Writing vs Coaching -- my tendency

I used to think that writing a book was something I had on my bucket list. Maybe because I always perceived it as a criteria for my own success - the knowledge that someone put there was reading something I wrote and learning from it. Instead, I started blogging (and horribly inconsistently at that) to try to convey what I knew - topics like the one you’re reading now or a blog post from a few years ago about allowing for opposition, last year around change at a company or even simple thoughts on #customer vs #employee #experience

After years of starts and stops, I’ve realized that I’m simply not good at putting my thoughts to coherent paper on a dependable enough basis to deliver the coaching and learning that I’d want it to. On an ongoing basis, I fail to execute on this piece of "what I'd like to do." I have a book concept outlined -- but only about 3 paragraphs written. Pretty sure that this is NOT good enough to publish -- even self publish! Maybe I'll finish the book one day, but I'm going to stop expecting myself to do so for a while knowing the reality of what is.

Once in a while I make the time but I’d rather spend it with my wife just enjoying life. She’s sleeping beside me right now (well, at the time of initial draft on Sunday morning) after a rough night, so it’s moments like these that I can use to convey a thought through this medium. 

What I’ve realized is that I still enjoy helping people reach their potential - I enjoy working with individuals to look at things in a different light - I enjoy taking ideas, self taught learnings, experience, and practice … and then being there for the next generation of leaders to maximize their capabilities. I enjoy the 1:1 coaching or even the group assistance and trying to partner with people to help them move farther, faster in their career than I have.  

Last week's arctic blast, the iceovers, power outages, boil water notices (without power, so figure that one out), the claustrophobia of not being able to leave the house because we have nearly no slow ploughs in all of TX — it’s a reminder of what truly matters. It’s not the job you do, the money you make, or the prestige you might have (yes, this is important to many people and one should make enough to survive on, etc etc .. so don’t take it that way). It’s the people you impact in some way. This is probably obvious, but what might NOT be as obviously is the fact that you probably impact people in ways you don’t even realize, especially if you simple lead with the idea of “how can I help this person”? 

I was in a conversation this week with someone who had plumbing problems and no water to drink - before we started, I suggested we just bump out the call so they could focus on their life. The answer was “no, I’m really excited for this discussion”. It made me realize that sometimes work is also an escape from the world around them, but first you need to give them a positive reason, a purpose or a vision. 

In my opinion, you can do that BEST by putting yourself out there to help your teams, your employees and your coworkers. Think less about how they can make a difference to you, but how you can share your knowledge. How can you be open to different thoughts, how can you forge stronger relationships, and how can you simply ..

I think, in short, Be Human. Be Real.