BE "PASSIONATELY PRESENT"
by Kristine Forster


Is it just me, or do you have days when when the thought of  tackling all those emails and RSS feeds seems like an overwhelmingly daunting task?

Over my cup of coffee and slightly burnt cinnamon and brown sugar pop tart this morning (mmm - breakfast of champions), I energetically attacked said mountain of rss feeds that, I am remiss to say, I have allowed to start piling up – again.

I'm so glad I dug in to that pile this morning though because here's what I read from Brendan Burchard's, "Life's Golden Ticket eNewsletter":

"Are you showing up as "passionately present" as you can each day, and are you lighting up your co-workers with energy and passion and excitement for what you are doing together?"

Along with my pop tart, I savored the taste of that question; and as the coffee does to my energy level, I'm allowing that fine thought to bolster my thoughts and attitude today.

As leaders of your organization or team (or family at home) – there's no greater skill for a leader to possess than the ability to inspire others. Give yourself permission to wade through the sea of demands and expectations and responsibilities that surely await you and settle for a moment on the question above.

I know when I did this morning it made the sun shine a little brighter, my coffee a little heartier, my resolve a little stronger and my pop tart all the sweeter.

Dan Pink, on learning and motivation from his book, Drive:

"Human beings have an innate drive to be autonomous, self-determined and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives."

"The opposite of autonomy is control. And since they sit at different poles of the behavioral compass, they point us to different destinations. Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement."

"It means resisting the attempt to control people - and instead doing everything we can to reawaken their deep sense of autonomy. A sense of autonomy has a powerful effect on individual performance and attitude. According to a cluster of recent behavioural studies, autonomous motivation promotes greater conceptual understand, better grades, enhanced persistence at school and in sporting activities, higher productivity, less burnout and greater levels of psychological well-being."

[Jane Hart] Organizations - and L&D departments in particular - need to relinquish control and support learner/employee autonomy. Social Learning requires a culture of trust in employees that differs from the "teacher/student" model of planning and controlling their every move.

Mark Oehlert, from the Defense Acquisition University makes the point:

“The US Airforce will give a pilot a $30m aircraft full of deadly tools – so why not trust them with Facebook at work?”