This past Saturday, I dropped Grace, my daughter, at a birthday party. When we got there, Grace saw a school buddy and they embraced with wanton abandon. Seriously, they ran into each other’s arms and hugged and screamed. I even had to look up the word “wanton”. I have used it before and wanted to ensure I used it properly. My daughter’s buddy, her mum suggested a few seconds afterwards, why do we not do that anymore? She was not saying she needed a hug. She was implying we do not have the same level of joy when we see one another. We don’t. We get older and we just need to get things done. Hugging or even wanton anything job-related simply takes too much time and, face it, do we need to show that kind of expression? We have a job to do!
So if you think I am going to ask you to join hands and sing Kumbayah, no. Unless you want to. Skippy, Todd and Mary expect certain things from you. At a minimum, helping them get the job done. At a higher level, they expect consistency, integrity, openness, collaboration and respect. Other considerations are some degree of enthusiasm, passion and joy. These last three are hard. They are laced with relativity. They are based on one’s perception of what they may look like. And to further challenge this, we all have bad days, bad moments with one another. The meter is not always running. To be wantonly enthusiastic, passionate and joyful…well, that can be a tough one.
What to do? Embrace your team. You don’t have to run up and physically embrace them. Embrace who they are and what makes them “them”. Also consider what makes up your job and then place within it moments to be “wanton” about something, anything. Celebrate the small and big wins…the numbers, customer satisfaction, anything that would be a nice pat on the back. Communicate differently and with a smile or two. People respond to enthusiasm. In your next meeting, let your team know anything and everything is possible. It is by the way…wanton belief.
The picture is of my daughter Sarah and her cousin (my niece) Abby. If you could just watch them for a couple of minutes, you would experience pure joy in its purest, most sensational state. I miss my girls. Sarah’s birthday is Tuesday and I will be gone. I am in Montreal. Sarah, I teach managers to lead others. You have taught me, along with your sister, your mother and your cousins, a valuable lesson – have joy in your life. Embrace what is given, what you have…despite any possible issue you may face. Every day is a gift. Happy Birthday, my little Sarah. I Love you today,tomorrow and always.