Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Beyond Leadership

Beyond Leadership is Horizon Point’s line of resources for managers of people. Managing ourselves is a distinct set of behaviors from managers the work of others, and we are here to help. Read stories in this category if you are ready to take the next step into people leadership (or if you’re looking for articles to send someone else…).

  • SPECIAL FEATURE: June Leadership Development Carnival

    SPECIAL FEATURE: June Leadership Development Carnival

    We are honored to host this month’s Leadership Development Carnival. At Horizon Point, we find that each month the carnival is filled with rich content to enhance your knowledge of Leadership. We hope that you enjoy it as much as we do!

    Communication

    Is Empathy Dying?
    Sadly empathy seems to be dying. It can be devastating to relationships… both personal and professional. Learn why this is important and how you can reclaim it. — Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE (@macdarling)

    Divided we fail, in dialogue we create the future
    In this time of challenges we need dialogue and solutions but we see polarization. Also at work, you must take a stand. Are you pro or contra? Divided we fail, but through dialogue, we can solve our challenges and create the future. — Marcella Bremer (@MarcellaBremer)

    The Power of Neutral Language: Time to Think First and Communicate Second
    How do we minimize the number of regretful remarks we will make in the future– be they verbally, in writing, or through social media? How do we avoid saying something we might come to bemoan? My prescription? Think first, communicate second, and by doing so, change the language to something neutral. And, when we fail to do this – after all, we’re all human – and instead blurt out something unkind, unproductive or unprofessional, apologize. — DIANA PETERSON-MORE (linkedin.com/in/leadership-consultant-usa)

    Creativity/Inspiration

    June Tune Up! Add a Little Oil!
    Mother Teresa once said, “To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.” Leadership is about helping others discover who they are and how they impact the lives of others. We aim to have a positive impact on those around us and be the support system they need to continue growing. — Brenda Yoho (@BrendaYoho or https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendayoho/)

    Development

    Invisible Costs Can Cost You a Lot
    When making decisions, most people view cost as an important consideration. While price is undoubtedly crucial, what about invisible costs that also come into play? — Frank Sonnenberg (@FSonnenberg)

    Which Double Standard for Women Applies To You? All of Them?
    Double standards for women in leadership is an age-old problem, but it turns out that it’s not just a problem for leaders; it’s a problem for all women in the workplace. It’s important to see the double standards women face in their broader context as a result of implicit and unconscious biases we all hold. — Dana Theus (@DanaTheus)

    Opportunity Focused Leadership
    Do you aim to be a problem-focused leader or an opportunity focused leader?

    Many work environments place a premium on leaders with critical thinking and problem-solving skills. However, that premium often places too much emphasis on being critical and dealing with problems. I suggest a different way. — Bill Treasurer (https://www.linkedin.com/in/courage)

    How to keep your best leaders: 4 keys to build a flourishing leadership pipeline
    A recent Gallup study highlights significant concerns among those serving in managerial roles. Their research found managers more likely than non-managers to be disengaged at work, burned out, looking for a new job and feeling like their organization doesn’t care about their wellbeing. Amid these intense challenges, what can you do to keep your best leaders? Here are four keys to build a flourishing leadership pipeline. — Jon Lokhorst (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonlokhorst/)

    Where Does Your Work Culture Fall in the 5 Levels of Workplace Inspiration?
    A work culture that validates teams members for their efforts and sense of responsibility will create an engaged workforce. — S. Chris Edmonds (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisedmonds)

    Keep Your Business Healthy: The Four Pillars of Sound Financial Practices
    Operational savvy doesn’t always come easy, and a business owner sometimes, out of necessity, has to put on hats they aren’t equipped. I often hear “But I’m not an accountant!” and I understand. Still, if you are going to own a business, you have to take responsibility for the financial aspects of your business as well as other operations and product/service development and sales. — Jon Verbeck (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonverbeck)

    Engagement

    Declining Employee Engagement Signals an Opportunity
    Gallup Research recently issued a red flag about employee engagement. Michael Stallard and Katharine Stallard explain why it actually represents an opportunity for leaders. — Michael Lee Stallard (https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelstallard)

    Leadership Development

    Leading Through Change in the Workplace: Key Strategies to Use Today
    The complexities of the business environment mean change is one thing most employees can expect, whether they like it or not. Changes in strategy, restructuring, layoffs, the prevalence of mergers and acquisitions, people, and workplace culture issues – the list goes on and on. Read on to see how leaders can help minimize disruption and keep employees engaged. — David Grossman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidgrossmanaprabc)

    Productivity

    How Documenting Effective Systems Improves Team Culture and Performance
    Clearly communicated systems aren’t rigid shackles – but rather the essential musical score that ensures everyone plays in perfect harmony, unlocking exceptional team culture and performance. — Sean Glaze (@leadyourteam)

    It’s About Time! 10 Ways to Offer the Time Autonomy Employees Crave
    The clock is ticking towards a more autonomous future. This article offers concrete tools and strategies within any leader’s control to offer the time flexibility people crave – and in the process, build a magnetic and unbeatable culture where talent thrives. — Julie Winkle Giulioni (https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliewinklegiulioni)

    Quality is a Journey to Excellence
    Quality means not only the quality of the product, but also the quality of the processes producing the product, the quality of the designs that go into processes and the product, quality people, quality systems, quality service, quality everything… just quality through and through everywhere. We need to adopt a new way to manage and run organizations. – John Hunter (@aJohnHunter)

    \Swinging for the Fence to Slow Productivity
    Following my sabbatical almost three years ago where I said no to everything for almost eight weeks, I came out refreshed and ready to swing for the fence again. I slowly but surely started picking up balls. One at a time, we added client after client, one of which is sucking the ever living life out of me right now. — Mary Ila Ward (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-ila-ward)

    Team Building

    Hiring the Right Players
    Every organization needs leaders who can come in and quickly understand the organization’s past, learn the present environment, and develop an effective plan. The challenge is exercising patience and diligence in the selection process to hire the right players; being clear about what and who you need. — Priscilla Archangel (@prisarchangel)

    Is a pro basketball player’s story the key to fighting mediocrity?
    Robyn McLeod of Thoughtful Leaders Blog presents Is a pro basketball player’s story the key to fighting mediocrity? where she shares that while mediocrity can be contagious, the antidote is a focus on winning and innovation – and the encouragement of the Charles Barkleys in your organization who can rally their teams to success. — Robyn McLeod (@ThoughtfulLdrs)


  • Swinging for the Fence to Slow Productivity

    Swinging for the Fence to Slow Productivity

    We swung for the fences and came up short…
    Yeah, you win some, you lose some, it ain’t always home runs
    And that’s just the way life plays…
    Morgan Wallen

    A few years ago, I was facilitating a DiSC training session with one of my colleagues. We use a motivation checklist tied to the DiSC Personality Model to emphasize that different things motivate different people.

    We always encourage people to ask a peer what they think motivates them. Based on the behaviors you observe in another person, “What do you think makes them tick?” is the question we ask. I asked my colleague during the session to comment on what she thought my top two are. 

    She immediately said, “Well one is, ‘Taking on new challenges.’” 

    It wasn’t one of the top two I had marked.  Actually, in going through the checklist, it really wasn’t one I had even considered. 

    But as I reflected, I realized how off my self awareness might be.  She was spot on. I’m always swinging for the fence. On top of that, I very rarely wait patiently for the next pitch. I take on as much as I can, always ready for the challenge of knocking it all out of the park. 

    Too Many Balls 

    Following my sabbatical almost three years ago where I said no to everything for almost eight weeks, I came out refreshed and ready to swing for the fence again. I slowly but surely started picking up balls. One at a time, we added client after client, one of which is sucking the ever living life out of me right now. I picked up volunteer board seat balls. Thinking that the flexibility my husband now had given his change in careers would allow him to help out with the softballs of three kids, I said yes to more. Yes to travel, both personal and professional, yes to training for a marathon. Yes to a 17 year old from Costa Rica living with us. 

    Not only is my disposition to always swing for the fence, I am also always juggling a lot of balls trying to hit them all out of the park. Balls I’m trying to help others hit out of the park. I realized on one random Tuesday in April, I had dealt with ten different people calling me in crisis- or perceived crisis- needing my help. None of them were family, all balls I had picked up doing apparently what I’m good at.  As my husband has said, “I swear you have a sign on your forehead that reads, ‘Please spill your guts to me. I am here to help!’”

    But then a curveball invariably gets thrown. And two softball sized ones- one professional and one personal- hit me like a ton of bricks this spring.

    As I told my team, “I can juggle 18 balls at a time, but throw me 19 with a curve, and I want to drop them all.  It makes me realize maybe 15 balls is where I should have stopped.  I never should have picked up 16, 17, or 18 to begin with.  

    If I had never picked up those three, I could have handled the softballs, but by not stopping before it got to be too much, I seemed to be ill equipped to function given the big two.  

    I immediately went to, ok, sabbatical time again!  I need eight weeks of nothing! 

    Grand Slams

    For our second quarter planning meeting, you better believe “Sabbaticals” was on the agenda.  Unlike last time, everyone saw it and everyone brought it up before it was even time to discuss it. Everyone on the team has been in the business of picking up lots of balls too. We love to play the game, leaning into our mission, but it can get exhausting. 

    At our yearly planning meeting three months prior, we had worked hard to see where everyone was with current projects and what people wanted to grow in and what people wanted to divest in. I had named these things for myself too, already knowing in January that there were some balls that I wanted and needed to throw out.  But sometimes divesting in things takes time.  And I am trying to exit on some of them gracefully.  And I really wanted to equip my team to lead on some things they were capable of doing even better than I could, but there was inevitably some training involved in that. 

    We’d made plans for transitions. I communicated to boards I served on that I would not be serving another term- find a replacement! I’d be done with my bucket list marathon at the end of April. My so-stressful-I-can’t-sleep-at-night looming client issue would come to a peak at the same time and then be easier (or so I thought). 

    But by April, I was ready to say, “Forget gracefully!”  Every ball I’ve got is being thrown to the curb!”  

    “And that’s just the way life plays….”

    Right after this, I find myself heading to Oxford, Mississippi for a Morgan Wallen concert. You see, he is my daughter’s favorite musician. For Christmas, we had surprised her with tickets to his concert at Ole Miss in April. At the time, I wasn’t aware of how difficult the time between Christmas and April would be. The last ball I really wanted to have to juggle over that weekend was to be away from home again. 

    But she was ecstatic, and we weren’t going to miss it. After four hours in the rain listening to not one, not two, but three opening acts, he finally came on stage. A few songs in, he transitioned to my daughter’s favorite song, ‘98 Braves.  

    I felt the slow creep of the lyrics speaking to me:

    We swung for the fences and came up short…
    Yeah, you win some, you lose some, it ain’t always home runs
    And that’s just the way life plays…

    The personal issue got even more pronounced while I was gone.  The client issue came to a head right after I got back, and it was shared with me that it would get even more intense over the summer and into the fall. 

    Again, the thought, just throw the balls away. All of them. Quit swinging.

    Then, as I was unwinding the evening after my client engagement, I got a call from my husband. “He’s hit a grand slam! Cortez hit a grand slam!!” Drew was almost in tears. Our brown eyed boy who after seven years of baseball with us, had finally hit one over, and a grand slam at that!  His mother was in tears, I was in tears.  

    Seasons of Life 

    It takes some time for me to moderate the pendulum swings in my life. I preach moderation, but I often don’t practice it. And when I’m swinging for the fence all the time with too many balls, I get to a breaking point. I want to quit. 

    But, as I reflected I realized, I think I’m entering a season in my life where I can begin to honor the seasons of the game.  

    As Emily Freeman says so aptly, “Just because things change doesn’t mean you chose wrong in the first place. Just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean you have to do it forever.”  

    I’ve realized I’m in the season now where I would rather see someone else hit home runs. I get more joy and satisfaction from the win a teammate gets than I do experiencing it for myself. Like the speaking gig they are invited to instead of me. Like the colleagues who are about to land a very big fish or two that could substantially change their income (we pay a commission on business anyone lands) at a season in life where income is being sucked out like a vacuum. Kids in college ain’t cheap. For someone else to serve in that board role and learn.  

    It used to be that if our brown eyed boy was going to make it to a game or a practice or anything for that matter, we were going to have to take him.  After almost seven years, his mom takes him to most things now. She has stepped up to the plate and she is helping him knock it over the fence. It is a joy to see the evolution of their journey. 

    Most importantly, there is no greater joy than to see my kids well and excelling. Although Cortez isn’t our biological child, his successes and my three biological kids’ successes are more important to me than almost anything. Faith’s- our Costa Rica 17 year old- successes are important to me. The wonderful team I get to work with everyday at HPC are all so important to me.  And when I say successes, hitting a real grand slam isn’t what I mean, although the hard work and commitment that goes into hitting them is. 

    I’m ready to throw the balls for others to hit, not hit them myself. And I’m ready to be happy with a single, especially if it knocks in another run.  I’m not ready to stop stepping up to the plate or step up to the mound, I just need to modify my game plan. 

    And maybe you do too. 

    “When we want to give up, maybe what we need to do is open the door to doing things differently, not doing something different all together. “

    Mary Ila Ward

    “Slow Productivity” 

    For me, doing things differently is looking like a shift from choosing an all or nothing pace. A pace defined by what Cal Newport describes in his book titled the same as “Slow Productivity”.  His key pillars include: 

    • Focus on fewer things
    • Work at a natural pace
    • Obsess over quality

    Maybe I’ll take a sabbatical before 2024 is over, maybe I won’t (everyone else on the HPC team will be taking one in 2024-2025). I will be taking the summer to practice slow productivity, where I focus on the fewer balls that matter, namely, helping others succeed at the game, working at a pace that is more reasonable by saying no to the things that aren’t for me in this season, and by obsessing over the quality of relationships that are most important to me. 

    What Really Matters?

    In that same DiSC training, where I realized my self-awareness was totally off the mark in the challenges I take on, I also realized maybe I wasn’t totally self-aware illiterate. 

    The second motivator my colleague picked for me was, “Helping other people succeed.”  I had picked this one too. 

    I think my swinging for the fence can get in the way of me helping other people succeed sometimes. Especially people closest to me. It comes from a motivation to take on new challenges coupled with a desire to fix things. I’m looking forward to watching others hit it out of the park- by throwing the ball well, taking the bunt to advance the runner in front of me, or simply cheering from the stands- realizing that taking on challenging situations may just come in the form of helping others put in the work and patiently waiting seven years or more for the dividends to come. 

  • A Tale of Two Employers: Workplace Appreciation

    A Tale of Two Employers: Workplace Appreciation

    “Employees don’t quit their job, they quit their manager.” How many times have you heard that phrase? Have you ever identified so much with it, thinking its origin may in fact be you for how well it resonates with your experiences? Well, I have. 

    I worked with a large company for almost 3 years, holding 2 different jobs within that time, searching for a position that would maintain my attention and highlight my skills coupled with a manager who would invest in me as both an employee and a person. In those 3 years, I found neither of those things and they were the longest 3 years of my life. I was continuously in a state of #OpentoWork, applying for positions well under my skill and experience level simply to be taken out of the toxicity that was my daily 9 – 5. But let’s unpack the situation further. 

    I was continuously in a state of #OpentoWork, applying for positions well under my skill and experience level simply to be taken out of the toxicity that was my daily 9 – 5.

    My first position with this company looked amazing on paper. The interviews highlighted efforts and initiatives that drew on my favorite aspects of my past positions and experiences and I was eager to get started. Once I did, I struggled with the management style I was receiving, communicating my needs only to consistently be met with unmet expectations. That, coupled with a difficult culture and internal resistance to what I was tasked to work towards, made it difficult to enjoy the work I was doing, but I persevered. I don’t believe in giving up when the going gets tough, but rather plowing through the difficulties and making the best of any situation. That is, until that situation bears no further potential. 

    The pinnacle of toxicity in a large organization comes to light with the vocalization of one word: re-org. Having never worked for such a large company before, I was naïve to what was to come. Long story short: my manager left their position, leaving me to be a team of 1. Their position was also eliminated as a result of the re-org, so I now had no growth opportunities. I saw the writing on the wall and knew I had to make a move and I had to make it fast. 

    So I transferred internally to a different team that, from the outside, seemed even more exciting than the first. Travel opportunities, engaging with high level internal and external leadership, autonomy over my work and…future growth opportunities! It was like the light I had been searching for at the end of the tunnel. Spoiler alert: it was not. 

    This new opportunity was worse than the previous, but for different reasons. The person I directly reported to was all but nonexistent. I communicated with them maybe once per month, and even then it seemed our short-lived conversations were meant only for them to check a box. No communication on how I was doing in the role, any help I may need or feedback I may have – nothing. The individual responsible for training and day to day oversight of me was the living embodiment of the phrase “hostile work environment”. I often left conversations thinking to myself “am I stupid?” because that’s how they made me feel. 

    The person I directly reported to was all but nonexistent. I communicated with them maybe once per month, and even then it seemed our short-lived conversations were meant only for them to check a box.

    While my first position with the company hadn’t been what I was looking for, this second position was quickly soul crushing. It traded my self-esteem and value for anxiety and a state of constant fear of reprimanding. There was no appreciation. Toxic behaviors like working 12-15 hour days, working weekends, sacrificing sleep – these were praised. Suggestions on process improvement or seeking genuine autonomy were met with hostility to the point where I stopped making suggestions. 

    I found myself once again searching for the right position. I was determined not to settle, knowing I had settled in the past, but I couldn’t seem to find anything. My determination was no match for the vibrant and competitive workforce that exists in North Alabama. Opportunity after opportunity drifted by and I was beginning to think I was never going to find the right position. Worse even, I was beginning to think that perhaps the problems I was facing weren’t the managers, but rather it was me. Were my expectations too high? Did the “right position” I kept dreaming of even exist? 

    Worse even, I was beginning to think that perhaps the problems I was facing weren’t the managers, but rather it was me. Were my expectations too high?

    And then one day, I got an Indeed message…about the position I was dreaming of getting into…with a small business, an environment I was desperately eager to return to. And the stars aligned and EUREKA, I got the job! There aren’t words to describe the trepidation I had walking into this new role. I had been sold a bill of goods not once, but twice before. I was not going to walk into another position with rose colored glasses on. 

    My first few weeks were great, I was learning so much and I was being exposed to multiple different facets of the company. I was introduced to the CEO and VPs within my first week, I was on a first name basis with the highest levels of leadership in the company and they truly seemed to listen to me when I talked to them. 

    At the end of my first month with the company, I went on business travel with the CEO, one of the VPs, and the Founder of the company – not only was it my first travel experience with this company but it was also with some of the most important people at the company. Unsurprisingly, I was nervous. Surprisingly, the trip was amazing. 

    I got to engage with leadership on a more personal level and they truly cared about what I had to say. The conversations I had on that trip are still referenced today and I am so thankful to have gone on this trip so early in my career with this company. I’ll never forget what was to me the most significant part of this trip. Following an employee engagement event we hosted for our local employees, we were heading back to the hotel and the CEO asked me “Do you know what your love language is?”. You could have knocked me over with a feather. Of course I knew, I’m a words of affirmation girl through and through. They noted this is something that my manager may struggle with as they’d not been great at it historically but they would keep that in mind. And they’ve kept that promise, to this day. 

    I got to engage with leadership on a more personal level and they truly cared about what I had to say.

    My manager, supposedly not historically superior with expressing their appreciation verbally, has had no difficulty in coming to me with praise. Any time they have feedback, they ensure it is being received correctly, something people struggle with on an interpersonal level, let alone a professional one. To put it simply: they care about me as a person first and an employee second. This has been the biggest differentiator between my new company and the previous. 

    I love my job, but on paper, I was slated to love my 2 previous jobs as well. The difficulty I was consistently faced with was my management, or lack thereof, and the environments I was trying to succeed in. It was like planting a petunia in a desert – I was destined to wilt from the start. 

    It’s been 6 months now and things are great. I’m not naïve enough to believe I will never have trouble with work – that is a part of life. But I know that I am supported by management and a team of some of the best, most kind hearted co-workers, and that knowledge makes the hardest of days that much easier to navigate.

    This blog was written by Guest Blogger Teddy Smith, a friend of Horizon Point.

    If you like this blog, you might enjoy these others related to Workplace Appreciation:

  • Open the Door to Vulnerability and Courage

    Open the Door to Vulnerability and Courage

    Last week Emily complimented me in her blog post when she spoke of the struggles I have faced in the last year and my ability to persevere through them. (Thanks, Emily!) And she’s not wrong. I have been that way for as long as I can remember; not letting anything stop me or get in my way. My dad taught me to have determination and I am so grateful that he did. But that determination and perseverance go hand in hand with the ability to be vulnerable. And this is where I used to fall short, very short. It wasn’t until I joined the Horizon Point team that I learned it was okay to be vulnerable, to ask for help, and to let others handle the load when you can’t. And during my health struggles in the past year, they have helped carry the load, without hesitation. 

    Vulnerability isn’t a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength. It’s the ability to acknowledge when you can’t do it alone, when you made a mistake, or when you fell short. As Brene Brown puts it “(T)he definition of vulnerability is uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure. But vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our most accurate measure of courage.” 

    I had to learn to be vulnerable, and here’s what I have learned:

    1. If you show vulnerability, others will follow. If leaders allow themselves to be vulnerable with their teams, it creates a culture of trust and in turn those employees will learn that vulnerability is acceptable, encouraged, and expected within the team. 
    2. Being vulnerable takes practice. It’s not easy to be vulnerable. As Brené Brown says, it takes courage to expose your fears, mistakes, and emotions to others. You don’t know how it will be received and you don’t know what others will think of you. But the more you do it, the easier it gets. Start small and work your way up to the big things if you need to. And sometimes it starts with being vulnerable with yourself. 
    3. How you respond to the vulnerability of others is make or break. As a leader, you need to encourage and accept the vulnerability of others. How you react to the vulnerability shown to you can build trust or destroy trust. Allow for mistakes and use them as learning opportunities. Encourage employees to seek help when they are overwhelmed, be someone that they can vent to if needed (without negative repercussions). Understand that they have emotions and while you may not understand or agree with those emotions, acknowledge them. 
    4. Vulnerability in leadership leads to better, more productive teams. By allowing and encouraging vulnerability and modeling vulnerability to your team, it creates a team that is psychologically safe, that is comfortable raising concerns, mistakes, and ideas, that has a growth mindset. And research shows that teams that are psychologically safe are the most productive teams you can have. 

    I have a wonderful team at Horizon Point that I can be vulnerable and courageous with, that I can go to for help when I need it, can share ideas and concerns with without fear of repercussion, and that I can vent to when I’m having one of those days. And I know that they have by back, and in return, they know that I have theirs. 

    How have you as a leader shown vulnerability and courage to your team? And how have you responded to the vulnerability shown to you? 

  • Open the Door to Growth, Grit and Yourself

    Open the Door to Growth, Grit and Yourself

    A few weeks back, we introduced our series related to our theme for the year, open the door. As usual, when I have a blog post to write, the universe gives me lots of opportunity to practice. What’s on the menu for this week? Opening the door to growth, grit and yourself.

    Currently, my level of frustration due to lack of “rest” is on an 11 out of a 10 point scale. I feel like I have been around the world and back, and my soul needs a good ole sabbath. My workout this morning took every ounce of effort that I had, and I don’t feel like I have done anything well. Those are all of my personal things, but they spill over into my work. At Horizon Point we are all about work-life balance and this week I have felt anything but balanced. But…you know what? I don’t like that feeling and to know that is to have awareness and that my friends is growth. 

    What does it mean to have a growth mindset for your organization? In Jillian’s blog, Training and Developing Growth Mindset, she says that

    The Neuroleadership Institute (NLI) defines growth mindset as
    …the belief that your skills and abilities can be improved, and that ongoing development is the goal of the work you do. However, creating a growth mindset culture isn’t just about having optimistic employees, but creating a space where employees strive to learn, enjoy being challenged, and feel encouraged to develop new skills.

    I am sure that we are all too familiar with the term that nothing grows in its comfort zone. I have immense respect for a leader who creates space for each of us to stretch the limits on what we “think” we can do. That dreaded phone call we need to make? Mary Ila gives us a little nudge to take that step and when we take a step she is there to guide and encourage us along the path.

    In order to grow, there has to be a level of determination or grit. I was driving past Grit Fitness Alabama the other day and took a look at their website to find this spot on definition of grit.

    Grit-a diligent spirit; the nagging conviction that keeps pressing on when it’d be easier to give up.

    In this article from Harvard Business Review about Organizational Culture/Organizational Grit they share that it isn’t just about having a gritty leader but developing a gritty team. The two traits that are suggested to look for in selecting those individuals are passion and perseverance. As part of Who We Are as a company, Horizon Point places a heavy emphasis on passion. I would say that each team member displays an above average level of grit. For example, Lorrie on our team has faced setback after setback this year with health issues and surgeries, and guess how many times I have heard the woman complain? If you guessed zero, you would be correct in your assumption. Do you know when she was back to work? Later that day. That is my definition of perseverance.

    Would you like to gauge your level of grit? 


    Source: Organizational Culture/Organizational Grit


    Mary Ila also does a wonderful job of helping each of us within the organization lean in to who we are, and she supports us in any action we need to help us better ourselves. Before I started work for Horizon Point, I had already taken a DiSC assessment. The DiSC helps build self-awareness to understand our personal work styles. How do we create space as an organization to open the door for employees to tap into themselves? At Horizon Point, we Grow People and offer trainings to foster an environment of growth, grit and getting to know yourself.

    Want to read more about Growth and Opening the Door? Read here: 

    What is Growth Mindset?
    It is What It Is, or Is It? How to Shift from a Fixed to Growth Mindset
    Effective Delegation: Closed Doors Lead to Open Ones
    Open the Door- Literally
    Open the Door to New Perspectives
    Open the Door to Communication, Encouragement & Relationships

    For the one who stayed home, who stood by, who persevered through the darkness. Blessed are you, the one who is growing right where you are, the one who is still here. Hello to growing into yourself in the middle of your regular week. Hello to the rhythm of your right-now, everyday life, the one you keep showing up for. The one that continues without a spotlight or a toast. The one that hasn’t much changed.

    Source: The Quiet Collection by Emily P Freeman