse, we try to justify why it makes sense to mistreat a colleague, another team or an angry customer.

But what if I'm right? What if your choice in every single interaction is much more important than any strategy one could think of? 

What I want to to say

In this short lifespan, I want to take the opportunity to be as caring, creative, compassionate and loving as I can possibly be. Especially, when people are feeling angry, stressed, frustrated, afraid, etc, as so many of us are in these challenging times. 

I know I am far from perfect. Surely, there were many moments were I could've been more loving or caring, but chose not to. And there will be many more moments like that as well. I can only hope I will learn from them in every step of the way. 

In any case, what I want say to each and every person who reads this is that I love you and that I appreciate you.

Just imagine what would happen to your organization if everyone would do this, even if it was just for one day.

An act of kindness

Feel free to share or act on this message with your peers in any way or form. I can almost guarantee that if you do, you will also experience that the little things truly are the big things. 

Near Dead Experiences

To motivate you even more, I invite you to listen to Zach Bush and his inspiring story about near dead experiences! 

 Zach Bush, MD | About near dead experiences - Zach Bush, MD is a triple board certified physician and one of the most compelling medical minds currently working to improve our understanding of human and environmental health. In this closing monologue of the podcast he shares his experiences with near dead experiences. Please take ten minutes to listen to this!

And I close it of with this inspiring poem from Morgen Harper Nichols:

May you always be the one

who notices the little things

that make the Light pour through

and may they always remind you

there is more to this life,

and there is more to you

The Little Things by Morgen Harper Nichols